At the turn of the millennium, domestic criminal investigation dramas were all the rage, such as "Conquest", "Six Groups of Serious Cases", "Heaven Does Not Hide Rape", "Wings Can't Escape", etc., these dramas are all based on real cases, presenting shocking pictures for the audience. Those black bosses acted decisively and ruthlessly, which made the audience remember it vividly, and they still have lingering palpitations.
Especially the 2002 "Can't Escape", which has been warmly sought after by the audience since it was broadcast. Zhang Shihao, the boss in the play, is thoughtful and has superb emotional intelligence, which makes the younger brothers happy and convinced, and is willing to serve him. This character is both loved and hated, especially the classic line: "I'm not in the mood to listen to any bullshit love stories right now, I want to make money now, what's the use of just envying others, we have to act on our own and become richer than them." As soon as this remark came out, it immediately spread among fans and became an eternal classic.
Time flies, and 21 years pass like a white horse. The protagonists who became popular with "Wings Can't Escape" seem to have disappeared from the screen, and people can't help but wonder where they are now.
The ambitious, courageous, and goal-oriented Zhang Shihao, his character prototype is Zhang Ziqiang, who is known as the "Thief of the Century". Compared with the play, he is more ruthless, cunning and bold in reality. He planned the kidnapping and robbery of Guo Bingxiang, Li Ka-shing's eldest son and others, and got a huge ransom from it, breaking the Guinness Book of Records. However, his greed eventually led to his arrest in the mainland in 1998, ending his criminal career.
Zhao Yan Guozhang, a top student at the Beijing Film Academy, studied with Jiang Wenli, Li Ting and Xu Qing. After graduating, he chose to pursue further studies in Singapore, but in 1993, he decided to return to China for further development. At a party in 1996, he met Anna, a Swedish girl, and the two quickly fell in love. In 1998, they tied the knot, and Zhao Yanguozhang also settled in Sweden with his wife. To commemorate their love, he founded a film and television studio.
Finally in 1999, he planned and wrote and directed the movie "Cha Classmate Boy". Due to funding issues, the film was not completed until 2002. However, the niche film market for literary films after the millennium is not in a recession, and investors have packaged this film as a Fengyue film for the sake of profit. Zhao Yanguozhang was furious and decided to go to court with the investor. After a series of twists and turns, the film was finally released and won the "Best Viewing Film Award" at the 13th Stockholm International Film Festival in Sweden.
After that, Zhao Yanguozhang returned to China to take over several niche works, but the response was mediocre. It wasn't until he was discovered by director Ye Hongwei and starred in the role of Zhang Shihao in "Wings Can't Escape" that his fate changed. With the hit of "Can't Escape", Zhao Yanguozhang became famous overnight. It's a pity that the roles he took on later were not as deeply rooted in the hearts of the people as Zhang Shihao.
In 2011, Zhao Yan Guozhang directed the movie "Youth" again and cooperated with Wang Ziwen. The film earned him the Golden Angel Award for Outstanding New Director at the Chinese American Film Festival in Hollywood. However, from 2011 to 2018, his work gradually decreased. Fortunately, after 2018, Zhao Yanguozhang continued to make appointments again. He has participated in works such as "Rage", "Life and Death Explosives", "Antiques in the Game", "The Decisive Moment" and "** Detective". Now he has gotten rid of the image of a "bandit" and is still active in the film and television industry.
In addition to filming, Zhao Yanguozhang often interacts with fans through social platforms. Despite being nearly 60 years old, his image is becoming more and more amiable.
In the drama "Can't Escape", in addition to the core role of Zhang Shihao, there is another female character who is equally eye-catching, that is, the woman behind Zhang Shihao and the military adviser Guo Jinfeng. She is known for her quick mind and wit, and is known as a "femme fatale". In the real world, her prototype Luo Yanfang successfully escaped legal punishment with her ingenuity, and after the general trend was gone, she decisively sold all her possessions, took her children overseas, and disappeared from people's sight.
The actor who plays Guo Jinfeng is Yu Hui, who has already won the title of Golden Rooster Huabiao Double Actress with other works. After the broadcast of "Wings Can't Escape", Yu Hui received a large number of script invitations, but she has never been able to get rid of the role image of "sister-in-law". In private, she and her brother Zhao Yan Guozhang often party, and there are even rumors that they plan to work together again. In 2022, the two appeared in the live broadcast room together again, instantly bringing the audience back to the scene of that year. Today, Yu Hui is 58 years old, but she still maintains an active acting state and has begun to play some roles of mother and mother-in-law. In many works in 2023, we can see her, such as Ye Mu in "Ode to Joy 4", martyr Niang in "Ice and Snow Sharp Knife Company", etc.
In addition, although Wang Li played Ah Hao in "Hard to Escape", although he did not have many scenes, he left a deep impression on the audience. After this drama, Wang Li received a large number of invitations to film and television dramas, and he made a name for himself in the film and television industry because of his role as a "tough guy". So far, he has participated in more than 50 works, such as Zhou Lingwang in "Chinese Hundred Family Names", Ma Yu in "The Legend of the New Condor Heroes", etc. He has also been seen in popular dramas in the past two years, such as Wang Rensun in "Youth Song Xing" and Huan Qi in "Da Qin Fu".
And Tu Songyan's development after "Wings Can't Escape" is also quite good, and he has become a frequent guest in urban family dramas. He has had a keen interest in dance since he was a child, having participated in singing competitions and reached the finals. This experience stimulated his interest in acting, and he was admitted to the ** Drama Academy, and officially started his acting career after graduation. In his career, Tu Songyan has been moving forward steadily and has not experienced major ups and downs. He has performed brilliantly in many hit urban life dramas, such as "House Slave", "Wang Gui and Anna", "Blue Bird's Sky" and so on.
In 2022, he will appear in the same frame with Zhao Yanguozhang again, which evokes the memories of the audience. Many netizens ridiculed: "Beware of Ayo's rebellion again." "In terms of feelings, Tu Songyan is a single-minded and good man. His wife is an outsider and rarely appears in public. The only time was in the variety show "I'm Not an Actor" to cheer for her husband Tu Songyan.
The 47-year-old veteran actor has always maintained a low-key style and rarely participates in variety shows and promotional activities. The little brother of Brother Hao he played was ruthless and courageous, and even dared to argue with Brother Hao. Every time he yelled that he wanted to "split fifty-fifty" with Brother Hao, he was scolded back by Zhang Shihao every time on the grounds of intellectual property rights, and his arrogance disappeared all of a sudden.
Yang Jiguang, the character who has attracted much attention in film and television dramas, his prototype is the famous bandit Ye Jihuan. Actor Zhou Meng, a former Peking Opera actor, stepped into the film and television industry by chance. Although he does not have many works, Yang Jiguang in "Wings Can't Escape" is undoubtedly the pinnacle of his acting career. However, after that, the response to several works in which he participated was mediocre, and he returned to his old job.
Today, Yang Jiguang is no longer involved in the film and television industry, but is active on online live broadcasts and short ** platforms. He is thoughtful and decisive, and he is a capable officer under Zhang Shihao. He once challenged the No. 1 killer in Hong Kong and Kowloon, and successfully defeated him, so he became one of Zhang Shihao's most trusted people.
Ah Xun's sentence "Making money is a trivial matter, the key is to have something to do, and I am about to suffocate to death at home all day", which left a deep impression on the audience.
Xu Jingsuo, a national second-class actor, also came out of the drama stage. He has not entered the film and television industry with many works, and now he is still a pillar of the Guangzhou Repertory Theatre, and his main focus is on the drama stage. His representative works include "No Regrets", "Home", "Fertile Land", "Don't Come Close to Me", "Thank You for Loving Me" and so on. Now, he has gradually faded out of the screen, but the role of Chen Wenze, the mayor of Dongshan City, played in the hit "Icebreaker" in 2019, has faded away from his former bandit temperament and shows a different style.
Zhang Shihao, this ruthless and nimble boss, has a group of loyal younger brothers under him. However, even Zhang Shihao, who is so strong, will be slightly inferior when facing Peng Jiaju. And his prototype is the real boss Yin Guoju. Actor Ma Ji, who plays Peng Jiaju, has often appeared in costume-themed film and television works since his debut in the 90s. "The Decisive Battle of Tianmen", "The Legend of the Empress Lu", "The Ruthlessness of the Cadre", "The Heroes of the Silk Road", "The Legend of the Double Dragons of the Tang Dynasty", "The Eight Heroes" and so on have his figure. He belongs to the kind of actor who is not popular, and he is still struggling in the film and television industry, but most of them participate in the filming of online dramas. In 2023, he also starred in a movie "Hades Village".
And Liang Bingkun, a character who is full of morality but has no morality at all, disguises himself very hypocritically and hides it very well in order to defraud money. Zhang Shihao tried to do things with him several times but failed to do so, and finally Guo Jinfeng took him as a hope to save Zhang Shihao. This role is played by Luo Jingmin, a veteran actor familiar to the audience. He has created many familiar characters on the screen. Xu Sanduo's father in "Soldier Assault", the old Qi in "Antiques in the Bureau", Mrs. Li in "Mountains and Seas", and Veterinarian Hao in "My Regiment Leader, My Regiment". The scene of veterinarian Hao's death moved many viewers.
Time flies, and 21 years pass like a white horse. Many of the episodes in the play have faded into oblivion, but those familiar lines still echo in my ears.