Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 236 Gossip
Two days later, Yenching University officially opened and the freshmen of Class 1981 enrolled. The campus was crowded with people, bustling with activity and full of youthful vitality.

After lunch, Lin Chaoyang took a walk by the Weiming Lake and met several familiar faces including Chen Jiangong, Liang Zuo, and Li Tong.

After not seeing each other for a whole summer, we were particularly close.

"I heard that you went to a writers' club during the summer vacation." Chen Jiangong asked Lin Chaoyang enviously.

"Don't mention it. What kind of writers' meeting is this? It's just a small dark room where everyone is put on Huangdao Island to write manuscripts for a week."

Hearing Lin Chaoyang say this, the envy on Chen Jiangong's face disappeared, replaced by gloating, "Haha! Really? Fortunately, I didn't go."

"By the way, the day before yesterday I saw Du Pengcheng's review published in Yanhe. He spoke highly of The Chess Master. Your novel has been very popular recently."

Chen Jiangong mentioned "The Chess Master", and several others also joined the topic.

"Many people praised Chao Yang's novel, but quite a few also criticized it. This summer I read several articles criticizing The Chess Master," said Li Tong.

Lin Chaoyang said calmly: "It's normal for novels to have both praise and criticism. Creation and criticism are the two wings of literature, and neither can be missing."

Chen Jiangong joked, "Look at Chaoyang's situation! He is indeed a popular writer. The novel has only been published for less than two months, and there must be nearly 20 review articles. When will my novels be discussed by so many people?"

Li Tong said, "That's going to happen only when you become as famous as Chaoyang."

Chen Jiangong shook his head. "Being popular is one thing. Didn't you notice a problem? There are many more people praising Chaoyang than scolding him. This fully shows that Chaoyang is popular."

Liang Zuo said: "What you said is not right. Can't it be because my master's novel is well written?"

After that, he didn't wait for Chen Jiangong to refute and asked Lin Chaoyang another question, "Master, I heard that Nie Weiping came to play chess with you during the summer vacation?"

"Who did you listen to?"

"I heard it from Teacher Hong." Liang Zuo replied, and then asked, "Is this true?"

"It was two games of chess."

After receiving Lin Chaoyang's affirmative answer, Liang Zuo's eyes lit up, "Master, you are so awesome! You can even play against him."

Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and said, "It's just entertainment. He can beat me with just one hand."

Liang Zuo said excitedly: "It's not shameful to lose to him! And I heard that..."

When he said this, his eyes showed a bit of admiration, "Nie Weiping also said that he can't beat you within fifty moves."

Lin Chaoyang: ???

"Did Hong Zicheng tell you this?"

"Uh..." Liang Zuo hesitated, "That's how I understand it."

Lin Chaoyang was speechless. It would be a waste of your talent if you didn’t become a screenwriter.

“Do less reading comprehension.”

After chatting for a while, Lin Chaoyang separated from the others.

After get off work in the evening, he passed by the Literature and History Building and happened to meet Hong Zicheng.

"Chaoyang!"

"Brother Zicheng."

After saying hello and exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Chaoyang asked, "Who told you that Nie Weiping wanted to play chess with me?"

"I heard from Xie Mian."

"Who did Xie Mian hear this from?"

"do not know."

Lin Chaoyang scratched his head. Xie Mian lived in Langrun Lake Apartment, so it was not surprising for him to know about this. He was just curious. He and Nie Weiping were the only two people playing chess that day, and gossip spread quickly.

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang received a call from Xie Jin.

"The Horse Herder" was filmed in the northwest for nearly half a year, and the horse farm scenes have finally been completed. These two days, the crew is packing their bags and heading to Yanjing for the next filming.

According to the script written by Lin Chaoyang, "The Horse Herder" was filmed in three locations. One was at the Shandan Military Horse Farm, where Xu Lingjun lived in the first half of his life;
Another place is Yanjing, where the father who had been separated for many years was looking for Xu Lingjun, and the father and son reunited in Yanjing;
Another scene is in Shanghai, which depicts Xu Lingjun's childhood, when his father abandoned his wife and children and his mother died.

The scenes at Shandan Military Horse Farm were undoubtedly the most important and took the longest time, a full six months.

Then comes the scenes in Yanjing. Xie Jin plans to stay in Yanjing for a month and then move to Shanghai.

That is his base camp. After completing the shooting, he can go directly to the post-production with seamless connection.

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang came to Yanjing Hotel and met Xie Jin.

At the beginning of the year, Xie Jin was under tremendous pressure due to the controversy surrounding "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" and "The Shepherd", and he looked very low on energy.

Now it’s completely different, I walk with the wind.

After Lin Chaoyang visited the crew in March, Xie Jin first received letters of commendation from the Ministry of Culture and the China Film Association.

In April, the Ministry of Culture held the 1980 Outstanding Film Creation Award Ceremony in Yanjing, and Legend of Tianyun Mountain won another award. In late May, the first Golden Rooster Award and the fourth Hundred Flowers Award were held in Hangzhou.

This year marks the first time that the Golden Rooster Awards have been held. The film industry has been discussing the award for some time, and it can be said that it has attracted much attention from the industry.

At the award ceremony, "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" won double honors, not only winning the Best Feature Film Award at the 4th Hundred Flowers Awards, but also winning the Best Feature Film Award, Best Director Award, Best Cinematography Award, and Best Art Award at the 1st Golden Rooster Awards, becoming the biggest winner of this year's Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards. This situation is extremely rare in the selection of Chinese film awards after liberation.

The continuous commendations and awards helped Xie Jin to get rid of the gloom he had been feeling since the filming of "Legend of Tianyun Mountain". In addition, the filming of "The Shepherd" went smoothly, so when we met again, he was in high spirits.

The crew settled in the Xinqiao Hotel. When Xie Jin saw Lin Chaoyang, he happily took him to have a meal. They drank a lot of wine at noon. Xie Jin did not let Lin Chaoyang go, and took him to the room to discuss the next shooting plan.

After chatting for a while, he took Lin Chaoyang to the room of actress Liu Qiong.

The scenes at the Shandan Military Horse Farm in Gansu are outdoor scenes, which also account for the largest number of scenes in "The Horse Herder". The main scenes when the crew returned to Yanjing were about the reunion of Xu Lingjun and his father Xu Jingyou. Another character is his father's secretary Miss Song, who also has some scenes.

The script of "The Shepherd" is actually based on the several conversations between Xu Lingjun and his son when they met in Yanjing as the "warp", and Xu Lingjun's fate and experiences over thirty years as the "weft". The warp and weft are intertwined together to form a beautiful picture.

The father Xu Jingyou is played by Liu Qiong, a veteran actor from the Shanghai Film Studio. He started acting in movies in the 1930s and has starred in many classic films such as "The Big Road", "Little Angels", "The Lost Lambs" and "Wolf Mountain Bloodshed".

The last time Lin Chaoyang went to Gansu, Liu Qiong did not have a role, so the two did not meet.

"Old Liu, let me introduce you to Lin Chaoyang, the author and screenwriter of The Shepherd."

"This is my old colleague Liu Qiong from Shanghai Film Studio."

Xie Jin introduced the two parties and exchanged a few pleasantries. He then asked Lin Chaoyang, "How was it? How did you, 'Xu Lingjun', feel when you saw your 'father'?"

Xie Jin's words were naturally a joke. Lin Chaoyang smiled and looked at Liu Qiong. Liu Qiong was over sixty years old, with a straight body and an elegant temperament. Lin Chaoyang was about to speak.

Liu Qiong waved her hand and said, "Wait a moment."

After saying this, he ignored the reactions of Xie Jin and Lin Chaoyang, opened the wardrobe at the door of the room, and put on the suit he was going to wear in the play, his movements were slow, unhurried, and calm.

When he finally got dressed, he looked at the wall. There seemed to be a non-existent mirror there. He unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, making himself look a little tired.

Then he walked towards Lin Chaoyang, his face solemn, his eyes full of genuine emotion, and asked with slightly trembling lips.

"Lingjun?"

Lin Chaoyang immediately realized that Liu Qiong was acting out the scene in the script where Xu Lingjun and Xu Jingyou, father and son, met.

Liu Qiong's acting was sincere and natural. After she finished speaking, she walked over, held his arm, and continued speaking her lines, "Are you tired? How many hours of flight?"

"Two hours." Lin Chaoyang answered fluently, but he did not get into the character. He is not a professional actor.

Liu Qiong then spoke to the air again, this was his line with his secretary Miss Song, then he pinched the legs of his glasses and looked at Lin Chaoyang carefully, his eyes flashing with extremely complex emotions, guilt, heartache, joy...

"Why...I have white hair?"

Lin Chaoyang remained silent. Xu Lingjun in the script did not respond to his father's question, but had a complicated expression.

"Lingjun, stand up and take a few steps. Let me see."

Lin Chaoyang stood up and walked a few steps. Liu Qiong stood up again, patted his shoulder, and said with emotion: "Every time I dream, I dream that you become a cripple."

Feeling the gushing emotions in Liu Qiong's lines, Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but put himself into the character of Xu Lingjun.

"That's something you've thought about before."

Liu Qiong held his hand, stroking the nonexistent calluses, "If we were on the street, I would not recognize you."

The undercurrent of emotions became turbulent after Liu Qiong said this line. Lin Chaoyang could feel that at this moment he seemed to be the father who had been separated from his son for nearly 30 years.

"it is good!"

Lin Chaoyang exclaimed sincerely.

The word "OK" was like a switch, allowing Liu Qiong to immediately detach herself from the character, and the expression on her face changed to a relaxed one.

Xie Jin said proudly: "I didn't make the wrong choice of 'father', did I?"

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "You've made the right choice, very good! With such superb acting skills, Shi Mao will be able to act more freely."

Zhu Shimao on the side smiled and replied: "Of course."

Before Lin Chaoyang and Xie Jin arrived, Zhu Shimao was rehearsing with Liu Qiong.

After gaining Lin Chaoyang's recognition with his acting skills, Liu Qiong felt much more relaxed. During the conversation, he asked about some of Lin Chaoyang's thoughts when he was writing the script.

The actors perform according to the content of the script, which is considered secondary creation. Today, with Lin Chaoyang, the author and screenwriter, here, he wants to learn from him, which is the experience of veteran actors.

Maybe a casual sentence or two from the screenwriter can save them a lot of time and energy in thinking about the characters.

"For the parting scene between Xu Lingjun and his father at the end, I thought of two ways to do it. One is that when they are about to part, Xu Jingyou reluctantly walks up to his son and hugs him tightly, tears streaming down his weathered face, and then he turns and leaves. This is a conventional way to act.

There is another scene where Xu Jingyou looks at his son affectionately, and his son also looks at him affectionately. At this time, Xu Jingyou softly says goodbye, then turns around, silently takes out a handkerchief to wipe away his tears and leaves. This acting method is a little more restrained.

Which way of acting do you think is better? "

(End of this chapter)