Reporter Niu Xiaoman, Li Qian, Shao Qunyu.
Dogs never lie when they say love. On the 11th, Luc Besson, a well-known French director who has created a series of classic films such as "Blue Sea and Blue Sky", "This Killer is Not Too Cold", "The Fifth Element" and "Super Body", appeared in Shanghai with his new film "Dog God". "Dog God" will be released in China on the 15th, the film is based on real events, telling the story of Douglas, played by Caleber Landry Jones, who suffered domestic violence since he was a child, but was ** by the dog group, with a series of stories that happened when he lived with more than 100 dogs. Luc Besson hopes to use the film to tell people that "no matter what kind of pain you go through, you must learn to accept your situation and appearance, find love, and maintain a positive attitude".
Luc Besson, 64, told the Global Times that he felt the power of the booming Chinese film industry and wanted to spend more time communicating with Chinese filmmakers, "I have a lot of experience, and I am happy to do something for young directors, and I also hope to 'steal' some energy from young people."
I was moved by the Pingyao screening scene."
Global Times: Some time ago, I took "Dog God" to participate in the Pingyao International Film Festival, how did I feel?
Luc Besson: I had a wonderful time in Pingyao, where I met a lot of very lovely Chinese directors and young live audiences, and there was a youthful vibe everywhere, and they were very direct about what they liked or didn't like a movie. "Dog God" had a surprise screening in Pingyao, no one talked to each other during the whole movie, I sat in the first row, there were thousands of audiences behind me, I could clearly perceive everyone's emotions, there were many audiences crying, and I also cried excitedly.
Global Times: What are your expectations for the Chinese market?
Luc Besson: It's something I do with my heart, and it's fun to see people like it, that's all. "Dog God" is not only a good movie, but also a spiritual dish suitable for young audiences, and I hope that this film will bring some positive value to young audiences after its release in China.
Global Times: Will you look at the audience's comments on the work?
Luc Besson: Why should you go to see it? I finished the film with a lot of passion, and of course I hope you enjoy it, but everyone has their own opinions, people have the freedom to talk to each other, make comments, it's none of my business, and I'm already working on the next one. The audience who came to see the movie had different cultural backgrounds, ages and genders, and some of them were not born yet, and I might not be there by the time they watched "The Dog God" twenty years from now. Like I once visited the Forbidden City, which is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, but when people built it, they thought that hundreds of years later a Frenchman would come up to it and say, "Oh my God, this is so beautiful"? Nobody thinks about that, I just hope that no matter what time it takes, the audience will get something out of watching my films.
It's about love, pain, and choice.
Global Times: Where did the creation of "Dog God" come from?
Luc Besson: I once read an article that shocked me about a child who was kept in a cage by his father for 4 years and tried to imagine how the child survived, how he escaped from the cage, what his life would be like after that, would he be bad...This is a personal choice, and it is also what the film "Dog God" wants to tell - even if people are in pain, they must find love and learn to survive. "dog" and "god" are the same in reverse, so I just wanted to play a word game that I found interesting.
Global Times: How were these dogs selected in the film, and what interesting things happened to so many dogs?
Luc Besson: The selection of dogs is the responsibility of the casting team. In fact, just like the selection of actors, they sent me all kinds of dogs, I hope these dogs can form a team, there are very small, big, very thin, and some are excluded, and from this group of dogs it seems that you can see the whole society. But some of the dogs looked too clean to fit the premise in the movie, so our makeup girl put makeup on 10 to 20 dogs every morning, applying some dirt or scars to make them look more like "thieves". Interestingly, the dogs also enjoy the moment of applying makeup every morning. As for how to manage hundreds of dogs on the set, I can't manage them at all, I can only follow them, and I have to wait very patiently, shooting one shot at a time. The more time spent on dogs, the more they can see what they have in common with humans, such as who doesn't like whom, which ones are good friends, which will only get bored, and that one is overexcited all the time. They have their own world, they must be Xi and understood, and then do their best.
I hope to have more opportunities to communicate with Chinese filmmakers.
Global Times: How do you view the development of Chinese films in recent years?
Luc Besson: Chinese cinema has always been huge and beautiful, and I can feel that it has been growing and becoming very powerful. The energy of these creative new directors and actors in China is too great, and it is a good thing that Chinese films will explode because of these forces and have a great chance of becoming the number one in the world in the next few years.
Global Times: Are there any plans to work with Chinese filmmakers? What kind of cooperation do you prefer?
Luc Besson: I want to have a better and deeper understanding of the way Chinese filmmakers think and create, and to spend more time with them and talk about film. It's a lot of fun to communicate, I welcome all cooperation, and I do my best to help anyone who needs help. I would be happy if I met a young director who asked me to do something for his film, I had a lot of experience and I wanted to "steal" some energy from these young people. ▲