1980 My literary era

After staying on set for more than an hour, I got off work and returned home.

Lin Weimin and his wife did not eat at home today, and gave the bean buns to the nanny. The couple ran out to have a romantic dinner, and then went to the cinema to watch a movie, living a world of two.

At the beginning of this year, the most popular movie was none other than "Red Zone" starring Cheng Long. This movie is one of the 10 imported blockbusters introduced by China Film Company.

The movie was released in the Mainland on the first day of the Lunar New Year. It has been released for nearly a month and the box office has exceeded 90 million yuan. It has also achieved 32.34 million yuan in the United States.

Before "Red Zone", the influence of Cheng Long and his action movies was mainly limited to East Asia.

"Red Zone" is a symbol of Cheng Long's film going international. It not only established his superstar status in the international film industry, but also became a milestone for him to enter the mainstream Hollywood film market.

After watching the movie, the couple came out of the theater. Tao Huimin kept talking about the plot of the movie, but Lin Weimin's attention was on the promotional poster at the entrance of the theater.

The promotional poster was produced when the movie was released and has been on display for a long time. Cheng Long's image occupies the majority of the poster, which is normal. He is the absolute protagonist of the movie.

But what Lin Weimin really paid attention to was not Cheng Long, but a term on the poster.

"New Year's Eve film".

The earliest Chinese people came into contact with the term "New Year's film" came from Cheng Long's movies.

Starting from "Red Zone", Cheng Long's action movies have been released on the first day of each new year for four consecutive years.

In the earlier Chinese film market, movie theaters were originally on holiday from the first to the third day of the Lunar New Year. As a result, "Red Zone" chose the first day of the Lunar New Year to enter the mainland in the name of a "New Year's film" The market has turned what was supposed to be a relaxing day on vacation into the busiest days of the year for theaters in major cities.

Later generations will know that Feng Xiaogang's films created the "Lunar New Year stalls" and were called the "King of Lunar New Year stalls", but in fact, Feng Xiaogang just followed Cheng Long's path a few more steps.

At work the next day, Tong Zhonggui came and gave Lin Weimin the script of "Party A and Party B".

"Party A and Party B" is adapted from Wang Shuo's novel "You Are Not a Common Man". It took this guy almost three months to finish it, and it was completely unworthy of the high remuneration Lin Weimin gave him.

"What do you think of the script?" Lin Weimin didn't read the script, but asked Tong Zhonggui first.

Tong Zhonggui thought about it carefully and then said: "I have read the original novel, and the script basically restored the novel. But...how should I put it, it has more than enough humor but not enough cinematic feel. However, this seems to be a consistent feature of Wang Shuo's works."

Lin Weimin nodded after hearing what he said. Although his words were simple, he got the point across.

"How is the contact with Yan Film Factory?"

"They are preparing several projects for young directors. You should have read the scripts..."

"We have limited funds. Which movie do you think is more suitable for us to invest in?"

Tong Zhonggui knew that this was another test for him by Teacher Lin. He pondered and said: "I prefer "Winner" and "Red Suit". The director of "Winner" is called Huo Jianqi. He used to work in art design. I talked with him However, he is a director with great ideas. The director of "Red Suit" is Li Shaohong. She has made two movies before, and the response was good..."

"Your preference is to invest in their movies?" Lin Weimin asked.

After Tong Zhonggui hesitated for a moment, he nodded solemnly, "Yes."

"Okay, then vote for them both." Lin Weimin said happily.

Although he was prepared in his heart, Tong Zhonggui was still moved by Lin Weimin's trust in him, "Teacher Lin..."

"I have the same opinion as you, let's just decide on the two of them. For two movies, 1.2 million should be enough, right?"

Tong Zhonggui said quickly: "It's useless. The investment in these two movies is not large. We only invest 40%, 800,000 is enough."

Lin Weimin nodded, "Okay, then it's settled. You can coordinate with Yan Film Factory on the specific matters."

"OK."

After Tong Zhonggui left, Lin Weimin turned over the script of "Party A and Party B". It was no different from what he remembered. After reading it once, he put down the script and called Tong Zhonggui to give him time to write the script. Take away.

After putting down the phone, Lin Weimin thought about the development of Wenhua Film and Television.

As a film and television company that mainly focuses on film investment, Wenhua Film and Television cannot produce films independently at this stage. It can only rely on studios with production qualifications. With Teng Jinxian's relationship, he is obviously an excellent partner in Yan Film Studio , which is also the foundation for the development of Wenhua Film and Television within a few years.

In terms of film investment, the top priority this year is of course "Party A and Party B". The script has just been written, and it will not be started until April, and filming and production will take five or six months.

It’s a good time to try to release it at the end of the year. This is a comedy movie full of satire, and it’s just right to release it at the end of the year.

Cheng Long's action movies pioneered the concept of "Lunar New Year films" in China, but the real Lunar New Year movies only gradually took shape starting with Feng Xiaogang and "Party A and Party B".

This long schedule, which stretched from November of that year to February of next year, has also become an important engine for Chinese movies.

If "Party A and Party B" is released at the end of this year, whether Wenhua Film and Television will have a good harvest depends on this movie.

As for Huo Jianqi's "The Winner" and Li Shaohong's "Red Suit", Lin Weimin has some impressions of these two movies. They were well made and they paid back their money. There is no problem in making a small profit for the Chinese Literature Society.

One good and one strange, two-pronged approach, this is probably the development tone of Wenhua Film and Television this year.

Another day, Haiyan came to give Lin Weimin the actor information of "Flower Season and Rainy Season". The thick information proved the intensity of Wencheng Film and Television's recent work.

"Are you exhausted recently?" Lin Weimin asked with concern.

"It's okay. Choosing actors is a lot of communication work."

After chatting for a while, Lin Weimin flipped through actor information.

It is similar to the resumes of later generations. The information is full of personal information and is very brief. Most of the actors are around 20 years old, and the youngest is only 16 or 17 years old.

Many of the photos are daily life photos, and you can tell at first glance that they are not professional actors. Professional actors usually prepare artistic photos for interviews.

Lin Weimin turned through a few pages and found a familiar face.

Hey, isn’t this a girl who doesn’t have a clear mouth?

"This girl has a good image and temperament."

Lin Weimin only picked one photo from a pile of information. Haiyan sighed inwardly, Teacher Lin's requirements are really high!

"She is indeed beautiful, and her temperament is fresh and natural. Can she play the second female lead?"

The female lead, Teacher Lin, was appointed by Jiang Qinqin, leaving only a few supporting actresses.

Lin Weimin said: "Don't be in a hurry, just pick it first. "Flower Season and Rainy Season" needs a lot of young actors, so they can be listed as candidates first."

Jiang Qinqin and Gao Yuanyuan have only been cast as two actresses now. There are more than a dozen named student roles in "Flower Season and Rainy Season", and seven or eight of them have important roles. It seems that the actors will have to rely on auditions.

"The press conference is next week."

"We have recently contacted many domestic professional troupes, drama schools and other institutions, and are waiting for them to recommend actors. We will try our best to spend one and a half months to screen the whole country and select some good talents."

Lin Weimin nodded. Haiyan's ability was undoubted and he won his trust.

"I'll leave the matter to you."

That afternoon, Lin Weimin received a call from Feng Xiaogang.

"Hey, Teacher Lin, do you have time these two days?"

On the phone, Feng Xiaogang's voice was low and furtive.

"What's the matter? Tell me openly."

"You should come here when you have time. Master Shuo insists on letting me use his little girlfriend as the heroine. I can't help but embarrass him."

"Okay, got it."

After Lin Weimin finished speaking, he put down the phone and dialed Wenhua Film and Television.

"Xiao Tong, call Feng Xiaogang and the others and ask them to hold a meeting to discuss the actor's matter with them."

"Teacher Lin, what instructions do you have over there?"

"Well... let's use Ge You for the male lead, Liu Bei for the female lead, and the rest of the actors will be from Renyi."

"Okay, I understand."

Feng Xiaogang finished the phone call secretly behind Wang Shuo's back. Not long after, he received a call from Tong Zhonggui, telling them that they wanted the main creators to go to Wenhua Film and Television's office for a meeting to discuss location scouting and casting issues.

"Master Shuo, let's go. Wenhua has called a meeting and they want to hire an actor."

Wang Shuo just woke up and felt weak, "Just go."

"Choose actors!" Feng Xiaogang reminded.

Wang Shuo then suddenly realized, "Okay, wait until I wash my face. I drank too much yesterday, so I won't drink again next time."

He said that he went to clean up for a while, and then he and Feng Xiaogang got into the broken second-hand Daihatsu owned by Haomeng Company.

Wandering to Wenhua Film and Television outside the East Third Ring Road, I entered the office. Wenhua Film and Television had two more people than before, but it still looked empty.

Tong Zhonggui was already waiting in the conference room. When he saw the two coming, he said hello and exchanged a few words before getting down to the topic.

"Mr. Lin has already read the script, and there are basically no problems. The next step is to do location scouting..."

Tong Zhonggui first chatted with Feng Xiaogang about the shooting location. After talking about location scouting, they started talking about casting. Tong Zhonggui had just said a few words when he was interrupted by Wang Shuo.

"Zhong Gui, we want to use one of our own for the heroine."

"One of our own?"

Tong Zhonggui looked at Feng Xiaogang, then at Wang Shuo, "Which one is yours?"

"There is a good actress in our company named Xu Cairen. Her image, temperament, and acting skills are all very good. I wrote the role of Zhou Beiyan after her," Wang Shuo said.

After he finished speaking, he did not forget to poke Feng Xiaogang. Feng Xiaogang said quickly: "Ah, ah, yes, yes!"

Tong Zhonggui showed a look of confusion on his face, "Well...but Teacher Lin has already decided on the cast list."

Wang Shuo secretly screamed in his heart, "Oh no," doesn't this old boy usually care about casting? Why did you explain it in advance?

"What did he say?"

Tong Zhonggui said truthfully: "The male lead will be given to Ge You, and the female lead will be given to Liu Bei."

Liu Bei and Wang Shuo are also acquaintances. They have played Shuang Shuang in "The Story of the Editorial Department" and Jia Ling in "Enjoyed".

Hearing this name from Tong Zhonggui, Wang Shuo didn't know how to mention the change of roles for a moment.

Tong Zhonggui observed his expression and said, "How about you talk to Teacher Lin? You two are so close."

When Wang Shuo heard this, he felt as sick as if he had eaten a fly.

He has a good relationship with Lin Weimin, but Tao Huimin has a better relationship with his wife Shen Xujia. Now both of them are on Shen Xujia's side. He wants to give Xiao Xu a role. Wang Shuo can already think of Lin Weimin's cynicism. .

He doesn't want to put a hot face on a cold butt.

"What, Tang Lijun's character..."

As soon as Wang Shuo said this, he felt a strong resentment next to him.

Feng Xiaogang looked at Wang Shuo dissatisfied. He had agreed to give the role of Tang Lijun to Xu Fan, and Wang Shuo also knew it.

Master Shuo is becoming more and more unkind now!

"Teacher Wang, the role is too small. It's just a supporting role for other actors. How can you like it?"

Tong Zhonggui's words left Wang Shuo speechless.

I don't like him. The key is that you don't give me the heroine!