1979 Golden Age

The four main actors of The Last Emperor:

Bo Yi is played by John Lone, Wenxiu is still Wu Junmei, and Bo Yi's English teacher Johnston is played by Peter O'Toole, a famous European and American actor, whose representative work is "Lawrence of Arabia".

None of the above has changed, but Chen Chong has been eliminated, and Wanrong has become an unknown Chinese-American actress.

She is in her 30s and has a sexy temperament.

Bertolucci preferred actors of Chinese descent in Europe and America because The Last Emperor had dialogues entirely in English, so one had to be good at English; the Chinese version was dubbed later.

The four actors, the director, the producer, Bo Jie and Li Wenda sat in a row and answered questions from reporters.

His attitude was very, very good. He answered all questions and Bertolucci expressed his modesty:

“I wandered around the Forbidden City for a long time. Facing these strange and ancient palaces, I was worried that I would lose myself and couldn’t find the clue to get out. But art is like this. When I don’t know what I am doing, the answer emerges.”

“I was in a palace complex without any tourists, listening to the sound of my footsteps on the stone slabs. It was a wonderful feeling!”

His answer was very artistic, and he expressed his feelings and inspirations in a very vivid way.

The press conference lasted a long time. Pu Jie was almost 80 years old, and he couldn't stand it halfway through and fell asleep on his chair.

This made the scene a bit awkward. Fortunately, a female reporter from China Youth Daily smoothed things over and changed the subject: "Mr. Chen Qi and Ms. Gong Xue also live here. Have you met?"

"I have met Ms. Gong Xue, she is very charming, but it is a pity that we did not reach a cooperation. As for Mr. Chen, I have always hoped to meet him!"

Producer Thomas suddenly poked him, and Bertolucci looked at it and laughed, "What a coincidence!"

Um?

Everyone turned their heads and saw Chen Qi and Gong Xue standing in the crowd watching the fun. There was a shout and a cheer, letting Chen Qi make his debut, which meant news selling point.

He waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he could not take the spotlight.

The female reporter from China Youth Daily kicked him in.

"I didn't expect to meet you in such an occasion! I've always wanted to chat with you, but it's a pity that you're not in the capital."

"I just got back too, what a coincidence!"

Bertolucci thought Chen Qi was a friend because all the people he met in the mainland were friends. He shook his hand very warmly and invited him to come on stage and say a few words.

Chen Qi could not refuse but had to go up and said reluctantly: "I can't take over the show, just give a brief talk.

First of all, I wish Director Bertolucci all the best and hope he can make a masterpiece in film history. Then I would like to ask you a question.

Why do you want to photograph a Chinese emperor?"

"I first read Johnston's "Twilight in the Forbidden City" and then referred to "My First Half of Life". I felt full of sympathy for this character. I thought the conflict between this great historical environment and personal struggle was very interesting—..."

pity?

The Chinese reporters below looked at each other with a subtle expression. Bo Jie woke up at some point and fell asleep again after hearing this.

Bertolucci didn't care and said: "I collected a lot of information and met many people involved. I made this film with the rigorous attitude of making a documentary."

"What?"

Chen Qi seemed to have not heard clearly, so Thomas repeated: "Have the rigorous attitude of a documentary!"

"Please translate it for me. I don't quite understand."

He said apologetically to the translator.

The translator repeated it in Chinese: "The director said that he made The Last Emperor with the same rigorous attitude as making a documentary!"

"Ohhh, the attitude of documentaries! Documentaries are so great!"

In a short period of time, the word "documentary" was repeated five times and was imprinted in everyone's mind.

“I wish you success!”

Chen Qi really didn't waste any time, and ran back to watch the excitement. The press conference lasted for more than ten minutes before it ended. The reporters didn't leave, and took pictures of the leading actors.

"List!"

Bertolucci took the initiative to talk to him. This Chinese man is very good at fighting in the United States. It would not hurt to make friends with him.

"I really want to talk with you all night, but unfortunately I don't have time now. I have to prepare for the first scene soon.

If you are interested, you can stay and have a look. ”

"When is Chen Kaige's play?"

"Oh, he's shooting tonight!"

"Please take good care of him. He is my nephew."

"Um???"

The foreigner was left confused. Chen Qi and Gong Xue left without saying hello to Zun Long and the others.

Thomas came over and said, "He doesn't seem very enthusiastic about us."

"I'm a little confused too, let him be, we have to film the show!"

After all the reporters left, we immediately prepared for the first scene, which was a street scene of the capital city in the late Qing Dynasty.

Chen Kaige didn't know that his nephew's identity had already spread to Italy. He watched enthusiastically, marveling at the performance and reciting his lines at the same time.

At the beginning of "The Last Emperor", on a dark and windy night, a group of soldiers broke into Prince Chun's palace. The captain of the guard, wearing armor, read out Cixi's edict: let Bo Yi live in the palace.

Chen Kaige plays this captain.

He taught himself English, and there were many new words in the imperial edict, so he read it haltingly and made many NGs.

By the way: The Last Emperor also has several nude scenes, which were deleted from the Chinese version. For example, in the scene above, Bo Yi's nanny entered the palace with him and sat in the sedan chair.

After arriving at the place, the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted, and Puyi was carried out first, and then the camera was shown to the nanny: his clothes were half open,

A naked breast was exposed, which meant that Puyi was sucking milk from it.

The next day, the news appeared in major newspapers.

The opening ceremony was reported in detail, with a detailed description of the luxury of the crew, including coffee, ice cream, and olive oil, which also satisfied the Chinese people's imagination of foreigners.

Other newspapers did not mention this, but China Youth Daily emphasized two points:

First, Bertolucci declared that he wanted to shoot the film with a documentary attitude.

Second, he said with his own mouth that he was full of sympathy for Bo Yi.

This caused some controversy, but it was not a big one. In fact, during the filming of The Last Emperor, some people criticized it, but they were all very tactful and did not attract much attention.

All in all, the Italian’s first public promotion was quite effective, and people in China are looking forward to what kind of work his “documentary-style rigor” can produce.

Chen Qi showed up once and then disappeared again.

He first met with Minister Ai of Radio, Film and Television and Leader Zhu of the Ministry of Truth to discuss the two dramas "Justice Bao" and "The Female Currency Heroes".

There are 50 episodes in total. Although it is not as elaborate as "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Journey to the West", the cost is not small. The money is paid by Dongfang Company alone, and the same will be true for future dramas. It is a huge burden, so there must be some compensation, right?

What Chen Qi meant was to build a hotel and a costume and props company in the film and television city, and then let the crew move in, so that the meat would be rotten in the pot at the same time.

This means that part of the money from filming the drama, such as food and accommodation and behind-the-scenes expenses, is transferred from the left hand to the right hand.

This idea opened the leaders' eyes and was also very feasible.

It is still too early to shoot the two dramas, but the cast has already taken shape: "The Female Coin Heroes" is a serious drama with a female lead, and the actors must have charisma, so he listed Fang Shu as the first choice.

Fang Shu is over 170cm tall, has reliable acting skills, is from Beijing, and has the energy.

He also thought of Gong Li. Gong Li is currently studying at the Central Academy of Drama. She probably won't be able to act in Red Sorghum. Her career path has somehow changed.

"Justice Bao" reminds me of Bao Guoan. Bao Guoan actually has a very decent appearance, but he played Cao Cao too well, which gave people a stereotyped impression.

There is also a young actor named Xing Minshan, who is from Kunqu opera, Bai Yunrui in "White Eyebrow Hero" and Jian Chen in "Wind and Cloud". He looks very handsome in ancient costumes, and can play Zhan Zhao or Bai Yutang.

Apart from that, Chen Qi stayed at home.

He is watching "The First Half of My Life".

(Three more chapters—)