Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 781 A Practice Work
Jiangnan Film Studio, judging from its name, is a film production company. It belongs to the cultural system, which naturally sounds prestigious. If you don't know the inside story, you would definitely think that it has good benefits and high status, and is one of the best units.

But those who know the inside story have a complicated story to tell.

Taking Beijing Film Studio as an example, when it was built in 59, the studio area was 5.5 square meters and it could produce 24 films for regular screen and widescreen every year.

The factory area has beautiful outdoor scenery, including small hills, artificial lakes, rivers, and some semi-permanent scenery, such as southern villages and northern courtyards.

In addition to these outdoor scenes, three sound stages, a recording and editing workshop, a set decoration workshop, and a technical complex were specially built.

The studio has excellent soundproofing, mechanical controls for set design and lighting, and comprehensive ventilation, air conditioning, and heating systems.

The Beijing Film Studio, located in Xiaoguan outside Andingmen in Beijing, received guidance and assistance from eight experts from the Soviet Union during its planning, design, and construction. Through the establishment of the Beijing Film Studio, the studio's staff also forged close ties with the Soviet film industry.

Over the past two or three decades, dozens of high-quality films have been produced, including "The Great River Flows," "The Mourning," and "Rickshaw Boy," even on windy days.

Look at that, what level and style do they have?
Later, the Beijing Film Studio expanded from 5.5 square meters to 17 square meters, covering an area of ​​approximately 255 acres.

This scale is considerable.

What about Jiangying Film Studio?
It cannot be said that Jiangnan Province did not attach importance to Jiangying Film Studio. When the studio was established in 58, the province approved 200 mu of land for it, which was much more than the 5.5 square meters (about 82 mu) that Beijing Film Studio started with.

Moreover, the address was located in the heart of the old city of the provincial capital, just one street away from the concession area during the Republic of China era. This area was also a core CBD in later generations. Even after the Jiangying Film Studio went bankrupt and was restructured, the land value alone exceeded that of an ordinary state-owned factory. In the end, the province decided to focus on the land assets, move to the suburbs, and re-establish the Jiangnan Media Group.

That's serious enough!

That's not all. Whatever Beijing Film Studio and Shanghai Film Studio have, Jiangxi Film Studio must have too.

Back then, they demonstrated a tenacious fighting spirit of "running forward" and built an outdoor shooting base of more than 100 acres in just six months. It had pastoral scenery, rural farmhouses, town docks, bamboo forests, flower seas, etc. In addition, it had almost everything, including indoor photography studios, editing workshops, recording workshops, set decoration workshops, material warehouses, technical buildings, administrative buildings, and dormitory buildings.

In addition, there were 10 cameras purchased from Shanghai, and 500 reels of film purchased from the Soviet Union using foreign exchange that was painstakingly saved.

Apart from lacking a professional film crew and having to rely entirely on theatrical personnel for directors and actors, everything else is in place.

The main focus is on providing stationery for struggling students.

"Back then, the equipment at Jiangying Studio was modeled after that of Beijing Film Studio."

Factory Director Wu pointed to a pile of cameras in the cabinet and said to Chen Fan, "This kind of camera is a film shooting machine independently developed in my country. The inventor is Zheng Chonglan, a famous cinematographer and film machinery technology expert."

In 47, he invented my country's first domestically developed and produced 35mm cinema camera, the Wiener camera, which was used to shoot the famous film "The Spring River Flows East". Then, in 58, he invented the Shanghai 1101 medium-sized cinema camera, which is this type.

At that time, he was already the deputy director of the state-owned Shanghai Film Machinery Factory, in charge of technical work.

Unfortunately, he was too large and too conspicuous. During the strong winds of 74, he couldn't avoid being hit by a falling tree branch and died instantly. Otherwise, if he had continued his research and development, we might not need to import cameras from abroad now.

Chen Fan paused for two seconds, not taking the subject, but instead looked at the machines in the cabinet and asked, "None of these work?"

Factory Director Wu sighed, "Of the 10 machines we bought back then, we hardly ever used them. We only filmed a few stage plays before a strong wind started blowing them over and smashing them all. Later, our factory's technicians picked them up, disassembled them all, and pieced them together from parts, managing to put together two machines."

This is why they have hardly made a single serious film in the past twenty years, which is also related to a lack of funding.

Our provincial capital can't compare to the wealthy Changchun Film Studio. The Northeast is so rich, right? A large portion of the country's heavy industry is in the Northeast; getting funding is so easy for them. Of course, it can't compare to Beijing or Shanghai either.

Besides its abundant resources and plentiful food, Jiangnan Province's economy is only at a mid-level nationally. The fact that this factory can stay afloat, unlike the neighboring film studio which had to shut down, is already quite an achievement.

He pointed to another metal cabinet as he spoke, “The two most precious cameras in the factory are usually locked in this cabinet. This cabinet has two locks, one for me and one for Secretary Kang. It takes both of us to open the cabinet.”

After a pause, he continued, "Secretary Kang also caught a cold on a windy day. In particular, back then, in order to protect these equipment, he was tossed about more than a dozen times by the wind, breaking more than a dozen bones in his body. Now he stays at home to recuperate."

He was supposed to come today, but I persuaded him not to; his health simply wouldn't allow it."

Chen Fan nodded. "Yes, I understand."

He then turned to Jiang Tiantian and said, "Make a note of this for me. I'll bring some gifts to visit Secretary Kang later."

Jiang Tiantian nodded immediately and took out her small notebook to write it down.

Director Wu and the cadres behind him couldn't help but lower their heads.

Only Chen Fan would dare to use the most famous young writer of the moment as his secretary.

Chen Fan had absolutely no idea that Jiang Tiantian was now replicating his rise to fame back then (last year?).

He only published one poem, one novel, and one short story. His output wasn't even as high as he could produce in any given month back then, so it's really hard to feel anything about it.

Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili didn't care about outside affairs, so the three of them were completely unaware that Jiang Tiantian's status had risen.

However, in the literary world, some have already proclaimed the slogan "Without Chen Fan, who can compete?", pushing this newcomer to the position of the second best among the younger generation.

If Chen Fan knew, he would realize that this position was too high. With Jiang Tiantian's current skills and achievements, ranking in the top ten young writers would definitely not be a problem, but to say that she was second would be a bit of an exaggeration.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't care. Just because it's not enough now doesn't mean it won't be enough in the future. With me backing her up, Jiang Tiantian will have her due sooner or later.

Chen Fan glanced at the crowd. Although he found their strange looks a little odd, he didn't think much of it.

He made a gesture and left the equipment room to continue his tour of the Jiangying Film Studio.

He had already inspected the outdoor filming location, and now he continued to inspect the studios, editing workshops, recording studios, and other facilities.

After taking one last look around, Chen Fan was unsurprisingly disappointed.

Over the years, the Jiangying Film Studio has received limited funding, and apart from the annual purchase of film and developing chemicals, it has made almost no progress in other areas.

Even the original film developing workshop was designated as the processing base for all photo studios in the provincial capital.

This was also a well-intentioned gesture from the higher-ups. Without this workshop, Jiangying Factory would have collapsed long ago and wouldn't have survived until Director Wu had to ask Chen Fan for help.

Finally, in a rehearsal room even larger than a classroom... Chen Fan watched the actors rehearse for ten minutes through the window in the corridor outside. He let out a long breath, gestured to Director Wu, and turned to leave.

……

As soon as they left, the actors who were rehearsing immediately craned their necks to look. A teenage actor quickly ran to the door, peeked out, and called back, "They're gone."

Dozens of actors, ranging in age from very old to very young, quickly formed a circle around each other.

"How did we do just now?"

"It has to work. That somersault of mine is the result of thirty years of practice. There are very few people in the whole province who can do it."

"Master, what about looking at the whole country?"

"roll roll roll……"

"I heard that Chen Fan is going to shoot a martial arts film this time, just like the martial arts novels in 'Story Club'. Master Yang is good at somersaults and Master Li is good at martial arts. They will definitely be selected."

"Haha, thank you for your kind words, thank you for your kind words."

"Waaah... Master, I want to make movies too."

"You're young, go to the back of the line."

……

Back in the factory director's office, everyone else left, leaving only Director Wu, Kuang Mingyi, and Lao Jianhua to keep him company.

Secretary Fang had visited before, but the old man was not in good health. After talking with Chen Fan for a while, he was sent home.

The six people took their seats as host and guest. After the secretary made tea, left, and closed the door, Director Wu eagerly asked, "Vice Chairman Chen..."

Having just begun, Chen Fan waved his hand and said, "From today onwards, please call me Director Chen, or Director Chen."

Factory Director Wu didn't mind at all and switched gears smoothly, "Director Chen, do you think our factory's actors are still usable?" Chen Fan clenched his teeth, more determined than a comrade under the enemy's whip... he really couldn't open his mouth.

Seeing his expression, Director Wu and the other two understood what he meant.

Kuang Mingyi was still somewhat unwilling and asked in a low voice, "Most of them are veterans who have been with the factory since its inception. They have a wealth of performance experience. Are they really all unusable?"

Chen Fan wiped his face, thought for a moment, and asked, "Director Wu, I'd like to ask, how long has it been since Jiangying Studio recruited any new actors?"

Director Wu immediately said, "We just recruited this year. Those dozen or so young actors you just saw were recruited in April."

Chen Fan hesitated for two seconds, then changed his question, "When was the last time we recruited new members?"

Factory Director Wu choked for a moment, paused for two seconds, then coughed twice, "Ah, this, last time?"

Chen Fan nodded seriously, "Last time."

Factory Director Wu looked at Kuang Mingyi. Oh, he only came last year and is not familiar with the situation.

Let's look at Lao Jianhua. He's an old man. He was assigned to Jiangying Film Studio after graduating from vocational school. In addition to a monthly salary of a few dozen yuan and a year-end bonus of 10 yuan without fail, he never received any other "subsidies". He is definitely a true "Jiangying person".

He immediately coughed twice and said to Lao Jianhua, "Director Lao, when was the last time our factory recruited new employees?"

Lao Jianhua stared wide-eyed, as if to say: You're asking me?

Are you kidding me? !
I'm the office director, not the personnel department director. ...Well, what can I do? He's the factory director, and I'm just a lowly director.

Lao Jianhua sighed slightly, looked up and said, "59 years, which was the second year after the factory was built."

Chen Fan's expression stiffened as he looked at him and asked, "That was twenty years ago?"

Lao Jianhua's expression was somewhat complicated. "From a mathematical point of view, yes."

Chen Fan turned to look at Director Wu, a string of words stuck in his throat, unable to come up or go down.

Given this situation, how can you have the nerve to say, "Please be sure to select actors from our own factory for the role"?

Needless to say, there will definitely be no actors from Jiangying Studio in the film "Monk Comes Down the Mountain".

Too old, too awkward in his performance, he didn't fit Chen Fan's vision of the movie at all.

Looking at Chen Fan's face, Director Wu felt a sense of despair.

Old Yang and Old Li acted really well just now. Even if they can't play the lead role, they can certainly play a supporting role, right?
But at this moment, he didn't dare to speak. Just a few days ago, he had received calls from several other film studio directors, asking to collaborate and share costs. ...There are plenty of other film studios that want the scripts that Shanghai Film Studio doesn't want, not to mention the opportunity to build a relationship with Chen Fan.

If he makes excessive demands and displeases Chen Fan, causing Chen Fan to choose another film studio instead, then he will truly regret it.

So at this moment, he could only silently apologize to the veteran actors in his heart, saying, "Next time, next time our studio makes its own film, we'll definitely choose you!"
Just then, Kuang Mingyi, who had been silent all along, suddenly coughed.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

Kuang Mingyi smiled, glanced at Jiang Tiantian, and then said to Chen Fan, "Deputy Director Chen, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Chen Fan looked at him and nodded slightly. "Please speak."

Kuang Mingyi glanced at Jiang Tiantian again and then said, "It's about the short story 'A Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip' that writer Jiang published in last month's Harvest magazine. I wonder if you would adapt this story into a movie and direct it yourself?"

Chen Fan was taken aback for a moment, gave him a meaningful look, and smiled, "Could it be that Director Kuang is interested in this article?"

Jiang Tiantian, standing next to her, was completely stunned. Adapt my work?

Kuang Mingyi immediately smiled and said, "That's right, this article is indeed very attractive to me. I also discussed it with Director Wu yesterday. If the adaptation rights haven't been taken by other film studios, our Jiang Film Studio is very interested in adapting it."

As he spoke, he glanced at Director Wu.

Director Wu is a man who has braved wind and fire, fought against the Japanese invaders and broken out of the liberated areas. What hasn't he seen?
At this moment, Kuang Mingyi said this, and even though they hadn't talked about this matter yesterday, he said with a firm expression, "Yes, yes, it is true, but we haven't had a chance to mention it yet."

Chen Fan looked at the two of them, his smile growing wider. He turned to look at Jiang Tiantian and asked with a smile, "What do you say?"

Jiang Tiantian looked a little lost and confused. "I...I don't know."

Jiang Lili was even more anxious than the person involved, secretly poking her with her finger and constantly giving her meaningful glances.

Seeing her expression, Jiang Tiantian immediately realized what was going on and said to Chen Fan, "You make the decision for me."

Chen Fan smiled at her, then turned and said, "If Jiangying Studio is indeed interested, then the adaptation rights will be given to Jiangying Studio."

Jiang Tiantian's short story is titled "A Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip," which depicts the changes in society after the reform and opening up. Through the job changes of a returned educated youth, it illustrates the importance of turning passivity into initiative, and also incorporates many of her observations in Shenzhen.

While not particularly literary, it is novel and reflects the changes in the process of the times, making it a fine piece of work.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have received praise from Buffett.

However, this article was only published on the 15th of last month. In such a short time, naturally no film studio would come to contact us.

Unexpectedly, Kuang Mingyi came up with the idea of ​​using this article as a breakthrough to persuade Chen Fan to agree to let the actors from Jiangying Studio participate in the film.

Just as Chen Fan had guessed, Kuang Mingyi spoke as soon as he agreed.

He looked very excited and said with a smile, "That's wonderful! As for the adaptation fee, we'll pay the highest possible rate..."

He then looked at Director Wu.

Factory Director Wu didn't mince words, holding up a hand. "Originally, the maximum price for adapting a script was 3000, but since we'll need to trouble writer Jiang with the script, we'll calculate it at the highest standard of 5000 for an original script."

Although the factory is short of funds right now, as long as Chen Fan's name is involved, the production department can easily allocate hundreds of thousands of yuan for filming!
A script fee of a few thousand yuan is not worth mentioning.

Chen Fan smiled and didn't comment on the price, but simply said, "In a couple of days, Tian Tian will finish writing the script and give it to you."

Jiang Tiantian remained silent.

Although she didn't have much money, not even a salary, only school grants and royalties from published novels, Xiao Fan was rich. Whether it was 5000 or 3000, it made no difference to her.

On the contrary, I've never written a screenplay before, so I'll have to ask Chen Fan for help in this area. Sigh, I just wonder what kind of tuition he'll ask for this time?
After pausing for two seconds, Kuang Mingyi turned to Chen Fan and continued, "Director Chen, I have something to say from the bottom of my heart. If I say something wrong, please don't take offense."

Chen Fan extended his hand. "Please speak."

Kuang Mingyi said seriously, "Your literary talent is beyond doubt, but since you've never made a movie before, you might as well practice with a film with a simple plot for your first time."

He glanced at Jiang Tiantian again and smiled, "Jiang's short story is undoubtedly literary and artistic, but the plot and setting are indeed quite simple. Why don't you two use this film as a practice piece? It just so happens that you two are acquaintances, making communication easier. What do you think?"

Chen Fan nodded seriously, "Director Kuang is right."

He originally wanted to make a short film to practice before filming "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," and now it's perfect, as it can also help Jiang Tiantian.

Just like in later generations, the status of writers whose works have been adapted into films is different from that of writers whose works have not been adapted.

If someone gives him a peach, he will naturally return the favor with a plum.

He immediately said, "Although this play is simple, it requires a high level of acting skills. I think it would be most suitable to have a senior actor with more experience and rich stage experience to play the role."

Factory Director Wu, Kuang Mingyi, and Lao Jianhua's eyes lit up instantly.

With a hint of expectation, Director Wu looked at Chen Fan and said in a low voice, "Our actors at Jiangying Film Studio all have decades of stage experience. Why don't we choose the main actors from among them?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly and smiled, "I think that's a good idea."

(End of this chapter)