1979 Golden Age

Jessica stayed overnight and returned to the United States the next day.

In a mansion in Washington, Chen Xiangmei is watching TV.

On the TV, a group of Detroit workers were marching, holding various signs, wearing anti-Japanese clothes, blushing and shouting: "Ford is the sky, Ford is the earth, Ford created the world! Ford is the sky, Ford is the earth, Ford is the daddy" !”

"Stupid guys!"

Chen Xiangmei sighed with pity, feeling unbearable to look at it, and said: "There are more and more unemployed auto workers, and benefits for those who are not unemployed have also been greatly reduced. The labor unions, the government, and public opinion all attribute the reason to the invasion of Japanese cars into the United States. , you see how effective it is.”

"..."

Jessica, who had come back, stood aside without answering. She knew she just had to listen. Sure enough, Chen Xiangmei complained and stopped mentioning it, saying, "Xiaojuan, how do you feel this time?"

"The finished film of "Orphan" is great. It can be released in American theaters and have a good box office."

Jessica Xiaojuan paused, pointed to the TV, and added: "If it is screened under this craze, the box office will be even better."

"Are you so optimistic?"

Chen Xiangmei trusted her very much and did not doubt her judgment. She smiled and said, "This is really strange. The mainland has been closed for decades. Just after it opened up, a guy appeared who opened his eyes to see the world. How do they say it will be distributed?"

"I want to sell overseas copyrights and go to Cannes in May."

"Well, that's a smart choice. Hollywood knows a lot about this kind of film, and that guy seems to have some skills and can earn a lot of dollars... By the way, what company do you think he is the boss of now?"

"The Ministry of Culture in mainland China has established a company specializing in exporting and earning foreign exchange, and he is in charge."

"It's interesting to make money from movies."

Chen Xiangmei smiled, and Jessica took out another script and said, "Madam, this is their new project this year. They also need some American actors. Please help us."

"Did you read it?"

"See it, it's great."

"Oh? Then I have to take a look. Leave it here."

Jessica put the script on the table and said goodbye. Chen Xiangmei took a casual look and saw the title of the film written on the title page: "Life is Beautiful".

She had a lot of things to do, so she didn't care about it for a while. She didn't think of this thing until night, and leaned on the bed to read it. After watching part of it, I frowned. Old Shanghai, Japanese army... Anti-Japanese War movie?

How could Xiaojuan come back with a script for an anti-war film?

It’s not that the Anti-Japanese War films are not good-looking, but China has produced countless Anti-Japanese War films since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The templates are relatively fixed and the quality is uneven. They are okay in the socialist camp, but there is no market at all in the Western world. How can they be exported? Earn foreign exchange?

She continued to read, concentration camps, Shanghai couples, children, Americans, British, rules of the game...

"How brave!"

Chen Xiangmei slapped her thigh. This is not a traditional anti-war script, but a story that is unique and uses a comedy style to express cruelty and cruelty, family love and humanity.

She could tell from between the lines that the creator had great ambitions. For some movies, she could tell just by looking at the subject matter.

For example, "Green Book" talks about race, "Schindler's List" talks about Nazis, "12 Years a Slave" talks about black slaves, "Forrest Gump" talks about the American dream, and talks about medicine, resistance and individuality. "I'm Not the God of Medicine", the coquettish "In the Mood for Love"...

Just mentioning this subject, it seems that there is a "classic" label attached to it.

Of course, there are mistakes from time to time. This is related to the public's high expectations for the main creator and the things presented in the works that are too baffling, so I won't give examples. That's right, "The Great Wall"! "Man Jiang Hong"!

At this moment, the "Beautiful Life" in her hand actually exudes a classic smell.

"..."

Chen Xiangmei covered her head and thought. She liked this book very much and was willing to help. However, on the mainland, a movie like this that showed the anti-Japanese war in a comedy form would probably be a big obstacle.

…………

Cannes opens in May, registration closes in March, and the list of main competition units will be announced in April.

"Orphan" is a co-production between the two places. It was impossible for the Mainland Film Bureau to select this kind of film, so they submitted it in the name of the Great Wall of Hong Kong. "Tai Chi 2" passed the review of the Film Bureau and was sent to the exhibition as a mainland film.

When Jessica brought the script of "Life is Beautiful" to the United States, he also submitted the script to the Ministry of Culture.

This play requires a lot of people, and some scenes may require aircraft and tanks, which requires the cooperation of the troops. He cannot do it by himself and must coordinate with the superior department.

The original "Life is Beautiful" was released in 1997, which caused some controversy at the time, let alone now.

Chen Qi knew that this script was challenging the current domestic perception of anti-war films, and there would definitely be obstacles. Moreover, with the current "China-Japan friendship", some people really thought that they were friendly, and that the mountains and rivers were in foreign lands, and the sun and the moon were under the same sky.

…

In the 1980s, nightclubs sprouted everywhere in Hong Kong.

Like the famous Du Laozhi, there are more than 200 dancing ladies, as well as Russian beauties.

"The Love of Ghosts" couldn't afford to rent Du Laozhi, so he rented a small nightclub, and had to avoid the prime business period at night and shoot during the day.

At this moment, the nightclub was dark with lights on. Just like at night, the dance floor was the main scene. Tsui Hark had already made various arrangements. Liu Dehua was wearing a suit and Zhong Chuhong was wearing a red skirt.

This scene is about the male and female protagonist attending a class reunion.

"The Love of Ghosts" wants a Western style and a sense of fashion, with many Western elements, and the identities of the characters are also very modern. The male protagonist works in a bank, the female protagonist is engaged in art, and the classmates are journalists, insurance sellers, civil servants, lawyers, small business owners of their own businesses, etc.

"Stand up on your toes, put your toes on the ground, and twist!"

"Twist your body, your waist, and your hands like this... This dance is called the twist dance, of course you have to twist it!"

Next to the dance floor, the teacher is teaching.

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

"We're afraid that we won't be able to dance well!"

Liu Dehua and Zhong Chuhong were not very confident, and the teacher kept encouraging them: "It's so dry now that I can't feel it. When the music starts, you will know how to twist."

On the other side, Tsui Hark and Chen Qi were studying how to shoot.

There are two directors in Hong Kong who are best at shooting women, Tsui Hark and Wong Jing.

He has a unique idea of ​​showing the beauty of women. Even a dead fish like Yang Tianbao can be photographed with some sense of beauty in "Di Renjie: The God of Dragon King", let alone someone like Zhong Chuhong.

"The camera is facing her, don't show her feet, shoot three-quarters of her body, about this distance, she is dancing while looking at the camera... and then the lighting has this effect, hitting her..."

Tsui Hark demonstrated it once, and Chen Qi smiled and said, "Not bad, just do what you think."

"The key is that Ah Hong must be able to dance."

"The twisting dance is very simple, no problem."

This twist dance is naturally the one danced by Uma Thurman and John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction". It originated from the United States in the 1950s. The movements are simple and easy to learn, the rhythm is brisk and joyful, and it became popular for a while.

After "Pulp Fiction" came out, countless film and television works paid tribute to this section.

What is the difference between tribute and plagiarism? To put it simply, if it does not affect the structure of the story and only serves as an easter egg, it is called tribute; if it directly promotes the development of the plot and integrates into the story itself, it is called plagiarism; if it buys the copyright, it is called the Chinese group.

"How's your practice going?"

Chen Qi came over and asked.

"The movements are actually pretty good, but I don't know what the effect will be when you actually jump." Liu Dehua said.

"Yeah, I'm afraid I can't find the feeling." Zhong Chuhong also said.

"Relax, it's okay, you have plenty of time today."