It took several years to make this play. Because of the shortage of funds, producer and director Yang Jie scrimped and saved. Even if an actor plays several roles in the play, the remuneration of the actor is very low. Unlike hundreds of thousands and millions now. However, when filming this drama, Yang Jie once spent a lot of money to hire an actor to fly, but it only took a few minutes. However, these shots have become classics. Do you know who that actor is?
She is the old artist Malan who plays the mother of Tang Priest in the play. The whole play only lasts about three minutes. Seeing this estimate, many people say that since funds are tight and there are not many plays, why do you have to Malan?
Malan is a famous Huangmei Opera artist with high artistic attainments. For Yang Jie, who is very strict in choosing actors, Malan is the best choice for Tang Priest's mother. No one can infer the characteristics of Tang priest except her mother. Ma Lan is not only a good singer, but also won many awards with high gold content. In addition, Malan's temperament is particularly consistent with the mother of Tang Priest in the novel.
In the play, Tang Priest's mother is a real extended family lady. Later, she married her husband as she wished and should live a happy and stable life. Who would have thought that something had happened to her. In order to protect the fetus, she had to obey the murderer and died with her husband after giving birth to Tang Priest. Although there are not many characters in the play, it is not very important. It doesn't cost much to hire actors. Everyone advised Yang Jie to change an actor.
But Yang Jie decided that this role must be played by Ma Lan, and others simply couldn't interpret it well. In addition, Malan is very famous in the theater, and plays almost every day. It is impossible to take time off to go out and make a movie. But after repeated communication, Malan took a day off.
At that time, the crew was filming in Yunnan and Malan was in Anhui. In order to save time, the crew went to Anhui to see Malan at a high price. In this way, she will play the role of Tang Priest's mother. I have to say that director Yang Jie is really insightful. After the play was broadcast, it left a profound impact on the audience. Although Malan only performed 180 seconds, it became one of the classic scenes in the play.
Although many people thought that Yang Jie's action was not worth it at that time, it was not until the drama was broadcast that it was discovered that although it paid a huge price, it was a classic that could never be surpassed. It is precisely because of director Yang Jie's intention that we have the classic The Journey to the West. Accompany us from generation to generation and become an eternal classic.