Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 32 Tianjin Wei

Originally, Tianjin TV wanted to finalize the script after the Spring Festival holiday.

However, the enthusiasm from all sides was overwhelming, and in less than a month, more than twenty scripts and novels were sent to the television station through various channels.

There aren't many high-quality items inside, but there are more and more people with connections and backgrounds. If this continues until after the New Year, who knows how many people they'll offend.

Therefore, on the morning of January 5, 1991, the script selection meeting was forced to be held ahead of schedule.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Director Ma Yuan, and heads of various departments gathered together. Everyone was somewhat excited, after all, Tianjin TV only produced two children's dramas in the entire 80s - namely "The Legend of Jingdouzi" and "The Legend of Jingdouzi Sequel".

Now, even departments completely unrelated to the project are enthusiastically discussing the possibility of producing two or three high-quality dramas at once.

"Director Yan, why don't you start by talking?"

With Ma Yuan taking the initiative to nominate someone, everyone's attention turned to Yan Xiaoming, the director of the production center.

Yan Xiaoming nodded slightly to Ma Yuan, then looked at the speech in his hand and said, "After discussions among all colleagues in our production center and multiple communications with the directing department, we have finally selected three candidate works from the submissions."

The first work is "Optimus Prime" written by Yan Jiangang, a lecturer in the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama. This work mainly tells the story of Zhou Tian, ​​a one-armed county magistrate, who is sent to the poor revolutionary old area of ​​Gucheng County. He is entrusted with a mission in a time of crisis, overcomes many obstacles, and finally leads Gucheng County to complete the reform.

"Optimus Prime" is tentatively scheduled for 8 episodes, but there are several large scenes that require set design.

The second work is "The Stormy Beauty", co-written by our editorial department. It mainly depicts the love and hate entanglements of two generations from the early to mid-period of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"The Stormy Beauty" is tentatively scheduled for 25 episodes, but there are a few places that require set design.

As for this third work…

When asked about his third work, Yan Xiaoming seemed a little stumped, but no one was surprised, since everyone present had already read the script for this work, titled "Tianjin Wei".

This is also the most discussed work within the TV station right now.

The novel character design, the up-to-date case, and the fast-paced story have all been praised by everyone. However, the part about the ingenious way of praising Tianjin's business environment is somewhat laughable.

The people at the TV station know all too well what the Economic Development Zone is really like.

In addition, in a context where most TV dramas focus on the hardships of ordinary people, this drama's perspective remains detached from reality, making it somewhat out of step with the times.

At this moment, Ma Yuan tapped the table with his finger and urged, "Continue."

Yan Xiaoming quickly composed himself and continued, "The third work is 'Tianjin Wei,' recommended by the Writers Association and written by the up-and-coming writer Zhang Yan. It is a crime drama consisting of five cases, with a fast pace and novel story."

The scenes featured in the drama are all landmarks or famous attractions in our city, so there's no need to build new sets, but coordination work needs to be done in advance.

After a pause, he couldn't help but add, "But this script also has some problems, such as a lack of real-life descriptions and excessive exaggeration in some aspects."

After he finished speaking, he nodded to Deputy Director Ma to indicate that his speech was over.

"Hmm~"

Ma Yuan put down his enamel mug and said casually, "Artistic creation must originate from life but transcend it. We should always give artists some freedom to express themselves."

Then he looked around at everyone and asked, "Does anyone have any objections to these three works being nominated?"

The department heads whispered among themselves, and ultimately no one raised any objections.

The controversy was originally focused on Zhang Yan's "Tianjin Wei", and now Ma Yuan has directly jumped out to take sides. Who would dare to nitpick now?
Ma Yuan waited a while and then asked, "If we had to choose one of these three scripts, which one do you think would be the most suitable?"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the conference room.

Gao Chunli, the director of the directing department, subconsciously stood up, then slowly sat back down.

Yan Xiaoming exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't you say you were going to make two or three high-quality films? How come..."

"It wasn't said that we had to finish filming all at once."

Ma Yuan waved his hand and said, "We can shoot one without controversy first, and then shoot another one after everyone has discussed it, or we can shoot both."

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention turned to Gao Chunli. Previously, everyone had assumed that whether it was two or three parts, the scriptwriters' "The Stormy Beauty" would definitely be one of them. But now, they were only choosing one…

Under everyone's gaze, Gao Chunli hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and was about to speak.

"correct."

At this moment, Ma Yuan suddenly slapped his forehead, flipped through his speech notes and said, "I almost forgot to convey the latest instructions from the municipal government. The higher-level leaders hope that our TV station can play a window role and spare no effort to promote Tianjin's investment policies and investment environment. After all, even the best wine needs advertising."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize that Gao Chunli was about to speak, and asked her directly, "Director Gao, is there something you want to say?"

"I, this..."

Gao Chunli was completely stunned. She had originally wanted to give it her all, since they were all colleagues and the directing department would definitely have the upper hand if a live vote were held.

But now the municipal government is practically naming the TV station and ordering them to film "Tianjin Wei". What's there to argue about?

No wonder Ma Yuan took such a clear stance of taking sides!
Facing the gaze of Deputy Director Ma, Gao Chunli hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't withstand the pressure and said awkwardly, "I would like to recommend 'Tianjin Wei'. The story of this drama is novel and the cases are unique. It would be a real pity if it wasn't filmed."

After saying that, Gao Chunli suddenly remembered that just two days ago, she and her colleagues had laughed at Zhang Yan for lacking the integrity of a scholar and only knowing how to flatter his superiors—her face felt hot, as if she had been slapped several times.

Even the directing department itself has given up, so no one else will step forward.

Therefore, the proposal to prioritize filming "Tianjin Wei" received unanimous approval from all middle-level managers.

After the meeting.

Gao Chunli was the first to leave the meeting room dejectedly, followed by the others.

Yan Xiaoming, the director of the production center, also wanted to leave, but Ma Yuan stopped him.

"Let's go to my office and talk."

Ma Yuan led Yan Xiaoming to his office and couldn't help but exclaim, "There are really talented people in the Writers' Association! Why can't our TV station's directing department understand the higher-ups' intentions?"

Yan Xiaoming was puzzled: "How did this matter get to the municipal government?"

"I don't know how it was done."

Ma Yuan shook his head and said, "But I know it must have touched a nerve with the city leaders, touched their hearts. What do you think the higher-ups are so eager to produce high-quality dramas for? Are they really afraid that our TV station will fall behind the times?"
To put it bluntly, it's because Guangzhou has overtaken China in GDP and is only slightly behind Chongqing. So now, whenever the word "backward" is mentioned, the higher-ups get anxious and rush to catch up.

Given the current situation, if you were a city leader, would you rather produce a TV series with a novel story, strong appeal, and dedicated promotion of Tianjin, or would you rather produce those stale, outdated dramas?!

Yan Xiaoming remained silent.

Actually, his favorite is "Optimus Prime". Although the plot of "Tianjin Wei" is more novel and interesting, its theme is not as upright, and the author is obviously an opportunist.

Yan Xiaoming's later resume shows that he prefers to make serious dramas and documentaries, and is a pioneer in "promoting new trends and upholding righteousness" in the television industry.

But the reason why speculators are called speculators is precisely because they can always grasp the thoughts of those above them.

So even though Yan Xiaoming prefers "Optimus Prime", he has to admit that "Tianjin Wei" is the TV series that Tianjin needs most at this stage.

At this point, Ma Yuan added, "According to sources, the Beijing Television Art Center is preparing an urban drama aimed at showcasing the new era of Beijing—so the higher-ups hope that 'Tianjin Wei' can expedite filming and strive to be released earlier than the one in Beijing."

He paused, then continued, "Of course, the quality must also be guaranteed—so, is your production center confident in completing the task?"

Yan Xiaoming, a former soldier, instinctively stood at attention and saluted upon hearing this, saying, "The production center guarantees to complete the mission!"

"I trust you completely."

Ma Yuan raised his hand to signal him not to be so formal, and then said, "But the production center hasn't produced anything for several years, and what it used to produce were children's dramas, so it's best to find some professionals to provide guidance."

"By the way, Zhang Yan's opinion is also very important. He's a smart and shrewd guy; listen to his advice, you might get some unexpected benefits."

[PS: Based on limited information, both "Optimus Prime" and "The Storm Riders" were filmed between 91 and 92 and officially broadcast in 92. "Optimus Prime" even won an award.]

(End of this chapter)