Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 763 "Xiao Wu, the son of Jin Xiaoyong's buddy Hu Haimei's brother Liang Changyou"

Fang Minghua received the letter a week later. The letter was sent to the Provincial Writers Association, and he picked it up when he went to the association for a meeting.

In his office, Fang Minghua opened the thick letter.

Not only did it contain a letter written by Jia Zhangke, but also a script.

In the letter, Jia Zhangke reported to Fang Minghua about his studies at YDU in recent years.

"Teacher Minghua, with your encouragement, I was finally admitted to the Yanjing Film Academy and now I have successfully graduated. Although I studied literature, I have never forgotten about movies."

"In the winter of 94, I shot a short film called "Xiao Shan Goes Home" with a few good friends. Fortunately, the film won the Best Feature Film Award in the Short Film Competition Unit of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. This gave me great encouragement and strengthened my determination to follow this path."

"You wrote me back then and told me that if I wanted to make Hello, Mr. Tree, you could let me do it. I was very excited and I still remember it. But now I feel that my current experience and ability are not enough to capture the essence of this novel. I dare not spoil the classic. I want to make other scripts first to gain experience."

"So I wrote a script myself. Do you think that's okay? Of course, I also have a small request. Can Shengshi Film and Television invest in it? It won't cost much. I roughly estimated that 30 would be enough."

Fang Minghua put down the letter, picked up the script, saw the name, and couldn't help laughing.

"Jin Xiaoyong's buddy, Hu Haimei's partner, Liang Changyou's son: Xiao Wu"

Such a long name!

Definitely not.

It’s just that movie “Xiao Wu”.

He picked up the script and read it carefully.

Xiao Wu is a habitual thief from Fenyang, Shanxi Province who refuses to change despite repeated warnings. Even when the public security department is carrying out crackdowns, he will still find ways to steal.

But apart from his identity as a thief, he is a very nostalgic and traditional person. Family and friendship are very important to him. But his former friends and relatives have long regarded him as a plague god, and they try to avoid him. Invisibly, Xiao Wu can only become a marginal person in exchange for some satisfaction and comfort.

One day, while singing in a karaoke bar, Xiao Wu met a singing companion named Hu Meimei. Similar feelings led to an ambiguous relationship between the two. However, Hu Meimei knew that Xiao Wu was not her other side, and she needed to find a more powerful "arm" to change her fate.

Although Xiao Wu understood this, he still couldn't suppress his disappointment when it happened. Facing his future, Xiao Wu, who was in an even more embarrassing and awkward situation, became more and more at a loss.

The script is rather crudely written.

Before Fang Minghua came to this era, he had seen this movie online. As for the finished movie, some parts were greatly changed compared to the script.

But this script has already well reflected the essence of the film.

After reading it, Fang Minghua fell into deep thought.

This movie called "Xiao Wu" is quite good. Its Douban score seems to be above 8.5, and it has also won several major awards abroad.

But the problem is, he is a banned film.

Not released in the country!
Go back and think about it.

Fang Minghua took the script back home. In the evening, he waited for Song Tangtang to come home after dinner, took out the script and told her what happened that day.

"Tangtang, take a look at the script first. I'll go and supervise the two kids to do their homework." After saying that, Fang Minghua turned and walked upstairs.

An hour later, Fang Minghua completed the task, watched his daughter enter the piano room to play, and then went into his daughter-in-law's study.

"Have you finished reading it?" Fang Minghua asked.

"Ah."

"how do you feel?"

"It's very real. Although it's written about Fenyang, I feel it's a true portrayal of the present era, especially the small counties in the north. Let's not talk about other things. The counties in Tongchuan and Weinan are all similar." "There are young people like Xiaowu everywhere in dance halls, video halls, hair salons, and billiard rooms. Minghua, this script is very similar to the one you wrote, "Hello, Mr. Tree". The content is completely different, but the reality it reflects is the same."

Fang Minghua nodded and asked, "So do you think we should film it or not?"

"Go ahead and bid. It's only 300,000. Give the young man a chance. Although the company's funds are very tight this year, we can still afford 300,000." Song Tangtang decided immediately.

Shengshi Film and Television is indeed facing financial difficulties this year.

He invested 5000 million in the first "Harry Potter" movie, 6500 million in the second part of "Kangxi's Private Visits", and another 600 million in "Party A and Party B". There is not much money left in the account.

"Tangtang, it's not a problem of funding, but the content of the script," Fang Minghua reminded.

"Oh, that's right. Some of the plots in the script defame the image of the Zen government and are a bit inciteful." Song Tangtang immediately responded: "If you want to pass the review smoothly, you have to change the script."

Fang Minghua did not answer immediately.

Historically, this film did not pass censorship, and there seems to be a story behind it.

It seems that when the film was sent to the relevant department for review, it was reported!
He said that the broadcast of such films would "affect my country's normal cultural exchanges with the outside world." The whistleblower was a very famous film planner at the time and had great prestige in the film and television industry.

Therefore, the relevant leaders had to impose penalties, banning the film from being shown in the country, and also stopping the right to shoot film and television dramas!

Jia Zhangke wrote about this experience in his book "Confusion", which was very detailed. Of course, he did not name anyone, but everyone in the circle seemed to know about it.

Now, if we were to shoot "Xiao Wu" again, would we run into the same problem?
If this is true, it is not as simple as just changing the script.

If you change too much, the original tension of the movie will be lost. But what if you change just a little and the other party finds fault with you?
This is a problem.
Fang Minghua considered it.

After a while, he said, "How about asking Jia Zhangke to come to Xijing so I can talk to him?"

"I can't tell, Minghua, you really value this Jia guy." Song Tangtang said with a smile, "Even Wang Xiaoshuai and Lou Ye, who filmed your novel, you didn't let them come to our house."

"Jia Zhangke is from Shanxi Province. Shanxi Province and Qin Province are separated by the Yellow River, so they are half fellow villagers," Fang Minghua joked.

"Okay, whatever you want."

"Then it's settled!"

A week later, Jia Zhangke received a reply from Fang Minghua. The letter said very simply: I have received the script you wrote. I am very interested in it, but there are some parts that I need to discuss with you. If you have time, please come to Xijing for a chat. And so on.

"Minghua asked me to go to his house in Xijing!"

When Jia Zhangke saw the letter, he was extremely excited and immediately found his good friend Wang Hongwei.

"Oh, you have a lot of connections. I heard that Minghua generally likes to interact with writers, and only a few big directors like Zhang Yimou can meet those who make movies." Wang Hongwei said.

"Hehe. People said he is from Qin Province, and I am from Jin Province, next door to him. We are half fellow villagers." Jia Zhangke looked proud.

"I'm from Henan Province, and Qin Province is next to me, isn't it?" Wang Hongwei was not convinced.

"Then shall we go together?"

"Forget it, they asked you to go, how can I have the nerve to follow them?" Wang Hongwei shook his head.

"Then we're ready to leave. You say hello to the counselor." Jia Zhangke did what he said.

"Medium! Don't forget, I want to play Xiao Wu!"

(End of this chapter)