Arts     

Director discloses what's behind 'Mojin: The Lost Legend'

CRI, October 19, 2015

• Some of China's A-list stars, including Chen Kun and Shu Qi, have recently arrived in Beijing to promote their upcoming adventure, fantasy film 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' or Gui Chui Deng Zhi Xun Long Jue in Chinese.

  A poster of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" [Photo / Mtime.com]

  Along with them, film director Wuershan has also revealed what's behind the film, which is due for release on December 18th in China.

  Based on the popular adventure novel series in China, "Ghost Blows out the Light" or Gui Chui Deng in Chinese, 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' brings to the screen an epic 3D adventure about a trio of legendary grave robbers.

  A story on grave robbery is undoubtedly composed of plenty of professional terms.

  The film name "Mojin" is one of them. Director Wuershan, who is also the director of the record-setting Chinese movie "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" in 2012, explains:

  "Mo Jin Xiao Wei, first of all, was a government job in ancient times. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, warlord and also the chancellor Cao Cao launched the position of "Mo Jin Xiao Wei" in his military, which is mainly in charge of exploring tombs, hunting for treasures, thereby providing financial aid to the military."

  Don't just equate "Mo Jin Xiao Wei" to ordinary grave robbers after you get to know what they would do. Wuershan explains the areas "Mo Jin Xiao Wei" should excel at.

  "They should know about the geomantic omen and occult sciences. They could discover the exact location of the tomb despite complex astrology, and also command the superb skills that can't be acquired by other tomb robbers. For instance, they can find the precise location of the coffin in a grave through compass and Xun Long Jue. This process is actually commonplace in the sci-tech field."

  The above mentioned legendary grave robbers are portrayed by Chen Kun, Shu Qi and Huang Bo.

  Chen Kun acts Hu Bayi, a center role in Mojin: The Lost Legend.

  "I was wearing so many sets of costumes in the movie. Portraying a role like Hu Bayi is a valuable and exciting chance for me to go through this character's whole life."

  In the just-released trailer of the film, Hu Bayi and his other two partners have also showed off a thrilling moment as they were gliding down through a rope. According to the director, their special technique has a name for it.

  "This professional skill has a terminology called Tian'e Xia Dan (天鹅下蛋), literally translated Swan Lays An Egg. Unlike ordinary tomb raiders who may enter the tomb from entrance or passages of the grave, Mo Jin Xiao Wei, who are able to find the precise location of the key burial place, would descend vertically from the vault of the main tomb. They usually break through the vault, where they glide down to reach the center area, and this is indeed a brilliant skill."

  In addition to these extraordinary grave robbers, an agent that could make the excavated ancient treasures gain a good price in the market also plays a crucial part.

  Veteran actor Xia Yv, who became widely known for winning many awards for his first film, In the Heat of the Sun, in 1994, portrays such an agent for Mo Jin Xiao Wei.

  Xia Yv interprets his role as "Da Jin Ya", translated into "Big Gold Teeth" in English.

  "Da Jin Ya is basically responsible for trading the treasures raided by Mo Jin Xiao Wei. He is more like a flagship figure, who cares a lot about his dressing. I feel that he always dresses up decently with a variety of adornments. Actually, I had been hurt several times by the adornments in the filming process."

  Big names in the cast also include Huang Bo, and Angelababy who has caught considerable spotlight for her lavish wedding ceremony with Huang Xiaoming, one of China's leading actors at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre.

  Earlier, The Nine-Story Demon Tower or Jiu-Ceng-Yao-Ta, directed by Lu Chuan is also based on another series of the novel "Ghost Blows out the Light". The Nine-Story Demon Tower reportedly had garnered 660 million yuan in box office earnings by the 15th of October.

  Whether Lu Chuan's The Nine-Story Demon Tower or Wuershan's adaptation of the popular adventure novel is better, listeners may check out in the cinema to be the judge.

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