1980 My literary era

During the more than ten days of signing tours, Lin Weimin visited all major cities in the United States. From time to time, he had to give speeches and accept interviews, leaving almost no time for rest.

By the time he returned to New York again, it was already the end of November.

The work schedule in the United States was too tight this time, and I didn’t even see many acquaintances.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were still two days left before returning to China, Lin Weimin planned to visit an old friend. Since he had the last interview in the morning, he could only go in the afternoon.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sun shines into the room through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the executive room.

The reporter who wanted to interview Lin Weimin just walked into the room. Lin Weimin was a little surprised when he looked at the other person's yellow face.

"Hello Mr. Lin, I am Zhang Chunru, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune."

Lin Weimin greeted Zhang Chunru warmly and asked, "Is Miss Zhang Chinese?"

"That's right. My parents immigrated to the United States in their early years, and I was born in the United States."

Lin Weimin smiled and talked to her a few words in Chinese, and Zhang Chunru answered fluently.

“There are not many second-generation Chinese Americans like you who are fluent in Chinese.”

"I communicate more with my parents in Chinese at home, so my Chinese is pretty good."

Chatting casually, the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.

The interview lasted for nearly two hours. After it ended, Zhang Chunru praised: "Mr. Lin, it is a great pleasure to interview you."

"Thank you, you are also a very good interviewer." Lin Weimin smiled.

Zhang Chunru took out two more books from his bag, one was "Farewell My Concubine" and the other was the Chinese version of "The Ming Dynasty 1566".

"Do you still like this kind of historical novels?"

"I'm very interested in Chinese history."

After happily signing, Lin Weimin wrote down his contact information on a piece of paper.

"We are all compatriots. If you go to China in the future, you are welcome to contact me and treat me to dinner!"

Zhang Chunru was surprised by Lin Weimin's enthusiasm. She took the contact information and thanked Lin Weimin.

After seeing off Zhang Chun, Lin Weimin stood at the door of the room, looked at her back, and sighed.

After lunch, Lin Weimin came to Sanremo Apartment.

Arthur Miller is nearly eighty years old. We haven't seen him for four years, and he looks much older, but he is still in good spirits.

Seeing Lin Weimin, he was a little excited and chatted enthusiastically.

In recent years, Arthur Miller has been in a state of semi-retirement and has rarely participated in drama activities.

But he has been engaged in drama creation all his life and has never stopped. This year he just completed the creation of the drama script "The Last Yankee".

He also showed off the script to Lin Weimin. After Lin Weimin read it, Arthur Miller asked him for his evaluation of the script.

Lin Weimin praised a few words without hesitation, but Arthur Miller said: "Come on, I even know that the writing is not good."

He looked a little depressed after saying, "For anyone engaged in art, time is the biggest enemy."

"We have a poem in China: Since ancient times, heroes are like beauties, and they are not allowed to grow old in the world. Just be content that you can still write at this age. Mr. Wan has already stopped writing."

"That's very well said." Arthur Miller sighed, then collected his emotions and asked about Mr. Wan's current situation.

The two chatted all afternoon, and Arthur Miller and his wife entertained Lin Weimin for dinner before he left the Sanremo apartment.

The next day, Lin Weimin went to buy some gifts in preparation for returning to China the next day, but he received a call from Michael Phillips.

The cast of "Farewell My Concubine" has just arrived in New York, and the awards season is about to begin.

On December 3, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the first award of the awards season and the first of the four major film critics awards in the United States, will be held in New York. This award is one of the important indicators of the Oscars.

Through a set of data, we can see the influence of the New York Film Critics Association Awards on the Academy Awards: the overlap for Best Director is 28%, the overlap for Best Actor is 35%, and the overlap for Best Actress is 31%.

Although "Farewell My Concubine" has an American financial background, the director, screenwriter and actors are all Chinese. It can be said to be a thoroughly Chinese film.

In other Film Critics Association awards, it may not be dominant, but it is an exception in the New York Film Critics Association.

Before 1966, the New York Film Critics Association Awards were mainly based on local historical legends or costume dramas, which greatly overlapped with the Academy Awards.

However, after the establishment of the American Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Association gradually shifted its taste to foreign films in order to compete for differentiation and remains so to this day.

As early as mid-November, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards announced this year's winners.

"Farewell My Concubine" won two awards: Best Actress and Best Foreign Language Film.

There are a total of nine New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Except for the two awards won by "Farewell My Concubine", the remaining seven awards were divided among three films, namely "Schindler's List" and "The Piano" and "Naked."

Therefore, the crew of "Farewell My Concubine" attaches great importance to the New York Film Critics Association Awards. Xu Feng, Cheng Kaige, and Gong Li were all present. Gong Li was filming Zhang Yimou's "Alive" and took special leave to come. After all, it was awarded to the best actress. .

In later generations, many people always think that Zhang Guorong's Cheng Dieyi is stunningly talented and stunning, but in fact Zhang Guorong did not win any heavyweight Best Actor with the role of Cheng Dieyi.

On the contrary, Juxian played by Gong Li has a very high status in the hearts of North American filmmakers. Not only did she win the New York Film Critics Association's Best Supporting Actress that year, but she was also named the "Premiere" in the United States in 2004 for her role as Juxian. Ranked 89th on the magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Performances in Film History.

In the current timeline, the crew of "Farewell My Concubine" signed up Gong Li not for a supporting actress, but for a leading actress. For this reason, she successfully won the New York Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress.

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Lin Weimin, Cheng Kaige, Xu Feng and others met at a high-end French restaurant in New York.

Recently, Lin Weimin has become very popular in the United States. Xu Feng and others couldn't help but be speechless after hearing Michael Phillips talk about it, marveling at Lin Weimin's popularity and influence in the United States.

Hearing that Lin Weimin would return to China tomorrow, Xu Feng disagreed and insisted that Lin Weimin stay for two more days to attend the New York Film Critics Association Awards ceremony before leaving.

"You judge your awards, how can I help."

"Why can't you help? Where you stand is the best topic. There will be more media reporting on us." Xu Feng said.

Michael Phillips also advised: "Yes, Lin. Don't underestimate your influence in the United States. The popularity of you and Richard Yates is at its highest now. If you attend the event, you will definitely contribute to "The Farewell"." "Ji" attracted a lot of attention, which was very helpful for the film's promotion during the awards season."

The two partners joined forces to persuade, and Lin Weimin finally compromised.

Anyway, I have been on leave for such a long time, so it is not less than three or four days.

As for Lao Cheng, just let him wait!

December 3, Walter Reed Theater, New York City Center.

The 59th New York Film Critics Circle Awards will be held here as scheduled tonight.

A red carpet has been laid out in front of the theater, and a cordon has surrounded the area where the stars will appear. Outside the cordon, a large number of movie fans are gathering.

At the end of the red carpet is a photo display board where the stars will have a brief visit and take photos after walking the red carpet.

A few meters across is the media area, where dozens of reporters with cameras are standing ready to go.

At around six o'clock in the evening, the red carpet ceremony began.

Because the results of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards are announced half a month in advance, there are not many film crews here today. There are only four award-winning film crews, but there are many stars.

After all, it is one of the earliest and most important outposts of the Hollywood awards season, where movie stars, singers, and producers all appear in their best attire.

The cast of "Farewell My Concubine" is ranked in the middle. Except for Michael Phillips, a veteran, Yi Shuier's yellow skin and dark eyes are particularly eye-catching among the foreigners.

Lin Weimin wore a suit and blended in with the crowd, standing on the side when taking photos.

Unexpectedly, when he was being interviewed by the host, Michael Phillips specifically cue him.

"Mr. Lin Weimin, the original author of "Farewell My Concubine" also came to the award ceremony."

His words immediately attracted the flashlights of many media, and the reporters' cameras quickly pressed the camera shutter in the direction of Michael Phillips's finger.

Although today is the film awards ceremony, Lin Weimin has been very popular in the American cultural circles recently, and many people who were not familiar with him have become familiar with his name due to the recent news.

Such news hot spots are naturally the focus of reporters' cameras.

Lin Weimin has not participated in the awards ceremony, but he just accepted the baptism of the Shanghai International Film Festival in October. Facing the many flashing cameras, he behaved calmly and gracefully.

Because of his presence, the interview, which was originally only a minute or two, was dragged out by the host for several minutes and Lin Weimin was asked several questions.

After dealing with the host's questions, the five-person crew came to the theater.

The crew of "Farewell My Concubine" and the crew of "Schindler's List" are right next to each other. Michael Phillips and Steven Spielberg are good friends, and the two specially said hello.

Michael Phillips introduced Lin Weimin to Steven Spielberg.

"Steven, Lin, although this is the first time you two have met, you can be considered old acquaintances!" Michael Phillips said with a smile.

Spielberg is the director of the film version of "The Intouchables", and he once bought the copyright to "No Matter What, Life is Beautiful". Although it was not made in the end, he turned around and filmed the serious "Cinderella". List", but after all, it can be regarded as a former collaborator.

The two of them smiled and said hello, exchanged a few pleasantries, and took their seats.

As the first of the four major film critics association awards in the United States, the New York Film Critics Association Awards have high standards. More than a hundred guests from the entertainment industry were present today, as well as several singers performing for the fun. The entire award ceremony lasted for nearly two hours. .

Because the results of the awards were announced half a month in advance, there was no suspense about the awards and the scene was harmonious.

On the contrary, during the interview session after the awards ceremony, when the crew of "Farewell My Concubine" appeared in the interview area, the reporters immediately became excited.

However, the reporters neither went to interview the director Cheng Kaige nor the newly crowned Best Actress Gong Li. Instead, they focused their microphones on Lin Weimin, the original author, who stood deliberately on the edge of the interview area.

"Mr. Lin, can you tell me your thoughts on "Farewell My Concubine" winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award?"

"The New York Film Critics Circle Awards are an important outpost of the Oscars. What are your expectations for the Oscars?"

"You have a huge influence among American book fans. Do you have any plans to write some works about the United States?"

"Mr. Lin, you have won the National Book Critics Circle Award twice, but were not shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award because of your nationality. Have you ever thought about naturalizing in the United States?"

…

The reporters' questions were normal at first, but as they continued to ask, their tone changed. After all, they were all entertainment reporters, and their focus was completely different from the reporters from literary publications and serious newspapers that Lin Weimin came into contact with.

Lin Weimin gave a few perfunctory answers and handed the microphone to Cheng Kaige, and ran out of the interview area in the disappointed eyes of the reporters.

After more than ten minutes, several people from the "Farewell My Concubine" crew met with Lin Weimin.

Cheng Kaige sighed a little. He had only heard about Teacher Lin's fame in the United States before. After attending the award ceremony today, he finally felt firsthand how famous Teacher Lin was in the United States.

It was hard for him to imagine that a foreign writer could have such a reputation here.

It’s so eye-catching, so enviable!

The end of the New York Film Critics Association Awards Ceremony is just the beginning. In the next two months, "Farewell My Concubine" will continue to appear frequently in major awards events in the American film industry.

After accompanying the crew to the New York Film Critics Circle Awards Ceremony, Lin Weimin's mission was completed.

It's time to go home!