Soul Snatcher

Soul Snatcher
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese赤狐書生
Simplified Chinese赤狐书生
Hanyu PinyinChì hú shūshēng
Directed by
Screenplay by
Based onChun Jiang Hua Yue Ye
by Duo Duo
Produced by
[1]
Starring
CinematographyChan Chi Ying
Edited byZhang Qi
Music byJoe Hisaishi[2]
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • December 4, 2020 (2020-12-04)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Box officeUS$19,500,000[3]

Soul Snatcher (Chinese: 赤狐书生; pinyin: Chì hú shūshēng; lit. 'Red Fox Scholar') is a 2020 Chinese costume martial arts drama fantasy film produced by Jiang Zhiqiang starring Li Xian and Chen Linong.[4]

Plot

To achieve immortality and be promoted to spiritual immortal, magical fox spirit Bai Shisan (Li Xian) disguises himself as a young man and travels to the human world in search of a 'divine pill', or a central spiritual reservoir that entities possess, to take - killing the original holder. There he befriends the innocent and impoverished scholar Wang Zijin (Chen Linong), who is on a journey to Beijing to take the arduous imperial magistrates examination. To keep Wang safe, Bai Shisan must bond with him on the road to the examination and fend off threats from mythic creatures and evil spirits who run rampant along their journey. Along the way Bai Shisan comes to realize Wang's divine pill is the key to Bai Shisan's transcendence. What choice will Bai Shishan make once he realizes that in order to achieve immortality he would have to kill his best friend?

Cast

Starring

Co-Starring

Guest Starring

Special appearance

Production

Two months before the start-up, Chen Linong, and Li Xian entered the group ahead of schedule, performing an average of 6 hours of performance and movement training every day as seen on the soundtrack's MV, Glorious Future sung by the two male lead. The crew also organized script readings many times to further improve the script and character details.[5] In January, the director decided to change the title from Spring River Flower Moon Night (Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye) into Red Fox Scholar and announced that they would set a schedule for the 2020 summer. However, because the special effects of the movie have not been completed, and the trailer cannot be cut out for the time being, the two portraits of Chen Linong and Li Xian acted as stage dramas, and they creatively performed a version of the "concept trailer".[6] In addition to the trailer, "Red Fox Scholar" also released a concept poster designed by artist Huang Hai. Chen Linong and Li Xian lay on the river facing the wind, and a little star reflected from the sky reflected on the river, forming a huge fox.[7] Due to the many private questions on Weibo, the author makes an explanation that the two male led isn't involved on love story but just friend and the genre is a fantasy drama.[8]

Marketing

Prior to the production announcement, Chen Linong and Li Xian appeared on Elle Cover. The two male lead released soundtrack of Red Fox Scholar, titled Glorious Future (Qian Cheng Si jin) peak at 8 on Billboard China Social Chart[9]

On August 30, 2019, the film crew released the MV for the final song "A Bright Future" sung by the two leading actors.[10]

On January 17, 2020, the film crew announced that it would be scheduled for the 2020 summer vacation and released a scheduled poster designed by artist Huang Hai.[11] On August 11, the film released a poster, revealing the starring roles of Chen Linong and Li Xian, and announced that it is tentatively scheduled to be released in November 2020.[12] On October 13, the film announced that it would be released on December 4, 2020, and released a scheduled trailer.[13] On October 28, the film released a MV for "What's the Fox Calling", in which Huang Ling, Li Sidani, and Zhang Hanyun, the sisters of Chengfengpaolang, formed a group to sing.[14] On November 2, the film crew released a new trailer.[15] On November 6, the film crew released an IMAX exclusive poster.On November 11, the film released the trailer of "Group of Demons".On November 18, the film crew released a special episode of Wang Yaoqing.[16]

Release

In China, Soul Snatcher was originally planned to open in August 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release was first postponed to November, and eventually released on December 4.

Behind- the-scenes look

  • The original name of the movie was "Spring River with Flowers and Moonlight Night《春江花月夜》". Jiang Zhiqiang thought that the name was too aesthetic and the audience could not know the content of the movie from the name, so it was renamed "Soul Snatcher".[17]
  • When Chen Linong and Li Xian were filming an emotional scene in a heavy rainstorm, the two of them were soaked to the skin. They were exhausted and filmed until dawn in one breath.[18]
  • Starting two months before the filming of the film, Chen Linong trained for "Red Fox Scholar" for 6–8 hours a day as required; at the same time, he never missed every script reading.[19]

Reception

Soul Snatcher earned $19,500,000 at the Chinese box office.[3]

References

  1. ^ Shackleton2020-06-15T09:39:00+01:00, Liz. "Cannes virtual market: hot titles from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan". Screen. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020. Currently in post-production, this big-budget CGI fantasy is produced by Bill Kong{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "中国映画『赤狐書生（SOUL SNATCHER）』音楽担当". Joe Hisaishi Official Site (in Japanese). 2020-12-04. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  3. ^ a b "Soul Snatcher Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Chen Linong Li Xian starring in the movie "Red Fox Scholar" released in the summer vacation, produced by Jiang Zhiqiang". People's Daily (in Chinese). January 18, 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  5. ^ Entertainment, Neteast (August 30, 2019). "《春江花月夜》发布杀青曲MV 陈立农李现献唱". ent.163.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Meilin, Xu (January 17, 2020). "Chen Linong Li Xian starring in the movie "Red Fox Scholar" released in the summer vacation, produced by Jiang Zhiqiang". Beijing News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Zewang, Ma. "Chen Linong, Li Xian, one man and one demon, performing "Red Fox Scholar"" 陈立农李现一人一妖，演绎《赤狐书生》 (in Chinese). No. January 19, 2019. Information Times. pp. A6. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Weili, Zhong (March 22, 2020). "Li Xian and Chen Linong starring in "Spring River Flower Moon Night" refused to admit that it was a delaying drama". Peninsula Network (in Chinese). Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  9. ^ Billboard. "Billboard China Social Chart The week of September 21, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  10. ^ Ben, Paoguaiwu (2019-08-30). "前程似锦音乐李现_头条" [A Bright Future-Li Xian, Chen Linong]. www.toutiao.com. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  11. ^ "＂赤狐书生＂定档2020年暑假 陈立农李现＂被迫营业＂" ["Soul Snatcher" is scheduled for the summer vacation of 2020, Chen Linong and Li Xian are "forced to open for business"]. www.163.com. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  12. ^ Xu, Meilin (2020-08-11). "电影《赤狐书生》11月上映，陈立农、李现造型曝光" [The movie "Soul Snatcher" will be released in November, and the looks of Chen Linong and Li Xian are revealed]. www.bjnews.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  13. ^ Huang, Jialing (2020-10-13). "《赤狐书生》发定档预告，12月4日上映" ["Soul Snatcher" released trailer, to be released on December 4.]. www.bjnews.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  14. ^ "浪姐献唱《赤狐书生》 黄龄李斯丹妮张含韵唱跳《狐狸怎么叫》" [Sister Lang sang "soul snatcher" Huang Ling, Li Sidani and Zhang Hanyun sang and danced "How to Call the Fox"]. ent.ifeng.com (in Chinese). 2020-10-28. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  15. ^ C, C (2020-11-02). "《赤狐书生》联动《捉妖记》 胡巴变身宣传大使_华语_电影网_1905.com" ["soul santcher" collaborates with "Monster Hunt" Huba turns into publicity ambassador]. www.1905.com. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  16. ^ "《赤狐书生》曝王耀庆特辑 总裁专业户变"穷鬼"_华语_电影网_1905.com" ["soul snatcher" reveals Wang Yaoqing's special episode: CEO's professional household turned into a "poor guy"]. www.1905.com. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  17. ^ "《春江花月夜》更名视频公开 陈立农李现捧场互赞_华语_电影网_1905.com" ["Spring River Flower Moonlight Night" rename video released, Chen Linong and Li Xian cheered each other]. www.1905.com. 2020-01-16. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  18. ^ "《赤狐书生》曝友情特辑 李现陈立农片场欢乐尬舞_华语_电影网_1905.com". www.1905.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  19. ^ Xiao, Shangshang (2020-12-09). "陈立农：偶像不等于花瓶 我不介意粉丝"爬墙"_华语_电影网_1905.com" [Chen Linong: Idols are not equal to vases]. m.1905.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-20.