During the National Day, My People,My Country, The Climbers and The Captain’s three main melody films "Three Pillars" set off the box office of the National Day file. Among them, The Climbers, based on the real events, focused on "Mountaineering", an uncommon movie theme in China, especially introducing attention.
Both time points in The Climbers have real history to rely on. In 1960, three members of the China mountaineering team, Kampot, Wang Fuzhou and Qu Yinhua, completed the feat of climbing Mount Everest from the northern slope for the first time in the world, but they have not been recognized internationally because they did not leave any video materials. In 1975, the China mountaineering team attacked Mount Everest again, and a total of nine people successfully reached the summit, including a female member, Pando.

The Climbers
These two sections of mountaineering history flash back and forth alternately, which constitutes an exciting story in The Climbers. In addition to a strong star cast, The Climbers also invited Mao Dun literature prize winner and Tibetan writer Alai as a screenwriter. On the occasion of the film’s release, his literary play The Climbers was also published by People’s Literature Publishing House.
"I have always been concerned about this history." Due to the tight shooting cycle, the time left for script creation is very limited. After receiving the invitation to write, it took Alai only two weeks to complete the first draft, which is called "rapid speed". Alai admits that the speed behind it stems from his long-term accumulation. He loves mountaineering himself, and he has long known the deeds of his predecessors. He even found opportunities to meet many climbers of that year. Loy shook hands with them and often held out his hand, only to find that the other party’s sleeves were empty.
These stories that Loy has listened to for many years, as well as the accumulated real and sensible details and feelings, have become the context and material in The Climbers. "Many details in the book are true and can’t be made up. Moreover, I think that for the heroic deeds of these ordinary people, making things up is also an offense to them. "
On September 29th, a reporter from The Paper interviewed Alai. Although the film has been released, he admitted that he planned to go into the cinema again in a while. The film finally released is not the same as the literary script written by Alai. Alai said that publishing his own script is to "keep a script that can fully show his personality". "You can also compare the film with the original script, which is very interesting."

Alai data map. Source: @ Alai
[Dialogue]
Two weeks to finish the script.
The PaperIt took less than two weeks to write the script, which can be said to be done in one go. Why is it so fast?
AlaiThis time last year, I had just finished writing A Story in the Clouds, when Ren Zhonglun, the chairman of Shanghai Film Group, suddenly came to me and said that he would shoot the play The Climbers and wanted me to write a script. At that time, the film had been confirmed to be released during the eleventh period of this year, and the time was very short, only one year from writing the script to filming. The total time left for me to write the script is only a little more than a month, because there are too many ice and snow scenes in the movie, which can only be filmed in winter. At that time, I was about to start shooting, and it will be turned on in mid-November.
After the script was written, I revised it later, but I really spent a lot of energy writing in those two weeks, even taking it abroad.
The Paper: I refused to be a screenwriter even for my own novels and TV dramas before. Why did you agree this time? And it is to create a brand-new script.
Alai: if you adapt your own things, the story has been told before, and if you tell it again, you will lose interest. It is purely a code word for money. I still hope to write a new story. The Climbers just wrote it in the form of a script. Writing a new story has attracted me, and I can find something worth exploring in the story. But if I write a novel and then change it into a script, I’ll probably let someone else change it.
On the one hand, I like mountains better, and I am familiar with mountaineering techniques. Mountaineering is a highly technical matter. I have specialized knowledge on how to untie ropes and how to use tools. Although I am not as high as climbing Mount Everest, I still have mountaineering experience and professional knowledge.
The PaperWhen I read the script, I noticed that you described a lot of very detailed and professional things about mountaineering. At that time, I was also curious whether you had done a lot of homework in advance or whether you climbed the mountain yourself.
AlaiAs a person who often walks on the mountain, these details are still clear, otherwise you can’t get up and down.
The PaperWhat is the highest mountain you have climbed yourself?
AlaiEveryone climbs mountains for different purposes. Some people just want to set a record for climbing mountains, and we are in the mountains for a wider investigation. I usually don’t climb more than 6000 meters, because beyond 5000 meters, there is generally no trace of life on the mountain. I myself hope to observe animals and plants in the life world. Everyone who enters the mountain has a different purpose and pursuit. I mainly observe the tenacious animal and plant life at high altitude, not to refresh the mountaineering record. Sometimes a mountain of five or six kilometers climbs up, but I didn’t deliberately go to the top.

The Climbers stills
Always pay attention to the history of China climbing Mount Everest.
The Paper: I started writing as soon as I received the script writing task, didn’t I?
AlaiI happen to love mountaineering myself. I have been familiar with the deeds of senior mountaineers before, and I have been in contact with many of them. For example, in the four-person group that hit the peak in 1960, three people succeeded in climbing to the top, one almost went up, and I have been in contact with all four people. After the last interview with them, I left three in less than a year. Later, those climbers saw more. I not only knew how they climbed mountains, but also their personalities and experiences. Everyone was different, and I knew something about them. Without these usual accumulations, it is impossible to suppress these things at once.
The Paper: In the process of contacting and interviewing these people, did you write any real details and stories that were particularly impressive into the script?
AlaiThose vivid details can’t be made up. For example, the book says that after Li Guoliang died, his lover later climbed Mount Everest and took his ashes to the top of the mountain. This is the story I learned later when I interviewed a female mountaineer in Tibet, although it didn’t happen when I climbed Mount Everest in 1975. The Tibetan mountaineering team later successfully climbed all 14 peaks higher than 8000 meters, including a couple whose husband died while climbing one of them. Later, when the female mountaineer climbed the mountain where her husband lost his life and failed to reach the top, she took her husband’s ashes to the top to help him fulfill his wish, and left some ashes at the top.
Many details in the book are true, which can’t be made up. Moreover, I think that making up stories about the heroic deeds of these ordinary people is also an offence to them.
The PaperThere are many real people involved in the script. For example, Xia Boyu lost his legs in the process of climbing Mount Everest that year. In May last year, at the age of 69, he became the first person to climb Mount Everest without legs. At the end of the script, the character "Xia Boyang" you wrote also climbed Mount Everest many years later.
AlaiYes, I named this character Xia Boyang because Xia Boyang was a war hero of the Soviet Union. At that time, many people admired him very much. Later, the name was changed in the play, which is actually a name with a strong flavor of the times (note: Yang Guang played by Hugh).
I met Lao Xia during my writing, and he successfully climbed to the top through commercial mountaineering. I also wrote this passage at the end of the script, which is not the same as the national mission of that year, but commercial mountaineering is indeed a way to let those who failed to climb to the top have the opportunity to attack Mount Everest now.

The Climbers stills
The PaperWhen did you begin to pay attention to the history of mountaineering?
Alai: I always pay attention. Now some people need to write to collect information temporarily. I think we should learn more about the world and not be so utilitarian. Now that everyone is concerned about entertainment gossip, I think it is better to know more about these things.
I have known a lot about climbers before, and I have met many people. They all paid a lot for climbing Mount Everest. I shook hands with the people who climbed Mount Everest that year and often reached out to find that (the sleeves of the other party) were empty. It’s been five or six years since I found me in this script, when I finally met those climbers and said goodbye. At that time, I went to know their stories, not because I wanted to write something, but because I was interested.
We should not forget those who failed to reach the summit.
The PaperIs this script published now the original version?
AlaiThis is the second draft. Why did I come up with this book? Because I know that the drama party will definitely have to make changes after getting the script and making it into a movie. I want to keep the original appearance of a script and a script that can show my personality more fully. You can also compare the movie with the original script, which is very interesting.
The PaperWhen reading the script, I was deeply impressed that you spent a lot of ink to write about those who failed to climb Mount Everest for various reasons. Zhao Junzhao was scalded, and some players were frostbitten because their socks were not dried. Xia Boyang was frostbitten because he gave his sleeping bag to others. To the last real summit success, there were only a few simple strokes. Why focus on these people?
AlaiYes, I always adhere to a more realistic style in this script. As far as literature is concerned, the stories and fates of the victims who have made efforts but failed have more touching power.
Success is not the only thing in this world. Mountaineering itself is a team matter. Some people become heroes, and there are countless people’s sacrifices and support behind them. For example, in 1960, China successfully climbed Mount Everest for the first time, and Liu Lianman, who failed to climb it, made great contributions. He took a ladder at the steep second step to send the other three people up, exhausted his physical strength and had to stay. At such a high altitude, cold and hungry, everyone thought he was going to die. He himself felt sure that he was going to die, and the oxygen left by his teammates was useless. He wrote a note saying that he would leave the oxygen for his teammates to use when they went down the mountain, and then turned it off and died there. Later, after his teammates went down the mountain, he miraculously survived. But in the end, it was the three teammates who made it to the summit that got more applause, not to say that they shouldn’t, but we shouldn’t forget those who didn’t make it to the summit.
The PaperYou are a nature lover and always pay attention to animals and plants, but mountaineering seems to be more inclined to how people challenge nature. What do you think of the difference?
AlaiMountaineering in 1960 was different from today. It was not a simple outdoor sport, but we had to put our mark on our own territory. At that time, mountaineering had the meaning of swearing sovereignty, which was of great significance. The mountaineering in 1975 was also a large-scale scientific expedition to Mount Everest, where some scientists died.
Of course, climbing Mount Everest today is a very commercial activity. Everyone who climbs Mount Everest has money and does produce a lot of garbage. Today, we want to promote environmental protection, that is, we hope that climbers will take care of the environment and bring down the garbage brought up the mountain. It doesn’t mean that Mount Everest can’t be climbed.
Today, the motives of climbers are very complicated, but no matter what the motives are, we should remember that when we finish our legend, we can’t throw garbage on the summit and leave as before, which really imposes a burden on the Everest environment. Especially now, after global warming, a lot of garbage began to penetrate into the water source below the mountain with the melting of glaciers, which really needs attention. But I also oppose the fundamentalist attitude that Mount Everest cannot be climbed, and Mount Everest is just a symbol. (The Paper reporter Yang Baobao)
