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

Xie Jin's hand, which had been holding the script halfway through, froze in mid-air. He paused, stunned, and awkwardly said, "All of them..."

"Commander Wang, please listen to me first. This film is based on a script written by Comrade Cheng Xuemin, called 'Mom, Love Me Once Again.' The role is perfect for Gong Xue, and if it's well-made, it's sure to win an award..."

“Even winning an award won’t do!” Commander Wang interrupted him, his tone resolute, “Last time you came with Director Xu from the Shanghai factory, you wanted to transfer Gong Xue away, but I didn’t agree, have you forgotten?”
Now you've changed jobs and are borrowing people again—isn't this just a change in name only?

He pointed to a group photo of the performing arts troupe hanging on the wall. Gong Xue was standing in the front row, smiling brightly: "Do you know how important Gong Xue is in our troupe now?"

"The song cassettes that Guangzhou produced for her have received letters of recommendation and certificates of merit from them!"
Moreover, her song "The Glory of Bloodstained Glory" was broadcast daily by radio stations across the country. During the Spring Festival Gala, the switchboard was almost overwhelmed with calls requesting her to sing!
"How many years has it been since our performing arts troupe has had such exposure? We're counting on her to lead a team to the border for a performance next year, how could we possibly let her go to make a movie?"

Xie Jin quickly replied, "Yes, yes, Comrade Gong Xue is indeed very outstanding!"

"It's only a few months, we'll take a few months, it definitely won't delay the visit! This film is a realistic drama about maternal love, it's particularly meaningful, and it will also help Gong Xue's acting career!"

"Help? She's a first-class actress in the cultural troupe, popular with the soldiers. Isn't that the best help?" Commander Wang slammed his hand on the table, raising his voice a few decibels, and said, "Director Xie, you're in the film industry, you don't understand the rules of our cultural troupe!"

The primary task of cultural and artistic soldiers is to serve the troops, not to make movies and rake in box office revenue! If Gong Xue leaves, what will happen to our regiment's singing programs and performances? Who will fill in for the soldiers when they can't see her?"

Gong Xue whispered to the side, "Commander, I'll be right back after filming. I can rehearse the performance earlier..."

"Don't say a word!" Commander Wang glared at her and said, "Do you think making a movie is so simple? Can it be finished in a few months? If it delays the border patrol's visit, can you take responsibility?"

Besides, you're a key member of the troupe now, and you'll be nominated for outstanding performance awards next year. You can't let filming distract you!

Seeing that Commander Wang was completely unmoved, Xie Jin felt a chill in his heart.

He originally thought that with such a good script as "Mom, Love Me Again" and the fact that he was now working at Yan Film Studio, it would be easier to borrow someone. He didn't expect that Commander Wang would be so resolute.

He tried to persuade them further: "Commander Wang, Yanying Film Studio is directly under the Ministry of Culture, and this film is a key project. Could you please make an exception..."

“Directly under their command is not an option either!” Commander Wang waved his hand and said directly, “Gong Xue is an art and literature soldier of our General Political Department, under the jurisdiction of the military. Even if the Ministry of Culture makes a request, it still depends on the needs of our troops!”
Director Xie, it's not that I'm disrespecting you, it's just that I really can't lend it to you! Unless you can get an order from above, this is out of the question!

Having said all that, Xie Jin knew there was no point in arguing any further. He crumpled the script in his hand, his face flushing red and then turning pale, unable to speak for a long time.

He had originally planned to borrow Gong Xue to go back and share the good news with Cheng Xuemin, but now, he was blocked from entering the house.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Commander Wang softened his tone and said, "Director Xie, I know you want to make a good film, but we each have our own responsibilities."

Gong Xue can play a greater role in the cultural troupe. If you're short of actresses, you should look elsewhere and not waste your time on her.

Xie Jin sighed helplessly, put away the script, and said, "I understand, Commander Wang. Sorry to bother you."

When Xie Jin left the office, he looked like a wilted eggplant, his head drooping.

Gong Xue followed behind, whispering, "Director Xie, I'm sorry, I..."

"It's not your fault, I didn't expect Commander Wang to be so tough." Xie Jin waved his hand, pondering how to explain to Cheng Xuemin.

He had confidently assured them he could borrow Gong Xue, but returned empty-handed; he had lost face big time.

The two reached the entrance of the cultural troupe, and Xie Jin stopped: "Gong Xue, you should go back first. I'll think of another way. If all else fails, we'll have to ask Cheng Xuemin to come and make the trip himself."

Gong Xue nodded: "Director Xie, if you need me to talk to the troupe leader again, please feel free to contact me anytime."

Xie Jin grunted in agreement and turned to walk towards the bus stop.

Throughout the journey, Commander Wang's words kept replaying in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more depressed he became.

It's clearly a great script that could make Gong Xue shine, but we just can't find anyone to lend it to. Why is making a movie so difficult?

Back at the Yan Film Studio, Xie Jin didn't dare go directly to Cheng Xuemin. Instead, he hid in his office smoking, leaving cigarette butts scattered all over the floor.

He didn't walk towards the East Factory office until the bell rang, and just as he reached the door, Cheng Xuemin came out carrying a bag: "Director Xie, how did it go? Did you reach an agreement with Gong Xue?"

Xie Jin looked embarrassed, scratched his head, and said, "No... we didn't reach an agreement. Commander Wang wouldn't let us lend him the money, saying that Gong Xue is a key member of the cultural troupe and is going to the border to offer his condolences, so he wouldn't let him go."

Cheng Xuemin was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "I don't think it's a big deal. I'll talk to Commander Wang about it later. Don't worry, I'm going to the General Political Department in a couple of days, and I guarantee I can get the man out for you."

Xie Jin's eyes lit up: "You have a way?"

"Don't worry, I have some connections with the General Political Department." Cheng Xuemin reassured him and continued, "You first finalize the rest of the crew. I'll handle Gong Xue's side."

Xie Jin breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face. He said, "You really have a way with things! If we could borrow Gong Xue, this film would definitely be a success!"

Cheng Xuemin nodded with a smile. Old Xie going to the General Political Department's Cultural Troupe to borrow people was just asking for trouble!
Who told him to follow Director Xu of the Shanghai Film Studio before the new year to poach talent from other people's art troupes?

it's good now!

They couldn't find the person, so now they're trying to borrow him. Isn't that just like trying to hide something obvious?

No wonder the head of the performing arts troupe wouldn't give him a friendly look!

However, if Cheng Xuemin were to go there, he would have some connections with the General Political Department's Cultural Troupe. They might not give face to any of the troupe leaders, but they would still have to give Cheng Xuemin some face!

After all, will their performing arts troupe need any more new military-themed songs?
Should Cheng Xuemin still write the sequel to "Youth" that he promised them?
To know!
When they commissioned the manuscript, Cheng Xuemin had mentioned that the male and female protagonists of this military novel would be cultural soldiers from their General Political Department's Cultural Troupe.

At the time, they told the performing arts troupe not to have too high expectations.

So even before the novel was written, they were still hoping to borrow one or two people from them. How could they refuse?
Say it again!

Who made Gong Xue, a key member of their performing arts troupe, famous?

Therefore, Cheng Xuemin's guarantee to Lao Xie was not a sure thing!

Just after the Lantern Festival, the entire Yanying Film Factory area returned to its usual bustling activity.

In the East Depot office, Liu Xiaoli was sitting at her desk organizing actors' information. She had just completed her transfer procedures in Jiangcheng and officially joined Cheng Xuemin's Oriental Culture and Art Production Branch, becoming the owner of employee badge number 004.

Years later, Liu Xiaoli, now a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning actress, held the hand of her daughter Liu Tianxian, who was about to graduate from the Beijing Film Academy and join the Eastern Depot, and said with a touch of pride, "Back then, your mother chose the right person at the most crucial moment, which led to your success today."

From now on, when you enter the Eastern Depot, you should be just like your mother!
Ah!
As for whether this fairy is the same Liu Tianxian from her previous life, we'll only know when Cheng Xuemin arrives and sees her!
As soon as Cheng Xuemin entered the office, Accountant Liu came up to him with the ledger and said, "Factory Manager, we have news from the Hong Kong branch of ICBC. Great Wall's two million Hong Kong dollars have arrived!"

We can withdraw the cash at our headquarters in Yanjing; all the paperwork has been prepared for you.

"Great!" Cheng Xuemin took the ledger, turned to the remittance record page, where the figure of two million Hong Kong dollars was particularly eye-catching. He smiled and instructed Accountant Liu, "Go to the head office and deposit the money into the account as soon as possible. Take out a portion to keep as start-up capital, and deposit the rest into the East Depot's public account. Don't delay the establishment of the group."

As soon as Accountant Liu left, the fax machine beeped, and the paper bore Fu Qi's handwriting:
"The script for 'Shaolin Temple' has been approved. The Yuan brothers secretly traveled north in early March and have already arranged their itinerary. We hope filming will begin soon and everything goes smoothly!" Cheng Xuemin glanced at the fax and felt even happier!
It's mid-February now!
The Yuan brothers will secretly travel north at the beginning of next month. As a result, Cheng Xuemin will have to quickly call all the crew members back to the team and officially set up the "Shaolin Temple" crew!

Following the principle of separating the family but not the relatives, Cheng Xuemin usually reported everything to the old factory director, Wang Yang!
Immediately, he took the fax with him and hurried to find the old factory director, Wang Yang.

Wang Yang happened to be in the office. When he saw him come in, he quickly put down his work and asked, "Is there any news from the Great Wall?"

"Yes, old factory director. The script has been approved, and the two million Hong Kong dollars have been deposited. The Yuan brothers will be arriving in early March." Cheng Xuemin handed over the fax and said:

"I plan to send invitations to Yu Chenghui, Yu Hai, and Ji Chunhua today, asking them to gather at Yan Film Studio in early March for martial arts training. We'll start filming once the Yuan brothers arrive."

Old factory director Wang Yang nodded, picked up a pen and circled the invitation list, saying, "Yu Chenghui's Mantis Boxing and Ji Chunhua's villainous image are both ready-made good actors. You have the right eye."

By the way, Chen Huaikai took over "The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap" and was just telling me yesterday that it's hard to find martial arts actors. If you have any spares, could you lend a hand?

Cheng Xuemin was taken aback and said, "Director Chen's 'The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap'? I thought he only made art films, how come he makes martial arts films now?"

"It's all because 'Tai Chi' became a hit, and the studio wanted to make more martial arts films to capitalize on the hype. Unfortunately, you only left one martial arts script for our studio." Thinking about how Cheng Xuemin had five or six martial arts scripts, but he had given almost all of them to the Shanghai Film Studio, leaving him only this great hero Huo Yuanjia, it's really hard to know what to say about this kid.

However, I'm not greedy. After all, Tai Chi was able to achieve such good foreign exchange earnings in Bolin because of the good cooperation from the Shanghai Film Studio. Otherwise, it's uncertain whether it could have succeeded in Chengdu.

Therefore, they achieved excellent results in foreign exchange earnings, and their Yanying Film Studio even directly obtained the national-level policy project of foreign exchange earnings pilot.

Giving the Shanghai Film Studio two more martial arts film scripts wouldn't be unreasonable.

What the old factory director Wang Yang really sighed about was: "However, Chen Huaikai has never made a martial arts film before, so he's not sure what to do. If you have time, he might ask you for advice."

Cheng Xuemin nodded in agreement, not paying much attention, and returned to the Eastern Depot to begin writing the invitation letter.

Just as Yu Chenghui's name was written down, the office door was pushed open, and Chen Huaikai walked in carrying a cloth bag, smiling: "Xuemin, busy? Did I disturb you?"

"Director Chen, please sit down!" Cheng Xuemin quickly stood up and asked Liu Xiaoli to pour him a cup of tea. "Why did you come here? Is it about 'The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap'?"

Chen Huaikai nodded, took out the script of "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia" from his cloth bag, handed it over, and said, "Yes, I was forced into this role. I've never filmed a martial arts movie before, so I'm not sure what to expect."

"I heard that when you were filming 'Tai Chi,' you even designed the fight scenes yourself. I came here specifically to ask for your advice on how to make the fight scenes in this script look good."

Cheng Xuemin took the script, flipped through two pages, and found scenes of Huo Yuanjia fighting in the arena and battling foreign boxers, with the fight scenes described in a very general way.

This was not a script written by Cheng Xuemin himself, but rather a script adapted from his brother-in-law Feng Jiazhao's original novel, "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia".

Therefore, it appears a bit rough.

If it were a script written by Cheng Xuemin, he would mark it very clearly, and even draw some storyboards on the spot.

Therefore, Xie Jin, that old rascal, really liked the script written by Cheng Xuemin.

Because he doesn't need to use his brain to design any storyboards, since Cheng Xuemin will bring them along, and he just needs to shoot them out!
Chen Huaikai used a script written by Cheng Xuemin's brother-in-law. Apart from the standard script and dialogue, all the other storyboards and martial arts sequences had to be designed by Chen Huaikai, the director, which was indeed a huge challenge for him.

He had read the script and even consulted Huang Jianzhong from the third production team.

Huang Jianzhong asked if it was the martial arts film script that Cheng Xuemin had left for the factory, and he immediately laughed, saying that if Xuemin wrote the script, it would be easy to film it.

Just shoot the storyboard he provided!

Storyboard?
Chen Huaikai was also hearing for the first time that Cheng Xuemin's script had storyboards.

But his legendary hero Huo Yuanjia, he didn't have that!
Huang Jianzhong was also puzzled when he heard this.
That shouldn't be the case!
He has read many of Xuemin's scripts, but all of them are accompanied by storyboards. Could it be that you missed them, Lao Chen?
He also looked through the script and helped search, only to discover that the script didn't actually have a single storyboard.

This completely stunned Huang Jianzhong!

Without storyboards, the director had to understand the script and design and create the storyboards and martial arts moves entirely on his own.
Well, well... well, Huang Jianzhong can't do this job either, so let Chen Huaikai go directly to the original author of the script.

Anyway, when he looked at the script, it didn't seem like something Xuemin had written for the factory; there wasn't even a single storyboard.

Feng Jiazhao, the brother-in-law who also works in the same office, was instantly dumbfounded!
The script was written by my own brother-in-law, and it even comes with storyboards?

Isn't that the director's job?
As screenwriters, all they have to do is take the script, write it, and that's it, right?

So, faced with Huang Jianzhong's doubts and Chen Huaikai's bewilderment, he, who had originally wanted to mention that the script was written by his brother-in-law, immediately shut up and didn't dare to say a word!
Cheng Xuemin had no idea that there were so many things behind this!
He glanced through the script, then pointed to the section about the Tianjin arena and said:
"Director Chen, this scene can draw inspiration from Tai Chi's principle of using softness to overcome hardness. Huo Yuanjia uses Mizongquan (Lost Track Fist) to fight against foreign boxers. The movements should be clean and crisp, without too many fancy moves, emphasizing the sense of real combat."

Chen Huaikai quickly took out his notebook to write it down, and then leaned over to ask, "I saw Li Lianjie's kung fu in 'Tai Chi' and it was so steady and beautiful. Could we let him play Huo Yuanjia?"
This young man has a great appearance and excellent kung fu skills. If he could join the cast, "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia" would definitely be a hit!

Cheng Xuemin paused for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, and said, "Director Chen, Li Lianjie is the male lead Jueyuan in 'Shaolin Temple,' and he'll be joining the crew for training in early March. I'm afraid he won't have time."

Moreover, Huo Yuanjia is a mature and accomplished swordsman, while Li Lianjie is only eighteen years old. Their temperaments don't quite match, making it easy for her to feel out of place in the role.

“Age is not a problem, makeup can solve it!” Chen Huaikai quickly said, “When I watched him play Yang Yuqian, he had a kind of tenacity, and he was able to portray Huo Yuanjia’s youthful spirit.”

Besides, "The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap" started filming before "Shaolin Temple," so he can lend me the film for two months. He can finish filming "Fok Yuan-gap" first, then go film "Shaolin Temple," it won't delay anything!

Cheng Xuemin's face darkened, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He said, "Director Chen, it's not that I don't want to help you, but Li Lianjie is a core actress in 'Shaolin Temple.' From martial arts training to filming scenes, she has to keep up with the schedule."

If we were to film "Fearless" in the middle of the project, both projects would be affected.

Moreover, *Shaolin Temple* is a co-production with Great Wall Film Company; they invested two million Hong Kong dollars. If something happens to the male lead, I won't be able to explain it to the Hong Kong side.

Seeing that he wouldn't budge, Chen Huaikai changed his approach, saying, "What about Yu Hai and Yu Chenghui? I saw that their kung fu in 'Tai Chi' was also very good. Could I borrow a few of them? Just for a few fight scenes, it'll be done quickly."

"Yu Hai plays Master Tanzong in 'Shaolin Temple,' and Yu Chenghui plays the villain Wang Renzhe. Both are important roles, so we couldn't borrow them."

Cheng Xuemin shook his head and said simply, "Director Chen, if you need martial arts actors, I can help you contact martial arts coaches at sports schools. They are skilled and have time, which is more reliable than borrowing my actors."

Chen Huaikai's expression was a little unpleasant. He put down his notebook and said, "Xuemin, I know you're protecting your actors, but we're all from Yan Film Studio, so it's only right that we help each other out."

"The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap" is a key project for the studio; if it's a flop, it won't benefit anyone.

"How about I lend you my Li Lianjie's film for two months, and I'll be your assistant director, helping you shoot the dramatic scenes in 'Shaolin Temple'?"

……

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