Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 453 "The Godfather" will be a milestone! Strange Zhang Nianyue?
Paramount Pictures.

In a small room decorated luxuriously, the winter sun shines through the blinds onto the long table, bringing a touch of warmth.

Mr. Li Mingwei, the future father of Chinese cinema and one of the founders of United Chinese Films, leaned on the edge of the long table and looked intently at the editing table.

Beside him, of course, was director Bu Wancang, who came with him, and Mr. Howard Hawks, a new director in Hollywood.

The three people held their breath and dared not make any sound, for fear of disturbing the editor's operation.

In the 20s, before the rise of digital technology, film was almost the only medium for shooting movies.

Editing is also very troublesome and requires a special editing table, which is usually equipped with adjustable lighting to facilitate the editor to carefully observe the images on the film.

In addition, auxiliary tools such as magnifying glasses are needed to view the details of the film.

In a sense, the quality and preservation condition of the film will affect the editing effect.

The editing knife is small and sharp, and it is like performing a surgery. The editor needs to have rich experience and stable techniques.

Film is easily damaged and is rarely available in backup copies.

Therefore, an excellent editor is basically one in ten thousand.

Nowadays, the domestic film industry is difficult to keep pace with the international standards. In a sense, this is also related to the lack of editors.

"Gentlemen, is this the picture?"

The editor seemed very professional and had already made various marks on the original film.

This gentleman is obviously Paramount's exclusive editor and his technical level is quite high.

Although it is only in the rough cutting stage, the editor will still carefully ask about the splicing of each picture.

Howard glanced at Li Mingwei, who nodded and said.

"That's right, please splice these two scenes and shots together."

Li Mingwei spoke in fluent English.

The editor naturally knew who had the final say, nodded, and carefully aligned the edges of the two film segments to ensure that the images would connect seamlessly.

The splicing glue has special chemical properties that can perfectly connect films together without adversely affecting the image quality.

This is a very delicate process that requires taking into account the wonderful shots in the picture, the key points in the dialogue, the beginning of the action, etc.

When Li Mingwei was in China, he had never seen such superb techniques. Now he has the opportunity to learn and observe.

Of course, now that sound films are popular, the sound film also needs to be synchronized with the picture film.

Compared with the use of efficient editing software such as PR and Da Vinci in later generations, this editing method obviously has a lower tolerance rate and requires more professional techniques and advance planning.

Compared to operations that can be completed by clicking the mouse on a computer, film cutting obviously requires greater patience and skills.

This is also an extremely tedious process that requires patience.

After spending three days in the editing room, several people finally came out with dark circles under their eyes.

The first thing he did after coming out was not to rest, but to rush to the small cinema inside Paramount Studios to carefully watch the edited sample films.

The sample was not long, only about ten minutes, but it was enough to get the three people excited.

"I'll give him an offer he can't refuse."

When this line appeared on the gray, white and black screen, the three of them were shocked by the magnetic voice of the voice actor in the speakers.

They had all heard this line before, but never as shocking as it was now.

Especially when combined with the picture.

It reminded several people of the classic fantasy scene in the original "The Godfather".

"It worked! That's it!"

Howard stood up excitedly.

"We are about to create a miracle! This will be the best movie Paramount has ever made and one of the best-selling movies."

As a qualified director, Howard can naturally judge the quality of a movie from these clips.

Originally, because the filming was done in two locations, China and the United States, even the rough cut was not complete enough, making it difficult to have this intuitive experience.

Now that the two films have been combined, the images of "The Godfather" have become smoother and clearer.

“Is it really that powerful?”

Bu Wancang stood nearby, his eyes fixed on the picture on the screen, and inevitably looked a little dazed.

As a director of Paramount, Howard may not be the best one, but his knowledge is definitely far beyond that of Li Mingwei and Bu Wancang.

His evaluation might become a reality.

Besides, it is the work of Bao Guowei.

For a long time, anything with Bao Guowei's label can almost create miracles.

Li Mingwei's body was shaking a little.

From the moment he saw "The Godfather", he knew he had to complete it!
Now that dreams have come true, I even feel a bit dazed.

Li Mingwei has always had a dream in his heart, which is to promote China's film industry to the whole world.

Let viewers all over the world see the story that belongs to the Chinese people.

Invisibly, this will also enhance the cultural competitiveness of the Chinese people.

And now, it seems to be coming true?
Li Mingwei forced himself to calm down. He didn't want to celebrate in advance. Instead, he knew that the work ahead would be more difficult.

He said to Howard with a smile.

"Sir, this is a good start, I hope everything goes well for us."

Leon Lai still has confidence in Paramount Pictures.

In fact, Paramount's strength should not be underestimated.

In the 1930s, Paramount Studios was not particularly famous, but the quality of the films it produced was always good.

This can be seen from the development of Paramount Pictures over the next hundred years.

From "The Ten Commandments" to "The Godfather", from "Star Trek" to "Titanic", almost every movie is a critical and commercial masterpiece, leaving a profound impact on film history.

Yes, you heard it right. Historically, "The Godfather" is a movie produced by Paramount.

Produced in 1972, it can be said to be Paramount's most successful film at the time.

This is naturally the reason why Bao Guowei chose them.

Howard's face flushed, and he waved his hand decisively.

"Gentlemen, I would like to go to the editing room again. We must do our best in editing. Every shot must be powerful and the rhythm must be fast.

Today's audiences can't stand any drag, and the tone of The Godfather must be hit."

Li Mingwei was surprised by the gentleman's dedication, and he nodded and said.

“It was a very good decision.”

Even though he was so tired that he wanted to rest, he still planned to risk his life to accompany the gentleman.

When it was evening, Li Mingwei and his friend were just about to lie down to rest when there was a knock on the hotel door again.

Howard rushed in from outside and drank up the tea on the table without any hesitation.

This is the West Lake Longjing tea that Li Mingwei brought from China. Howard was caught off guard and felt a bitter taste in his throat, and his whole face wrinkled.

"What kind of tea is this? It's bitter but a little sweet, a lot like black coffee, but much fresher."

"This is China's specialty green tea. If you like it, sir, I can give you some."

The two chatted about tea, and Howard obviously fell in love with it.

Half a day later, we finally got to the point.

Howard said: "During the day, you said you wanted to work together to determine the future shooting schedule and release time.

I thought about it and thought that film development and preliminary editing would take about one and a half months, fine editing and sound effects production would take one month, and final synthesis would take about half a month.
We have done a lot of preparation in the early stages, so we were much more relaxed in the later stages and didn't have to go through too much trouble.

I think it should be released in March next year." Then, Howard made another analysis on why it should be released in March next year.

"The release date is an important consideration for movies, but you know, with the quality of our movies, we don't have to worry about that at all."

Howard seemed very proud when he said this.

“Obviously, due to our production schedule, we cannot release the film around the New Year, which is undoubtedly a pity.

But I am very confident about this work.

March has just entered spring, and people are willing to go out and go to the cinema to watch movies.

At the same time, small and medium-sized cities and rural areas also have great potential for screening. I hope that the influence of The Godfather will not only be in the cities."

Howard was obviously well prepared, fully demonstrating his professionalism as a filmmaker in the preparation of commercial films.

Li Mingwei and Bu Wancang looked at each other, and the former said with a smile.

"So, we'll be releasing it around March next year?"

"That's the preliminary version," Howard nodded. "You can tell Mr. Bao about the details and let him decide. After all, he is the real producer of this movie."

The movie "The Godfather" was originally planned by China, and later Paramount joined in and injected a lot of funds.

However, the bulk of the copyright and a lot of the funding are still mainly provided by Bao Guowei.

God knows how much money this young literary giant saved from his royalties.

Therefore, Bao Guowei is the final decision maker.

Li Mingwei nodded and said, "I will write to Mr. Bao."

After knowing that Bao Guowei could not come, the two of them took the initiative to act as intelligence agents.

Next, Howard had a long discussion with the two about the release prospects of "The Godfather" and the preparations for subsequent films.

It was not until late at night that Howard left in disappointment.

Li Mingwei finally felt the gap between the domestic film industry and the United States.

"The path to commercialization and the standardized production and release process are things we need to learn well."

After Howard left, Li Mingwei couldn't help but sigh.

Bu Wancang said enthusiastically: "Mr. Li, I think we will succeed. The Godfather may just be the beginning. Our Chinese film industry will surely flourish next."

Li Mingwei looked at the starry sky of the Americans outside and couldn't help but think of the current tense international situation, and muttered to himself.

“Hopefully, everything will get better.”

Under the same starry sky, the cruise ship from London to Shanghai has already reached Southeast Asia.

Singapore is located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, close to the equator.

It is located at the entrance and exit of the Strait of Malacca and was an important hub for international trade as early as the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, Singapore is still a British colony, so almost all British cruise ships will stop here for rest.

It was late at night and there was no one around. Bao Guowei leaned on the railing, looking at the quiet sea, and across the endless sea, he looked towards the sea east of Singapore.

It takes about five or six days to travel from Singapore to Shanghai at the speed of a cruise ship.

However, Bao Guowei did not think of his hometown after being away for a month, but thought of another place.

In the central part of the Malay Archipelago, 400 kilometers away from Singapore, is the western part of the Gomantan Islands.

About forty years ago, there was a country established by overseas Chinese.

The Lan Fang Republic.

This was the first country established by overseas Chinese. At its peak, the influence of the Lan Fang Republic almost covered the entire Kamantan Islands.

The Lan Fang Republic existed for more than a hundred years but eventually perished due to the attack by Dutch colonists.

Bao Guowei thought, if the former Lan Fang Republic had not perished, it would have grown strong and become an important country in Southeast Asia.

Would the course of history have been completely different?

Would China's situation be completely different today?

Unfortunately, there is no if in history.

The Lan Fang Republic eventually perished and disappeared in the long river of history.

For a moment, Bao Guowei wondered, if he could travel back to the Lan Fang Republic at that time, would he be able to create a miracle?
Just as his mind was full of random thoughts, Bao Guowei suddenly felt something soften on his back. A soft body pressed against his body, and a burst of fragrance came from his nose.

"What on earth were you doing sneaking onto the deck in the middle of the night? You made me worry for nothing."

A crisp and somewhat reproachful voice came to my ears.

Without turning his head, Bao Guowei could feel from the fragrance and the strong touch of her back that this was his fiancée, Miss Zhang Nianyue, whom he had been waiting for for several months.

During the day, Zhang Nianyue was "arrogant and domineering", but at night, she seemed very well-behaved.

He smiled and turned his head and said, "I couldn't sleep so I came up to get some fresh air."

"I thought that you, a great writer, were kidnapped." Zhang Nianyue curled her lips and acted like a little woman.

Seeing his fiancée's strange look, Bao Guowei felt goose bumps all over his body.

Did you drink fake wine?

He suppressed the urge to slap her to wake her up and asked back.

"With my skills, do you really think someone can capture me? At most, it would be assassination, but I don't think anyone would be willing to do that."

Bao Guowei is still very confident about his current value.

"I can't bear to do that either," Zhang Nianyue said weakly.

Bao Guowei: "???"

He even suspected that the other party had learned the cheesy love words from later generations. Could it be that Zhang Nianyue was also a time traveler?

Just when Bao Guowei was brainstorming.

Zhang Nianyue hugged his waist tightly from behind, opened his hands, and said with a smile.

"Does our posture resemble the scene you mentioned before, the one in the Titanic story?"

"Nian Yue" Bao Guowei was still thinking about resisting.

"be honest!"

Zhang Nianyue slapped him on the back of the head.

Bao Guowei has become honest.
There was silence for a long time, and in the sea breeze, the two felt the warmth of each other's bodies.

At this moment, Zhang Nianyue suddenly spoke.

"Bao Guowei, I am a little worried."

"What are you worried about?" Bao Guowei knew something was wrong and felt that this woman had other intentions!

"I'm worried that you'll leave me. I'm worried that the country will go to war. I'm worried about so many things. I'm also worried that we'll be separated because of other things. I'm worried that someone will take you away or hurt you."

Bao Guowei wondered what it was, but it turned out to be the girl's sensitive heart.

At this time, as a fiancé, he naturally fulfilled his responsibilities.

After coughing, Bao Guowei organized his words and tried to find some words of comfort from later generations.
For example, the future will definitely be good, I will always be with you, and persistence is victory, and other meaningless clichés.

But Zhang Nianyue's whisper in his ear made him completely dazed.

"I want you."

For a moment, Bao Guowei felt as if an electric current was flowing through his body, and he shuddered all over.

He looked at the other person with some surprise, and found that he could only see the other person's eyes.

"What did you say? Woo. Woo~"

(End of this chapter)