A widower's entertainment

Chapter 297 [Director's Selection] (Subscription Request)
Chen Ai'ge had approached Lin Youcheng before, wanting to discuss the film adaptation rights of "Wonderful Things in the World", but Lin Youcheng did not agree, so Chen Ai'ge gave up and approached Shi Tiesheng to discuss the film adaptation rights of "Life is Like a String". However, when he was discussing the film adaptation of "Life is Like a String" with Shi Tiesheng, he heard from Shi Tiesheng that Lin Youcheng had published a new novel, which was quite amazing.

"Lin Youcheng, have you read his latest novel, "Atonement"? "

Shi Tiesheng knew that Chen Ai'ge had negotiated with Lin Youcheng about the film adaptation rights of "Wonderful Things in the World" but the deal was not reached. He mentioned Lin Youcheng's latest novel "Atonement" to Chen Ai'ge.

"Atonement?"

Chen Aige had originally been concentrating on the film adaptation of the novel "Life is Like a String" and had not paid attention to Lin Youcheng's latest novel published in "People's Literature". Now when she heard Shi Tiesheng talk about this, she was very surprised and asked, "Did Lin Youcheng publish a new novel?"

Shi Tiesheng nodded and said with a smile, "Then you really should read this novel. It is quite wonderful. Now our literary circles are discussing this novel of his, saying that this novel is another work of Mao Dun Literature Award level."

A work at the level of the Mao Dun Literature Prize?

This naturally made Chen Aige instantly curious, and she asked, "What's the story about?"

"Humanity, love, and war."

It's actually about human nature, love, and war?

It can be said that every word Shi Tiesheng said made Chen Ai'ge's heart beat violently, as if her excitement point had been hit.

Shi Tiesheng said seriously: "It is a very shocking work. Both the writing style and the plot made us authors very shocked and reflective after reading it."

Shi Tiesheng himself was really shocked by Lin Youcheng's novel "Atonement". It was about the idea of ​​atonement and repentance. He did not care about the undeserved disaster suffered by the person involved due to defamation. He only wanted to preserve his so-called reputation and live in this world, and then go to the grave with a guilty heart of self-comfort.

He really admired Lin Youcheng from the bottom of his heart. When he read to the end of the novel "Atonement", he realized that there was no "atonement" at all. It turned out that everything ended when Luo Yang was arrested and sent to prison. He thought it was Tolstoy's "Resurrection", a little girl's confession story, but in fact there was nothing. The most amazing thing was the exploration of the author's imagination and creative desire, which is very worthy of deep thought.

After hearing what Shi Tiesheng said, Chen Ai Ge was naturally very curious, and went to finish reading Lin Youcheng's novel "Atonement" as soon as possible. Just as Shi Tiesheng said, Chen Ai Ge was really shocked by Lin Youcheng's novel. He had a literary heart, and the whole story was about breaking beautiful things and then presenting them bloody. But it was such a torn fictional truth that made him completely fall in love with the story of "Atonement".

It is proven that children also lie, and their lies can sometimes cause indelible harm, because it is obvious that children do not have the ability to recognize the consequences behind lying.

With such a tearing of human nature, how could Chen Ai Ge not fall in love with this special story.

Chen Ai Ge originally wanted to shoot "Wonderful Things in the World" to win awards because he felt that the whole story was quite fantastic and full of dramatic tension. However, due to lack of technical skills, the deal was not made and he had to look for other stories. Now after watching "Atonement", Chen Ai Ge is even more excited.

Chen Ai'ge was still a little hesitant at first, after all, he was currently preparing for the film adaptation of "A String of Life". However, when he heard that Master Zhang also had ideas about Lin Youcheng's novel "Atonement" and seemed to have already gone to Lin Youcheng to discuss the film adaptation, Chen Ai'ge could not wait any longer and rushed to Xinghua Hutong as soon as possible.

Chen Ai Ge did not expect that Master Zhang and Jiang Wen were also here.

In fact, it was not just Chen Ai Ge who didn't expect it. Jiang Wen and Master Zhang also didn't expect that Chen Ai Ge would come.

Cha Hailing, who was standing by, was secretly astonished, surprised at the appeal of the novel "Atonement", but he also felt it was natural. Seeing that Lin Youcheng and the others were about to discuss the film adaptation rights, he did not stay any longer and said goodbye and left.

As for Jiang Wen and Zhang Guoshi, they naturally would not leave early. After all, they came here for the film adaptation rights of the novel "Atonement".

Jiang Wen saw that Chen Aige had come as well, and he knew that she must be here for Lin Youcheng's story "Atonement", but he said, "Director Chen, aren't you planning to shoot Shi Tiesheng's "Life Is Like a String"? "

In fact, there will be news about such things in the circle, just like Chen Ai'ge knew that Zhang Guoshi wanted to film Lin Youcheng's "Atonement". In fact, Jiang Wen also heard that Chen Ai'ge planned to film Shi Tiesheng's short story "Life is Like a String of Strings".

When Chen Ai Ge heard Jiang Wen say this, she glanced at Jiang Wen and said, "Before, I wanted to ask You Cheng to film his "Wonderful Things in the World", but You Cheng said that the film technology of this novel is not good enough and he doesn't agree to film it now. So I looked at other story scripts. Originally, I was going to film Shi Tiesheng's short story, but now I've seen "Atonement", it's different."

"Youcheng, your book "Atonement" is so well written!"

Chen Ai Ge's eyes fell on Lin Youcheng, and he said seriously, "Since you have such a story, you should have told me when I came to you."

Chen Ai Ge really thought so. If Lin Youcheng had told him the story of "Atonement" at that time, he would not have gone to find Shi Tiesheng at all. He would have waited for Lin Youcheng to write this story.

The story of "Atonement" is really amazing. The narration from different perspectives breaks down the events delicately and cruelly. The 13-year-old girl's desire to create makes her fall into a trap of narcissism and self-pity. She judges others arbitrarily with her childhood values. There are also descriptions of war, retreat and hospital painstakingly...

Thinking about it now, Chen Ai Ge felt very excited and couldn't wait to start preparing for the filming of this movie.

Jiang Wen didn't expect that Chen Ai Ge actually had plans for the novel "Wonderful Things in the World", but to be honest, that novel is also quite awesome. Of course, the most important thing now is the film adaptation rights of the novel "Atonement".

"Brother Cheng just published it not long ago. How could I tell you then?"

Jiang Wen was naturally speaking for Lin Youcheng at this time, and asked seriously, "Brother Cheng, which one of us do you plan to let shoot this film "Atonement"?"

Obviously, this issue is also the most critical and important issue.

Chen Ai Ge and Zhang Guoshi also looked at Lin Youcheng, waiting for Lin Youcheng to speak.

Lin Youcheng looked at the three directors in front of him. Even though Jiang Wen was not a director yet, he knew Jiang Wen's future status in the domestic director industry. After thinking carefully, he said, "As a novel author, I naturally hope that the film adaptation can respect the original novel."

"This depends on your views and how you plan to film this story."

Respect the original novel?
Jiang Wen and the others were not surprised to hear Lin Youcheng's words, because they knew that Lin Youcheng was telling the truth, and this request was not excessive at all. As the author, he naturally hoped that the director would not change his work at random and respect the original story.

Of course, in the eyes of Jiang Wen and others, Lin Youcheng's novel "Atonement" is already quite perfect. If they were really asked to change some of the plots in it, they really didn't know how to delete them for a while, because they always felt that there would be a mistake of adding unnecessary details.

But now they have to directly guarantee that the film will be shot completely according to the novel, and these three directors did not make any promises rashly.

After all, as directors, they all have their own creative desires. Of course, this kind of creative desire is mostly reflected in the audio-visual language of the film. However, no one will easily say that there will be no changes at all.

Although facing these three directors, Lin Youcheng's aura was not weak at all. After all, these three directors were waiting for his words.

Seeing that Chen Aige and the others did not say anything for a while, Lin Youcheng said, "That's all I ask."

"To be honest, no matter which of you three comes to film my Atonement, as long as you respect the storyline of the novel, I think it won't be too bad. As for not cooperating this time, it doesn't matter. I think there will definitely be opportunities for cooperation again in the future."

After Lin Youcheng said this, Chen Aige and others couldn't help but nod their heads.

indeed so!

After all, Lin Youcheng has published so many excellent novels before, and now he has written such a wonderful novel "Atonement". With such creative talent and passion, maybe his next novel will make them excited, and the chances of future cooperation are naturally hard to say.

When Jiang Wen heard what Lin Youcheng said, he raised his eyebrows, looked at Chen Aige with a smile, and said, "Director Chen, you see what Brother Cheng said is right. You and Brother Cheng will definitely have opportunities to work together in the future. You are already preparing to adapt Shi Tiesheng's short story, so don't grab the story of "Atonement" now."

"Besides, it was Master Zhang and I who came here first!"

Master Zhang also nodded, seeming to agree with what Jiang Wen said.

Everything should be based on first come first served!
Chen Ai Ge didn't expect Jiang Wen to say such a thing. She frowned and said, "Then I should have come to You Cheng a long time ago."

Jiang Wen replied, "You were not discussing "Atonement" at that time, but "Wonderful Things in the World", and the deal had not yet been concluded."

Chen Ai Ge naturally would not give up just like that. After all, he knew very well how great Lin Youcheng's story would be if it were made into a movie. Especially the foreigners at foreign film festivals would definitely like the story of "Atonement". He said directly, "It's not like you haven't reached an agreement yet, and I'm not here to discuss it."

"Jiang Wen, tell me the truth, do you think you can start filming the novel "Atonement" right away after you get the film adaptation rights?"

Jiang Wen was a little embarrassed to answer Chen Ai'ge's words. After all, compared with Chen Ai'ge and Zhang Guoshi, Jiang Wen was just an actor and had never made a movie. It was difficult for the major film studios to directly hand over the filming rights to a new director like Jiang Wen. You know, even the later "Sunny Days" was successfully filmed after almost two years with the investment of the film co-production company.

Seeing that Jiang Wen did not answer, Chen Ai Ge looked at Lin Youcheng and said, "I can film the novel "Atonement" under the Yanjing Film Studio. Youcheng, you have also cooperated with the Yanjing Film Studio before."

When Master Zhang heard Chen Ai'ge mention the Yanjing Film Studio, he naturally couldn't help but say, "I can contact the Xi'an Film Studio. In addition, the Tokuma Bookstore in the island country is also interested in investing in me to make a movie."

After Master Zhang said this, Chen Ai Ge felt somewhat uncomfortable.

This is because the national director Zhang Yimou won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, so foreign film companies would naturally be willing to invest in letting Zhang Yimou make movies.

The Tokuma Shoten that Master Zhang mentioned is the publishing company on the island country, which also invests in film production.

For example, "Ju Dou", which Zhang Guoshi later collaborated with director Yang Fengliang, was funded by Xi'an Film Studio, Tokuma Shoten, and a film co-production company. It can be said that the main investor of this film is the island country, and the production director is also an island country. At the same time, the island country's screenwriter also participated in the adaptation of the "Ju Dou" film script. Of course, this does not mean that the film will become a hybrid work.

In fact, this kind of cooperation model is not uncommon in current film production, especially in international cooperation projects. Investors and production teams may come from different countries, but the director is usually a native of the country to ensure that the cultural characteristics and artistic direction of the film conform to the aesthetics and requirements of the country.

The reason why foreign investors would look for directors like Zhang Guoshi is naturally because his films have won awards abroad, are very successful, and their artistic level is favored by foreign filmmakers, otherwise they would not specifically spend money to invest in filming.

Lin Youcheng listened to what Master Zhang and Chen Aige said without commenting. After thinking for a while, he just said, "I just said that no matter who of you shoots it, I believe it will be a good film. Of course, the premise is that you don't change the script."

Lin Youcheng is very clear about the movie "Ju Dou" shot by Zhang Guoshi later. The original name of the movie was "Sheng.Yin". The character of the male protagonist Yang Tianqing in the original novel "Fuxi Fuxi" was an ignorant sixteen-year-old boy. Later, he was changed by Zhang Guoshi into a middle-aged man in his forties, and it became a theoretical film in which Gong Li and Li Baotian played aunt and nephew, which was really a bit out of place.

This one change is really worth further investigation. In fact, many people think that this is a bad thing. Some even feel that Li Baotian's nephew is a little distracting. They think that if the role was really replaced by a 16-year-old ignorant boy, it would be more exciting, with more dramatic tension, and the tearing of human nature would be more extreme.

After all, there is already a conflict between the two children in this story, because the original story is about a young woman named Ju Dou who, after marrying the dyeing factory owner Yang Jinshan, could not bear the abuse of her incapable husband, so she married her husband's nephew Tianqing and gave birth to a son named Tianbai. Tianqing and Tianbai are nominally cousins, but in fact they are father and son, with an age difference of only 16 or 17 years, which makes the conflict even more extreme.

In fact, this kind of story is why Master Zhang decided to shoot the film, because it is equally exciting and contains the same tension between humanity and theory.

Of course, even after Master Zhang made the changes, the film was still cut due to the excessive scale of the plot, and could not be released in China, and it was not released for more than 20 years.

Obviously, the reason why Lin Youcheng's "Atonement" attracted these three directors is precisely because the humanity and love in it are too amazing, as well as the war and the structure of the entire story are quite wonderful, which makes these directors want to adapt and shoot it.

When Chen Ai Ge heard what Lin Youcheng said, he thought of what Master Zhang had just said, and about the joint venture with Tokuma Shoten in the island country, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Thinking of this, and the story of "Atonement", Chen Aige made up his mind and said very seriously -

"Youcheng, you write the script and I can shoot it according to your script."

(End of this chapter)