A widower's entertainment

Chapter 421 [The New Year of 1994]

It must be said that, thanks to the appeal of Lin Youcheng, an Oscar-caliber screenwriter, and the excellent script of "Crossing the Guandong," the cast has been quickly finalized.

The actors were also very dedicated, immersing themselves in the life of the characters, as they all knew how rare the opportunity to act in Lin Youcheng's drama was.

As Chen Jianbin and Wang Xuebin's senior in the acting department of Yanjing Drama Academy, He Bing naturally takes special care of these two juniors, communicating and exchanging ideas about their roles and rehearsing their lines.

He Bing has scenes involving interaction and performances. Jiang Wenli and Yu Feihong, both graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, will also have scenes with Zhou Xun and Tao Hong.

"Zhou Xun, why didn't you ever think about studying acting back then?"

Yu Feihong also greatly admired Zhou Xun's performance. It lacked the polish of a professional school and the formal acting techniques; it was more about feeling. Yu Feihong even discussed with Zhou Xun applying to the Performance Department of Yenching Film Academy.

As for Tao Hong, there's no need to say anything, because Tao Hong has already planned to apply to the Yenching Academy of Drama.

Upon hearing Yu Feihong's words, Zhou Xun, who graduated from the Ethnic Dance major of Jiangzhe Art Vocational College, realized that although it was certainly not as good as Yanjing Film Academy or Yanjing Drama Academy, she had always been involved in artistic performance. Originally, she had not planned to apply to the film academy, but now she was indeed considering it, since she could see that Yu Feihong, Jiang Wenli and others were all very good performers.

Jiang Wenli looked at Zhou Xun and said with a smile, "It's alright. Learning from real roles is the same. You acted very well."

Zhou Xun was naturally pleased to hear Jiang Wenli's words, after all, these two were her seniors. Yu Feihong was a given, she had seen the movie "If Love Has a Destiny", and as for Jiang Wenli, she had seen the short film "Farewell My Concubine" and thought her acting was superb.

"Then I will learn from you."

Zhou Xun said with a smile, "I never dreamed I would be able to join this production team."

Jiang Wenli and Yu Feihong couldn't help but laugh when they heard Zhou Xun's words. They had heard from Zhou Xun that she was a resident singer in a bar in Beijing, but she refused to accompany people for drinks and was beaten up. She also accidentally participated in an audition and was selected.

Yu Feihong was naturally very touched by Zhou Xun's words. After all, she herself was suddenly recommended to star in the movie "If Love Has a Destiny". She really did not expect that she, as a student, would have the opportunity to play the female lead in Lin Youcheng's novel.

Tao Hong also said with a smile, "Me too. I've always really liked Lin Youcheng's novels. When I was on the swimming team, I even wrote him a letter as a reader. I never thought I would be able to act in one of Lin Youcheng's works."

Which of Lin Youcheng's novels is your favorite?

These words naturally sparked a lively discussion among the young women.

Jiang Wenli said with emotion, "I watched his first movie, 'Under the Hawthorn Tree,' and I cried so much. It was so sad. Lao San is truly the most perfect man in the world."

"Yes, I still remember that sentence: I can't wait for you for a year and a month, and I can't wait for you until you're twenty-five, but I will wait for you for a lifetime."

Yu Feihong also said, "And there's 'The Devotion of Suspect X,' a completely unexpected murder method, truly a love sacrificed with one's life. Shi Hongye is truly great."

"I like 'Love Letter' even more, as well as 'Strange Tales of the Human World', 'The Time Traveler's Wife', and 'The Untouchable Lover' even more... No, I should say that I really like every single one of Lin Youcheng's romance novels."

Tao Hong said very seriously, "I like all of his novels. I really can't say which one I like the most. The love story in 'Atonement' is really heartbreaking. I cried a lot back then. I never expected that the happy ending was fake."

"Yes, who would have thought it was fake..."

Compared to He Bing and the others who would discuss the scenes in the script, it was clear that the young women like Jiang Wenli would also talk about Lin Youcheng's other works, especially those touching love stories. It could be said that Lin Youcheng's love stories had truly touched their hearts, making them unable to help but talk about those stories, those characters, and those love stories, and the more they talked, the more excited they became.

Of course, even when discussing Lin Youcheng's works, it did not affect their preparation for the roles. They all diligently memorized their lines, experienced life in Northeast China, and completely immersed themselves in their characters.

……

Because of the joint production of the major drama by CCTV and local TV stations, Shandong and Liaoning provinces also cooperated quite well.

Director Zheng Xiaolong has already taken his crew to various locations in Shandong and Northeast China for filming, so this film will definitely be shot entirely on location.

It's fair to say that film and television productions are now quite meticulous, with precise selection of props and costumes, and careful consideration given to filming locations. For example, the upcoming "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" boasts a budget of 170 million yuan, a truly massive investment aimed at recreating the most authentic Three Kingdoms world. Actors collectively suppress their individual personalities, with nearly 400,000 extras recreating cold weapon warfare.

Even the Battle of Red Cliffs was filmed on location. To film the Battle of Red Cliffs, the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" crew did something crazy: they poured 20 tons of gasoline on 72 wooden boats, set them on fire, and filmed them from land, sea, and air. The fire burned 50 truckloads of timber, and black smoke shrouded the Yangtze River. The helicopter aerial filming cost 18 yuan, which was an absolutely incredible investment and production at that time.

Of course, this is also because in this day and age, without advanced special effects technology, location shooting has become the only option.

However, what stands out most is the dedication put into its production.

Now, CCTV and other local TV stations are also putting a lot of effort into Lin Youcheng's "Crossing the Guandong". This is largely thanks to Lin Youcheng, who quickly finalized the cast and crew without delaying the production. As for director Zheng Xiaolong, he has also traveled to many locations to begin filming.

Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter, naturally didn't go along to experience life. When the crew officially started filming, he could only visit the set, since the director was in charge of the actual filming.

Of course, this doesn't mean Lin Youcheng stopped managing the "Crossing the Guandong" production team. As the producer of the series, he naturally discussed and confirmed certain scenes and sequences with Lin Youcheng. However, because Lin Youcheng was the screenwriter, there weren't many script revisions. But initially, Lin Youcheng did communicate with Zheng Xiaolong that some lines during location shooting didn't have to be strictly according to the script; the actors could improvise based on their own understanding and feelings.

Clearly, Lin Youcheng's words were just meant to ease the pressure on some actors, but no one would dare to arbitrarily change Lin Youcheng's script. It can be said that everyone was memorizing their lines very seriously and rehearsing them in private.

This is also because Lin Youcheng's script for "Crossing the Guandong" is very solid. In fact, the original script for "Crossing the Guandong" only made some plot adjustments based on the actors' understanding. For example, the death of Zhu Chuanwu. In the original script of another timeline, Zhu Chuanwu's ending was not death. However, during the filming process, it was mentioned that if the Zhu family could survive all the difficulties in that turbulent era, it would seem a bit illogical that no one in the Zhu family would die. It was for this reason that Zhu Kaishan was arranged to lose a son to add drama and emotional impact to the plot.

Later, for this reason, the person who sacrificed himself was ultimately Zhu Chuanwu, who had a strong sense of national responsibility and patriotism. This made the impact on the audience even greater. Obviously, Zhu Chuanwu's death did indeed spark a wide discussion among the audience, and made the character more deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Of course, the production team did have some regrets after that, because there was no way to continue the sequel. However, it is clear that Lin Youcheng did not plan to make any "Crossing the Guandong 2" or "Crossing the Guandong Prequel".

It is precisely for this reason that Lin Youcheng's script is actually quite complete. Not to mention the actors, even directors like Zheng Xiaolong and CCTV personnel have not raised any objections. On the one hand, this is due to Lin Youcheng's status as a screenwriter, and no one dares to arbitrarily change Lin Youcheng's script, even the lines. On the other hand, the most important reason is that the script is also very good, and no one else has pointed out any errors or opinions that are worth discussing.

Lin Youcheng wasn't on set, but he still kept in touch with Zheng Xiaolong.

Now, Lin Youcheng spends most of his time with Xie Shuhua in the courtyard house in Xinghua Hutong.

Time passed unnoticed, and with the heavy snow of winter, 1994 quietly arrived.

It was also because of Lin Youcheng's Huayi Film and Television Company that Huayi Brothers, another company that should have been established on January 1, 1994, did not change its name. This was because Lin Youcheng's Huayi Company had not been established for long, and most people in the industry still knew the name of screenwriter Lin Youcheng, but did not know about Lin Youcheng's newly established Huayi Film and Television Company. By the time those two found out, the company name had already been decided as Huayi Brothers, which was naturally quite embarrassing.

When the Wang brothers learned the name of Lin Youcheng's company, they regretted it quite a bit. Although Huayi and Huayi are different, it is still easy to confuse them if said out loud. Obviously, the two Huayi brothers did not want to have the same name as the big boss Lin Youcheng's company, and they were already considering whether to change the company name.

Lin Youcheng naturally wouldn't know about these things; he's currently focused on protecting Xie Shuhua.

Now that Xie Shuhua is further along in her pregnancy, she may give birth after the New Year, so Lin Youcheng will naturally be more concerned about this matter.

Fortunately, the school was already on winter break, and the children were able to help with some chores. In addition, someone was already cooking, so things were relatively easy in the courtyard house, and there were no complicated matters.

Lin Zhaoxi planned to become an obstetrician and gynecologist in the future, so he naturally studied in private. Moreover, being an adult, he also helped take care of Xie Shuhua.

Of course, Xie Shuhua has always been in good health, and her hospital checkups have always been normal, so everything went smoothly.

Looking at Xie Shuhua's protruding belly, Lin Zhaoxi felt a pang of worry for Xie Shuhua, perhaps because her mother had died in childbirth. However, she didn't voice these concerns.

However, Xie Shuhua could naturally see that Lin Zhaoxi cared about her a lot.

"Xi'er seems a little worried about me."

Xie Shuhua would naturally bring this up with Lin Youcheng in private.

Upon hearing Xie Shuhua's words, Lin Youcheng recalled that Lin Zhaoxi had also witnessed that incident, and naturally became more nervous. He couldn't help but say, "Actually, the reason she wanted to become a doctor, and an obstetrician-gynecologist, is because of what happened before."

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Xie Shuhua naturally understood what Lin Youcheng meant. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Lin Zhaoxi, but she also admired him greatly. He had always remembered that incident and had always had a clear mind, moving forward.

"Then I'll listen to her more; after all, she's more professional."

Xie Shuhua smiled, looked down at her belly, then looked at Lin Youcheng and asked, "Youcheng, now that we're having this, do you want a boy or a girl?"

"Boys and girls both like it."

Not to mention that Lin Youcheng himself has three boys and three girls, which can be described as having both sons and daughters, Lin Youcheng treats all of Lin Zhaoxi's children equally. Whether Xie Shuhua gives birth to a boy or a girl, he will naturally like them all.

Xie Shuhua wasn't surprised to hear Lin Youcheng's words, because she had the same thought. However, she touched her belly and said softly, "Although I can accept either a boy or a girl, I would prefer a sweet little girl."

Lin Youcheng looked at Xie Shuhua, seeing the smile on her face, and couldn't help but say, "The boys are also very considerate, and Zhaoqing and Zhaoman are very sensible."

Xie Shuhua couldn't help but smile when she heard Lin Youcheng's words. She knew that Lin Zhaoqing and the others were all very sensible, but none of them were as considerate as Lin Zhaoxi. Of course, this was also because Lin Zhaoxi was older.

Xie Shuhua also hopes that her child will be as sensible as her older brother and sister after birth.

Time flies by, and before we know it, the end of the year is here. This time of year is especially festive and lively, as a new baby is on the way, making the whole family even more excited. Amidst the sounds of firecrackers, we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.

After the New Year, Beijing was still cold, and the northeastern part of the country was still covered in ice and snow. It was in Harbin, amidst the snow and ice, that the crew of "Crossing the Guandong" started filming, but Lin Youcheng did not go to the set.

Because Xie Shuhua is about to give birth; he is about to welcome his seventh child.

(End of this chapter)