A Problem of "Lotus Lantern"

Legal number: Cheng Pei

Temple: Fazang Temple

Master: Master Xing Ci.

Year of birth: 1933

Place of birth: Taizhou, Jiangsu

Family: the only boy among six parents and sisters.

Occupation: 1956 graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy and assigned to Central Experimental Theatre. He is currently the chairman of Beijing Benchang Culture and Art Communication Center.

Experience: It was once said that he would not live beyond the age of thirteen, and only by converting to Buddhism could he survive this robbery. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention. In order to prevent accidents, at the age of six, his parents sent him to Shanghai Fazang Temple to worship Master Xing Ci as a teacher and be trained by the law number. Benchang You was a drama actor in the former Central Experimental Theatre, and Ji Gong was the 80th role in his artistic career.

Works:

Jigong

Qingming restaurant

Liaofan

A silent smile

introduce

Benchang You, who successfully created the image of "Jigong" in 1980s, is now 75 years old. However, he recently revealed that he will return to the screen to shoot and star in Jigong 3. On May 22nd, the reporter met him in Benchang You Benchang Film and Television Company. The "Jigong" on the screen is still kind and lovely, and even warmly invites reporters to have a working meal with him. Although he has "faded out" of public view for more than 20 years, when talking about his past with Jigong and the upcoming new edition of Jigong, You Lao's eyes are shining with excitement.

1, I almost passed by Jigong.

When Benchang You starred in Jigong in the 1980s, he was over 50 years old. When talking about how to go from a little-known drama actor to being helped by the public, Benchang You recalled that his acceptance of this role was actually "full of twists and turns" and he almost passed by the public.

1956, Benchang You graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy with five points and was assigned to the Central Experimental Theatre, from which he began his career as a drama actor. "1983 Chinese drama market was in a downturn, which coincided with 1982 when a group of foreign pantomime masters came to China, which made me a pantomime lover very excited. Since the 1950 s, I like to perform at parties, so I simply held my own mime party at 1983, and finally made a breakthrough in my personal performance. " Benchang You said that it was this gathering that brought him opportunities. The premiere was held in Beijing No.1 Social Welfare Institute. That day, I performed more than a dozen programs for two hours alone, so tired that I could wring out my sweatshirt and changed four sweatshirts in one night. /kloc-at the end of 0/983, the party moved to Shanghai to perform. At first, the theater manager was very worried and thought that "tickets with voices could not be sold, let alone pantomime". Who knows, the tickets were sold out in an hour and a half, so we had to add one, and the original three were increased to 1 1. Later, he was invited to walk into the campus and was warmly welcomed by university teachers and students. You Lao recalled: "I remember that during the intermission, the audience gave a very special laugh." Later, I learned that it was the deaf-mute people in the audience. Later, some of them told me excitedly that mime is our' own drama'. " It was these successful pantomime parties that brought Benchang You into the vision of Shanghai TV Station, which was preparing to shoot Jigong. However, the process of getting the role of "Jigong" was not smooth sailing.

You Lao told reporters that since he worked in 1956, his sensory talents have never been fully demonstrated. By the age of 50, he has felt that he can actually play the role of helping the public and that this role is more in line with himself. But it wasn't long before the news that Yan Shunkai was going to play Jigong appeared in the newspaper, and Benchang You was beaten. The lady said, it seems that you are really unlucky. "Indeed, I always feel that I am not lucky enough. The success factors of actors are genius, diligence and opportunity. I have the ability, but the opportunity is not necessarily looking for you. " Just when Benchang You wanted to give up, when he was performing in Dalian, his family suddenly called and said that someone had come to ask him to play Jigong. "Hearing this news, my mood is very complicated. On the one hand, of course, I was happy, but considering that I had asked Yan Shunkai to play together before, I didn't agree immediately. I have a rule that I never compete with others for roles, which has been the case since high school. The rest of the roles are always chosen by others, and finally I will play them. I have given great support to this theater. On the one hand, I think I should play a decent role in these 30 years. Moreover, the other party came to the door, and Yan Shunkai was not a production unit, so I finally took the role. "

2.79 "Little people" achieve "big actors"

"In fact, Jigong is already my 80th role." Benchang You's introduction is quite surprising.

He told reporters that he is a drama actor. From 1956 to 1997, he has been working in the Central Experimental Theatre, which was later the National Theatre. Most of the roles he played before playing Jigong were villains and walk-on roles. Drama is a collective art, and it is impossible to highlight individuals. In 1950s and 1970s, Benchang You also did a lot of tutoring, education, radio and television work in his spare time, providing artistic guidance for factories, schools and amateur literary and art units, participating in the establishment of Galaxy Art Troupe in 1962, and also participating in the production of the first children's TV series in China. Benchang You recalled that he had only played the leading role once before, that is, the servant in One Servant and Two Masters. With this role, he won the first performance award awarded by 1980 Ministry of Culture, and this year's centenary celebration also reproduces the fragments at that time.

When talking about whether Jigong is difficult to play, Benchang You said that no role is easy to play, including a walk-on. There are no small roles, only small actors. Any character is a living person, and he has been praised many times when he was a walk-on. In the drama Thunderstorm, Benchang You once played a servant who followed a lady from one end of the stage to the other without lines or even a name. "Nevertheless, I worked as hard as the protagonist, and finally I was praised by experts from the former Soviet Union, because it was this servant's performance that revealed the significance of the whole play." You Lao told reporters with emotion that he had handled more than 70 small roles before, and it was with these relaxed performances that the role of Jigong was played later. "During the filming of" Ji Gong ",I have been holding a biography of laurence olivier, and I will look at it later. A lot of things in the play are added by themselves and integrated into their own understanding. Although Jigong is an eccentric figure, he must make a rule that must be accepted by the Buddhist community and liked by the masses. In addition, it is a comedy, so he tried to make the role of Jigong cute, joined the scene of playing with children, and used many pantomime means. Fortunately, the cooperation with the director was very pleasant, and many personal modifications were realized. In order to make Jigong more lovely, he used his imagination and borrowed Chaplin's performance means. It is with the enrichment of other art categories that the play has achieved good results. "

You Lao also told reporters that he also has a close relationship with Shenzhen. After the broadcast of Jigong in the 1980s, it aroused strong repercussions in Shenzhen. Shenzhen TV station specially invited you Lao to perform in Shenzhen. After the play was broadcast on Shenzhen TV station, not only Shenzhen people loved to watch it, but also Hong Kong people came to watch it. "I am honored for the mainland."

3. "Going to the sea" for artistic ideals has been frustrated repeatedly.

You Lao told reporters that in fact, as early as the first film "Jigong", he had the idea of making a sequel to "Jigong". However, because the national policy at that time did not allow individuals to shoot TV dramas, they never did. 1994, Benchang Culture and Art Communication Center was formally established. He said that he started the company to better realize his artistic pursuit. "Of course, achieving it is a very painful process. I feel that I am idealistic in art. At present, the art field is full of many non-artistic things. " You Lao thought that the artistic environment at that time was relatively simple. When I made the movie "Jigong", my salary was only 120 yuan per episode, and I took the initiative to do a lot of extra things. Unlike now, no matter how small a star is, he goes out with an assistant. "I have done a lot of things that are common for actors, but now I am a model." Speaking of which, you Lao seems very helpless.

You Lao said that his company is not a commercial company, but mainly promotes truth, goodness and beauty. However, how such a company survives has become a concern of many fans. 1995, I made 20 episodes of Ji Gong's Travels, earned some money, and made 52 episodes of pantomime Mr. You Laughed. But unexpectedly, the market was not ideal, and I lost a lot. I have to accept the fact that mime, an art form that needs to be quietly appreciated, is out of date in the face of impetuous background. " After that, he invested a million dollars to shoot the TV series "Leaving Fan" with the theme of promoting virtue to goodness, and only promoting virtue without seeking economic returns. In order to let more viewers get infected from the works, You Lao even suggested that the first broadcast TV station can enjoy the treatment of buying a film for one yuan, but some big TV stations did not buy it, so it has only been broadcast on some local TV stations so far. You Lao seems to be very relieved about this matter: "Maybe I don't understand the rules of the game, but it doesn't matter. This play can still be broadcast ten or twenty years later, just like Ji Gong's Travels, which has been filmed for many years, is still on. Mozart didn't know he would have such a high reputation. Van Gogh didn't see tens of millions of his paintings when he was alive, so he wouldn't compromise as long as he thought it was right. I will not play some dirty comedies before I die. " He told reporters that he would not feel lonely because he insisted on his artistic pursuit, because everyone has his own interests.

"People think that I have faded out of this circle in the past 20 years. In fact, I have never stopped performing pantomime and sketches. " Over the years, Benchang You made a lot of efforts for China pantomime, a foreign drama from the West, and tried to realize the transition from Peking Opera to pantomime. Recently directed the five-minute pantomime "Sanchakou", combined with Peking Opera, which will be broadcast in four international art parks of CCTV. The artistic language of pantomime is universal internationally, and there is no language barrier, which can push our traditional art to the whole world.

Benchang You's career has the full support of his family. Her wife has been running daily affairs behind her back, and her daughter is also a screenwriter in the company. "I am not a Puritan, and life is still very interesting. I often go to the theatre and visit the park as a family. As the saying goes, whenever the company is in trouble, it will always turn Gankun around in time. Fortunately, it has never encountered an economic crisis. "

4.75-year-old, rereading Jigong, challenging the classics.

Speaking of the upcoming new edition of Jigong, You Lao expressed full confidence in the play, and his artistic pursuit will not be divorced from the market. The remake of Jigong is due to market considerations. In the past, when the company publicized, it would hang a poster of Jigong, and people often asked if it was a sequel stills, including TV stations in Southeast Asia. Twenty years later, the audience's enthusiasm for Jigong is still very high, so there are plans to make a sequel.

Since the old edition of Jigong used a lot of artistic means, is it difficult for the new edition to reach the previous height? Benchang You said that there is no end to art, and artists' imagination will not be exhausted. He will tell 30 new stories in a way that will benefit the public. In fact, I organized a script creation on 200 1, but after I got it, I found it unsatisfactory and stopped. Last year, I created the story outline of 10 episode, but it was still unsatisfactory and was rejected. The newly completed script has been basically satisfied, and the requirements of the new version will be higher. The first audience of that year has grown up and can no longer be impressed by children's interests. Therefore, more philosophical content has been added, which still has comedy characteristics, and every effort has been made to make the audience laugh. The new version of the story is set in the Southern Song Dynasty, showing the 60-year-old life of Ji Gong, who still maintains the image of madness and rags in the past. If you want to play Jigong well, you have to have love in your heart, so that you can sublimate it into his selfless love, which I believe the audience can still accept. However, we can't aim at comedy and comedy, which will easily lead us astray.

It's touching to go out again at the age of 75, but filming is very hard. Can you survive your old age? He revealed that he regularly swims and exercises, and also demonstrated to reporters the "moves" of the "swimming fitness method" he invented, that is, rubbing his hands all over his body to make all joints move again. "The human body is like a machine. When you get old, you will get sick. This is actually a very simple truth. " The reporter saw that you Lao was hale and hearty and played the 60-year-old Jigong at the age of 75.

It was Jigong who changed my view on art.

Benchang You told reporters that when 1987 "Jigong" was broadcast in Singapore, it not only caused strong repercussions in China, but also set a local viewing record, with more than 1 10,000 people watching it. Benchang You was once called "million tourists" by local people. He was also invited to visit Singapore. An old overseas Chinese found him and said excitedly, "Thank you very much." He told Benchang You that because the next generation almost forgot the traditional culture, it was only after reading Jigong that they found that there was such a good culture in the motherland, and their enthusiasm for traditional culture was suddenly awakened. Benchang You was very moved after hearing this, and his heart was also greatly shaken: "I feel very honored and feel that what I have done is very meaningful. Since then, I have changed my view of art and world outlook, thinking that art is more about teaching people to be good, and my pursuit of life has changed since then. After that, I stopped taking roles casually and never took meaningless comedies. Now I am not moved by the right or wrong of the entertainment circle, because moving the audience is the core. These are all changes brought about by the role of Jigong. It was not that I approached Jigong, but that Jigong changed me and transformed me.