A widower's entertainment

Because the crew of "Strange Tales of the Human World" started filming in Shanghai, Li An had previously mentioned it to Lin Youcheng, and Lin Youcheng had agreed to visit the set later. After all, he was the screenwriter of the film, and since he trusted director Li An, he could still visit the set, since the filming was being done in China.

The children were all on summer vacation at this time, and after attending Cha Haisheng's wedding, the children were all going to Shanghai with him.

Previously, when Lin Zhaomei went to the Berlin Film Festival to receive an award, Lin Youcheng only allowed Lin Zhaoqing to go with her. Now, he is thinking of having Lin Zhaoman, Lin Zhaohuan, and a few others go to Shanghai together.

To be honest, the last time they went to Shanghai was to visit the set of "The Message".

The children were all very excited, but Lin Zhaoxi didn't want to go along to play because she still had experiments to do later. Even though it was summer vacation, she didn't want to play all the time.

Lin Youcheng, as the father, naturally couldn't offer much advice, but he told Lin Zhaoxi not to be busy studying all day long and to go out and play when he had time.

Since Xie Shuhua also had time, she naturally went to Shanghai with Lin Youcheng to help him take care of the children, since her daughter Lin Zhaoyuan was also going along.

Lin Youcheng is naturally not afraid of flying. This time when he went to Shanghai to visit the set, he didn't even think about taking a long-distance train. After all, they are not short of money now, so they just let the children experience flying.

Clearly, these children were also flying for the first time and were very excited.

"Second brother, how do airplanes fly?"

Lin Zhaole sat next to Lin Zhaoqing, so naturally he didn't ask that question.

Lin Zhaoqing hadn't expected Lin Zhaole to ask him this question, and simply replied, "It's the lift of the air."

This put Lin Zhaoqing, a sports major, in a difficult position to explain the issue to Lin Zhaole in detail. He quickly changed the subject and asked, "Do you remember when you came to Shanghai as a child?"

Lin Zhaole had no recollection of it and asked, "Did I go to Shanghai when I was a child?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaomei said, "He didn't come that time. Dad only brought you, me, and my older sister. Zhaoman wanted to come at first, but he didn't in the end because they were too young."

"Oh yes, Dad only brought the three of us that time! Zhao Le and the others were too young."

Clearly, Lin Zhaoqing had somewhat forgotten his experience of going to Shanghai a long time ago, after all, it was a long time ago.

But it doesn't matter. Going to Shanghai this time is good too, since more people are going, so it will be more lively.

Lin Youcheng naturally thought the same thing, but since he was going to visit the film set, he asked Xie Shuhua to take Lin Zhaoyuan along. Fortunately, Lin Zhaoqing had grown up, Lin Zhaoman was already in high school, and Lin Zhaohuan and Lin Zhaole were not young either, so they could all come along to Shanghai to play and visit the Bund and the Oriental Pearl Tower.

After checking into the hotel, Lin Zhaomei went with Lin Youcheng to visit the set of "Strange Tales of the Human World".

Lin Youcheng's visit to the set of "Strange Tales of the Human World" would naturally be known to the crew. Even though Lin Youcheng was just visiting the set in a low-key manner, he is a real big shot in the industry, and everyone naturally wanted to get to know him.

The production team was led by Li An, and included many people from Taiwan, as well as some from Columbia Pictures. The entire filming team was quite professional.

It's fair to say that Lin Zhaomei came along to visit the set, naturally with the intention of learning.

Li An really liked Lin Zhaomei's short films. He had met her at the Berlin Film Festival before, and now he was working with Lin Youcheng's father. Naturally, the crew was very kind to Lin Zhaomei, and she could ask the crew any questions she wanted at any time.

"I didn't expect you to come."

With her old-age makeup on, Leslie Cheung looks completely different from her younger self. This is because the makeup is very complicated, and Leslie Cheung rarely removes her makeup during filming to avoid spending time redoing it.

"If you hadn't greeted me, I wouldn't have recognized you."

Lin Youcheng looked at the elderly Leslie Cheung with a smile, and couldn't help but wonder if this was what Leslie Cheung would look like in the future, especially after Lin Youcheng attended Cha Haisheng's wedding. Naturally, Lin Youcheng hoped that Leslie Cheung would not make such a choice at that age.

Clearly, Leslie Cheung is in excellent condition while filming "The Strange Tales of the Human World," where he plays Lin Qi.

As for Wong Kar-wai's previous film "Happy Together," it's said that he cast Andy Lau and Tony Leung to direct it.

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Leslie Cheung laughed and said, "I find it incredible when I look in the mirror myself. The feeling of playing this role is so special."

Since Lin Qi was born and grew up to be a teenager, his height could not possibly be that of an adult. Therefore, they would naturally find another teenager to play the role, who would then be portrayed as an old man.

Leslie Cheung was also very excited to play this role in reverse, feeling that this kind of life experience is what actors hope to have. After all, in real life, how could anyone possibly turn back the clock and become a child, experiencing a life in reverse?

Of course, this also means that Leslie Cheung puts in extra effort for the role of Lin Qi. He has to work harder to play the role well, and accurately express the different feelings at different times, because he is very clear about what this role means to him.

Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "Only you can play the role of Lin Qi well."

"Brother Lin, don't say that, or I'll take it seriously, haha."

Leslie Cheung knew that Lam Yau-shing might have just said it casually, but hearing the original author and screenwriter's affirmation of him, and that he was the only one who could play the role of Lam Kei well, naturally made him very happy.

Besides the excellent cast, the directing team is also excellent. After all, which actor wouldn't want to work with Li An? The key is that working with Li An is nothing like the torture you get with Wang Jiawei, where you have to make changes and act out scenes over and over again without ever knowing what you want.

Li An was very clear about the content to be filmed and had a firm grasp of everything, so communication was naturally very smooth.

Lin Youcheng and Zhang Guorong were talking when Zhang Manyu walked over from the other side.

Although Zhang Manyu's role is still relatively small, she joined the crew early on. After all, she's working with Li An and the renowned screenwriter Lin Youcheng. Zhang Manyu is very dedicated to her work, as she really loves Lin Youcheng's novels and screenplays. Now that she has the opportunity to meet Lin Youcheng, she naturally comes over to say hello. "Mr. Lin, hello, I'm Zhang Manyu."

Upon hearing Zhang Manyu's words, Lin Youcheng smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Just call me Youcheng, or you can call me Brother Lin like he does."

Zhang Manyu naturally went along with it, no longer calling him Mr. Lin, and started chatting with Lin Youcheng with a smile, saying, "I have always really liked your novels, such as 'The Devotion of Suspect X' and 'Atonement.' I have read all of those novels, and they are really well written. I have always been a fan of your books."

Zhang Manyu's words were undoubtedly sincere. After all, Lin Youcheng's literary works have a very wide influence, not only in the Chinese-speaking world, but throughout Asia, and even around the world, there are many fans and readers who love Lin Youcheng's works.

Needless to say, Lin Youcheng's subsequent film works also caused a huge sensation around the world.

Lin Youcheng listened to Zhang Manyu's words and naturally expressed his gratitude with a smile.

Zhang Manyu, on the other hand, chatted with Lin Youcheng about his film works. Besides novels, she also really liked the film scripts written by Lin Youcheng, including the movie "Love" which Lin Youcheng collaborated on with director Hou Xiaoxian. She said, "When I watched the movie 'Love', I cried. I thought the story was too extreme."

"I wish I had the chance to work with you. I never expected that we would be able to work together this time. I also really like the novel 'Strange Tales of the Human World'."

"I've watched it several times, and I cry every time I watch it."

Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "I am very happy that Director Li An asked you to play the role of Jiang Xi, because I have always admired your acting skills. I was worried that your schedule would not be suitable, which would be a great pity. Fortunately, you were able to take the role in the end, which is really great."

This is also Lin Youcheng's honest opinion. After all, Mandy Lieu's acting skills are truly exceptional.

Zhang Manyu came to the set of "Human Wonders" immediately after finishing filming her previous movie "Sweet Honey". Of course, this was also because Zhang Manyu's role in "Human Wonders" was not large, so it was just right to avoid filming her previous movie.

Zhang Manyu nodded, and said happily, "Yes, it's fortunate that we had the opportunity to cooperate this time."

"Actually, Brother Lin, let me tell you, I personally would prefer to play the role of Lin Qi. His life is just too special."

Zhang Manyu also felt that Lin Qi's fantastical life was truly unique. Even though there were many partings and pains in such a life, Zhang Manyu thought that such a life was too special and was really worth experiencing and challenging for an actor.

Leslie Cheung was surprised that Zhang Manyu would covet the male lead role he was playing. Although he knew it was just a joke from Zhang Manyu, he couldn't help but say, "Your character is also very interesting later on!"

Zhang Manyu nodded in agreement. She knew that although the drama "Strange Tales of the Human World" was about Lin Qi's life story, there was a twist in the story where, after Lin Qi left, Jiang Xi, who was gradually aging, met the young Lin Qi. This kind of complex life experience was quite rare, especially since this lover from his youth would grow smaller and smaller until he forgot his own existence, becoming a child, and finally dying as an infant in her arms.

Thinking about what happened next, Zhang Manyu was deeply moved and couldn't help but say, "The ending for Lin Qi and Jiang Xi was so touching."

"Lin Qi died in Jiang Xi's arms in the end, the two of them, an infant, and an old man with white hair—"

Zhang Manyu's gaze fell on Lin Youcheng again, and she couldn't help but sigh, "Brother Lin, the story you came up with is really too beautiful."

Yes, that's beauty!
Leslie Cheung nodded in agreement with Zhang Manyu's words. Of course, he also knew that if the story hadn't been so captivating, he wouldn't have won the award.

Although Leslie Cheung didn't know much about the Mao Dun Literature Prize in mainland China, he did know that this novel had won the Mao Dun Literature Prize, which is the highest award in the literary world. This naturally meant that the story was quite extraordinary.

Leslie Cheung said with a smile, "Brother Lin, his story is both fantastical and real; the whole story is so unique!"

This is also the opinion of many people. "Strange Tales of the Human World" is a story that is both fantastical and realistic. It is a story that is obviously impossible, but in Lin Youcheng's writing, everything is as if it really happened, full of realism.

"By the way, there are four other stories hidden in this story, one of which is 'The Message'."

Zhang Manyu nodded as well.

Although the film "Strange Tales of the Human World" contains foreshadowing of other stories, Li An did not intend to film them. After all, those were just insignificant passersby and did not need to be specifically filmed.

Lin Youcheng naturally respected and agreed with Li An's opinion, because in his view, there was no need to film them. Those were just foreshadowing in the novel, plots that were only mentioned briefly. There was no need to film them and make them overshadow the main plot, thus affecting the rhythm of the entire movie. In the initial movie script he wrote, Lin Youcheng had not included those parts.

After all, that foreshadowing is different from the post-credits scene in "Our Millionaire." Even in "Our Millionaire," that foreshadowing scene only appears after the end credits and doesn't affect the overall plot.

……

Since Lin Youcheng was only visiting the set, he naturally wouldn't interfere with director Li An in any way. He didn't say much and showed great respect for director Li An. Of course, he would also offer his suggestions on some of the issues Li An discussed.

After Lin Youcheng visited the set, he, like Xie Shuhua, took the children to play in Shanghai.

However, Lin Zhaomei stayed with the crew of "Human Wonders" and worked and learned from Li An. After all, it is a man who can learn from Li An, an internationally renowned director. This summer can be considered Lin Zhaomei's internship.

Li An naturally wouldn't think anything of it and would agree to let Lin Zhaomei stay in the crew to learn, especially since Lin Zhaomei was a very serious young woman, which was something Li An really liked.

After all, only by being serious and dedicated can one truly make a good movie.

Li An knew that Lin Zhaomei would definitely make her own feature film later. The short film "Destiny" was already very exciting, so what kind of movie would the feature film be?

Li An is also looking forward to Lin Zhaomei's future feature films.

After all, only by being serious and dedicated can one truly make a good film. (End of Chapter)