Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 431 The Art Factory's Predicament
The Second Research Institute's meeting mainly focused on the development of the cultural industry. Xia Yan was not only the director of the research institute but also the primary leader of the Ministry of Culture responsible for film work.

At the meeting, Liu Peiran from the August First Film Studio and Wang Yang from the Beijing Film Studio spoke eloquently, as the Institute of Literature and Art provided them with a platform for frank communication with Xia Yan.

Wang Yang loudly proclaimed that for the film industry to develop, the film market must first be revitalized, the enthusiasm of film studios for creation must be increased, and in short, more money should be allocated to film studios.

"Film studios need money to upgrade equipment and learn advanced shooting techniques, but the key problem is that our film studios don't have that much money right now. For the cultural industry to grow, high-quality films are the core. Without high-quality films, our film and television market will shrink sooner or later."

How do we produce high-quality films? We must incentivize the artists and writers at the film studio and boost their creative enthusiasm.” After saying this, Wang Yang looked at the crowd, hoping for their feedback.

Xia Yan gently patted the table: "You two need to broaden your horizons. We brought you into the Institute of Literature and Art so that you would consider the entire cultural industry, not so that you would focus on your own small interests in the factory."

Xia Yan's words sound like you asking your boss for a raise, but your boss says you lack vision and should consider the bigger picture.

“Mr. Shen, film studios are an important part of the cultural industry; they are producers!” Wang Yang quickly said.

“Wang Yang, you guys shouldn’t just focus on how little money you have. You need to consider the whole system. China Film Studio is almost starving, while film studios have made a lot of money these past few years by raising the purchase price of film prints. If China Film Studio proposes to give more revenue to good films and no revenue to films that don’t sell, what will your film studio do?” Xia Yan asked.

Wang Yang and Liu Peiran looked at each other, almost blurting out, "That won't do."

Xia Yan pressed her advantage, saying, "Don't think that China Film Group is sharing the profits with you. Aren't you also eating from the same pot internally? Don't always see the lice on other people's heads; you should also look at your own."

Xia Yan's words silenced Wang Yang and Liu Peiran, who remained silent.

Liu Yimin stepped in first to smooth things over: "The ministry has overall considerations. After all, the money involves various departments and the livelihoods of countless people. Every reform cannot be done drastically; we must also proceed with caution."

Factory Director Wang and Factory Director Liu work on the front lines and are aware of the difficulties they face; they should offer more constructive suggestions.

After smoothing things over, Liu Yimin pointed out that the two should conduct more academic research from the perspective of the Institute of Literature and Art, implying that they should not simply regard the Institute of Literature and Art as a place for film studios to fight for profits.

After a brief chat, Liu Yimin talked to everyone again about movies centered around Chinese kung fu.

As expected of the director of the film studio, Wang Yang immediately presented a large amount of data to support his argument after Liu Yimin finished speaking.

"Since the beginning of this year, Hong Kong has produced films such as 'Shaolin Temple,' '14 Blades,' and 'The Cotton Robe,' a co-production with a mainland film studio. These films have not only achieved excellent results in Hong Kong but have also earned a lot of money in the global market. Therefore, I strongly agree with Yi Min's suggestion to create a large number of films using Chinese Kung Fu as a brand."

The martial arts films produced in Hong Kong are very different in style from those produced in mainland China. Strictly speaking, I think they didn't, or even intended to, recreate the true historical background in terms of visuals, costumes, and props. They just wanted to make a commercially viable film with a low budget.

We have a natural advantage in making this type of film. The mainland has thousands of years of history, so there is a wealth of material to draw upon. In addition, mainland film studios and directors have a deep passion for realism or cinematic realism. Combining these two factors can produce a large number of excellent films.

The timing and location were both favorable, but the support in terms of policy and script was insufficient.

When Wang Yang proposed policies to support film studios this time, Xia Yan did not interrupt but listened attentively.

"We make these kinds of films partly to meet the needs of domestic audiences, and partly to reach international audiences. Leaving aside the domestic revenue sharing, what about overseas? Furthermore, the export rights for these films are entirely controlled by China Film Group. Isn't that unreasonable?"

After Wang Yang finished speaking, Liu Peiran immediately followed up: "I think China Film Group can obtain export agency rights, but film studios should also have a certain say. In addition, the profit sharing ratio for film studios should be higher. Only when film studios make a good film and make money overseas to supplement domestic profits can they be motivated to create in this area."

The discussion finally got on track, and Liu Yimin's smile broadened considerably. He also offered several suggestions, including subsidizing such films, providing separate awards from the Ministry of Culture when they meet the standards for outstanding films, and sharing the same opinion as the two film studio directors regarding export issues.

Xia Yan smiled and said, "You guys compile your opinions into a document, and I'll let everyone take a good look and discuss it. Everyone's points were excellent. There's another point, which I think you haven't mentioned, and that's a good script. How can we do without a good script?"

We should encourage a group of screenwriters to try this kind of content. They don't necessarily have to imitate Hong Kong styles; we should also have our own.

During the break in the meeting, everyone ate fruit and snacks to replenish their energy, and the conversation became more relaxed.

"Mr. Shen, if our domestic cultural industry is to develop, the film industry must also develop! Foreign film technologies are developing by leaps and bounds. We don't have to catch up, but we have to take it one step at a time," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Yes, but we can't invest much money in this area right now," Xia Yan said helplessly.

"If it's not profitable, nobody's willing to do it; only state-owned factories can do it."

After discussing the movies, we started talking about animation, and Dai Tielang is the most qualified person to speak on the subject of animation.

Dai Tielang said, "As a director at an animation studio, and having worked there for half my life, I think the biggest problem for animation studios is insufficient funding. Animation production is more difficult than filmmaking. If a director takes his time and has a good script, it's not difficult to make three films."

But animated films are different; even a director and a team might not be able to produce one a year, and the costs remain prohibitively high.

After listening to Wang Yang and Liu Peiran complain for so long, Dai Tielang had been pondering for a long time that the film studio was incredibly wealthy compared to the art studio.

The Animation Film Studio is under the Shanghai Film Studio, but it has its own budget and production plan. Most of the Shanghai Film Studio's funds are definitely allocated to the production of feature films.

"Personally, I think there are advantages to the planned production model for animation, which is that we can focus on refining our work without worrying about market response. When we talk to our Western and Japanese counterparts, they are very worried about poor market response and tend to be short-sighted and eager to make money."

Xia Yan said, "The level of importance placed on animated film production and feature film production in China is different, after all, the audience size for the two types of films is different. But Yimin's words have made us all realize the importance of animated films. Children will grow up, and children are the future of the country."

Comrade Tielang, the first episode of your "Black Cat Detective" this year was really good. My granddaughter loved it. Could you tell me more about the specific difficulties you faced?

Dai Tielang talked about many things, but mainly two: first, the lack of good animated film scripts, and second, the lack of money.

"Most of the animated films we produce now are adapted from domestic myths or historical stories; there is still too little purely original animated content."

Xia Yan asked, "A lot of good fairy tales have emerged in China recently. Don't these have any potential for adaptation?"

"Director, these fairy tales are all short stories, and there's no way to adapt them into movies or TV series," Dai Tielang said with a wry smile.

Liu Yimin said, "This is indeed a problem. The main issue is that fairy tales are not the mainstream in the entire literary creation. There are only a few writers who can write good fairy tales, and most people think that fairy tales are just a few pages long and lack a systematic structure."

"Money is also a major problem," Dai Tielang complained again, lamenting his poverty.

Xia Yan said, "The ministry can give preferential treatment in this regard, but the factory also needs to find multiple ways to make money. Yi Min once mentioned that foreign animated films sell dolls and such, so we can think of more ways to do that. Your research institute is supposed to be doing research, researching how to make more money."

"Strive to achieve more research results in this area next year. Your good suggestions will be accepted by the higher-ups after discussion. We're not old-fashioned; we can analyze the pros and cons."

"There are still ways to make money from animation, but the country needs to protect copyright. If piracy is rampant, animation studios won't be able to make money either."

"Other factories can also make toys authorized by the art factory. Without the art factory's authorization fee, the cost is even lower, so who would want to buy the genuine product?" Liu Yimin said.

Xia Yan looked at Liu Yimin and smiled, "It seems you actually have some ideas. Why not organize them into a report or a paper? Take it slow and move forward, and solve problems as they arise."

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin summarized the content of the day and a half of meetings and formulated the key research directions for the next stage.

"Comrades, our institute's budget for next year has been released. The budget is similar to this year's, but the method of disbursement has changed. Each group's basic funding is 40,000 yuan, and the institute will retain 80,000 yuan as flexible funds, which will be used as needed. If foreign exchange is needed, please apply separately." Liu Yimin and Xia Yan had agreed that each group's situation was different, and they couldn't adopt an egalitarian approach. The 80,000 yuan retained by the institute would be allocated separately based on each group's actual situation.

After the meeting ended on the last day, Liu Yimin had a meal with the people from the Institute of Literature and personally saw Dai Tielang off on the train to Shanghai.

On the way, Dai Tielang shared many of his innermost thoughts with Liu Yimin.

"Seeing so many children in our country watching Japanese animation makes me feel uneasy."

“Our animation can definitely do it too,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Holding the sleeper ticket in his hand, Dai Tielang said apologetically, "Chief, could you please send me the fare directly next time so I can buy my own tickets?"

Liu Yimin was taken aback, and Dai Tielang quickly said, "If it doesn't work, then forget it."

"This way, we'll have a fixed standard for business travel, and everyone can arrange their travel time freely," Liu Yimin said.

Dai Tielang wanted to use the money he would have spent on a soft sleeper ticket to buy a hard sleeper or even a hard seat ticket, which would save him a lot of money.

"That's good, that's good." A hint of embarrassment flashed in Dai Tielang's eyes.

As Liu Yimin watched Dai Tielang's departing figure, he pondered how to improve the treatment of the people in the institute.

At the Film Bureau, Liu Yimin sat opposite Chen Bo, the director of the Film Bureau. Next to Liu Yimin sat Liu Peiran, Zhai Junjie, Yang Guangyuan, and Wei Bida, the director of the Guangxi Film Studio.

Wei Bida was originally a leader at the Guangxi Forestry College. In 78, he was directly transferred to the Guangxi Film Studio as its director. With his support, young directors like Zhang Yimou had the opportunity to grow.

After seeing the script in Guangxi Province, Wei Bida hurriedly boarded a train to Yanjing, knowing that the Film Bureau and the Ministry would definitely review the film script.

Today, we're all sitting here reviewing the script for "The Battle of Taierzhuang," and Xia Yan is listening in from the side.

Before Wei Bida arrived, he and Yang Guangyuan had already exchanged opinions. They both had only one piece of advice regarding the script: "It's well-written, film it as soon as possible!"

If the film bureau makes significant changes to the script, the two are prepared to argue their case.

Liu Peiran from the August First Film Studio didn't want to come because he felt uncomfortable sitting on the sidelines listening to the conversation, but the Film Bureau specifically requested his presence, so he had no choice but to come.

After Chen Bo nodded to Xia Yan, he addressed everyone and said, "Everyone has read Yi Min's script. What do you all think?"

Wei Bida said impatiently, "Director Chen, our film studio has no objections. Our only objection is that we can't start filming immediately. We believe that a script like this, once made, will definitely be a masterpiece, and its content will influence countless people."

"It not only successfully portrays Li Zongren as the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, but also doesn't forget the other participants in the war. Whether in terms of content, theme, or comprehensiveness, it's an excellent script. Comrade Yimin, thank you for your hard work," Yang Guangyuan quickly echoed.

Zhai Junjie and Liu Peiran then gave their opinions. Liu Peiran said, "Although it wasn't produced by our studio, we still want to say something fair: the script is excellent, and there's nothing that needs to be changed."

Seeing that their efforts seemed to be directed at him, Chen Bo said, "You guys, the bureau hasn't said anything, but it's like the bureau doesn't want to follow the script."

Upon hearing this, the others immediately smiled with relief. Chen Bo then went on to talk about his support for the scriptwriting, hoping everyone could understand the bureau's good intentions and try to see things from their perspective.

"Don't think that the bureau is holding a meeting just to change the script. The bureau had already held a meeting before you came, and there was a lot of debate, but I and Elder Shen suppressed it all."

Since everyone agrees on the script, let's discuss how to film it. It's good for both film studios to brainstorm; I believe that if this kind of subject matter is made into a film, Chinese people all over the world will pay attention, and even people from other countries will watch it.

Chen Bo shared his thoughts, and the others immediately started a conversation.

Zhai Junjie spoke first: "The script is realistic, so let's make a few more realistic ones."

"What is real?"

“The scenes should be realistic, and the characters should be realistic. We need to find actors who look similar to the real people. We need to find actors for all the main roles. What do you think?” Zhai Junjie looked around, hoping to find support on set.

It's normal for movies to cast actors who look similar, but if they all look similar, then it would take a very long time just to find the right actors.

Before anyone else could speak, Liu Yimin raised his hand to express his support: "I agree with Comrade Zhai Junjie's opinion. Director Wei, let's take our time filming the movie. Don't worry about it taking too long."

Wei Bida responded with a smile: "Comrade Yimin, it's not a matter of time. With so many similar actors, it's not easy to find one. Besides, looking similar isn't enough; acting skills also matter."

"Then let's find it. Where there's a will, there's a way," Liu Peiran said, enjoying the spectacle.

Weida gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's find them. We'll look through the files of actors from our country one by one, even if it takes several years!"

Vebida's words contained an element of spite, but they also demonstrated his firm support.

"Director Wei, I believe we can select them quickly. After all, the two factories have collaborated on countless actors. As long as we calm down and think it over, we can definitely come up with some, and then find the rest," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Xia Yan, who was standing next to him, said, "It takes ten years to hone a sword. Even if it takes several years to film, as long as it's good, it's good. If you film it well, the ministry can give you some subsidies."

Upon hearing this, Vebida's face lit up with joy.

The casting process for this film was very rigorous, but it didn't actually take that long to film. Filming began in 85, it was released in 86, and it won numerous awards in 87.

After leaving the Film Bureau, Xia Yan returned to the Ministry of Culture. Wei Bida, Yang Guangyuan, and Zhai Junjie talked with Liu Yimin for a long time. Zhai Junjie, representing the August First Film Studio, made significant contributions to the script, and Wei Bida decided that the film would be co-directed by Yang Guangyuan and Zhai Junjie.

Liu Yimin casually mentioned, "Comrade Zhai Junjie, I think you are more suitable to play General Wang Mingzhang. I think you two look somewhat alike."

Wei Bida and Yang Guangyuan made Zhai Junjie stand up straight. After looking Zhai Junjie up and down, they said, "There really is a bit of that. Comrade Yimin, you have a sharp eye."

"Really?" Zhai Junjie touched his cheek, wondering why he hadn't noticed.

"Old Zhai, find some time to give him a tryout. If he's good enough, you'll be the one!" Yang Guangyuan said.

When filming "The Battle of Taierzhuang", Wang Mingzhang was the last actor to be cast. After searching for a long time, everyone suddenly realized that the right person was actually the assistant director.

“Comrade Yimin, we’ll come see you again in a few days. I’ll be staying at the August First Film Studio for a while, so feel free to come to me if you need anything. We should definitely cooperate more in the future.” Wei Bida patted Liu Yimin’s chest with the back of his hand, his meaning clear.

Zhai Junjie joked, "Comrade Yimin's script won't end up in your hands; we've already split it with Beijing Film Studio."

(End of this chapter)