A widower's entertainment

Chapter 430 [The Next Drama] (Please Subscribe)
The crew of the TV series "Crossing the Guandong".

Zheng Xiaolong naturally noticed that Lin Youcheng thought highly of Kong Sheng, the cameraman from Qilu Television Production Center. He also thought the cameraman was quite insightful and asked, "Are you planning to bring him into your company?"

Upon hearing Zheng Xiaolong's words, Lin Youcheng smiled and nodded, saying, "He did a pretty good job filming."

"It's pretty good."

Zheng Xiaolong then asked, "So you have a plan for the next move?"

In Zheng Xiaolong's view, Lin Youcheng would not have invited Kong Sheng to join the company at this time if he didn't have a plan.

Lin Youcheng smiled and did not answer Zheng Xiaolong's question directly. Instead, he said, "I told him to think it over carefully and we'll talk about it after we finish filming 'Crossing the Guandong'."

In fact, Lin Youcheng does have plans for another drama series. After all, his company can't possibly only have "Crossing the Guandong" as its main production. Of course, he's not in a hurry for the next one, since they're currently filming "Crossing the Guandong".

However, he could indeed finish writing the script first.

Actually, there are many dramas that are suitable to be filmed at this time. For example, "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," which Lin Youcheng had previously thought of, is a very suitable drama.

However, making a good film for this classic period suspense and detective drama is not easy. Many details of the Song Dynasty need to be researched. The style and materials of the characters' clothing and headdresses must be in line with the era. The props also need to be in the Song Dynasty style. The folk life and cultural etiquette of the Song Dynasty must be highly restored. Although these are all things that the director team needs to carefully study and determine, Lin Youcheng felt that he could not rashly hand over "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner" to Kong Sheng to film. He could not start with such a high level of difficulty unless he found a director to co-direct with Kong Sheng.

With these two directors working together to polish the drama "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," Lin Youcheng felt he wouldn't let the story down, since "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner" is truly a remarkable drama.

Besides the captivating story and stellar cast, the soundtrack is also exceptionally well-done. The eerie music and intense drumbeats, combined with flashbacks and computer-generated special effects, create suspense and ignite the audience's curiosity. The overall visuals, costumes, props, character performances, and musical design are all exquisite. It is precisely this series' excellence that has crafted this unique historical feel.

Lin Youcheng looked at Zheng Xiaolong and asked, "He wants to be a director, so could you mentor him more?"

When Zheng Xiaolong heard Lin Youcheng say that Kong Sheng also had the idea of ​​becoming a director, he was not surprised. In fact, he himself did not start out as a director. He was a producer and screenwriter at first, and only later did he direct and shoot TV series.

"So it seems you're planning to have him work as a director at your company?"

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "If that's possible, it would certainly be a good thing."

Zheng Xiaolong nodded upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words. Isn't this how directors learn their craft by being immersed in the film crew and developing their own ideas? Just like the cinematographer Zhang Guoshi, and Feng Xiaogang, who worked with him on "Yanjing People in New York"—that's how they came up with their own ideas. And Zhao Baogang—a few years ago, because the script for "Aspiration" couldn't keep up with the filming schedule, director Lu Xiaowei focused his main efforts on the script, which gave assistant director Zhao Baogang the opportunity to direct, and he was credited as the director in the final cut.

In Zheng Xiaolong's view, it's not surprising at all that a photographer wants to be a director.

Although Zheng Xiaolong was very curious about what kind of story Lin Youcheng's next drama would be, he didn't ask too many questions, since he was focused on making "Crossing the Guandong" a success.

Lin Youcheng didn't stay long on the set of "Crossing the Guandong" either, as he naturally had to return to Xinghua Hutong in Beijing.

However, when Lin Youcheng returned to Beijing, he also told Kong Sheng to think it over carefully, and that if she was interested, she could come to Beijing to find him after filming "Crossing the Guandong".

Kong Sheng naturally nodded in agreement and said, "I will definitely go then."

Kong Sheng had absolutely no reason not to go. After all, he didn't know when he would have the opportunity to become a director at the Qilu TV Production Center. Joining Lin Youcheng's company would be the best thing ever.

The key point is that this is the company of Lin Youcheng, a great writer and screenwriter.

After returning to the capital, Lin Youcheng not only took care of the infant Lin Zhaoyuan, but also researched and wrote the script for "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner".

However, this was still relatively easy, because Lin Youcheng didn't need to rush to finish his manuscript. In addition to the nanny Sister Zhou, Xie Shuhua also helped take care of the baby. He no longer needed to write manuscripts by hand while rocking the cradle as before.

Lin Youcheng's residence was in Xinghua Hutong, so naturally some friends would come to visit him, and Li Shaohong was one of them.

Li Shaohong has visited Xinghua Hutong more than once or twice. It can be said that the movie "The Reader" has brought Li Shaohong a certain achievement in the film industry, and she has gained more confidence in front of her two classmates. After all, it is quite an achievement for a movie to produce a Best Actress winner from one of the three major film festivals.

Li Shaohong was well aware that this was all because Lin Youcheng had given her the script for "The Reader." Moreover, as the screenwriter who brought the film "The Reader" to the Berlin Film Festival, she truly realized how influential Lin Youcheng was at the film festival. It can be said that at that time, many foreign film distributors had already approached her to discuss cooperation because of Lin Youcheng's name.

She truly witnessed the influence of screenwriter Lin Youcheng.

Li Shaohong naturally maintained a good relationship with Lin Youcheng. She also talked to Lin Youcheng about her classmate, Director Tian, ​​being banned from making films for ten years. After all, before this happened, Lin Youcheng had mentioned to Li Shaohong that the film needed to pass censorship, but it was clear that her classmate was too stubborn at that time.

"He was banned from filming for ten years, such a long time is unimaginable."

Lin Youcheng thought for a moment and asked, "I have a TV series here. If he is interested, he can serve as the producer and also mentor my director."

Clearly, Lin Youcheng didn't suggest that Director Tian directly direct the TV series. It was more of a nominal role, as the position of producer is more commonly found in films, and it's rare to see that in mainland China nowadays.

"TV drama?"

Li Shaohong frowned slightly. She still considered film the true art of directing and held television dramas in contempt. However, it was clear that the film market and film studios had changed. Finding investment was crucial for film production, and some of her classmates were exhausted, even considering switching to television dramas. For example, Teng Wenji, who directed the film *The Chess King*, was already writing a television script, and some directors she knew had also begun producing television dramas. However, their general mentality was simply to "make a living." Faced with harsh realities, they could only temporarily bury their artistic dreams, hoping to find a way to achieve their goals through a roundabout method someday.

Lin Youcheng was well aware that these big-name film directors still had their opinions on television dramas. After all, what used to take only a few tens of minutes to shoot now took thousands of minutes. The narrative, structure and presentation were all different. However, the fact that the fifth generation of filmmakers had all started making television dramas was also true.

Furthermore, because Director Tian was banned from making movies, Li Shaohong later approached him to make a TV series. However, when Director Tian saw that there were more than forty people with names and surnames in the series, he said that he couldn't remember them all and couldn't make the series.

"I'm just mentioning it briefly."

Lin Youcheng was also very clear about Director Tian's personality; he was a child prodigy who was unruly and rebellious.

In 1978, the national college entrance examination was reinstated, and the Yenching Film Academy resumed enrollment. While other students were still frowning in despair, this student had already handed in his paper early. The proctor checked the time; only half an hour had passed. He even asked, "You handed in your paper so early, aren't you going to check it?"

Director Tian said directly: No need, further checks would be a waste of time.

The reason he answered exam questions so quickly was due to his family background. Director Tian's father was a famous actor, the lead actor in "Heroes and Daughters." During the literary and art symposium, his father sat next to the leaders. As for his mother, she was undoubtedly one of the top actresses in the country at the time. From a young age, he was immersed in theatrical performance. While Chen Aige was interning at the film studio and hadn't even touched a film reel yet, Director Tian had already started shooting short films. When he was shooting his graduation project, "The Small Courtyard," Zhang Guoshi, Hou Yong, and Lü Yue from the cinematography department were his cinematographers.

Before graduating, Director Tian had already directed four films, a feat unprecedented in the history of the Yenching Film Academy.

Lin Youcheng was aware of this, which is why he only mentioned it briefly.

Of course, Lin Youcheng wouldn't actually ask Director Tian to be his producer. He just mentioned it casually, since he believed that with his reputation, there would naturally be many people who wanted to work with him.

Not to mention, it's not him who can't make movies now, it's Director Tian.

Li Shaohong is now fully aware that her classmate is truly banned, completely prohibited from making films. Directing is a craft, and Li Shaohong herself couldn't believe that she would be banned from making films for ten years.

Li Shaohong naturally wouldn't disregard Lin Youcheng's words. She wouldn't look down on anyone else's dramas, but she certainly wouldn't look down on Lin Youcheng's. After all, the TV series "The Message" and "Lurking" were both very influential dramas in China, and she had watched them herself. Of course, it must be said that the most exciting part of such dramas is the script.

This is also what many people in the industry say: stage plays are the art of actors, movies are the art of directors, and TV series are the art of screenwriters.

Lin Youcheng's script goes without saying; he's the first person in China to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Even if it's a TV drama script, no domestic film director could afford to ignore it.

Li Shaohong had also heard that Lin Youcheng had a very impressive TV script, which was being co-produced by CCTV and several local TV stations. She couldn't help but ask, "Is it the one that CCTV produced? Isn't that directed by Zheng Xiaolong?"

"No, it's a different show."

Li Shaohong was naturally curious and asked, "What story?"

"Ancient detective stories: The story of Song Ci."

Li Shaohong was surprised that Lin Youcheng would write a story about solving ancient cases. She naturally knew about Song Ci, so she was curious about how Lin Youcheng would write this story. The most classic case-solving and reasoning story by Lin Youcheng was "The Devotion of Suspect X". He hadn't written any similar stories since then. Now he had actually written a drama about solving ancient cases. How could Li Shaohong not be curious?

It's worth noting that Li Shaohong herself directed the film "The Silver Snake Murder Case," and she is very interested in this type of subject matter.

"Youcheng, may I take a look at this notebook?"

Lin Youcheng naturally wouldn't refuse. Although the script wasn't finished yet, he had already written quite a bit. He had discussed and exchanged ideas with Xie Shuhua, so he took it and handed it to Li Shaohong, saying with a smile, "Take a look and see what you think."

"I'd like to see if there's a suitable director who can recommend me to film this series."

Lin Youcheng didn't expect Director Tian to come and direct a TV series, so he just casually mentioned it to Li Shaohong with a smile. As for whether Li Shaohong would recommend him or not, or who she would recommend, Lin Youcheng himself had to consider that.

Li Shaohong smiled and took the script from Lin Youcheng, and started reading. She saw that the title of the drama was "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner", but she didn't pay much attention to it. She looked at the contents of the script and then saw a place called Meicheng in the story.

Meicheng may be small, but its depths are profound. Outsiders can see and talk about it, but they can't touch it at all. It's like a piece of paper that seems easy to understand, yet it remains unsolved. The answer is clearly there, but no one can find it.

These few lines of dialogue were enough to startle Li Shaohong.

Li Shao was immediately drawn to the first case; clearly, Meicheng had a “lawless zone” feel to it.

Ying Gu's father was an honest and upright official, but he fell off a cliff and died without cause after only six months in office. Song Ci's classmate, Meng Liangchen, volunteered for an official post, venturing into the lion's den, vowing to restore a clear sky to the people of Meicheng. However, before he could take office, he died in a fire at a post station on his way there.

Meicheng, this small county town, has long since become a dark, airtight room for group crimes.

There's evidence to investigate. But who can investigate? Even Song Ci had to impersonate an imperial envoy to temporarily escape death, yet he still nearly died at the hands of the assassins following him. If his father-in-law hadn't sent troops in advance, Song Ci might have become the second Meng Liangchen.

After reading the first case, Li Shaohong was also very shocked. Looking at Lin Youcheng, she praised him without reservation: "Youcheng, your case is really amazing!"

(End of this chapter)