Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 773 Those who wish take the bait

More than a month ago, Chen Fan completed "The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain," a Republican-era martial arts and war novel based on Master Zhang and incorporating many fictional elements.

Instead of immediately submitting it to a publisher, he printed out a draft and, since Mr. Xia was in seclusion writing, gave it to Mr. Ba, asking him to pass it on to the Shanghai Film Studio to see if there was any possibility of adapting it into a film.

As for TV dramas, Chen Fan has given up hope for the time being. Domestic TV dramas have not yet officially started. Even if a TV station is willing to take over and film them, what kind of things can they produce?

Furthermore, there's no need to rush into publicity all at once. Take it step by step, control it for eight or ten years, and then let the remakes have an impact for another eight or ten years. Wouldn't that achieve the desired effect?

Unexpectedly, more than a month later, the other party replied through Ba Lao that "it cannot be filmed".
Chen Fan frowned and looked at Elder Ba, asking, "They didn't say why?"

Ba Jin took out his pipe, lit it, and said slowly, "There must be a reason. After all, you are a well-known writer, and the story's prototype was an old general. No one dares to be perfunctory."

However,..."

He took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke directly without inhaling it, and looked at Chen Fan, saying, "The reason they gave us is that the studio is currently busy with filming, and the filming schedule is already booked until next year. They can't spare any manpower for the time being. In order not to delay the story adaptation, they suggest you find other film studios to cooperate with."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, tilted his head and thought for a moment, then muttered, "Should I find other film studios to cooperate with?"

He then looked at Mr. Ba and chuckled softly, "Let me guess, what's the real reason?"

After more than 20 years of development, major film studios are now full of talent. It's normal to say they don't have money to make films, but to say they can't spare the manpower is a complete joke.

He paused for two seconds, lit a cigarette, and said with a smile, "You think this story lacks artistry and depth?"

Old Ba held his pipe in one hand and scratched his head with the other, looking at him and saying, "You're quite clever, kid. So why did you deliberately write this story so bluntly?"

Chen Fan chuckled dryly twice, "Is that really true?"

Ba Jin shook his head and said, "Filmmakers have always believed that film, like literature, is an art form, so film should be profound and thought-provoking."

Your previous works were quite good. Even the most popular novel, "Shanghai Spy Shadow," reveals the struggle of humanity when the country is broken, and the hope of looking towards the light even in darkness.

While your novel, *Monk Comes Down the Mountain*, is also based on the suffering of the nation and contains the idea of ​​saving the world and helping the people, it occupies too small a proportion of the story. Most of the content is focused on the chivalrous deeds in the early part and the war scenes in the later part.

Another one is that the protagonist later joined the army and kept talking about rebuilding the Taoist temple, which is inconsistent with mainstream values.

To be honest, it's normal that they don't dare to film it. Your novel is practically ready to be submitted to the magazine next door, *Story Collection*. They love stories like that, and they're not afraid to take responsibility.

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "I can give it to Jiangnan Literature and Art Publishing House and they can publish it for me. Why do I have to give it to 'Story Club'? Besides, they can't make a movie out of it."

I was joking, but I had a bit of a headache.

He wasn't surprised by the Shanghai Film Studio's attitude.

As Ba Jin said, most filmmakers today regard film as an art form, emphasizing its ideological and social significance, rather than something for people to simply enjoy.

This kind of thinking was prevalent not only now, but even in the early 21st century. Otherwise, Feng Xiaogang wouldn't have been ignored by his colleagues within the system despite being the top-grossing actor that year.

There's no other reason than that nobody looks down on him.

It wasn't until Zhang Yimou directed "Hero" that so-called "blockbusters" began to appear in China, and with policy guidance also starting to require box office revenue, commercial films finally emerged.

Later, they were able to finally achieve their goal of judging a film solely by its box office performance, with little mention of its artistic merit.

However, we are still in an era where "art comes first." It's not that there are no commercial films; there are, especially after the release of "Shaolin Temple," a whole bunch of "martial arts films" appeared, such as "Mandarin Duck Legs" and "Iron Palm," which seemed to be holding a martial arts tournament.

So, if it were just because of art, there might still be some hope, but in the story of "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," there is a soldier who is obsessed with building a Taoist temple...

Tsk tsk, it's really tough for the Shanghai Film Studio to go to such lengths to come up with a reason. If it were someone else's novel, their leaders would probably just throw the manuscript in their face.

Would they even dare to film this?!
Previously, Chen Fan was only worried about whether the artistic aspects would be criticized, and forgot about this issue.

Seeing Chen Fan's calm demeanor, Ba Lao was somewhat surprised, "You're not angry?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "What's there to be angry about? They have their own demands. I only put them first because we had a decent working relationship in the past. Since they have concerns, there's nothing I can do. I can only look for someone else."

Upon hearing this, Ba Jin asked with some curiosity, "Who are you planning to look for?"

Imagine this: an old soldier kills a Japanese soldier on the battlefield, but mutters, "One more merit point, enough to add a brick to the Taoist temple..."

Which film studio would dare to make a film like this?

Chen Fan raised his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Mr. Ba, please help me spread this message."

Ba Jin was taken aback by what he heard, but he quickly realized what he meant and laughed, "Are you planning to fish like Jiang Taigong, waiting for those who are willing to take the bait?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Not really. I mainly wanted to see which film studio's leader was bolder. Those who are timid are not easy to cooperate with."

Ba Jin raised an eyebrow slightly. "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan exhaled a long breath, stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette butt in the ashtray, and laughed, "The Shanghai Film Studio gave me a reminder that filmmakers these days still have too much mental baggage. I'm afraid they won't be able to make this movie well, so I plan to take charge myself."

Old Ba looked at him with a face full of surprise, "You? You're going to direct it yourself? You can direct it?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, "Being a director isn't difficult. Last time, Director Huang took the crew to film 'Yunhu Love' at Yunhu. I watched for a few days in between. I wouldn't say I know the basic process in detail, but I got a pretty good grasp of it."

"Just make another short film to practice, and you'll get used to it."

"You're still planning to practice?"

Whether it was gloating or a sincere question, Mr. Ba asked, "Film reels are hard to find. The shortage of film reels is definitely one of the biggest headaches for the Shanghai Film Studio every year. How do you solve this problem?"

Chen Fan shrugged and said, "It's alright, I have foreign exchange. Whether it's imports or domestic purchases, I'll definitely get priority."

Old Ba was speechless for a moment, and could only curse in his heart, "You rich bastard."

After a two-second pause, he said, "Sure, it's just passing on a message, it's simple. But aren't you worried that no one will contact you?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I'm not afraid. At least, with the Jiangnan Film Studio backing me up, they definitely won't refuse if I go to them."

As mentioned before, during the period of rapid development, almost every province established its own film studio, but only a small portion of them actually produced any films. Jiangnan Film Studio was one of those studios that never actually made any films.

The key point is that they have all the necessary equipment and staff... not to mention their capabilities. Even the best film studios in China, such as Changchun Film Studio, Beijing Film Studio, Shanghai Film Studio, and August First Film Studio, have only so-so filming techniques.

Once Chen Fan has thoroughly studied the current photography equipment and combined it with various blockbusters from later generations, he will have a way to significantly improve his shooting skills.

As for the crew's capabilities? Hehe, at worst he'll do everything himself, but the others are more than qualified to be his assistants.

As for hiring people from Hong Kong?

Chen Fan never considered this possibility. There's no other reason than that most Hong Kong filmmakers are a bit petty. They're excellent at making emotional scenes, but when it comes to large-scale productions, even if you gave them an army of 100,000, they couldn't capture the grandeur of it.

Within the August First Film Studio, if you couldn't film large-scale war scenes, you could never expect to be the director of your own camera.

That's a fundamental skill!
His novels contain many scenes of this kind of grand scale, so there was no need to hire people from Hong Kong.

Director Chen will handle everything himself... If necessary, we can hire outside help for special shots.

He simply couldn't believe that the August First Film Studio would dare refuse to lend personnel when filming a movie about a former leader of the General Logistics Department!
Seeing that Chen Fan had thought of everything, Old Ba stopped talking.

He glanced at the manuscript paper beside Chen Fan and asked, "Is this your new work?"

Chen Fan glanced at it, picked it up, and handed it over. "It's a short story written by Tian Tian, ​​about the reform and opening up."

After Mr. Ba took it and looked through it, he lit another cigarette and continued, "Some time ago we went to Shenzhen for an on-site inspection. My cousin plans to invest in a few factories there. During the trip, we dealt with some officials in the industrial zone there, and we felt that their style of doing things was very different from that of officials in the mainland."

Especially when they encounter difficulties, they think about how to solve them by all means, instead of waiting, relying on others, or asking for help.

This inspired Tian Tian to write this short story, inspired by several inspiring stories and figures she had read in the newspaper.

Ba Jin quickly skimmed through most of it, then looked up at him and said, "This article has a novel idea, a unique perspective, and commendable writing style. It could be published in Harvest, but..."

He held up the manuscript paper and waved it around, saying to Chen Fan with a half-smile, "Once this article of hers is published, the label on you will be firmly attached to you."

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash and laughed, "Do I need anyone to label me? Have you forgotten who my master is?!"

Ba's face stiffened. He gently put down the manuscript, clicked his tongue, and said, "I really forgot about that. Well, anyway, your master was the old political commissar's subordinate. The old man's mark is firmly stuck to you and can't be changed."

Chen Fan smiled, tossed away his cigarette butt, stood up, and said, "Since it can be sent, then I'll leave it to you. Keep an eye on things at the film studio for me, don't keep me waiting too long."

Old Ba waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely remember it."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "At the very least, there's the Fourth National Congress of Literary and Art Workers at the end of October. Leaders from the major film studios will definitely be there, so you can promote your work there."

Chen Fan's eyes flickered slightly, and for a moment he was genuinely tempted.

On October 30th of this year, the National Congress of Literary and Art Workers, which had been suspended for more than a decade, will be held in Beijing. It is after this meeting that the literary and art circles will gradually shake off the influence of the stormy weather and move towards the flourishing of a hundred flowers in the 10s.

As the vice chairman of the Jiangnan Provincial Writers Association and a leading figure among young writers, he was certain to attend. He took the opportunity to report on the film to Chen Huangmei at the meeting and also to remind Master Zhang that if the plot about rebuilding the Taoist temple couldn't be approved, it would need to be revised appropriately.

That's right, Director Chen is just being himself.

……

Back home, the two sisters were both in their rooms enjoying the air conditioning, each busy with their own things.

Upon seeing Chen Fan return, they all put down their work and came to greet him.

Before she could speak, Jiang Tiantian noticed Chen Fan's dejected look and was startled. She quickly went over to support his arm and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Lili also came over and stood beside him, whispering, "Did your sister's submission not get approved?"

Chen Fan sat down on the chair, looked left and right, and sighed, saying, "Master Ba said that Tian Tian's article is very well written, with a novel idea, a unique perspective, and commendable writing style. It can be published in Harvest."

Jiang Tiantian blinked, not delighted that her article had passed Ba Jin's review, but instead continued to ask, "Then why are you unhappy?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips and said, "Didn't I write a book called 'The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain' before?"

Jiang Lili nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I remember you also said that you wouldn't rush to publish it, but would wait until it was made into a movie and released before publishing it."

Jiang Tiantian quickly asked, "Is there a problem with the adaptation of this book?"

Chen Fan sighed, "Yes, I originally wanted to have it adapted by Shanghai Film Studio, but they refused, saying it lacked artistry."

Jiang Tiantian nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, the artistry is indeed a bit weak."

"Ok?"

Chen Fan turned to look at her. "Little comrade, which side are you on?"
Jiang Tiantian blushed and quickly added, "I mean, although it's not very artistic, the story is good, so I really want to read it."

Jiang Lili nodded repeatedly in agreement, "That's right, that's right, it will definitely be better than 'Yunhu Love' when it's filmed."

Chen Fan turned his head to the right again and asked, "Young comrade, what are you saying?"

Jiang Lili chuckled and quickly said, "I mean it's even better than 'Visitors on the Iceberg.' We all love watching it."

Jiang Tiantian frowned. "But the Shanghai Film Studio doesn't agree to film it now, so who are we going to find to film it?"

Jiang Lili looked at Chen Fan and said, "Why don't you try going to the Beijing Film Studio? Didn't you say you knew one of their deputy directors?"

Chen Fan stopped teasing them, put his arm around each of their shoulders, and laughed, "I already have an idea for this. Now we just have to wait for them to come to us."

As expected of the two sisters, they reacted in unison upon hearing this, both pouting and launching an attack on him.

Chen Fan immediately launched a counterattack, and the room was filled with laughter and noise.

(End of this chapter)