1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 296 You Must Actively Cooperate
These days, it’s not up to the director to decide what to shoot.

Which director will shoot what and what not is basically determined by the production plan of the studio, and the director himself has no decision-making power.

Jiang Xian poured two glasses of "Maotai Qisi", clinked glasses with Xie Jin, and drank them in one gulp.

"Where is the literature department of your Shanghai Film Studio? How come a great director like you has to come to me in person to discuss The Garland Under the Mountain?"

From 1980 to 1983, Shanghai Film Studio was at its peak. It was easy for the studio to win the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards. At one Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony, Wang Yang, the director of Beijing Film Studio, slapped Xu Sangchu, the director of Shanghai Film Studio, on the shoulder and complained loudly:

"Don't take all the prizes, leave some for us!"

The reason why Shanghai Film Studio can create one powerful film after another is that it is equipped with an extremely powerful literature department, with more than 50 literary editors alone.

Many of them are famous playwrights on the front line of creation, including Wang Lingu, the screenwriter of "Stage Sisters", Li Hongxin, the screenwriter of "The Nanchang Uprising", Xu Yinhua, the screenwriter of "Small Street", and so on.

In addition, in order to organize manuscript sources across the country as much as possible, the Shanghai Film Literature Department also divided the country into several regions: North China Region, South China Region, Military Region, Shanghai Region
In each district, Shanghai Film Studio has dedicated personnel to contact famous writers.

A group of the most famous writers in the country, including Liang Xin, Ye Nan, Bai Hua, Malaqinfu, Huang Zongjiang, Li Jun, Lu Yanzhou, Sha Yexin and Yan Geling, were recruited by the Shanghai Film Studio and scripts were continuously supplied to them.

At its peak, the Literature Department of Shanghai Film Studio could produce around 100 scripts every year.

Of these 100 scripts, approximately 50 are ready for filming, and from these 50, 20 are selected for actual production and filming.

Out of 100 scripts, only 20 were actually put into production, with a rejection rate of five to one.

This is the confidence of Shanghai Film Studio, which ranks first in terms of copy sales.

In response to Jiang Xian's question, Xie Jin smiled and said, "After all, we have worked together once. If Shanghai Film Studio wants to send someone over, I would be the most suitable person."

"What task did the factory give you?"

“That’s one aspect.”

Xie Jin had drunk some wine, and his face had turned red. He chuckled and said, "I have told the studio that if I can get The Garland Under the Mountain, it must be given to me and cannot be given to anyone else."

Xie Jin was very fond of the novel "The Wreath". After reading it for the first time, he was filled with emotions and the idea of ​​adapting it into a movie came to his mind.

He expressed his demands to Shanghai Film Studio several times, but the studio suppressed them for various reasons and did not act in a hurry.

There are mainly two reasons:
First, the subject matter of "The Wreath" is too sensitive, and it is not easy to pass the review.

Second, the big brother of the Bayi Film Studio has not yet said that he wants to shoot. It is unreasonable for the younger brother to start before the big brother starts eating.

Taking various factors into consideration, this matter has been delayed until now.

However, as "The Wreath" won an award in the "National Excellent Novel Selection", this novel also became a novel that the Ministry of Culture focused on arranging for filming.

In addition, the Bayi Film Studio was hesitant. They held several internal meetings, but the decision to shoot was never passed, and there was a lot of internal controversy.

The focus of the controversy is that "The Wreath" reflects some unhealthy trends in the army and writes about the hard lives of the people in the old revolutionary base areas, and the filming of it may involve some problems.

Only then did Shanghai Film Studio dare to take action.

"I remember you took on a drama called Qiu Jin this year?" Jiang Xian asked.

Xie Jin was the ace director of the Shanghai Film Studio. After finishing the filming of "The Chess King", he took on another task from the Shanghai Film Studio to shoot the movie "Qiu Jin".

He has been making movies for decades, and he has an unshakable routine, which is to make only one movie a year at most.

But we have already filmed "Qiu Jin" this year, and filming "The Garland under the Mountain" would be a break from the convention.

"You don't have to think about that."

Xie Jin blushed and panted, "Just give me The Wreath, and I'll break this rule."

"I have one more question."

Jiang Xian chuckled and said, "Even Bayi Film Studio has concerns about my film, how dare you shoot it?

I just want to ask you a question. You have read the novel. After the death of the 9th Company Commander Liang Sanxi, he left behind a huge debt. Do you dare to leave this plot for me?"

Liang Sanxi was born in Yimeng Mountain.

Yimeng Mountain, Jinggang Mountain and Dabie Mountain are all old revolutionary areas and the cradle of the party's growth.

The people in the old revolutionary base areas made great contributions and paid huge sacrifices for liberation.

Ru Shuai said with tears in his eyes: "Even if I lie in my coffin, I will never forget the people of Yimeng Mountain. They supported the revolution with millet and pushed the revolution across the Yangtze River with carts!"

As a result, in "The Wreath", it was actually written that there was a comrade named Liang Sanxi in the old district who owed bills?

This must be an eyesore to many people.

After a pause, Jiang Xian continued, "In addition, my play "The Wreath under the Mountain" has been adapted into a drama. More than a dozen performance groups across the country are rehearsing the play at the same time, which has caused a sensation.

At this time, if you want to make a movie, can you make a name for yourself? "

Xie Jin was a little tipsy, and when he heard this, he flew into a rage. He stood up and pounded his chest, "Comrade Jiang Xian, I'm here to give you a military order today.

If "The Wreath" doesn't make a splash, I, Xie Jin, will never make a movie again in my lifetime!"

When Jiang Xian saw Xie Jin's reaction, he knew that Xie Jin was motivated and he had almost done enough to provoke him.

The reason why I wanted to provoke Xie Jin was that I was afraid of any accidents.

In another time and space, the filming of "The Garland under the Mountain" can be said to be quite successful, but there were still many obstacles along the way.

Once again handed over to Xie Jin, whether he can withstand such pressure and whether he is willing to withstand such pressure again is actually a matter of one thought.

"Okay, okay."

Jiang Xian pulled Xie Jin to sit down and filled his glass again. "I don't know about others, but I know you, Old Xie? Come on, let's work together again."

Xie Jin also showed some pride and raised his glass, "Comrade Jiang Xian, I am not good at talking. I know the influence of The Wreath in China and I also know how good the novel is. This time I have The Wreath, and I will definitely create a masterpiece that will shock the Chinese film industry."

The two smiled at each other and drank it all in one gulp.

Regarding the creation of the script, Xie Jin asked Jiang Xian for his opinion, "Are you still writing the script yourself this time?"

Jiang Xian thought about it and decided not to take action himself.

“Find your own screenwriter.

Although I can write novels, I am definitely not good enough to grasp some details of military life, and I am afraid I am not qualified to be a screenwriter. "

Adapting a script only earns him less than two thousand yuan. As for the honor of being a screenwriter, Jiang Xian does not lack it.

After all, no matter how popular "The Garland under the Mountain" is, the audience is still familiar with the director and the original author.

Xie Jin nodded and raised his glass again.

Jiang Xian originally planned to deliver the manuscript of "Red Sorghum" to Cui Daoyi at "People's Literature".

Seeing this, he simply put the matter aside for the time being and had a good drink with Xie Jin.

The next day, before I sobered up, a phone call came in.

He stumbled downstairs and picked up the phone with a weak voice.

"Who?" "I'm Chen Huangmei."

Hearing this person's name, Jiang Xian rubbed his face quickly to make himself look more energetic.

"Why is it you? What instructions do you have for me?"

"Comrade Jiang Xian, let me ask you, which film studio did you hand over "The Garland under the Mountain" to?" Chen Huangmei asked straight to the point.

Chen Huangmei is not only a veteran writer, he also serves as Deputy Minister of Culture in charge of film work, so naturally he pays more attention to matters in this area.

Jiang Xian also knows that at this stage, "The Garland under the Mountain" is no longer just his work.

The significance contained in this work has forced the superiors to supervise and protect the novel.

This kind of management depends on what the author thinks.

If you can't think positively, you will feel unhappy, but there is nothing you can do. If you can think positively, it is also a kind of honor.

Jiang Xian has a good attitude and is very supportive of the country's work, so he was very positive in answering Chen Huangmei's questions.

"I plan to hand it over to the Shanghai Film Studio." He answered truthfully.

"Shanghai Film Studio?"

Hearing his words, Chen Huangmei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, Shanghai Film Studio has director Xie Jin. 'The Garland Under the Mountain' is about life in the army. Xie Jin is also a famous director. I believe it can be filmed well."

After saying this, Chen Huangmei asked who wrote the script.

"I haven't decided on the candidate yet." Jiang Xian replied.

". Screenwriting is a big deal. It's hard to explain it in a few words over the phone. Come to my apartment in Muxidi this afternoon and we can meet and discuss it in detail."

"okay."

Jiang Xian felt a pain in his heart.

He has been attending meetings at the Federation of Literary and Art Circles recently. This afternoon, the Federation is organizing a screening of two foreign films, and he had originally planned to go and watch them. After all, there are not many imported films at the moment, so it would be difficult to watch them all.

But how could he not go when he was invited by such a respected literary predecessor as Chen Huangmei?
What's more, he knew as soon as he heard it that Chen Huangmei wanted to talk to him about the screenwriting of "The Garland under the Mountain".

After this incident, Jiang Xian had to put the submission of the manuscript on hold. After all, he went to People's Literature not just to submit the manuscript, but also had something to say to Cui Daoyi.

Soon, a black Toyota Crown sedan stopped at the door of the unit building No. 15 Hufang Road, attracting the attention of many residents.

Nowadays, only famous people are qualified to buy a car, not to mention that this is not Yanjing 212, but a Toyota Crown, a rare car in China.

No. 15 Hufang Road is the site of CCTV. Compared with ordinary people, the residents here know better what level of people can afford a car of this level, so as soon as this car appeared downstairs of the unit, it attracted the attention of people upstairs and downstairs.

"Hey, what's the official title of this car?"

"Whose pick up?"

"I do not know."

A group of neighbors were discussing enthusiastically.

"I seem to have seen this car at the last meeting." someone said.

Jiang Xian got into the car under such scrutiny.

He took a look at the interior and found it quite nice.

At this time, the "Hongqi" sedan has been discontinued. In addition, due to the friendship between China and Japan, the leaders are basically equipped with imported sedans. For people at Chen Huangmei's level, the most common one is the Toyota Crown sedan.

Jiang Xian touched the leather back seat, wondering when he could get one for himself.

Forget about buying a car in China, but he can still try to get his superiors to allocate one to him.

The Crown car drove smoothly to the high-ranking official building in Muxidi. This was also Feng Mu's residence, so Jiang Xian was quite familiar with it.

As soon as he entered the door, Chen Huangmei spoke to Jiang Xian kindly:

"I know there are two good foreign films this afternoon, but I need to discuss something with you, so we can watch the films later!"

Jiang Xian smiled awkwardly and nodded.

After entering Chen Huangmei's narrow bedroom and study room at the door, Jiang Xian discovered that there were several other people in the room.

"This is Comrade Bai Hua, this is Comrade Xu Huaizhong, and this is Comrade Peng Jingfeng." Chen Huangmei introduced.

Jiang Xian was not too unfamiliar with them.

Bai Hua is the screenwriter of "The Stars Are Shining Tonight" and Xu Huaizhong is the author of "Anecdotes from the Western Front".

He had never met Peng Jingfeng, he only knew that he was a military writer.

"This is Comrade Jiang Xian."

Chen Huangmei sat down on the chair and explained to Peng Jingfeng, who arrived the latest, "Jiang Xian's novel "The Wreath under the Mountain" is about to be made into a movie. Comrade Jiang Xian hopes to find a writer with screenwriting experience to cooperate with him. I would like to recommend you three to him.

Although Comrade Jiang Xian writes good novels, he has no experience in military life and is unfamiliar with Yunnan's border defense.

I think it would be safer to ask writers who have written about the border areas of Yunnan to adapt the story.”

Bai Hua heard this and quickly waved his hand, "Comrade Huang Mei, screenwriting is not an easy job. The shortcomings of novels can be enriched through movies. I'm afraid I can't be given such high hopes."

Xu Huaizhong also refused and did not want to take on this task.

Finally, only Peng Jingfeng was left, and he glanced at the others.

"Comrade Huang Mei, I think there is still a gap between me and Comrade Jiang Xian in our understanding of the work, and there are also some things that prevent me from investing in the adaptation. I will be visiting Thailand soon."

"Jing Feng, I can give the Writers Association a heads up, so I don't have to go to Thailand."

"This"

Peng Jingfeng was like he was afraid of getting into trouble with something dirty. "Kunming has decided to put me in charge of the propaganda department. I will also be in charge of the Ministry of Culture. I'm afraid it will be difficult to get out of this."

As if he was afraid that Chen Huangmei would not give up, he described the difficulties in a more specific way. "Although the Ministry of Culture over there has been abolished, some of the units under its jurisdiction, such as the Cultural Office, the Creative Group, the Club, the Drama Troupe, the Song and Dance Troupe, the Acrobatic Troupe, the Sports Team, and the Cultural Work Station, are still there."

"Well, I know it will take several months to revise the script, and I'm afraid the military district will have a hard time letting you go."

Chen Huangmei didn't expect that a film like "The Garland under the Mountain" would scare away three screenwriters.

He looked at Jiang Xian somewhat awkwardly.

Jiang Xian could also understand.

Writers are usually not afraid of danger to their works, but there is probably only one reason for their resistance, which is that they are worried that their scripts will not be able to reach the level of novels, and then they will really lose all their face.

"What should we do? Who should we ask to adapt it?" Chen Huangmei was worried for Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian chuckled, "If the three comrades are unwilling, I have another candidate."

(End of this chapter)