Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 759: Wang Shuo in Despair and Fang Minghua in High Spirits
"Jiang Wen is coming to the United States?"

"Yes, after filming "If You Are the One", I heard that he married a French girl. He first went to France and then came to the United States," Zhang Yimou explained.

"If You Are the One" is a movie that Fang Minghua thinks is "very weird". The movie is obviously full of Jiang Wen style and black humor, but the director is Zhang Yimou.

Fang Minghua was very suspicious. Did Jiang Wen, the leading male actor, often replace director Zhang Yimou's role during the filming process?
However, the film was recently released in China and the audience response was quite good. Song Tangtang said on the phone that the box office might exceed any previous film made by Zhang Yimou.

Since Jiang Wen was coming, Fang Minghua planned to stay for two more days. There was nothing important to do in San Francisco anyway.

We are all friends, and meeting in a foreign country is also a kind of fate.

But what Fang Minghua didn't know was that Jiang Wen wasn't the only one coming this time.

In an apartment in New York, Jiang Wen leaned against the door, smoking a cigarette and looking at another man with a short flat head sitting on the sofa.

"Wang Shuo, what's wrong? You're so fussy. It's totally unlike you! Isn't it just a trip to Los Angeles?! When you heard Fang Minghua was there, you were like this?!

"Oh, Jiang Wen, you don't understand, you don't understand." Wang Shuo blew out a smoke ring, sighed deeply and said.

At this time, Wang Shuo no longer pointed fingers at other people in the country. He was no longer laughing, cursing, and acting arrogantly, as if he was a gangster and was afraid of no one. He seemed very depressed.

He was almost "driven" out of the country!

The "great discussion on humanistic spirit" in China has been intermittent, but criticism of Wang Shuo has reached its peak. By 97, almost all film and television works related to Wang Shuo were banned. The film "I Am Your Father" directed by himself and Feng Xiaogang was privately submitted to the exhibition without review and was also banned from being released in China by relevant departments.

Faced with internal and external difficulties, he had no choice but to leave the mainland and go to the United States, where he happened to meet Jiang Wen who was already in the United States. Both of them were from wealthy families and knew each other so they often interacted with each other.

Jiang Wen went to San Francisco to meet Zhang Yimou and others, and saw that Wang Shuo was bored alone in New York, so she invited him to go with her.

Wang Shuo readily agreed, but he didn't expect that Fang Minghua was also there.

Seeing Wang Shuo like this, Jiang Wen couldn't help but ask, "Wang Shuo, tell me, what's the problem between you and Fang Minghua?"

"Actually, it's really nothing. We are all writers." Wang Shuo's words were unclear.

"Oh, I understand." Jiang Wen pointed at Wang Shuo with the finger holding the cigarette: "If there is Yu, why is there Liang? Especially you, you are a little down and out now, while Fang Minghua is not only successful in China, but also very popular in the United States, right?"

Jiang Wen's words touched Wang Shuo's heart.

I couldn't help but lower my head and take a deep puff of my cigarette.

"Hey man, you're thinking too much. Life is full of ups and downs. How can it always be smooth sailing?" Jiang Wen said earnestly:
"When you are in good times, you are Wang Shuo. When you are in bad times, you are still Wang Shuo! This time we are here to reminisce with old friends, not to compete with each other! You are a child of a rich family. You once shouted "All people in the world are brothers". How come you have become like this now!"

Wang Shuo didn't say a word after hearing this, but just smoked his cigarette in big puffs.

"The flight is at 2pm. I'll wait for you at the airport." Jiang Wen said, patted Wang Shuo on the shoulder, turned and left.

After lunch, Jiang Wen said goodbye to his newlywed wife, took the subway to Kennedy International Airport with his travel backpack, and waited at the security check after checking in.

He looked at his watch from time to time. Seeing that the plane was about to take off in half an hour, he sighed slightly and was about to go in when he saw a man with a short flat head hurried into the waiting hall.

It’s Wang Shuo.

Jiang Wen smiled and greeted:
"Let's go, the tickets have been picked up, let's get into the station quickly."

The flight from New York to Los Angeles usually takes nearly six hours, but there is a three-hour time difference between the two cities, so Jiang Wen and her friends arrived in Los Angeles around five in the afternoon. When they left the station and came to the terminal, they saw a group of black-haired, yellow-skinned Orientals.

Wu Tianmin, Zhang Yimou, Fang Minghua, as well as Lui Lok and Cao Jiuping.

Needless to say, Jiang Wen knew the first three people, and she also knew the last two. They were all the main creative staff of the movie "If You Are the One", with Lu Le as the photographer and Cao Yongjiu as the art director.

"Director Wu, Yimou, Minghua, what are you doing?" Jiang Wen was very surprised. He didn't expect that everyone would come to the airport to greet them.

"Jiang Wen, Yimou said that you must be welcomed when you come. What can you eat in that damn place Burbank? If you want to go, go to Chinatown to eat hot pot. Why don't we do it so that you don't have to run back and forth?"

"Thank you, thank you." Jiang Wen clasped her hands together.

Then he pointed at Wang Shuo who was standing next to him and said, "This is my buddy, Wang Shuo. I guess there's no need to introduce him, right?"

Of course everyone had heard of Wang Shuo's name, so they shook hands with him one by one. When it was Fang Minghua's turn, Fang Minghua stretched out his right hand with a smile on his face.

Wang Shuo's expression was a little complicated, but he still held it tightly.

After a round of greetings, everyone took the subway straight to Chinatown. They ate hotpot at the same restaurant as last time, "Chongqing Yaomei Hotpot". In addition to beer, they also sold Erguotou. So they simply switched to Erguotou, which is popular among Yanjing people, and everyone chatted while eating.

They talked about some interesting things. Wang Shuo, who usually liked to talk a lot at banquets, seemed very silent today and just buried his head in eating and drinking.

Fang Minghua was sitting next to him.

In fact, Fang Minghua is not a talkative person, and basically just listens to others.

"Minghua, let me tell you something." Wang Shuo suddenly said.

"What's the matter?" Fang Minghua picked up a piece of food and put it in the bowl and asked.

"I wrote a script for Feng Xiaogang last year. It was based on my novel You Are Not a Common Man. It was originally planned to be made into a movie by the Good Dream Film and Television Company that Feng Xiaogang and I founded."

"Party A and Party B"?
Fang Minghua immediately thought of this movie.

It is adapted from Wang Shuo's novel.

Wang Shuo said while smoking, "But if I go abroad, Good Dream Films will basically be closed. When you go back, ask your wife Song Tangtang if Shengshi Films dares to invest in the film."

"Why not?" Fang Minghua said with a smile, "You don't have to tell my wife. I promise you now. Shengshi Films will invest in the filming."

"Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?" Wang Shuo glanced at him.

"What kind of trouble can it cause? I've read your novel, and it's not a banned book. You won't adapt it into a script with anti-X and anti-X remarks, will you?" Fang Minghua joked.

"Of course not. Comedy is just for fun." Wang Shuo said quickly.

"Isn't that okay? You are the screenwriter and Feng Xiaogang is the director, that's it!" Fang Minghua said.

Wang Shuo looked at Fang Minghua.

Suddenly he raised his glass: "Okay, I admire you, let me toast to you!"

(End of this chapter)