CATDOLL: The studio of "Ten Cold" interviewed the director of "Ten Cold": The ultimate goal is to win an Oscar!

One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes will be released in theaters on January 1, 2015 as a New Year's Eve movie. In addition to popular characters such as Nezha, Li Jing, Pinocchio, Snow White, the Queen, and Fulu Little King Kong, there will also be a specially customized "protagonist" appearing in this movie.

As representatives of the behind-the-scenes production group "Shi Leng", Lu Hengyu and Li Shujie also recently accepted an interview, which included their respective ideals and expectations for the Chinese animation market. In fact, "Shi Leng" has not yet been released, but it has received mixed reviews online, with applause and criticism. But here the editor wants to say that no matter whether "Shi Leng" can be successful, word of mouth, or even box office, these should not be reasons to kick them when they are down and laugh at them. We should not laugh at young people who have the same ideals as us and work hard for them, no matter how poorly they do.

The following is the interview content:

Talking to Lu Hengyu and Li Shujie is like facing two funny versions of Hengha Erjiang. Old Lu is responsible for the funny part, while Shujie is responsible for the supporting part. They keep talking without distinguishing between you and me. They both speak very fast, and can complete a closed loop of making themselves laugh and then complaining about themselves in a few seconds. Old Lu always has a big beard, and Shujie often wears big glasses. They both wear casual clothes that are comfortable. When they stand together, you can tell that they don’t belong to the three-dimensional category. Suit pants, high heels, and glass hearts seem to have nothing to do with them. Facing the camera of Sina Entertainment, the two opened up and talked about the interesting things in life between two two-dimensional people.

These two young faces, who are a perfect match, are the animation directors behind the popular online film "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes". The film version of "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes", directed by them, will be released in theaters nationwide on New Year's Day 2015. The two are optimistic and do not have much psychological pressure on the box office. However, they are worried that if the box office exceeds 100 million, they will have to fulfill their promise to dance the "Paji Paji My Greatest Paji Dance", which is a headache.

Lu Hengyu and Li Shujie are both serious movie fans. Therefore, compared to the comic artist Cambrian who created the bad painting style and "Time Chicken", they hope that "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes" has the rhythm and texture of Hollywood blockbusters, so that ordinary audiences can understand it. They like Marvel and "Avengers". They worship the portrait of Disney in the studio, and never forget to let the master take a puff when they drink tea and smoke. "Let the audience line up to buy tickets to watch our movie, and the movie will win an Oscar!" The first half of this sentence comes from Li Shujie, and the second half comes from Lu Hengyu. Now combined together, it has become the dream of the entire "Lu Hengyu and Li Shujie Studio". "There must always be a goal in life, so set a higher one!" said Lao Lu.

Why do they like Disney? Because they both love fairy tales; Why do they love fairy tales? Because they believe that dreams can come true like fairy tales.

He Xiaoqin: As an animation director, is it considered jumping into the fire pit to adapt a comic book with a "bad style" like "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes"? Do you hate the original author Han Wu?

Lu Hengyu: We read the comics before we made the animation. At that time, our reaction was, "Hahahaha, a crazy comic! Fortunately, it was not adapted into an animation, otherwise the director would be dead." Unexpectedly, someone came to us a year later and asked if we should adapt it into an animation. I said it! As a result, I saw that "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes"... Actually, it was okay during the adaptation process. "Ten Cold Jokes" is a film known for its story, and the rhythm of the storyboard is actually very good. The bad painting style is its appearance, and the audience feels the author's emotions under the painting style.

Li Shujie: Actually, in my opinion, the storyboards of "Shi Leng" are very well done, and they really understand the audience's sense of humor, but the drawing is a bit rough... We dare not offend Cambrian, because he will make things difficult for us when drawing comics!

He Xiaoqin: The comics are all chapters, and there are so many characters. How did you finally come up with the idea of ​​making a superhero movie?

Lu Hengyu: When making a movie, the audience definitely wants to see their favorite characters, so we try to arrange for all of them to appear. These characters originally had no connection in the animation, but Marvel's "Avengers" gave us a very good reference.

Li Shujie: I personally like superhero movies very much, I think they are very exciting and passionate! "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes" cannot really shoot a lot of bad jokes, otherwise the audience will not laugh after watching it.

Lu Hengyu: We took Hanwu to our studio for a month and asked him to write a script, but we found it was not good. After so many years of film development, the format that the audience likes has been formed. As a cartoonist, Hanwu didn’t know much about the script format, so we thought of a way: we first wrote a very normal script outline and gave it to Hanwu, and he added destructive jokes in it. I took it back and saw that it didn’t look like a movie, so I had to rework it, and then I would destroy it for him...

Li Shujie: So this movie is first and foremost a comedy, which retains the style of "Shi Leng" and is understandable to ordinary audiences. After watching the movie, the three-dimensional audience will read the online comics and will be more receptive.

He Xiaoqin: Did they pay tribute to Marvel in the film? It is said that the high-end painting style was drawn by Marvel artists.

Lu Hengyu: Yes, actually we are also quite high-end (laughs).

Li Shujie: How did you say that, "We are a good animation with beautiful art, rigorous settings, and a touching story!"

He Xiaoqin: Which role do you like best?

Lu Hengyu: I like Lao Ye the most. If you go to the cinema, you will see that Lao Ye is so handsome.

Li Shujie: My favorite character is Little King Kong. I think he is so handsome, the finishing touch!

Lu Hengyu: Why don't you go and shoot an idol drama? You are not a fan now, as a director, can you talk about it in more depth?

Li Shujie: A little deeper? Well, I think Nezha’s chest muscles are pretty good too!

He Xiaoqin: How was the mean character of Time Chicken created?

Li Shujie: At that time, we wanted to bring these characters together like in The Avengers, so we said, "Let's build a time machine" and travel together. Cambrian said, "Okay, sure," and started drawing, and ended up drawing a chicken! So cold...

Lu Hengyu: You will find that Hanwu is a comedy genius who can grasp this kind of small idea and turn it into a joke. He chats like this in real life, so we can't offend the original author, otherwise there will be a situation of "how to put this thing into the plot"...

Li Shujie: A time machine is at least a drawer! ! What is this! !

He Xiaoqin: The voice of Time Chicken was provided by Lao Lu. Does that mean it fits the director’s temperament very well?

Lu Hengyu: Actually, it has nothing to do with me. I usually speak Mandarin quite normally. At the beginning, we wanted to find a star to dub the role. We had one thing in mind: we wanted him to speak in Minnan dialect, so we chose Jiu Kong, Wu Zongxian and other comedians. Later, when I was discussing the play with others, I would keep imitating this accent. When the star couldn't come during the initial dubbing, I had to take over first. They said, "Okay, it's you. Don't change it."

Li Shujie: I think the producers were also very happy because they saved a lot of money! Actually, he has a talent for dubbing. After watching Ning Hao's "Crazy Racing", he began to imitate Jiu Kong. I usually dub some minor roles.

Lu Hengyu: I usually dub minor roles. We dubbed some minor roles ourselves. It was fun. I didn’t expect that I would play against Ajie as soon as I debuted. Oh, the pressure is so great... In terms of the ranking of dialects in comedy, I think the most fun is the Northeastern dialect, and the second is the Minnan dialect. There is a natural sense of humor. I am from Chengdu, and I can speak it after watching many movies. I also said that in fact, Chinese dialects can completely form a sense of humor like "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Italian gangsters are very similar to Taiwanese dialects, and black people are very similar to Northeastern dialects. "Yo~man, what's up?" corresponds to "What's up!" The British "May I help you" feels very similar to Shanghainese. Chinese dialects are very rich, and I like to learn them very much. Now I just use them. In the future, I can still dub when I can't be a director anymore.

He Xiaoqin: In your opinion, what is the connection between the popularity of "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes" and the atmosphere of complaints on the Internet? How can we gain the energy of complaints like Dai Mao?

Li Shujie: First of all, I have to thank the Internet. Through the barrage, I can directly understand the audience’s feelings.

Lu Hengyu: Yes, there is no barrier in between. One thing, whether it is a side topic or an additional topic, will eventually summarize everyone's views on it into one point, and then burst out like a rant. For example, "God is the right" on Weibo is a rant. Such an era is very suitable for the emergence of "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes". There will always be an idiot around you in life, just find a point to laugh at him. If there is no one, then it means that you are this idiot...hahaha!

Li Shujie: At first, some people said that it was unclean, and that his beard would be eaten even when he ate noodles, but now I really want him to keep it. For a while, the studio was in Chengdu and the production department was in Shanghai. We were two directors, so we switched back and forth, and we didn’t see each other for a long time. One day, he came back, but his beard was gone. I started to have nightmares when I went to bed at night. I dreamed that I couldn’t find Lu Hengyu in the vast sea of ​​people, and I cried, really cried. So I think the beard is the real thing.

Lu Hengyu: Most of my friends only recognize my beard and not me.

He Xiaoqin: Lao Lu also clarified on Weibo that Li Shujie is his girlfriend, not his wife. Is it necessary to make such a clear distinction between lovers?

Li Shujie: Because we are not really married, we just thought it was too troublesome and didn’t bother to do it.

Lu Hengyu: And calling her my girlfriend always gives me a honeymoon feeling, it’s more intimate!

He Xiaoqin: Is it OK for two people to be together 24 hours a day?

Li Shujie: I have developed the skill of splitting my life and work. I talk about two completely different things. I first met him when I applied for a job at his company. He was also the first time director of a feature film, so he pursued me like crazy... Haha, it was tacit! As a girl, and so pretty (Lu Hengyu interjected: This part should be complained about), well, this is not the point. Some people think that because of the good relationship with the director, you can get promoted faster.

He Xiaoqin: Hidden rules?

Lu Hengyu: The unspoken rules are not like this...

Li Shujie: Go away~ So from the beginning, my work and life were in two different states, which could be switched instantly, and it was very divided.

Lu Hengyu: She is very strong-willed and afraid of gossip. But now it seems that our energy levels are the same. If one of us is tired, the other can take over immediately. There is no problem at all.

Li Shujie: No, you will always be my master (sweetly).

He Xiaoqin: As a girl, Li Shujie won’t bring the resentment in her life into work?

Li Shujie: No, for example, we got angry when he didn’t wash the dishes, but how would I behave at work? I would work harder and say, “Look, my film is better than yours!” So ​​it’s actually pretty good.

He Xiaoqin: Both of you are directors. Do you ever have disagreements and quarrels?

Lu Hengyu: I think it’s okay. Arguing about creation is a kind of discussion. In the end, it all comes down to whether our aesthetics are in the same direction. We both have the same aesthetics. If there are some small differences, it’s just a matter of seeing which choice is better.

He Xiaoqin: What’s the difference between two funny 2D characters living together and normal humans?

Lu Hengyu: My life is basically a normal one, but my hobbies tend to be movies and the anime, and I like to stay at home.

Li Shujie: Maybe other people think shopping is more fun, but for us, we prefer to buy a lot of tickets and hang out in the cinema. We like a more home-based lifestyle.

Lu Hengyu: I still love playing games, but now that I’m making movies I don’t have much time to play.

Li Shujie: Come on, I'm going to buy you a game console, so stop complaining!

He Xiaoqin: So Lu Hengyu is actually Lu Heng “otaku”?

Li Shujie: Hahahaha, I’m gay…

Lu Hengyu: You are the one who is gay! This is a complaint...

He Xiaoqin: Making animation is a particularly hard job, but animators tend to be more optimistic. Why is that?

Li Shujie: For the perfect presentation at that final moment, no matter how hard and tiring it was in the beginning, I knew it would be sweet in the end, so I was quite determined.

Lu Hengyu: Animation is something we like to do, just like some people like spicy food, others don’t understand why they would eat it even if they feel uncomfortable?

Li Shujie: I will have diarrhea after eating it, but after that...does this part need to be harmonized?

Lu Hengyu: We may have one or two days, or two or three days a week where we work overtime until two or three o'clock. At the end of the year, all animation companies will work overtime until everything is in chaos.

Li Shujie: Actually, we don’t encourage staying up late to work overtime. Our studio encourages everyone to be more efficient and leave more time for life, because art comes from life. Seeing around and making friends outside the circle are all good for artistic creation.

He Xiaoqin: What is the current situation of your studio? What is the working atmosphere like?

Lu Hengyu: We have 20 people in our studio now. Sometimes we want to do more things, but we are limited by the production volume. We still hope that more people will come and advertise. The atmosphere of the studio is like a university campus, and the average age is about 26 years old. Although it is registered, we still prefer to call it a "studio" rather than a certain company. We like the feeling of running upward.

He Xiaoqin: From being an online animation director to being a commercial film director, does the box office cause you any pressure? Especially this year, the box office of films like Dragon Nest, Qin's Moon, and Kuiba 3 were average.

Lu Hengyu: We both cried while watching "Qiba 3", it was so exciting. At that time, we thought that this movie would at least make 50 million, but we didn't expect it to only make 20 million. That was just luck. Movies are a big gamble.

Li Shujie: It has a lot to do with the movies that were released at the same time. The National Day period was really scary. If you wanted to watch "Kuiba 3", there were only morning screenings. We made a relatively satisfactory movie in a very limited time. I didn't expect the audience to respond so well during the preview. The story is really the first priority, so I think the box office should be pretty good.

Lu Hengyu: We are now pondering whether it is better for the box office to exceed 100 million or not, because we said at the press conference that if it exceeds 100 million, we will all have to dance the “Paji Paji, My Best Paji Dance”!

He Xiaoqin: As directors who cater to movie fans, what do you think of the reputation of serious films like "The Golden Era" and "The Crossing"?

Lu Hengyu: I think we can’t just look at a movie from the perspective of reviews. For example, ours is a comedy movie. Since we have adopted this attitude, we hope that people will complain about it. But people don’t complain much. For a serious movie, people may think this or that is not good. Some people complain about Nolan’s movies.

He Xiaoqin: There is also a wormhole in "One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes". Does it coincide with Nolan, Lao Lu's idol?

Li Shujie: It is a secret agreement between the masters!!

Lu Hengyu: Oh, I am too embarrassed to say it, what can you do with this! Your face is too big! We are Nolan’s die-hard fans. Nolan is a film fan, and we all want to paint on celluloid.

He Xiaoqin: What about Disney? I heard that you have a portrait of him in your studio.

Lu Hengyu: That is the ancestor. There are ancestor in every industry. We don’t want to make money, we just want to make animation, so let’s worship the ancestor of animation. We hung a photo and worshiped it.

Li Shujie: We moved to a bigger place at that time, so we had to burn some incense every time we moved in. Now we worship when we have afternoon tea. Hey, come and have a bite of the ancestors!

Lu Hengyu: Let me light a cigarette for you! Hahahaha…

He Xiaoqin: Is the shape of the studio logo also Mickey Mouse?

Lu Hengyu: Actually, I was bored, so I drew a beard on my childhood photo and asked if it looked like me. It really looked like me, so I drew a circle and two ears, just like I had come back from a trip to Disneyland. Then people asked me if I didn’t have a logo, and I said I didn’t have time to draw one, so I’d just do this! I just did it.

Li Shujie: The fact that we are so compatible may have something to do with Disney. We both believe in fairy tales and think that if we persist, we will realize our dreams, and it will be very satisfying when they come true.

Lu Hengyu: Disney, Pixar, Takahata Isao, Hosoda Mamoru... Others often think we are very Japanese, but actually we like too many genres. It depends on the specific work.

He Xiaoqin: Is the ultimate goal you set for yourself an Oscar?

Lu Hengyu: You always have to have a goal in life, otherwise you will have no motivation, so set a higher goal! Just like two people climbing a mountain, one sets the goal halfway up the mountain, and the other sets the goal at the top of the mountain. I think the one who sets the goal at the top of the mountain will go further.

Li Shujie: Back to what I just said, why was he so obsessed with me? First, the photo was beautiful, and second, I wrote in my resume that my ultimate goal was to have audiences line up to buy tickets to watch my movies. When he saw it, he thought, wow! Not bad, I added one more thing, that I could win an Oscar in the end. OK, this goal is lofty enough!

He Xiaoqin: Lao Lu, do you have anything to add about your obsession with Shujie?

Li Shujie: If you ask him to supplement, it means I am pursuing him.

Lu Hengyu: …No more, no more! Give her some face, just think of it as me pursuing her, this wheel passed, this wheel passed! (Then he muttered quietly: Isn’t that photo of hers photoshopped!)