Exciting 1979!

Chapter 428 Assembling the Team, New Challenges, and the Wedding
Wei Ming is staying at the Overseas Chinese Apartment today, and Xiao Hong is there too.

She is in a bad mood.

"Brother, do you think I'm still a child prodigy?"

"What's wrong?"

Wei Ming sat in front of his computer, working on a new English novel. After finishing the final work on "District 9," Melinda was going to start her own business, and he needed to write her an English novel that would sell well.

Xiao Hong handed him a copy of the China Youth Daily and showed him an article in it.

This article introduces a 15-year-old Chinese-American boy named Qin Zhibin who was admitted to the graduate program in physics at Cambridge University. The word "prodigy" in the title stung Xiaohong.

"I'm 16 years old this year, only a sophomore in college. Even if I get into Stanford for graduate school next year, I'll be 17, two years older than everyone else!"

Wei Ming laughed heartily, "That's it."

He pulled Xiaohong to sit opposite him and said, “Your intelligence is definitely not a problem. Even in Tsinghua and Peking University, where there are so many talented people, you would be an outstanding talent. But you have to wait until you are 17 to go to graduate school. It’s not because you are less intelligent than him, but because you did not receive good educational resources when you were young. But being a prodigy in your childhood does not necessarily mean you will be successful in adulthood. It’s not too late for you to catch up now. Try your best to graduate with a doctorate by the age of 20 and become a university professor.”

A twenty-year-old university professor? Wei Hong felt excited just thinking about it, and suddenly she had a goal.

"Yeah! Brother, I'm going to study in America next year. Will you come with me?"

"Of course, how could I leave you alone abroad?"

After luring Wei Hong away, Wei Ming picked up the newspaper and examined it closely.

The fact that the Youth Daily is giving such a high-profile report on a child prodigy from overseas Chinese communities is definitely a signal that gifted youth programs will soon be springing up all over the country.

Currently, only the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has a special class for gifted children. It was established in 78 at the initiative of Tsung-Dao Lee to cultivate high-end scientific and technological talents for the country. Later, some of these talents became American talents, some returned to China to become professors or start businesses, and some even became monks.

After Qin Zhibin's report became popular in China, a nationwide cult of child prodigies emerged. Prestigious universities such as Tsinghua and Peking University followed suit and opened special classes for gifted children. Parents were fascinated by "creating" child prodigies, which naturally led to many absurd and hilarious stories.

Wei Ming continued writing his novel, and early the next morning, he received a call from Liang Xiaosheng.

"Teacher Wei, our factory director Yu is back. She wants to invite you over for a chat."

Wei Ming: "Okay."

The sun was shining brightly today. Wei Ming rode his motorcycle, which was getting a little hot on the seat, to the Children's Film Studio in the Beijing Film Studio compound.

When he entered Director Yu Lan's office, he found that Director Wang Yang was also there, as well as Shi Fangyu, the deputy director of Shanghai Film Studio, whom he had met a few times before. What was he, a person from Shanghai Film Studio, doing here?
However, with the three factory directors facing Wei Ming together, it was like a three-way interrogation. Wei Ming knew that with such a lineup, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, they would definitely give him an explanation today.

Director Wang Yang spoke first: "The Ministry of Culture just held a meeting yesterday. From now on, Comrade Shi Fangyu will be the director of the Film Bureau under the Ministry of Culture. He will officially take office on July 1st. So when Lao Yu mentioned this matter to me, I called Director Shi here as well."

Just a few days ago, I was chatting with Gong Xue about "Under the Bridge." Now he's become the director of the Film Bureau. I thought he would take over Xu Sangchu's job at the film studio, but I never expected him to take over all the affairs of the Film Bureau.

Shi Fangyu laughed and said, "We are all familiar with Teacher Wei, so let's get straight to the point. I heard from Sister Yu that you are going to direct this movie, 'The Shepherd's Spring,' yourself."

"Yes."

Shi Fangyu looked at the two people on his left and right: "No wonder they refused to hand it over to Director Xie Jin. So that's the reason. Director Xie's loss is not unjust."

Yu Lan smiled and said, "So there's this story behind it?"

Wang Yang also said, "It seems you've been planning to film it yourself from the very beginning."

Wei Ming nodded in agreement. He wouldn't be a full-time director, but if he wanted to dabble in directing, he felt that his own novel was a good fit—simple, pure, and conveying the values ​​he admired.

Shi Fangyu continued, "But how can you prove that you can make this movie well? After all, the investment in making a movie is not small, and the production quotas of each studio are also very precious. How can we trust an outsider like you to operate this project? If word gets out, I'm afraid other directors will be dissatisfied."

Wei Ming said: "I really can't guarantee that it will be good. After all, I have a very high standard for a good movie. In my opinion, out of the hundred or so movies produced in the country each year, less than one-tenth can meet this standard. Most of them are just shoddy work."

Wow, upon hearing this statement, the three factory managers exchanged bewildered glances. As expected of Teacher Wei Ming, so sharp!

But they didn't think it was an exaggeration. Wei Ming often went to Hong Kong and had also been abroad. He had seen a lot of the world and had an extremely rich inner world. It wasn't surprising that he had high standards for excellence.

It's impressive that he could say it so directly; I'll have to write it in his memoir later.

Wei Ming: "Whether it can be filmed well is the result of the collaboration of all crew members, including the director, actors, cinematographer, and art director. I can't guarantee it, but I can at least guarantee that it will be filmed. The script has storyboards drawn by me, which can be considered a manifestation of my basic film skills."

Yu Lan took out the storyboards and showed them to Director Wang and Director Shi, and their eyes were indeed filled with amazement.

Wang Yang asked directly, "When did you learn this? Who did you learn it from?"

“Just like when I write novels, I’m self-taught,” Wei Ming said. “Of course, directors Xie Jin and Wang Haowei deserve a lot of credit. I was learning from them while watching them film ‘The Herdsman’ and ‘Mom, Love Me Again.’ I also enjoy playing with cameras, so I understand the basic principles of composition and optics. I’ve borrowed a lot of textbooks on directing and cinematography from the film academy, but still photos are no longer enough for me, so I wanted to make movies.”

After Wei Ming expressed his determination and strong desire, the three elders fell silent, as making this decision required great courage.

In major studios like Shanghai Film Studio and Beijing Film Studio, it would be virtually impossible. Directors compete fiercely for filming opportunities; how could they so easily let a writer become a director?

The Children's Film Studio is newly established with a small staff, which will be better, but it will also face scrutiny from film studios and directors across the country. If Wei Ming messes up this project, he can simply go back to writing novels and earning foreign exchange without much loss, but the leaders who made the decision will inevitably have to bear the corresponding consequences.

Seeing that they were all hesitant to make a decision, Wei Ming continued, "Actually, it's not uncommon for writers to become directors. The great French director Jean-Luc Godard didn't study directing; he started out as a film critic. And the famous female writer Marguerite Duras started writing and directing her own films more than a decade ago."

Wang Yang laughed and said, "Goodness, you even know Godard, and you've seen the films of the French New Wave?"

These are things that only film school students can occasionally access; they haven't been officially introduced to China at all.

Wei Mingdao: "When I was in Hong Kong and the United States, I watched a lot of videotapes, including Hollywood blockbusters, French New Wave films, Japanese films by Akira Kurosawa, and Hong Kong kung fu films. I watched at least a few dozen, if not a hundred, and I also spent a lot of time on set."

Factory Director Yu Lan said, "The films you just mentioned, such as those by Godard and Duras, are basically auteur films. A major characteristic of these films is that they are shot without a plan. They shoot whatever comes to mind and rely on inspiration to move forward. Especially since you've never even shot a short film before, what if you can't continue shooting?"

This possibility certainly exists, and Director Shi and Factory Director Wang, who were standing nearby, nodded in agreement.

Wei Ming said, "If this really happens, it's simple. You can just find a director to replace me, and I'll cover the cost of the production company."

Yu Lan waved her hand: "It's not that bad. I can't let you pay for it all by yourself."

Even though they knew Wei Ming probably didn't need the money.

Shi Fangyu said, "Xiao Wei, we understand your thoughts. Let's discuss it further among the three of us. We'll give you an answer by this week at the latest."

Wei Ming nodded: "Okay, if you need me to make a short film to prove myself, I'm willing to do that."

Wei Ming left, went to visit the actors, chatted with Sister Xue and Grandpa Chen Qiang for a few minutes before leaving.

Xuejie and he met up at his home in Nanluoguxiang soon after each other.

What are you doing at the factory?

Wei Ming talked about "The Spring of the Shepherd's Class," including his desire to direct it himself.

Wei Ming had never mentioned this before, which startled Gong Xue. After confirming it was true several times, she quickly called Zhu Lin to tell him about it.

Zhu Lin arrived that evening and asked curiously, "You're not going to become a director just to film the two of us, are you?"

Wei Ming: "Look at my pathetic self. Can't I just express my thoughts through images?"

He wanted to set "The Shepherd's Spring" as a benchmark for educational films, believing it to be a very meaningful thing for children.

Some teachers in the 1980s and 90s were actually quite unprofessional and lacked the benevolence of a teacher, especially in some rural areas where the quality of teachers varied greatly. They only disciplined others and did not educate them. He was not a kind of yin-yang master.

Gong Xue said worriedly to the young man, "I don't know if they will agree to your request."

Zhu Lin: "I can't refuse! I really want to see what your movies will look like!"

Gong Xue, too, wondered how many surprises this young man could bring them.

~
At this time, Shi Fangyu and others were also discussing this matter. They said they would give a result this week, but Shi Fangyu would be returning to Shanghai tomorrow to complete the handover. As the powerful deputy director of Shanghai Film Studio, he was leaving and there were many things he needed to explain.

So they have to come up with a charter tonight.

The next day, Wei Ming received a call from the Children's Film Studio at Peking University, asking him to come over. He knew that there was a result.

This time, only factory directors Yu Lan and Wang Yang were present; Director Shi had returned to Shanghai.

Factory Director Yu said to him, "Xiao Wei, you have indeed given us a difficult problem. After a few of us discussed it, we basically agreed to let you be the director of this movie. However, you need to shoot a short film first so that we and other colleagues can see your directing ability. What to shoot and how long to shoot are up to you. You can tell us what kind of staff you need, but it has to be kept under 10,000 yuan."

Wei Ming said, "How about this, I'll cover the cost of the short film myself, but the film will be mine after it's made. I plan to take it to an exhibition abroad."

This can also be seen as a prelude to the upcoming film "The Shepherd's Spring," to build some reputation for himself, particularly in the film industry.

"You'll bear the cost yourself?" The two factory managers exchanged a glance. "And you can buy the film yourself?"

Wei Ming said, "Oh, the factory needs to give me a certificate. I want to shoot this short film in Hong Kong so I can use the film freely there."

Filming in China is too restrictive. When Sister Lin was filming "The Courtyard," the actors rehearsed many times before the actual filming could be done in order to save film stock. He didn't have the time for that. It's better to film in Hong Kong, where money can solve most problems.

Moreover, if you want to participate in exhibitions abroad, you need to shoot something exciting and avant-garde, which is not really allowed in the domestic environment, so Hong Kong is a good choice.

"Besides filming, I also miss my parents a bit, so this is a good opportunity to visit them." Of course, I can also visit Xiao Amin; in her recent letters, she's practically written "Come see me soon!" It's hard to imagine a renowned writer saying he misses his parents, but considering he's only in his early twenties, it's not entirely unexpected.

The two factory managers exchanged a glance, and Wang Yang said, "Alright, it's not like this is your first time in Hong Kong. You also have the support of the leftists and Qingniao there. But if you go to Hong Kong to film, your costs will probably be sky-high, maybe even higher than if you were to make a feature film."

Wei Ming hurriedly asked, "How much funding can the studio provide for filming 'The Shepherd's Class'?"

Yu Lan held up two fingers.

"Oh, only two hundred thousand?"

Yu Lan: "Two hundred thousand is enough. You're just making a rural film."

Wei Mingdao said, "You can't just make a hasty decision about rural films. The production cost of 'Joyful Reunion' was almost 40 yuan."

Wang Yang laughed and said, "Why don't you mention that 'The Mysterious Buddha' has less than 20 copies sold, and its sales are quite good too."

"The Great Buddha is too poorly made, and it feels cheap and shabby everywhere. I don't want the quality of the final product to be affected by funding."

Nowadays, 20 yuan is almost the minimum production cost for a movie. For example, another film produced by the Children's Film Studio, "Red Elephant," had a similar cost.

However, if you want to make something even slightly decent, 20 yuan is definitely not enough. "Mom, Love Me Again" cost more than 40 yuan, and "Romance on Lushan Mountain" cost as much as 70 yuan.

Let's not even mention war films or period action movies like "Shaolin Temple," those all cost at least a million.

Wei Ming felt that at least 400,000 to 500,000 yuan would be needed to make the film reasonably well.

Wang Yang said to Yu Lan, "Xiao Wei, don't complain about the amount. The Children's Film Studio doesn't get much funding to begin with. Giving you this 20 yuan is a huge risk. If you can't make that short film to silence public opinion, you won't even get this 20 yuan."

Wei Ming said, "How about this, the Children's Film Studio will contribute 20, and I'll cover the rest."

Although a director once said that directors shouldn't use their own money to make movies, a few hundred thousand yuan is really nothing to Wei Ming.

Moreover, he didn't spend this money for nothing: "Then just give me the overseas copyrights, and how much I can sell them for overseas depends on my own abilities."

Yu Lan also knew that 200,000 yuan was not much for a film like "The Shepherd's Class". It would be good if Wei Ming could cover the insufficient investment, but giving him the overseas rights to an "individual" was unprecedented.

She whispered a few words to Director Wang Yang, then turned to Wei Ming and said, "How about this? When you go to Hong Kong, you can invest in this movie through Qingniao and make it a co-production. This way, it's more convenient for businesses to work together. Then, the overseas rights can be returned to you through Qingniao."

It's possible, and Aunt Xia Meng would definitely be willing to help. However, Qingniao isn't her own company after all; besides Xia Meng, there are other people who have invested in it, so there are still potential risks.

Wei Ming asked, "Does it have to be Qingniao? Can I find another company? I have quite a few connections in Hong Kong."

“Do they want to be associated with the mainland? If they are willing to come, of course we will welcome them with open arms,” Yu Lan said.

Then Wei Ming will be fine. He can just have his DreamWorks set up a film company in Hong Kong.

Yu Lan then asked, "What story are you planning to tell in the short film?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'll find a team first. I need a photographer and an art director."

As for the lighting, makeup, and actors, Wei Ming had already found them in Hong Kong.

"They all have to go to Hong Kong?" Yu Lan asked.

"Of course, I won't go out to film."

Yu Lan felt a pang of heartache; how much foreign exchange would this cost, even though it was Wei Ming's own money?

Then Yu Lan and Wang Yang both wanted Wei Ming to take their photography and art to Hong Kong, which was a very good job, especially since Wei Ming was known for being generous and good at treating people.

Forget about the photography; Wei Ming already has someone suitable in mind.

As for art, he only learned from their conversation that two art masters from the 78 class of Beijing Film Academy had joined these two institutions.

They are Huo Jianqi, who joined the Beijing Film Studio, and a native of Yanjing.

And Feng Xiaoning, a native of Xi'an, joined the Children's Film Studio.

Both were good and suitable for filming rural themes like "The Shepherd's Class," but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to manage too many people, so he decided to cast Feng Xiaoning from the Children's Film Studio.

Feng Xiaoning later transitioned into directing, making the anti-Japanese war trilogy "Red River Valley," "Yellow River Love," and "Purple Sun," as well as the famous "Raise Your Hands!" However, the quality of his later works did not keep up.

“I know Feng Xiaoning. My brother used to study art at the Film Academy. How about this, I’ll go find him at the Film Academy myself,” Wei Ming said. Now that graduation is approaching, most of them should be at the school, except for those already engaged in filming.

Besides Feng Xiaoning, he also needs to finalize the selection of his preferred photographer.

After leaving the Beijing Film Studio, Wei Ming rode his motorcycle to the Beijing Film Academy and went to the photography class to find Zhang Yimou.

"Teacher Wei, what brings you here? You knew about it too?"

"What do you know?"

"About my marriage!"

Wei Ming: "Didn't you get married a long time ago?"

Zhang Yimou scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. He hadn't known that before.

He said, "My partner and I got our marriage certificate in our hometown before, but we didn't have a wedding banquet. Now that my job assignment has been resolved, I invited my partner to Beijing to hold the wedding here."

Wei Ming understood. This was actually a bit like a destination wedding. He would take his wife sightseeing in Beijing, meet up with her classmates from the Beijing Film Academy, and have a meal together.

Wei Ming asked, "When and where is it being held? I'll give you a big gift, and I'll also invite Boss Biaozi and Boss Xiaomei."

"I want my wife to have a proper and glamorous wedding, so I'll have it held in our school cafeteria this Friday."

Hearing "decent and respectable," Wei Ming thought he was going to Lao Mo's office, but it turned out to be the school cafeteria.

However, if the school cafeteria organizes the event, many familiar classmates and teachers will likely come, which will be a considerable expense. Fortunately, Lao Zhang has a photography skill and has earned some money in the past two years.

With the gifts from wealthy families like Wei Ming, there's probably still room for profit.

"Okay, we'll come over then. After the wedding, will you personally escort the bride back to her hometown?"

"After we get married, it will be about time for us to leave school. We'll go back to Xi'an together to register."

"Oh, is that so? That's a pity. Call Gu Changwei from your class out. I need to talk to him about something," Wei Ming said.

Hearing Wei Ming say "what a pity" and that he still wanted to find Gu Changwei, Zhang Yimou's eyes darted around: "Teacher Wei, what's the matter? You should talk to me instead of him. You know my abilities. I'm always first in the class. He's at most second."

Gu Changwei is also from Shaanxi and is very close to Lao Zhang. However, he now has a family and can no longer be modest when it comes to making money. Following Teacher Wei will surely bring good things.

Wei Ming chuckled: "I'm going to Hong Kong to shoot a short film, and I need a cinematographer and an art director. I found Feng Xiaoning for art director, and I thought of you for cinematography, but you're newly married, so it's not suitable."

"Perfect, perfect!" Zhang Yimou grabbed Wei Ming's hand suddenly, a little too excited. But thinking about going to Hong Kong to film and see a wider world, Zhang Yimou felt he would go even without pay.

As for reporting on this matter at Xi'an Film Studio, Director Wu Tianming would certainly have no objection to Mr. Wei's job.

"Then it's you?"

"It's up to me, it's up to me!" Zhang Yimou said again. "When are we going? Otherwise, we can cancel the wedding and not delay our departure."

"No rush, no rush. I haven't decided what to film yet. You should focus on getting married first, and things should be about right by then."

"Ah, haven't decided what to film yet?"

"Ah, let me go to Hong Kong!"

Soon, Zhang Yimou also helped Wei Ming call down his fellow villager Feng Xiaoning, and the three of them gathered together to start plotting.

Feng Xiaoning knew that Teacher Wei was awesome, but he didn't expect him to be this awesome, managing to get the two of them to Hong Kong to make a movie.

"It's not a movie, it's a short film, it'll probably take about two weeks."

Feng Xiaoning asked, "Then why film this?"

Zhang Yimou also realized: "Oh right, why are we filming this?"

Wei Ming told the truth: "I have a novel called 'The Spring of the Shepherd's Class,' and I wanted to direct it myself. I approached the Children's Film Studio, but the director felt that I had no experience in filmmaking and was not very confident in me. He asked me to make a short film to prove myself. This trip to Hong Kong was to prove myself."

Upon hearing that there was another official film coming up, Zhang Yimou swallowed hard: "Teacher Wei, are you also looking for us for this film, 'The Shepherd's Class'?"

Wei Ming: "I heard that Xiao Ning has been assigned to the Children's Film Studio. I will definitely continue to use you because you performed well this time. As for you, Lao Zhang, you are now a member of the Xi'an Film Studio."

Zhang Yimou's face turned bright red, and he finally uttered the most obsequious words of his life: "Teacher Wei, I can be yours too!"

(End of this chapter)