Literary Master 1978

"Of course he has to come. How can he be content if the movie is not made?" Cheng Yin said.

He is an old acquaintance of Li Hanxiang. They knew each other more than 40 years ago, when they were still young boys.

"What movie?"

Lin Chaoyang thought Cheng Yin must be talking about "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Queen's Court", but Cheng Yin said: "He is going to film the last emperor Puyi."

"The last emperor?"

Lin Chaoyang was stunned. How did it become the last emperor? Did I make a mistake?

Looking at his expression, Cheng Yin laughed, "Do you think it is a bit inappropriate for a Hong Kong director to film the last emperor?"

Cheng Yin's words could not be said to be wrong, but the real reason for Lin Chaoyang's surprise was not this.

Could it be the butterfly effect caused by his own time travel, Li Hanxiang did not film "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Queen's Court", but filmed the last emperor instead?

"Why did he film the last emperor?"

Confused, Lin Chaoyang urgently needed Cheng Yin to answer him.

"This story has to start from a few years ago..."

In his 40 years in the film industry, Li Hanxiang has made dozens of films, won numerous awards, and become a famous director at home and abroad.

However, due to his long-term high-intensity work, he was diagnosed with coronary heart disease in 1975. The disease lasted for three years, and he went to Los Angeles, USA, for surgery in 1978.

When the surgery was about to begin, he suddenly thought that it was hard to predict whether the surgery would bring good or bad luck. He had been away from home for 30 years and had not had time to return to the motherland to take a look.

At that time, the country was in the process of reform and opening up, so Li Hanxiang contacted his Hong Kong friends who were "connected" to the mainland, secretly returned to the mainland, and took a long-awaited trip.

During the trip, Li Hanxiang did not forget to visit his teachers, friends, and relatives, many of whom are now well-known figures in the domestic literary and art circles, such as Xie Tian, ​​Xie Tieli, and Huang Zongjiang from Yan Film Studio; Zhao Dan, Xu Sangchu, and Li Zhun from Shanghai Film Studio; painters Wu Zuoren and Cheng Shifa, and Cheng Yin were among them.

"I remember that day when we were having dinner, we had just screened Han Xiang's "The Fall of the Country" internally, and everyone praised it.

It was amazing to be able to build the Forbidden City set in Hong Kong and shoot a first-class Qing Dynasty film!

Xie Tian said to Han Xiang at the time: With your talent and courage, wouldn't it be more impressive if you shoot in the Forbidden City?

Han Xiang was very humble at the time, but secretly he had his mind on it.

He later told me that he thought he had no hope of returning to the mainland to make films in his lifetime, but through He thought that the atmosphere in the mainland was open and friendly, and it was not a bad idea to come back here to make a movie. "

Speaking of this, Cheng Yin sighed, "He had a good idea, but the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been separated for many years, and there have been many changes in politics, economy, and personnel. It is not easy to come back to the mainland to make a movie!"

Cheng Yin went on to say that after returning to the mainland for a trip, Li Hanxiang first went to the United States for surgery, and during his recuperation, he contacted the Shanghai Film Studio. When he learned that Li Hanxiang was going to return to the mainland to make a movie, he even alarmed the deputy G-level leader.

Li Hanxiang originally planned to make a movie about Comrade Wu Hao, but after communicating, he found that a studio on the mainland had already included a movie about Comrade Wu Hao in the selection plan, and the mainland suggested that Li Hanxiang give up this idea.

Then Li Hanxiang visited Yanjing again without giving up, and this time he set his sights on Lao She's classic work "Tea House".

Li Hanxiang's hometown is Liaoning, and he grew up in Yanjing during his youth. He admired Mr. Lao She's works very much.

At that time, the Yanjing People's Art Theatre even specially rehearsed "Tea House" for Li Hanxiang's arrival. After watching the drama, Li Hanxiang became more determined to bring this drama to the screen, and he ran around for half a year.

But unfortunately, after Li Hanxiang brought his plan back to Hong Kong, he was opposed by the film producers.

The film producers opposed Li Hanxiang's filming of "Tea House" for good reasons.

It is true that "Tea House" is a good drama, but dramas and movies are different. "Tea House" has too many dialogues, a single scene, and a strong local color of Yanjing. The effect is explosive on the stage, but it is too limited on the screen.

Li Hanxiang is a great director. His works are for Chinese and foreign audiences. Filming "Tea House" is equivalent to abandoning foreign audiences.

The "foreign audiences" mentioned by the film producers refer to audiences in Southeast Asia.

The influence of Hong Kong movies in the 1970s was mainly concentrated in Hong Kong, Taiwan Island and Southeast Asia.

Li Hanxiang has his own artistic pursuits, but he also has to consider the opinions of the film producers, who are his bread and butter.

After much deliberation, Li Hanxiang reluctantly gave up the idea of ​​filming "Tea House" and proposed to film a movie about the last emperor Puyi, which was mainly based on Puyi's autobiography "My First Half of Life".

Then, Li Hanxiang's idea was opposed again. The reason this time was that some of the people involved in "My First Half of Life" were still alive and had not yet been finalized.

Lin Chaoyang felt that it was a turbulent time, let alone Li Hanxiang himself. Cheng Yin, as a good friend, also felt worried for Li Hanxiang.

"He still had two film contracts with Shaw Brothers, which were not completed until the end of last year. After ending the cooperation with Shaw Brothers, he returned to the mainland without stopping.

He stayed in Shanghai for a while a while ago, and this time he was going to Yanjing again, still for the script. Puyi, the last emperor, didn't let him film, so he planned to change direction. Anyway, he had made up his mind and must write the script this time.

In April this year, he could not refuse Shaw Brothers' request for renewal and renewed his director contract with Shaw Brothers.

If he cannot make a movie this time, I am afraid that his ambition will be..."

Cheng Yin shook his head at the end. His old friend had gone through many twists and turns to return to his hometown to shoot a movie. Even for an outsider like him, he could not help but feel anxious.

After listening for nearly half an hour, Lin Chaoyang finally understood that the last emperor Cheng Yin just mentioned was just a plan that was eliminated.

He couldn't help but think of "The Last Emperor" shot by Italian director Bertolucci. There are some things that foreigners can shoot, but we can't shoot.

"What is he going to shoot this time?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Cheng Yin shook his head, "I don't know. The script hasn't been written yet. "

Lin Chaoyang asked this question purely to confirm. He remembered that "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Behind-the-Curtain" were two films shot in a row and released in 1983.

It is reasonable that Li Hanxiang is arranging the filming now.

After the small talk, Lin Chaoyang wanted to relax in Yanying Studio, but was forcibly dragged back to the guesthouse by Xie Jin to exploit the surplus labor.

After more than a week, Xie Jin finally finished the storyboard script and let Lin Chaoyang go.

Perhaps he had a change of heart and knew that Lin Chaoyang had been tormented enough in the past week, so Xie Jin finally said that he would specially host a banquet for Lin Chaoyang.

Lin Chaoyang thought that since it was a "banquet", it must be Donglaishun, Quanjude, or Kaorouwan. He didn't expect that the final meal was still in the room of the guesthouse.

"You are too stingy. I have worked hard for half a month, and you are so shabby even for a guest? ”

Only peanuts, pig ears and other snacks were placed on the table in the guesthouse. Lin Chaoyang could not help questioning Xie Jin.

“Don’t worry, there are still dishes.” Xie Jin said calmly.

After a while, someone knocked on the door of the room. Xie Jin went to open the door, and someone really brought dishes.

The people who came were all Xie Jin’s old friends in Yanying Studio, Cheng Yin, Chen Huaikai, and Jiang Huaiyan. Several of them were holding plates or basins in their hands. They really came to deliver dishes.

Chen Huaikai was a teacher at Yanjing Film Academy in his early years. Later, he was transferred to Yanying Studio as a director. Everyone in later generations knew him because he had a son named Chen Kaige.

Lin Chaoyang was not familiar with the name Jiang Huaiyan. Xie Jin introduced him as the director of the literary planning department of Yanying Studio, a high-ranking leader of Yanying Studio.

After delivering the dishes, several people did not leave, but sat down and drank.

“Chaoyang, what are you doing? Pour the wine! "Xie Jin ordered.

Lin Chaoyang sat down and said dissatisfiedly: "Didn't you invite me today? How come I have to serve the bureau?"

"Everyone here is your uncle, only you are young." Xie Jin said.

"Old Xie, it's boring if you always take advantage of me like this."

Lin Chaoyang poured himself a glass of wine, "It's a hard job to revise the script for you. It's fine to stay up late to revise the script, but I have to accompany you to smoke and drink. I'm suffering a lot."

"You, young but decadent, are not as good as me, an old man who is about to turn sixty."

Cheng Yin laughed and said: "Chaoyang is a novelist, with a sensitive heart, and he must be different from a drunkard like you."

Xie Jin loves to drink, and is famous in the film industry. He is known as the wine saint and never gets drunk.

He was not angry when his old friend ruined his show. He drank a glass of wine by himself and said loudly: "How to relieve worries? Only Du Kang! ”

Among the five people present, Jiang Huaiyan is the youngest, except for Lin Chaoyang. He is not yet fifty this year. He is the director of the literary planning department of Yanying Studio, and is in charge of screenwriters and scripts.

He has read the script of "The Shepherd" and the performance of "The World's No. 1 Restaurant". He admires Lin Chaoyang's talent in drama creation.

After drinking two glasses of wine with Lin Chaoyang, Jiang Huaiyan asked: "Chaoyang, are you interested in working in our Yanying Studio?"

Lin Chaoyang didn't expect Jiang Huaiyan to ask this question.

To be a screenwriter in a film studio? To be honest, film studios should be the units with the heaviest petty-bourgeois atmosphere in this era. Although it is a bit out of tune with the mainstream of society, the working and living atmosphere is still good.

Especially the two types of screenwriters and directors, who hold great power in the studio and are praised by people everywhere.

But Lin Chaoyang doesn't want to work for nothing. Jiang Huaiyan wants to transfer him to Yanying Studio, just because he sees his creative ability, but these days, film studios are all making movies. It was considered a collective creation.

He really came to write scripts for Yanying Studio, with his name signed, but no copyright, pure work for nothing.

At that time, everyone was accustomed to the planned economy and had no copyright awareness, so no one cared about these work results.

It was not until the 1980s when the employees of Shanghai Film Studio sued the studio over copyright issues that these film practitioners realized this problem.

Lin Chaoyang was about to decline Jiang Huaiyan's recruitment, when he heard Xie Jin say: "Chaoyang writes well, and it is a good choice to go to the studio. But it's boring to go to Yanying Studio, so you have to come to our Shanghai Film Studio."

"How is your Shanghai Film Studio better than us?"

Xie Jin's words attracted collective criticism from several old friends, but also diverted Jiang Huaiyan's recruitment of Lin Chaoyang.

After three rounds of wine, the dishes on the table were almost eaten, and Jiang Huaiyan asked Lin Chaoyang with a smell of alcohol, "I heard from Li Tuo that Chaoyang's cooking skills are good? "

Li Tuo's wife Zhang Nuanxin is also a director of Yanying Studio, but her seniority is lower than those present.

Before, the couple lived in the compound of Yanying Studio, so it was not surprising that Jiang Huaiyan knew Li Tuo.

Xie Jin said: "I can prove that Chaoyang's noodles are good."

Cheng Yin shook his head and said sarcastically: "Shanghai people are really ignorant. They think eating noodles is a delicacy."

"Why is noodles not considered a delicacy?" Chen Huaikai expressed a different opinion, "The more ordinary the food, the harder it is to make it."

He looked at Lin Chaoyang and said regretfully: "If we had known that Chaoyang had skills, why would we bother to prepare the dishes ourselves?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled bitterly: "You promised to treat me to a meal, but you still want me to cook?"

"Next time, I will definitely try Chaoyang's skills next time I have a chance." Xie Jin said.

His words immediately aroused the approval of several other people, "We have to try it, we have to try it. We haven't tasted the skills of the great writer yet. After eating, we will have the capital to brag about it."

A group of old comrades were drunk. If you say he was drunk, he would not bite his tongue when he spoke. If you say he was not drunk, he would say nonsense.

In the end, the dishes were finished and the wine was finished.

Xie Jin fell asleep on the bed. Lin Chaoyang drank the least. Chen Huaikai seemed to be sober. Jiang Huaiyan and Cheng Yin were already drowsy.

Lin Chaoyang had no choice but to send the people away later. If he had known this would happen, he would not have eaten this meal!

Fortunately, Chen Huaikai was still somewhat sober and waved to Lin Chaoyang.

"It's okay, Chaoyang, you can go without worry. My son will come to pick me up and send them all back later."

Although he said so, how could Lin Chaoyang really leave? He sat there and waited for a while, and someone really knocked on the door.

When Lin Chaoyang opened the door, he didn't see the cool and arrogant Kai Ye, but saw a pretty little girl.

"Little girl, who are you looking for?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"I'm looking for my dad."

The little girl was tall, with bright and generous eyebrows and eyes, but her face was full of childishness, and her voice was crisp. The more she looked, the more familiar she looked.