The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

   Zhou Hexuan walked out of the auditorium with his hat down, so he didn't have to worry about being recognized. After all, his photos often appeared in newspapers and magazines.

   This kind of dress is not unusual. At least 30% of the men who come to the movies wear hats.

   Wearing hats seems to be the trend of this era. Whether in Europe, America or Asia, men and women like to wear hats when they go out. The "Regulations on Uniforms" promulgated by the Nanjing National Government a few years ago even have special regulations on wearing hats. For example, students and civil servants must wear hats on formal occasions, white hats in summer and black hats in winter. The wrong color is to be laughed at. .

   Zhou Hexuan is now wearing a men's top hat, which is round and similar to a flying saucer, and has a ribbon on the top of the brim. This kind of hat is very common in the film and television dramas of the Republic of China, such as the underground party joint of spy war dramas. The protagonist is often wearing a long shirt and a top hat.

   Zhou Hexuan went out with the crowd, and the audience who watched "Red Dust" looked excited, but refused to mention the movie content. And those viewers who watched "Goddess" were filled with righteous indignation, and many people discussed the plot as they walked.

   "That rogue is so hateful, he's just scum!"

   "Isn't it? If you want me to tell you, you should have called the police and taken him away."

   "There is a fart to call the police. Lock it in for a few days at most. After the heroine is released, it will be even worse."

   "Ruan Lingyu's acting is so good, I can't help but cry when I see her being bullied in the movie."

   "It's better that Mr. Zhou made up the story."

   "Have you read the original novel of "Goddess"?"

   "I don't really understand it, it's completely different from the movie."

   "The original novel also has this plot, but the writing is more obscure and messy, and the original heroine is worse than the movie."

  “…”

   Judging from the reactions of these audiences, the movie version of "Goddess" was undoubtedly a success, which greatly aroused the emotions of many audiences. Of course, the American blockbuster "Red Dust" was also very successful, and it was as exciting as watching a small movie in a video hall in the 1980s.

   Just when Zhou Hexuan took Vivien Leigh north to Tianjin, the word of mouth of the two films fermented, but one was in the sky and the other was underground.

  Many vindicators have come out to criticize "Red Dust", believing that the film promotes obscene (harmonious) ideas, and called on the government to ban the screening of such vulgar films. The authorities said it was very embarrassing. Due to the pressure of public opinion and the pressure of American filmmakers, they could only choose a compromise approach: "Red Dust" can only be shown in specific theaters.

   And "Goddess" was unanimously recognized by people, especially the social issues reflected in it, which caused widespread social discussion. Does the son of a prostitute (harmony) have the right to education? If the occupation of the parents is not right, are the children necessarily bad people when they grow up?

  The official publication of the Left Union characterized "Goddess" as an anti-feudal progressive film. Tian Han even wrote a film review himself: "Movies, like books and newspapers, are also a powerful weapon for spreading ideas and a good tool for social transformation. Movies should not only reflect the life of the people at the bottom. Reflecting acute social issues, The Goddess provides an excellent reference for our filmmakers."

  The Chinese filmmakers at this time were represented by Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu. Although the two co-founded Star Films, their film philosophies were different.

  Zhang Shichuan follows a commercial line, advocating that the film "everywhere is interest is still", and the audience can shoot whatever they are used to watching. His masterpiece is "Burning the Red Lotus Temple". On the other hand, Zheng Zhengqiu believes that movies should improve society and educate the people. His masterpiece is "Labor's Love".

   But no matter what, the two still focus on commercial films. After all, film companies need to survive, and realistic literary and artistic films are far less popular than commercial films.

  Historically, until the great success of "Goddess", which was educationally meaningful and able to sell for money, it finally set off a wave of filming social issues. Among them, there is also the promotion of the Left Alliance. Left-wing writers create wonderful scripts, and Lianhua Film Company is responsible for the specific shooting and distribution.

   Now Zhou Hexuan released "Goddess" two years ahead of schedule, and it was also recognized by countless audiences, which immediately brought great confidence to Luo Mingyou. He took the initiative to go to Tian Han and others to buy the script of the social problem film.

   The only thing that hinders "Goddess" from making a lot of money is probably only the issue of screening.

  The Capital Grand Theater, which is a super awesome place, has installed the most advanced sound film projection equipment, so people can enjoy watching "Goddess" and "Red Dust" ("Red Dust" is also a sound film). But other theaters are a bit bad. Only some theaters under Luo Mingyou and a small number of theaters under the star company can make the movie sound.

   The performances of "Goddess" in the audio theater were full, and sometimes the screenings were full in the morning, but the owners of the silent theater could only be in a hurry. In the end, the only remedy was to remake silent film copies and add dialogue subtitles to key plot points.

   Zhou Hexuan could only smile bitterly. He finally invested in a sound film, using the most advanced sound film technology. But when most of the theaters show, the audience still can't hear the sound, just like a 3D blockbuster film in later generations, and as a result, I can't find a few 3D theaters all over the country.

   After the hit "Goddess", Ruan Lingyu became so popular that she overtook Hu Die to become the first sister of the movie industry and became the absolute pillar of Lianhua Pictures.

   Unlike ordinary audiences who chase after stars, industry insiders pay more attention to the shooting technology of "Goddess". Because this film uses top-notch sound technology, the sound quality is terrifyingly good, unlike the previous domestic sound films with all kinds of noise, and the various sounds and pictures are out of sync.

   Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu hurriedly inquired about the situation, but they shook their heads after knowing the price of the audio film—the cost was too high for them to play.

   It is a bit strange to say that the Shaw Brothers, who have always been stingy, are also very interested in sound films, and they even sent Run Run Shaw to the United States to buy sound film equipment. However, the "Tianyi Company" of the Shaw Brothers is no longer developed in the mainland. Due to the turmoil brought about by the Battle of Songhu, the Shaw Brothers decided to move to Hong Kong for development and target Southeast Asia.

   In fact, the Shaw Brothers are really amazing. They established Tianyi Company in Shanghai for only three years, and they quickly occupied the film market in southern China. Forcing Minxin, Star, Greater China, Youlian, Shanghai, and Huaju to join forces to form the "Liuhe Film Company" to jointly deal with Shaw Brothers' "Tianyi Company", known as "Liuhe Encirclement and Suppression" in history.

   How can the Shaw Brothers survive? He had no choice but to go to Hong Kong for development, and he couldn't even sell films to the mainland. In desperation, he carefully managed the Southeast Asian market and established more than 100 theaters in Southeast Asia in ten years.

  As a result, everyone knows that the loss of the sangyu in the east corner, Shaw Brothers later created the brilliance of Hong Kong movies.

   On the contrary, the film companies that drove Shaw away disappeared one by one in the long river of history.