Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 565 Chapter 564 "A Chinese Odyssey"

In the Journey to the West film series, there is no script more suitable for Stephen Chow than this one.

Fang Minghua is also very familiar with this script.

I have watched the movie many times, and I can easily remember the touching plots and familiar classic lines.
What joy is there in life, and what pain is there in death.
My ideal man is a peerless hero. One day he will come back on a rainbow cloud to marry me. I guessed the beginning but I didn't guess the ending.
Including the script of the movie, Fang Minghua has never studied it seriously before. This is a classic postmodern film, and his teacher even deconstructed it in class when he was in college.

Collage-like film language, the disintegration of "sublime solemnity", and the use of Brecht's alienation effect
All of them reveal a strong sense of postmodernism.

In that case, write it.

Fang Minghua turned on the computer, called up WPS, and started writing quickly.

(Night, wilderness)
Guanyin: Sun Wukong, you beast, you promised the Tathagata Buddha to escort your master Tang Sanzang to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, but you actually colluded with the Bull Demon King to eat your master. Do you know that you have committed a heinous crime?
Sun Wukong: Stop talking nonsense! You chased me for three days and three nights. I didn't kill you because you are a woman. Don't think I am afraid of you!
Tang Seng: Wukong, how can you talk to Sister Guanyin like this?
Wukong: Wow! Stop making noise!
Tang Monk: You are scaring me again!
Guanyin: If you are not afraid of me, why did you hurt Fairy Zixia and take away her Moonlight Box? Don't you just want to avoid me? Wukong: Since you can't avoid me, then I will fight you to the death!
(Wukong throws the Moonlight Box casually, and it hits Tang Seng on the head.)
Tang Monk: Ah! Everyone, don’t be angry. Being angry will violate the precept of anger! Wukong, you are too naughty. I told you not to throw things around. Throwing things around like this... (Bang, Wukong’s stick falls to the ground) Look, I haven’t finished talking yet, but you threw the stick away again! The Moonlight Box is a treasure. If you throw it away, it will pollute the environment. Oh, what if it hits a child? Even if it doesn’t hit a child, it’s wrong to hit the flowers and plants!
(Wukong grabs the Moonlight Box from Tang Seng's hand)
Tang Monk: What are you doing?
Wukong: Let go!
That day, from day to night, except for going out to eat, Fang Minghua basically stayed in the hotel room to write the script.

In fact, the number of words in the scripts of the two episodes of A Chinese Odyssey is not very large, only more than 30,000 words, which can be said to be quite short.

Originally, the script was written while filming, and everything was done by the director and actors.

Fang Minghua certainly wouldn't write too much, which would be a thankless task.

I finished writing the scripts for both episodes until 10 o'clock in the evening. I checked them over carefully and felt there were no problems.

Turn off the phone and go to sleep.

I got up the next morning, had breakfast, went to the front desk and called the phone number left by Stephen Chow.

"Mr. Zhou, I'm Fang Minghua. Please have someone come get the script once it's finished."

Fang Minghua told his address and went downstairs to eat and take a stroll.

Donghu Hotel was quite famous in Shenzhen in the 1980s and 1990s. It was one of the first foreign-related hotels. From its interior, one could overlook Wutong Mountain in the distance and enjoy the view of Donghu Lake up close.

There are karaoke, dance halls, swimming pools and even saunas!
I was busy all day yesterday and was exhausted, so I went to the sauna to steam. Fang Minghua turned around and walked into the sauna, steamed for a while, and then found a female technician to give her a massage.

Of course, forget about health care.

After taking a sauna and feeling relaxed, Fang Minghua changed his clothes and went to his room. He walked into the hall and saw several people sitting on the sofa. They immediately stood up and walked towards him when they saw him.

The leader turned out to be Stephen Chow!
Oh, you came to Shenzhen in person?
"Mr. Fang, Mr. Zhou has been waiting for almost an hour." It was his assistant Tin Kai-man who spoke, with an obvious tone of complaint in his voice.

"I didn't expect you to come so soon, so I went to have a sauna." Fang Minghua explained with a smile.

Tin Kai Man wanted to say something, but was stopped by Stephen Chow, who said in his very poor Mandarin: "It's okay, Mr. Fang, can I see your script now?"

"Okay, let's go upstairs."

Everyone surrounded Stephen Chow and went up to the third floor. The assistant followed Stephen Chow into Fang Minghua's room, and the others stood at the door of the room very obediently.

Fang Minghua did not hesitate and turned on the computer to retrieve the script he had written last night.

"I can't print it out without a printer, so I'll just have to look at it on the computer."

Stephen Chow didn't say much, he just sat in the chair and stared at the screen carefully.

Fang Minghua did not interrupt him, she made a cup of tea and drank it slowly. Stephen Chow did not read fast, he pondered over the 30,000-word script over and over again, and he did not know how many times he had read it.

Fang Minghua changed the water of the diluted tea twice. Two hours had passed before he saw Stephen Chow looking up from the computer at him with a somewhat excited look on his face.

"Mr. Fang, I want your script! How about 200,000 Hong Kong dollars?"

To be fair, the price offered by Stephen Chow was not low.

Hong Kong people have never attached much importance to screenwriters. A famous screenwriter would only get a maximum of HK$50,000 for writing a script.

Fang Minghua didn't care about these things, but he would say something if there was anything.

"Mr. Zhou, as a screenwriter I certainly hope you can make the film, but I want to add one more thing. This script subverts tradition. Will the audience be able to accept it after it is made? You need to think about it carefully."

Zhou Xingchi pondered for a moment and a determined look appeared on his face: "I have considered it, but I want to give it a try."

"OK then."

It was obvious that Stephen Chow came prepared. He immediately took out a standard contract in traditional Chinese characters. Fang Minghua took a careful look and found that it was signed by Xingwei Co., Ltd.

Oh, at that time, the Color Star Film Company that went bankrupt due to the filming of "A Chinese Odyssey" had not yet been established.

After Fang Minghua signed his name, the other party took out a three-inch disc, and Fang Minghua copied it in, and everything was OK.

When the other party was about to leave, Fang Minghua suddenly said:
"Mr. Zhou, if you want to make this movie, I suggest you go to the mainland. There is a place called Zhenbeibao Western Film City in Ningxia. The location shooting there is very suitable."

Fang Minghua briefly introduced the situation of Zhenbeibao.

"Thank you Mr. Fang, I will seriously consider your suggestion." Stephen Chow was about to leave, but Fang Minghua stopped him.

"Mr. Zhou, your notebook." Fang Minghua said, pointing to the laptop on the table.

"Mr. Fang, I'll leave it to you as a souvenir." Stephen Chow smiled.

"Thank you"

Mr. Zhou left with a group of people, and Fang Minghua also prepared to fly back to Xijing.

Historically, Stephen Chow approached the Xi'an Film Studio to shoot this movie, but unfortunately it suffered a huge loss when it was released, and as a result, the Color Star Film Company he had just established went bankrupt.

Fang Minghua didn't know whether Stephen Chow would ask Liu Zhenwei to be the director this time, or whether he would cooperate with the Xi'an Film Studio, nor did he take the initiative to recommend Song Tangtang's Shengshi Film and Television.

I am a screenwriter now, so it would be useless to say too much.

Besides, the movie flopped when it first released, which is also a big problem.

Just let it go.

In the evening, Fang Minghua flew back to Xijing.

(End of this chapter)