1980 My literary era

The editorial office’s lunchtime conversation actually represents to a large extent the aspirations of the Chinese people in this era.

We once had a firm belief, but this belief may collapse after being extremely pious, and then we quickly change direction.

When a huge ship wants to turn around, the people on the ship have to bear the risk of being thrown off at any time. Even if they are not thrown off, they still have to bear the pain of being thrown to pieces and dizzy. Many people have experienced this for many years. Bearing these pains.

In late March, the lake water in the North Sea has already melted and the weather is getting warmer.

Lin Weimin received a letter from Shaanxi. It was not written by Lu Yao, who had contacted him most frequently, but by Cheng Zhongshi.

Lin Weimin has never seen him since the end of the Yantai PEN Conference in 1983, but the correspondence between the two has not stopped, and they always write three or four letters every year.

Cheng Zhongshi wanted to write the "Head Brick", so when he returned to his hometown in Shaanxi, he concentrated on planning. It took more than two years just to look up the materials needed for the writing, and he did not start writing until 1986.

In the past few years, due to the huge amount of energy involved in the creation of novels, Cheng Zhongshi's output has been pitiful. This has also brought about a problem, that is, his income has dropped sharply, leaving only dead wages.

Cheng Zhongshi and his family depended on him alone to support them. In the past, when they had royalties, the family's life was quite comfortable. But in the past two years, it has stopped working. Income from royalties has basically dropped to zero, and prices have also risen sharply.

Last year, the editor of Zhongyuan Farmers Publishing House approached Cheng Zhongshi and planned to publish a set of "Chinese rural novels". Cheng Zhongshi's works were selected by the publishing house, and they originally planned to compile several of his novellas into one novella. A collection of novels, Cheng Zhongshi was quite happy at the time.

To publish a book is equivalent to having additional income. He calculated that if it is published as scheduled according to the agreed results, he will receive more than 3,000 yuan in royalties.

In the heart of Cheng Zhongshi, who has not received royalties for two years, the significance of this royalties is extraordinary.

With this money, the children's tuition fees were covered, and he could devote all his energy to the creation of novels without any distractions.

But reality gave Cheng Zhongshi a hard slap in the face. He had been waiting patiently for half a year. The publisher initially sent a letter saying that the book had been compiled, and that it had passed the final review, and that the cover and binding were being produced.

Then the book subscription process began, and the bookstore sent orders to Xinhua Bookstores across the country, waiting for feedback from each bookstore and then summarizing them. The final number of subscriptions was more than 9,500. The publishing house thought this number was not ideal, so it worked hard to create a color single page for subscription. As a result, the number of subscriptions not only did not increase, but dropped to more than 6,000 copies.

At the same time, something even more passive happened. The first order contract for more than 9,500 volumes was canceled because the delivery time was exceeded. The publishing house postponed the publishing plan to next year, that is, 1989.

After all this trouble, Cheng Zhongshi became disheartened about publishing a book. The promised royalties disappeared, and his hope of concentrating on writing was shattered. He had to find another way.

What can you think of?

Making extra money from writing, of course.

Cheng Zhongshi's letter was not to complain to Lin Weimin, but to tell him that the creation of the novel would have to be postponed because he had to earn some tuition for the three children at home.

He accepted a job from a friend to write for a documentary literary magazine for twenty yuan per thousand words. From the tone of the letter, it was clear that Cheng Zhongshi was quite satisfied with the price.

This letter has more than 2,000 words, which is rare among the correspondence between Lin Weimin and Cheng Zhongshi.

He knew that Cheng Zhongshi was an honest man, and he wrote so much eloquently because he wanted to explain his helplessness to himself.

Lin Weimin looked at the content of the letter and thought for a moment. Cheng Zhongshi said in the letter that the creation of the novel was already halfway through and it would probably be completed next year according to normal progress.

But if he wants the children to earn tuition fees, he will have to waste at least a year or two.

Thinking of the time wasted in this process, Lin Weimin felt a pity.

The novel has not yet been completed, not even the first draft, so there is no way to advance the manuscript fee in advance.

Lin Weimin thought of this and wrote back a letter to Cheng Zhongshi. In the letter, he told Cheng Zhongshi that he could create with peace of mind and that the editorial department would advance an emergency payment of 5,000 yuan to him. This fee would be used for the publication or publication of a future novel. deducted later.

After writing the letter, Lin Weimin went to the post office to wire the money while he was off work. Naturally, he lent the money to Cheng Zhongshi.

A few days later, while Lin Weimin was discussing manuscript issues with his colleagues, Zhang Yimou approached the editorial department.

Seeing Tong Zhonggui, Zhang Yimou was very excited. He took Tong Zhonggui's hand and shook it, "This is Teacher Su! I have admired him for a long time!"

Tong Zhonggui was shaken by him inexplicably, "My surname is Tong."

"Teacher Tong, hello, hello!" Zhang Yimou quickly changed his words.

Lin Weimin knew the purpose of Zhang Yimou's visit, so he smiled and patted Zhang Yimou on the shoulder, "Okay, don't talk here, come to my office to talk!"

Lin Weimin called the two of them and went to his office.

Of course Zhang Yimou came here because of the book "Contemporary" that Lin Weimin gave him before. When he entered the office, he couldn't wait to take out the second issue of "Contemporary" last year.

"Teacher Tong, the novel is so well written!"

Zhang Yimou is now a well-known director in the country and has won the Berlin Golden Bear. Tong Zhonggui was flattered when he suddenly praised him so much.

At the same time, it also made him confused. Where did he start talking about this?

Zhang Yimou smiled and talked about what happened some time ago, "When I saw your novel, I immediately realized that this must be what Teacher Lin wanted me to read."

Tong Zhonggui was puzzled, "Are you so sure?"

Zhang Yimou's eyes were firm and somewhat fanatical, "Teacher Lin knows me very well. He knows what kind of story I need. He can't go wrong."

Tong Zhonggui looked at Zhang Yimou's expression and saw two words on his face.

superstitious!

Seeing such an expression, Tong Zhonggui felt a sense of déjà vu in his heart.

Before he could think any more, Zhang Yimou said again: "Teacher Lin, Teacher Tong, I want to adapt "Wives and Concubines"."

Although he was prepared in his heart, Tong Zhonggui was still full of surprises.

This is a director who won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and now he is adapting his own novel. Tong Zhonggui's inner joy cannot be suppressed at all.

Lin Weimin nodded and said with a smile: "This is a good thing, I think let Xiao Tong be the screenwriter!"

Zhang Yimou said: "No problem, I am here to invite Teacher Tong."

Tong Zhonggui waved his hands quickly and said: "I can't do it. I have never written a movie script and I know nothing about it."

Faced with Tong Zhonggui's refusal, Zhang Yimou laughed and said, "It doesn't matter, there is Teacher Lin! With Teacher Lin to check it, the script will definitely be correct."

When Tong Zhonggui heard this, he immediately looked at Lin Weimin. Lin Weimin said helplessly: "Why do you look at me like that? Do you still want to blackmail me?"

Tong Zhonggui begged: "Teacher Lin, I really have no experience in this area..."

"Yes, Teacher Lin, you recommended this novel to me. You can't just kill it or bury it, right?" Zhang Yimou also advised.

The two of them worked together to persuade, and Lin Weimin reluctantly agreed. He said to Zhang Yimou: "I have another script to write recently. Let Xiao Tong write your script first. We will have time to discuss it later."

"No problem! No problem!" Zhang Yimou nodded hurriedly. All he wanted was that Teacher Lin agreed to participate in the scriptwriting.

More than a year after winning the Golden Bear Award, he has become a well-known director in China, but he has no plans to make another movie.

In addition to delays in participating in film festivals and activities, another reason is ideological baggage.

The starting point of the first movie was too high, and Zhang Yimou was inevitably worried about gains and losses. Now that Teacher Lin has joined the cast, Zhang Yimou has a lot more confidence.

After confirming the script adaptation, Zhang Yimou talked about the royalties.

He was broke at the time, and the production funds for "Red Sorghum" were also very tight. He only gave Mo Yan 800 yuan for the script, which also included Mo Yan's royalties for writing the script.

Mo Yan was extremely happy at the time. Later, the film won an award, and Xi Film Studio sold hundreds of copies, with a national box office of more than 4 million. Zhang Yimou always felt guilty.

This time the situation is different. Zhang Yimou's fame has spread throughout the film industry. People who want to invest in his new film are like Crossing the River. Among them are not only major domestic film studios, but also investors from various foreign film festivals. business, including companies and funds in Xiangjiang, Wandao and other places.

Three thousand yuan is the fee Zhang Yimou paid to Tong Zhonggui for the adaptation of his work.

As for the script fee, Zhang Yimou consulted Lin Weimin for his opinion. Lin Weimin helped with the script of "Red Sorghum" without mentioning money at all. Zhang Yimou was short of money in making movies, so he shamelessly accepted the favor.

Today is different from the past. He has ample funds to make movies, so he naturally does not want to take advantage of Lin Weimin. He knows the price of Lin Weimin writing scripts for filmmakers in Hong Kong.

Lin Weimin waved his hand, "Forget it, I'm just helping. The script must still be written by Xiao Tong. I'm just giving a few comments. It's not appropriate to take money."

"How can that be done..." Zhang Yimou said hurriedly.

"There's nothing wrong with it. If you really want to pay me royalties, your production costs will be eaten up a lot, so forget it! When you want to make a movie with an investment of tens of millions, you can compensate me again. .”

Zhang Yimou muttered and wanted to say a few more words, but found that no matter what he said, he would look pale and hypocritical. Teacher Lin never helped him for money.

Zhang Yimou put aside his stubbornness and said sincerely: "This time, I have benefited from you again!"

"You are a big director now. Writing a script for you is what the screenwriters want. How can you ask for royalties?" Lin Weimin joked.

Zhang Yimou and Tong Zhonggui laughed.

Finally, it was agreed that Zhang Yimou would pay Tong Zhonggui 6,000 yuan as the adaptation fee and manuscript fee, and Zhang Yimou would send the money to Tong Zhonggui later.

After talking about his movie, Zhang Yimou asked Lin Weimin about "The Last Emperor".

The filming of this movie was completed last year, and it was released in several countries in Western Europe and the United States at the end of the year. Lin Weimin went to see it when he received the award in France. At that time, it was said that the box office in these countries was not very good, and it was not even there. Back.

As early as February 16 this year, the American Academy Awards held a nomination ceremony. "The Last Emperor" was nominated for nine awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Art Direction.

As soon as the nomination ceremony was announced, Bertolucci called Lin Weimin and invited him to attend the Oscar Awards on April 11.

Teng Jinxian will not attend the awards ceremony due to his official status, and Lin Weimin also declined Bertolucci's invitation.

After all, "The Last Emperor" is not a movie made by Chinese people. Although it is happy to be involved in it, it is difficult to arouse Lin Weimin's sense of pride.

After listening to Lin Weimin's words, Zhang Yimou felt a little sorry for him and said, "Xiao Gong is going to go this time."

"It is much more useful for her to go to the award ceremony than for me to go behind the scenes. China will have one more movie star with international influence in the future!" Lin Weimin said casually.

Zhang Yimou admired Lin Weimin's indifference to fame and fortune.