Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 924 Let's compete head-on

Yang Kangnian came today, naturally not for the car factory matter. After a brief explanation, he said, "Last time you said it would be best to prepare one million to shoot a scenic film of Yunhu. I discussed it with the secretary, and the funds have been secured. When will you start filming?"

Chen Fan flicked off his cigarette ash and said, "What's the rush?"

He pointed in the direction of the explosion, "There's still a lot going on here. By the time we finish here, it will probably be the end of June or the beginning of July. Then post-production will take another month. At the earliest, I estimate it will be the end of July or the beginning of August before we can finish making this movie and then put it into the scenery film."

Yang Kangnian nodded and said, "That means it'll be about a month and a half. That's fine. I'll have someone prepare things in advance. Have someone make a list of what you need, and we can start filming once you're done with your work."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan turned to look at him in surprise, "Who said the first movie would be about Yunhu?"

Yang Kangnian was stunned. "Huh? If you're not going to film Yunhu in the first movie, then where are you going to film it?"

Chen Fan said matter-of-factly, "Didn't I say before that tracing the Yangtze River from its estuary back to its source, we should definitely start filming in Shanghai first?"

Yang Kangnian immediately shook his head in opposition, "That won't do. Yunhu was the first to start preparing and the first to have the funds in place. Shanghai hasn't even done anything yet, so why should we bid on them first? That doesn't make sense."

You can't expect us to get up early and arrive late; what would that look like? How would I explain that to the millions of people in Yunhu?!

Chen Fan blinked, paused for several seconds, and then said softly, "It can't be that serious, can it?"

Yang Kangnian nodded very seriously, "It is that serious."

Chen Fan pondered for two seconds, "So, what additional conditions did the higher-ups give?"

This time, Yang Kangnian blinked repeatedly, "What extra conditions? There aren't any."

Chen Fan chuckled and looked at him, saying, "Uncle Yang, do you think I don't read the approval documents, or that I don't communicate with other people?"
"If there weren't some benefits, would you be so eager to be the first to photograph Yunhu Lake?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Kangnian couldn't help but grin dryly, "There are really no extra conditions, it's just a bit of empty fame."

Chen Fan looked at him with some curiosity and asked, "What empty reputation?"

Yang Kangnian twirled his fingers and laughed, "A message came down from the Tourism Administration, but it wasn't written in the approval document, so it can only be considered an informal notification."

After the film airs, if a city receives the highest praise from overseas audiences or attracts the most tourists, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television might consider awarding it the title of "Number One Tourism City on the Yangtze River" as a form of encouragement.

The premier tourist city along the Yangtze River?
Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but chuckle, "Who came up with this idea?"

Yang Kangnian pointed to the sky, "Who else? Apart from Director Lu, no one else could come up with the idea or do it."

Chen Fan finished his last puff, tossed away the cigarette butt, and looked at him with a smile, "Just for this, you really have to be the first to photograph Yunhu?"

Yang Kangnian chuckled and said, "Didn't you say that the first time you see it is the most interesting? I was thinking that if we could finish filming it ahead of time and send it to your uncle so that overseas audiences could have a taste, maybe this first city on the Yangtze River would become our Yunhu."

Chen Fan curled his lip and snorted twice, "Then you're overthinking it."

He grabbed his teacup and took a big gulp, then put it down and, under Yang Kangnian's probing gaze, slowly and deliberately said, "First of all, the way you're doing this will definitely get you sued for violating the rules by other regions. In the end, no matter how much internal competition there is, we're a whole when we go abroad. How can we broadcast Yunhu separately and ignore the other cities? Would that still be filming the Yangtze River? We don't do that."

Secondly,..."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Yang Kangnian and smiled, "The one who bids first doesn't necessarily gain an advantage, and the one who bids later doesn't necessarily suffer a loss."

Yang Kangnian was pondering what Chen Fan had just said when he heard this sentence. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Chen Fan and asked, "What did you mean?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Think about it, I've never shot a landscape film before. I don't know how to shoot it or what content will attract overseas tourists. The first few films I shot were based on my own ideas, so they were inevitably a bit inaccurate."

Once I've gotten used to filming, I'll also show the footage to my uncle and his American company, ask for their feedback, and then make adjustments. Wouldn't that make the final product more appealing?

Upon hearing this, Yang Kangnian nodded deeply, "Yes, that makes sense."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "So, Uncle Yang, you can put your mind at ease. After all, I am a local of Yunhu. When it comes to understanding different places, what place is more familiar to me than Yunhu?"

Hearing this, Yang Kangnian finally felt relieved and grinned, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

After a pause, he quickly asked, "So when do you plan to start filming this? And when do you plan to film Yunhu Lake?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "I don't have time to think about these things right now. The detailed shooting plan will probably not be completed until August, and the earliest we can start shooting is September."

Then, following a schedule of about ten days per region, it should be Yunhu's turn around the end of the year.

He thought to himself that when he returned to Yunhu, Liaoning Film Studio would be filming its second movie there. He could kill two birds with one stone and take care of it all at once without wasting any time. How wonderful!

What? There's not enough time to make a movie?
Hehehe, isn't there still the comrades from Liaoning Film Studio? Otherwise, why would Chen Fan want them to make a film first to test the waters?
With the experience of shooting feature films, Chen Fan can take them to shoot a few more complex scenes in ten days or half a month, and he guarantees that they will be able to shoot them quite well on their own.

We agreed to collaborate on a film, so we can't expect Director Chen to do everything himself, can we? Would that still be considered a collaboration?

Only when you shoot a few segments and I shoot a few segments, and we put them together to make a movie, can we call it a collaboration.

Just as Chen Fan was secretly pleased with himself, Yang Kangnian pondered for a while, still feeling somewhat uneasy. "Xiao Fan, you're only filming one location in ten days. Isn't that a bit too short? I've heard that a movie takes several months to film, sometimes even a year or two..."

Chen Fan snapped out of his thoughts, waved his hand to interrupt him, and looked at him speechlessly. "Uncle Yang, the one or two years you mentioned are for big movies like 'Tunnel Warfare' and 'The Southern Expedition and the Northern War.' Ordinary movies do take several months to shoot, but ours isn't an ordinary movie either. Shooting some scenery, folk customs, and street scenes isn't enough."

As for the time involved, from Shanghai to the source of the Yangtze River, there are more than twenty regions. If each region takes ten days, all these regions combined would take almost a year.

The most crucial part is the source of the Yangtze River, where there is a large uninhabited area, a remote and impoverished mountainous region with no roads. Vehicles cannot pass through, and the only way is to ride horses or walk, which can take an unknown amount of time.

You think ten days isn't enough for one place? Do you want me to spend two or three years working on it?

Yang Kangnian immediately realized what was going on and quickly said with an embarrassed smile, "No, no, ten days is fine, ten days is good too."

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and said, "Actually, ten days is just an estimate. The reason I asked the Writers Association for help and sought help from folklorists and playwrights from various places to write the filming script is to save time."

In big cities like Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chongqing, ten days may not be enough, but in other places, especially those that are not well-known and whose scenery and customs are not particularly outstanding, three to five days may be enough to finish filming.

We're not conducting rigorous scientific research; our main purpose is to showcase magnificent scenery and a stable social environment to attract overseas tourists. The important thing is to capture the "highlights," and that's enough. There's no need to worry about whether it takes half a month or three to five days to film; it's meaningless.

Yang Kangnian nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, you're an expert in this area, so we'll do it your way." Chen Fan, smoking a cigarette, smiled slightly, thinking, "I'll do it your way, not mine."

……

With the official approval from the Tourism Administration, Chen Fan accelerated the filming process of "Monk Comes Down the Mountain 2".

After discussing with Kuang Mingyi, we assigned him to shoot some of the more tedious but less important shots.

At first, Kuang Mingyi was a little worried and kept asking, "What if the film is ruined?"

After all, he had filled in for Chen Fan for a few days when filming the first movie, and when he saw it, it was no good at all and couldn't compare to Director Chen's work.

Although he later directed a TV series called "The Great Hero of Tianjin", he still couldn't regain his confidence.

Didn't you see that a little over a month ago, when we first started filming this movie, Director Chen scolded everyone involved in the preparations? Even the actors were driven to despair by the scolding.

So when Director Chen suddenly entrusted him with an important task, Kuang Mingyi felt uneasy and hesitated to accept it.

Seeing Assistant Director Kuang's lack of confidence, Director Chen patted his arm kindly and said with a smile, "Don't worry, if you don't shoot well and waste film, I'll deduct it from your bonus."

Kuang Mingyi was horrified. "Huh?"

Director Chen ignored his pleas and split the filming plan in two, taking Yang Chenfeng and the others to shoot the big scenes himself.

Given that no other film crews have moved into the film studio yet, if they were to finish filming all at once, there would be one less attraction for tourists. Therefore, Chen Fan usually tries to slow down the filming pace and only films during the day, never at night.

However, because he was "confident," the crew also rehearsed and prepared well in advance, which made the filming process particularly smooth. Most of the time, only a little preparation was needed to get it right in one take.

This is also a professional habit that film actors have developed today. Jiangyin Film Studio learned this fine tradition in just three films.

Now that the production team has split into two, the filming schedule has accelerated again.

The original plan was to finish filming all the footage by the end of June or the beginning of July, but on June 20th, Director Chen held up a megaphone and shouted, "I hereby announce that filming for 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain 2' has been completed."

Alas……

Yang Chenfeng, Chen Qingqing, and a group of other young actors immediately threw their rifles into the air, overjoyed.

Not having to continue filming is secondary; the real thing is finally not having to worry about being scolded by the director.

Even the old men, Yang Zhenlong and Han Qingshan, breathed a sigh of relief and made a pact to drink until they were completely drunk that night.

Only Kuang Mingyi, looking worried, quietly approached Chen Fan and whispered, "Director Chen, there's still a lot of footage I shot that you haven't checked. What if it's not good?"

Chen Fan said nonchalantly, "It's fine. If it doesn't work, just bring your people to the Jiangxi Film Studio to reshoot."

Turning to look at his mournful face, Director Chen took out a cigarette and handed it to him, laughing, "Don't worry, your directing skills have improved a lot. In my opinion, you are fully capable of directing a film independently. Haven't the comrades in the editorial department of Jiangying Studio written several scripts? Instead of worrying here, you might as well go back and choose a script and prepare for your first big movie."

Kuang Mingyi's eyes held a hint of uncertainty. "Director, can I really do it?"

Chen Fan looked at him and asked, "I'm just asking you, what's the reception of 'The Great Hero of Tianjin'?"

Upon hearing this, Kuang Mingyi gained confidence, straightened his back, and said, "Everyone who has read it says it's good."

"Then it's over."

Chen Fan patted his arm and laughed, "Then keep up the good work and try to make a big movie. Maybe we can even compete head-to-head at next year's Hundred Flowers Awards."

Ok?
Upon hearing this, Kuang Mingyi stared wide-eyed as if he had seen a ghost, saying, "Are you kidding me? Compete with you head-on for the Hundred Flowers Award? Ask every film studio in the country, including all the veteran directors, and see who dares to take the Hundred Flowers Award from you?!"

This Spring Festival, the movie "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" shocked the world. Now, half a year has passed, and the copies are still circulating in the provincial capitals of various provinces. Not many have even reached the regional cities. I wonder how many people at the grassroots level are hoping to see this movie.

Some impatient people even asked others to buy movie tickets and took their families to the provincial capital to watch the movie.

As for its reputation, it's absolutely phenomenal. Whether you're gay or lesbian, young or old, everyone who's seen it has said it's not good.

The action sequences in the film, in particular, are groundbreaking in the history of world cinema. The movements are clean and beautiful, the fights are fierce and brutal, and the film is extremely entertaining.

Even those who had seen Hong Kong and American films and other insider footage all abandoned their reserve and humility, saying that it was even more exciting than their martial arts films.

Who would dare to directly challenge a film like this for the Hundred Flowers Award?
According to a rumor he heard from Director Wu, several heavyweight directors from Changchun Film Studio, Beijing Film Studio, and Shanghai Film Studio are reportedly aiming for the inaugural Golden Rooster Awards to be presented next year.

Yes, it is said that the Film Association is about to establish a professional film award called the Golden Rooster Award.

As for the Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films?
Let Director Chen's "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" do its thing; nobody cares about him anyway.

He's destined to be a runner-up; who would want to play along with him?!
After glancing at a director who appeared nonchalant but was actually quite smug, Kuang Mingyi dusted off his sleeves, called over a few subordinates, and went to discuss the first major film that truly belonged to the Jiangxi Film Studio.

Chen Fan pulled up a chair and sat down, calmly smoking a cigarette, watching the crew members busily packing up their things, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

After I finish today's work, I'll be busy with post-production tomorrow.

Unfortunately, some people don't even want to give him this little bit of free time.

As soon as Chen Fan turned his head, he saw Director Wu walking over, swinging his arms.

"Better late than early, Director Chen, is filming finished?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, tossed the cigarette over, and said, "Why aren't you at the factory? What are you doing here?"

Factory Director Wu grabbed a cigarette, walked up to him, took one out and put it in his mouth, then casually stuffed the rest into his pocket. Ignoring the man's gaze, he laughed and said, "I was wondering how long you had left to finish filming, but I didn't expect to see you packing up your work as soon as I arrived. In that case, all I can do is offer my congratulations."

(End of this chapter)