The literary era since 1979

Fangyan's trip to northern Shaanxi was packed with plans. He had just finished a literary lecture arranged by the Northern Shaanxi Writers Association when Wu Tianming, Mo Shen, Zhang Yimou and others came to the guesthouse to take him to the Xi'an Film Studio as a "guest".

"Teacher Fang, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry that I couldn't personally meet you at the train station that day."

Wu Tianming held Fangyan's hand tightly and shook it.

Fang Yan said, "It's okay, Director Wu, don't worry about it."

Wu Tianming explained that he had been preparing a filming crew for "Old Well", which was the most important priority for the Xi'an Film Studio at the moment.

Seeing the sad faces of Mo Shen, Zhang Yimou and others, Fang Yan guessed that the preparations for "Old Well" did not seem to be going so smoothly.

Wu Tianming was helpless. "Oh, forget it. We haven't gathered all the actors yet, especially the male lead. This time, we invited Teacher Fang to go to the Xi'an Film Studio. First, he can talk to the comrades in the studio about the future of Chinese-language films, and second, he can help us decide who will be the most suitable actor."

Mo Shen added that in order to find an actor suitable to play the male lead Sun Wangquan, Xi'an Film Studio was widely recruiting.

"Didn't you pick a few suitable ones?"

Fang Yan got into the car and sandwiched Mo Shen between him and Wu Tianming.

Wu Tianming said with regret that he had originally chosen Jiang Wen to work with him for the second time after "The Great Qin", but he was a step too late. Just when Xie Jin was about to start filming "Furong Town", he also chose Jiang Wen to play Qin Shutian, but he was beaten to the punch by Shanghai Film Studio.

Fangyan asked: "So what kind of actors do you want to find for "Old Well"?"

"At least you have to be like Yimou."

Wu Tianming described it as follows: "There are wrinkles on his thin face that look like the rocks of Taihang Mountain...Have you seen Luo Zhongli's oil painting "Father"? It is the image of a young villager in his 30s or 40s, weather-beaten, dark-skinned, born and raised in the area."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "Then it's easy to find this candidate."

"who!?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yimou, who was sitting in the passenger seat, immediately turned sideways and looked at him at the same time as Wu Tianming and Mo Shen.

Playful dialect: "It's far away and yet it's right in front of us. Let Yimou be the protagonist."

"I?"

Zhang Yimou was very surprised. "Teacher Fang, please stop joking with me. How can this be possible? I have never learned acting."

"You are planning to switch from photography to directing, how come you don't even understand such a simple truth?"

Fang Yan said: "Acting skills are important, but the first requirement for an actor is to look like the character. First find the shape of the character, then describe his spirit. If even the appearance does not meet the basic requirements of the character, what's the point of talking about the spirit and acting skills?"

Wu Tianming slapped his thigh and said, "Teacher Fang's words make sense. Before we can be similar in spirit, we must be similar in appearance. Yimou, I think you should give it a try."

Zhang Yimou looked embarrassed and kept making excuses, saying, "You should ask for someone else. I'm not being modest. How can a photographer like me be an actor?"

The more Wu Tianming looked at him, the more he liked him. "Everyone is born knowing how to act. There are many people in the factory who became actors halfway through their careers. Whether they act well or not depends on whether they have put in the hard work."

"Thank you Director Wu for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely do a good job."

Zhang Yimou finally agreed to give a trial performance "reluctantly" after much reluctance.

Wu Tianming said: "If I really want to thank someone, I must thank Teacher Fang first. It was he who chose you as the general."

Zhang Yimou thanked Fangyan repeatedly, his gratitude was beyond words and his excitement was like a surging tide, difficult to calm down.

Teacher Fang’s kindness is higher than the sky!

Teacher Fang’s kindness is deeper than the sea!

I will never be able to repay Teacher Fang’s kindness in this lifetime!

…………

The motorcade stopped at the gate of Xi'an Film Studio, where leaders and employees lined the streets to welcome them with great enthusiasm.

Lin Da and other colleagues from the Western Films magazine rushed forward, following Wu Tianming, Fang Yan and others. "Sister-in-law, you are here too!"

Fang Yan originally thought that she would stay in the hospital to look after Lu Yao, but he didn't expect to run into her at the Xi'an Film Studio.

"He is actually suffering from a mental illness. Since you visited him, he has recovered a lot."

Lin Da thanked Lu Yao and his family sincerely, "Yanzi, his matter really troubles you a lot."

Fang Yan said, "You're welcome, sister-in-law, you should have heard the story of the ugly duckling. Although in the eyes of others, Lu Yao's novel may be an ugly duckling, but in my opinion, it is completely a white swan. It's just that the time has not come yet, and the ugly duckling has not yet become a white swan."

Seeing the two whispering, Wu Tianming turned his head to Mo Shen, "What ugly duckling, white swan, why don't I understand?"

"They are talking about the book written by Lu Yao."

Mo Shen briefly explained the whole story of "Ordinary World".

Wu Tianming had secured his position as director of the Xi'an Film Studio thanks to the film "Life". When he heard that Wu Tianming had a new masterpiece, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Mo Shen said, "But the novel is not finished yet. I have only written the first part, and I haven't started writing the second and third parts yet."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

“It’s such a shame.”

Wu Tianming was thinking about getting the film adaptation rights of "Ordinary World" first. Of course, what he wanted most was the dialect version.

Fang Yan said: "Director Wu really has a good appetite. He has one in his mouth, one in his hand, and now he is staring at this one of mine."

"It's not like companies should be responsible for their own profits and losses and operate independently. Movies should also start to be commercialized."

Wu Tianming said that Xi'an Film Studio, like other studios, had to face the market and had to consider copy sales and film profits.

Fang Yan asked, "Director Wu specially invited me here this time. Could it be that he is planning to discuss commercial films?"

Wu Tianming said in a serious tone, "Teacher Fang helped Shanghai Film Studio to make the movie Once Upon a Time in China. It has achieved great success in Hong Kong. We at Xi'an Film Studio have also heard about it. I also heard that the two movies you planned for Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest were also very successful in Hong Kong, right?"

"That's right, if nothing unexpected happens, "Baby Smart Star" and "Police Story" will be introduced to the mainland for screening."

According to the dialect, for example, "Baby Smart Star" is tentatively scheduled to be released on Children's Day this year.

"We really want to make a commercial action film like Once Upon a Time in China, just like Shanghai Film Studio did."

Wu Tianming said: "But I hope to make a movie like Saving Private Ryan that wins awards and acclaims internationally."

Fang Yan then realized that they wanted him to talk about the tricks of winning awards at overseas film festivals in his capacity as an Oscar-winning screenwriter.

"Yanzi, this is what we think..."

Mo Shen said that nowadays, in pursuit of profits, film studios of all sizes across the country are making every effort to make entertainment films. However, the art films that were popular before have become unpopular and their number is decreasing. This has given the Xi'an Film Studio, which focuses on art films, the opportunity to have a monopoly.

"This is just one reason. The most important thing is that we at Xi'an Film Studio have our own artistic pursuits!"

Wu Tianming said that facing the wave of commercialization in China's film industry, Xi'an Film Studio will go against the current without hesitation. Otherwise, he would not have broken the old customs of seniority and promoted people to important positions and made use of a group of energetic young people, some of whom were even poached or borrowed from other studios.

For example, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Ye Daying who were not present...

For example, Zhang Yimou, Lu Wei, Huang Jianxin, Mo Shen, and Gu Changwei were present. Fangyan's eyes swept over them one by one. If we really want to talk about the impact of domestic film festivals on international film festivals, especially the three major European film festivals and Hollywood in the United States, I am afraid that no province can compare with northern Shaanxi. The most fierce and successful "main force" in impacting international awards must be the filmmakers in the Northwest circle headed by the Xi'an Film Studio.

From Wu Tianming, to Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaoning, Gu Changwei, to Wang Quanan who made "White Deer Plain" and "Tuya's Wedding", Diao Yinan who made "Black Coal, Thin Ice", Li Yang who made the three blind series such as "Blind Well" and "Blind Mountain", it can be said that if the province of northern Shaanxi is taken out alone, it can be compared with any country in the world, and even has better results than the three major European film festivals in countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea!

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the path model of "going to overseas film festivals to win awards" was explored by the Xi'an Film Studio.

Thinking of this, Fang Yan narrowed his eyes and said, "Director Wu, I'm afraid it's not just that you want to tell me about overseas film festivals, right?"

Wu Tianming told the truth: "Teacher Fang, to be honest, we mainly want to cooperate with you to see if we can make one or two movies that can impact the Oscars or the three major European film festivals of Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, and win glory for our Chinese-language films in the international arena?" (End of this chapter)