Exciting 1979!

Chapter 450: "The Chronicles of Martial Arts" vs. "Wudang," and Wei Ming's new English work.
More than half a year has passed since the release of "Shaolin Temple" at the beginning of the year, and it is still going strong in cinemas across the country. The attendance rate is no worse than that of new films. Mobile cinemas have also begun to be fully deployed. When Wei Ming and his crew were filming, they even happened to catch a screening of "Shaolin Temple" in a village. People from all the surrounding villages came with their elderly and children, making it a very lively scene.

It can be said that Li Lianjie has now become the most well-known, popular, and discussed male actor in the country. Even the Surprise Brothers have been sought after by other children in the crew because they are Li Lianjie's junior brothers.

So at this time, other film studios also got the idea and began to prepare to shoot their own action movies, which were completely independently produced without relying on Hong Kong's resources.

Since they made a film about Shaolin Temple, let's make a film about Wudang. Thus, Changchun Film Studio produced "Wudang".

Moreover, this is a film with a female protagonist, and Chen Xuejiao is the core protagonist with the most screen time.

When director Sun Sha and screenwriter Xie Wenli were creating the script, the first person they thought of was the beautiful young woman from "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" who was known for her outstanding action scenes. After inquiring, they learned that she had gotten married and had a child after filming the movie, and that her child was now a year old. So they specially invited her to come out of retirement.

These days, Chinese women can go back to work right after their postpartum period; the saying "holding up half the sky" is not just a slogan.

Hearing this, Biaozi was still unwilling to give up: "What about the male lead? This movie has to have a male lead, right?"

"Oh, we've cast Zhao Changjun as the male lead."

“Him?” Biaozi pursed his lips.

Zhao Changjun is indeed quite skilled in their circle. Although he lost to Li Lianjie in the Changquan event at the 4th National Games, he has won many gold medals in the past two years. He is the best performer since Li Lianjie, and he has also taught Zhen Zidan some martial arts.

Biaozi didn't dare to keep it a secret, so he told Huang Qiuyan about it when he got home that night, and even brought back the script.

This script is set in the Qing Dynasty, and its theme is revenge and fighting against the Japanese invaders. Romantic scenes are only briefly mentioned.

Huang Qiuyan was quite engrossed in watching. Filming "Journey to the West" for a few days had awakened her passion for acting, but the key was that her passion for action scenes hadn't been released; she was just watching Biaozi fight.

Seeing her junior brother Xiao Li so successful now, she no longer wants to waste her skills.

After reading the script, Yanzi really liked it. The female lead was well-developed, and she had most of the action scenes, which was a considerable challenge for her.

She knows Tai Chi, but it's not her specialty, so she definitely needs to practice more.

However, after the initial excitement, they looked at their one-year-old daughter, Zhao Zifeng. Their daughter could now call them "Dad" and "Mom," and with each call, the mother's heart softened a little more.

Such opportunities are extremely rare. Thanks to Wei Ming and Zhu Lin, they have also watched many Hong Kong action movie videotapes. Hong Kong action movies are basically a man's world, and women in action movies are either side dishes or vases. If they miss an opportunity like "Wudang", they will probably never encounter it again.

"Honey, I'm a little unsure what to choose," Huang Qiuyan said, looking at Zhao Debiao who was holding their daughter with a troubled expression.

Biaozi was also in a dilemma. If this movie were to be filmed, it would definitely require leaving Beijing. What would happen to the child, and what would happen to himself?

“How about…” The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously thought of Wei Ming.

When faced with important decisions that leave you unsure, you should consult the smartest person around you, and Wei Ming is the best person to ask.

"Then let's ask Ming-ge. He knows movies and should be able to see the value of this film," Biao-zi said.

The implication is that if Ming thinks it's worth filming, he will fully support his wife and provide her with logistical support.

He was worried about not being able to explain things clearly over the phone, and long-distance calls were too expensive, so Biaozi bought a plane ticket directly through Uncle Ping'an and flew to Chengdu.

He first went to the Emei Factory to inquire about the current address of the film crew, and happened to meet someone who also wanted to join the "Shepherd's Class" film crew.

One was a famous director, and the other was a famous actor. The Emei Film Studio simply sent a jeep to take them to Ya'an.

The man traveling with Biaozi was named Zhang Huaxun, whose representative work is "The Mysterious Buddha". He also has a son named Zhang Yang, who later starred in films such as "Spicy Love Soup", "Shower", and "Getting Home".

Zhao Debiao and Zhang Huaxun quickly became acquainted in the car, exchanging pleasantries.

The butterfly's wings have quietly changed the fate of some people. Originally, Zhang Huaxun collaborated with Beijing Film Studio, but in this life, he switched to Emei Film Studio. Therefore, his new work, "The Legend of the Martial Arts," is also a continued collaboration with Emei Film Studio.

On the way, Zhang Huaxun talked to Biaozi about the purpose of his trip to Ya'an. His main goal was to visit his good friend Han Sanping, who was also the director of the Emei Film Studio Art Center, and discuss the new martial arts film "The Legend of the Martial Arts".

He always felt that Han Sanping understood movies very well. When the movie was almost rejected, it was Han Sanping who kept encouraging him to take the right path. Of course, he also wanted to get to know Wei Ming.

On the way to the film set, Zhang Huaxun first discussed with Zhao Debiao: "Comrade Debiao, the fight scenes in the movie 'Heroes Since Ancient Times' are really wonderful, I admit defeat."

Biaozi said smugly, "My brother Ming's script is also amazing."

Of the two commercial genre films released around the same time, "Heroes Have Always Been Born" clearly outperformed the others in terms of performance in mainland China.

Zhang Huaxun laughed and said, "Yes, yes, apart from the plot of 'The Mysterious Buddha' being inferior to Teacher Wei's, the action scenes are obviously much worse. So this time I plan to invite real martial arts masters to guide the action scenes and try to make up for this shortcoming."

Biaozi said honestly, "Actually, I don't have much faith in you guys. Changchun Film Studio is also planning to make a martial arts film and is looking for martial arts masters to guide us. I believe our martial arts athletes can do the moves very well, which may be better than Hong Kong's action stars. But as for action design, according to my brother Ming, what's the use of being able to fight? It also involves film knowledge. So I don't think you can surpass those Hong Kong stuntmen."

Zhang Huaxun gleaned the key information: "Changchun Film Studio? What are they going to film?"

"Oh, they're making a film about Wudang, and they want my wife to play the female lead," Biaozi blurted out.

Zhang Huaxun thought to himself, "How shameless! Shaolin is so popular right now, and you guys want to film Wudang? This is just riding on their coattails!"

However, Huang Qiuyan is beautiful, and her movements are even more graceful; they certainly have good taste.

Zhang Huaxun's eyes lit up: "Comrade Debiao, I suddenly feel that you are very similar to the male lead Dongfang Xu in the script. Why don't you play the male lead?"

"Huh? Me? The male lead?"

"Yes, it's you!" Zhang Huaxun said. "How about you have a match with your wife and junior brother? We'll wipe out Shaolin first, then destroy Wudang!"

Biaozi had read this line from "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," and later Ming bought him the complete works of Jin Yong. Using it here immediately made him feel excited.

Yeah, do you think I'm any worse than the two of them?

"You brought a script."

"I brought it. It feels like it was specially prepared for you." Zhang Huaxun laughed and took out the notebook.

However, after watching for a while, Biaozi felt something was wrong: "This Dongfang Xu's age doesn't match mine."

"Oh, that doesn't match up. In her thirties?"

Biaozi's face hardened: "I'm only in my early twenties."

"Huh?" Zhang Huaxun was taken aback, and quickly said, "Oh my, I was wondering how you take care of yourself. You look like you're in your early twenties. You really are in your early twenties. It's all because your portrayal of Tie Biao is so deeply ingrained in people's minds. But that's not a problem. We can adjust the script or use makeup."

Biaozi continued reading. The protagonist of this script practiced Baguazhang. His wife's script, "Wudang," was about fighting Japanese devils, while this script, "Wulin Zhi," was about fighting Russian strongmen. It was mainly a ring competition. This format seemed quite interesting, and he read on without even noticing that the sky had changed.

~
The sky was overcast at this time. They had been waiting for rain for the past few days, but they never expected that Ya'an would have such a long period without rain.

Today, the wait was over. The crew members immediately packed their things and returned to the elementary school to film the scene at Teacher Zhong's residence.

To put it simply, this scene is like adding insult to injury. When the male protagonist is catching the rainwater leaking from the house in basins and bowls, he hears the different sounds that the rainwater makes when it drips into different containers.

So by adjusting the height of the container, the amount of water, and the different dripping frequencies, he actually turned the annoying sound of raindrops into a rather pleasant melody, and then he lay down in bed and slept peacefully.

Hu Weili participated in the entire process and sparked a lot of creative ideas with the two musicians, Wei Ming.

After this scene ended, the rain still hadn't stopped, and the crew members were all stuck at the school.

To facilitate filming, the crew members all settled down in Fanshan Village. The village secretary provided a lot of help and managed to clear out two courtyards, one of which became the village chief's house in the movie.

Right now, Wu Jing, Wei Xi, and the other kids are all at home, playing cards by candlelight.

Wang Fei is the eldest child. Not only does Xizi like her, but Jingzi likes her too. It doesn't matter whether I win or lose when the two of them play cards, but Xia Lin must not lose.

The children were playing when the village secretary shouted, "Is anyone there? Someone's looking for you."

~
When the rain stopped, Wei Ming and the others returned from the film set and saw an extra jeep. Han Sanping immediately recognized it as an asset of the Emei Factory.

Sure enough, they soon saw Zhang Huaxun, and Wei Ming was also pleasantly surprised to see Biaozi.

That evening, Wei Ming learned about the plot of the two films from Biaozi's dictation. In fact, Wei Ming could retell the plot of the two films without Biaozi even having to say it.

Because both of these films were very popular back then, martial arts films were completely unbanned after "Shaolin Temple".

Therefore, from 83 onwards, the films with the most copies and the highest box office were basically of this type, such as "The Legend of the Martial Arts", "Wudang", and "Shaolin Temple Disciples" in 83; "Shaolin Kids", "King of Southern Fist" and "Heroes Have Always Been Born Young" in 84; "The Cotton Robe" and "New Fong Sai-yuk" in 85; and "The Divine Whip" in 86, etc.

Wei Ming watched "The Legend of Wulin" and "Wudang" countless times on the movie channel, and he also watched them on mobile screenings in the village.

Objectively speaking, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is of better quality and has a longer-lasting influence. The arena competition format has also inspired films such as "Fearless" and "Ip Man", but none of them have had as profound an impact as "Shaolin Temple".

"You want to film this?"

"Well, Yanzi also wants to film 'Wudang.' She's so skilled in martial arts, it's such a pity she stays at home taking care of my child." Biaozi sighed, he also hoped that his wife could shine brightly.

But the child is so young, someone has to stay home to take care of the family.

Biaozi originally wanted to ask Ming-ge which one was more worth filming, and then use his opinion to decide who should make the sacrifice.

But Ming said that these days the script isn't that important; as long as you film it quickly while "Shaolin Temple" is still popular, it can become a classic for a while, and there's not much difference. So he was in a dilemma.

Wei Ming couldn't make the decision for him, so he patted Biaozi on the shoulder and said, "You'll have to make the choice yourself. It's about whether you sacrifice yourself or your wife."

Later, when Biaozi returned to Beijing, he told his wife about "The Chronicles of Martial Arts". The couple discussed it and decided that no one should be sacrificed, but the child should be sacrificed instead.

They decided to entrust Zhao Zifeng to his grandparents' care, while Biaozi went to Tianjin to film "The Legend of the Martial Arts" and Yanzi went to Hubei to film "Wudang." It was a win-win situation, and they were both eager to compete next year, as this would determine who would be on top in the future.

The National Day holiday arrived in the blink of an eye, but the crew did not stop working; their goal was to finish before the Spring Festival.

Therefore, Wei Ming naturally had no time to attend the Frankfurt International Book Fair that followed. Although his colleagues from last year hoped that he could come again, the only thing that could accompany them was Wei Ming's new book, "A Bite of China".

Although he was not in Frankfurt, Wei Ming kept a close eye on the news from Frankfurt while he was in China.

This time, domestic media coverage of the Frankfurt Book Fair was much more timely.

At the book fair, Wei Ming's three major works this year, "A Bite of China," "District 9," and "Jurassic Park: The Final Chapter," were highly sought after, and people marveled at his prolific creative energy.

Wei Ming also included photos with the episodes of "A Bite of China." It's good that he has a habit of taking pictures to remember the occasion, which makes the delicious food more tangible.

District 9, situated in the midst of global political turmoil, has generated immense buzz. Prior to this, its English book market had already seen explosive sales, and the rights to multiple translations have been sold off in a high-profile manner. It has even been hailed as the "new Bible" by an African publisher.

Macmillan's last work should actually be "Jurassic Park III". Due to translation issues, it was released later than the Chinese version and was only recently completed. With the previous work as a foundation, the sales were naturally not bad, starting with a million print runs (including the UK and US markets).

Moreover, the news that MGM was about to start filming "Jurassic Park" and had invested heavily in the film became a major focus of publicity, attracting booksellers from all over the world.

However, Wei Ming's new work this year is not as good as the accumulated work of last year, and with the lack of the influence of the main figure on site, it will probably not be so easy for Wei Ming to replicate last year's million-dollar income.

With this, Melinda, having completed her final shift, parted ways amicably with her former employer, Macmillan Publishers.

She couldn't even wait to return to London, and with her mother's help in selecting a company, she directly acquired a small English-language publishing house in Frankfurt.

Then he immediately sent a telegram to Wei Ming, urging him to deliver the goods quickly, as he was already eager to get them.

The telegram naturally fell into Wei Hong's hands.

Recently, Wei Hong has been corresponding frequently with Ah Min in Hong Kong and often goes to the post office because she is concerned about how much money she has made in the Hong Kong stock market after the Iron Lady knelt down.

So she also helped collect her brother's telegram and then sent it to Sichuan.

Wei Hong always felt that her older brother still had feelings for Melinda, and she would have to talk to him about it. "How can you do this to Zhou Amin from Taiping Mountain?"

It was a rainy day when Wei Hong's letter was received, and the rain was particularly inopportune, so Wei Ming was taking a break today and was writing furiously.

However, it wasn't in English; it was a Chinese work, a stage play, which I had originally promised to the People's Art Theatre.

His absurd and satirical style is somewhat similar to Ma Lao's "Ten Tales of the Night," but it doesn't take place in the southwest; instead, it chooses the desolate northwest.

Along with the letter came Amin's second album, which was also her first official album, "First Love · Zhou Huimin". Wei Ming brought a Walkman, put the cassette tape in, and wanted to hear Amin's voice, as well as the new songs that Hui and Huang Ersheng had created for her.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

"Go in." Wei Ming pressed pause.

Wang Fei brought in dinner. The rain had stopped, but it was already dark.

"Xia, why did you deliver this? Feng Xiaogang isn't very diligent today," Wei Ming joked. Usually, Feng Xiaogang is the one who does all the chores for them.

Wang Fei hurriedly said, "Teacher Feng went to boil water and make tea for you. I offered to come. Teacher Wei, I want to talk to you about something."

"Oh, go ahead." Wei Ming put down his pen and pretended to listen.

“My mother recently wrote to say that my father is going to Hong Kong,” she added. “My grandfather is in Hong Kong, and he is going to take care of him.”

This important Hong Kong figure was a topic that their family used to avoid at all costs. She took her mother's surname and changed her name, also to distance herself from that side of the family.

However, times have changed. People now yearn for Hong Kong, and this yearning is no longer hidden.

Wang Fei said, "My dad said he'll pick us up after we're settled in Hong Kong. Do you think we should go? After all, it's a capitalist society."

"Why can't I go? Just consider it a learning experience. Look at me, I go to Hong Kong often, and I haven't been corrupted."

Wang Fei's mouth twitched slightly, and the crew seemed to want to provide meat at every meal, showing no trace of their frugal and simple lifestyle. They hadn't been corrupted yet.

"I might have to change my name from now on. Actually, my real name is Wang Fei. Teacher Wei, please remember that."

Wei Ming: "Then I'll call you Wang Fei from now on."

He had wanted to do this for a long time, and had almost called it wrong several times.

"Wang Fei, tomorrow is your big day. Are you confident?"

Wang Fei nodded seriously. It's just being expressionless; she's perfect at that.

Under Teacher Zhong's captivating classroom influence, the students in the class returned to school one after another, except for three problem students who were slow to return: Xiaocao, a little girl picking mushrooms, and Chen Pipi, an orphan who grew up eating food from many families.

Wang Fei plays a stubborn little grass, just like her name suggests, stubborn and tenacious. As the fourth daughter in the family, she should have been a babysitter.

Fortunately, she was discovered and sent back. However, as she grew up, her parents wanted her to drop out of school so that she could support her only brother, Yaozu, like her other older sisters.

She didn't say much, went straight to the brick factory to move bricks, earned some change and handed it to her parents, coldly asking, "Can I go to school now?"

Of course not. Some parents have no compassion for their children. In the end, it was Teacher Zhong who stepped in and helped her return to the classroom, where her beautiful voice was discovered.

Wei Ming plans to have Wang Fei do her own voiceover, as her voice is quite distinctive.

After expressing her determination, Wang Fei was about to leave when she saw the outer packaging of a cassette tape on the table. The cover featured a very pretty and stylish girl, and she couldn't move on.

"Teacher Wei, is this a song from Hong Kong?"

Wei Ming laughed and said, "If you perform well tomorrow, I'll let you hear it."

"OK, all right!"

As soon as she left, Wei Ming lowered his voice and listened to the song himself. This time, Wong Jim and Joseph Koo wrote a song for Amin that Wei Ming had never heard before, called "I Like You".

It's not Beyond's "Black Pineapple," but a very nice little love song that suits Amin's voice and style perfectly.

Wei Ming was certain that this was a song that did not originally exist, otherwise he would have heard of it in his previous life if it was so beautiful.

It seems to have been tailor-made and carefully designed.

Although I copied some works, I also inspired other musicians to create more excellent works, which together are more good songs than in my previous life. For the fans, I have really done a great service.

Wei Ming was in a great mood as he listened to music and replied to Xiao Hong's letter.

I've been wanting to write a piece for the new company, but I hadn't finished it before coming to Sichuan. I only recently completed it.

"Xiaohong, turn on my computer and find a box of floppy disks on the table..."

Wei Ming instructed Xiao Hong to transfer and print out the previously written drafts. Combined with the English manuscript he had, this would constitute the entirety of the new novel.

A 5.25-inch floppy disk has 1.2MB of space. Wei Ming not only wrote multiple versions of English novellas, but also some other English creative beginnings.

When Wei Hong opened it, she couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Although most of the stories were just names and a few had some plot outlines, dozens of stories—her dear brother's mind was too brilliant!
If I were to write all of this down, my entire life would probably be over by then!

After printing out the English manuscript, Wei Hong sent it along with the handwritten manuscript to Melinda's residence in London.

Melinda didn't rely entirely on Wei Ming. After DreamWorks Publishing was established, she immediately sent out all her staff and used her previous connections to find suitable authors and works.

She even made a trip to the United States to reach a cooperation agreement with Gong Biyang of Tangren Publishing Company, exchanging their European and North American channels.

This would make it easier for Wei Ming's works to enter the North American market.

When she returned from the United States, Wei Hong's overseas package also arrived.

Upon opening it, I saw both a printed copy and a handwritten copy. I felt the thickness; it was about the size of a novella.

Wei Ming wrote on the homepage: "I suggest making it into a picture book."

It seems to be a story written for children, which is Melinda's forte.

But the protagonist of the story is an adult, an unfortunate museum security guard.
……

(Yesterday's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)