Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 289: Not Being an Assistant Director Is a Waste of Talent

Tang Guoqiang was an actor of Qingdao Repertory Theatre in his early years. In 75, by chance, he was seconded to the Bayi Film Studio to play the leading role in the movie "South China Sea Storm".

Because of this opportunity, Tang Guoqiang officially broke into the film industry, and in 78 he was transferred to the Bayi Film Studio and became a formal film actor.

In 1979, when "Little Flower" was released, he became an instant hit and a popular actor in the domestic film industry. His status in the factory also improved significantly.

Following this momentum, his acting career should have been smooth sailing, but no one expected that his career would suffer a major blow because of a joke from Chen Chong.

The term "creamy boy" which was created specifically to describe him became Tang Guoqiang's nightmare.

The biased news in newspapers caused the industry's evaluation of him to take a sharp turn for the worse and also made him controversial among movie fans.

Tang Guoqiang has felt wronged, complained, and been angry, but what can he do?

Some hats are what others want to put on you. They are not put on your head, but in their hearts, and you can't take them off.

But this does not mean that Tang Guoqiang has accepted his fate. As the saying goes, people fight for a breath of air, and Buddhas fight for a stick of incense.

He was 18 years old when he joined the Qingdao Repertory Theatre, without any artistic background. It was just because the troupe was rehearsing "The Battle of South and North" at the time and needed some actors to play the role of soldiers, in other words, extras.

It took Tang Guoqiang five years to complete his comeback from a supporting role to a leading actor.

In 1974, the Qingdao Repertory Theatre represented Shandong in a national survey at Yanjing. A screenwriter from the Bayi Film Studio was optimistic about the play and wanted to adapt it into a movie. He also took a liking to Tang Guoqiang, who played a leading role in the play, and wanted to use him in future movies.

But at that time Tang Guoqiang was already the mainstay of the drama troupe, and the troupe was unwilling to let him go, so they could only second him first. Finally, after many twists and turns, he was transferred to the August 1st Film Studio.

The experience of going from a supporting role to a leading actor has made Tang Guoqiang full of tenacity and a spirit of never giving up. He is not a softie who only knows how to "eat cream" as portrayed by the media.

A few months ago, news came out that the factory was going to adapt "The Garland under the Mountain", and Tang Guoqiang set his eyes on this piece of cake.

The Bayi Film Studio is the only studio in China that focuses on filming military-themed films, so it is reasonable for it to shoot "High Mountains".

He is the most well-known and popular actor among the younger generation of the Bayi Film Studio, and his self-proclaimed professional ability is also reasonable. If the studio really wants to shoot the movie "High Mountains", there is a high probability that he can play the leading male role.

After all, this is a novel that has sold millions of copies since its publication, has a national influence, and has been recognized by senior leaders. With such a deep mass base, it almost means that the film adaptation of "High Mountains" is invincible to some extent.

Unexpectedly, the adaptation rights of "High Mountains" were taken away by Shanghai Film Studio, and the director was Xie Jin, a well-known figure in the domestic film industry.

At the beginning, Tang Guoqiang felt a little disappointed and thought that he could not perform in "High Mountains".

Later, he heard that Xie Jin had arrived in Yanjing and started to prepare for the casting of "High Mountains". He became interested again. No one said that actors from the Bayi Film Studio could not act in films from the Shanghai Film Studio. The "Peacock Princess" he acted in was also a film from the Yanjing Film Studio.

He was thinking about recommending himself to Xie Jin, but he also knew that Xie Jin was a famous director and there were many actors seeking cooperation with him through various channels every day.

So Tang Guoqiang thought of writing a letter to express his sincerity, and he was very humble in the letter.

Unexpectedly, before he took the initiative to ask to see Xie Jin, he was moved by Liu Xiaoqing's idea and went to see the screenwriter Lin Chaoyang to ask for help.

After returning from Peking University that day, Tang Guoqiang was full of regret, his heart was in turmoil, and his mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts.

He felt that he should not have listened to Liu Xiaoqing and run to Lin Chaoyang for help, but should have gone directly to Xie Jin;
Then I thought to myself that since I was asking for help, why couldn't I lower my attitude a little? It was because I saw that the person was young, and I unconsciously looked down on him.

Then I felt that I shouldn't have taken out the letter in the end. I might end up making things worse and offending Lin Chaoyang...

Tang Guoqiang was overwhelmed by the chaotic and complicated thoughts. In the few days after meeting Lin Chaoyang, he had almost no energy to do anything else. All he thought about were these things. He had regarded "The Garland under the Mountain" as a life-saving straw.

That morning, he was lying on his bed in the dormitory of the Bayi Factory. He had not slept well last night because of the messy thoughts in his mind, and he was completely confused.

When it was almost noon, his colleague in the next room asked him to go to the cafeteria to eat, but Tang Guoqiang reluctantly refused his colleague's kindness and just wanted to lie down.

"Tang Guoqiang! There's a phone call!"

Suddenly, there was a sound from Master Jin in the message room in the dormitory corridor. Tang Guoqiang jumped up immediately after hearing the noise. For some reason, he felt a sense of confidence he had never felt before. It must be Director Xie Jin calling.

Then he became deflated again, attributing his thoughts to wishful thinking.

"Tang Guoqiang! Phone call!"

In the corridor, Master Jin was urging Tang Guoqiang at the top of his voice, and he stood up and went to the switchboard room to answer the phone.

"Hey!"

"Is it Tang Guoqiang?"

The voice on the phone was a little distorted, but Tang Guoqiang clearly felt that it was somewhat familiar. After just a quick thought, he remembered that it was Lin Chaoyang.

He couldn't help feeling disappointed because it wasn't Director Xie Jin calling.

Tang Guoqiang politely said hello, and then he listened to Lin Chaoyang say: "Director Xie Jin asked you to go to Xizhimen Guesthouse tomorrow."

"Do you know the address?"

Lin Chaoyang on the other end of the phone heard Tang Guoqiang not saying anything, and then said, "It's on Xizhimen Inner Street, not far from Xinjiekou. Don't you know it yet? Oh, how can I tell you this?"

Lin Chaoyang thought that Tang Guoqiang didn't know the address of the guesthouse and was worrying about how to guide him. Tang Guoqiang, who had been stunned for a long time, finally reacted.

"Xizhimen Guesthouse! I know, I know."

Tang Guoqiang spoke into the microphone in a loud voice. "That's good to know. Go there early tomorrow morning and make some preparations."

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's advice, Tang Guoqiang felt as if a bomb filled with joy exploded in his heart, shocking him so much that he even forgot how he hung up the phone.

When he remembered it again, he was filled with regret. He had not even had the chance to express his gratitude to Lin Chaoyang.

He had just gone to ask Lin Chaoyang for help two days ago, but today he received a call from the factory, asking him to meet the director.

What a fast efficiency! He hung up the phone without even having time to say thank you.

When he thought about the decadent thoughts he had in his mind over the past two days and how he had looked down on others, Tang Guoqiang felt even more ashamed.

Tang Guoqiang walked out of the message room with mixed emotions in his heart. He was thinking about how to repay Lin Chaoyang's kindness when he ran into an acquaintance.

The man has a full forehead, but unfortunately his hair has begun to "strategically retreat" at such a young age, making his forehead look even rounder.

When he saw Tang Guoqiang, he smiled. It was clearly an expression of goodwill, but it seemed as if he had done something bad.

"Guoqiang, haven't you eaten yet?"

"No, you haven't eaten yet?" Tang Guoqiang saw that the other party didn't have a lunch box in his hand, so he probably hadn't eaten yet.

"No, the filming of 'Pipa Soul' has just been completed, so I can have two days off." The visitor said cheerfully.

Tang Guoqiang looked at the other party's optimistic state and couldn't help but admire him.

"Pipa Soul" is a movie produced by the August 1st Film Studio. The director is very famous, Yan Jizhou, who also directed "Wild Fire Spring Breeze Fighting the Ancient City", and the other party only played an inconspicuous supporting role in the movie.

Don't think that people who play supporting roles are really supporting roles. In fact, this unremarkable young man in front of him not only comes from the entertainment industry, his father is a well-known actor, and he himself has also made his mark in the film industry in recent years with his superb acting skills in films such as "Look at This Family" and "Inside and Outside the Court".

But due to his image problems, he could never play the leading role and basically played supporting roles in the studio. He would fill in when a movie was short of people and was not picky about the roles.

This kind of development may seem to have a low starting point, but it is actually a way to hone your acting skills.

Unlike myself, with a face like this, I can only play the leading role.

"Hey, I heard that the factory is going to shoot "Four Crossings of the Chishui River" and wants you to play the leading male role." The other party suddenly asked.

"Ah!" Tang Guoqiang, who was completely unprepared, heard the news and uttered a short cry of surprise, "Who told you that?"

"I just heard from Director Yan, didn't anyone come to talk to you?"

Tang Guoqiang shook his head, upset.

"Oh, I really envy you. You're just sitting in the dormitory and the leading man falls from the sky."

The other party was sighing when he saw Tang Guoqiang rushing back to the dormitory. He was puzzled when he saw Tang Guoqiang dressed neatly and rushing out of the dormitory again, heading straight out of the dormitory.

"Why are you going?"

When he asked this question, Tang Guoqiang had already run out, and he could only listen from a distance as he replied, "Go meet a director!"

"Meet the director?"

The young man touched his shiny forehead and asked, "Isn't the director in the factory?"

However, Tang Guoqiang heard that the studio wanted him to act in "Four Crossings of the Chishui River", which meant that even if he could get the role of "High Mountains", he would not be able to participate due to the conflict in shooting schedules. After all, he was an actor of the Bayi Studio.

For now, he could only try to get the role in "High Mountain" as quickly as possible, make it a done deal, and then get director Xie Jin to come forward, so that he could push the studio's movie.

Tang Guoqiang walked all the way to the Xizhimen Guesthouse, took out his work ID and gave his name.

Xie Jin was a little surprised by Tang Guoqiang's arrival. He had agreed with Lin Chaoyang to have Tang Guoqiang come over tomorrow, but he didn't expect that he would come today.

However, he did not say anything. Instead, his eyes lit up after seeing Tang Guoqiang.

Tang Guoqiang had been depressed in the dormitory for several days. He just finished talking to his colleagues and couldn't wait until tomorrow, so he ran to the Xizhimen Guesthouse.

At this time, he had a face full of stubble, looked haggard and unkempt, and his appearance was nothing like the handsome Dai prince in "The Peacock Princess".

Originally, Xie Jin felt that Tang Guoqiang’s image was too handsome and lacked a tough temperament, and he could not portray the heroic spirit of Zhao Mengsheng in the later period.

Now it seems that this is Zhao Mengsheng, the one chosen by heaven!

"Thank you, Director..."

Tang Guoqiang was about to speak but was interrupted by Xie Jin.

"Come on, come on, let's try the acting first." Xie Jin said with burning eyes, pulling Tang Guoqiang.

After the audition, Xie Jin was completely convinced.

Lin Chaoyang is a really talented guy. It would be a waste of his talent if he didn't become an assistant director in charge of casting!

(End of this chapter)