Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 395: "Chess Master" Film Review Meeting
"So what do you think? Speak out through the media?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Li Tuo said: "Everyone should show their abilities. As long as there is a channel to speak out, we should clearly oppose those hypocrites! Fake and noble! I don't believe that we can't defeat such a group of hypocritical hypocrites!"

"That's right!"

"Yes!"

Li Tuo has always been professional when it comes to stirring up trouble, and he also has extensive connections in the literary world. As long as he is given time, he will definitely be able to create quite a stir.

With everyone being so active, Lin Chaoyang certainly cannot fall behind and must express his opinion and speak out.

Li Tuo stopped him, "This matter was caused by you, you can't come out to refute them, otherwise it will really prove that you are materialistic and greedy. This matter must be handled by us colleagues in the literary world.

Don’t they like to stand on the moral high ground? Then we will give them a taste of their own medicine!”

At this point, Li Tuo's eyes were determined, and the other people were also full of fighting spirit. With everyone united as one, they were determined to give a good beating to those news in the media that distorted right and wrong!

A few days later, Chen Huaikai, whom Lin Chaoyang hadn't seen for several months, appeared at his home.

In the past few months, Chen Huaikai has been busy with the post-production of "The Chess Master".

The film was recently completed and Chen Huaikai started to get busy with censorship matters again.

"It has been approved by the city. In two days, it will be reviewed by the Film Bureau. If you have time, go and take a look."

"Reviewing a film, what am I going to do?"

Chen Huaikai had a look on his face that said, "You already know the answer, but you still ask me." "Let's go and show off our skills!"

"I'm going to show off?"

"You also know that the general atmosphere now is to promote bilateral friendship, and the direction of "The Chess Master" is definitely not welcomed.

The city government was easy to talk to, they symbolically asked us to delete two shots and approved it, but the Film Bureau might not agree!

It would be best if you could bring one or two senior seniors with you, as you writers have more say than us filmmakers."

Listening to Chen Huaikai's explanation, Lin Chaoyang nodded.

He used to work with Xie Jin. Xie was a top star in the film industry, with great influence and voice. Even if someone raised objections, there would always be people supporting Xie Jin.

Chen Huaikai is different. In terms of qualifications, he is almost the same as Xie Jin, but in terms of influence, he is a bit behind.

Apart from anything else, in their respective studios, Xie Jin can direct the director to do things, but Chen Huaikai still has to listen to the director. This is the essential difference.

If the director doesn't have enough influence, then he, the screenwriter, will have to do it.

But who can I ask for help?
Lin Chaoyang thought about it and locked on two candidates. He took Chen Huaikai to the Writers Association compound first.

Feng Mu saw Lin Chaoyang coming and said happily: "You are a rare guest. What brought you here today?"

After a few pleasantries, Lin Chaoyang explained his purpose. After listening, Feng Mu said, "I thought you came here for the royalties!"

"We'll talk about royalties later. You are a man of high moral character. Please come and support us in a couple of days, so that the people from the Film Bureau won't give us trouble."

"That's because you don't want to be..."

Naked flattery is a bit corny, but it also depends on who says it. Lin Chaoyang means a lot to Feng Mu in his heart. Since he has given face, he naturally would not refuse Lin Chaoyang's request.

It was already evening when they left Feng Mu's house. Feng Mu wanted to keep him for dinner, but Lin Chaoyang wanted to look for Wang Meng again, so he said goodbye.

When Wang Meng first returned to Yenching in 1979, he stayed in a small guesthouse in Qianmen. Later, the Yenching Literary Association arranged for him to stay in Qiansanmen.

After being transferred to the position of editor-in-chief of People's Literature magazine, Wang Meng finally enjoyed the treatment of a leader and now lives in the Hufangqiao Writers' Building, not far from Guangming Daily.

It was past dinner time when Lin Chaoyang and Chen Huaikai arrived at Wang Meng's house. Wang Meng was a little surprised to see him. It was the first time that Lin Chaoyang came to their house after knowing him for so many years.

After a few small talk, Lin Chaoyang explained his purpose. After hearing his request, Wang Meng seemed a little hesitant.

He is used to being a good guy, and taking the lead is not in line with his character.

"Tell me, you are now the editor-in-chief of People's Literature. Can you show some courage?"

Lin Chaoyang's provocation didn't work on Wang Meng. Wang Meng said, "We are not in the same system. If I go there, won't they say I am trying to catch a rat?"

"With Master Feng in front of you, what are you afraid of? Besides, you have to have some confidence in yourself.

Wang Meng felt that Lin Chaoyang was being sarcastic, and said angrily, "Are you being so sarcastic when you ask someone to do something for you?"

"What's wrong with me? I'm telling the truth. I have high hopes for you. You are such a cunning person. You think dirty things about others."

The two quarreled for a few words, and Wang Meng finally agreed to Lin Chaoyang. After all, he had asked Lin Chaoyang for help before, and he couldn't just burn his bridges after crossing them.

After dealing with Wang Meng, Lin Chaoyang and Chen Huaikai came out of the Writers' Building.

Lin Chaoyang laughed and said, "I just said it casually, to compliment him."

Chen Huaikai muttered to himself, your compliment sounds like an insult.

Two days later, the review and screening of "The Chess Master" was held as scheduled at the Film Bureau.

The director Hu Qiming and director Chen Huaikai from Yanying Studio came. Chen Huaikai also specially invited Acheng's father Zhong Dianwei, who is one of the best film critics in the country.

The Film Bureau sent its director Shi Fangyu and consultant Chen Bo, who were also present at the last film review meeting for "The Garland Under the Mountain".

From a side perspective, their appearance can be regarded as a sign of their importance to the movie "The Chess Master".

Shi Fangyu was a little surprised to see Lin Chaoyang, Feng Mu and Wang Meng appear at the film review meeting. Lin Chaoyang is the screenwriter of the film, so it is reasonable for him to appear here, but why did Feng Mu and Wang Meng appear?

Hu Qiming smiled and said: "Mr. Feng and Comrade Wang Meng have always praised the original work of The Chess Master and provided many valuable suggestions during the script writing stage. Now that the movie is out and it is time for the film review, it is a good opportunity for them to appreciate it."

Of course, no one believed his nonsense. How could Shi Fangyu not understand the tricks of Yanying Studio? But he had no choice but to start the film review meeting according to the procedure.

The full length of "The Chess Master" is 105 minutes, which is quite standard. But the original work is a long novel of more than words after all. Even if it is necessary to condense and cut it for film and television adaptation, this length also fully demonstrates Chen Huaikai's restraint in expression.

There are many good directors, but few who know how to exercise restraint.

The long shot at the opening is still amazing, and people are quickly immersed in the beautiful dream woven by light and shadow.

As the one and a half hour screening came to an end, a gunshot was heard from the speakers in the screening room.

On the screen, there was snow all over the sky. Jiang Nansheng fell to the ground. His hot blood dyed the snow red, and he became more and more dizzy.

The camera slowly pulls up, sad music surrounds the scene, and the last shot of the movie is full of tragedy and sadness.

Everyone was immersed in this atmosphere, their hearts were pounding and they couldn't extricate themselves.

After a long while, Hu Qiming took the initiative to applaud, and everyone present finally reacted and burst into warm applause.

Judging from the reactions of the public, the quality of "The Go Master" is undoubtedly outstanding, but film censorship does not just look at the quality of the film.

During the discussion session after the screening, Shi Fangyu did not speak, but consultant Chen Bo spoke first. As soon as he opened his mouth, he mentioned the issue that Chen Huaikai was most worried about before the review.

“From an artistic perspective, The Chess Master is a very good film.

The characters are well-developed and the plot is full of ups and downs..."

There is a skill to speaking, especially speaking at a meeting. It is not a good thing to hear good words first, because there is often a "but" following them.

Of course, there are people who do not add this suffix, but this is rare.

"But..." As Lin Chaoyang expected, Chen Bo changed the subject and said "but".

To sum up, we need to take the diplomatic relations between the two countries into consideration, and some shots in "The Chess Master" should be handled more subtly.

Chen Bo's words were within the expectations of Lin Chaoyang and Chen Huaikai. After listening to Chen Bo's opinion, Lin Chaoyang did not rush to refute. He exchanged glances with Wang Meng, and the two understood each other.

Wang Meng stood up at the right time and said, "Comrade Chen Bo's opinion makes sense. We do need to consider this aspect. However, how to grasp this scale is a difficult problem."

"From my perspective, Director Chen was very restrained in his expression of this aspect. Except for the last shot, there is not even a single bloody shot in the movie.

The cruelty of war is mostly reflected through voice-over, narration and environmental background. Even the death of the little beggar is not given a direct shot.

I think this is a very good way to handle it, after all, the historical facts are there.”

Chen Bo countered: "I still think there are a few shots that should be processed further."

Wang Meng stopped talking upon seeing this. His purpose in coming here was not to argue but to help.

Feng Mu continued, "We'll deal with each shot individually. I think the Film Bureau might as well list the shots and lines that you think have problems, so that Director Chen and his team can make changes."

Feng Mude is highly respected, so his words naturally carry weight, and what he says makes sense. Chen Bo looked at Shi Fangyu.

Feeling the pressure, Shi Fangyu sighed in his heart.

From the moment Zhong Dianwei, Feng Mu and Wang Meng showed up at the Film Bureau, he knew that today's film review meeting would definitely not allow their Film Bureau to play freely.

They are the functional department, so it doesn't matter if they just ignore what these people say.

But the influence of these people lies here, even if he is the director, he dare not neglect it.

"Is it okay to blur out a few lines of dialogue about the chess player 'Li Zhuo' in the movie?"

Compared with Chen Bo's request, Shi Fangyu's request can be said to be a huge concession.

When the novel "The Chess Master" was first published, some people discussed that the prototype of Jiang Nansheng might be the Chess Master of the Showa era.

But in fact, anyone who knows a little about Go can understand that the character in the novel who is truly based on the Showa Go Master is the naturalized Go player Li Zhuo.

In the movie, the description of Li Zhuo's background in the novel was retained, and anyone with a discerning eye can tell who it is referring to.

Although Shi Fangyu and others were concerned about the WJ issue, they did not dare to easily desecrate history, so they settled for the second best and proposed to fictionalize the character of Li Zhuo.

After all, the prototype of this character is now also the target of domestic barrel stations.

When "The Chess Master" is released in the future, it is bound to cause some heated discussion, so it is best to avoid it if possible.

After hearing Shi Fangyu's opinion, Hu Qiming and Chen Huaikai felt relieved. Such a request was much simpler than modifying or reshooting the shots. It was nothing more than changing the lines and finding a voice actor to do the dubbing.

After some communication, the two sides reached a consensus on the film review.

What Yanying Studio needs to do next is to make modifications according to the opinions of the Film Bureau, and then conduct a second review. If nothing goes wrong, it will pass smoothly.

The half-day film review meeting was over. Coming out of the Film Bureau, Hu Qiming shook hands with Feng, Wang, and Zhong to express his gratitude, and everyone exchanged a few polite words.

"I'm grateful for your help this time. Remember to treat me to a meal!" Wang Meng said to Lin Chaoyang.

"Helping is a favor. If I treat you, I will repay the favor."

Wang Meng said dissatisfiedly: "Your family's favor was repaid with a meal. Isn't that too easy to repay?"

"I'm in debt, so I have the final say on how to pay it back!"

Lin Chaoyang acted like a rogue and the people around him laughed.

Before parting, Lin Chaoyang said to several old comrades: "If you have the chance, please help me speak out and show support for the royalties issue."

Feng Mu smiled and raised a finger, "Another meal!"

"Okay, okay, it's just two meals!"

"That's pretty much it!"

(End of this chapter)