1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan played two songs and then stopped playing. Instead, he smiled and said a few words to Kevin and the others, and then returned to his seat.

After that, the performance in the bar continued, almost the same as before. The only difference was that from time to time, some eyes would turn to Zhou Yan and the others.

Ma Dongfang was particularly excited to see Zhou Yan come back. This kid really likes to be in the limelight, but it's a pity that he didn't find the opportunity today.

Before the performance was over, Zhou Yan took Ma Dongfang and the others and left early.

……

The next morning, Zhou Yan went to Phantom Company to look at the reshoots of "Springtime of the Cowherd" and the later films of "Sense and Sensibility".

All the concert footage has been developed. Zhou Yanzai looked at it carefully to make sure that there was nothing wrong with the footage and that it was sufficient.

He also listened to the audio track and had no problem with it either.

But Huo Jianqi was unsure and said to Zhou Yan, "How about we add some footage at the next concert, just in case?"

Hearing Huo Jianqi's words, Zhou Yan smiled, which was a typical insecurity.

Many new directors, and even experienced directors, have this problem. Even if the plan made in advance has been perfectly realized, they still feel that something may go wrong.

It's like when you go out, the door is obviously locked, but after walking for a while, you still have to go back to make sure it is locked.

Huo Jianqi had never been on his own before, so it was understandable that he was a little nervous.

"Old Huo." Zhou Yan patted Huo Jianqi on the shoulder, "When making a movie, the most important thing is efficiency. Even if there are some omissions, there is no big problem. Movies are not scientific experiments, and there will be no problem if there are a few mistakes. "

Huo Jianqi smiled unnaturally, "Director Zhou, you are a person who strives for excellence."

Zhou Yan's standards are very high when shooting. When he fails to meet the standards, he doesn't care about wasting money and time. He shoots over and over again every time until he meets his requirements.

So Huo Jianqi didn't quite understand what Zhou Yan said just now.

"As long as the plan is achieved, I won't bother with it anymore. If I still have to consider whether it can be more perfect after the plan is achieved, the movie will never be made."

Huo Jian nodded slightly. Zhou Yan was right. On the set, as long as the plan was achieved, usually Zhou Yan would not add any more tasks.

Speaking of which, Huo Jianqi really envies Zhou Yan's attitude towards movies, which makes people feel very relaxed.

When Huo Jian takes a picture of something by himself, he is always worried that it is not good here or there. After taking the picture, he is also concerned about what other people think of it, fearing that others will not like it.

But when Zhou Yan makes a movie, he seems to have no constraints at all, as if he doesn't care even if the movie fails.

Of course it's not that Zhou Yan doesn't care whether the movie is good or not, but he does have a peaceful mind. As long as the plan set in advance is completed, he won't have any psychological burden.

Huo Jianqi also studied why Zhou Yan had such a peaceful attitude, and finally concluded that the reason was that Zhou Yan was originally a musician, and making movies was a side job, so he had a condescending attitude.

"Okay, I understand. I will take the crew back to Yanjing tomorrow."

"Just take two or three people back to Yanjing and let them help you move your things. Let the rest of you stay in London for a few days. After all, it's not easy to come here."

Huo Jianqi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll announce the good news to them later."

Huo Jianqi was used to Zhou Yan's generosity. This kind of "eating and drinking with public funds" was really normal.

……

After exchanging a few words with Huo Jianqi, Zhou Yan went to watch the movie "Sense and Sensibility".

After arriving at the place, I found that many of the creative staff were there.

Director Ann Lee, two assistant directors, starring Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman.

Seeing Zhou Yan, An Li smiled and said, "You came just in time. We are preparing to return to the United States with the film tomorrow."

Colombia is very anxious. It is said that "Sense and Sensibility" will be released this year.

It is already mid-July, and with less than half a year left, the task is still quite heavy.

The post-production of "Sense and Sensibility" is not an easy task. After shooting so many shots, less than half may be left in the end, which requires the production staff to make choices.

Editing alone takes a lot of time.

"Are you all going back?" Zhou Yan asked.

Alan Rickman shook his head and said, "I'm going to stay here."

He and Emma Thompson are both British, but Emma Thompson is the screenwriter and should also make decisions on the film's post-editing, so she will follow them to the United States.

Zhou Yan nodded and said nothing more.

After that, he watched the film with An Li and the others. Although the formal editing work will not start until he returns to the United States, today they have already begun to discuss which shots should be kept and which shots should be discarded.

In fact, Zhou Yanlai was of no use, because they couldn't decide anything today. How the final soundtrack should be arranged still depends on the finished product.

Several creative staff will always have different opinions on the choice of lenses.

For example, one of the scenes was a kiss scene between Elinor and Edward. Both assistant directors felt that this scene could be kept, but Emma Thompson felt that it should be deleted.

After a long discussion, Emma Thompson revealed that she originally wrote the scene because she wanted to kiss Hugh Grant.

But now that she has watched the movie, she regrets it because she feels that the kiss scene is incompatible with the tone of the movie.

This made Zhou Yan sigh with emotion. Women still have advantages in this aspect. If a male director or screenwriter does this and says it bluntly, there is a high probability that he will be scolded.

After Zhou Yan chatted with them for a long time, An Li and the others had to go back to prepare for their return tomorrow, so they left directly without saying anything about having a meal together.

But when Zhou Yan was about to walk out of Phantom Company, Alan Rickman caught up with him.

"Y, do you have time to have a meal together?"

It happened to be dinner time, so Zhou Yan naturally didn't mind having a meal with Alan Rickman, so he smiled and said, "No problem, I'll treat you."

"No, no, no, you must give me a chance today to treat you to dinner. And in London, I know better than you what restaurants here are delicious."

Zhou Yan didn't show any pretense, nodded and said, "Thank you very much."

Before going to the restaurant, Zhou Yan was curious about where Alan Rickman would take him to eat, but when he arrived, he was a little dumbfounded.

Alan Rickman actually took him to a Chinese restaurant.

This Chinese restaurant is called "Red Panda", and I can't tell what kind of cuisine it is.

The style of the restaurant is similar to that in China. There are no private rooms, but the hall is divided into several sections, one of which has only a round table, which can be regarded as a semi-open private room.

The red wooden round table with a tempered glass turntable on it looks no different from a domestic restaurant.

Since it was Alan Rickman who invited him to dinner, the ordering was naturally left to him. He ordered several dishes from the menu. Except for dumplings and the like, Zhou Yan didn't quite understand the names of other dishes. These Chinese dishes The English names of the dishes are a bit strange.

When they were almost done, Alan Rickman asked Zhou Yan politely, "Y, is there anything you want to eat?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, just keep an eye on it."

After ordering, Alan Rickman said with a smile, "I have eaten at this Chinese restaurant many times. It is very good. I heard that their boss is from Sichuan Province and some of the dishes are spicier."

Zhou Yan didn't realize that this was a Sichuan restaurant. Just now he saw two customers outside with roast duck, grilled fish and Dongpo pork on their tables. The dishes here should be more complex.

After a while, the first dish came, which was roast duck. It seems that roast duck is still the signature dish of this restaurant.

Alan Rickman very politely gave Zhou Yan some with a spoon, and thoughtfully told him that the roast duck must be eaten with dipping sauce.

Zhou Yan took a bite and found it was slightly sweet. The sweetness was similar to that of Jinling roast duck. Zhou Yan could totally accept it.

After the roast duck, grilled fish was served.

This grilled fish looks like the style from Sichuan Province. It is piled with red peppers, but it doesn't taste too spicy. It has more of the aroma of red oil peppers and the fish is quite fresh.

Then I added red oil noodles and vermicelli in a clay pot, and they all tasted pretty good.

After eating here, Zhou Yan couldn't help feeling that the Chinese restaurants in London were much better than he imagined.

But the last dish made Zhou Yan a little dumbfounded.

There was nothing wrong with the food, but Zhou Yan didn't expect Alan Rickman to order it.

The last dish is green peppers mixed with preserved eggs. Judging from the color, it should be quite authentic.

Zhou Yan looked at the green peppers mixed with preserved eggs and asked Alan Rickman: "Have you ever eaten this?"

He asked this because he heard that the most unacceptable Chinese dish among British people is preserved eggs.

Alan Rickman nodded: "I ate it, and I threw up the first time."

"What about the second time?"

"I almost vomited the second time, but I didn't. Then I ate it a few times and finally got used to it. Now when I eat it again, it feels quite delicious. I can't explain why, but it just feels like a special kind of delicious food. ”

After listening to Alan Rickman's words, Zhou Yan was stunned for two seconds.

This guy is so cruel. He actually ate the food that made him vomit so many times that he got used to it.

Putting it into perspective, if Zhou Yan eats something and is not used to it, it will be difficult for him to try it again later.

Seeing the doubts in Zhou Yan's eyes, Alan Rickman explained, "I believe that when you encounter difficulties, you need to overcome them. My attempts also gave me a delicious treat."

Alan Rickman's logic confused Zhou Yan. Of course it is very good to overcome difficulties when encountering difficulties, but the problem is that this is just an ordinary food. Even if you can't feel its beauty, there are still things in this world. There are many other delicacies you can enjoy, so there is no need to stick to this one dish.

However, although Zhou Yan did not understand, he still maintained his respect.

A person like Alan Rickman is very scary. Even if he will fail many times, he will definitely succeed in some aspects.

After finishing the meal, Alan Rickman asked Zhou Yan, "What do you think of the taste of this restaurant?"

"It's very good, I'm very surprised." Zhou Yan also praised it. This restaurant can only be described as an ordinary restaurant in China, but in London, it is definitely a super authentic Chinese restaurant.

Hearing Zhou Yan's praise, Alan Rickman was very satisfied. He picked up the cup and took a sip of water, and then said, "Actually, I'm looking for you because I want your help with something."

"Looking for my help?"

"Well, actually, I had this idea when I first met you in Plymouth, but I never found the right opportunity to tell you. Now that the filming of the movie is over, you probably won't be here for too long. If I don’t say it now, I’m afraid I’ll miss it.”

Alan Rickman's preparation was long, and Zhou Yan didn't speak, waiting for him to get to the point.

"I mentioned to you before that I made a play called "The Winter Visitor". I am quite satisfied with this play, but I am still a little regretful about the score. The score is my own At first I thought it would be fine if I made it myself, but after I finished it and looked at your work, I felt there was still a gap.”

"So, you want me to compose the soundtrack for your play?" Zhou Yan asked.

Alan Rickman nodded, then shook his head, "Actually, I'm planning to adapt this play into a movie."

At this point, Zhou Yan understood that Alan Rickman wanted him to score his movie.

Now Zhou Yan has set up a studio and has recruited Li Tao and others, so when a job comes to him, Zhou Yan will not refuse it immediately.

Moreover, Zhou Yan also values ​​​​jobs abroad, not for any other reason, mainly because of the money.

There is a high probability that the production cost of Alan Rickman's movie will not be very high, but even if it is lower, it should still be higher than the domestic salary.

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "I may need to read the script first."

"Actually, I haven't written the movie script yet. I can show you the drama script first."

Zhou Yan was a little surprised. He didn't even write the script, but this guy started thinking about the soundtrack. This was a bit impatient.

But Zhou Yan doesn't care so much. As long as the script is good and the salary is enough, he is willing to take it.

"Okay, let me read the script of the drama first."

"Do you have time in the afternoon? Let's watch it in the afternoon."

"can."

It can be seen that Alan Rickman is indeed in a hurry.

With Zhou Yan's consent, Alan Rickman quickly went to buy the order, and then took Zhou Yan to his apartment in London, where Zhou Yan saw the literary script of "The Winter Visitor".

Zhou Yan just read the script for a while and couldn't help but look up at Alan Rickman.

This script is written like poetry, the pace is very slow, and the story has no main line. Although there are conflicts between the characters, they are not particularly prominent.

The story is very simple, mainly telling the story of eight people in one day.

The heroine is a photographer who has just been widowed. Because of the pain of losing her husband, she wanted to escape the UK and immigrate to Australia, but her mother firmly disagreed, so she came to find her despite the heavy snow.

The mother is full of love for her daughter, but also full of control.

She came here to find her daughter just to ask if her daughter would immigrate.

The heroine also has a son who is in middle school. He met a neighbor girl who had been observing him and took the girl home. Every time they were about to do something, the son would see a picture of his father.

Two idle old ladies kept bickering...

There were also two little boys who skipped school and built a fire at the beach, complaining about school and their parents...

This story seems scattered, but it is very interesting to read. These four pairs of characters seem to include many stages in life and the relationships between people.

The creator is not eager to tell readers some big truths. He just tells such a simple story. As for what readers can experience, he doesn't care.

After reading this script, Zhou Yan had a different understanding of Alan Rickman. This man is very talented, especially in literature.

If this literary script is changed into a novel and published, it might really win some awards. To be honest, Zhou Yan is not very fond of some of the novels on the market in London. On the contrary, this "Winter Visitor" script can attract he.

In the current British literary world, minority and female writers have suddenly emerged. Some people say that realism and experimentalism in British literature now overlap and develop in a diversified way. In fact, this is just a cover-up.

There is nothing noteworthy about British literature at the end of the twentieth century.

Especially compared to neighboring France, there is really nothing to see in the British literary scene today.

"How about it?"

Seeing Zhou Yan finish reading the last page of the script, Alan Rickman asked with hope.

"I think it's great. Have you found anyone to invest in this movie?"

"Not yet, but the main actors have basically been decided."

"Oh, really?"

"Well, the heroine and her mother, I found Emma and her mother."

Emma Thompson's mother is also an actress. Zhou Yan knew this, but he was not familiar with it.

But it’s really good that Emma Thompson can participate.

There are only a few roles in this movie, but once the two mother and daughter are finalized, they are basically the same.

Zhou Yan nodded, "Okay, I'm quite interested in your script, but it's a bit too early to talk about it now. Let's wait until you officially start filming, and then we can have a good discussion."

Alan Rickman was very happy to hear that Zhou Yan was interested in the script. "I will start preparations after a while. If nothing happens, we can start shooting next winter. In fact, we can shoot earlier, but we have to wait until winter." ”

Of course Zhou Yan understands this. The movie is called "Winter Visitor" and the story is set in winter, so of course it had to be shot in winter.

"Have you ever thought about turning this literary script into a novel and publishing it?" Zhou Yan asked.

Alan Rickman shook his head, "I don't have this idea."

"What a pity." Zhou Yan was slightly regretful.

Alan Rickman smiled and said, "I know, you are still a writer."

"I don't want to be a writer. I just wrote a few novels."

""Tree Hole" is very good, I like it very much."

"Have you seen "Tree Hole"?" Zhou Yan asked in surprise.

"I've only seen movies."

This is understandable. After all, "Tree Hole" also won the Special Jury Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and it was normal for Alan Rickman to have seen it.

"The plot of the movie is not particularly big compared to the novel. The overall plot is similar."

"This is conceivable. After all, you are a screenwriter yourself. Do you know anything about British literature?"

"Of course, British literature is also an important part of the history of world literature. There are many outstanding works, such as "Sense and Sensibility" we just filmed."

"Do you have any favorite works? Shakespeare, Dickens, Byron, or George Orwell?" Although Zhou Yan mentioned "Sense and Sensibility", Alan Rickman did not put Jane Austen on the list. Go in.

Zhou Yan shook his head, "One of my favorite works is "Lord of the Flies"."

"Oh, so you like William Golding."

"Not really, I just like the novel "Lord of the Flies"."

Throughout the history of British literature, Zhou Yan's favorite work is "Lord of the Flies". This is the only British novel that Zhou Yan stayed in for at least an hour after reading it.

As for William Golding's other works, Zhou Yan did not have such a feeling.

When Alan Rickman heard that Zhou Yan liked "Lord of the Flies", he suddenly figured out something. Some of the symbols in "Tree Hole" really had the shadow of "Lord of the Flies".

When watching the movie, he didn't think about "Lord of the Flies". Now when Zhou Yan mentioned this book, he had such an idea.

It's a pity that the novel "Tree Hole" does not have an English version, otherwise he would really like to read it.

……

Zhou Yan chatted with Alan Rickman all afternoon. The two talked about a lot, including literature, music, and drama. Alan Rickman was knowledgeable and had a wide range of interests, and he had many topics with Zhou Yan.

Alan Rickman wanted to invite Zhou Yan to dinner in the evening, but Zhou Yan declined.

In the next few days, Zhou Yan led the orchestra to rehearse seriously and prepare for the second concert.

On Saturday night, the second concert came as scheduled.

This concert was still held at Kadugan Concert Hall, and the tickets were sold out early in the morning. However, this concert was somewhat different from the last time. In addition to ordinary audiences, there were also many reporters present.

After the last concert, the media's attention to Zhou Yan's concert suddenly increased a lot.

Therefore, when Zhou Yan appeared at the entrance of the concert hall with the orchestra, he was stopped by some reporters.

Originally, the concert did not arrange interviews with reporters, but Zhou Yan saw that it was still early, so he stayed outside and accepted the interview.

They all asked simple questions. The main reason was that these reporters didn't know Zhou Yan very well. They wanted to ask some explosive questions, but they couldn't. At most, they were only concerned about the remake of "The Sixth Sense".

The interview lasted for about ten minutes. Zhou Yan waved goodbye to the reporters and turned into the concert hall.

Today neither the Stings nor Ann Lee came, only Alan Rickman came, so no one came to look for him backstage.

However, Zhang Youan came over and specifically asked, "Are there any new songs for the encore today?"

Zhou Yan didn't know why Zhang Youan asked, but he still replied, "Well, there is a song "Young and Beautiful", which is the soundtrack of "Sense and Emotion". Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing, I'm just asking casually. After all, two concerts are held back to back, so there must be something new."

After saying that, Zhang Youan went out. (End of chapter)