A widower's entertainment

Chapter 415 [Two Choices] (Please Subscribe)
The death of that brilliant poet overseas, who murdered his wife and then committed suicide, had a profound impact on the poetry world and literature. As the newspaper headline read, it was framed in large black lines, with the striking words "The Poet is Dead."

Using these four words as a title is not simple. These four words are not just a random, straightforward statement. They originally came from the death of the great Russian poet Pushkin. Obviously, the newspapers are using these four words now because of the poet's influence in the literary world, and also because the news is really too shocking and unexpected.

But no matter how shocking and unexpected it may be, time keeps moving forward.

Lin Youcheng was also unable to comfort Cha Haisheng. He knew that Cha Haisheng was heartbroken over the death of that poet, and also heartbroken that poetry had lost its former fervor and fallen into silence.

"Is Haisheng alright?"

When Xie Shuhua saw Lin Youcheng enter the room, she knew that Cha Haisheng had already left, so she naturally asked him how his conversation with Lin Youcheng had gone.

Lin Youcheng shook his head and said, "It's hard to believe for a moment, I just can't accept it yet."

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Xie Shuhua couldn't help but sigh, "This is indeed unbelievable. Students at our school are also discussing this matter."

Lin Youcheng understood Xie Shuhua's meaning. He also felt sorry for the poet's choice, but he felt most sorry for the woman, since she was the one who was killed. He shook his head and said, "Zha Haisheng actually thinks that poetry is dead now."

"Poetry and literature are not as popular or sought after as they used to be, but it's not fair to say that poetry is dead."

Xie Shuhua was well aware of how popular poetry and poets were among young literary enthusiasts in the 1980s. Many people across the country were writing and reading poetry. It could be said that anyone who claimed to be a poet was highly sought after, and poetry associations were established all over the country, truly enjoying immense popularity.

In those days, both poetry and literature were incredibly popular, but now it's clear that they can't compare to what they used to be.

Lin Youcheng naturally understood what Xie Shuhua meant, nodded, and said, "That's what I told him too. He's still writing poetry, and there are other poets writing poetry too."

In Lin Youcheng's view, true poetry is dead. Perhaps the real death of poetry will come when it becomes a self-contained pastime for some people within the system, and when the poems of Jia Pingwa's daughter also appear on the poetry scene.

But even in death, new poetry will be reborn from the ashes. Lin Youcheng knew very well that a long, long time from now, a poet would commit suicide. That poet was only twenty-four years old. After swallowing a moon made of iron, he jumped off and chose death.

Xie Shuhua nodded, agreeing with Lin Youcheng's words, and said, "Yes, neither poetry nor literature will die."

"Of course!"

Lin Youcheng thought so too.

Although the literary world is currently discussing the poet's murder of his wife and his death, Lin Youcheng doesn't seem to care much about it.

After the film "The Hunt" was released in the United States, it once again proved the magic of Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter from the East. In Hollywood, not only are the imaginative fantasy themes quite wonderful, but the realistic themes are also quite amazing. Of course, "The Departed" before "The Hunt" was also a very amazing story. Naturally, Hollywood companies contacted Lin Youcheng one after another.

There's no way around it, Lin Youcheng, this screenwriter from the East, really has a huge presence in the American film market!

With "The Departed" in the first half of the year and "The Hunt" now, both films have led many Hollywood filmmakers to believe that next year's Oscars will be extremely competitive.

Of course, next year's Oscars were going to be very competitive, given the big hit "Schindler's List," "The Piano" which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes along with "Farewell My Concubine," as well as "The Longest Day in Chang'an" and "The Fugitive."

Clearly, Lin Youcheng's two films, "The Departed" and "The Hunt," are also strong contenders for Oscar nominations.

Lin Youcheng didn't really care about the news that Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures were popular with his films, because these two films were facing off against the perfectly righteous "Schindler's List," making it very difficult for them to win major awards. Even though "The Departed" was an Oscar-worthy film, it was clear that it would still be difficult to compete with "Schindler's List."

However, even so, it will not affect Lin Youcheng's status as an Eastern screenwriter. At least in the eyes of many film professionals, at least two films with Lin Youcheng as the screenwriter will be nominated for the Oscars next year.

Even though it wasn't nominated, the audience is well aware of how good Lin Youcheng's script is.

Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and several other Hollywood film companies, including MGM and Fox, have all contacted Lin Youcheng, expressing their strong desire to collaborate with him.

Speaking of which, although Lin Youcheng had several scripts made into movies in Hollywood before, such as "Everyday," "The Truman Show," and "The Departed," they were actually only produced by three companies: Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures. You should know that there are eight major film studios in the United States now.

Other film and television companies also very much hope to cooperate with Lin Youcheng, but there is no suitable opportunity.

Producers from other film companies contact him from time to time, wanting to discuss collaborations with Lin Youcheng. Of course, the most important thing for collaborations is a script. Lin Youcheng has already sold two scripts to Universal Pictures, so even if other companies want to collaborate, they know it won't be that quick.

However, they were clearly unaware that Lin Youcheng certainly didn't lack scripts; it's just that Lin Youcheng wasn't in a hurry.

……

The film adaptation of "If Love Has a Destiny" by Yanjing Film Studio moved many viewers when it was released in mainland China. This was partly due to the popularity of the original novel, which naturally garnered attention when it was made into a film.

Lin Youcheng and Xie Shuhua went to the cinema to watch the movie together. It has to be said that the Yanjing Film Studio made it very well, especially the war scenes, which were very realistic. Yu Feihong also performed very well.

Factory director Cheng Zhigu naturally cared about Lin Youcheng's opinion as the novel's author, and had specifically asked Lin Youcheng what he thought of the film, to which Lin Youcheng naturally gave his approval.

"Director Cheng, the movie was very well made, not to mention the positive response." Cheng Zhigu nodded and said with a smile, "It was very well made. This is because your novel was already very famous before, which is why the audience thought of going to the cinema to see the movie. They all liked your novel from the beginning."

"If it weren't for piracy, the film's box office performance would probably be even better, but it's still much worse than before. The box office performance for the whole year has been poor."

When Lin Youcheng heard Cheng Zhigu's words, he was well aware that this represented two different situations for the film industry. One was that Chinese-language films were winning awards abroad, but the box office revenue in mainland China was declining. Now that it was nearing the end of the year, it was known that the box office had dropped significantly compared to last year, and was almost halved compared to the historical peak in 1991. In fact, this marked the beginning of a ten-year box office freeze in the mainland film market.

Lin Youcheng didn't know what to say, after all, the Yanjing Film Studio would be withdrawing from the stage, and would later be merged and reorganized into a film group with eight other directly affiliated film enterprises and institutions, including the film distribution and screening company and the children's film studio.

These are all developments that have occurred under the tide of the times.

Lin Youcheng was well aware of this, but he didn't know how to tell Cheng Zhigu. He could only say, "As long as it's not too bad, it's fine. With televisions becoming more and more common, the number of people willing to go to the cinema will naturally decrease."

Cheng Zhigu nodded. He didn't continue discussing the box office results with Lin Youcheng. After all, compared to the films produced by other film studios, the box office results of "If Love Has a Destiny" were not bad. However, Cheng Zhigu brought up another matter with Lin Youcheng, namely the matter of Director Tian's film "The Blue Kite" being reported.

This matter is being discussed in the film industry, as news has spread that Director Tian has been banned from making films.

"I never imagined it would be this serious!"

Clearly, Cheng Zhigu also felt sorry for Director Tian, ​​not expecting the matter to escalate to this point.

This incident has caused a huge stir in the industry; it's no exaggeration to say it was a major upheaval. There's no way around it, it's really serious.

When Lin Youcheng heard Cheng Zhigu's words, he realized that he had actually mentioned this matter to Li Shaohong before. At that time, Li Shaohong probably didn't pay much attention to it. Now, she probably knows how serious this matter is. Of course, there are other reasons as well, namely, that he had run into trouble.

Lin Youcheng didn't say much, because such things can only be known after they happen.

Lin Youcheng thought that even if Zhang Guoshi's "To Live" won awards abroad next year, it would not be released in China. Now, the only suitable films to be made are those that can truly compete for awards overseas.

Lin Youcheng and Cheng Zhigu didn't chat much, and Cheng Zhigu had other things to do, so he left first.

After Cheng Zhigu left, Lin Youcheng was also thinking about what TV series the company should produce if it wasn't making movies.

"What are you thinking about?"

Xie Shuhua noticed that Lin Youcheng seemed to be thinking about something and couldn't help but ask him.

Lin Youcheng looked at Xie Shuhua and said, "I'm thinking about whether the first thing we should do after the company is established should be a movie or a TV series. I think it might be more suitable to make a TV series."

Lin Youcheng had been considering the works that the company would produce after its establishment. Although the company was founded because of Lin Zhaomei, it was natural to consider the company's future works, since only works can truly establish a business.

Although the company co-invested in "Infernal Affairs 2" with Huayi Brothers Film Company, it was just an investment, and the proportion was not large. The more important thing was the development of Huayi Brothers itself.

In Lin Youcheng's view, once the company develops, it could collaborate with Wan Chen Film Company on some films. If the subject matter is sensitive and the film is only for award consideration and not easy to pass censorship, it might be possible to film it in Hong Kong. Of course, it would be best if it could pass censorship.

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Xie Shuhua said, "The TV series is quite good; everyone's watching TV now."

Xie Shuhua was well aware that TV dramas were very popular now, such as those broadcast by Beijing TV and CCTV.

As someone working in the literary circle, Xie Shuhua is naturally well aware that literature is now turning to film and television, and she can now understand why Lin Youcheng also wants to start a company.

Lin Youcheng nodded. He knew this too. TV dramas were popular right now, but Lin Youcheng also knew that not every script was suitable for a TV drama.

Lin Youcheng is also considering what script to write for the first TV series collaboration. Realistic themes like "Crossing the Guandong" are undoubtedly very suitable for this era. Other options include historical dramas like "The Great Song Dynasty Criminal Investigator," or Li Shaohong's "Palace of Desire," or spy dramas or war dramas.

These TV series are undoubtedly classics.

The TV series "Crossing the Guandong" is an absolute national drama. It tells the story of the Zhu Kaishan family, a Shandong native, who, due to natural disasters and wars, ventured to the three northeastern provinces east of Shanhaiguan to seek survival from the late Qing Dynasty to before the September 18 Incident. The entire series reviews modern history from the perspective of ordinary people. Personal affairs are family affairs, and family affairs are national affairs. The three are intertwined and interwoven. The fate of individuals is closely related to the fate of the country. It also tells the story of the insignificance and powerlessness of individuals in a great era. However, when countless individuals work together, families can prosper and the country can become strong, so there is no need to fear turmoil.

This epic drama reflects the most profound changes in China during the 1920s and 30s, spanning nearly 30 years and lasting 52 episodes—a truly large-scale production.

Lin Youcheng felt that if such a big production were to be filmed, collaboration would definitely be necessary.

In addition, although "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner" is not as grand in scale as "Crossing the Guandong", the entire story is based on "Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified" written by Song Ci, the world's father of forensic medicine. It tells the story of the forensic examiner Song Ci using his medical knowledge, reasoning ability and sense of justice to uncover the truth, punish evil and protect the interests of the people in the process of trying cases. It is also a classic work, and it can even be said to be a classic among period detective dramas.

Of course, Lin Youcheng doesn't think that the company only produces TV dramas; movies are definitely not to be missed either.

(End of this chapter)