1980 My literary era

As Lin Weimin's first novel published in the United States, "Farewell My Concubine" did not make much waves in the first two years of its publication in the United States.

With sales of two to three million copies per year, it can barely be called a bestseller, but it is still far behind those well-known works.

Of course, if we take a foreign novel like "Farewell My Concubine" as an example, it is very worthy of the publisher and the author to be happy to achieve such results in the American book market.

Things changed in the third year after the publication of "Farewell My Concubine". It was probably due to the continuous fermentation of the novel's reputation in the first two years that the sales of this novel in the American book market began to change significantly.

Then "Burning" won the National Book Critics Circle Award, "The Lover" won the Goncourt Literary Award, and "The Last Emperor" won the Academy Award. The continuous literary and film and television awards made Lin Weimin's name appear frequently in the United States. In the eyes of the public, he became famous.

This directly promoted the sales of his works in the United States. The sales of several works previously published in the United States have been rising, among which "Farewell My Concubine" ranks first.

Today, "Farewell My Concubine" has been in the United States for six or seven years, and its total sales have exceeded 2 million copies. This number is extremely outstanding even among all the best-selling novels in the United States.

With sales of millions of copies, "Farewell My Concubine" has a very good appeal among readers in the United States.

Why are the six major Hollywood companies in later generations obsessed with adapting IP?

It is simply because of the original work’s inherent popularity, large number of book fans, and strong appeal. These advantages can naturally be converted into profits for these production companies, and it is effortless.

"Farewell My Concubine" has created a huge readership in the United States over the past few years. However, due to the oriental background of this novel, its popularity is much smaller than its sales volume.

If Arthur Miller had announced this news somewhere else, it might not have caused much of a reaction.

But today, the vast majority of the audience who came to watch the play at the Nederland Theater are senior drama lovers. Many of them have watched "The Intouchables" and are familiar with Lin Weimin's other works published in the United States.

The audience was naturally excited to hear Arthur Miller announce such good news.

The thunderous applause lasted for a long time. Arthur Miller stood on the stage, and the audience's reaction made his blood boil. He seemed to have seen the day when "Farewell My Concubine" would be successfully performed on Broadway.

All eyes are on you!

After a long time, the applause in the theater finally calmed down. Arthur Miller and Lin Weimin led the cast and crew to take a final bow again, and the audience left.

"Arthur, you really gave me a surprise today!" Lin Weimin said with a smile.

Arthur Miller was still a little excited, "The work has been performed on the Broadway stage for so long, but you rarely enjoy the applause of the audience. This is a rare opportunity."

"It feels really good."

"Lin, let's talk about "Farewell My Concubine"!" Arthur Miller said with bright eyes.

Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Arthur, you should look at the time now."

Broadway performances always take place at night, and the performance of "The Kite Runner" ended at 11 p.m. After all the trouble just now, it is now close to 11:30.

Arthur Miller patted his head, "I was a little too excited! I forgot about the time. By the way, you just came to New York, and you haven't had a good few days of fun with your wife yet. Then wait a few days, and you can play Let me know when it’s almost done.”

After finishing the chat with Arthur Miller, Lin Weimin took Tao Huimin and prepared to leave the theater.

"teacher LIN!"

When he reached the entrance of the theater, Chen Chong stopped him.

"What's up?"

Chen Chong looked hesitant and asked: "Mr. Miller just said that "Farewell My Concubine" will be put on Broadway soon. I want to ask you..."

Of course what Chen Chong wants to ask is about the role. Isn't it just for this opportunity that she has been struggling on Broadway for so long?

Lin Weimin mused: "Arthur and I haven't discussed this matter in detail yet. Now we have just confirmed the adaptation. However, you performed very well in "The Kite Runner". Since we have collaborated before, if we want to If you choose an actor, you will definitely have a better chance than others."

Chen Chong was slightly disappointed, and she asked without giving up: "Will this drama be localized?"

"this……"

Chen Chong is very smart and asked the most critical issue in the adaptation of "Farewell My Concubine" in one sentence.

If a foreign drama is to be introduced to a commercial stage like Broadway, it will be difficult to succeed without localization, unless the drama itself has a Western cultural background.

It stands to reason that if a work with an Eastern background like "Farewell My Concubine" is to be put on the Broadway stage, it is natural to localize it.

A few years ago, Lin Weimin also discussed this issue when he and Arthur Miller talked about the adaptation of this play.

But after many years, things are different now.

The total sales volume of "Farewell My Concubine" in the United States has exceeded 2 million copies, and it is quite influential at least among literary lovers in the United States.

In the past, I considered changing the cultural and historical background and doing localization to make it easier for the audience to understand the story.

But after so many years, the continuous sales of the novel have, to some extent, cultivated a certain soil and audience base for the drama.

Under such circumstances, the adaptation of "Farewell My Concubine" has greater possibilities.

If the original flavor of "Farewell My Concubine" can be maintained to a certain extent, then the chances of Chen Chong, a Chinese actor, will naturally be greatly increased.

With the current influence of this novel in the United States, the performance of the play will definitely have a wide range of influence, and Chen Chong believes that he will also benefit a lot by then.

"It's too early to talk about this now." Lin Weimin said.

Chen Chong was disappointed again, but the expression on his face did not change, "I understand, thank you!"

Lin Weimin nodded to Chen Chong and left the Nederland Theater with Tao Huimin.

The next night, Lin Weimin invited Tao Huimin to watch "The Phantom of the Opera" being performed at the King's Theatre.

It took more than half a year for this musical to come to Broadway from London's West End, and it is still attracting huge audiences and it is hard to get a sold-out performance.

This time when he went to the King's Theater, Lin Weimin did not see Andrew.

He is currently working on the Canadian version of "The Phantom of the Opera," which will be staged in Toronto, Canada later this year.

In the next few days, Lin Weimin took Tao Huimin around New York City.

There is no room for expansion in the east, west, south, and west of Manhattan, so it can only develop to high altitudes. This is the main reason for its magnificence. This is the New York in the book of American writer E.B. White.

For commuters and immigrants who are struggling to make a living, New York is like those counter ladies in a luxury store, and it is difficult to take a look at them.

But for other powerful people, this counter lady can be a little too enthusiastic.

Taking Tao Huimin to New York for her honeymoon, Lin Weimin can fully feel the enthusiasm of this city.

After playing for several days in a row, no matter how many attractions there are, there is a time when you have seen enough.

That afternoon, the two of them were walking on Broadway.

April in New York is similar to that in Beijing. The cool breeze blows from the port to Broadway, and pedestrians on the road are in a hurry.

The two walked on the sidewalk on the west side of the road, overlooking the slopes of Wall Street. Next to it is a cart selling hot dogs and roasted nuts, with a parasol on it.

Two people carrying bags walked towards them, chatting in a language that Lin Weimin could not understand. At first glance, they were tourists visiting New York.

Tao Huimin asked: "After playing with me for several days, shouldn't it be time for you to get down to business?"

"We are here to have fun, and fun is business." Lin Weimin looked at her.

Tao Huimin smiled and said, "But it's not fun to play like this all the time."

"Have you had enough fun in just a few days? We are on our honeymoon!"

"I don't do anything every day. I always play like this. Spending money is like running water. I feel uneasy." Tao Huimin said frankly.

Lin Weimin couldn't help laughing. Many migrant workers in later generations had this mentality.

When you are at work, you are always thinking about vacation, but once you really take a long vacation, within a few days you will start to fall into a panic of having nothing to do, and you will start to look forward to going to work.

Then after going to work, I looked forward to taking a vacation.

It goes round and round, over and over again.

"Okay, I'm going to do some serious business. You rest in the apartment for a few days, and we'll go shopping again in two days."

Honeymoon also requires a balance between work and rest.

Arriving at the Sanremo apartment again, Arthur Miller was extremely happy to see Lin Weimin. He did not expect that Lin Weimin would complete his honeymoon so quickly.

"It's just a break. If I have time, I'll come over and talk to you about the drama." Lin Weimin said to Arthur Miller.

Whatever the reason, Lin Weimin was happy to have Arthur Miller.

The two chatted about the adaptation of "Farewell My Concubine", and Lin Weimin expressed his thoughts to Arthur Miller.

After several years, the novel "Farewell My Concubine" has sold more than two million copies in the United States and has a very large reader base. He hopes to bring the content of this play to the Broadway stage in its original form. .

Arthur Miller was not surprised by Lin Weimin's thoughts. The influence of "Farewell My Concubine" is no longer what it used to be.

What's more, when he watched "Farewell My Concubine" in Yanjing, it left an indelible impression. It would be really regrettable to move this drama to the United States but change the cultural and historical background of the drama.

"This is a big adventure!" Arthur Miller said.

"I think it's worth a try. Arthur, one big difference between "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Intouchables" and "The Kite Runner" is that the core of his story is too Chinese, and it has been rashly localized. , but it will become nondescript.

Now it happens that the novel "Farewell My Concubine" has such good sales in the United States, so this approach is completely worth trying. "

Lin Weimin's words made Arthur Miller nod his head, "You are right. With the current influence of "Farewell My Concubine" in the United States, even if such an adaptation fails, there is no need to worry about losing money. ."

"Then let's do it in this direction!" Arthur Miller made up his mind.

Lin Weimin said with a smile: "With this change, writing the script will be much faster!"