Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 776 Two Conditions
At this point, one naturally won't pay close attention to the plot of a novel.

Factory Director Wu first read the story outline to understand what kind of story it was, and then skimmed through it quickly.

In Chen Fan's plan, "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" may be filmed in four or five parts. The first part is mainly to explain the background, that is, the cause and effect of breaking down the temple, coming down the mountain, saving people and killing enemies. The ending is with the young Taoist Xuansong joining the Red Army.

This first novel contains these contents, with a total length of about 20 words. If it were adapted into a screenplay, the total length would be controlled to around 100 minutes.

Although Director Wu had already sped up, he couldn't help but get a little carried away when he saw something exciting, and after snapping back to reality, he sped up again.

After repeating this process several times, I finally finished reading the entire novel.

Two hours had already passed.

Glancing at the clock in the corner, Director Wu quickly placed the manuscript on the coffee table, his face showing some apology, and said, "Sorry, sorry, I got so engrossed in reading that I didn't realize it would take so long."

Director Kuang and Director Lao, who were standing nearby, were also startled awake. Although they hadn't finished reading a small part of the manuscript and were still quite unsatisfied, they closed the manuscript and placed it neatly on the coffee table.

Chen Fan put down the third book he was reading, handed him a few cigarettes, and said with a smile, "You're engrossed in reading it, which means my humble work is still acceptable. This is a compliment, so why should I apologize?"

Director Wu and the other two took the cigarettes with both hands and lit them themselves.

After pausing for two seconds, seeing that Chen Fan showed no signs of impatience, Director Wu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I must say, Vice Chairman Chen's work is truly captivating. Once I got my hands on it, I couldn't bear to put it down."

If it could be made into a movie, it would certainly be on par with classics like "The Ferryman" and "Love in the Clouds and Lakes."

As for what artistic merit it has?
Duh, the factory is almost going out of business, what's the point of having any artistry?
Before they came, they had a meeting. The current Jiangying Film Studio is not focused on artistry. What they want is for films that are entertaining, popular with the general public, and that can also get purchasing directors from cinemas all over the country to offer high prices for them!
People can only talk about art after they have eaten their fill.

As for the issue of calling for the construction of Taoist temples, it doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment.

At least in the first part, rebuilding the Taoist temple was just a wish of the young Taoist Xuansong; he didn't go around shouting that he wanted to repair the temple.

It's likely that Shanghai Film Studio was scared off by the storms of the past few years, which is why it's being so cautious.

But Jiangying Factory wasn't afraid. They were starving to death, so why would they be afraid of such a small thing?
Not to mention that Secretary Fang has already agreed to return to public life and will personally submit the application to the Ministry of Culture for review, so passing the review should not be a problem.

The entire Jiangying Film Studio is now ready to go, it all depends on whether Writer Chen will grant us the honor.

Chen Fan looked at the three people who were eagerly waiting, smiled, and said, "So, Jiangying Studio really wants to adapt this novel into a movie. You should be aware of the risks involved, right?"

Factory Director Wu immediately said, "We've all noticed. I met with Secretary Fang before coming here, and now that I've seen the original work, I'm even more certain that this is not a risk at all. As long as you give us the adaptation rights, we dare to film it."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, flicked off his cigarette ash, and looked at him with a smile, "First of all, I want to thank Director Wu and Secretary Fang for their high regard and kindness towards me. If other conditions are suitable, it would not be unreasonable to hand this film over to Jiang Film Studio."

Other conditions?

Upon hearing these keywords, Director Wu paused for a moment, but quickly recovered and asked seriously, "What are the conditions you mentioned?"

Chen Fan held up two fingers. "There are two main questions. First, if I were to direct this film, would you agree and be able to fully cooperate?"

What?
You want to be a director?
Director Wu and the other two were stunned. After a couple of seconds, they looked at each other, each of them seeing the other's bewilderment.

In particular, the production manager, Kuang Mingyi, agreed to be transferred to Jiangying Studio because Jiangying Studio promised to let him direct a film. Otherwise, with his cinematography skills and experience, he could have gone to Beijing Film Studio or Shanghai Film Studio. Why would he go to an unknown small studio?
Even before setting off, he had imagined more than once that he would be able to direct this film and, like Director Huang of "Cloud Lake Love," shine brightly in the film industry.

Having read most of the story, he is even more convinced of his idea.

Such a story has a plot, sentiment, and righteousness; if you can't grasp it, you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life.

Unexpectedly, just as the discussion began, writer Chen dropped a bombshell.

He actually wants to direct it himself?
Is being a film director really that easy?
Looking across film studios across the country, which director didn't follow in the footsteps of veteran filmmakers, diligently learning and practicing, starting as a production assistant doing odd jobs, and having to switch between various positions before they could possibly learn some real skills?

After running around like this for ten years or so, one might finally get the chance to become an assistant director, shooting a few unimportant shots under the direction of a veteran director.

Then, continue to hone your skills. If you can independently direct a film in your thirties, you can definitely be called a "young talent".

And now a writer who may have never even seen a film set is shamelessly proclaiming that he wants to be a director?

Isn't that a huge joke?!

Director Wu and Director Lao, who were standing nearby, shared similar thoughts.

The difference is that they also know that Kuang Mingyi most wants to be the director of this film, so they were all stunned for a moment, glancing at Kuang Mingyi from time to time, somewhat at a loss.

Chen Fan himself understood how outrageous this request was, but he had no choice. Good film studios didn't want to be associated with him, and he didn't trust the other film studios.

If "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" were to be adapted into "Guerrilla Warfare," that would be truly laughable.

It's not that "Guerrilla Warfare" is bad, it's just that it's not in the same category at all.

Looking at the three silent people, Chen Fan took a puff of his cigarette and continued, "I know this request is a bit excessive, but I already have a complete story in my mind. If I hand it over to someone else to film, I'm afraid it won't be able to break away from the original film's framework and lose the true essence of the original novel."

Upon hearing this, both the old factory director and Director Kuang had a change of heart and unconsciously picked up the manuscript in front of them and began to read it again.

When they were reading the book, they felt that the images were very vivid, and this way of presenting the story seemed to be different from the novels and movies they had seen before.

When Chen Fan mentioned it, and then tried to "realize" it using a movie framework, it became clear that things were indeed quite different.

The most notable feature is that it is much more "fun," unlike movies nowadays, even slice-of-life films, which tend to be somewhat "serious."

This seriousness isn't real seriousness, but rather a feeling of being overly earnest, rather than relaxed.

They only felt this sense of relaxation for the first time in "Love in the Clouds and Lakes".

Upon reflection, Kuang Mingyi immediately understood Chen Fan's concerns and thoughts.

After a moment's hesitation, he glanced at Director Wu, then looked at Chen Fan and said seriously, "Vice Chairman Chen, as the production manager, I have no objection to your request in principle." Upon hearing this, Director Wu was startled and turned sharply to look at Kuang Mingyi.

Director Wu saw Kuang Mingyi smile at him, and he immediately understood what he was thinking. He looked at him gratefully, then turned to Chen Fan and said, "Vice Chairman Chen, I also agree in principle."

He paused for a moment, then added, “I am in charge of managing the daily operations of the factory, while Director Kuang of the production department is in charge of film shooting. Generally speaking, as long as we agree, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

only,……"

He turned to look at Kuang Mingyi, then continued, "However, you are not very familiar with the filming team at Jiangxi Film Studio. If Director Kuang could serve as the assistant director and coordinate the work of the filming team, it might go more smoothly."

Chen Fan was somewhat surprised to see that they had agreed without even discussing it with him.

He thought it would take at least two or three days to negotiate, and that he would have to call the factory to discuss it before they would "limitedly" agree.

I didn't expect you to agree so easily?

Kuang Mingyi smiled gratefully at Director Wu, then looked at Chen Fan and said seriously, "Strictly speaking, Jiangying Film Studio doesn't have a real big-name film director yet. I'm probably the one who knows best how to make a film."

But even I have never shot a complete film; I was only responsible for photography.

If I were truly put in full charge, I would feel immense pressure, especially given the different visual style conveyed in your work compared to the past, which makes me even more uneasy.

If you were to personally direct, and I were to assist from the sidelines, I think that combination might be a good approach.

what do you think? "

Chen Fan smiled and nodded gently, "Since Director Kuang is willing to help, I am naturally very happy to cooperate with you. Director Wu is right, I am not very familiar with the personnel of Jiangying Film Studio, and we do need someone who is familiar with your internal team to participate."

He paused for two seconds, looked at the three of them, and smiled, "So, this one is passed?"

Factory Director Wu smiled and nodded vigorously, "Passed."

"Okay, then I'll talk about the second point."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, your photography equipment, including editing and developing equipment, is all old equipment from when the factory was first built, right?"

Upon hearing this, Director Wu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

He took a drag of his cigarette and said carefully, “You know the inside story. It’s been almost twenty years since the factory was built. Apart from a few stage films made in the first few years, we haven’t made many movies in the last 14 or 5 years.”

At most, I'll go to film some scenes during major events or holiday celebrations.

Without any good works being produced, it's naturally difficult to submit a request to higher authorities to replace or add equipment.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I can understand. But can you really produce good footage using those old devices from the 50s?"

As he spoke, he looked at the three of them and said, "When the Shanghai Film Studio filmed 'Love in the Clouds and Lakes,' they used not only color cameras but also widescreen equipment and genuine 35mm film. If I remember correctly, many film studios back then were still using 8mm narrow film, right?"

Director Wu and the other two were speechless.

There's no other reason than Chen Fan's prediction came true.

These days, 35mm cameras are still very rare. Many provinces don't even have one. They use handheld 8mm cameras instead. The images captured by these cameras are very small, and they become blurry when zoomed in even slightly. They are not only inferior to regular 35mm cameras, but also far inferior to the widescreen cameras used by Shanghai Film Studio.

Chen Fan would definitely not agree to filming with this kind of camera.

After gathering his thoughts, Director Wu quickly said, "We discussed this before we came out. If we are fortunate enough to receive authorization from Vice Chairman Chen, we will immediately report to the department and purchase two 35mm full-frame cameras as soon as possible. We will definitely not hold back on equipment."

Kuang Mingyi quickly added, "Besides purchasing new equipment, I can also contact my former employers, and at the very least, I can guarantee to borrow a 35mm camera."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and thought for a moment, then looked at the two of them and asked, "How much does a camera cost these days?"

After thinking for a moment, Director Wu said, "It depends on whether it's domestically produced or imported, black and white or color, and whether it's a standard or widescreen display."

Generally speaking, domestically produced black and white cameras are the cheapest, costing around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. Color cameras are more expensive, costing over 40,000 yuan. Imported cameras are even more expensive, costing 50,000 to 60,000 yuan, 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, or even over 100,000 yuan.

I've also heard of a type of camcorder made from a small notebook. It doesn't use film, but videotape, which is much cheaper than film. However, it's mainly used for television shooting, and the image quality is slightly inferior to that of a camcorder.

Such a machine would cost tens of thousands of yuan.

Chen Fan knew what he was talking about. A few years later, when filming "Journey to the West", they used this kind of camera, and the entire crew only had one. It was really tough.

He didn't want to live such a miserable life.

He tapped his fingers lightly on his leg, paused for a few seconds, and looked at Director Wu, saying, "Okay, the second condition is that I will arrange the camera. When filming this movie, it will be considered as a loan to your factory."

Upon hearing this, Director Wu and the other two stared wide-eyed.

Did Chen Fan buy the camera himself?

Didn't I make it clear earlier? Does he not know how much a camera costs?
Then Chen Fan continued, "If we're going to buy something, we should buy the best. We need widescreen color 35mm cameras. Let's buy four first, and we'll talk about it if we need more."

Factory Director Wu blinked blankly. Four stations?

That would cost over 300,000?

Oh, by the way, I heard before that writer Chen's works were published in small bookstores, earning him over ten thousand US dollars in foreign exchange, which is equivalent to more than three hundred thousand yuan.

Could it be that writer Chen is going to empty his pockets for this movie?
Chen Fan thought for a moment and then continued, "What other equipment do we need to buy? For example, editing machines, developing equipment, etc. You can just make a list for me and I'll have someone procure them all at once."

If it weren't for the fact that these days, making a movie requires being affiliated with a film studio, he could have started his own film production company with this investment.

(End of this chapter)