1990My Entertainment System

Chapter 58 "Farewell My Concubine" seizes luck!

After writing these four words, Xia Tian stopped writing.

He had to think about it.

I haven't read the original novel myself, and the movie adaptation is so great that it only bears a passing resemblance to the original.

The question now is whether I should write it exactly as it was originally written. After all, some things are taboo.

Moreover, Xia Tian is not on the same path as those scar-afflicted people, and many of his ideas are different.

"Looks like we need to make some changes. Try to keep the subject matter focused on people and the times, and avoid any criticism or exposés..."

Xia Tian decided to write an outline first, and then find a few people for advice, especially Lu Wei, the screenwriter of the original time and space.

He is considered one of the top screenwriters in the mainland and has strong professional abilities.

Why did Director Kaige's films become worse and worse?
It's because he became arrogant after becoming famous and doesn't listen to anyone else's advice.

The film of the original time and space is a fusion of the strengths of many others and is the result of the efforts of many people.

At that time, screenwriter Lu Wei made a request: "You can't touch a single word of the script."

Director Kai Ge smiled and said, "I wish so."

In fact, the original director Kai Ge didn’t really want to shoot this, he thought it was boring, so he didn’t show off much, and then he won the award!
Lu Wei wrote a total of ninety-nine scenes, but Director Kaige only took away two.

This is the only one of Lu Wei's scripts that was filmed completely according to the script.

Lu Wei once said: The fifth generation of directors have two fatal problems. The first is that they can't tell stories, and the second is that they don't understand acting very well.

Like "Yellow Earth" and "Red Sorghum", even though they are based on the original works, after adaptation they are still stylized narratives and are not known for their stories.

This is also the reason why Lu Wei did not let Director Kai Ge touch the script.

……

Director Kai Ge is undoubtedly capable, but his shortcomings are obvious.

He needs other people to help cover the bottom line. But he is too arrogant and treats everyone's words as fart, so he can't cover it up.

There are two key factors that determine the success of a movie, namely public evaluation and professional evaluation.

But the problem is that most of Director Kai Ge's works, especially those in which he was both the screenwriter and the director, were neither critically acclaimed nor commercially successful.

In other words, he has problems both in terms of artistic expression and story content.

It would be fine even if it was critically acclaimed but not commercially successful, but the problem is, it didn't.

To put it bluntly, Director Kai wanted to make money while standing, but ended up losing all his money while kneeling.
He is not a scholar, but likes to pretend to be one.

He is not a hipster, but he likes to pretend to be one.

He positions himself as a literati and an artistic youth, but his general knowledge and other things cannot support his self-positioning.

He has observations and thoughts about the world and has this perspective, but the results of his observations are very stupid.

You can feel his thoughts, but when you see the results of his thoughts, you can't hold back.

This results in a work that the more colorful it is, the more vulgar and rustic it feels.

Chen's cultural literacy and background are insufficient to provide the nutrients for him to become a profound thinker.

But he did have a foundation, so the more he thought about it, the more he walked into a secluded path that was incomprehensible to others.

He wanted to explain how beautiful and magnificent this remote path was, how it moved people, but all he could describe was "This is a road, an extraordinary road, a meaningful road." What everyone understood was "What is he groaning about in the mud?"

To sum it up in two words: pretentious!
High-quality Guo Xiaosi - both have their own unique features, but their personal thoughts are too strange, which often makes people feel indescribable discomfort.

It is a benchmark and example of "thinking without learning is dangerous".

……

Now that this film is in my hands, I can't just let it go.

If this film is made, it will be quite a big deal! It must be aiming for awards!

In the original time and space, "Farewell My Concubine" won the Palme d'Or together with "The Piano Lesson" at the Cannes Film Festival. I wonder if it is still possible to get it now?

After all, winning awards also depends on your connections.

The most obvious one is Oscar, and operation has become the strongest factor.

Xia Tian thought about it and decided that he should do something big!

So I wrote an outline and in the afternoon called Fangyan and others to gather together, and asked someone to contact Lu Wei, saying that they wanted to invite him to be the screenwriter.

……

As of September 9, 9 of Russia's republics had declared independence.

The script they produced in the summer was already in its third edition.

Because of that guy's noise, a few people started fighting after eating and drinking, banging the table and glaring to see who could speak the loudest.

You are vulgar, he is narrow-minded, I am twisted... none of us is a good person!
Lu Wei is from Yanjing, but his workplace is Xi'an Film Studio. However, he happened to be on business in Yanjing and arrived very quickly.

Seeing this scene, he covered his face and looked at Xia Tian: "Are you guys creating something? Or why not just do it? Why don't you just curse?"
The main disagreement is about the era and what attitude to take. This argument has been going on for almost three days!

Xia Tian picked up his chopsticks and knocked on the bowl: "Okay, stop arguing, and listen to my opinion."

"I feel that in the face of the tide of our times, we as individuals are too insignificant... We cannot see the true face of Mount Lu because we are within it. We cannot fully, rationally, or fairly view that era. Therefore, the right and wrong, merits and demerits, must be left for future generations to judge."

Reed asked, "So what do you mean?"

"I want to describe that era from the perspective of an observer, cold and impersonal, without exposing or criticizing, without sadness or passion. It's like an emotionless camera, recording that story. As creators, we shouldn't give the audience any of our own opinions..."

"This..." Everyone began to ponder.

This is a compromise.

Right and wrong will be judged by the public, and merits and demerits will be judged by future generations.

People like us are too close to that era, and we can even say that we have lived through it, so it is inevitable that we have all kinds of emotions and prejudices.

I can't even look at it dialectically...

Perhaps, letting future generations figure it out on their own is a good option?

In fact, many literary creators at this time liked to "educate readers" or "meaning".

This is what Xia Tian suggested, otherwise others would have argued as well.

Two days later, the fourth version of the script was completed.

There are seven or eight screenwriters listed, starting from Xia Tian, ​​Lu Wei, and Fang Yan!

Then Milan was puzzled: "Is this the end?"

If you are a gentleman and you are too embarrassed to make a move, I am a woman who doesn't care about that, so I will make a move~
Xia Tian comforted her: "Let's not get involved in other people's divorce. As for taking action, don't worry, the action I will take this time will be enough for him to enjoy for the rest of his life!"

You don't understand, I'm taking away his luck.
If a dog bites me, I'll send you straight to the dog meat restaurant. You won't even see Pan Hong!

……

At this time, in Hong Kong, Lan Jieying had registered a film and television company called "Sunshine Film and Television" according to Xia Tian's phone call, and registered it under Lan Jieying's name.

Then Lijiang Industrial and Bai Ze Venture Capital each contributed a portion of the money to Sunshine Film and Television.

Sunshine Film and Television will contact Yanjing and co-produce the summer movie "Farewell My Concubine" with Yanjing Film Studio.

In the summer, I will find someone to submit the script for review and contact Yan Film Studio and Sunshine Film and Television to start the project.

At the same time, I'm looking for people to prepare the crew and think about the actors.

The rest are easy. There are plenty of Yanjing actors and even more Peking Opera actors.

But how to choose between the two protagonists?
Is it still Zhang Fengyi?
He seems to be more diverse...

Of course, our brother Cheng Kai is not a straight man either~
Suddenly, Xia Tian thought of two people in his mind - A Rong and Zun Long.

It is natural that Arong, as the leading actor of the original time and space, is excellent.

The problem is, Xia Tian is also worried about whether it will have any negative impact on him...

Besides, I have a very good relationship with Brother Zunlong, and this movie is also very suitable for him.

The two people in the original time and space had a connection with the character of Cheng Dieyi, and the producer used it to pull some things along.

Finally, Zun Long starred in "M. Butterfly" - an adaptation of the 1904 musical "Madame Butterfly", which tells the story of a spy dressed as a woman.

Another work adapted from this opera, "Miss Saigon", is known as one of the four great modern Western musicals.

Xia Tian thought about it and decided to kick Zhang Fengyi's Duan Xiaolou out!
Although this character has obvious masculinity, it also has its advantages to use a handsome man to play it, at least it can raise the aesthetic level!
The image of the King of Western Chu is played by a Wusheng in Peking Opera. There are many handsome Wushengs, so it does not violate logic.

Just be more manly when performing.

Well, I'll call them both and discuss it later.

Then there is the "female lead" Juxian. The first choice has to be Gong Huang, and there is really no alternative.

Besides, I know her and we have a good relationship.

She just won the Silver Lion in Venice, so she should have a schedule now. I need to call and discuss it.

Mr. Yuan Si also looked for Ge You, who was also an acquaintance.

For others like Master Guan from the opera troupe, you can look for Mr. Zhu Xu. I had a deep impression of this old man in the summer. He is from the People's Art Theatre.

The rest is easy too.

The only ones who still need more attention are the young actors.

The actors who play the childhood versions of Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou probably have to be found among young Peking Opera actors, as they would have a similar spirit.

Then there is the crew. Since we are cooperating with Yanying Studio, we must use some of their people.

But the photographer still wants to find Gu Changwei from the original time and space. This guy is not a top-notch director, but he is a top-notch photographer!
Then we need one or two executive directors, and three or five assistant directors...

Let’s get started!
Let others take care of the inland, and call Arong, Zunlong, Gong Huang and Ge You...

Director Chen was talking to a friend about Xia Tian when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his head, as if something had been pulled away. He couldn't help but look around.
　Thanks to the book friend "未完黛徐i" for the 600-point reward for the character!
　　Thanks to book friends "Fatty Zhang San", "Youthful Past Goes with the Wind" and "San Yunman" for the 100-point reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)