Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 126 [Dyslexia? Perfect fit for "The Reader"]

“What’s right for me?”

Qingxia tilted her head, not quite understanding what Li Yishu meant.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "I have a heroine in this story, and she is quite suitable for you, Sister Qingxia."

"real?!"

Qingxia's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Is the heroine suitable for me?"

"It should be considered suitable." Li Yishu chuckled and said, "The heroine is a person who can't read but pretends to be able to read."

“This one really suits me!”

Qingxia said with a slightly self-deprecating tone:
"Director Li, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I entered the entertainment industry when I was 17 years old. I often didn't even have time to sleep during filming, so I didn't read much. Apart from knowing how to read, I'm basically an uneducated person."

"But because of my job, I always have to pretend to be very smart and well-read when I'm on TV or in interviews. In fact, I've never read a book in its entirety, not even one."

Li Yishu didn't expect Qingxia to have such an experience.

But think about it, many stars and actors in Hong Kong and Taiwan during this period did not even finish high school. But this was mainly due to the times. Most of the successful star actors came from poor families.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Sister Qingxia, there is no need to laugh at yourself. Reading a lot does not necessarily mean you are smarter than those who don't read."

Lai Shengchuan nodded and said, "Yes, Qingxia. Even though I studied drama at an American university, when I went there, I often couldn't understand those classical dramas because the English wording was completely different from what I learned in Taiwan."

"I don't mind. I just hope I can finish reading a book quietly in the future."

Qingxia smiled and said, "I'm already over 30 years old, you can't ask me to go back to school, right?"

"Haha, in real life, you will definitely not be allowed to study, but it's hard to say in the drama."

Li Yishu said playfully, "In the story I conceived, the heroine eventually learned to read on her own."

"I have no problem recognizing words."

"But what about reading? And writing?"

Li Yishu looked at Qingxia, who looked embarrassed, and laughed, "Sister Qingxia, if you make this movie, maybe it will cure your dyslexia."

"If it can really cure me, I will definitely stick to it." Qingxia said bitterly: "I am over 30 years old. If I tell others that I have not even read a complete book, I am afraid people will laugh at me."

"It's okay. If you play this role, you will have the opportunity to study." Li Yishu smiled, then looked at Lai Shengchuan and said, "Director Lai, do you want to work with us?"

"Director Li wants me to write the script?" Lai Shengchuan was still self-aware and knew that his directing ability was not as good as the other party's, so the cooperation the other party mentioned must be for him to write the script.

"Yes, I hope to set the background of this story in Treasure Island."

Li Yishu paused, recalled the plot of "The Reader" she had watched, and slowly said: "The heroine Xia is a bus conductor, working diligently on the bus..."

The movie "The Reader" is adapted from the novel of the same name by German writer Bernhard Schlink. However, when he wrote the novel in 1995, more than three years ago, it is hard to say whether he had conceived it, let alone written it.

The plot is actually quite simple. It tells the story of post-World War II Germany, which was devastated. Mike, a 15-year-old boy living in Berlin, suffers from scarlet fever.

When he was returning home from school, he suddenly fell ill and vomited, and the heroine Hannah helped him.

After recovering, Mike found Hannah, and unexpectedly, the two were soon involved in a passionate and secret relationship, even though Hannah was much older than Mike.

Mike found that Hannah loved listening to him read, and the power of his reading made their relationship closer. Hannah was deeply fascinated as she read one book after another.

Later, when Mike grew up, he found that Hannah appeared in court and was identified as having been a guard in a Nazi concentration camp. Faced with the facts, Hannah confessed everything and because she did not want to expose the fact that she could not read in front of everyone, she admitted to a serious crime that was not hers.

Mike had the ability to help Hannah clarify the facts at this time. Out of condemnation of Hannah's crimes and unwillingness to expose his relationship with Hannah, he chose to remain silent, and eventually Hannah was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Later, the two often corresponded with each other, until later, when Mike visited Hannah in prison. Although he promised to provide Hannah with material assistance after she was released from prison, he refused to shake hands with Hannah, and also expressed his rejection of this relationship. Hannah then committed suicide in despair.

This movie can be viewed and thought about from many angles, whether it is the forbidden emotion between Hannah and Mike, or a woman's life and her painful choice between dignity and suffering.

A typical literary film.

It was during her conversation with Qingxia that Lee Yi-su learned that she suffered from dyslexia, but had to maintain the image of an intellectual goddess because of her profession and image, which reminded her of the movie "The Reader".

The original version of the movie starred Kate Winslet, and Li Yishu watched it over and over again with the mentality of appreciating art, and finally understood the meaning of the story.

Since Li Yishu wants to film the film, it can actually be adapted in China. After World War II, it was a very normal thing for countries around the world to purge their own traitors.

However, considering the bad influence, Li Yishu decided to set the film in Taiwan, but he had never been to Taiwan, so he could not adapt the film to the original Taiwanese style. So he asked Lai Shengchuan, a Taiwan screenwriter, for help. "Director Li's story is great. It's a difficult choice between dignity and suffering. In the end, the heroine committed suicide because of the double blow of emotion and self-esteem!"

Lai Shengchuan is indeed a master of drama. Just from Li Yishu's simple narration, he basically understood the meaning of the movie.

Qingxia came back to her senses and said in surprise, "Ah? Is the heroine going to commit suicide in the end? She's already so miserable, can't it be changed?"

Li Yishu smiled and said, "Sister Qingxia, tragedy is often the most heart-wrenching. Most of the world's immortal literary works, including later movies, end in tragedy. The West has Romeo and Juliet, China has Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, they have Wuthering Heights, and we have Dream of the Red Chamber..."

"Well, Director Li is right. Tragedy often touches people's hearts more."

Qingxia nodded slightly. She has been making movies for so many years, and was a professional in Qiong Yao's movies in her early years. Many of Qiong Yao's movies often have tragic endings, so Qingxia can be considered the heroine of sad movies.

Lai Shengchuan pondered for a moment and asked, "What kind of script does Director Li want to write?"

"It would be best if it could be closer to the life in Taiwan. After all, my script is tailor-made for Sister Qingxia. The heroine can be set as someone who has no chance to learn to read since childhood due to dyslexia."

Li Yishu smiled and looked at Qingxia: "Sister Qingxia, you won't blame me for giving you such a role, right?"

"No, no, this female lead is good, she plays herself very well."

Qingxia smiled brightly. She was not a little girl anymore, so how could she get angry about such a thing? On the contrary, she felt that if the role was set up like this, not only would it be easy for her to act, but she might even be able to break through herself.

Moreover, it is obvious that this movie is aiming to win awards at film festivals. Regardless of whether it wins an award or not, as long as it can be shortlisted for the three major European film festivals, it will definitely be worth the trip for Qingxia.

Lai Shengchuan had some ideas in mind, and asked, "When does Director Li plan to start filming this movie?"

“We will definitely have to wait until next year to start filming.”

Li Yishu's eyes flickered as she said, "I have another movie to shoot right now, and I have to attend the Cannes International Film Festival next May."

"I have no problem here."

Qingxia smiled and said, "No matter when Director Li decides to shoot, I can make time."

Li Yishu smiled and said, "Then we have a deal, Sister Qingxia, if we are going to start filming, I will also let you know in advance."

Lai Shengchuan said, "Then I will show the first draft of the script to Director Li in January at the latest. If you have any subsequent ideas, we can discuss them again after the script is out."

"no problem."

Li Yishu nodded. He only told a general story in the script, and the rest had to be written by Lai Shengchuan. Moreover, because it was an English movie adapted into a Chinese film, many aspects had to be shot according to the characteristics of Chinese films.

The special filming location is still in Taiwan. It can be said that apart from the similar plot, everything else has to be arranged by Lee Yi-su herself. In terms of the difficulty of filming, it is actually no less than "Farewell My Concubine".

By this calculation, Lee Yi-su will have three movies on hand by next year.

In addition to "Central Station" which is about to start shooting, and "The Reader" co-produced with Qingxia, there is also an English film that I have previously agreed to cooperate with Sony Columbia President Hisao Morishima.

When Li Yishu was preparing to stay in Japan for a few days before returning to China.

Canon Group also decided to hold a grand product launch conference in Japan on December 12st.

The main product they promote is naturally their Canon EOS 5 camera model.

This camera can be said to be the one that Canon Group has invested the most in publicity over the years. Not only did they spend a lot of money to hire Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, but they also invited Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award-winning director Lee Ye-su to shoot the commercial.

All in all, if Tom's endorsement fees are included, it cost almost $1.2 million.

The endorsement fees and Li Yishu's film remuneration are actually not much, accounting for only a quarter of the total budget, just over 2000 million US dollars. The remaining 8000 million is mainly used for global publicity and promotion.

This is not yet the age of the Internet. If you want to promote a product, you have to spend a lot of money on carpet-style promotion on traditional media such as television, newspapers, and magazines.

Among them, TV advertising is the most expensive, and in order to promote the snapshot function of its new camera, Canon even created an advertising blockbuster comparable to a micro-film.

The natural thing is to conduct television promotion in major countries around the world.

Li Yishu was originally planning to return to China, but people from Canon Group tried to keep him, hoping that he could attend the product launch on December 12st.

Considering that this is also her first advertising blockbuster, and in order to continue to earn director's fees from major foreign brands in the future, Li Yishu agreed to participate.

As for losing face?

Don’t be funny. Wang Jiawei has started filming TV series later. How can making money be considered a loss of status?

(End of this chapter)