A widower's entertainment

Chapter 409 [Father's Company] (Please Subscribe)
Lin Youcheng's latest novel, "Father and Son," has sparked considerable discussion in literary circles. Even now, when many literary critics are openly questioning and discussing the excessive commercialization of literature and its humanistic spirit, and some writers like Wang Shuo have been criticized, no one has questioned the excessive commercialization of Lin Youcheng's novels, even if his screenplays are sold to American companies for high prices.

Because, like Lin Youcheng's "Father and Son," it possesses the characteristics and spirit of literature and art, filled with the tearing apart of human nature, and is by no means a vulgar work for amusement or entertainment.

Of course, this is also largely due to Lin Youcheng's status and position as an author, which makes him quite extraordinary in the literary circle.

Amidst the current heated discussions on literary and humanistic spirit, it's natural that literary magazines and newspapers would hope that Lin Youcheng could express his views, or that this literary giant would also take a clear stand against overly commercialized literary works and writers. However, Lin Youcheng did not respond to the invitations and did not publish any articles or express any opinions. In fact, it could be said that Lin Youcheng did not get involved in these discussions at all.

Lin Youcheng clearly understands that traditional serious literature is gradually losing its fervor from the 1980s. This is all due to the passage of time. As for the meaning and humanistic spirit in literature, he does not believe that the decline of the literary craze will simply fade away, but will exist in another form.

This is precisely why, no matter how popular Lin Youcheng's novels are, how much discussion his works generate, or how high the prices his scripts fetch when sold to foreign companies, it will not have any negative impact on Lin Youcheng.

Especially now, publishing houses are very eager to publish Lin Youcheng's novels. People's Literature Publishing House had been hoping that Lin Youcheng would hold a book signing event at Xinhua Bookstore on Yanda Street. They finally managed to invite the author, Lin Youcheng, to the event, and the scene was really quite lively.

Many readers came to Lin Youcheng for autographs, including many people from the literary world who made a special trip. He didn't finish signing books in the morning, so he continued signing in the afternoon, signing six or seven hundred books in one day.

This was something Lin Youcheng hadn't expected. But to be honest, it was simply due to the influence of Lin Youcheng as a writer. Every time a new novel of his was published, the Beijing Writers Association, publishing houses, and magazines would be bustling with activity. There were many reporters, print media seeking interviews, television stations recording programs, radio stations recording audio recordings, and readers who came to see him. Some sought autographs from this literary giant, some came to ask him for advice, and there were also leaders of writers' associations from various cities and business leaders asking for autographs. Even scholars from Taiwan who were visiting the mainland at the time came to ask for books on behalf of the government. This was all quite common.

It can be said that even though the literary world is fiercely debating the commercialization of literature, no one has said that Lin Youcheng's works are commercialized in the face of the literary phenomenon he has created.

This is actually the capital that Lin Youcheng has accumulated, in addition to royalties, it is also the depth of his works.

The depth of those works is like that of "Father and Son," truly solid works of people's literature, absolutely excellent works without a doubt. These works are also the real reason why Lin Youcheng is at the forefront of literature yet has not been shaken by the turmoil.

Lin Youcheng's literary works caused a sensation, but he didn't seem to care much about it or give many interviews. Instead, he was busy setting up his company.

After the New Year, Lin Youcheng had the other two courtyard houses in Xinghua Hutong renovated, and later he also had the apartment on Fuxing Road renovated.

Now Lin Youcheng's film and television company has been officially established. Unlike other writers or directors who partner with a few friends, this is a film and television company established by Lin Youcheng alone, namely Huayi Film and Television Company.

Lin Youcheng had considered calling it Huayi Media, but at this point, the word "media" wasn't quite clear, and the future development of the film and television company didn't necessarily involve film and television dramas or movies.

Clearly, Lin Youcheng's company has no shortage of funds, especially since he just sold two movie scripts to Universal Pictures.

Most importantly, Lin Youcheng's company can now be described as an empty shell, with Lin Youcheng as the lone commander.

For this reason, Lin Youcheng did not publicize it in a big way. However, his close friends naturally knew that he had established a film and television company.

Zheng Xiaolong had known for a long time that Lin Youcheng planned to start his own film and television company. After all, he had originally tried to connect Wang Shuo with Lin Youcheng to join Haima Film and Television Studio. Now Zheng Xiaolong felt that it was very wise of Lin Youcheng not to join back then.

"Youcheng, Wang Shuo's Haima Film Studio is about to disband. He's getting very close to Feng Xiaogang now, and I heard the two of them are going to start a company together."

Lin Youcheng was not surprised to hear Zheng Xiaolong's words. Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo did indeed co-found a company called Haomeng. Unfortunately, at the beginning of next year, there were rumors that Wang Shuo was being blacklisted by the media. At that time, none of the three films that Haomeng Company was preparing, "The Other Side of the Moon," "I Am Your Father," and "Living a Miserable Life," passed the censorship.

Zheng Xiaolong also lamented that he didn't expect Haima Studio to disband so quickly. Of course, this was also because the TV series "Haima Dance Hall" was suspended halfway through its run, which was quite a blow.

Originally, Wang Shuo's side was planning to promote the struggling, bankrupt cabaret that Ma Weidu, using it as a backdrop for a TV series. However, the similarly structured "Stories from the Editorial Department" was very successful last year. But now, changing the editorial department to a cabaret and using each episode as a segment to tell a series of stories that happened at the Hippocampus Cabaret has received a lot of criticism. This is because the story involves controversial topics such as May-December romance, extramarital affairs, and avant-garde art, which has been criticized by the audience and even made it into the newspapers, resulting in a constant stream of negative information.

It's worth noting that the screenwriters for this TV series included Wang Shuo, Ma Weidu, Hai Yan, Liu Zhenyun, Mo Yan, Liang Zuo, and others. Now that the series has been suspended, it's naturally difficult for Haima Film and Television Creation Center to continue operating, so they've all started looking for new paths.

Lin Youcheng felt that although Feng Xiaogang's approach of following Wang Shuo wasn't very effective, it was undeniable that Feng Xiaogang only had a real chance to rise to prominence because of Wang Shuo's support. He said, "Now, quite a few people have started their own companies."

Many people from literary circles have also moved into the film and television industry, because film and literature are now more popular and have greater commercial value.

"Youcheng, now that your company is established, what's your first project?"

Zheng Xiaolong wasn't worried that Lin Youcheng's company would collapse later, since the company was bound to be good if it had Lin Youcheng's works. He was also quite curious that after Lin Youcheng's company was established, it would definitely write scripts, but he didn't know whether it would be made into a movie or a TV series.

When Lin Youcheng heard Zheng Xiaolong ask this question, he thought for a moment and said, "I haven't thought about it yet."

Lin Youcheng has indeed not thought it through yet, or rather, he has not thought about it properly.

“I think it would be great to adapt it into a TV series. If your story ‘Father and Son’ hadn’t been so depressing, I would have wanted to adapt it into a TV series myself.”

Upon hearing Zheng Xiaolong's words, Lin Youcheng waved his hand and said, "It's not suitable. The story of 'Father and Son' is more suitable to be made into a movie."

Zheng Xiaolong naturally knew this as well. Such works should be made into movies, especially since Lin Youcheng's story was made into a movie by a company that was even better than Hollywood. That was truly remarkable.

“I think if this ‘Father and Son’ were made into a movie, it might win you an Oscar.” Lin Youcheng couldn’t help but laugh when he heard Zheng Xiaolong say this. He didn’t know how this movie, which was only quite well-known at the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards, would fare at the Oscars. However, it was clear that Zheng Xiaolong didn’t know about the other script besides “Father and Son,” “Seaside City,” which had actually won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. He just didn’t know how Universal Pictures would handle the production of “Seaside City” and “Father and Son.”

In addition to "Seaside Town" and "Father and Son", he also has another script, "The Hunt", which Paramount Pictures took.

To be honest, all three scripts are absolutely perfect for actors to compete for awards. If they were really filmed well, there might be a possibility that three films related to him would be nominated for the Oscars at the same time. Of course, this also depends on when the film company finishes filming and when it will be released. If they don't coincide with the same time, they naturally won't compete in the same year.

At the very least, if Universal Pictures really wants to win awards, they won't do public relations for both films at the same time; they'll definitely choose one.

Lin Youcheng was well aware that winning awards depended on the company's public relations efforts behind the scenes, or perhaps luck.

Of course, in Lin Youcheng's mind, all three scripts had the potential to win an Oscar, because all three scripts were quite strong.

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "That depends on luck."

"Now I just hope they can film this story well."

Zheng Xiaolong nodded upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words and said, "Your previous novel, 'The Truman Show,' won the Oscar for Best Picture. Those companies will definitely make good films based on your stories and win the Oscar for Best Picture again."

“Youcheng, you really don’t know how popular you are in the United States. When we were filming ‘A Native of Yanjing in New York,’ we saw news about you. They all said you were very famous in Hollywood.”

These were Zheng Xiaolong's honest words. He truly knew that Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter from the East, was highly regarded by Hollywood companies; otherwise, these companies wouldn't have been seeking to collaborate with him one after another.

When Lin Youcheng and Zheng Xiaolong were talking about the company and the script, they naturally talked about children. Especially since friends who usually keep in touch with Lin Youcheng know that Xie Shuhua is pregnant, Lin Youcheng will soon have another child. This has led many people to joke that Lin Youcheng's children are as prolific as his works.

Of course, they already had six children. If Xie Shuhua and Lin Youcheng hadn't been in their second marriage, it would have been very difficult for them to have a seventh child.

"Does Zhao Mei really want to be a director in the future?"

Zheng Xiaolong and Lin Youcheng naturally started talking about Lin Zhaomei, who was studying at the Beijing Television Art Center. Lin Youcheng also suggested that Lin Zhaomei learn about directing from Zheng Xiaolong, saying, "Was this company set up for her?"

Upon hearing Zheng Xiaolong's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "Let's see if she wants it or not."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xiaolong was naturally taken aback. He had only made a casual joke, not expecting that Lin Youcheng actually wanted to give the company to his daughter, Lin Zhaomei.

Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "She's thinking of becoming a director now, but who knows if that will change in the future. You know she used to act when she was a child. Their ideas can change in an instant, and nobody knows what will happen in the future."

Zheng Xiaolong nodded, agreeing with Lin Youcheng's words, but still said with a smile, "I think Zhao Mei really wants to be a director."

As they were talking, Lin Zhaomei brought over a plate of fruit.

Zheng Xiaolong saw Lin Zhaomei and said with a smile, "Zhaomei, your father's film company is prepared for you. It's for you to be a director and make movies in the future."

Upon hearing Zheng Xiaolong's words, Lin Zhaomei smiled broadly and said, "I will work at my father's company and make movies for him in the future."

Lin Zhaomei already knew that her father Lin Youcheng's company was a film and television company, which produced movies and TV series. If she wanted to become a director and make movies, she could naturally do so directly with her father's help.

Zheng Xiaolong shook his head, thinking that it wasn't Lin Zhaomei making a movie for Lin Youcheng, but more likely that Lin Youcheng, the famous screenwriter, was writing a script for his daughter in his office and making a movie.

"Then you should ask your dad to write stories for you in the future, and also ask him to help develop your company, so that it's not always just your dad doing it all by himself."

Lin Zhaomei said with a smile, "You're not alone, I'm here too!"

As she said this, Lin Zhaomei stood next to Lin Youcheng, the father and daughter standing close together.

Zheng Xiaolong laughed when he heard Lin Zhaomei's words and said, "But it can't just be the two of you, father and daughter. Youcheng, you still have to build up the company."

Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard Zheng Xiaolong's words. Although he wasn't in a hurry, he felt that what Zheng Xiaolong said was true. However, Lin Youcheng wasn't worried at all that the company would only have the two of them, father and daughter, in the future.

In Lin Youcheng's view, there is no shortage of people in this industry, especially with his reputation as an international screenwriter. How could there be no one coming?

Lin Youcheng glanced at Lin Zhaomei; he was also quite curious now—

Who else will be in this company?
(End of this chapter)