The literary era since 1979

Starting from the second day after the premiere of "The World's No. 1 Restaurant", journalists who had watched the show reported on it extensively in their own newspapers.

For example, the Literary Gazette directly wrote, "'The World's No. 1 Restaurant' invites Chinese and Japanese 'customers' to gather at the time-honored 'Fujude' brand to taste 'Beijing delicacies' and experience 'bitterness, sweetness, sourness'." Another example is the Yenching Daily, which gave it a title of "Knowing the World from a Dangerous Building - Thoughts on Watching a New Opera in Dialect."

Even drama media like "Drama Month" simply compared "The World's Number One Restaurant" with "Tea House".

Some of them even published interviews with the director, actors, and Chinese and Japanese audiences of The World's No.1 Restaurant, which received rave reviews. Shuntaro Tanikawa said directly, "The classic script can make the drama have strong vitality and appeal."

In a short time, "The World's No.1 Restaurant", which was based on the story of Quanjude, became famous in the city of Yanjing.

Even those who had no interest in drama became very interested in "The Best Restaurant in the World", especially when they heard that the famous dialect was used. They immediately went to the ticket office of the People's Art Theatre to inquire about the performance schedule of "The Best Restaurant in the World".

When people learned that there would be future performances of "The World's Number One Restaurant", they all lined up to buy tickets, eager to see it first.

The news spread quickly, and soon there was a long queue in front of the ticket office of the People's Art Theatre, with people scrambling to buy tickets for the next three days.

This long-lost scene has been seen not only by Feng Yuanzheng and Wu Gang, the "new recruits" who have just arrived at the People's Art Theater, but even veteran actors such as Pu Cunxin, Lu Chen, and Lin Liankun have not seen this scene for a long time. From last year to now, the attendance rate of the People's Art Theater has been getting lower and lower day by day.

But now, "The World's No. 1 Restaurant" has come out of nowhere and temporarily resolved the operational crisis of the People's Art Theatre.

At the subsequent "The World's No. 1 Restaurant" viewing and exchange meeting, Yu Shizhi, Ouyang Shanzun and others once again thanked Fang Yan.

At the same time, the visiting group led by the Haiyuza Theater Company was naturally unwilling to be outdone in the face of the pressure brought by "The World's Number One Restaurant".

In the following days, both sides showed off their talents, you performed your new Japanese play, and I performed my Chinese drama.

Just as the lively exchanges were taking place, Fang Yan took a leave and went to the Bayi Film Studio to attend the first creative team meeting held by the factory.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the building, Zhu Shimao with thick eyebrows and big eyes and Chen Peisi with shifty eyes came into his sight.

"Teacher Fang!"

The two of them ran over excitedly, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

Fang Yan looked at the two generals with a smile, "What are you two doing standing here?"

Chen Peisi smiled and said, "Hey, Lao Mao and I heard that you were coming to the factory for a meeting, so we came here specially to wait for you!"

"Wait for me?" Fang Yan raised his eyebrows. "What are you waiting for me to do?"

Zhu Shimao confessed the truth and hoped that Teacher Fang could help so that the two of them could watch "The World's Number One Restaurant".

"If I hadn't really had no other options, I wouldn't have come to you for help."

Chen Peisi said that "The Best Restaurant in the World" was so popular that it was impossible to get tickets even if you queued up. Even if you gritted your teeth and bought high-priced tickets from ticket scalpers, they were unexpectedly sold out. It was even harder to get tickets than the recently released "The Whip" and "Tomb Raider".

"So you're targeting me, hoping that I can help you find a backdoor in the People's Art Theatre?"

Fangyan saw through their thoughts at a glance.

Chen Peisi scratched his shiny bald head and begged Zhu Shimao in a nice way.

Fangyan was merciful and helped them this time because of their sincere request. He wrote a note and said:

"This is just the first time. It won't happen again. And don't forget to pay for the ticket. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Thank you, Teacher Fang."

When the two were expressing their gratitude, a strong voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Teacher Fang, since you wrote for Pei Si and Shi Mao, could you also write for me?"

"Equally share comrades!"

Fangyan took a closer look and was greatly surprised, as he and Li Pingfen had dealt with each other several times in the Spring Festival Gala creation team.

In the 1984 and 1985 Spring Festival Galas, he, Jiang Kun, Huang Yihe and others assisted in implementing his own Spring Festival Gala plan.

"Haha, what a coincidence! Like you, I am also fortunate enough to be a member of the scriptwriting team for "The Final Battle"."

There was some excitement in Li Pingfen's tone.

Fangyan was delighted. Li Pingfen had been a reporter during the Annan counterattack and was an expert at describing war scenes. Having him in the script writing team of "The Decisive Battle" would be a great help. So the two of them walked and talked all the way into the designated meeting room.

I also met other people who were chosen as screenwriters for "The Decisive Battle", such as Wang Jun, a senior screenwriter from the August 1st Film Studio. He had written the script for "The Eve of the Fierce Battle", one of the most representative war films produced by the August 1st Film Studio in the 1950s and 1960s. The scripts that he has reviewed are destined to be very rigorous.

"Nice to meet you."

Fangyan shook hands with everyone one by one, then took out a cigarette from his pocket and started smoking one after another.

As the saying goes, "When you meet a friend, you will never meet a friend again." As they puffed smoke, they gradually became familiar with each other and began to talk about the tone of "The Final Battle."

"While we discuss Chiang Kai-shek's minor faults, we must not forget his major faults. His faults are greater than his faults, and they are piled up one on top of another!"

"That's right, that's right."

Li Pingfen, Wang Jun and others agreed with this. They felt like they had eaten a fly when they thought that they might have to read his diary in order to write the script.

Fangyan curled his lips: "That's right, who would write a diary?"

"Yes, do you write a diary?" Li Pingfen shook his head and asked back: "Do you write a diary?"

"I won't write it, and even if I do, I won't make it public." Fang Yan sneered, "Who can write their true feelings here?"

Li Pingfen shared the same sentiment and said, "Can what is written be called what is in your heart?"

Fangyan looked disgusted and said, "he tui, how shameless!"
Just as everyone was laughing at the bald man, Director Hu walked in with other leaders of the Bayi Factory.

"Since you all already know each other, that's great. It will save you a step in this meeting."

Looking around at all the people present, he got straight to the point and emphasized that the "Decisive Battle" trilogy was the most important filming task for the August 1st Film Studio. It must be completed successfully at any cost, otherwise he would be letting down the Party and the people, and history.

Blah blah blah, after all that talk, the bottom line is to make "The Final Battle" into an epic war film that is unprecedented and unparalleled!

"Director Hu just said that he wanted to make "The Decisive Battle" into an epic, and I agree with that."

Wang Jun said: "But what kind of film should it be like? Are there any specific references?" Director Hu smiled. The requirements of their Bayi Film Studio were not high. They just wanted to film it to the level of Big Brother's "Liberation" pentalogy.

Even though everyone had prepared themselves mentally, they were still shocked beyond words. They stared with their eyes wide open and their mouths agape.

Director Hu was lucky enough to say that. The scale of Big Brother's "Liberation" pentalogy is comparable to "War and Peace". It consists of five interrelated and independent films, namely "Liberation 1: Arc of Fire", "Liberation 2: Breakthrough", "Liberation 3: Main Attack Direction", "Liberation 4: Battle of Berlin" and "Liberation 5: The Final Blow", which are used to commemorate the Great Patriotic War and the victory on the Eastern Front.

Each one is meticulously crafted and can be called an epic war film.

Fortunately, Fang Yan has watched the "The Decisive Battle" trilogy more than once, otherwise, he would really think that Director Hu and others were just daydreaming!

"To be honest, as early as the 1950s and 1960s, the older generation of leaders and artists in our studio wanted to bring the three major battles to the big screen, but the conditions at the time did not allow it, and if a movie was to be made, it would undoubtedly be a very large production."

Director Hu said: "Not only are there some problems with props and materials that cannot be solved, the cost alone is an astronomical figure."

Then he changed the subject, "But now it's different. The conditions for filming the three major battles are already in place. Although some aspects may not be mature yet, it is still better than in the 1950s and 1960s. I hope everyone can do their best to make "The Decisive Battle" into the Chinese version of "Liberation"!"

“The Liberation series has a grand narrative, delicate portrayal and profound connotations.”

Li Pingfen feels a lot of pressure. "It will take time to make "The Decisive Battle" comparable to or even surpass "Liberation."

All the screenwriters in the script writing team felt that a heavy burden had been placed on their shoulders, and the atmosphere of the meeting became solemn and depressing.

Fangyan clapped his hands, "If it wasn't such a sacred and arduous mission, why would Director Hu gather us all here?"

"Haha, that's right!"

Wang Jun, Shi Chao and others laughed. If they could really make "The Decisive Battle" into an epic war film, they would undoubtedly go down in history.

Li Ping said: "But if this is the case, we must dig up the historical details of that year and write them into the script."

"Yes, we must strictly follow the military history materials, so before we start writing the script, we have to go to the library and the party history research archives, and we cannot allow any major historical errors." Shi Chao said seriously, "This project is quite huge."

Fang Yan nodded and said, "The archives alone are probably tens of millions of words long, and that's not enough. It would be best if we could directly interview the people who participated in the three major battles and get first-hand materials. This would not only help shape the characters, but also deepen the details. But it would take a lot of time..."

"We are certainly aware of this."

Director Hu said that the Bayi Film Studio will give the script writing team a long preparation period, up to three years.

Even if the script of the trilogy was not completed in the end, at least the "Liaoshen Campaign" and "Huaihai Campaign" could be written well.

As for "Battle of Peiping-Tianjin", it would be fine as long as it could be completed before the final deadline of filming the Liaoshen-Huaihai Campaign.

"What about interviewing the person involved?"

Wang Jun asked the questions that everyone wanted to ask. After all, the level of these living parties was much higher than they could imagine.

"Don't worry, everyone."

Director Hu said that they also took this issue into consideration, so they specially invited the older generation person involved, Ali, to be the film consultant, and would also invite experts from the War History Department of the Academy of Military Sciences to give lectures to all creative and photography staff to help them gain a deeper understanding of the specific conditions of the battlefield at that time.

When Fangyan heard the titles of film consultants one by one, he couldn't help but gasp. These were more than just Stars!

"In this meeting, we will not discuss the specific details of the script for now. If you have any ideas or questions about "The Decisive Battle", you can raise them in person now, or you can write them down and bring them to the seminar held by the Film Bureau for discussion."

Director Hu said seriously, "Of course, it is best to communicate within the creative team first and reach a unified opinion before submitting it."

Then he glanced around and said, "If anyone in the creative team has any opinions, please raise your hands now."

Fang Yan raised his hand immediately, attracting the attention of everyone present.

"Since I am the chief screenwriter of "The Final Battle", there is one thing I must ask, otherwise it will be difficult to carry out this creative work."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar. Everyone, including Director Hu, was shocked and eager to know what it was.

"Teacher Fang, please speak."

"Whether it's script writing or filming, "The Final Battle" must consider restoring history, right?"

After receiving Director Hu's affirmation, Fang Yan asked seriously, "In this case, we may have to face some historical issues, such as whether we should play the role of 101? How should we play it? If the tone is not determined, it will be difficult to shoot the movie."

Faced with this complex and thorny problem, everyone was silent. Everyone looked at each other, but no one could make up their mind.

Suddenly, someone in the corner secretly suggested that since the role of 101 was somewhat complicated and controversial, he should just not play it.

"Not acting?"

Fangyan stood up suddenly and asked, "How about the Battle of Pingjin? How about the Liaoshen Campaign? How about the Battle of Tashan?"

Then he slammed the table and said, "Who is going to say, 'I don't want casualty figures, I just want Tower Hill'?"

All of a sudden, everyone present started discussing the issue heatedly, with everyone arguing and disagreeing endlessly.

After all, 101 had appeared briefly and positively once in the movie "Four Crossings of the Chishui River", and was played by Li Xuejian at that time.

"Everyone, be quiet, be quiet."

Director Hu cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention. "The question raised by Teacher Fang is indeed very important, but we can't make the decision, so I plan to report it to my superiors to see what their opinions are. Then we can decide whether to have 101 or not."

"I agree."

"I have no objection either."

"........."

"Let's do it this way, but my personal suggestion is that we should have 101, otherwise who would have fought the battle back then?"

Fangyan glanced around with a determined look in his eyes.

"What Mr. Fang said makes sense. If this problem is not handled well, the script creation will be restricted."

Director Hu promised to report the situation to his superiors as soon as possible after the meeting, and he had only one request to the script writing team.

To sum it up in one sentence, I don't care what the price is, I just want the "Great Battle" script! (End of this chapter)