1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

"Xuemin, do we have to hire a martial arts instructor from Hong Kong?"

After having a meal with the three candidate directors, Cheng Xuemin did not decide on the spot who would direct "Tai Chi". It was only after he returned to the old factory director's office that he made this request.

However, the old factory manager Wang Yang was shocked and surprised, and asked again and again to confirm.

"Then in our country, can you hire a professional martial arts instructor?" Cheng Xuemin took the tea bowl handed over by the old factory director with a smile and continued to joke, "Or maybe it's really like what they say, martial arts movies are actually very easy to shoot, just let the actors fight each other directly, there is no need for any fancy martial arts instructors at all?"

"Do we have any professional martial arts instructors in our country? No one has ever heard of them!" The old factory director smiled and waved his hands, then looked at Cheng Xuemin and said, "Okay, anyway, you are the leader of this movie, you can shoot it any way you want, and you can invite anyone you want!"

"But they are from Hong Kong. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to invite them rashly?"

"Besides, it's not certain whether they will come over!"

At this point, the old factory manager's face became serious. He analyzed the situation with Cheng Xuemin and said, "Xuemin, you may not know that the work in Hong Kong has not been going smoothly!"

"Especially the Hong Kong film industry, because they rely on the Formosa market for their livelihood, they have to do things according to their wishes! Therefore, the directors, screenwriters, actors, and people working in related industries in the Hong Kong film industry actually keep a great distance from us, for fear of angering them and being banned!"

"So, the Hong Kong film industry has always been a problem for us. If we rashly send out an invitation letter, the other party will definitely be worried and will not accept the invitation to come to Beijing!"

This is indeed a thorny issue, because the old factory director Wang Yang knows the situation in Hong Kong and has been paying attention to the situation there. He has also been in touch with film industry workers there.

Cheng Xuemin wants to invite a martial arts instructor from Hong Kong to come to Beijing, but it may not be smooth sailing, or even just take it for granted.

"By the way, Xuemin, do you know any martial arts instructors in Hong Kong? Do you have any candidates in mind?"

"Tell me what you think. If it's one of ours, it's fine. We can just ask the ministry to send out the invitation. If it's a neutral party, the situation might be a little tricky, but we can still give it a try!"

"But if they are hardliners... forget it. We don't even welcome their entry!"

Except for those members of the Hong Kong film industry who have been won over by us, being neutral means wavering. As for the last type, they are extremely strongly against us, and such people are definitely not welcome to enter the country.

"I do have a candidate. You should have seen the martial arts film directed by the old factory director. A few days ago, you organized the people in the factory to watch the internal reference film!"

The concerns raised by the old factory manager are indeed very reasonable. After all, this is a special era and the negotiations between the two sides have not yet begun, so the situation in Hong Kong is indeed very delicate.

But the candidate in Cheng Xuemin's mind was definitely not the person on the opposite side, and the martial arts film he directed recently happened to be introduced as an internal reference film for the employees of Yanying Studio to watch and learn from.

"Drunken Fist?!" When Cheng Xuemin mentioned this, the old factory director blurted out and asked.

"It's Drunken Fist!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded, and continued, "This Hong Kong martial arts film "Drunken Master" is produced by Hong Kong Siyuan Films and directed by Yuan Heping!"

"All the martial arts moves in this movie were designed by director Yuan Heping, who is considered to be one of the more capable directors and martial arts instructors in Hong Kong!"

Drunken Master was filmed by Yuan Heping last year. After its release in Hong Kong, it grossed a total of 20 million Hong Kong dollars, making it a very successful and classic martial arts film.

Not long after the film was introduced to Yanying Studio, it became one of their most popular internal reference films, and was loved and hotly discussed by the employees and children of Yanying Studio.

Of course, this is just the information that has developed so far in this era.

That’s Yuan Heping!

Of course, Cheng Xuemin knows this name. His status in the Hong Kong film and television industry in the future can be called a martial arts giant.

So, when considering inviting a martial arts instructor from Hong Kong to direct the filming of "Tai Chi", Cheng Xuemin thought of him first. Isn't he a household name?

As for left, right, or neutral, Cheng Xuemin really doesn't know.

Anyway, the candidates have been announced, so let the old factory director make his own decision.

If it really is that person, then the worst that can happen is that we can just replace the person.

But it shouldn't be the worst outcome. After all, we also absolutely banned people from Hong Kong in this era.

No matter how well the work is shot, it is impossible for it to flow into our mainland. It is even used as an internal reference film by large state-owned enterprises such as Yanying Studio for study.

"He!"

After knowing that it was the director of Drunken Master, the old factory director felt relieved. Since he was the director of their internal reference film, he must not be from that side.

But they are not our people either!

Drunken Master is produced by Hong Kong Siyuan Pictures. This film company is indeed the one we are courting, but there has been no progress at all so far. We are completely neutral and do not want to offend either side.

The director under his command, Yuan Heping, is also neutral, so Cheng Xuemin's hope of inviting him over may not be very high.

"Can't we look for it in the Great Wall, Phoenix, or Xinlian?"

"Are there no great martial arts instructors in these three film and television companies?"

After the old factory director sighed, he really didn't want to trouble the higher-ups to send invitation letters to those neutral companies. If it were our Great Wall, Phoenix, and Xinlian film companies, they wouldn't have to go through the ministry at all. Their Yan Film Studio could have sent out the invitation letters directly.

You can even invite people over with just a phone call.

For example, Chen Wen, who was invited to Beijing some time ago, is a director under the Xinlian Company. He was designated to produce and direct "Shaolin Temple". He is one of our own and can be recruited with just a call.

"Old Factory Director, you know the current situation of the three companies, Great Wall, Phoenix and Xinlian, better than I do!"

"It can be said that at present, none of these three companies can find a great martial arts instructor!"

Cheng Xuemin was not going to tolerate this, so he told the truth and tore off the fig leaf, and continued, "Anyway, what I mean is, let's say hello to them and send them an invitation letter, and see if we can invite them over!"

"That's fine!" The old factory director nodded bitterly and said, "Then I'll send a telegram to them tomorrow, but don't hold out too much hope!"

The old factory manager really knows the situation in Hong Kong best!

If it were ten years ago, the work in Hong Kong would be extremely prosperous and the classic movies produced there would spring up like mushrooms after a rain, dominating the entire Hong Kong film industry.

But now it is in decline. Ever since the unilateral and forceful intervention from that side, the former grand occasion is gone and will never return.

Especially in recent years, many outstanding filmmakers have left us and either become neutral or directly lean towards that side.

This directly led to the decline of the once prosperous Great Wall Phoenix Xinlian Film and Television at a speed visible to the naked eye. Moreover, with the departure of outstanding filmmakers, fresh blood was deliberately suppressed and could not be brought in.

This directly led to an embarrassing situation of a lack of successors at Great Wall Phoenix Xinlian.

So what Cheng Xuemin said was right. The three film companies in Hong Kong, Great Wall, Phoenix and Xinlian, really couldn't find any capable martial arts instructors.

Especially in recent years, Great Wall Phoenix New United over there has not produced any very good martial arts films.

This is one of the reasons why Mr. Liao said he wanted to film the Shaolin Temple and Tai Chi in our mainland. So, since Cheng Xuemin insisted on Yuan Heping, why not invite him to try? What if he really accepted the invitation and went north?

"Well, old factory manager, I know! In fact, I didn't mean to embarrass you on purpose!"

"This is really a military order that concerns our 10 million US dollars in foreign exchange earnings. We can't be careless!"

"We are sending this movie abroad to earn foreign dollars. They are not fools, and they are not as easy to fool as our domestic fans!"

"After all, in our country, the same themes are produced over and over again. Just as Director Chen and his team said, we can sell a lot of copies just by shooting a random movie!"

"I totally agree with this statement. It is indeed a random film. There is no problem in selling copies. After all, this is the first martial arts film in our country!"

"But we two know the inside story. We know we have to send it out to earn US dollars, so we must strive for perfection in filming it well. Don't you think so, old factory manager?!"

Cheng Xuemin knew that the old factory director was in a dilemma, but he had to emphasize the matter again and again that this was to be sent out to earn foreign exchange.

And it’s 10 million US dollars, you can’t just fool around with it!

"Yes, yes, yes. We cannot be careless. We have to hire the best!" The old factory director nodded repeatedly and decided from the bottom of his heart that even if it meant risking his reputation, he would invite Yuan Heping, the martial arts instructor that Cheng Xuemin wanted, to come to Yanjing.

"Who are you going to let guide you, then, Xuemin?"

Then, the old factory manager asked what he wanted to ask most, although he had already guessed it in his heart.

"Director Huang Jianzhong, I think he is very suitable!"

Cheng Xuemin mentioned Huang Jianzhong's name without thinking. In fact, he was Cheng Xuemin's choice from the very beginning.

Nothing else!

Cheng Xuemin’s first open class at Yenching University, “The Splitting of the Qin Empire,” was related to Director Huang!

Because the Qin Empire trilogy was shot by this great director.

So, since Cheng Xuemin sacrificed his "Da Qin" for someone else, he should at least return the favor by letting him join the crew to direct "Tai Chi", right?

Moreover, Cheng Xuemin was thinking of letting Huang Jianzhong help him shoot "Da Qin" after the filming of "Tai Chi" was completed.

After all, Cheng Xuemin's "Da Qin" was published in People's Literature, and many film studios approached him for scripts, but Cheng Xuemin never had time to work on it, so he just left it there.

If "Da Qin" were to be filmed, Huang Jianzhong would definitely be the first choice. Now, "Tai Chi" is just a chance for him to join the crew and practice.

of course!

There are no large-scale TV series at this time. The first four great classics will not be launched until the second half of next year, but they will be filmed and broadcast one segment at a time, not a true TV series.

So if Cheng Xuemin wants to shoot "Da Qin", it must be the movie version of Da Qin.

When thinking of the movie version of Daqin, Cheng Xuemin already had a first choice in his mind for his next foreign exchange earning project: "Hero"!
That’s right, it’s the Qin Dynasty-themed “Hero”. This movie holds the record for earning the most US dollars at the box office in the history of domestic films.

Of course, this record has been broken by Nezha, and Cheng Xuemin certainly doesn't know about it.

"Jianzhong! I guessed it!" The old factory director nodded when he heard it. It turned out to be Huang Jianzhong, an honest man who dared to speak the truth.

In fact, he was most optimistic about Chen Huaikai, but he didn't know what was wrong with that guy today. He actually changed his previous calmness and boasted in front of everyone.

Yes, actually he wasn't bragging that much. There is indeed a blank in the field of martial arts films in China, so there will be a huge market no matter how it is shot.

However, Chen Huaikai was planning to shoot the film for us in China to watch, but Cheng Xuemin wanted to send him abroad to earn US dollars. Their concepts are completely different. If he doesn't lose the election, who will?
"What about the actress?"

"I've read the script. Liu Xiaoqing actually has good qualifications and should be able to play Chen Shaoqi!"

The old factory manager was conflicted for a moment, but he still swallowed his pride and recommended the company. He really didn't want to lose his reputation in his later years.

"Uh... Old Factory Director, actually... Actually, the character of Chen Shaoqi is my wife..."

Before Cheng Xuemin could finish, the old factory director's heart skipped a beat and he asked quickly, "The role came first and then the actor? Was it written by your wife? Xuemin, are you going to let your wife play the role?"

"Yes and no!" Cheng Xuemin shook his head repeatedly and said with a wry smile, "It is true that the role came first and then the actor, but it is not about my lover!"

"It's the sister next door who my wife strongly recommended and she grew up with!"

"Sister next door?"

"Which one? Is it from our Yanying Studio?"

It's the same as saying nothing. Didn't this come in through the back door of Cheng Xuemin and his connections?
When Xie Jin was casting in "Lush Mountain Love", the old director was actually very unkind and secretly delighted. Although the actress chosen was not from their Yanying Studio, she was not from their Shanghai Film Studio either!

When Gong Xi joined the crew to shoot outside, he used his connections to poach people from the General Political Department.

By then, we will still be members of Yanying Studio.

But now, before we have the chance to recruit Gong Xi, Cheng Xuemin comes to select the actors after there are roles available.

If this isn't from their Yanying Studio, then they should continue digging, right?
"Yes, yes, it's Zhu Lin again this time. She and my wife are neighbors, and they have been playing together since childhood. Some time ago, the sisters got together and asked me to write a script for Sister Zhu Lin, and that's how this "Tai Chi" came about!" Cheng Xuemin nodded.

"Zhu Lin!"

"Okay then, let Zhu Lin play Chen Shaoqi!"

Although Liu Xiaoqing was not pushed to the position, the old factory director readily agreed as the role did not go to outsiders. As for letting Liu Xiaoqing settle for the second female role, the old factory director did not even open his mouth.

Just like that, the establishment of the Tai Chi troupe was decided after a few words between Cheng Xuemin and the old factory director.

The next step is to determine the actors!

"Dad, what do you think? Am I right? As long as you promise the old factory director that you will sign a military order, the executive director will definitely not get away this time!"

Here, Chen Huaikai was walking back in frustration and anger, when he happened to meet his son Chen Kaige who was going to class. He ran up to him and asked excitedly.

Snapped!
"That's right, bullshit, you are incapable of accomplishing anything!"

When Chen Huaikai saw his son, he was so angry that he couldn't help but slap him on the spot!

It was this bastard who instigated him to brag to the old factory manager!
it's good now!

I'm going to blow your mind, it's such a rip-off!
……

PS: I beg for monthly tickets, full subscriptions, and follow-up subscriptions. Thank you very much! (End of this chapter)