Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 402: Watching "The Chess Master" to boost morale

"Do you remember the party at our house that day?"

Li Hanxiang did not answer Lin Chaoyang, but asked him a question instead.

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Remember."

"Do you remember Xu Guanwen?"

"He's a big star, of course I remember him."

When people in later generations mention the King of Comedy in Hong Kong movies, the first person they think of must be Stephen Chow.

But what many people don’t know is that before Stephen Chow came onto the scene, when Hong Kong people mentioned comedy movies, the first person they thought of must be Xu Guanwen.

Different from the nonsensical style that Stephen Chow is good at, Xu Guanwen is a deadpan comedian, and his performances and works are often infused with a strong sense of humanity. This style is unique in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1970s.

Every work of Xu Guanwen was a hit. He became a big name in the film industry and also made his three brothers famous.

The story of the four brothers of the Xu family, both talented men in literature and martial arts, has always been a legend in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1970s and 1980s.

Unfortunately, after he became popular with "Modern Bodyguard" in 1981 and won the Best Actor Award at the first Hong Kong Film Awards, his career path became bumpy.

First, the cooperation between the Xu brothers became less, and then he retreated behind the scenes to write, produce and direct "Ghost Chasing Seven" and "Teppanyaki", which failed at the box office and in terms of reputation.

The successive blows caused this once popular movie star to fall into a long period of low ebb.

"Compared to acting, Big Brother Wen actually likes writing and directing more. Unfortunately, without his acting, his writing and directing skills seem to be unpopular with the audience. The audience may prefer to see him act in movies."

Xu Guanwen's famous work was "The Warlord" directed by Li Hanxiang, so the two had a good relationship. "Big Brother Wen" was an affectionate name between the two because Xu Guanwen was the eldest in the family.

Finally figuring out who wanted him to write the script, Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but ask curiously, "I'm a mainland screenwriter, isn't he afraid that the script I wrote won't be accepted in Hong Kong?"

"You don't understand his current dilemma. He has no shortage of scripts or movies to shoot, but he is different from other movie stars. He has his own pursuits.

He wants to be a screenwriter and a director, telling the stories in his heart to the audience, instead of just being an actor forever.

But the audience only likes to watch him perform these things, which is the fundamental reason why he fell into a slump. "

Listening to Li Hanxiang's words, Lin Chaoyang thought, "Oh, talent doesn't match ambition!"

This precise comment made Li Hanxiang's expression become a little awkward. He had just praised Xu Guanwen for his aspirations, but he didn't expect that Lin Chaoyang would wipe it out with cruel reality.

In the film and television industry, comedy requires the most talent and audience appeal, but it is also the most tiring.

Whether in China or abroad, many actors who became famous through comedy either retired or struggled in a pile of bad dramas. In any case, they could not escape the judgment of "running out of talent".

Therefore, when these people reach a certain age, they will seek breakthroughs, but only a few will succeed.

Xu Guanwen is certainly not without talent, but his talent is more in acting. However, he insisted on getting stuck in that dead end, and the result is predictable.

After experiencing a few years of lows in later generations, Xu Guanwen came to terms with the matter and returned to his old ways.

In the late 1980s, he released a series of works such as "Detective Chocolate" and "Chicken and Duck Talk", and after returning to his old path, he became popular again.

But unfortunately, his comeback did not last for a few years, as he was defeated by his junior Stephen Chow and finally faded out of the film industry in the early 1990s.

After the embarrassment, Li Hanxiang did not dwell on this issue, but continued to say to Lin Chaoyang:
"Both films, 'The Last Emperor' and 'The Chess Master', were written by you and both have achieved remarkable success in Hong Kong, fully demonstrating your talent in this area.

Talent is not limited by region. As long as it is a good work, everyone will appreciate it.

If you can write an excellent script for Big Brother Wen, maybe you can help him change his acting style and make him soar to the sky from now on!"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "If transformation was that easy, he wouldn't be in such a low period now."

Li Hanxiang asked: "So you don't want to help him write the script?"

"That's not the case. As long as the price is right, the script can still be written."

Li Hanxiang thought to himself that it is true that it is difficult to change one's nature!

"How much does he plan to pay?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"As long as the script is good, HK$20!"

Li Hanxiang made a "V" sign with his hand and his tone was full of confidence. This figure was much higher than the fee Lin Chaoyang paid him for writing the script for "The Last Emperor".

But Lin Chaoyang remained calm after hearing this. Li Hanxiang saw his expression and asked hurriedly, "Why? Still think it's too low?"

"Ah."

"Isn't this much more than what you get for writing other scripts?"

"This moment, that moment."

Lin Chaoyang didn't explain anything, but Li Hanxiang understood it as soon as he thought about it.

The scripts handled by Lin Chaoyang have always had good box office performance and reputation, whether in the mainland or in Xiangjiang, and all of them are big hits.

If a movie is like this, some people might say it is the director's credit, but the problem is that every movie is like this. Who can shamelessly erase Lin Chaoyang's contribution?

Li Hanxiang's idea was not wrong, but Lin Chaoyang showed no interest in this matter. The main reason was that writing scripts for others was becoming less and less cost-effective for him.

Compared to the royalties he earns from writing movie scripts, he may get more returns from royalties from writing novels.

While the two were talking, Zou Shifang was listening quietly beside them.

He met Lin Chaoyang in 1978, when Lin Chaoyang was just an ordinary librarian at the Yanda Library.

When he occasionally went to the Chinese Department to take classes, he would meet Lin Chaoyang, who was also there to take classes. Or when the May Fourth Literary Society organized activities, they would also invite Lin Chaoyang to participate. During his four years in college, he watched Lin Chaoyang write one wonderful work after another, and his reputation also rose.

Now, more than two years after he graduated from university, when they met again, Lin Chaoyang had already become a nationally renowned writer, and the person he was chatting and laughing with was a great director like Li Hanxiang.

Others begged him to write scripts for 20 Hong Kong dollars each, but Lin Chaoyang remained indifferent.

You have to know that he is a Yan University graduate and has been working for more than two years, but his salary is only more than 60 yuan.

There was a huge gap in front of Zou Shifang, and he couldn't even feel any envy or jealousy, because the money was beyond his concept.

Understanding Lin Chaoyang's mentality, Li Hanxiang didn't say anything else. He certainly couldn't force others to do such a thing. He changed the subject and everyone continued to chat and laugh.

Tony Leung asked Lin Chaoyang if he wanted to star in a movie as some film and television companies in Hong Kong wanted to invite him.

Li Hanxiang was very kind to Tony Leung Ka Fai. Because of the filming of "Fire Dragon", Tony Leung Ka Fai certainly could not agree to those film contracts right away, but the remuneration offered by those production companies did make him very tempted.

Listening to Tony Leung's distress, Lin Chaoyang said with a smile: "If you want to make money, you can take more movies while the production company recognizes you. If you want to hold on to this job for a long time, you still have to look at the script and the cast behind the scenes."

Tony Leung Ka Fai had a subtle expression when he heard this, because most of the production companies and films that came to him didn't even have a script, they only said which star would be invited to play the leading role.

Such an impetuous atmosphere is in line with Lin Chaoyang's stereotype of Hong Kong movies.

He pondered and said to Tony Leung: "You may make less money by making a good movie than by making ten bad movies, but you will definitely make more than ten movies in the future."

Liang Jiahui thought for a moment, and finally nodded seriously, "I understand what you mean."

He regarded Li Hanxiang and Lin Chaoyang as mentors in his acting career, attached great importance to their opinions, and was determined to plan his future path according to Lin Chaoyang's guidance.

After the meal, everyone said goodbye.

Like Lin Chaoyang, Zou Shifang rode a bicycle when they came here. After they separated at the intersection, Zou Shifang couldn't help but turn his head to look at Lin Chaoyang's receding back.

The distance between the two people was growing, just like the gap between them, and Zou Shifang felt filled with emotion.

After returning home from Donglaishun, Lin Chaoyang's face was red from the cold wind. On the way back, he was thinking whether he should buy a four-wheeled vehicle, otherwise it would be too painful in winter.

He had just pushed his bicycle to the corner when Tao Yushu came out of the main room and said to him, "Chaoyang, there are guests at home!"

"Who is it?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"Nie Weiping!"

Lin Chaoyang was a little surprised when he heard this. According to the date, the China-Japan Go Tournament should be coming soon, so why would he come to his house?

After entering the house, Lin Chaoyang saw Nie Weiping sitting on the sofa. After the two shook hands and exchanged greetings, Lin Chaoyang asked, "It seems that the ring match will be held soon? How come you have time to come to my place today?"

"I came to see you about the ring match. Are you free tomorrow?"

Although he didn't know what Nie Weiping wanted to talk to him about, Lin Chaoyang still said, "I'm free."

"That's great! I'll take you to a movie tomorrow."

When Lin Chaoyang heard this, he was a little confused and didn't know what Nie Weiping was up to.

Nie Weiping explained with a smile: "Watching "The Go Master"! The day after tomorrow is the China-Japan Go Challenge. Our strength is not as good as the Japanese. We lost the first game, and the players are under great pressure.

Captain Hao said that he would lead the team members to watch "The Chess Master" to boost everyone's morale.

I thought, if I want to boost morale, I have to invite you, the author, to come along!"

The competition is about to start, and you are going to see a movie, can you be more reliable?
Even though they complained in their hearts, Nie Weiping and the others wanted to watch "The Chess Master" after all, so this could be considered as a support for themselves.

Besides, what if I really win?

No, it’s not just a chance, it’s a sure win!

In the first China-Japan Go Tournament, Nie Weiping defeated three top players in Japan and created a legend.

In the same competition, a young Chinese player also performed brilliantly.

He was Jiang Zhujiu, who played in the second game and was only 22 years old.

When the Chinese Go community was feeling melancholy and depressed about the prospects of the China-Japan Go Tournament, Jiang Zhujiu stood up.

First, he won the second game with white by 2 points against Noriki Yoda, and then he won the third game with black by the middle game against Akira Kobayashi. Then he won the fourth, fifth, and sixth games...

Jiang Zhujiu completed the "Penta kill" of the Japanese team by himself, but was finally defeated by Kobayashi Koichi.

Kobayashi Koichi is the top chess player in Japan. Except for Nie Weiping, almost no one on the Chinese team can compete with him, so Jiang Zhujiu won an honorable defeat.

His heroic performance put those Japanese players who had been talking big before the game to shame. It not only greatly frustrated the arrogance of the Japanese team, but also gave Chinese Go enthusiasts a chance to vent their anger.

Memories flashed through his mind, and Lin Chaoyang said, "Okay, it's just in time to meet the national players tomorrow."

At this time, Tao Yushu said, "Chaoyang, take Dongdong with you tomorrow."

Lin Chaoyang turned his head to look at her. There was a gleam in Ms. Tao's eyes that made people feel kind and familiar.

In the past, women hoped their husbands would become successful, but now they hope their sons will become successful!

Lin Chaoyang took another look at Xiao Dongdong who was playing with toys. The blue and white striped tumbler doll swayed back and forth as he moved, causing him to burst into clear and loud laughter.

Son, your father went through the same thing, too. Just get used to it!

(End of this chapter)