Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 155 Drudgery

"Of course he has to come. How can he be content if the movie is not made?" Cheng Yin said.

He was an old acquaintance of Li Hanxiang. They had known each other forty years ago, when they were still young boys.

"what movie?"

Lin Chaoyang thought Cheng Yin must be talking about The Burning of the Old Summer Palace and The Imperial Court, but Cheng Yin said, "He wants to film the last emperor Puyi."

"The last emperor?"

Lin Chaoyang was stunned. How did he become the last emperor? Did I make a mistake?

Seeing his expression, Cheng Yin laughed, "Do you think it's a bit inappropriate for a Hong Kong director to film The Last Emperor?"

It’s not that Cheng Yin’s words were wrong, but this was not the real reason why Lin Chaoyang was surprised.

Could it be the butterfly effect caused by his own time travel that caused Li Hanxiang to stop filming "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Last Emperor" and instead film "The Last Emperor"?
“Why did he film The Last Emperor?”

Confused in his heart, Lin Chaoyang urgently needed Cheng Yin to give him an answer.

"This story has to start from a few years ago..."

In his forty years in the film industry, Li Hanxiang has made dozens of films, won numerous awards, and become a famous director both at home and abroad.

However, due to years of high-intensity work, he was diagnosed with coronary heart disease in 1975. The disease lasted for three years, and in 78 he went to Los Angeles, USA, for surgery.

When he was about to have the operation, he suddenly thought that the outcome of the operation was unpredictable. He had been away from home for 30 years and had not had the chance to return to his motherland.

It was the time when the country was undergoing reform and opening up, so Li Hanxiang contacted his friends in Hong Kong who had "connections" with the mainland, secretly returned to the mainland, and took a long-awaited trip.

During his trip, Li Hanxiang did not forget to visit his former teachers, friends and relatives, many of whom are now well-known figures in the domestic literary and art circles, such as Xie Tian, ​​Xie Tieli and Huang Zongjiang from Yan Film Studio; Zhao Dan, Xu Sangchu and Li Zhun from Shanghai Film Studio; painters Wu Zuoren and Cheng Shifa, and Cheng Yin among them.

“I remember that day at dinner, we had just screened Han Xiang’s The Fall of the Country internally a while ago, and everyone praised it highly.

It's so amazing that we can build the Forbidden City set on a studio in Hong Kong and make a first-rate Qing Dynasty film!

Xie Tian said to Han Xiang at the time: With your talent and courage, wouldn’t it be more appealing if you were to shoot real scenes in the Forbidden City?
At that time, Hanxiang behaved very modestly, but he had his own ideas secretly.

He later told me that he thought he would never be able to return to the mainland to make films again, but through that trip and visits to relatives and friends, he felt that the atmosphere in the mainland was open and friendly, and that it might be a good idea to return here to make films.

At this point, Cheng Yin sighed, "His idea is good, but the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been separated for many years, and there have been many changes in politics, economy, and personnel. It is not easy to return to the mainland to make a movie!"

Cheng Yin went on to say that after that trip back to the mainland, Li Hanxiang first went to the United States for surgery, and during his recuperation he contacted the Shanghai Film Studio. When the deputy G-level leader learned that Li Hanxiang was going back to the mainland to make a movie, he even alarmed it.

Li Hanxiang originally planned to make a movie about Comrade Wu Hao, but after communicating with them, he found out that a film studio in mainland China had already included a movie about Comrade Wu Hao in its selection plan, so the mainland side suggested that Li Hanxiang give up this idea.

Then Li Hanxiang visited Yenching again without giving up. This time he set his sights on Lao She's classic work "Teahouse".

Li Hanxiang's hometown is Liaoning. He grew up in Yenching during his youth. He highly admires the works of Mr. Lao She.

At that time, Yenching People's Art Theatre even specially rehearsed "Teahouse" for Li Hanxiang's arrival. After watching the drama, Li Hanxiang became more determined to bring the drama to the screen, and he worked hard for half a year for this purpose.

Unfortunately, after Li Hanxiang brought his plan back to Hong Kong, he was opposed by the film producers.

The film producers opposed Li Hanxiang's filming of "Tea House" for very good reasons.

It is true that Teahouse is a good play, but plays are different from movies. Teahouse has too many dialogues, a single setting, and a strong local flavor of Beijing. It would be a great play on stage, but it has too many limitations on the screen.

Li Hanxiang is a great director. His works are aimed at Chinese and foreign audiences. Making "Teahouse" is tantamount to abandoning foreign audiences.

The "foreign audiences" that film producers refer to are audiences in Southeast Asia.

The influence of Hong Kong films in the 1970s was mainly concentrated in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Li Hanxiang had his own artistic pursuits, but he also had to consider the opinions of the film producers, as these people were his breadwinners.

After much deliberation, Li Hanxiang finally gave up the idea of ​​filming "Tea House" and instead proposed to make a movie about the last emperor Puyi. The movie was mainly based on Puyi's autobiography "My First Half of Life".

Then, Li Hanxiang's idea was opposed again. This time the reason was that some of the people involved in "My First Half of Life" were still alive and the final verdict had not yet been made.

Lin Chaoyang felt upset just listening to it, let alone Li Hanxiang himself. As a good friend, Cheng Yin also felt worried for Li Hanxiang.

"He still had two more films contracted with Shaw Brothers, which were not finished until the end of last year. After ending his cooperation with Shaw Brothers, he returned to the mainland without stopping.

I stayed in Shanghai for a while, and this time I am going to Yanjing again, still for the script. Puyi, the last emperor, doesn't allow him to film anymore, so he plans to change direction. Anyway, he has made up his mind, and this time he must write the script.

In April this year, he was unable to refuse Shaw Brothers' request for contract renewal and renewed his director contract with them.

If he fails to perform well this time, I am afraid that his anger will be…"

Cheng Yin shook his head at the end. His old friend had gone through so many twists and turns in his plan to return to his hometown to shoot a movie. Even as an outsider, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

After listening for nearly half an hour, Lin Chaoyang finally understood that the last emperor that Cheng Yin had just mentioned was just a plan that was eliminated.

He couldn't help but think of "The Last Emperor" directed by Italian director Bertolucci. There are some things that foreigners can shoot but we can't.

"So what is he going to shoot this time?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Cheng Yin shook his head and said, "I don't know. The script hasn't been written yet."

Lin Chaoyang asked this question purely to confirm. He remembered that "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Last Emperor" were two films shot consecutively and were not released until 83.

It is reasonable for Li Hanxiang to arrange the filming now.

After the small talk, Lin Chaoyang wanted to relax in Yanying Studio, but Xie Jin dragged him back to the guesthouse to exploit the surplus labor.

After more than a week, Xie Jin finally finished the storyboard script and let Lin Chaoyang go.

Perhaps he felt guilty, knowing that he had put Lin Chaoyang through a lot in the past week, Xie Jin finally said that he would host a special banquet for Lin Chaoyang.

Lin Chaoyang thought that since it was a "banquet", it would have to be Donglaishun, Quanjude, or Kaorouwan, but he didn't expect that the meal would end up being held in a room in the guesthouse.

"You are too stingy. I have worked hard for half a month, and you are so stingy even when treating a guest?" There were only a few side dishes such as peanuts and pig ears on the table in the guesthouse. Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but question Xie Jin.

"Don't worry, there are still dishes." Xie Jin said calmly.

After a while, there was a knock on the door of the room. Xie Jin went to open the door, and someone really came to deliver food.

The people who came were all Xie Jin's old friends at Yanying Studio, Cheng Yin, Chen Huaikai, and Jiang Huaiyan. Some of them were holding plates or basins in their hands. They really came to deliver food.

Chen Huaikai was a teacher at Yenching Film Academy in his early years. Later he was transferred to Yanying Studio as a director. People in later generations knew him because he had a son named Chen Kaige.

Lin Chaoyang was not familiar with the name Jiang Huaiyan. Xie Jin introduced him as the director of the literary planning department of Yanying Studio, a high-ranking leader in the studio.

After the dishes were served, a few people didn't leave, but sat down and started drinking.

"Chaoyang, what are you standing there for? Pour the wine!" Xie Jin ordered.

Lin Chaoyang sat down and said unhappily, "Didn't you invite me today? How come I have become a waiter?"

"Everyone here is your uncle or grandfather, except you who is young." Xie Jin said.

"Old Xie, it's boring if you keep taking advantage of me like this."

Lin Chaoyang poured himself a glass of wine. "It's a tough job to revise the script for you. Not only do I have to stay up late to revise the script, but I also have to smoke and drink with you. I'm suffering a lot."

"You are so young but so old, even worse than me, an old man who is almost sixty years old."

Cheng Yin laughed and said, "Chaoyang is a novelist, he is very sensitive and has a rich inner world, he is definitely different from a drunkard like you."

Xie Jin loves drinking and is well-known in the film industry. He is known as the wine saint and can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

He was not angry when his old friend ruined his plan. He drank a glass of wine and said loudly: "How to relieve worries? Only Du Kang!"

Among the five people present, except Lin Chaoyang, Jiang Huaiyan is the youngest, who is not yet fifty years old. He is the director of the literary planning department of Yanying Studio, and is in charge of screenwriters and scripts.

He had read the script of "The Shepherd" and watched the performance of "The World's No. 1 Restaurant", and admired Lin Chaoyang's talent in drama creation.

After drinking two glasses of wine with Lin Chaoyang, Jiang Huaiyan asked, "Is Chaoyang interested in working at our Yanying Studio?"

Lin Chaoyang didn't expect Jiang Huaiyan to ask this question.

To work as a screenwriter in a film studio? Honestly speaking, film studios should be the units with the strongest petty-bourgeois atmosphere in this era. Although it is a bit out of tune with the mainstream society, the working and living atmosphere is still good.

Especially the two jobs of screenwriters and directors, who hold great power in the studio and are flattered wherever they go.

But Lin Chaoyang didn't want to work for nothing. Jiang Huaiyan wanted to transfer him to Yanying Studio simply because he was impressed by his creative ability. But these days, making movies in film studios is considered a collective creation.

He really came to Yanying Studio to write scripts. His name was signed, but he had no copyright. He was just working for free.

At that time, everyone was accustomed to the planned economy and had no copyright awareness, so no one cared about the results of these works.

It was not until the 1980s when the employees of the Shanghai-America Film Studio sued the factory over copyright issues that these film professionals became aware of this problem.

Lin Chaoyang was about to decline Jiang Huaiyan's offer when Xie Jin said, "Chaoyang writes well, so it's a good choice for him to go to a film studio. But it's boring to go to Yanying Studio. You have to come to Shanghai Film Studio."

"How is your Shanghai Film Studio better than us?"

Xie Jin's words attracted collective criticism from several old friends, but also diverted Jiang Huaiyan's attempt to recruit Lin Chaoyang.

After three rounds of drinking, the dishes on the table were almost finished. Jiang Huaiyan asked Lin Chaoyang with a drunken breath, "I heard from Li Tuo that Chaoyang's cooking skills are good?"

Li Tuo's lover Zhang Nuanxin is also a director at Yanying Studio, but her seniority is lower than those present.

Before, the couple lived in the Yanying Studio compound, so it was not surprising that Jiang Huaiyan knew Li Tuo.

Xie Jin said: "I can prove that Chaoyang Noodles with Soy Sauce is good."

Cheng Yin shook his head and said sarcastically, "Shanghai people are really ignorant. They think eating noodles with soybean sauce is a delicacy."

"How can noodles with soybean paste not be considered a delicacy?" Chen Huaikai expressed a different opinion, "The more ordinary the food, the harder it is to make it well."

He looked at Lin Chaoyang and said regretfully, "If we had known Chaoyang had cooking skills, why would we have to prepare the dishes ourselves?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled bitterly and said, "You promised to treat me to a meal, but you are planning to let me cook?"

“Next time, next time I have a chance, I will definitely try Chaoyang’s cooking.” Xie Jin said.

His words immediately aroused the agreement of several others, "We have to try it, we have to try it. We haven't tasted the great writer's cooking yet. After we eat it, we will have something to brag about."

A group of old comrades were drunk. If you say they were drunk, they would not bite their tongue when speaking. If you say they were not drunk, they would just talk nonsense.

In the end, the food was finished and the wine was finished.

Xie Jin fell asleep as soon as he fell on the bed. Lin Chaoyang drank the least. Chen Huaikai still looked sober, while Jiang Huaiyan and Cheng Yin were already drowsy.

Lin Chaoyang was helpless. He had to send the person away later. If he had known it would be like this, he would not have eaten this meal no matter what!

Fortunately, Chen Huaikai remained somewhat sober and waved to Lin Chaoyang.

"It's okay, Chaoyang, go ahead and relax. My son will come pick me up later and send them all back."

Although he said so, Lin Chaoyang couldn't really leave. He sat there and waited for a while, and someone really came to knock on the door.

When Lin Chaoyang opened the door, he didn't see the cool and handsome Mr. Kai, but saw a pretty girl.

"Little girl, who are you looking for?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"I'm looking for my dad."

The little girl was tall, with bright and elegant eyes and eyebrows, but her face was full of childishness and her voice was crisp. The more I looked at her, the more familiar she looked.

(End of this chapter)