Exciting 1979!

Chapter 476 The Cannes Group of Death
Jilin, Changbai Mountain.

At this time, the makeup and styling team of the "Journey to the West" crew, along with script supervisors Li Chengru and Yu Hong, had already arrived at the filming location.

Besides setting up the venue, we also need to style the character of Red Boy, the main character of this episode.

At this time, Teacher Liu's future wife, Yu Hong, was pursuing Xi Zi. Xi Zi stubbornly said, "I can accept having my head shaved, but having my bare bottom exposed is too much!"

He's quite a big shot himself, practically the biggest star among the male actors in the Journey to the West cast, a Golden Rooster Award winner! As for the female actors, they're Xue Mama and Lin Jiejie.

Moreover, with so many people watching this show in the future, it would be too embarrassing if Wang Fei saw me naked!

Seeing Teacher Xi's determination, Li Chengru gave Wei Jiefang a wink, "Uncle, you go!"

As Wei Xi's temporary agent, Wei Jiefang coughed twice: "Xi, where are you naked? You're still wearing a red bellyband."

Xizi: "But a bib can't cover your bottom!"

Wei Jiefang: "As a man, is your butt important? As long as it can be covered in front, isn't that enough?"

Xizi stopped: "Is that so? I'm young, don't try to fool me."

Wei Jiefang stepped forward and said, "Besides, how can an actor not make sacrifices? Grandpa Chen Qiang from the Beijing Film Studio was almost shot to death while filming. We can't compare to the veteran artists, but we can always sacrifice our butts, right? It's a bit cold, but they won't hit your butt."

"This……"

Seeing that Wei Xi was starting to waver, Wei Jiefang pressed on: "Xi-za, let me tell you, I recently met a little animal in this area. How about we have it lead us to catch a thousand-year-old ginseng?"

"Huh? A thousand-year-old ginseng, it must be a spirit!"

Wei Jiefang: "That's right, that's why we have to catch them. They run away as soon as people come. Without a guide from Changbai Mountain, you can't find them at all."

"Okay, okay then."

Old Wei gave Li Chengru an OK sign, it was done.

Li Chengru clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "It has to be you."

Then he pulled Wei Jiefang aside: "Uncle Wei, can you really find a thousand-year-old ginseng?"

"That was just teasing the kids, why did you take it seriously?" Old Wei laughed.

Early the next morning, Lao Wei took Xizi and followed a sable into the mountains.

Sables are a specialty of Changbai Mountain. They are afraid of people and will flee in panic when people approach. However, this sable would run back after taking a few steps and wait for them. It would even climb onto Lao Wei's shoulder and point ahead.

There are still a few days before the official filming starts, and Xizi is quite free before filming begins.

By this time, the director, cinematographer, and other key members of the team had returned to Beijing and were wrapping up the final episode of "The Kingdom of Women."

Zhu Lin came back with them and has been at CCTV for the past two days because she does her own voice-over.

When dubbing, she had to watch the scene of her performance. Seeing her own noble and elegant temperament and affectionate eyes, she couldn't help but tremble. Wow, Tang Seng can even endure this. I admire him. If it were Xiao Wei, she would have been unable to get out of bed long ago.

"Director Yang, what's troubling you?" After a morning of recording, I came out of the dubbing room and saw Director Yang Jie looking worried.

Director Yang pulled out another piece of paper with lyrics on it: "This is the song written by Yan Su, called 'It's hard to meet and hard to part.' It's good, really good. It's just as good as Xiao Wei's 'Daughter's Love,' only more restrained in its emotions."

She was struggling to decide which song to choose when Zhu Lin asked, "Is it illegal to use both?"

Yang Jie was taken aback, then laughed: "I was thinking in the wrong direction. Right, who said there can only be one theme song per episode? These two songs express different emotional emphases, so I can put them in different places. You young people are really quick-witted."

Zhu Lin felt it wasn't anything particularly clever; it was something he learned from Wei Ming.

He likes both and wants both, even though it's illegal. So what if he wants both songs?

After leaving CCTV, Zhu Lin returned to his home in Nanluoguxiang. Summer was approaching, and it was more comfortable to live here. Moreover, the safety level here had already surpassed that of other residences.

She has already filled the swimming pool with water, and it will be ready to swim in a few more days. It's just a pity that Xiaoxue and Xiaowei are not here, so she has no motivation to wear a bikini.

After returning to Beijing, she received a letter from Gong Xue. Xiao Xue had actually taken on a job in Hong Kong, co-starring with Siqin Gaowa in a film produced by Xia Meng Company. She said that the script really appealed to her, but her character was a woman who had lived in Hong Kong for twenty years, which would be quite challenging for her, so she would need to experience life in Hong Kong for a while.

For actresses of their caliber, landing a leading role in a movie isn't difficult; the challenge lies in finding a good team and a good story.

Several drafts were handed to Zhu Lin before, and she asked Wei Ming to take a look. Wei Ming said there was no need to film them, as they would not only not win any awards, but also have limited reach, and no one would remember them in a few years.

Making this kind of film requires going to remote areas to suffer hardships; it's better to stay in Beijing and perform in plays.

If "Journey to the West" hadn't been a key national project, Zhu Lin, the female lead in "Mr. Donkey," would still be rehearsing a stage play.

With no man by her side, Zhu Lin devoted all her energy to rehearsals, which should be officially staged this year. Everyone at the Beijing People's Art Theatre believes that the response to this play will probably be even greater than that of "The Tale of Two Donkeys".

"I want you by my side, I want you to do my hair, the night wind blows, making my heart itch... my love..."

Zhu Lin arrived at the Beijing People's Art Theatre humming a tune from the play, and then saw Vice President Yu Shizhi, Lan Tianye, and several other senior figures chatting with a woman in the corridor.

Upon hearing Zhu Lin's song, the woman turned and glanced at her, and Yu Zhi immediately introduced them.

Zhu Lin needs little introduction; there are few people in China who don't know her. Mr. Yu then gave a detailed introduction to this woman in her forties: "This is Huang Shuqin, a director from the Shanghai Film Studio."

Zhu Lin knew this; she was Xie Jin's go-to assistant director, and Gong Xue had worked with her on "The Herdsman."

Zhu Lin thought to herself, "Oh dear, could it be that they've come to ask me to act in a movie?"

This was Zhu Lin's only partial understanding. Old Lan added, "Although Director Huang is a film director, she has a deep connection with our theater world. Her father is Mr. Huang Zuolin. Whenever he comes to Beijing, he will visit the Beijing People's Art Theatre if he has time."

Hey!
Zhu Lin then understood. Huang Zuolin, Jiao Juyin, was one of the founders of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, while Huang Zuolin was in charge of the Shanghai Drama Theatre. The two, one in the north and one in the south, laid the foundation for the current landscape of drama.

By this time, Huang Shuqin had graduated from Xie Jin's tutelage, and her first representative work was the film adaptation of Wang Meng's novel "Long Live Youth," which she directed last year.

Huang Shuqin did come to Yanjing this time for her new film. Recently, she saw a reportage by Jiang Zilong called "The Long-Haired Man", which tells the story of Pei Yanling, a famous Hebei Bangzi opera singer, who worked hard from childhood to become a star.

Jiang Zilong is from Cangxian County, Cangzhou, and Pei Yanling is from Suning County, Cangzhou. They live right next to Wei Ming's hometown. When Wei Ming was a child, he went to the neighboring county with his grandmother and second grandmother to watch Pei Yanling's performance.

After reading this story, Huang Shuqin felt that it was already a miracle that an actress could play a man so successfully, and that a woman could play a male ghost. There were many stories to imagine.

So she found Pei Yanling, went to her theater troupe, lived and ate with her, interviewed her, and dug up her stories and details, and then went home to write a script.

The script was eventually titled "Human, Ghost, and Love," and it tells the life story of a female opera singer named Qiu Yun.

Although it lacks Hebei Bangzi opera and differs significantly from Pei Yanling's personal experiences, the story is solid and has already passed the Shanghai Film Studio's review.

The male lead in this script is the father of the female lead, Qiu Yun, who is actually Qiu Yun's adoptive father who was cheated on by her mother. When writing the script, Huang Shuqin had one candidate in mind: Li Baotian. Because Li Baotian himself was also a clown in traditional opera, and he was not good-looking and had a kind of timid and cowardly feeling, which fit the character of the cuckolded opera performer in the script. So she hurriedly ran to Yanjing to find him at the Central Academy of Drama.

When I arrived, I found out that she had already quietly gone to Cannes, France with Wei Ming, and their collaboration, "The Shepherd's Spring," had been shortlisted for Cannes!

This was a story his teacher had been longing for, and they actually managed to make it into a film, and it seems to have been quite successful.

Huang Shuqin left a letter at the Central Academy of Drama and also left a copy of the script there, asking Teacher Li Baotian to contact the Shanghai Film Studio after returning to China.

As for the female lead, Huang Shuqin envisioned her as a young woman in her early twenties, but she would play the role from twenty to forty, from a young girl to middle age.

Moreover, she also had to be able to actually sing opera. To reduce the difficulty and for aesthetic design, the female lead in the script was trained in Peking Opera. If she didn't know it, she would have to learn it on the spot.

However, Huang Shuqin watched Zhu Lin and others rehearsing on stage. Seeing how at ease Zhu Lin was on stage, and her superior physical attributes—she must be over 165 cm tall, with bright eyes and white teeth—it seemed that she could also play a leading role.

Huang Shuqin suddenly had a bold idea: could she win over the big star Zhu Lin?

After the morning rehearsal ended, Zhu Lin saw that Director Huang Shuqin was still in the audience, but Mr. Yu and Mr. Lan were no longer there.

"Comrade Zhu Lin, can we talk?"

"Is there something you need, Director Huang?"

Huang Shuqin smiled and said, "Comrade Zhu Lin, can you sing opera? Peking Opera?"

Zhu Lin said, "I can sing a couple of lines, and my dad likes to listen to me, but I'm very amateurish."

People their age can generally say a few words, mainly because they had very limited entertainment options when they were young, such as reading books, listening to operas, and watching movies.

"Can you sing that male role?"

"A male lead? He can say a few words too?" Zhu Lin asked. "Is there something you need?"

"Well, I have a great role here, based on the famous Hebei Bangzi master Pei Yanling. Are you interested?"

It seemed to be a biographical work. Zhu Lin asked, "Is there a script?"

“Yes, yes, yes,” Huang Shuqin said excitedly when she saw that Zhu Lin had accepted the offer. “But please wait a moment while I go get it.”

The script is still at the Central Academy of Drama; let Zhu Lin take a look first.

~
Cannes, France.

This seaside town is at its best time of year; it's not too hot, but the sun is shining brightly.

In his previous life, Wei Ming had been to Cannes quite often, usually during the film festival, but always as an outsider. This was the first time he had come as a nominated director, and the organizers had arranged accommodations for them.

The hotel arranged two rooms: a double room and a standard room. According to the person in charge, the single double room was for the director.

Film festival directors are the real stars; the three most prestigious awards—Best Film, Jury Prize, and Best Director—are all given to directors.

However, Wei Ming certainly couldn't accept it immediately. Chinese people value respecting the elderly and caring for the young, so he quickly suggested that Director Bao stay in a double room while he and Li Baotian would make do in a standard room.

They chatted for several hours on the way here, and Lao Bao could tell that Wei Ming was a young man who loved to enjoy himself. Several of the flight attendants were old acquaintances of his, and he even had a Japanese Walkman.

So he waved his hand and said, "I'm afraid of being alone. I can talk to Comrade Baotian if we share a room. Besides, you're the main character here in Cannes this time."

Li Baotian thought to himself, "You know I don't like to talk. If I wanted to talk, you should share a room with Director Wei and let me sleep in the king-size bed."

He was just thinking about it. After checking into the room, he was extremely satisfied with its size and luxurious facilities. There were some things he didn't know how to use, so Director Bao told him to go next door to ask Wei Ming for help.

Meanwhile, Wei Ming was already chatting with his American friend whom he had just met in the opposite room.

This friend is not tall, has thick eyebrows, and wears glasses. His name is Martin Scorsese, and his new film, "The King of Comedy," has been nominated for the main competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The lead actor is Robert De Niro.

This is one of the reasons why Wei Ming felt this year's competition was a "group of death".

Martin Scorsese, 41, is a leading figure in the American New Wave of the 70s and is considered one of the "Four Great Hollywood Directors" along with Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas.

Seven years ago, he won the Palme d'Or at Cannes with "Taxi Driver," and two years ago, "Raging Bull" earned Robert De Niro the Oscar for Best Actor.

In terms of box office, Martin Scorsese is certainly not as good as the other three, but in terms of awards, he is the best. Otherwise, Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn't have been able to keep pursuing him, and their relationship would almost have become like that of Wong Kar-wai and Tony Leung.

Wei Ming couldn't recall the specific winners for this year, but he recognized several of the works and directors on the list.

"The Ballad of Narayama" is one of the highest-rated Japanese films in China. Wei Ming vaguely remembers that director Shohei Imamura won the Palme d'Or, but the timing doesn't seem to match up. He remembers it being in the 1990s.

The director of "Nostalgia" is Andrei Tarkovsky, whose "Ivan's Childhood" is considered a classic in film history and a must-read for directing students at the Beijing Film Academy.

"The Wall" is the latest film by Turkish director Jumaz Guni, whose previous film "The Road to Freedom" won the Palme d'Or.

There's also "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," directed by Nagisa Oshima, who also directed "In the Realm of the Senses." In addition to the two British actors, the main cast of this war film includes Ryuichi Sakamoto and Takeshi Kitano.

It's the famous composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and the famous comedian Takeshi Kitano.

Another example is the Italian biographical film "The Story of Piana," starring Isabelle Huppert, a French national treasure who won the Cannes Best Actress award a few years ago.

The lead actress in "A Dead Summer" is another French national treasure, Isabelle Adjani, a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress winner.

It can be said that works with big-name European and American actors are naturally more likely to attract the attention of judges, who will be more patient in discovering the highlights of the film.

There are more than 20 films in total. Usually, a few that are likely to win awards are selected first, and then the awards are distributed. However, many films may be skipped by the judges after just one look and never make it into the list of winners.

Because Wei Ming had seen many of Martin's films, they got along quite well.

Martin also knew Wei Ming. Although he had not read Wei Ming's novels, he had heard Wei Ming's songs and knew about his deeds of speaking out for South Africa and Mandela. However, now that he heard that Wei Ming had been shortlisted for the main competition at Cannes with his directorial work, Martin became very curious about this young Eastern writer.

"When will your movie be released? I'll definitely go see it!"

"I haven't been notified yet, and I'm also very curious to see what Robert De Niro's comedic style will be like."

"King of Comedy" has nothing to do with Stephen Chow's "King of Comedy". It tells the story of a stand-up comedian, but it is not based on a true story.

Regardless of whether it would be useful in the future, Wei Ming, relying on his fluent English, began to socialize all over Cannes and soon got to know actors such as Robert De Niro, Isabelle Huppert, Mel Gibson, and Takeshi Kitano.

Although the concept of the three major European film festivals had already emerged by this time, and Cannes had basically established itself as the top of the three, it was still the 80s, and the Cannes red carpet was much less entertaining. People dressed relatively conservatively, and no one wore a dragon robe.

Wei Mingcai realized that he felt something was missing, and it turned out he was missing Bingbing!
(End of this chapter)