Blossoms Shanghai

Blossoms Shanghai (Chinese: 繁花) is an upcoming Chinese television series directed and produced by Wong Kar-wai. It is adapted from the novel Blossoms written by Jin Yucheng. 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. The series is scheduled to complete shooting in 2023.

Overview

The story revolves around A Bao (Hu Ge). In the early 1990s, in the great era of glory, everyone was vying for the top spot. A Bao also became Boss Bao. He had his share of successes and failures, leaving a legacy behind among the youth in Shanghai.

Cast

• Hu Ge as A Bao
• Ma Yili
• Tiffany Tang
• Xin Zhilei
• You Benchang
• Zheng Kai
• Jonny Chen
• Dong Yong
• Huang Jue
• Yang Haoyu
• Chloe Maayan

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. 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.

In March 2020, Wong Kar-Wai arrived in Shanghai to prepare for both TV series and film versions of Blossoms Shanghai. On August 2, 2020, the series was officially announced at the 2020 Tencent Video annual conference, starring Hu Ge. 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.

Casting

On August 2, 2020, the series announced the male lead Hu Ge at the 2020 Tencent Video annual conference. On November 3, 2022, the series revealed three female leads, Ma Yili, Tiffany Tang, and Xin Zhilei at the Zhejiang TV Fall investment conference. 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.

Filming

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

In October 2022, the visual director Peter Pau revealed that Wong were creating each episode of TV series in film style with 50 minutes per episode, which made the filming took over 3 years. 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.

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. 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.

References

External links

• 繁花BlossomsShanghai on Sina Weibo (in Chinese)
• Blossoms Shanghai at IMDb