1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Chapter 98 The sad twelfth lunar month 28 (two in one)

Zhou Yan originally thought that his family would go to the cinema to watch a movie together.

But when he arrived at the entrance of the cinema, he found that there were many people he knew, including relatives of the Zhou family and neighbors.

After asking Zhou Yu, I found out that he had booked a show directly and also invited some relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates.

Zhou Yu booked the theater, which could seat four to five hundred people, but when Zhou Yan entered, he found that the seats were basically full.

"Brother, didn't you call all your colleagues here?" Zhou Yan asked Zhou Yu in a low voice.

Zhou Yu said with a smile, "How is that possible? We have a lot of friends in our family. It's not like you don't know that my dad's colleagues, third uncle's colleagues, Qianqian's classmates... neighbors, what's this person's name?" It’s not that Shengli’s side is not easy to deal with, I want to take care of that side.”

Zhou Yan twitched his lips, the Shengli side was really big, it could seat 2000 people.

In fact, it doesn't cost much to invite so many people to watch a movie. The price of movie tickets in China is not open now, and they generally cost a few cents a ticket. For example, the "Heavenly Reply" that Zhou Yan and the others watched today was priced at seven cents.

The ticket price is low, and in exchange most people can afford to watch movies, so the number of moviegoers has been very high in recent years. It is said that last year's "Jiao Yulu" had a box office of [-] million, while the average ticket price was only [-] cents.

Calculating this, the number of moviegoers exceeded [-] million.

Nowadays, most units and schools will organize movies to watch, especially movies like "Jiao Yulu". Most schools will organize students to watch movies. Many people watch it once at school and work, and then again after returning home. The number of moviegoers is natural. You can go up there.

However, low ticket prices are not very friendly to domestic movie studios. Not every movie can be as popular as "Jiao Yulu", and most movies have low box office. As a result, the movie studios' income is too low, and it is very difficult. It’s difficult to make new films.

The higher authorities are also aware of this problem and are now preparing an opening policy. When the policy is fully liberalized, ticket prices will rise rapidly.

……

Gu Fangfang and Zhou Qian were sitting near the front. Before the movie started, she turned her head from time to time to look in the back where Zhou Yan was sitting.

Ever since she found out that the actor who played Chen Feipu was Zhou Qian's third brother, Gu Fangfang had always wanted to take a look at Zhou Qian's third brother, and today she finally got to see him in person.

Zhou Yan in real life is a little darker than in the movie, and he seems to be a little stronger, but he is still very handsome.

Gu Fangfang also lamented that the genes of the Zhou family are really good, and no one is ugly from top to bottom. Zhou Qian is also pursued by many boys in school.Zhou Qian's eldest brother Zhou Yu, although Gu Fangfang didn't have a good impression of him, did not deny that he was good-looking.

Seeing that Gu Fangfang kept turning her head, Zhou Qian tugged on her arm and said, "Fangfang, stop looking at her, your eyes will fall off if you look at her again."

She tugged on Zhou Qian's hand and said, "Let me watch it for a while before the movie starts. You see it at home every day, so of course it's not rare, but I have a rare opportunity."

Zhou Qian couldn't help pouting and ignored her.

But Gu Fangfang quickly turned around.

"Why don't you watch it?" Zhou Qian asked.

Gu Fangfang rolled her eyes, "I saw someone who affected the picture."

"The person who influenced the picture?"

Zhou Qian turned to look in the direction of her third brother in confusion, and saw Zhou Yu, the eldest brother next to him, looking over. She immediately understood that the person Gu Fangfang mentioned who affected the scene was her eldest brother.

"Fangfang, you are prejudiced against my elder brother..."

Zhou Qian wanted to say something nice to her eldest brother, but found that her confidence was a bit lacking. Their eldest brother was good at everything, except that he liked to joke and tease girls.

In fact, Zhou Qian has never understood why the eldest brother entered the system and the second brother went into business. In her opinion, the second brother is more calm and seems to be more suitable for entering the system, while the eldest brother is smoother and more suitable for business.

But now both of them are doing well in their respective fields. The second brother's business is getting better and better, and the eldest brother is also getting things done in the unit.

A few minutes later, the movie started. There were some discussions in the theater, but now they all stopped, and everyone started watching the movie seriously.

At the beginning of the movie, there is a scene of a kite flying in the sky. At this time, a piece of dreamlike, light and wonderful music slowly sounds as the kite flutters in the sky.

The combination of music and pictures makes people feel very relaxed and comfortable, as if their mood is flying with the kite.

Because Zhou Qian did not tell Gu Fangfang that Zhou Yan served as the soundtrack director in this movie. He only said that their family would reserve a theater to watch a movie today and asked her to come with them.

So Gu Fangfang only thought that this piece of music was very nice and didn't think much about it.

Normally, Gu Fangfang doesn't pay much attention to the soundtrack in the movie, but the soundtrack just now is not only nice, but also very special. It sounds very different from the soundtracks of other movies, melodious and trendy.

Gu Fangfang soon discovered that there was more to the special soundtrack.

There are many places where the soundtrack is used in this movie. In this regard, it is very different from most domestic movies. In many domestic movies, there are not many places where the soundtrack appears.

In many movies, the soundtrack used cannot even match the most basic emotions and scenes, let alone the rhythm of the music and the rhythm of the shots.

But this movie was different. When she was a third of the way through the movie, Gu Fangfang discovered that there were many places where the soundtrack appeared. Nowhere was the soundtrack repeated, and the rhythm of the music matched the camera very well.

Halfway through the movie, two children were playing and chasing each other on the road. The brisk music played at this time directly brought the cheerful atmosphere to the top.

This song is so contagious that people can't help but want to move along with the rhythm, as if it's not the two children running in the movie, but her.

But from this point on, the plot of the movie suddenly began to change, and Grandpa's health became worse and worse.

"No……"

Gu Fangfang couldn't help but clenched her fists, she was so afraid of the tragedy in the end.

But no matter how she shouted in her heart, grandpa couldn't hold on in the end.

When her grandfather passed away, Gu Fangfang's heart was broken when she saw Chenchen crying heartbreakingly. In the darkness, she heard someone sobbing softly around her.

Although Gu Fangfang didn't cry, she understood those who cried too well. The first half of the movie depicted the love between grandfather and grandson and their lives so beautifully. When the light song just sounded, Gu Fangfang even felt like " It just feels like the story ends here."

Yes, if the story could stop at that piece of music, all the good things would be left behind.

At the end of the movie, Chenchen takes his good friends to fly a kite. He wants to send his grandfather’s birthday card to his grandfather by flying a kite. This is what his grandfather taught him before. Letters to the deceased can be sent by flying a kite. Go to heaven.

When the kite was sent into the sky, a piece of sad music played, and at this time, the originally cloudy sky suddenly started to rain.

The strings of the kite were untied and drifted in the rain to the music.

Gu Fangfang, who had held back crying just now, finally couldn't hold back anymore. Her tear ducts seemed to have opened and tears kept flowing down.

Gu Fangfang recalled that at the beginning of the film, it was the same scene of flying a kite, but the soundtrack was different on a sunny day and on a rainy day.

She seemed to understand at this time why the soundtrack at the beginning sounded like a dream, as if all the beauty before was just a dream, and finally she woke up and it started to rain.

It wasn't just her, there was a lot of people crying in the whole cinema, and sobs could be heard one after another.

Zhou Yan's two aunts kept wiping their tears and noses, and Zhao Lan complained in a low voice, "It's all Xiao Yan's last song. I couldn't bear it."

Many people had the same thoughts as Zhao Lan. They could hold it back originally, but the last song was like a sharp knife that penetrated their ears and cut hard into their hearts.

Zhou Yu, who usually loves to joke, also had red eyes at this moment. He looked at Zhou Yan next to him and lamented, "Third brother, this last piece of music is so uncomfortable to listen to. What is this piece of music called?"

"Kite."

"If you have a tape, you must listen to it when you go back... There are other soundtracks, especially the cheerful one in the middle. There must be an antidote within ten steps. That song is my antidote."

"You're talking about "Wind"."

"That's a good name."

When Gu Fangfang was covering her face and crying, she suddenly heard someone applauding. Then the applause in the theater became louder and louder. She removed her palms and looked around. Just when she thought everyone was here for the excitement of the movie. While applauding, Zhou Qian pointed to the big screen, "Fangfang, look."

Gu Fangfang looked in the direction of Zhou Qian's finger and saw it written clearly on the big screen——

"Music Director: Zhou Yan"

She looked at the screen in surprise, then looked at Zhou Qian in surprise, "Did your third brother compose the music for this movie?"

Zhou Qian also wiped away her tears and showed a proud smile, "Otherwise, why do you think we would book a movie theater?"

……

The 28th of the twelfth lunar month was originally a day to happily prepare for the New Year, but many people across the country shed tears in movie theaters.

After watching the movie, they both regretted and felt happy.

I regret that I should not have come to watch such a sad and tearful movie years ago, but at the same time I am glad that I did not miss a good movie.

In fact, the movie is not only sad, but also has many other touching parts. The early scenes of the grandfather and grandson together also gave the audience a lot of joy.

Especially when the brisk soundtrack played in the middle, it felt really beautiful. The song had a simple and cheerful rhythm, and it was immediately imprinted on the audience's mind.

Many people sang "Wind" on the way back after watching the movie.

……

When he got home that night, Zhou Yan received a call from Wang Junzheng.

As soon as the phone was picked up, Zhou Yan heard Wang Jun say from the other side, "Zhou Yan, we succeeded."

Although the sound was somewhat distorted when transmitted through the phone, Zhou Yan could still clearly feel Wang Junzheng's excitement at this moment.

Zhou Yan was also very happy to hear Wang Junzheng say this. Wang Jun really took himself as the soundtrack director to heart, and everything he had done before was worthwhile.

"Congratulations, Sister Wang." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Congratulations to us... You know, today our factory received several calls asking what the soundtrack of this movie was, which made Xiao Yuan on duty very anxious. He originally thought that he would have some leisure time during the holiday. "

Zhou Yan laughed, "Then I will say sorry to Lao Yuan later."

"I've already told you, haha, when we come back after the New Year, we will have a meal together and treat it as a celebration banquet."

"Isn't the box office out yet?"

"I don't care about the box office anymore. For me, this movie has been successful."

In fact, Wang Junzheng already thought so when the movie was first cut, but she only said this after seeing many viewers in the cinema crying for the movie.

At least, this movie was made without her being moved by herself. It can really impress the general audience.

While watching it in the cinema, Wang Junzheng felt even more lucky that she could find Zhou Yan as the soundtrack director. Every time the music came out, she could feel the emotions of the audience in the cinema being aroused.

"Well, let's go to Yanjing after the New Year and let's celebrate."

Then Zhou Yan and Wang Junzheng chatted for a while and then hung up the phone.

When he finished washing and was about to go to bed, his pager rang again, and it turned out to be from Xu Feng.

"Congratulations on the great movie Seo Feng"

The message was very short. Zhou Yan smiled and did not call Xu Feng back because it was getting late and Xu Feng didn't let him call back.

……

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Yan's two aunts went back to their parents' home to pay New Year greetings. Zhou Yan stayed at his grandparents' house all day.

Every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year, it is the day when the Zhou family gathers together most. On this day, they will not visit any relatives, and the whole family will spend it at home.

After a lively day, Zhou Yan returned to his home in the evening.

He had just arrived at the door of his house and was taking out his keys to open the door when the pager in his pocket rang.

Taking out the pager and seeing the message on it, Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows and a smile bloomed on his face.

This message was sent by Xu Feng. The message was very short, only a few words.

"Winner and quick call back"

Zhou Yan quickly opened the door, quickly ran to the phone, and dialed Xu Feng.

As soon as the call was connected, Zhou Yan couldn't wait to ask, "Sister Feng, did "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" win the award?"

"Haha, otherwise, which other movie would win? I just got the news that the film festival's winners list was announced, and "The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly" won the International Competition Jury Special Award."

The Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival has several awards, divided into international competition units and domestic competition units.

Zhou Yan is Chinese, and of course he is participating in the international competition unit. The biggest award in the international competition unit should be the official grand prize of the film festival, and the special jury award should be the award ranked behind the official grand prize of the film festival.

But Zhou Yan didn't care. The difference between Clermont-Ferrand's official grand prize and the jury's special prize was actually only a thousand dollars in prize money, but the gold content was not much different.

Winning the Special Jury Award has already met their expectations.

"The special jury prize is four thousand dollars, right?"

Xu Feng laughed and said, "Don't worry, the bonus won't swallow you up. In addition to the [-] US dollars officially given to you by the film festival, I will give you another [-] US dollars. Are you satisfied?"

"It's not bad." Zhou Yan smiled, "How was the film's sales?"

"It's not bad. There are several companies in talks. They are obviously very interested in the two original tracks that appear in the short film. We can consider making a movie soundtrack in the future."

“It’s just two original songs, so it’s not that interesting to make an original audio tape.”

"Then make your solo album. Put the soundtrack from "Heaven Replies" and other songs you wrote to make it into an album."

"Well, that's fine."

"Indeed, it is possible, but there is no hurry in advance. We are now going to start the promotion of the feature film. After Director Hou returns to China, we will have a good chat. When will you go to Yanjing?"

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "If nothing else happens, I should go when school starts."

In fact, Zhou Yan was waiting for Tsui Hark's call. Tsui Hark told him years ago that he would come to the mainland in February. It is already February. If Tsui Hark arrives in the mainland, Zhou Yan will leave early.

Xu Feng smiled and said, "Okay, I will go to Yanjing in a while. The filming of "Farewell My Concubine" is about to start. I have to go and see it."

Hearing Xu Feng mention "Farewell My Concubine", Zhou Yan remembered that he actually had quite a lot going on since the beginning of the new year.

"Well, let's meet in Yanjing."

……

Zhou Yan made an appointment with Xu Feng to meet in Yanjing, but what he didn't expect was that Xu Hark contacted him three days later.

Tsui Hark was in Shanghai at this time. He knew that Zhou Yan's family was in Jinling, so he asked Zhou Yan if he could go to Shanghai Film Studio.

The movie "Green Snake" is under the name of Shanghai Studio, so Tsui Hark made an appointment to meet there. Moreover, Tsui Hark knew that Zhou Yan's family lived in Jinling, and it was more convenient to go to Shanghai. There was no need to go to Yanjing to meet. .

Zhou Yan also knew that it was best for him to go to Shanghai, because after meeting Tsui Hark, he could go directly from Shanghai to Yanjing.

The next day, Zhou Yan packed his luggage and headed to Shanghai.

After Zhou Yan arrived in Shanghai, Xu Keren did not arrive at the station, but sent someone to pick him up.

A young man came and kept explaining to Zhou Yan why Director Tsui Hark didn't come.

Zhou Yan himself didn't care, he didn't care whether Tsui Hark came to pick him up in person.

They met in the conference room of Shanghai Studio. When he saw Tsui Hark for the first time, Zhou Yan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows because the Tsui Hark in front of him looked so tough.

Tsui Hark has a beard on his lips and chin, and his hair is neither long nor short, slightly curly. It looks like a bunch of weeds that have not been taken care of for a long time. He is relatively thin and has strong facial lines. The key is his Those eyes looked very murderous.

Later, it was rumored on the Internet that Tsui Hark had killed someone, which was also related to his appearance. However, Tsui Hark's later appearance was obviously much softer than now.

Tsui Hark, who had a murderous look in his eyes, smiled as soon as he saw Zhou Yan, and shook hands with Zhou Yan very warmly, "Hello, Zhou Yan, thank you for making this trip."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Director Xu is also working hard. He ran to the mainland during the first month of the year."

"I've been running around all year round and I'm used to it." As he spoke, Tsui Hark led Zhou Yan to the sofa and said, "Please sit down."

Zhou Yan nodded, sat down, and then cut to the chase with Tsui Hark, "Director Xu, would it be convenient for me to read the script now?"

Tsui Hark didn't expect Zhou Yan to get to the point so quickly. He was slightly stunned, and then asked the young man who picked up Zhou Yan to get a copy of the script.

Zhou Yan took the script and started reading it without saying anything else.

After he arrived in Shanghai, he was taken directly to the studio. He didn't even have time to put his luggage. Of course, he didn't want to waste time chatting with Tsui Hark.

Zhou Yan had already seen the movie "Green Snake", so he read the script very quickly.

However, the script he is holding now is probably not the final script, because the story in it is still different from the finished film "Green Snake" in many ways.

Especially for the role of Xu Xian, in the script written by Zhou Yan, Xu Xian behaved even worse and was less responsible.

In the finished film, although Xu Xian is cowardly and scumbag, he still shows some kindness, but these are not shown in the script.

When Zhou Yan came here, he was still thinking about whether he could discuss with Tsui Hark to change the role of Xu Xian. Now that he saw the script, he no longer had this idea.

Even if this thing is changed, at most it can be changed to the one in the movie, unless it is completely subverted.

While Zhou Yan was reading the script, Tsui Hark had been observing Zhou Yan.

Tsui Hark has learned more about Zhou Yan during this time. He learned from Leslie Cheung that Zhou Yan is also a composer, so yesterday he went to the local cinema in Shanghai to watch the movie "Reply from Heaven" scored by Zhou Yan.

In the cinema, he was amazed by the level of Zhou Yan's score. The score for this movie was completely at the level of a master. It was hard to believe that it was composed by a 21-year-old student. Zhou Yan was simply a genius in scoring.

The last composer to give Tsui Hark this feeling was Huang Zhan.

Tsui Hark is also satisfied with Zhou Yan's appearance. He seems to be a bit stronger than in "Raise the Red Lantern", but this is more in line with Tsui Hark's standards.

Tsui Hark doesn't like the actors he uses to be too thin. It's best if the actor has a bit of chivalry. Even though the role of Xu Xian doesn't require such a temperament, this is his preference.

Zhou Yan quickly read the script and then said thoughtfully, "Director Xu, the role of Xu Xian may not be suitable for me."

Tsui Hark himself also knew that the character of Xu Xian was a bit unlikable, so he smiled and said, "Actually, I have been discussing with Li Bihua recently to slightly change the design of Xu Xian. This character is very challenging, he is indeed very cowardly. , is also a heartless man, but deep down in his heart, he is still very kind. In fact, Xu Xian is an ordinary person, and many ordinary people should behave similarly to him when facing the situations he faces. "

Zhou Yan shook his head. He didn't want to play an "ordinary person" like Xu Xian.

After flipping through the script, he asked, "Director Xu, have the other actors been decided?"

Tsui Hark shook his head, "Not yet."

When he heard that the other roles were undecided, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I think Fahai is pretty good."

(End of this chapter)