Blossoms Shanghai
Promotional poster
Traditional Chinese繁花
Simplified Chinese繁花
GenrePeriod drama
Romance
Based onBlossoms
by Jin Yucheng
Written byQin Wen
Directed byWong Kar-wai
Starring
Country of originChina
Original languagesMandarin
Shanghainese
No. of episodes30
Production
ProducerWong Kar-wai
Production locationChina
Production companyJet Tone Production
Original release
NetworkCCTV-8/Tencent Video
ReleaseDecember 27, 2023 (2023-12-27)

Blossoms Shanghai (Chinese: 繁花; pinyin: Fán Huā), also "Blossoms," is a Chinese television series directed and produced by Wong Kar-wai. It is adapted from the novel Blossoms written by Jin Yucheng.[1] The series is set in Shanghai in the 1990s and stars Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tiffany Tang, and Xin Zhilei. It is the first television series directed by Wong and the third in the trilogy following In the Mood for Love and 2046.[2] The series started airing on CCTV-8 and Tencent Video on Dec 27, 2023.[3]

Overview

Shanghai in the 1990s was full of opportunities and hope. Young A Bao (Hu Ge) relies on the spring breeze of the economic reform and his own hard work to become a rising star in the business world, and everyone knows it on Huanghe Road.[4] The transformation of ordinary A Bao into Mr. Bao is inseparable from the help of Uncle Ye, Ling Zi, the owner of Night Tokyo, and Miss Wang of the foreign trade building.[1] But a newly opened fashionable restaurant has thrown his originally successful career into turmoil, and his relationship with the people around him has also undergone unprecedented tests.[4] At the same time, Mr. Qiang, the boss of the Shenzhen stock market, can give A Bao a fatal blow at any time. Only by moving forward and crossing mountains with a pure heart can A Bao rush to the place full of flowers.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

In March 2019, Wong Kar-wai revealed his plan on adapting the novel Blossoms at the Spring tea party of Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild. This work would be the third of his trilogy, following In the Mood for Love and 2046. At the tea party, he also said this work had been prepared for 4 years and its script would be completed soon. In addition, he indicated that the cast crew must speak Shanghainese.[5] In October 2019, Han Zhijie, the vice president of Tencent Video, announced that the preparations for Blossoms Shanghai have been completed and filming will start in next spring.[6]

In March 2020, Wong Kar-Wai arrived in Shanghai to prepare for both TV series and film versions of Blossoms Shanghai.[7] On August 2, 2020, the series was officially announced at the 2020 Tencent Video annual conference, starring Hu Ge.[8] On August 5, 2020, in order to recreate the period setting, the series published a notice in the Shanghai newspaper Xinmin Evening News asking for old items from citizens related to 1990s' Shanghai. As demonstrations, Hu Ge, Jin Yucheng, and Wong Kar-Wai shared their old sewing machine, wedding dress, and Shaoxing wine respectively.[9]

Casting

On August 2, 2020, the series announced the male lead Hu Ge at the 2020 Tencent Video annual conference.[8] On November 3, 2022, the series revealed three female leads, Ma Yili, Tiffany Tang, and Xin Zhilei at the Zhejiang TV Fall investment conference.[10] On November 3, 2022, the series announced more cast crews, including You Benchang, Zheng Kai, Jonny Chen, Dong Yong, Huang Jue, Yang Haoyu, and Chloe Maayan.[11]

Filming

The filming officially began in Shanghai on September 10, 2020.[12] The main scene "Huanghe Road" was rebuilt in 1:1 scale at Shanghai Film Park in Songjiang District, Shanghai.[13]

In October 2022, the visual director Peter Pau revealed that Wong was creating each episode of the television series in film style with 50 minutes per episode, which made the filming take over 3 years.[14] In January 2023, Wang Jianer, the secretary of the party committee and president of Shanghai Film Group, said the series will complete filming and broadcast in 2023.[15]

Marketing

On June 7, 2021, the series released its first trailer - Time is like water (Chinese: 时光如水), showing the flashing memories of Hu Ge's character A Bao.[16][17] On November 3, 2022, the series released the second trailer - Blossoms are like brocade (Chinese: 繁花似锦), that includes the debuts of three female leads and a sumptuous scene of Huanghe Road in old Shanghai.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Caviaro, Juan Luis (2021-06-07). "'Blossoms Shanghai': aquí está el primer tráiler de la serie de Wong Kar-wai que continúa la historia de 'Deseando amar' y '2046'". Espinof (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  2. ↑ "Wong Kar-wai Sets 'Blossoms Shanghai' as His First TV Series". Variety. 2020-08-02.
  3. ↑ "Pilot of Wong Kar-wai's TV directorial debut to air on Wednesday". SHINE. 2023-12-27.
  4. 1 2 "Noticias: Wong Kar-wai incursiona en el mundo de las series con "Blossoms Shanghai" - Otros Cines". www.otroscines.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  5. ↑ "王家衛：我拍戲有劇本". Macao Daily News (in Chinese). 2019-03-17.
  6. ↑ "王家卫监制剧集《繁花》，2020年春天开机". The Beijing News (in Chinese). 2019-10-30.
  7. ↑ "王家卫《繁花》月底上海开机 胡歌为角色努力减肥". 1905.com (in Chinese). 2020-08-10.
  8. 1 2 "胡歌正式官宣《繁花》，合作王家卫！腾讯视频系列新剧来了！". thehour.cn (in Chinese). Qianjiang Evening News. 2020-08-02.
  9. ↑ "剧集《繁花》在新民晚报刊登寻物启事！屋里厢个老么事，侬还有伐？". Xinmin Evening News (in Chinese). 2020-08-05.
  10. ↑ "王家卫监制《繁花》女主演阵容曝光，胡歌唐嫣再次合作". sohu (in Chinese). Tao Piao Piao. 2021-09-24. Archived from the original on 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  11. ↑ "胡歌新剧《繁花》发布预告，原著作者金宇澄亮相". The Beijing News (in Chinese). 2022-11-03.
  12. ↑ "剧版《繁花》开机，王家卫晒出胡歌定妆照". thehour.cn (in Chinese). Qianjiang Evening News. 2020-09-10.
  13. ↑ "主场景"黄河路"首次曝光！剧集《繁花》今发布"繁花似锦"预告". Shanghai Film Group (in Chinese). 2022-11-04.
  14. ↑ "《繁花》为什么拍了三年还没拍完？鲍德熹爆料：王家卫太"任性"". thehour.cn. Qianjiang Evening News. 2022-11-06.
  15. ↑ "上海影城今年焕新回归，《繁花》有望年内播映". Shanghai Observer (in Chinese). 2023-01-12.
  16. ↑ "王家卫监制剧版《繁花》曝光首款预告，胡歌版"阿宝"亮相". Mtime. 2021-06-07. Archived from the original on 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  17. ↑ Rebecca Davis. "Wong Kar-Wai's 'Blossoms' TV Series Releases Stylish First Trailer". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  18. ↑ "胡歌主演《繁花》重現九零上海風光 3位女主角霸氣登場". Yahoo News (in Chinese). 2022-11-03. Archived from the original on 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
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