Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 462 Do you think I'm a local rich man?

The next day after returning to Yanjing, Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu took their child to visit her mother's home.

As soon as they met, the family members would inevitably talk about the Cannes Film Festival. Tao Yucheng is a teacher at the Central Academy of Drama, so he naturally knew the value of the award won by "The Truman Show" and was particularly excited.

He kept chatting with Lin Chaoyang, and when he heard Lin Chaoyang say that "The Truman Show" would be introduced to China in a while, he became even happier.

"That's great! A film that won such a big award should have been shown here for the people to see. You're bringing glory to the country!"

According to Tao Yucheng, the news of "The Truman Show" winning the Cannes Film Festival was reported by many authoritative media, not to mention those film-related magazines.

In just half a month, the news had spread all over the country, and anyone who paid attention to the news knew about it.

As the family was talking, someone came to the door and introduced himself as someone from the school newspaper.

It was said that some students saw Lin Chaoyang on the road just now and they ran over immediately.

After all, Lin Chaoyang is a member of Yanda University. Since he won an international award, the school newspaper naturally has to promote him well. A few days ago, the school newspaper published the news that "The Truman Show" won an award in Cannes.

Now that Lin Chaoyang has returned to Yanda, isn't the interview material available?

After the interview with the school newspaper, Lin Chaoyang and his family stayed at the Tao family for another half a day.

Two days later, Hu Qiming informed Lin Chaoyang that Zhang Xinyan from Yindu happened to be in Yanjing, and asked him and Tao Yushu to meet at Yanjing Film Studio to discuss the co-production.

Zhang Xinyan is a veteran director of Yindu Film Studio. His most famous work is "Shaolin Temple", which was released in 82 and became popular both at home and abroad.

In addition to being a director, Zhang Xinyan is also the production manager of Yindu.

On the morning of the 17th, Lin Chaoyang and his wife came to Yanying Studio. As soon as they arrived at the door of the main building, they met the veteran screenwriter Su Shuyang.

"Hey, Chaoyang!" Su Shuyang was surprised to see Lin Chaoyang, "Why are you in our factory?"

"Lao Su! I'm here to talk to Lao Hu about the script."

Su Shuyang's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Are you going to cooperate with our factory again?"

"There is such a plan, but we haven't discussed it yet."

"understand!"

The two chatted for a while, and then Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu went upstairs together.

The couple had made an appointment with Hu Qiming in advance. After exchanging greetings, Zhang Xinyan first complimented Lin Chaoyang and then took the initiative to start a conversation.

"I talked to Director Hu before. It would be a good thing for us to cooperate with Lin and Yanying Studio. We have no objection to you leading this film.

Comrade Chaoyang really stood up for our Z-style movies. I feel ashamed to say this..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Xinyan looked ashamed.

The predecessors of Silver Capital were the three Z-style film companies, Great Wall, Phoenix and New United. It can be said that since their birth in the 1950s, the status of these Z-style filmmakers in Hong Kong has been very embarrassing.

They are a minority group in the Hong Kong film industry and are ridiculed as "leftists".

While many filmmakers are receiving generous pay and salaries, their pay is always the lowest in the Hong Kong film industry.

By the 1960s and 1970s, the situation of Z-school filmmakers in Hong Kong became increasingly worse, and many of them left because they could not bear the pressure.

But there are still many predecessors who persisted, never gave up their passion and ideals, and always held on.

The hard times are over now, but VIP Entertainment is still helpless in the face of the Freedom Club's dominance in the Hong Kong film industry.

"This situation cannot be changed by personal ability. It is ultimately determined by interests," said Lin Chaoyang.

Zhang Xinyan nodded in agreement, "Yes. That's why I said Comrade Chaoyang has made us proud. Now many bosses of Hong Kong film companies are begging to come to you to give you money!"

After chatting for a while about the general environment of Z-style movies in the Hong Kong film industry, the few of them talked about the film project and basically determined the respective roles of the three parties.

Lam Films contributed 8% of the funds and took a dominant position, while Silpa Film Group contributed 2% of the funds and was responsible for the distribution of the film in Hong Kong, and Yan Film Studio assisted in the filming.

As they take the initiative in investment, Lin Chaoyang and his wife naturally have the loudest say.

"I have communicated with Kaige. The filming of "The Grand Parade" has been completed, but he just agreed to film A Cheng's "The King of Children" at Xi'an Film Studio a few days ago. He wants to finish filming "The King of Children" and then..."

Tao Yushu said, "Wait until he finishes filming The King of Children? Wouldn't that be at least half a year?"

Hu Qiming's expression was somewhat gloomy. Chen Kaige was a student of Yanying Studio and was now a leading figure among the young generation of directors.

Originally, Hu Qiming wanted to use him as the director of this co-production, but the timing was so unfortunate.

"Since Kaige has a project, forget it. Let's change the director." Lin Chaoyang said.

"Then who should we use?" Hu Qiming looked at Lin Chaoyang expectantly.

He really hoped that the director would be someone from their Yanying Studio, but unfortunately he had no say in the matter.

"Is that photographer Kaige still following him in this film?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"Photographer?" Hu Qiming's mind raced, and it took him a while to remember who Lin Chaoyang was talking about. "You mean that Zhang..."

"Zhang Yimou."

Hu Qiming thought for a moment and said, "The cinematographer for this drama Kai Ge seems to be Gu Changwei."

Lin Chaoyang made the decision: "Then let's contact Zhang Yimou and see if he is willing to be the director."

"Chaoyang, Zhang Yimou is the photographer." Hu Qiming reminded.

"What's wrong with the photographer? I remember Zhang Yimou worked with Kai Ge, and he won as many photography awards as Kai Ge, right?"

Hu Qiming nodded hesitantly. It seemed to be the case.

"Lao Hu, do you think it is more likely that a good director will become a good photographer, or that a good photographer will become a good director?"

Hu Qiming has been making movies for decades, so he naturally understood what Lin Chaoyang meant.

Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are classmates at Yanying Film Studio. Since he started his career, he has worked as a cinematographer on several films, including "One and Eight", "Yellow Earth" and "Military Parade", all of which have won awards, fully demonstrating that his talent in film is no less than that of Chen Kaige.

"Then I'll contact him later." said Hu Qiming.

Tao Yushu said: "Don't look back, contact me now."

She knew the work style of state-owned units like Yanying Studio, and their efficiency was extremely low. By the time he finished making the contact, perhaps a week or two would have passed.

"Ok."

Hu Qiming picked up the phone and called the Guangxi Film Studio first. Zhang Yimou was from the Guangxi Film Studio.

"He's not at the studio. He was said to have been loaned out by Wu Tianming from Xi'an Film Studio to make a movie."

Hu Qiming called Xi'an Film Studio again, and received feedback that Wu Tianming had taken his people to the rural area of ​​Shanxi to film a movie, and then gave Hu Qiming a local contact information.

Hu Qiming continued to call Shanxi, but this time the efficiency was slower. He had to wait for Wu Tianming to call back, and he said it would take at least two hours.

"Let's go to the cafeteria and have some food first."

Hu Qiming was about to invite everyone to have dinner. As soon as they walked out of the door, they were blocked by people from the "Film Creation" editorial department on the third floor.

They heard that Lin Chaoyang was here and wanted to interview him about the story of the award-winning movie "The Truman Show".

Hu Qiming scolded, "He is Chaoyang's guest. He hasn't even had his meal yet. What are you interviewing him about? Wait until he finishes his meal."

These words were apparently meant to reprimand his subordinates, but in reality he had already made arrangements for Lin Chaoyang.

"Old Hu, you leaders are really cunning!" Lin Chaoyang teased.

Hu Qiming smiled guiltily, "It's a rare opportunity for you, the best screenwriter of the Cannes Film Festival, to come and give us guidance. Our Yanying Studio is honored! It's normal for the comrades to be a little excited!"

A few people went to the cafeteria to eat, chatting and laughing. After eating, they returned to the main building and saw Chen Huaikai blocking the door.

"Hey, Chaoyang, why didn't you tell me you were coming to the factory?"

Chen Huaikai's attitude was attentive. Hu Qiming guessed what he was thinking, so he said to Lin Chaoyang, "Chaoyang, you guys chat first. I'll go back upstairs and rest for a while."

"it is good."

Lin Chaoyang responded, and after Hu Qiming and Zhang Xinyan went upstairs, Chen Huaikai came up and said, "Chaoyang, Old Hu told me about the co-production. Kaige is an ignorant kid..."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "What's the point of talking about being sensible or not? He promised the Xiying Studio, he can't break his promise."

Seeing that he looked normal, Chen Huaikai asked, "What about the co-production..."

"Find another director. We can't wait any longer!"

Chen Huaikai nodded and said, "I understand. But do you think it would work if we change the way we do it?"

Lin Chaoyang glanced at Chen Huaikai. Based on his understanding of this old fox, he was definitely trying to gain benefits for his son.

"In what way?"

"How about you invest some money in "King of Children" and make it a co-production?"

Lin Chaoyang had a teasing look on his face, "Old Chen, for the sake of your son, you really didn't show any mercy in poaching people from your factory, did you?"

"It's a misunderstanding, isn't it?" Chen Huaikai waved his hands repeatedly, with an expression as if Lin Chaoyang looked down on him.

"I mean you should throw more."

This time Lin Chaoyang completely understood what he meant, "Do you think I'm a local rich man?"

Chen Huaikai looked shrewd, "I don't know about others, but don't you and I know? No rich man is as rich as you! Investing in two movies is nothing! After all, they are movies made by your eldest nephew."

"When we do co-productions, we have the initiative in our own hands. Kego's film was invested by Xi'an Film Studio, so it would be difficult for us to get along with them if we went there."

Chen Huaikai listened to Lin Chaoyang's tone and felt that this matter had a chance, so he quickly said, "Everything can be discussed."

"I just want to ask you one thing, who owns the copyright?"

"This……"

Chen Huaikai hesitated. He was an old filmmaker and knew that his son had cooperated with the Xi'an Film Studio first, so in this case the copyright must belong to the Xi'an Film Studio.

"If you can invest more, I'll go talk to the Xiying Studio."

For the sake of his son, Chen Huaikai was willing to give it his all.

When he said this, Lin Chaoyang was also thinking secretly.

"The King of Children" is adapted from Acheng's short story of the same name. "The King of Chess" and "The King of Trees" are also among the "Eight Kings" novels planned by Acheng.

But unfortunately, he did not carry out this writing plan. He stopped after writing three novels. These three novels can be regarded as Acheng's masterpiece, and they caused a great response after they were published.

Later, Chen Kaige's "The King of Children" was not well received in China because of its dull rhythm, but it was still recommended by the Film Bureau to the West Berlin Film Festival.

Moritz de Hadern, then artistic director of the West Berlin Film Festival, praised the film highly after watching a sample of "The King of Children".

With the attention of Moritz de Hadden, a powerful figure at the West Berlin Film Festival, it was a foregone conclusion that "The King of Children" would participate in the film festival, and even winning an award was not impossible.

As a result, Director Chen suddenly changed his mind for some reason and decided to send "The King of Children" to Cannes, France, to compete for the Palme d'Or.

The final outcome was that the always romantic French people simply could not appreciate "The King of Children", and some audience members left the film festival before it was even finished.

Not only that, but the journalists who attended the film festival sarcastically awarded "The King of Children" a "Golden Alarm Clock" award, mocking the dullness of the film.

What was even more heartbreaking was that after Chen Kaige broke his promise to the West Berlin Film Festival, Zhang Yimou took Red Sorghum to the West Berlin Film Festival and successfully won the Golden Bear, returning home with honors. The former lackey won the coveted international award at the film festival that he had abandoned. At that moment, no one knew what kind of collapse Director Chen was facing.

To be honest, the movie "The King of Children" is actually very good.

Chen Kaige during this period was indeed very charismatic, his shots and compositions were incredibly beautiful, and the various metaphors and hints were just right.

The squad leader's rigidity, the old monk's repetition, the twisted tree trunks, and the burning forest fire are all full of meaning.

If we have to point out a problem, it's that it's too much of an art film, and it feels like it's heading down Godard's path with no turning back.

The plot is almost crushed by the shots and pictures, and the viewing experience is extremely poor for ordinary audiences.

This also resulted in the film not only failing to win any prizes at Cannes, but even after returning to China, its screening results were not ideal.

However, "The King of Children" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival. After the film festival ended that year, the film's buyout rights were sold to many countries including Italy, France, and the United States.

Italy: $15, France: 50 francs, the United States: $20...

A movie that cost only a few hundred thousand RMB to make earned millions of dollars in copyright fees is a sure-win business no matter how you look at it.

"Okay, if you can convince the Xi'an Film Studio, we will invest in Kaigo's film." Lin Chaoyang agreed.

Chen Huaikai's face was immediately filled with joy, "Okay."

He knew that Lin Chaoyang and others were waiting for Wu Tianming's call, so he followed them back to the factory director's office on the second floor.

After waiting for a while, Wu Tianming called back.

It turned out that the movie he was shooting was "Old Well". At the end of last year, when they were selecting the male lead for the movie, they chose a bunch of professional actors but failed to pick them. Instead, they chose the photographer Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou's face, which looks almost the same at the age of 28 or 82, is filled with deep hatred and resentment. He doesn't even need makeup to play the role of a farmer.

After the beginning of the year, Wu Tianming took the "Old Well" crew and Zhang Yimou to the rural area of ​​Zuoquan, Shanxi, where they experienced life for almost two months before the filming of the movie officially began.

Wu Tianming chatted with Hu Qiming for a while, and then handed the phone to Zhang Yimou. When Zhang Yimou heard Hu Qiming say that Yanying Studio wanted him to make a movie, he was stunned.

Last year someone asked him to act in a movie, and this year someone asked him to be a director. What is going on in this world?
I'm a photographer!
However, Zhang Yimou is not a rigid person. He will definitely grab the pie that falls from the sky.

What's wrong with a photographer changing careers to become a director? A good photographer can become a director, a good actor can become a director, a good screenwriter can become a director...

The position of director is like a bus, anyone can get on it, so why can't he?
When he heard that this movie was a co-production between Yanying Studio and Xiangjiang Film Company, he became even more excited.

"No problem, I can do it!" Zhang Yimou nodded repeatedly.

Wu Tianming smiled. Young people are just rough. They dare to agree to anything without asking questions clearly. However, he soon stopped laughing.

"Director Wu, I want to talk to you."

Zhang Yimou returned the microphone to Wu Tianming.

"Hello, Lao Hu, oh, Lao Chen! What's going on?"

Wu Tianming listened to the phone for a long time, his brows furrowed more and more.

After a long while, he said, "Old Chen, this is too sudden. Let's put it this way. The filming of "Old Well" will be completed in ten days or so. When I return, I will discuss it with several colleagues in the factory and give you an answer then."

"Okay, let's do this first."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Tianming's originally serious face showed a happy expression. Zhang Yimou couldn't help asking: "Director Wu, what's wrong? Is there any problem with my business?"

"It has nothing to do with you." Seeing his curious face, Wu Tianming said, "It's Kai Ge's movie. Yan Film Studio said that a Hong Kong film producer also wants to co-produce with us."

Zhang Yimou was a little surprised. Investing in two movies in a row?

This film dealer is very powerful!

"This is a good thing!"

Wu Tianming laughed, "Of course it's a good thing."

Zhang Yimou originally wanted to ask, if it is a good thing, then why did you act so embarrassed just now, and then he suddenly realized.

Those who can become leaders are indeed old foxes.

In addition to being a director, Wu Tianming is also the director of Xi'an Film Studio.

Wu Tianming looked at his expression and knew that he couldn't hide it from him. In recent years, domestic film studios and Hong Kong have cooperated a lot and have their own set of fixed processes.

It can basically be summarized as: Hong Kong funding, produced by Silver Capital, filmed in Mainland China, and with casts from both places.

The biggest advantage of co-production is that mainland production studios are usually responsible for assisting in the filming but not providing funding, so there is no risk of losing money.

On the contrary, if the film receives good response and wins awards, it can be considered as the achievement of the studio.

Anyway, overseas revenue and domestic distribution and screening revenue have nothing to do with them at all. It is equivalent to giving the studio staff an opportunity to make extra money.

"They are begging us now. We can't agree too readily, otherwise it will seem that we are insincere," said Wu Tianming.

Zhang Yimou nodded in agreement. This way of expressing "sincerity" is really rare!
Wu Tianming changed the topic to him again and teased, "You are quite courageous. When someone asked you to be a director, you dared to agree?"

"I had the same idea, but our factory disagreed. This is such a great opportunity. If I fail, I can just go back to being a photographer."

"Not bad, not bad. You have a good attitude."

The main building of Yanying Factory, the director’s office on the second floor.

Chen Huaikai put down the phone and said to Lin Chaoyang, "I'll go to Xi'an to talk to them later. It shouldn't be a big problem."

Lin Chaoyang nodded slightly. They had almost finished talking about today's affairs, and he planned to say goodbye to Tao Yushu.

Then I remembered that the editorial department of "Film Creation" was still eagerly waiting to interview him, and it was already past five in the evening when the interview was over.

Chen Huaikai enthusiastically took Lin Chaoyang and his wife to his home for a meal before sending them out.

In the following time, Lin Chaoyang was kept at home by Tao Yushu, who asked him to concentrate on writing novels and occasionally go out to buy old books and antiques.

By mid-July, I had written tens of thousands of words of the new novel.

That morning, two people walked into Xiaoliubukou Hutong, one tall and strong, the other dark and thin.

The tall one is dignified and suave, while the thin one has an honest face and restrained eyes.

When passing by the West Courtyard, Gao introduced: "This is their West Courtyard. I heard that it is now rented out to writers from other places who come to Beijing to stay. Many local writers also gather here. If you need books in the future, you can come here and you won't have to worry at all."

The thin man glanced at the small sign of "Author's Home" at the gate with envy.

It was a place where many writers gathered. He suddenly felt that the elegant literary atmosphere was blowing towards him even through the door.

After walking nearly twenty meters, the tall one said "We're here" again, raised his hand to knock on the door, and the thin one took a deep breath nervously.

"Uncle Lin! Aunt Lin!"

After entering the courtyard, Chen Kaige greeted Lin Chaoyang and his wife as soon as they met, and then directly overwhelmed Zhang Yimou's CPU next to him.

He and Chen Kaige are classmates. Chen Kaige calls Lin Chaoyang and his wife "uncle and aunt". What should he do?
Lin Chaoyang saw Zhang Yimou's embarrassment and said with a kind smile: "It's okay, you can discuss your own issues."

Zhang Yimou readily called out "Teacher Chaoyang", and Chen Kaige's face looked unhappy.

I called you but you didn't, what do you mean? Are you taking advantage of me?

"Come, sit down and talk, sit down and talk."

Lin Chaoyang asked a few people to sit on the sofa, prepared tea for them, and then sat next to Tao Yushu.

"How is the preparation for Kaige's movie going?" Tao Yushu asked with a gentle smile.

"The script has been revised twice, and the ideas are basically confirmed. It will be finalized soon."

Chen Kaige has been preparing for the film "The King of Children" for more than two months. Tao Yushu asked about some details of the film's preparations, and Chen Kaige answered them one by one.

He comes from a film family and studied film. After graduating, he has worked in several films and his style has become more and more mature.

As long as we can suppress the unbridled performance, the level is still very high.

Lin Chaoyang specifically reminded Tao Yushu of this issue. She chatted with Chen Kaige for a while and then turned her attention to Zhang Yimou.

Compared with Chen Kaige's naturalness, he was a lot more nervous.

Nowadays, few college graduates are not literary youths, and Zhang Yimou is no exception.

He didn't know how many works of Lin Chaoyang he had read, but this was the first time he met the author in person.

Not only that, what impressed him even more was that Lin Chaoyang's adaptations of his works were better than those written by most professional screenwriters.

"The Truman Show" has just won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, Best Screenplay Award and Best Actor Award. For these academics, this is undoubtedly a coveted award.

Nowadays, the teaching of film majors in China is still mainly based on the European, especially Soviet teaching methods, and they completely disdain Hollywood's methods.

So one can imagine the impact that "The Truman Show" winning the award had on academicians like Zhang Yimou, as well as their admiration for Lin Chaoyang himself.

"This is Yimou's first time as a director. Do you have any ideas?" After chatting for a while, Tao Yushu asked Zhang Yimou.

"I quite like some of Mr. Chaoyang's works." Zhang Yimou replied, and then observed the expressions of Lin Chaoyang and his wife, and said: "But this is my first time as a director, and I still lack experience."

They had not talked about movies on the phone before, and Tao Yushu understood that Zhang Yimou's words were actually a test.

She smiled and asked, "Which Chaoyang novel do you like?"

Zhang Yimou hesitated and said, "Qiu Ju Goes to Court and Little Shoes are both very good."

"Hmm!" Tao Yushu groaned, "They are all early works."

Zhang Yimou said: "Mr. Chaoyang's early works tended to be realistic, so it was easier to adapt them."

Tao Yushu nodded slightly and said, "Chaoyang and I originally agreed on a novel for you. If you want to modify these two novels, that's not impossible."

Zhang Yimou has a high EQ and knows that this is a polite statement. He is an investor, so naturally he has the final say on what to shoot.

He was a photographer by profession, and it was not easy for someone to ask him to be a director. How could he be picky?

"With you two checking it out, this novel is definitely suitable for adaptation. Who is the author of it?"

"Mo Yan, do you know?"

Zhang Yimou's eyes sparkled when he heard the name, "The one who wrote Red Sorghum."

Tao Yushu's smile softened when he heard that. He could immediately relate to Mo Yan and Red Sorghum, which showed that he must have read the novel.

She said: "After the publication of Mo Yan's novel this year, it caused quite a stir. The story is also good, and the imagery in it is very well expressed. If it is put into the camera, it should be very touching."

"Red Sorghum" was published in "People's Literature" in March this year, and it caused quite a stir in the domestic literary circles. According to incomplete statistics, nearly thirty reviews have appeared in newspapers within four months of the novel's publication.

At this time, Chen Kaige said, "Aunt Lin used to be the editor of People's Literature. You were the one who discovered Mo Yan, right?"

The first half of his sentence was addressed to Zhang Yimou, and the second half was addressed to Tao Yushu.

Zhang Yimou's expression was full of surprise. He didn't expect that Tao Yushu had such a connection with "Red Sorghum". Tao Yushu modestly waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to pay attention to these details.

Zhang Yimou himself liked the novel "Red Sorghum" very much, and now that his sponsor was so optimistic about it, he was naturally happy to take on this task.

After chatting with Tao Yushu for a while, he happily took on the task.

(End of this chapter)