Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 450 It’s not the same after all, young man’s journey

"The sun comes out in the west?"

Xie Jin and Lin Chaoyang have known each other for quite some time. First they made "The Shepherd" and then "The Garland under the Mountain". In those two or three years, they would get together from time to time to discuss scripts and movies, and their relationship gradually became close.

Although we haven't cooperated in the past two years and have met and communicated less frequently, our friendship still exists.

Xie Jin certainly wouldn't be so ungrateful as to take advantage of Lin Chaoyang. It was more of a teasing move. The exemption of royalties did break his inherent impression of Lin Chaoyang.

"If you can talk, say more." Lin Chaoyang said sarcastically.

Xie Jin confirmed again with concern: "You really don't want any royalties?"

"It's not impossible if you insist." Lin Chaoyang said.

Xie Jin said: "Who is going to give you money?"

He looked Lin Chaoyang up and down in confusion, feeling a sense of freshness, as if "a man who has not been seen for three days is looked at with new eyes".

"Not asking for royalties is really not your style."

Lin Chaoyang said impatiently: "You're not done yet? I asked you to pay again!"

Xie Jin immediately shut up, then asked seriously, "Why don't you want the royalties?"

"Ah Cheng's script is well written. I'm just helping out. It doesn't take much effort."

Xie Jin asked again: "Then what about the signature..."

"Just change the script and forget about the signature." Lin Chaoyang waved his hand.

Xie Jin was really shocked. He didn't want any payment for the article and didn't sign his name. Was this still the Lin Chaoyang he knew? He was almost a living LF.

He thought about it and thought that this was probably to save Ah Cheng's face. He knew that Lin Chaoyang and Ah Cheng had a good relationship.

Lin Chaoyang didn't want to take credit for this matter, so Xie Jin could only accept the favor silently, stop talking about it, and start talking about movies instead.

Lin Chaoyang helped him solve the urgent problem of the script, and the crew could finally get started.

"I will return to Shanghai tomorrow morning and gather the cast and crew to get them ready. Alas, I have to go to France in a few days. It's really a waste of time."

Xie Jin went to France to attend the awards ceremony of the Caesar International Film Festival held in Paris. He attends this kind of event almost two or three times a year and has long been accustomed to it, and even feels a little disgusted with it.

"If you really don't want to go, you can ask someone else to go." Lin Chaoyang joked with him and said, "By the way, you have to do me a favor."

"what's up?"

"Help me connect with some movie stars..."

Lin Chaoyang told Xie Jin about the opening of the Asia-Europe Clothing City. Xie Jin complained, "I was wondering why you didn't want the royalties. It turns out you were waiting for me here!"

"My royalties are not even as much as hiring a few celebrities?" Lin Chaoyang glared at Xie Jin in dissatisfaction.

Xie Jin, who had taken advantage, couldn't refute him, "Who do you want to invite?"

"You can invite as many as you like. Are you still in touch with Zhu Shimao and Tang Guoqiang? And the celebrities from your Shanghai Film Studio, invite as many as you can."

"You think of it as ordering food. You can treat as many as you want."

"You, Director Xie, don't even have this much strength?"

Lin Chaoyang tried to provoke Xie Jin, but Xie Jin didn't buy it. He hesitated for a while and said, "I'll contact you first, and I'll tell you when it's confirmed."

"Okay. As for the other expenses, the food and lodging will be reimbursed, and each person will be given 500 yuan for travel expenses."

Xie Jin was surprised when he heard his words.

"Oh my, you guys are really generous!"

Folk performances have only just begun to emerge in the past two years, and many actors from various film studios, dance troupes, and drama troupes have gone out to perform privately.

The unit would definitely not allow such things, but as long as the people don’t report it, the officials won’t investigate it. As long as it’s not too excessive, most units will turn a blind eye.

Those unknown actors are not qualified to perform in private houses, and those who can get such jobs are generally those who are somewhat famous.

The organizers of the performances are mostly state-owned factories and local governments. The earnings for a performance range from a few dozen yuan to one or two hundred yuan, which is a lot for these actors.

After all, everyone is living on wages at this time, and it is not easy to have this kind of extra income.

Last year, the Hedong Theater in Yuncheng, Shanxi invited Liu Xiaoqing to the theater to give a tour for the audience, which caused a sensation in the entire county.

Not only did local audiences rush to buy tickets to watch the performance, but local government officials also provided reception throughout the entire process. In the end, Liu Xiaoqing received 150 yuan in performance fees.

After tasting the sweetness, Liu Xiaoqing performed 24 more shows in a row and earned a total of 3600 yuan.

At this time, Liu Xiaoqing was already a famous movie star all over the country, and she only earned 150 yuan for a performance. You can imagine the value of the 500 yuan given by Lin Chaoyang.

This is simply price gouging!
"If you are not more generous, wouldn't I ask you to take care of the favor?" Lin Chaoyang said in a light tone.

Whether asking Xie Jin or Chen Huaikai for help, Lin Chaoyang never thought of taking advantage of them. He asked them for help only because he lacked channels to contact the actors.

"Besides, the opening ceremony of the clothing store will probably have a big impact. After these actors attend, they may be criticized and have to write self-criticisms. The extra money will be regarded as spiritual compensation!"

Hearing this, Xie Jin couldn't help but laugh, "You've thought it through very carefully."

"Okay, leave it to me!"

Xie Jin left Yanjing with satisfaction after finishing the script.

The New Year has passed quietly amid people's joyous moods and rosy smiles, and everything has returned to its usual rhythm.

On the Lantern Festival, Lin Chaoyang received a letter and a package from Kitamura Miyu from Japan.

As early as late December, Lin Chaoyang had received a sample copy of the Japanese version of "Crossing the Guandong" sent by Kawaide Shobo. At that time, Kitamura Miyu said that the novel would be published in Japan in early January.

Two months passed in a flash, and Kitamura Miyu wrote to Lin Chaoyang about the situation after "Crossing the Guandong" was published in Japan.

The novel was released in Japan on January 86, 1, and was available in hundreds of bookstores, including Kinokuniya and Maruzen bookstore chains.

Before the novel was published, Kawaide Shobo placed book advertisements for the novel in several pure literature magazines such as "Wenyi" and also invited three well-known writers in the Japanese literary world to write recommendations for "Crossing the Guandong".

Among them was Mizukami Tsutomu, with whom Lin Chaoyang had dinner the last time he went to Tokyo, as well as Matsumoto Seicho and Oe Kenzaburo.

Among these three writers, Mizukami Tsutomu and Matsumoto Seicho are both important writers of Japanese social mystery, and were later regarded as the three masters of Japanese mystery.

Kenzaburo Oe's achievements are in the field of pure literature. He won almost all literary awards in the Japanese literary world in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1980s, he had become one of the most important writers in contemporary Japanese literature.

Another common feature of these three people is that they are all ZY writers.

When a new book is published, it is normal for publishing houses to invite writers to write recommendations.

But the level of writers that can be invited depends not only on the influence of the publishing house, but also on the quality of the works.

After all, many writers also have to save face, and writing recommendations for new books is, to a certain extent, an endorsement of the book by the writers using their own credibility.

The publication of "Crossing the Guandong" was recommended by these three writers. Kawade Shobo only played a role in connecting the dots. The most important thing is that the creative level of the novel itself was recognized by them.

On the back cover of the Japanese version of "Crossing the Guandong" that Kitamura Miyu sent to Lin Chaoyang in December, the three people's comments on the novel were written.

"The grand epic narrative, ingeniously combining magical realism with historical reality, "Crossing Guandong" is a rare masterpiece - Matsumoto Seicho"

“This is an incredible epic that depicts the rise and fall of a family in northeast China in the early 20th century, showing a historical picture from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the eve of World War II.

The author uses delicate brushstrokes to depict the primitive style of rural life, reflecting the tremendous changes in Chinese society and the twists and turns of personal destiny, as well as people's struggles and choices in the torrent of history.

With its profound cultural heritage and unique artistic charm, it has become a monument in contemporary Chinese literature and has also added a cornerstone to the world's literary hall - Mizukami Tsutomu.

“I recommend readers who want to learn about modern Chinese history or friends who seek literary enjoyment to read Crossing the Guandong. This is a work full of vitality that will stay with you for a long time after reading it.

I think it belongs not only to China, but also to Asia and the world. - Kenzaburo Oe

The high praise for "Crossing the Guandong" by Mizukami Tsutomu, Matsumoto Seicho and Oe Kenzaburo provided a good start for the novel's launch.

When the novel was first released, many readers were attracted by the joint recommendation of the three people.

In addition, Lin Chaoyang's fans in Japan, such as Kondo Naoko and Fujii Shozo, also actively promoted the novel to the Japanese literary world after the publication of "Crossing the Guandong".

A review article written by Shozo Fujii for "Crossing the Guandong" entitled "Magical Realism from Latin America to China" was published in the well-known Japanese newspaper "Asahi Shimbun", attracting the attention of many Japanese intellectuals.

With such persistent promotion, "Crossing the Guandong" quickly became famous among Japan's pure literature audience, and the novel sold nearly 9000 copies in the first month of its release.

And the word of mouth continued to grow, receiving great acclaim among these reader groups, further promoting the sales of the novel.

By the time Kitamura Miyu wrote to Lin Chaoyang, the first print run of 1.2 copies of the novel by Kawaide Shobo had been sold out, and the second print run of 2 copies had already been placed on the shelves of major stores in Japan.

Kitamura Miyu congratulated Lin Chaoyang at the end of the letter.

“The first print run of Crossing the Guandong was sold out in less than a month and a half, which was undoubtedly a very successful start.

I believe that in the near future, this novel will achieve even better results.

Thank you Mr. Lin for bringing such wonderful works to Japanese readers. I hope you can continue to maintain your strong creative energy and create more great works for the Asian literary world.

Sincerely, Kitamura Miyu. "

After reading the letter, Lin Chaoyang flipped through the package sent to him by Kitamura Miyu, which contained some letters written to Kawaide Shobo by enthusiastic readers.

The letters are all in Japanese and have been opened. I think they must have been screened by Kawaide Shobo.

Lin Chaoyang took a look at the letter and couldn't understand it at all. Fortunately, Kitamura Miyu had thoughtfully put a small note with pre-translation in each letter.

“Dear Mr. Lin:

Hello! I am a third-year student in the Faculty of Literature at Waseda University, and also your reader.

I read your work and was deeply moved by Mr. Seicho Matsumoto's high praise for your work. I wrote this letter to convey to you some of the emotions and thoughts I felt through your work.

When I first read "Crossing the Guandong", I always compared it with Ryotaro Shiba's Taiga novels, as they have many similar characteristics.

For example, it has longer length, longer time span, and a grand historical background.

But as I read the novel more deeply, my views were revised little by little.

Ryotaro Shiba's novel is more like a historical epic, while "Crossing Guandong" is a fragment taken from history. It is a real history that once happened, with flesh and blood..."

There were about ten letters sent from Hechu Study. Since the contents of the letters had been translated in advance, Lin Chaoyang could easily understand the contents of the letters.

All these letters are praises for "Crossing the Guandong" and Lin Chaoyang himself. It is a very pleasant thing to be praised so much by readers in a foreign country.

In addition, Lin Chaoyang also discovered a phenomenon, that is, the readers who wrote these letters almost all had a literary background or were intellectuals.

This shows that after its publication, "Crossing the Guandong" was recognized by at least a considerable number of highly educated people in Japan.

After reading the letters from readers, I found some postcards and photos in the package. The postcards must have been sent by readers. Japanese readers love this the most.

As for the photos, no one knows where Kitamura Miyu found them. They are all photos of readers buying "Crossing the Guandong" in bookstores, or reading "Crossing the Guandong".

Looking at these photos, Lin Chaoyang's vanity as a writer was greatly satisfied.

He had to admit that in terms of attracting writers, publishers of small notebooks were indeed ahead of domestic publishers.

While domestic publishing houses are still trying to use pen clubs to attract writers, others have already begun to demonstrate humanistic care on the spiritual level.

This method is not even a little bit bad!
We have to let Lao Li learn from this carefully. Only through comparison can there be progress!
In the evening, Tao Yushu, who had just returned from outside, carefully saved all the readers' postcards and photos in an album. In her words, "They all came from across the ocean. The gifts are small but the sentiments are great. They are very valuable for collection."

After she put away the postcards and photos, she said to Lin Chaoyang, "Chen Kaige came to see me today and said that the clothing store is opening, and Zhang Jinling, Li Xiuming and Fang Shun from Yanying Studio can come. Liu Xiaoqing has an event in the United States in early March and may not be able to make it."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Old Chen is very respectable. Three golden flowers came at once."

In the 1970s and 1980s, domestic film studios liked to use "Golden Flowers" to promote their own actors.

Yanying Studio previously had the "Three Golden Flowers", namely Zhang Jinling, Li Xiuming and Liu Xiaoqing. In the past two years, two more golden flowers, Zhang Liwei and Fang Shu, have been added, and they are known as the Five Golden Flowers of Yanying Studio.

These five golden flowers are all popular movie stars, especially Liu Xiaoqing and Fang Shu, who have been in the limelight in the past two years.

The two of them also served as hosts of the just-concluded Spring Festival Gala, and their popularity has already far surpassed that of the other three golden flowers.

It is true that the five golden flowers are all actors from Yanying Studio, but they spend most of their time filming, often in other places.

Let alone five people, it is already very difficult to gather three people at once.

Tao Yushu also said happily: "Yes, if the three of them could come, there would definitely be a huge crowd on the opening day. Old Chen has been a great help this time."

Lin Chaoyang added: "And Old Xie should be able to invite a few people as well."

Xie Jin is one of the leading figures in the Chinese film industry today. His help in contacting people will definitely not be inferior to Chen Huaikai’s lineup.

Tao Yushu couldn't help but feel excited as he imagined the scene of loud drums and music and crowds of people on the opening day of the clothing city.

"Du Feng has also found colleagues from their cultural troupe. When the time comes, they will be responsible for the stage design and art. They can also put on a few shows..."

As Tao Yushu was talking, he felt something was wrong. "Hey, why do I feel like we invited too many people? Will they overshadow the guests?"

Lin Chaoyang thought about it and felt that it was a bit too much. This was not a concert.

Don’t let the audience be so busy watching the performance that no one cares about the opening of the clothing store.

"We can split it up into two or three days, and make a preview of which stars will appear on which day, which can also attract more people to come."

Tao Yushu clapped his hands upon hearing this, "This is a good idea!"

Lin Chaoyang warned again: "But don't count too much on celebrities. Ordinary people come here to bring popularity to Asia-Europe Clothing City and make it famous, but the clothing city is a high-end city. Whether you can retain customers depends on your products and services."

"I understand." Tao Yushu said, picking up the clothes she brought back from the company, "Try this dress on."

When doing clothing business, product selection is a very critical link.

Since participating in the preparation of the clothing city, Tao Yushu would bring back two pieces of clothing from time to time for his family members to try out as models.

What she took out was a Japanese version of dark gray windbreaker. Nowadays, European version windbreakers are popular in the market. Because they are designed and tailored according to the body shape of European and American people, these windbreakers are often not so suitable for Chinese people.

The Japanese version of trench coats is different. Although they are also East Asians, the design and tailoring of Japanese trench coats are more suitable for the Chinese body shape.

After Lin Chaoyang put on his windbreaker, Tao Yushu looked at him for a long time with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Du Feng is really good at choosing clothes!"

While Lin Chaoyang was taking off his clothes, Tao Yushu suddenly had an idea, "Hey, when those celebrities come, how about I give them a few sets of clothes each?"

Lin Chaoyang looked a little surprised, and then immediately understood Tao Yushu's thoughts.

The purpose is not to give away clothes, the purpose is to let these stars wear these clothes on the opening day.

Lin Chaoyang immediately thought of the frog-eye glasses made popular by "The Man from Atlantis", Ken Takakura's windbreaker in "The Chase", and the red lapel shirt made popular by Liu Xiaoqing on the Spring Festival Gala.

The business atmosphere of this era was not as strong as that of later generations. On the contrary, the ability of film and television works and celebrities to sell goods was a hundred times stronger than those so-called stars and anchors of later generations.

The popularity of a film or TV show can often make a fashion item popular throughout China.

He smiled and praised: "You have a pretty smart little brain! If you buy the same style as the stars, I'm afraid the common people will go crazy trying to buy it!"

The term "celebrity style" was unfamiliar to Tao Yushu, but she immediately understood what Lin Chaoyang meant and said excitedly, "This term is so accurate!"

The more Tao Yushu thought about it, the more she felt that this idea was feasible. There were advertisements in the country now, but there was no awareness of inviting celebrities to be spokespeople. Her method was a disguised way of inviting those celebrities to be spokespeople, and it would be mutually beneficial for everyone.

As the couple talked, Lin Chaoyang felt that Tao Yushu's business acumen seemed to be slowly being stimulated by him, and he was becoming more and more like a businessman.

Two days later, Tao Yushu came back and said that she received a call from Shenzhen during the day. It was someone from the crew sent by Ann Hui to Shenzhen to call her specifically.

Now, calls between China and Hong Kong are considered international long-distance calls. Those foreign companies with offices in the Yanjing Hotel or the Minzu Hotel are strong and can enjoy the hotel's international long-distance services.

The Asia-Europe Clothing City is just a foreign company in disguise. Its store is located in Xidan Shopping Mall, and the company is located in a public housing unit near Xidan.

Because it is a joint venture, we can apply for a domestic long-distance telephone line, but we cannot receive international long-distance calls.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are close to each other. When it is inconvenient to make international long-distance calls, many companies often use Shenzhen as a transit point, so that they only need to make domestic long-distance calls.

The content of Ann Hui's phone call was to tell Tao Yushu that the post-production of "The Truman Show" would be completed soon.

Let her find time to go back to Hong Kong to see the finished film, after all, she and her husband are also one of the investors of the film.

She also mentioned that before the Chinese New Year, Li Hanxiang had asked King Hu to contact the Cannes Film Festival, and in late March, the current selection director of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob, might make a special trip to Hong Kong.

The Cannes Film Festival’s current reputation is still a little behind that of later generations, but it does not prevent it from being one of the three major festivals in Europe and having a significant influence in the world film scene.

At every film festival, being nominated is a major hurdle. Hundreds of films from countries all over the world compete for the qualification to be nominated for more than 20 main competition units each year. The fierceness of the competition is self-evident.

The Cannes Film Festival's selection committee generally consists of three groups. The first group is responsible for selecting French films and is composed of local French media workers.

The second group is responsible for selecting those films with potential from a large number of videotapes. These films are usually created by young filmmakers who have no fame, no connections, and lack funds.

The last group is responsible for selecting films from outside France, and the person in charge is the selection director Gilles Jacob.

There are also three film selectors, whose professions include directors, journalists and film lovers. This committee is directly responsible to the president of the film festival.

It can also be seen from the configuration of the selection groups that this last selection group has the greatest power in the Cannes Film Festival's selection process and has the highest chance of being shortlisted.

"The Truman Show" has invited Giles Jacobs, the film selection director. It cannot be said that being selected into the main competition unit is a foregone conclusion, but it is definitely a high probability event.

This film was aimed at winning awards from the very beginning of the project. With the endorsement of two great directors, Li Hanxiang and King Hu, the chance of getting selected for the film was not a problem.

But the more crucial reason for inviting Gilles Jacob, the selection director of the Cannes Film Festival, is that Golden Harvest is behind "The Truman Show".

Hong Kong films have swept across Asia in recent years, and several film giants such as Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest have always been regular visitors to the Cannes Film Festival's copyright trading market.

The Cannes Film Festival may not look down on the artistic quality of Hong Kong films, but they will never ignore the commercial value of Hong Kong films.

After all, if a film festival wants to be successful, in addition to the quality of the participating films and the fame of the filmmakers, another very important factor is that the copyright trading market must be active.

And it is undeniable that the influence of Hong Kong films in the Asian film industry has indeed been growing in recent years.

"After I finish working on the clothing store, I have to go back to Hong Kong. I really don't know what the final effect of the movie will be." Tao Yushu said expectantly.

"It shouldn't be too bad."

No one can predict whether a movie will be good or bad in the end, but for those who are deeply involved in it, everyone actually has a feeling.

"The Truman Show" has been made with the pursuit of excellence from investment to script, from actors to costumes and props. Even if it cannot become a classic, its lower limit will definitely not be too low.

Time passed quickly and it was March. Just as the major universities in Yenching University started the new semester, Xie Mian suddenly found Lin Chaoyang's home and said that the May Fourth Literary Society wanted to invite him to attend a symposium.

Xie Mian was an original member of the May Fourth Literary Society. After the May Fourth Literary Society was re-established in 78, he has been deeply involved in it.

Lin Chaoyang has been free recently and is happy to communicate with students.

Early in the morning, he drove to the south gate of Yanda University, parked his car on the side of the road, and then walked into the campus.

Although it is still chilly in spring and the night temperature is still around zero degrees, the rain has passed and the grass and trees on the Yanda campus are sprouting vitality.

The campus, which had been empty for most of the winter, was now filled with young and energetic figures. Having not seen this scene for a long time, Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but feel a little close to it.

It was a pleasant walk to the library entrance, with students coming in and out, and it was very lively, but once inside, the atmosphere was very quiet.

In a blink of an eye, it has been more than a year since Lin Chaoyang appeared in the library. As soon as he appeared, he was immediately noticed by some sharp-eyed old colleagues.

"Chaoyang?" Tu Mansheng, who was at the library on the first floor, saw Lin Chaoyang and called him excitedly in a low voice.

Lin Chaoyang walked over, and Tu Mansheng asked happily, "Why did you have time to come back?"

"The May Fourth Youth Society invited me to attend a meeting in the conference room of our building."

Lin Chaoyang chatted with Tu Mansheng for a while, and soon a group of colleagues gathered around him.

In the past two years, Lin Chaoyang has appeared in the library less and less frequently, and his colleagues who were once familiar with him have gradually become able to only learn about him through newspapers, magazines and television.

When we met again, we were still talking and laughing, but everyone could feel the sense of distance caused by changes in time, identity and status.

"It's really not easy to see you now!"

Du Rong sighed, with a tone of disappointment that “it’s never like the days of youth”.

(End of this chapter)