The literary era since 1979

"God of Gamblers" grossed over 13 million in just 3000 days after its release.

The domineering slogan previously published in the newspapers, "Once the God of Gamblers appears, he is invincible," can be said to have hit the nail on the head. And with this trend of three consecutive reversals of decline, it is very likely to become the second Hong Kong movie to reach a box office of 4000 million after "A Better Tomorrow."

It is undoubtedly a proud moment for both Shaw Brothers and TVB.

If subsequent gambling films can achieve half the performance of "God of Gamblers", Shaw Brothers will have a real signature pillar from then on and will no longer have to worry about stopping work and reducing production, or giving up the cinema business. Even the gambling film craze set off by "God of Gamblers" can feed back into TVB's TV drama business.

TVB screenwriters are using the new gambling film template created in dialect to try their best to write a series of Hong Kong dramas with gambling as the theme.

After seeing that "God of Gamblers" brought a steady stream of customers to the casino, gambling king He Xin naturally couldn't wait to shoot a series of gambling films.

For this reason, he and his beloved daughter He Chaoqiong personally attended the celebration banquet for "God of Gamblers" hosted by Shaw Brothers. He temporarily overshadowed the re-popular Lin Qingxia and the famous Stephen Chow. However, the only flaw in the entire celebration banquet was that Fang Yan, the biggest contributor, was not present.

Just three days ago, Fang Yan had returned to the mainland to deal with a pile of matters that had been piling up at hand.

For example, the manuscript collection work for the latest issues of "People's Literature" and "World of Reasoning", as well as the formulation of the editing and publishing plan for 87.

For example, he called Shanghai Film Studio and Xi'an Film Studio to plan the co-production of the second part of "Once Upon a Time in China" and "Farewell My Concubine".

Needless to say, the letters that Lin Qingxia's family asked me to pass on to Lin Qingxia's uncle and sister were mailed to the address as soon as possible.

Of course, the most important thing among all the busy events was the script writing meeting for "The Decisive Battle".

After more than a month, Fangyan finally gathered the co-screenwriters in the creative team for a meeting at the old place again.

Wang Jun, Li Pingfen and others reported one by one on the progress of their respective work, including the data collection of the three major battles and the interviews with the parties involved. In short, no matter how big or small the matter was, fortunately all the work was proceeding in an orderly manner and there had been no problems so far.

“Thanks to everyone for making the creation of “The Final Battle” go so smoothly.”

Fangyan looked around and said sincerely.

"This is all thanks to Teacher Fang for laying such a solid foundation."

Li Pingfen's words were deeply agreed by everyone.

Before he set off abroad, he had already determined the story outline and plot direction of the "The Great Battle" trilogy, which was equivalent to having already shaped the skeleton. All they had to do was to fill it with flesh and blood and inject soul into it according to the creative direction designed by the chief screenwriter.

"Based on the current progress, we expect to complete the script of the first Liaoshen Campaign in 87."

Fangyan tapped the table and said, "If the progress is fast enough, maybe I can write the first draft of the Huaihai Campaign and the Pingjin Campaign."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's face was filled with joy and excitement, and the house was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

After discussing for a while, Fang Yan, as the chief screenwriter, finished explaining the various creative works and then solemnly announced:
"Then today's meeting ends here, let's adjourn!"

"Squeak."

With the sound of chairs rubbing against the ground, people left the meeting room one after another.

Li Pingfen stopped Fangyan and said that Deng Zaijun had asked him to invite the two of them to visit CCTV after he returned to Beijing.

Fangyan was very surprised, but he quickly guessed Deng Zaijun's intention, "Is it for this year's Spring Festival Gala?"

"Yes, Director Deng is the chief director of this year's Spring Festival Gala." Li Pingfen said, "She wants us two former consultants of the Spring Festival Gala creation team to go to CCTV to discuss some matters related to the Spring Festival Gala program. Actually, to be more precise, the person she wants to discuss with should be you."

Fang Yan hesitated for a moment, "When?"

Li Ping said, "You're welcome anytime within this week."

"Then now."

Fangyan is going to Renwenshe next, and he might as well go to CCTV on the way.

………………

In the CCTV studio, the Spring Festival Gala program is currently undergoing its final round of rehearsals.

The secretary came hurriedly and informed Deng Zaijun and others of the upcoming news of Fang Yan and Li Pingfen.

"Lao Mao, Teacher Fang is here!"

Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao were close by and could hear it clearly.

Seeing that Deng Zaijun specifically asked Jiang Kun and others to accompany him, the two of them could no longer sit still and volunteered to go to the entrance of the building to greet Fang Yan.

So, the group went downstairs in a mighty procession. After five or six minutes, they saw a Citroen slowly driving into their sight.

Fang Yan got out of the car and walked up the stairs with Li Ping. As soon as they arrived at the door, they were warmly received by Deng Zaijun, Jiang Kun, Chen Peisi and others.

Deng Zaijun was welcomed into the studio by the crowd. Along the way, he went straight to the point and said that he hoped Fangyan could help him with some advice.

"Director Deng said so. Could it be that something went wrong with the Spring Festival Gala program?"

"Your guess is absolutely correct. There are indeed some mistakes."

"Director Deng, you and I have worked together on the Spring Festival Gala several times, so we are familiar with each other. I will definitely help you wherever I can."

"Then I'll tell you."

"But it doesn't matter!"

"In fact, these things are not big, but they are not small either. It's just that we have no experience in handling them, so they are very difficult to deal with."

Deng Zaijun told the truth, "Times are changing, and CCTV should understand the needs of the audience, especially the changes in the audience's aesthetic awareness and entertainment needs. So we made a bold attempt for this year's Spring Festival Gala. On the basis of the 'national unity' you set for the previous Spring Festival Gala, we extended the theme to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, as well as overseas Chinese around the world. So this time in the song program, we not only invited singers representing Hong Kong, but also singers who can represent Taiwan and overseas Chinese..."

"This is a good thing!"

After asking Fangyan, I found out that the singer invited to represent Taiwan was Fei Xiang.

Jiang Kun thought Teacher Fang didn't know him, so he gave a brief introduction. His mother was from Taiwan, but his father was American, so strictly speaking he could only be considered Chinese. It was precisely because of this that some people at the discussion meeting opposed letting Fei Xiang perform on the Spring Festival Gala.

"In the end, I had to go against everyone's opinion and let him publish the layout."

Deng Zaijun said: "He is also a descendant of the descendants of Yan and Huang, and he also has the wish to sing for his compatriots, so he should be given a chance!"

Fangyan was very curious, "Since it's not a problem of identity, then what is his problem?" Deng Zaijun said he had trouble choosing the song.

At the beginning, the song that Fei Xiang was assigned to sing was "Clouds of Hometown", but many people in the creative team, including myself, felt that in order to keep up with the times, Fei Xiang should also sing "A Fire in the Winter". After all, this song is very contemporary and its dance style is quite popular across the country.

But the problem was that the central government had a rule at the time that each singer could only sing one song on the Spring Festival Gala.

"How difficult is this?"

Fangyan suggested arranging the two songs together through an interlude, and performing "Clouds of Hometown" and "A Fire in the Winter" in the form of a medley. When singing "A Fire in the Winter", it would be best to add disco dance, singing and dancing at the same time to light up the stage.

In the previous life, "A Fire in the Winter" became popular all over the country, and half of the credit should be attributed to Fei Xiang's magical and dynamic dance.

"It's indeed a good idea!"

Deng Zaijun couldn't help but be moved, but Jiang Kun's kind reminder came to his ear immediately:

"But CCTV has a clear rule that disco dancing is not allowed in any program, as it is considered too ostentatious and indecent."

"Teacher Jiang is right. If disco music is added, Fei Xiang's entire singing program may be cancelled."

The secretary also followed suit to persuade Deng Zaijun.

But he obviously underestimated Deng Zaijun's determination. In order to prevent the program from being cancelled, he secretly prepared a plan. During the final review of the program, he asked Fei Xiang not to dance during the rehearsal and wait until the official performance. This way he could "get away with it."

After all, "Clouds of Hometown" is a lyrical song that fits the theme of the Spring Festival Gala, and the leaders will definitely approve it.

"Wouldn't this be bad?"

Jiang Kun and others looked at each other in confusion, unable to help but hesitate.

"There are censorship from above, and countermeasures from below. Let's do it this way. I'm the chief director. If anything goes wrong, I'll be responsible."

Deng Zaijun said seriously, "The most urgent thing is to notify Fei Xiang to design some dance moves for "A Fire in Winter" to match the rhythm of the song. No matter what, I want this show to really light a fire in the hearts of the people across the country during this festive winter day of the Spring Festival Gala, and have a prosperous New Year!"

...............

After discussing the song programs, the next one is the language programs.

The skits and crosstalks in this year's Spring Festival Gala are no worse than those in previous years, both in terms of quality and quantity.

The skits include "Mutton Skewers" performed by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao, and the crosstalk includes "Five Senses Compete for Merit" performed by Ma Ji, Feng Gong and others.

On the other hand, Jiang Kun, who was very active in the past, succeeded Ma Ji as the leader of the radio rap group, was elected as the vice-chairman of the Chinese Folk Art Association, and was elected as one of the "Top Ten Comedians in the Country" last year. However, after the peak, he declined and soon fell into a creative bottleneck.

After all, this kind of language program that tells jokes and makes people laugh requires the creators to have a constant source of inspiration.

Because this is the age of radio and television, any skit or crosstalk can quickly become known throughout the country through the spread of the media. It is not like the storytelling on the flyover in the past, where a story and a crosstalk were the hidden talents that could be performed offline in various places.

Even as strong as the three generations of "sketch kings" Chen Peisi, Zhao Lirong and Zhao Benshan, there are times when their inspiration runs out and they fail to make people laugh.

The reason why today's Spring Festival Gala skits and crosstalk programs are not funny is not because of a lack of performers, but because there are not enough good creators.

This is exactly the case with Jiang Kun. He is a crosstalk artist who started out as a latecomer and is in urgent need of finding a script collaborator that suits him.

"Lao Jiang, don't look for this person blindly. What you are looking for is far away in the sky, right in front of you!"

As he spoke, Chen Peisi turned his gaze towards Fangyan.

Zhu Shimao, Deng Zaijun and others agreed with this. Although Fangyan had never written a crosstalk script, he helped Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao create an upgraded version of the "crosstalk drama" sketch, so he would surely be able to assist Jiang Kun and write a good crosstalk in a short period of time.

Jiang Kun said, "Originally I wanted to find Teacher Fang, but Teacher Fang was on a business trip abroad at that time."

Fangyan asked: "Who did you find later? Do you have a partner now?"

"I asked someone to introduce me to Comrade Chen Rong."

Jiang Kun said that she invited him to her home in the next two days and was going to recommend her short story "Ten Years Old Minus" to him. This is a work with black comedy connotations and it is indeed possible to be adapted into a crosstalk comedy.

Fangyan raised his eyebrows. Isn’t Chen Rong the mother of Liang Zuo, who wrote works such as "I Love My Family" and "Thieves Company"?
"Is this okay?"

Chen Peisi frowned and said, "Although I haven't read the novel of "Ten Years Old Minus", I have seen the movie. Although it is absurd and humorous, I don't think it is suitable for adaptation into sketches and crosstalk." Then he looked around at everyone and cast an inquiring look at Fang Yan, Zhu Shimao and others.

Listening to the pessimistic answers, Deng Zaijun asked, "Teacher Fang, what do you think?"

Fang Yan nodded: "I have read this novel. It is too literary. It may be difficult to adapt it into a crosstalk."

"To be honest, I don't hold out much hope, but after all, it's Comrade Chen Rong's good intention, so I can't refuse."

Jiang Kun smiled bitterly.

Fang Yan said: "Actually, compared to "Ten Years Old Minus", I think there may be other novels that are more suitable for you."

Jiang Kun was surprised and delighted, and asked hurriedly: "Teacher Fang, what is the specific name of this novel you are talking about? What kind of story does it tell?"

Fang Yan said: "What a coincidence, this novel is the work of Teacher Chen's son."

Everyone was shocked. They had almost never heard that Chen Rong's son was actually engaged in literary work and even caught the eye of Teacher Fang!
Fangyan smiled without saying anything, and did not elaborate on how Chen Rong had once intended to push Liang Zuo by submitting a manuscript to People's Literature and enclosing her son's work in the letter. Of course, writers these days still have a sense of dignity and did not force Liang Zuo to publish his work.

Unlike Jia Pingwa's daughter, she has no shame at all and dares to call her "shit, piss and fart" style of writing a poem.

"Teacher Fang, his works..."

There was a hint of anticipation in Jiang Kun's words.

"So, maybe they are not ready for People's Literature, but the stories in these novels are very suitable for being adapted into crosstalk. If I remember correctly, there are stories about mice, about an old lady marrying a young man, and about a young man falling into a tiger's den and chatting with the tiger." Fang Yan said, "They are very imaginative and interesting. I think you will definitely like these stories."

"Since Teacher Fang said so, it must be good!"

Chen Peisi asked Jiang Kun to take the opportunity of going to Chen Rong's house to get in touch with Liang Zuo.

"That's great, but I have a favor to ask."

Jiang Kun hopes to get Fang Yan, Chen Peisi, and Zhu Shimao to accompany him to Chen Rong's home to give him some advice. (End of this chapter)