Exciting 1979!

Chapter 425 of "District 9" Released in English
When we returned to the production workshop where "Black Cat Detective" was being produced, there were fewer people than usual. After the factory made its decision, some of the senior employees in the team felt that there was no future in it and joined other production teams.

However, Dai Tielang is quite optimistic. Although there are fewer people, it is already a mature team. He is still confident that he can bring all of "Black Cat Detective" to the screen before the end of this year so that young viewers can watch it all at once.

"The only thing that bothered me was that the script for the first ten episodes was already written beforehand, and ending it at the tenth episode felt abrupt and left the story feeling disjointed," Director Dai said.

Wei Ming glanced at the script. In episode ten, One-Ear was still on the run. Rookie policewoman Judy Hopps and suave fox Nick Fury had just made their debut, but had not yet shown any outstanding performances.

The seventh episode has already been filmed, and the scripts for episodes 8, 9, and 10 are also well-written. Director Dai would feel bad if any episode were cut.

So Wei Ming said, "I'll talk to Factory Director Te Wei later and see if we can add one or two more episodes, at least to catch One-Ear, so that we can have a satisfying ending."

Dai Tielang laughed and said, "How about this, film a story about One-Ear escaping from prison. I think the story you wrote about One-Ear escaping from prison is quite interesting. It really established the character of One-Ear. Kids probably haven't seen such a clever villain before."

Wei Ming didn't know what to say. Director Dai, you're too mean! You filmed One-Ear escaping from prison, and the young viewers definitely wanted to see Black Cat Detective send him back to prison. But the series ended abruptly. Aren't you afraid of getting razor blades from the viewers?

In response, Wei Ming said, "I'll ask the factory manager for two more episodes for you. As for what to film, you can decide."

Director Dai Tielang nodded happily, feeling even more motivated. He also believed that Wei Ming, the great writer who could help the factory earn foreign exchange, was more influential than himself.

In fact, Director Dai is only in his early fifties, at the peak of his creative career as an animation director. However, there are too many directors at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, with many directors in their fifties and sixties waiting to take the lead. He also waited many years before he finally got a work like "Black Cat Detective" that made him famous overnight.

After this film, the studio probably won't assign him any more important tasks; it's time to give other comrades more responsibility.

This is undoubtedly a regrettable waste of human resources.

That evening, Wei Ming met with Factory Director Te Wei. To ensure the continuation of the Transformers collaboration, Factory Director Te Wei and Director Wang Bairong specially treated Wei Ming to dinner at a restaurant outside the factory to thank him for his role in the project.

In fact, Wei Ming and Factory Director Te Wei had met in Xi'an. He was also a Golden Rooster Award judge, but they were in a hurry and didn't exchange more than a few words.

This time, it was just the few of them. Wei Ming was talking about why the Golden Rooster Awards didn't have any awards related to animation.

"If we can't get enough feature films, we can create a short film award, just like the Oscars," Wei Ming suggested. Due to production issues, the Oscars don't currently have a Best Animated Feature Film award, but they do have a Short Film award.

Te Wei felt like he had found a kindred spirit: "That's right, I also made this suggestion, but it hasn't been approved yet. They feel that I'm the only one in the Golden Rooster Awards who works in animation, so if an animation award is established, it will become my one-man show."

After saying that, Wei Ming and Director Te had a drink together, and then the two talked about the bright future of "Transformers" and "The Legend of the Heavenly Book".

When the atmosphere became very harmonious, Wei Ming was about to bring up the topic of "Black Cat Detective" when Te Wei unexpectedly brought up "Calabash Brothers" first.

"The attempt of 'Black Cat Detective' was very successful and received a great response from children across the country. CCTV and other major TV stations also sought to purchase this kind of animated series to be broadcast on TV, so we immediately thought of your 'Calabash Brothers'."

The Calabash Brothers series has ended, and its length is just right. It can tell the story clearly in about ten episodes, so it won't go on and on. Te Wei is very interested in it, and several veteran directors in the studio have already volunteered to lead the animation.

Wei Ming naturally had no objection to this. With the popularization of television sets, the influence of television will definitely far exceed that of books. "Black Cat Detective" is now the undisputed number one fairy tale in China, and the animation has made a great contribution to this.

Later, Zheng Yuanjie's "Shuke and Beta" was able to rival the influence of his most proud work, "Pipilu and Luxixi," because the Shanghai Animation Film Studio produced an animated series of "Shuke and Beta."

However, since the factory director brought this up, Wei Ming seized the opportunity to say, "You won't just stop filming halfway through and leave it there like that, will you?"

The factory director was a little embarrassed, but Wang Bairong smoothed things over by saying, "No, no, the situation with 'Black Cat Detective' is special."

Wei Ming: "It is indeed a bit special, but I feel that readers like to read it, so I will keep writing. There are too many interesting little stories in nature that are worth popularizing, how could I possibly finish writing them all? However, you who make animation do have to consider more issues."

Te Wei nodded: "It's good that you understand."

Wei Ming continued, "However, after reading Director Dai's script for episode ten, ending it there feels a bit awkward. Director Te, what do you think? How about we have him film two more episodes to give Black Cat Detective a partial ending? That way, we can give the young viewers across the country some closure. What do you think?"

Two episodes? Te Wei weighed the money and manpower required for two episodes and thought it was acceptable. Besides, he had just discussed collaborating with Wei Ming on "Calabash Brothers," so he couldn't refuse him now. He nodded.

"Okay, then let's give him two more episodes to wrap things up properly."

Upon hearing the factory manager speak, Wei Ming immediately raised his glass in a toast.

Tomorrow, Wei Ming will go to the Shanghai Animation Film Studio again to formally discuss the collaboration on "Calabash Brothers" with Director Te, as well as the copyright issue of "Black Cat Detective".

At that time, copyright was not standardized, but the story of Black Cat Detective was written by Wei Ming, and the main characters were drawn by Wei Ming. Now that the Shanghai Animation Film Studio does not plan to continue making the film, Wei Ming needs to confirm that he has the right to continue making the film.

Once this series stops at Shanghai Animation Film Studio, it will be almost impossible to restart it, at least for the next twenty years. This is a huge pity for an IP that could have had great potential.

After returning home from dinner, Gong Xue was watching TV. The series "Water Margin" produced by Shandong TV was now being broadcast on Shanghai TV. Many people from the 80s had a deep impression of this version, especially the story of "Wu Song".

This is considered the earliest systematic adaptation of the Four Great Classical Novels in mainland China. Although it is not as refined as the CCTV version due to its age and investment, the Shandong people made the Water Margin version, which has a very authentic feel to it.

Wei Ming put his arm around his girlfriend and asked, "Was today smooth?"

"It went quite smoothly. Director Shi and Director Bai Chen both know Zhou Lijing and think highly of him," Gong Xue said. "But why are you recommending him so strongly? Are you very familiar with him?"

Wei Ming: "I'm not familiar with him, but he has a girlfriend he loves very much, and I trust his character."

Gong Xue lightly punched the little man: "So you don't trust me, huh?"

Wei Ming kissed Xue Jie's lips: "I'm worried about other handsome single men. Our relationship can't be made public, so as to avoid anyone bothering you."

This explanation was accepted, and Gong Xue told him, "I'm not leaving today."

Wei Ming hugged her even tighter: "You're not leaving today either!"

Then Gong Xue was picked up and carried straight upstairs.

The next day, Gong Xue was going to visit her older sister, and Wei Ming gave her some foreign exchange certificates, telling her to buy things for her sister's family or give them directly to her sister.

He first went to the Post and Telecommunications Building to send a telegram to Wei Lingling in Hong Kong to report that the first three Transformers movies had passed censorship smoothly, and also inquired about the arrangements for the release of Transformers toys.

Knowing how profitable this toy line was in his previous life, Wei Ming was genuinely looking forward to seeing how much of Hasbro's success his aunt could achieve with this Hong Kong toy company.

Afterwards, Wei Ming went to the Shanghai Animation Film Studio and talked with Director Te Wei about the filming of "Calabash Brothers". There was also a stranger next to him. According to him, this middle-aged man was director Zhou Keqin.

Wei Ming immediately understood. This must be the director of "Calabash Brothers" selected by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Moreover, this person is the future director of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio who will succeed Te Wei. He is also a young and promising figure in the studio, only 40 years old this year. Last year, he independently directed the shadow puppet animation "Monkey Scooping the Moon".

Of course, he wasn't the only director of "Calabash Brothers." There were too many veteran directors who wanted to get involved, so there were two other senior directors in their fifties who participated above Zhou Keqin.

However, the reason why only Zhou Keqin received Wei Ming this time was due to Te Wei's consideration of the filming method of "Calabash Brothers".

"Teacher Wei, this time we plan to use paper-cut animation to present 'Calabash Brothers', and Director Zhou is an expert in this field."

“Paper-cut animation, right? 'Pigsy Eats Watermelon', right?” When paper-cut animation is mentioned, Wei Ming immediately thinks of this pioneering work, followed by other works such as "The Fisherman's Boy" and "The Golden Conch".

"Calabash Brothers" is the pinnacle of paper-cut animation, and it can be said that no other animation has surpassed it since.

Te Wei laughed: "That was a technique from more than 20 years ago. You could tell it was paper cutting at a glance. It's different now. Xiao Zhou, you tell him about it."

Then director Zhou Keqin told Wei Ming about the "roughening" paper-cutting technique recently developed by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

"To prevent the edges of the figures from being as harsh and obvious as in ordinary paper cutting, we wet the paper and tear out the outline, then process it to create natural fibrous edges that appear softer and more textured, and also add more depth to the image."

To gain the approval of Wei Ming, the original author, director Zhou Keqin made preparations, and it was clear that he had been preparing for a long time.

He made a paper-cut of the Calabash Brothers many days in advance, and all the joints of this Calabash Brother can move.

He also made a backdrop for his grandfather's house, sandwiching it between two pieces of glass. It turned out quite different from the old-fashioned paper-cut animation, even having a hand-drawn animation feel, but it was cheaper than hand-drawn animation. Of course, good paper-cutting craftsmen are even harder to find than painters. The Shanghai Animation Film Studio has always been exploring the many possibilities of animation: paper-cutting, ink painting, clay puppets, wooden puppets, cloth puppets, and printmaking. This is precisely the greatness of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio; they are expanding the boundaries of animated films.

Wei Ming even visited the paper-cutting workshop to observe the paper-cutting animation creation process. After returning, he knocked on the door of Factory Director Te Wei's office and said, "Director, I'd like to talk to you about what happened after 'Black Cat Detective'..."

~
Because Gong Xue wanted to spend more time with her parents and relatives in Shanghai and also talk to the directors about filming, Wei Ming stayed in Shanghai for a few more days and provided a lot of advice to directors Zhou Keqin and Dai Tielang on the scripts and filming of the two films.

I also visited the editorial departments of Harvest magazine, the Shanghai Writers Association, and many old friends at the editorial department of Story Club.

He didn't receive a reply from his aunt, guessing that she had returned to Yanjing. So, about a week later, Wei Ming and Gong Xue took a plane back to Yanjing together.

"Under the Bridge" cannot start filming in the short term. Firstly, preparation takes time, and secondly, the male lead they have confirmed, Zhou Lijing, is currently filming Xie Fei's "Our Fields". Therefore, Gong Xue will temporarily return to Yanjing to await orders.

Because of the role she plays, Wei Ming plans to have Biao's mother arrange for her to work in a clothing factory to experience life there and learn how to use a sewing machine.

After the plane landed, Gong Xue sent Wei Ming to Tuanjiehu and told him to spend the next few days with Sister Lin.

It just so happens that Wei Ming also wanted to talk to Sister Lin about visiting his parents-in-law.

Zhu Lin wasn't in Tuanjiehu at first, but she arrived when it got dark; Gong Xue had called her to find her.

Sister Lin was also craving it, so she came up with the important matter first, and then Wei Ming got down to business.

"When I was in Shanghai, I went to Sister Xue's house for a meal."

Hearing this, Zhu Lin asked nervously, "So?"

Wei Ming: "So when can I come over for a meal?"

Hearing Wei Ming's attitude, Zhu Lin smiled and then pinched Wei Ming's waist: "You've got some nerve, kid. You really want to recognize two fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law?"

Wei Ming chuckled: "When I went to the Gong family, I introduced myself as Gong Xue's friend. I'll say the same thing when I go to your house. Anyway, if you ask, I'll just say we're ordinary friends. But I still have to fulfill my filial duty. My parents aren't around right now, so I just wanted to express my pent-up filial piety to my parents-in-law."

Zhu Lin thought about it and had no choice but to agree, so he said they were friends.

“But let’s skip tomorrow, they all have to work. You can go on Sunday, and then I’ll think of a good excuse.” Zhu Lin began to plot with Wei Ming.

Early the next morning, Wei Ming went to the post office near the Overseas Chinese Apartment to see if there were any letters or packages from overseas. Sure enough, there were quite a few.

Melinda and her aunt Wei Lingling both sent him emails, as did Amin.

After receiving the items, Wei Ming went home to unpack them, starting with Amin's.

Besides her letter, there are also the two most recent issues of "Madman Comics".

The letter began with a simple line drawing of a little girl crying, which immediately made Wei Ming frown. What had she suffered?

"Amin, do you know, I almost didn't make it to see you alive."

Wei Ming: What? What major incident has occurred?!
He hurriedly continued reading and found out that at the end of last month, there was a flood caused by torrential rain. Before the rain, Ah Min happened to be on the newly opened Tsuen Wan Line MTR and was trapped in the subway for several hours. Moreover, there was a backflow of water in the area.

Fortunately, no serious accident occurred.

Then, Amin began to talk about how convenient the newly opened Tsuen Wan Line is. After the Tsuen Wan Line opened, it became very convenient for them to travel from Hong Kong to the New Territories, without having to take ferries or drive through underground tunnels.

The letter's tone was quite disjointed, and Wei Ming strongly suspected that Amin's earlier pronouncements about the seriousness of the situation were a ploy to get him to visit her in Hong Kong.

Wei Ming did miss Amin, but it had only been three months since his last trip to Hong Kong. Although he didn't stay long in Hong Kong, he had still met with Amin.

He carefully put the letter away, and then opened his aunt's package.

Good heavens, he saw two Transformers, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. This should be the final product, along with the complete outer packaging. After opening it, they would be in their car mode.

His aunt also left him a letter.

"Just watch the animated film and don't worry. The subsequent payments will be transferred to them. You continue to supervise. This month, I'm planning to take the Transformers to a toy expo in the United States to officially launch the Transformers toys. The Marvel comic book version is very popular in North America. I heard from Stan Lee that he even wants the Autobots to join the Avengers."

Wei Ming laughed after looking at them. The two toys were quite meaningful, but he thought he should give them to Xizi and Lele instead, since he was already an adult.

Finally, Wei Ming opened Melinda's package. It was heavy, and inside were several physical copies of "District 9," both paperback and hardcover.

What they have in common is the preface they see after opening the title page. The preface to District 9 was written by a British science fiction writer named Brian Aldiss.

After confirming that he had spelled it correctly, Wei Ming exclaimed, "Wow, Macmillan Publishing truly lives up to its reputation as a publishing giant; they really know their stuff!"
Brian Aldiss, 57, is a godfather of British fiction, having won the Hugo and Nebula Awards multiple times. His masterpiece is "The Billion Years of Revelry," and Spielberg's later film "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" was adapted from one of his short stories.

Furthermore, he also engaged in academic research on science fiction literature, and it was he who promoted the establishment of "Frankenstein" as the first science fiction novel.

In addition, Oredis has maintained exchanges with the Chinese science fiction community and has a favorable impression of China. A few years ago, he visited China with a delegation of British cultural figures and was received by the chief architect of the Chinese science fiction movement. He has made outstanding contributions to the international exchange of Chinese science fiction.

Macmillan may have recognized this quality in him, which is why he invited him to write the foreword to District 9, titled "Under the Shell."

"Dear reader, as you turn these pages, please first look at your own hand—those five nimble fingers, the bones covered by thin skin, and the tendons that allow you to grip tools or weapons. Now imagine it as a chelicerae, its dark chitinous shell gleaming like oil in the sunlight. This is not entirely fantasy, but a metaphor for the reality we are experiencing: humanity is always transforming itself into something else, and then transforming something else into itself."

"The novel District 9, created by the amazing Chinese author Mr. Why, is not a fairy tale about aliens. It is a mirror etched by acid rain, reflecting the oldest plague on our planet: the fever of fearing others."

"Those wanderers, contemptuously referred to as 'shrimp,' are nothing more than distorted projections of immigrants, refugees, and heretics in our collective unconscious. Their mothership hovers over Johannesburg, like a ghost ship from the colonial era returning to shore—but this time, who is truly trapped within the iron netting?"
"It is noteworthy that the story taking place in South Africa is no coincidence. This heart, torn apart by apartheid, provides the most vivid anatomical sample of apartheid on a cosmic scale. We see how the greed of arms dealers has tainted science, how street mobs have transformed from victims into perpetrators, and most ironically: the true glimmer of humanity appears within that body that is gradually losing its human form..."

This veteran science fiction writer has a keen eye and sharp writing skills. He knows that although this novel is science fiction, it actually has very important real-world significance. He brings up South Africa, which Wei Ming did not explicitly mention in the novel, which makes it more conducive to social discussion about the novel.

In addition to the influence of the author who wrote this preface, Wei Ming felt that this was a preface worth a fortune!

In the hardcover edition, Wei Ming also saw illustrations of spaceships, shrimp, shrimp mechs, and half-human, half-shrimp figures. From submitting the manuscript to its release, it only took Wei Ming two months, so it's really impressive that he was able to achieve this level of quality.

In addition to the preface to the novel, Melinda made other efforts, and along with these sample copies came a copy of The New World magazine and a copy of The Times.

New World magazine is a famous British science fiction literary publication, equivalent to the status of Science Fiction World in China at its peak. Melinda contacted Mike Murcock, the editor-in-chief of New World, in advance to read the book, and there was a book review written by him in this issue of New World.

Mike Murcock is also a legendary British science fiction writer who first proposed the concept of the "multiverse" in 1963.

During his time as editor-in-chief, "New World" propelled the direction of innovation in science fiction literature. He was also very enthusiastic about supporting young writers. As for whether he wrote this review out of genuine feeling or out of appreciation, Wei Ming does not know for the time being.

However, judging from his impressions of "District 9", it seems that most of his feelings were genuine.

The very first sentence is, "Damn! Yet another novel that puts humanity in a centrifuge and grinds it into mincemeat!"

Based on this sentence alone, Wei Ming felt that he must have really read it carefully and had a lot to say.

The involvement of Brian Aldiss and Mike Murcock wasn't the end of it; The Times also published a review of District 9 by Arthur C. Clark, the renowned author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Finally, Wei Ming opened Melinda's letter, which detailed the novel's journey from planning to publication, as well as how the company managed to get three renowned science fiction authors to endorse it. Their motivations were primarily based on their appreciation of the novel and a touch of current political needs in Britain.

Wei Ming has caught up with the times. Britain is about to take the lead in messing with South Africa, and Wei Ming's novel has come at just the right time. It is not only powerful, but also subtle and direct. Those who have read it will understand and be very angry.

Melinda also told Wei Ming: "Science fiction is not usually a very popular genre, but this novel sold 150,000 copies in its first printing in the UK, plus 50,000 in paperback and 50,000 in hardcover, for a total of 200,000 copies!"

~
(End of this chapter)