A widower's entertainment

Chapter 432 [Two Blossoms] (Please Subscribe)
Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, warming the shaded areas under the eaves. The pomegranate tree in the courtyard was covered in green leaves, and the light and shadow dappled through the leaves, dancing like gold.

Since it was the weekend, the children didn't have to go to school. Lin Zhaomei was filming the baby Lin Zhaoyuan lying in the crib with a DV camera, while Lin Zhaohuan was also teasing his little sister with a smile on his face.

"Sis, Yuanyuan is so cute!"

"Let me tell you, when she was first born, I thought she was ugly."

Clearly, Lin Zhaole's initial thought upon seeing his little sister was not unique; Lin Zhaohuan shared the same thought, though Lin Zhaohuan never voiced it.

Lin Zhaomei was also surprised by Lin Zhaohuan's words. While patting him, she laughed and said, "You were ugly when you were first born too."

"Anyway, I look pretty good now."

"Second brother, where are you going?"

Lin Zhaohuan saw her second brother, Lin Zhaoqing, come out of the west wing, seemingly preparing to go out. This was quite rare, as Lin Zhaoqing was under a lot of pressure this year because he was going to take the college entrance examination and usually studied at home. It was unusual for him to be going out now, so she couldn't help but ask him a question.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaoqing said, "I'm going out for a bit."

Lin Zhaohuan was just asking casually, and she naturally didn't care where Lin Zhaoqing went.

Lin Zhaomei glanced at Lin Zhaoqing, who was dressed very neatly, then turned to Lin Zhaohuan and asked, "How is he doing at school?"

Since Lin Zhaoqing was in the senior high school section of Xinghua Middle School, he was naturally in the same school as Lin Zhaohuan.

"How about what?"

Lin Zhaohuan was puzzled and didn't know what Lin Zhaomei meant by asking this question.

Lin Zhaomei raised an eyebrow, looked at Lin Zhaohuan's puzzled expression, shook her head, and said, "It's nothing. How are you, Zhaoman, and Zhaole doing at school?"

"Pretty good."

Inside the house, the father, Lin Youcheng, was continuing to write the script for "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner." However, he wasn't in a hurry and would naturally come to see Lin Zhaoyuan after writing for a while.

Tian Zhuangzhuang agreed to direct the filming of "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner" because of Lin Youcheng, but the most important reason was that the script was good.

With Tian Zhuangzhuang really following behind in "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," it's clear that Lin Youcheng doesn't need to worry about the quality of this drama at all. Lin Youcheng, of course, also needs to finish writing the remaining scripts.

As for filming this drama, there's no rush. We'll have to wait until filming for "Crossing the Guandong" is finished first.

The filming of "Crossing the Guandong" is going quite smoothly. The winter outdoor filming has long been completed, and the filming of the remaining scenes is naturally much easier now, since there is no need to film in the snow and ice anymore. Those scenes were indeed very difficult, but obviously the crew and actors are not going to complain, especially in 1994. For those artists, this is nothing.

The filming progress was quite fast, mainly due to the strong production team and the excellent actors, which made the process very smooth.

As for the upcoming series "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," it is undoubtedly quite meticulous, especially since it is based on a historical figure. Lin Youcheng will naturally polish the script to avoid any plot holes, which also requires research.

In Lin Youcheng's view, once the script is completed and Tian Zhuangzhuang helps with guidance, Kong Sheng will be able to better direct and film the TV series. Moreover, he believes that Kong Sheng will not feel that he has been sidelined by Tian Zhuangzhuang, after all, the person guiding him is not simple.

Lin Youcheng naturally couldn't let Lin Zhaomei take care of Lin Zhaoyuan all the time. If Lin Zhaomei hadn't wanted Lin Zhaoyuan to sunbathe in the yard, Lin Youcheng would have had the cradle next to him to watch over it. Lin Youcheng would write the script for a while and then go out to check on the child. In addition, Sister Zhou was helping with cooking in the kitchen.

When Lin Zhaomei saw Lin Youcheng coming over, she asked, "Dad, are you writing a TV drama script right now?"

As someone close to her, Lin Zhaomei was naturally well aware of some things. Now, her father was not only writing movie scripts, but also TV drama scripts.

Lin Youcheng nodded.

"Dad, you're so good at writing movie scripts, why do you also write TV drama scripts?"

When Lin Youcheng heard Lin Zhaomei's words, he knew that in Lin Zhaomei's opinion, movies were probably better than TV series. This was similar to how literary critics used to discuss what kind of literature he wrote, whether it was serious literature or avant-garde literature, or they criticized him for writing too popularly, calling it popular literature. At that time, Lin Youcheng gave his own answer: he wrote people's literature.

People's literature is written for the masses, and so are movies and TV series.

Is the TV series good?

Lin Zhaomei was taken aback for a moment, and before she could answer, Lin Zhaohuan nodded and replied, "Beautiful!"

Lin Zhaomei nodded, holding the DV recorder in her hand.

"Whether it's a movie or a TV series, they are two different forms of expression of a scripted story, each with its own characteristics."

Lin Zhaomei nodded upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, knowing the same thing, and said, "I still think film directors are more capable." Lin Youcheng smiled, noting that even internationally renowned directors who had won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival had made TV series. Of course, the film and television industry wouldn't hold such a view now, but he simply said, "You think film directors are more capable, but that doesn't mean you can say that TV series aren't good enough."

Lin Zhaomei nodded, her head bowed as she seriously considered her father's words.

Clearly, no one in the domestic film industry thinks that Lin Youcheng, an international screenwriter, is lowering his status by writing a TV series script. Lin Youcheng's status and position are there, and there is nothing to criticize. Moreover, this is not the first time Lin Youcheng has written a TV series script. Both "The Message" and "Lurking" are TV series scripts.

As for his achievements in film, the influence of screenwriter Lin Youcheng goes without saying.

Especially at this time, Lin Youcheng's film "City by the Sea" was also released in the United States. Undoubtedly, this low-budget art film also moved many film critics and audiences.

Compared to the box office performance of this art film, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either, considering that the production cost of this film was much smaller.

More importantly, the film "City by the Sea" has received excellent reviews, with audiences and media giving it very high praise.

Indeed, Lin Youcheng's screenplay "City by the Sea" truly resonated with Hollywood filmmakers, delivering a powerful and impactful experience.

Yes, it was a silent yet powerful emotional impact.

Although there were rumors that Lin Youcheng had written an excellent script for Paramount Pictures, and that male actors wanted to take on the roles in the script, it wasn't until the film was actually released that audiences and critics truly realized just how amazing the script written by this Eastern screenwriter, Lin Youcheng, was.

Regarding the film, a critic from The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "An extremely moving film, with a documentary style, the story itself, and the actors' performances, all possess enough tension. At moments of intense emotional release, the audience can feel it more genuinely from the atmosphere and the performances. While a story like 'Seaside Town' may not be relaxing for the audience, it has a different kind of cathartic effect, making the audience cherish the happiness in front of them even more."

The New York Times commented: "The Seaside Town uses flashbacks and a tragic undertone to reveal the truth of most people's lives. Faced with sadness, we all have the right to choose not to reconcile with life."

The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Following 'The Hunt,' Eastern screenwriter Lin Youcheng presents another emotionally impactful realistic story in 'Seaside City.'"

……

Just as these media outlets and newspapers are praising the film "Seaside Town," the story is incredibly realistic and deeply depressing.

The audience was completely shocked and moved by the story of "The City by the Sea." Even though the entire film was calm, with almost no heart-wrenching moments or bursts of sobbing, it was precisely this seemingly indifferent calm that allowed the audience to feel the deepest despair. Facing life, it seemed they were too exhausted to be angry, furious, or resentful anymore. Nothing remained; there was no struggle, no hatred, only emptiness in their hearts—this was true despair.

Naturally, everyone praises screenwriter Lin Youcheng, because his film scripts are undoubtedly brilliant, which has truly captivated a host of Hollywood actors.

Although Lin Youcheng's previous works, "The Departed" and "The Hunt," were nominated for Oscars but did not win, many people felt sorry for him. Now that Lin Youcheng has written "Seaside City," it remains to be seen whether he will be nominated for Best Original Screenplay at next year's Oscars.

If this screenwriter, Lin Youcheng, is nominated again, he will have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay four times in a row.

Of course, regardless of whether "City by the Sea" will be featured in next year's Oscars season, it has already received a great deal of praise.

Of course, in the eyes of many Hollywood media outlets, newspapers, and film critics, the story of "Seaside Town" absolutely deserves an Oscar for original screenplay and is fully worthy of competing for the Oscar for Best Picture. In particular, the performance of the male lead, Robin Williams, in "Seaside Town" has been highly praised, with many believing that Robin Williams delivered an Oscar-worthy performance in this film.

Robin Williams, who has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, delivered a truly outstanding performance in this film, according to many critics.

However, many film critics are discussing the brilliance of screenwriter Lin Youcheng, who managed to cram a heartwarming core into a thick shell of despair. On the surface, "Seaside City" subverts the Hollywood narrative convention of happy endings, but in reality, the film includes a small happy ending, where family relationships survive and continue between the uncle and nephew, and the protagonist awakens from his self-exile, returns to society, and resumes normal work.

The protagonist can never return to his hometown, and he leaves home again. But this is not the end. The ending is a picture of the uncle and nephew fishing together. In the eyes of many film critics, this ending is too good. Family destroys a person, but it is also family that saves him. In the end, this person will work hard and live a normal life.

Using the shell of tragedy to summon the soul of a set of values, this process is so circuitous that most people think it is just a bottomless pit of life trauma.

This is arguably why the film "Seaside City" has sparked so much discussion and debate among film critics: the story is brutal and full of reality, but it is more than just reality.

This is the brilliance, and also the most terrifying aspect, of Lin Youcheng's script for "City by the Sea," and why so many film critics believe that this film may be nominated again for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

This low-budget film has really sparked a lot of discussion among Hollywood industry insiders because there are so many things to talk about in the movie.

Such discussions continued unabated, with various voices appearing in American media and newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. They were all discussing how Lin Youcheng, this incredible Eastern screenwriter, had once again brought forth this astonishing script, "Seaside City."

Clearly, Lin Youcheng's script is as amazing as ever.

Although "Seaside City" has generated a great response in Hollywood, there hasn't been much news coverage in China. However, those in the film industry who truly care about movies are well aware that Lin Youcheng, a Chinese screenwriter, has once again brought a wonderful film to Hollywood.

This news naturally sparked heated discussions among domestic film directors. Even though Lin Youcheng is currently writing a TV series script, no one dares to underestimate this screenwriter.

Because right now, Lin Youcheng is the only screenwriter in China who writes scripts for Hollywood film companies, and the films are once again highly praised and popular, generating a great response in Hollywood. Many news media outlets are reporting on Lin Youcheng, this screenwriter from the East.

It can be said that the concept of hierarchy between TV series and movies simply does not exist for Lin Youcheng. This is the most important reason why film director Tian Zhuangzhuang dares not underestimate the TV series scripts written by Lin Youcheng. There is no way around it; even though Lin Youcheng writes TV series scripts, his film scripts are terrifyingly strong, and his status both internationally and domestically is undeniably strong.

For Lin Youcheng now, both movies and TV series are flourishing, both domestically and internationally.

(End of this chapter)