The TV series “Hunting Ice”, with Gao Qunshu as chief director and Wan Peng as director, starring Zhang Songwen and Yao Anna, has continued to gain popularity after being aired last week, but controversy continues. Among them, the focus of the topic is the immature acting of Yao Anna, the daughter of Huawei President Ren Zhengfei, in the play.
For this reason, some people accused Gao Qunshu, and some people insinuated Yao Anna… When the popularity of the broadcast platform gradually increased, Gao Qunshu came forward to “cry out injustice”: “”Hunting Ice” is indeed low-cost, just to make a simple drama. It has been the most money-hungry drama in the past few years, and I have been worried about money every day. Now I still have to be scolded as being kidnapped by capital, how unfair!”
Fundamentals: Based on a true drug lord story
“Ice Hunting” uses a two-line cross-narrative method to tell a “cat-and-mouse game”. One line is that “Rat” is committing crimes and fleeing: Huang Zongwei (played by Zhang Songwen) believes in the twisted values of “changing the world with chemistry”, manufactures new drugs, and weaves a global drug trafficking network. The police quickly identified the target and decided to arrest Huang Zongwei. Unexpectedly, he could always predict the police’s plans and use tricks to change his identity and avoid capture. The other line is that the “cat” is arresting: the scheming Huang Zongwei inspires the fighting spirit of Zhao Younan (Yao Anna), a policewoman who has just returned from the army. After several “defeats”, she and her colleagues in the police force learn their lessons and Vow to catch Huang Chongwei.
It is worth mentioning that Huang Zongwei’s prototype is Liu Zhaohua, a drug lord who once shocked the country. Liu Zhaohua, born in 1965, liked mathematics, physics and chemistry in middle school and showed extraordinary talent in the field of chemistry. However, he was unable to persist in his studies due to family difficulties. In 1996, Liu Zhaohua’s first methamphetamine factory started construction. In the next three years, he produced dozens of tons of methamphetamine. Liu Zhaohua was arrested by the public security organs in 2005 and executed in Guangzhou in 2009.
A few years ago, Guo Guosong, who has served as a senior reporter at Southern Weekend and executive editor of the daily rule of law daily “Legal Weekly”, gave Gao Qunshu the first draft of the script based on Liu Zhaohua’s story. Since the script lacked a key police line, Gao Qunshu asked young director Gao Han to supplement the script. Gao Qunshu said: “We agreed to write about a young female police officer who is reckless, careless, has no experience in handling cases, has been trained in reconnaissance, and has the spirit of perseverance and bravery to go to the end of the world, as well as the police group headed by her. . After the script came out, I felt it was very smooth and I read it in one sitting.” But when the investors gave the script to the platform for review, the other party’s feedback was “it’s not good enough and must be improved.” Therefore, Gao Qunshu decided to make a low-cost account drama that does not require big names to star. In October 2022, the show will start filming.
In 2023, the novel “Hunting Ice” written by Guo Guosong will be published. The novel tells the story of the Chinese version of “Breaking Bad”: Liu Daxiao developed a high-purity chemically synthesized methamphetamine, and the police’s anti-drug work faced severe challenges. The Ministry of Public Security issued a Class A wanted order, and the police launched an operation codenamed “Hunting Ice”. They launched a six-year hunt for the criminal gang headed by Liu Daxiao. After many close-quarters battles, they destroyed this extremely dangerous drug crime. group.
Popularity: Zhang Songwen, Yao Anna traffic blessing
After the launch of “Hunting Ice”, the popularity of the broadcast platform Tencent Video has been rising – on February 21, the popularity of the show was 20,000, and by February 23, the popularity had reached 29,000. As a police drama and a crime-related drama, “Ice Hunt” has a traditional story structure and plot progression. Why can it attract the audience to “get involved” in a short period of time? There is no doubt that it is three people.
The first person is Gao Qunshu. He is famous throughout the country for directing films such as “Tokyo Trial”, “The Wind”, “Western Wind” and “Hunter Chang”. He is also a well-known director of police and criminal dramas. In his early years, his works such as “China’s Major Cases”, “Thirteen Murder Cases” and “Police Heroes” established his documentary shooting style. In 2003, “Conquest” directed by Gao Qunshu and starring Shi Zhaoqi, Sun Honglei, Jiang Shan, and Liu Weiwei became the “ceiling” of Chinese police dramas. The Douban score still maintains a high score of 9.1. There is no doubt that Gao Qunshu’s appointment as chief director has made the audience full of expectations for the quality of “Hunting Ice”.
The second person is Zhang Songwen. Tencent Video conducted a survey in the middle of the show. Currently, more than 80% of the audience believe that Zhang Songwen’s acting skills are “god-like”. “Come for Zhang Songwen” has also become an important reason for many people to watch the show. Zhang Songwen has been familiar to people in the industry for movies such as “A Cloud Made of Rain in the Wind” and “Summer in Xi Xiaohe”. In recent years, he has achieved a career breakthrough after deeply participating in TV series. He first showed off his acting skills with the role of Zhu Yongping in the hit drama “The Hidden Corner”, and then made the national audience remember the “gangster” Gao Qiqiang in last year’s hit drama “Hurry”. “Involved in gangs” and then “involved in drugs”, many viewers are looking forward to Zhang Songwen’s superb acting skills.
The third person is Yao Anna. She debuted in 2021, and has since participated in variety shows such as “Chinese Restaurant” and “Longing for Life”, released personal singles, and also participated in movies and TV series. In 2022, the short film “A Cliff Rises from the Sea” starring Anna Yao won the Palme d’Or for Short Film at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival. “Hunting Ice” is the first TV series starring Yao Anna, known as “Huawei’s Second Princess” by netizens. How did she perform? Many viewers picked up magnifying glasses.
Question: Anna Yao was ridiculed for her immature acting skills
After “Hunting Ice” was aired, the acting skills of the two protagonists became the focus of discussion among netizens. After “Hurry”, Zhang Songwen once again performed the complex humanity of the villain, showing a textbook-level character portrayal ability. At certain moments in the play, Huang Zongwei showed the same state as Gao Qiqiang – calm on the surface, but vicious and cruel on the inside. For example, Huang Zongwei is full of warmth when getting along with his wife, children, and subordinates, and even once made the audience think that he is a good man with affection and righteousness. But under his warm appearance, Huang Zongwei has revealed his greedy, ferocious and ambitious side from time to time. One moment he wants to give severance red envelopes to employees who stole drugs, and the next second he shows a fierce look and sends people to silence the employees. Zhang Songwen also designed some small details for the character. For example, after escaping from the police, he would make a “snap his fingers” action to show victory.
Many viewers also caught the small details designed by Anna Yao for the character Zhao Younan. For example, she would walk with a figure-eight step to show her strength. It is a pity that when Anna Yao interpreted the image of this policewoman with a keen sense of detection and a courageous fight, she did not consistently stick to the character’s line of action. She faced her sister being bullied by her brother-in-law, herself being educated by the leader, and performing arrest tasks. During the plot, the firmness conveyed by the character’s eyes can easily lose focus in an instant, and the aura weakens accordingly. Some viewers complained that Yao Anna’s lines were poor and “a bit off-kilter.” It is worth mentioning that perhaps the creator realized that Yao Anna’s ability to mobilize her facial features in acting needs to be improved, so she rarely gave her close-ups when selecting scenes. In contrast, Zhang Songwen had many close-ups in the play to show the inner activities of the character. .
After watching Anna Yao’s performance, many people gave “Hunting Ice” “one star” on Douban. Of course, some netizens think that “the newcomer needs to be given time” and “she has already worked very hard.”
In addition, the overall quality of “Ice Hunter” has also been criticized. The documentary lens language was unacceptable to many viewers, and “the picture quality and filters were like a French popularization column drama.” After watching the chaotic police and robber chase scene in the premiere episode, some viewers immediately expressed that they could not stand the slow narrative pace, poor service delivery, and rough sound effects.
Response: Gao Qunshu values Yao Anna as “a blank piece of paper”
In the face of doubts on the Internet, Gao Qunshu shared the process of choosing Yao Anna to act: “One day, a kid in the studio brought me a photo and said that this person is quite suitable to play the role of a policewoman. This person is Yao Anna, but I don’t I knew who she was and where she came from. The child said she was the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, a Harvard graduate, and could sing. I asked if she had ever acted, and the child said no. I was immediately interested. I like to use Fei, who has not received any acting training. Professional actor.” So Gao Qunshu met Yao Anna. He recalled: “Yao Anna is very simple, without any trace of performance training, and her image and temperament are very similar to that of a fledgling female police officer. Especially since she has not had plastic surgery. That’s it. It’s that simple.” Regarding Yao Anna’s performance, Gao Qunshu affirmed her efforts: “I specially hired a coach to train Yao Anna. When she was filming the scene of arresting a drug dealer, the professional male stuntman did not run past her, and she completed all the actions by herself.”
Gao Qunshu also cited examples and said that this was not the first time that he acted with a “blank sheet of paper”: “In 1995, I used Shanxi farmers to film a two-episode TV series “The Golden Pea”, which won the second prize of the Feitian Award. For the first time, I was recognized by the industry as qualified to be a director. In 2007, I filmed “Gattaca”, starring Ma Guowei, the deputy director of a police station outside Daowai, Harbin. He won the Best Actor at the Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2012, I filmed “Detective” “Hunter Zhang”, all the starring actors are my friends who usually drink with me, and professional actors Qi Xi and Wang Ou just played passers-by. The film won the Golden Horse Award for Best Picture.”
In addition, in response to the audience’s “accusation” that the production of the show was rough, Gao Qunshu gave the reason – insufficient funds. He admitted frankly that the investment in “Hunting Ice” was less than 40 million yuan, and the crew was extremely economical: “I stayed in a hotel that cost 100 yuan a day, and I also owned my own car. None of the actors in the whole crew had an RV. The crew lived in dozens of Yuan Yitian’s hotel. A table of props and dishes. The script is about a luxurious meal hosted by a Southeast Asian drug lord to entertain distinguished guests. The props are cheap seafood bought from the seaside market in Hainan. Huang Zongwei returned to his hometown to entertain the folks for a banquet, two nights away from the city. We filmed in an ancient village that was more than an hour’s drive away. After the last scene was finished, the food didn’t arrive, so we had to shoot without the food. There were only two real guns. There was always only Cordon Bleu for beer, not implants. There were only a few bottles of foreign wine.” He also admitted that because of the low budget, “the photography, art, styling, and all the main creatives are newcomers who have never filmed a major film.”
Gao Qunshu said that the filming time of “Hunting Ice” was 55 days. Due to tight time and tight funds, it caused many regrets: “If the police scenes could be written better, if there could be more time to polish the new actors (no An actor cannot be trained, it takes time and more methods)… All regrets and responsibilities are mine.” He also emphasized: “For so many years, I have resisted capital control, so everything I do is low-key. A low-budget film. I have never filmed a “expensive” film so far. But it is the first time in more than 20 years that the cost of “Ice Hunting” is so low.
Text | Reporter Gong Weifeng
Picture | Stills
Editor: Zhan Xiwei
