Exciting 1979!

Chapter 481 Zhu Lin's coronation as Empress, a double celebration

In Yanjing, Biaozi held his daughter and looked at his courtyard house, which was under renovation. In two months, they would be able to move in, and his daughter would be able to run around freely.

Then he put his daughter in the child seat of the bicycle and rode to Oriental Plaza.

Upon seeing him arrive, Mei Wenhua hurriedly asked, "Did you know?"

"What do you know?"

"The Shepherd's Class won a major award in France, the Palme d'Or!" Mei Wenhua handed over the newspaper.

"Really!" Biaozi quickly grabbed it and looked at it. "Wow, he won four awards! No wonder he's my brother!"

Xiaomei: "He truly lives up to his brother-in-law's reputation!"

After all, they had worked with Wei Ming before, and they had all heard him talk about the significance of this award.

However, most people outside the circle are not aware of this because there haven't been many awards like this in China before, so there hasn't been much publicity about it.

The Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival is currently the focus of everyone's attention, especially the Hundred Flowers Film Festival. Gong Xue, Zhu Lin, Liu Xiaoqing, and Siqin Gaowa are all competing this year, and the number of votes has reached a new high.

Xu Shufen alone bought ten copies of "Popular Cinema" last month. The main reason was that Zhu Lin's "Du Shiniang" and "Middle Age" were both nominated for Best Actress. She was afraid that the votes would be split and affect the final result, so she bought a few more copies to support her.

Because of this, she became familiar with the old man at the newsstand. Today, when she passed by, the old man even stopped her and said he had some big news.

Xu Shufen picked up the newspaper and immediately bought a copy because her son had won an award!
She was so proud to have four awards; her son was indeed good at everything. However, she didn't even know what a Palme d'Or was, let alone the Golden Palm. So she quickly called Wei Hong's dormitory to ask her what the Golden Palm was.

~
"The Palme d'Or is the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival. You know Akira Kurosawa, right? He can be said to be one of the top directors in Asia. He just won the Palme d'Or a few years ago, but he was already seventy years old when he won the award, while our Master Kurosawa was only in his early twenties!"

Feng Xiaogang took a large bottle of Daqianmen cigarettes from a colleague, tucked it behind his ear, and continued spitting as he spoke: "It can be said that after this battle, Director Wei Ming can be called Director Xie Jin of the North and Director Xie Jin of the South."

At the Yanjing Television Studio, Feng Xiaogang was explaining to Zheng Xiaolong, Zhao Baogang, and others the great significance of Wei Ming winning the Palme d'Or, leaving several colleagues stunned.

"So, Xiao Gang, you also participated in this movie. Are you going to join a film studio in the future?" Zhao Baogang teased him.

In Feng Xiaogang's mind, movies are indeed a bit more prestigious than television, and he prefers to make movies because they have so many awards to win and a wider audience. What's the point of television dramas?

But you can't say that. In front of several colleagues and leaders, he patted his chest and guaranteed his loyalty to the television studio. Then, after work, he went to the Beijing Film Studio to ask Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaoning for information.

However, he didn't see Chen Kaige there, but he did see Ge You, dressed in a suit, walking back and forth in the factory area with his chest out and head held high.

Feng Xiaoning told him, "Kaige went to the Northwest?"

Why go to the Northwest?

Feng Xiaoning said, "The Guangxi Film Studio wanted to invite him to direct a film about Northwest China, so he went to the Northwest to gather material and also wanted to find Yi Mou to be his cinematographer."

Feng Xiaogang: "Damn, the Guangxi Film Studio has a good eye! They've already taken down the assistant director and cinematographer of the Palme d'Or film. Didn't they mention our Feng brothers?"

Feng Xiaoning chuckled: "Go play with your eggs."

~
In a bus on the highway in Helan Mountain, Ningxia, Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou are discussing a new script, adapted from the novel "Echoes in the Deep Valley" by writer Ke Lan, titled "Yellow Earth".

At that time, the Guangxi Film Studio was filming "One and Eight" and "Yellow Earth," both works by the same screenwriter, Zhang Ziliang, and both projects were led by Guo Baochang, who selected young filmmakers.

Right now, "One and Eight" is being filmed in Zhenbeibao, and Zhang Yimou and Wu Tianming are preparing for "Life," which will start filming at the end of this month. He would have been too embarrassed to ask for leave if it weren't for visiting his old classmate.

After reading the script, Zhang Yimou basically agreed to join the project: "However, it will have to wait until after filming 'Life' is finished, which may be at the end of the year."

Chen Kaige: No problem, I'll wait for you. We'll film whenever you're free.

Chen Kaige, who had worked with Zhang on "The Shepherd's Class," understood Zhang's cinematography skills. He was not only talented but also a true disciple of Wei Ming, having mastered many new techniques. He thought that if the two of them worked together, they might even be shortlisted for Cannes.

Being nominated is a victory in itself. As for winning an award, Chen Kaige doesn't expect it. In his mind, the Cannes Film Festival is the highest hall of art films. He believes that the gap between Chinese films and world films is huge, and it may take another ten years for his generation of directors to catch up.

Ten years from now, I might get to experience the glory of the Palme d'Or!
"Keep going, it'll be there in half an hour," the driver said.

After getting off the car, they still had to walk for a while. The two carried gifts they had brought from Yanjing. Chen Kaige was quite generous; he had brought a lot of delicious food from the capital. Some of it was left for Zhang Yimou's wife and children, and the rest was given to his classmates in the "One and Eight" film crew.

The director of "One and Eight" is Zhang Junzhao, who was a classmate of Chen Kaige in directing class; the cinematographer Xiao Feng was a classmate of Zhang Yimou in cinematography class; and the art director He Qun was a classmate of the art director class.

We were all from the class of '78. If Zhang Yimou hadn't been taken away by Wu Tianming, he would have been assigned to the young Guangxi Film Studio, and he would definitely have had a part in this film.

"Kaige, do you think Director Wei will win an award at Cannes this time?" Zhang Yimou asked Chen Kaige after spitting out the sand in his mouth.

Chen Kaige wiped the dust off his sunglasses: "I think I should be able to win an award."

Zhang Yimou grinned: "You think so too, right!"

Chen Kaige analyzed, "Wei Ming is, after all, a writer with a certain influence internationally, and the film does have many merits, so he should be given an encouragement award."

"What kind of encouragement award is this?" Zhang Yimou asked, his neck stiff, clearly dissatisfied.

Chen Kaige shook his head mysteriously: "Old Zhang, you're still too narrow-minded. You don't know enough about foreign information. This year's Cannes Film Festival is full of masters. Even Talbot was there, as well as Scorsese for 'Taxi Driver,' Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura from Japan. There are more than one people who have won the Palme d'Or before. We all watched these films when we were in school. They are so profound. The lighting and the composition. As for 'The Shepherd's Class,' I think it was handled too sentimentally and lacked depth."

Zhang Yimou was somewhat dazed by what Chen Kaige said. Was it really true? But what in the world could be more profound than a person who desperately sought death ultimately choosing to live?
He thought that Teacher Wei should at least win a jury award. A film with such vitality should be able to impress at least one judge, right?

As the two chatted, they noticed a cluster of buildings rising from the ground not far away. This place was originally a military fortress during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and people lived here afterward. Now it was abandoned, leaving only a pile of uninhabitable earthen and wooden buildings.

Chen Kaige: "Zhenbeibao should be this place."

There was a middle-aged man wearing glasses ahead of them, and Zhang Yimou went up to strike up a conversation.

"Excuse me, are you from the Guangxi Film Studio?"

“Oh, no, no, I’m just a writer,” the other person pushed up his glasses and introduced himself, “My name is Zhang Xianliang, and I’m here to gather inspiration.”

Zhang Yimou: "Oh, I heard that you wrote 'Old Xing and the Dog'!"

Chen Kaige: "There are also 'Dragon's Decree' and 'Descendants of the River'."

Chen Kaige has a wide reading experience and knows Zhang Xianliang's works like the back of his hand. Although Lu Yao is the most outstanding writer in the Northwest Literary Circle now, Zhang Xianliang, who is far away in Yinchuan, is not inferior. Even though Wei Ming took away his most famous work, "The Herdsman", he is still the number one seed in Ningxia's literary scene.

So the three of them went in together to visit the film crew of "One and Eight".

"Since you two also make movies, what works do you have?" Zhang Xianliang asked.

Although Chen Kaige felt that "The Shepherd's Spring" was only worthy of an encouragement award, it did not stop him from being proud. He smiled and said, "You know the movie 'The Shepherd's Spring', right?"

"Of course! Winning four awards at the Cannes Film Festival, including the most prestigious Palme d'Or, has brought great glory to Chinese cinema and the Chinese people. I was reading that news on my way here, and I still feel excited!"

Zhang Xianliang spoke rapidly, his tone revealing undisguised envy. He couldn't direct, but if someone could bring his novel to such a high stage, he would have no regrets.

Seeing that Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou were both speechless with their mouths slightly open after hearing his words, and Chen Kaige's sunglasses were even slipping down a bit, Zhang Xianliang asked, "So? So what is the connection between this movie and you?"

Zhang Yimou straightened his back: "I am the cinematographer for 'The Shepherd's Class,' and this is the assistant director."

Zhang Xianliang's eyes lit up: "My apologies!"

He then became even more enthusiastic, planning to promote his novel to these two people so that it could be made into a movie and increase his fame.

Their arrival also brought the good news of "The Shepherd's Class" dominating Cannes, and Zhang Junzhao and others all regarded "The Shepherd's Class" as their goal to catch up with.

Actors like Chen Daoming, Tao Zeru, and Xie Yuan are even more envious of Li Baotian, probably because foreigners now recognize his old face.

That evening, in front of the only television set in Zhenbeibao, the crew members and visiting guests, including Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, watched the day's news. To their surprise, the television also featured news about "The Shepherd's Spring".

In addition to reiterating that "The Shepherd's Class" won the Palme d'Or, the highest prize at the world's most prestigious international film festival, Cannes, new content has been added.

Zhao Zhongxiang, in his magnetic voice, reported: "The film 'The Shepherd's Spring,' directed by writer Wei Ming, is very popular overseas. It sold its rights to five continents in one day, and we believe it will soon be available to people all over the world!"

This is a major victory for the overseas dissemination of Chinese films, greatly expanding China's influence in the world.

However, many people, including Zhang Xianliang, Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang, are more curious: since the global copyrights have been sold, how much money did they get for them?

~
Liu Xiaoqing doesn't care how much money "The Shepherd's Class" makes; she only cares about how much labor Gong Xue can earn for each ribbon-cutting ceremony.

So after arriving in Fuzhou, she went to see Gong Xue as soon as possible. She was nominated for the Hundred Flowers Award for her film "Deep in My Heart," adapted from Meng Weizai's original work. It was a film produced by Changchun Film Studio.

Gong Xue and Zhu Lin had just finished watching the news in their room. Hearing that "The Shepherd's Class" could be shown all over the world, they felt proud of the young man while also being a little envious of Pan Hong. "Haha, as expected, Gong and Zhu are inseparable. You two are definitely together." Liu Xiaoqing knocked on the door and came in.

The three chatted for a while about the arrogant Director Wei, and then Liu Xiaoqing steered the conversation to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"Money?" Gong Xue chuckled. "I don't have any money. That's a friend's factory. I'm just helping out voluntarily."

"Oh, I see," Liu Xiaoqing said, disappointed yet envious, "You even have overseas Chinese friends who own factories?!"

Gong Xue: "We met in Hong Kong."

Liu Xiaoqing suddenly made a bold guess, asking, "Is this friend a man or a woman?"

Gong Xue didn't catch the hidden meaning and replied, "She's a female boss, so she's like an elder."

Zhu Lin reacted quickly this time. She rolled her eyes at Liu Xiaoqing and then asked Gong Xue, "Xiao Xue, you didn't ask for money, so they must have offered you labor services, right? How much were they going to give you?"

Gong Xue seemed to understand now. She smiled slightly and said, "Oh, that elder offered HK$50,000, which is more than the other two Hong Kong stars. That's too much money. I definitely can't accept it."

Fifty thousand, and it's foreign exchange!
Liu Xiaoqing, who had previously aspired to be on par with Gong Xue, is now completely deflated; this is an astronomical figure.

Let alone 50,000, even if I dared to ask for 10,000, those bosses would probably suspect that I was trying to sell myself!
Ahhhh, when will I finally win both the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actress?!
Or maybe I'll be able to go to Hong Kong and meet a big boss someday!
Just as Zhu Lin was thinking of asking Liu Xiaoqing to leave, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, and Tang Guoqiang's voice could be faintly heard: "Welcome Director Wei to offer your guidance!"

Gong Xue and Zhu Lin immediately left Liu Xiaoqing behind and opened the door. Wei Ming had arrived!
When the three arrived in Fuzhou, it was almost lunchtime, so the staff from the Fuzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles who picked them up took them directly to Rongcheng Restaurant to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. They had prepared the meal in advance because they knew the departure time from Guangzhou.

After finishing their meal of famous Fujian dishes such as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Lychee Pork, Wei Ming and his two companions returned to the guesthouse, where they were immediately surrounded by Tang Guoqiang, Zhang Fengyi, and others.

Tang Guoqiang's shouting drew a crowd of people who had won both awards, forcing Deputy Director Bao to reveal the Palme d'Or trophy on the spot. However, he wouldn't let anyone touch it, as he didn't know if France would replace it if it got damaged.

Wei Ming saw his two older sisters from afar. Oh, they even know to avoid suspicion; neither of them got close.

However, everyone knew that Wei Ming and Gong Xue had collaborated several times, so after arranging the room, Wei Ming went straight to knock on the door.

He even wore two watches, one a gift from Sister Lin and the other from Sister Xue, on the same wrist, so that he could cover up the teeth marks left by Amin.

Having been away from Yanjing for half a month, and separated from Sister Xue for even longer, Wei Ming had long missed the wonderful times the three of them spent together.

Since there were so many people, Gong Xue didn't close the door after Wei Ming went in; it was left half-open. She didn't intend to do anything shady here, but as soon as she turned around, she saw Wei Ming and Zhu Lin kissing.

Gong Xue quickly slapped them apart, but then Wei Ming started bothering her again.

She quickly pointed to the door, which brought Wei Ming back to his senses, and he kept a distance of more than one meter from the two of them.

However, Wei Ming still pleaded, "Sister Xue, why don't you come back to Yanjing with us after the double awards are over?"

Gong Xue: "Well, I went back to both Beijing and Shanghai this time. I don't know when I'll be back next time. Oh, let me show you this."

She took out a set of keys and several photos from her bag.

"This is the house we bought after selling those paintings. My aunt helped us buy it. It's a good floor with good ventilation, facing north and south."

The house isn't very big, with a usable area of ​​about 100 square meters, and a layout of three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the location is good. It's located in Wan Chai District, very close to the Hung Hom Tunnel, and it's very convenient to drive to Kowloon and the New Territories.

Wei Ming: "Hmm, very good. Have you and your aunt moved in yet?"

Gong Xue said shyly, "How am I supposed to tell my mom?"

"Just say that Qingniao arranged it. Of course, if Auntie feels it's more convenient to stay with Aying, then she can stay with them."

Gong Xue nodded, but actually she preferred to live with Zhu Lin, which would be more convenient for Wei Ming to visit. She wanted to try living with them without anyone knowing them, and to challenge social ethics and morality without restraint.

Having lived in Hong Kong for a long time, she became somewhat lawless, but upon returning to the mainland, she reverted to her original attire, becoming well-behaved and cautious.

Zhu Lin also had something to say to Wei Ming. She took out a script and said, "Someone wants me to make a movie. I really like this story, and Xiaoxue said it's good too. Could you take a look at it for me?"

Wei Ming took it and read it: Human, Ghost, and Love.

He knew this film; it was Huang Shuqin's representative work. Huang Shuqin didn't have many works, but "Human, Ghost, and Love" and "Painting Soul" were both excellent works with female themes. In addition, there were two classic TV series, "Fortress Besieged" and "The Debt of Sin".

Some say that "Human, Ghost, and Love" is a female version of "Farewell My Concubine," sharing similarities in that both tell stories of opera and personal fate, but it falls short in quality, representing the difference between a classic and an excellent work.

Huang Shuqin is the daughter of a drama master and the apprentice of a film master, so she is certainly talented. However, Chen Kaige's talent surpasses hers, and "Farewell My Concubine" received support from the top film talents in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The investment was also on a completely different level, so it is not surprising that there is a significant difference in quality between the two.

"I think this project is worth taking; it's significantly better than the previous ones."

Zhu Lin laughed and said, "I think so too. Moreover, I have to practice Peking Opera, and it's a male role. This is quite a challenge for me."

She seems eager to try.

Wei Ming added, "You can ask director Huang Shuqin if she'd be willing to make this film a co-production."

"A co-production?"

Wei Ming: "Yes, just like 'The Shepherd's Class,' Hong Kong DreamWorks provides part or most of the funding, trying not to interfere or interfering with the creative process as little as possible, so as to raise the quality of the film to a higher level."

The reason why "The Shepherd's Class" won the award is that Wei Ming was willing to invest heavily, using the best film and the best orchestra. He was willing to spend no money for a single shot he liked, which is why "The Shepherd's Class" is excellent in every aspect without any shortcomings.

Wei Ming didn't expect to make much money from this investment, and he didn't care about losing money either. He just wanted to leave Sister Lin with another classic.

"Does this mean I have to pay for it myself again?" Zhu Lin asked somewhat embarrassedly.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "What's wrong with me paying? Maybe it's a good investment. Do you know how much I made from 'The Shepherd's Class'?"

"How much?" The two women leaned closer at the same time; they were actually curious after watching the news broadcast.

Wei Ming gestured with his palm.

Gong Xue: "Five hundred thousand?"

Zhu Lin: "Five hundred thousand US dollars!?"

Wei Ming: "Five million, US dollars."

~
After leaving their room, Wei Ming returned to his and Li Baotian's room.

Once back in China, one must respect the rules. Director Bao finally got a single room, but Wei Ming and Li Baotian's rooms were also quite large.

Li Baotian thought that Director Wei was so pleased with himself that he wouldn't be coming back to stay that night, and that he had been worrying too much.

The next day, after breakfast, Wei Ming met with several leaders and film industry veterans, including the editor-in-chief of Popular Cinema and the judges of the Golden Rooster Awards. He also gave a brief report on the awards he received at the Cannes Film Festival.

In the afternoon, everyone attending the awards ceremony was taken to the ceremony venue by bus. Local movie fans lined the roadside to welcome them. Although Wei Ming was not the main character today, judging from the cheers from both sides, he was being treated like the main character.

The first awards presented were the Hundred Flowers Awards, and this year, awards for Best Supporting Actor and Actress were added.

Jiang Lili won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet", while Tang Guoqiang won Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Long Road".

The Best Actor award went to Yan Shunkai for "The True Story of Ah Q," and the Best Actress award...

Wei Ming glanced at them. Sister Lin was the most impressive, with both of her roles being award favorites. Gong Xue had a low profile in "Love in the Brush," but she was still quite popular. Then there were Siqin Gaowa and Liu Xiaoqing.

The winner is "Zhu Lin's 'Du Shiniang', congratulations!"

Wei Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief. In his previous life, Pan Hong was also nominated for the same award for her roles in "Du Shiniang" and "Middle Age," but due to the split in votes, she ultimately lost to Hu Niu in "Rickshaw Boy."

But in this life, thanks to the successful marketing of Gong Xue in the south and Zhu Lin in the north, the two actresses' popularity surpassed that of other actresses of the same period. Even though the votes were split, "Du Shiniang" still received the most votes, and "Middle Age" received the second most votes. Zhu Lin won the Best Actress Award at the 6th Hundred Flowers Awards without any controversy!
The obvious regret of Liu Xiaoqing and Siqin Gaowa: if these two are participating, is there any chance for anyone else to win the Hundred Flowers Award?
Zhu Lin went on stage to accept the trophy and certificate, and then gave his acceptance speech to Gong Xue and Wei Ming in the audience.

She thanked the fans for their votes, thanked Changchun Film Studio for choosing her as the lead actress twice, thanked director Zhou Yu of "Du Shiniang", co-star Tong Ruimin, and thanked teacher Chen Rong for his recognition.

Finally, he thanked his good friend Gong Xue, saying, "Thank you for your encouragement all this time."

As for expressing gratitude to Wei Ming, Zhu Lin replied: "They're all in bed!"
The last award at the Hundred Flowers Awards was Best Feature Film, with nominees including "Middle Age", "Du Shiniang", "Rickshaw Boy", "The True Story of Ah Q" and "Xi'an Incident".

There was definitely one film with the highest number of votes, but three films won the award: "Middle Age", "Rickshaw Boy", and "The True Story of Ah Q".

After a short break, the Golden Rooster Awards will be presented.

The intervening period included artistic performances and Wei Ming's report speech on his Cannes trip.
(Today's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)