Chapter 158 Male and Female Leading Role

The weather is getting colder and colder. When it snows at any time, winter will come to Yanjing.

That day, Lin Weimin was reviewing manuscripts in the office when Rong Shihui threw a magazine onto his desk.

"What is this?"

"Look, your precious child has published something in Yenching Literature."

Lin Weimin checked the catalog and saw Yu Hua's name. The short story he published was "The Bamboo Girl".

"He submitted this article to me before, but I felt it was a little off, so I returned it to him."

Rong Shihui asked, "Can't this kid change and come back again?"

"You don't know him. This kid is very cunning. How could he be so obedient as to listen to our instructions?"

Rong Shihui could tell from Lin Weimin's words that the two of them must have had a battle of wits, so he said with a smile, "Little guy, you're quite cunning!"

"Young people!"

While chatting, Lin Weimin read through the manuscripts and sorted out the ones he thought were good. He wrote review comments on them and placed them on Rong Shihui's desk.

The screened-out manuscripts were placed in another pile, and rejection letters were stuffed into it one by one.

After working for a while, Lin Weimin got up and went to the wall next to the door to get another pile of submissions.

There are endless submissions to Contemporary, or to most first-line literary magazines these days. It seems like this work has no end, and one is always waiting for the editors' favor.

"Alas, there hasn't been any decent work lately!"

Like him, Yao Shuzhi was also looking for talented and attitude-oriented writers and works among this vast pile of letters, but the probability of finding them was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and at some point in time it would always make people feel a little desperate.

"It's not that it's not presentable, it just didn't meet our requirements."

As Lin Weimin was speaking, he was looking at the envelope of a letter, as if there was some important information on it.

Seeing his serious expression, Yao Shuzhi asked, "What new good seedlings have you found?"

“No.” Lin Weimin shook his head. “This person’s handwriting is really ugly!”

Yao Shuzhi laughed and said, "How is yours better than others?"

"It's better than the one written by Zheng Guo of your family."

While they were bickering, Lin Weimin tore open the envelope, revealing a submission letter and a manuscript.

The writer introduced himself as a student of Liaodong University. He claimed that he had read more than 2,000 domestic and foreign novels over the years and had his own unique insights into literary creation.

During this period, he read through the works published in most of the country's first-line literary magazines, and felt that they were all very old-fashioned, with neither novelty nor connotation. They were like the works of an old man who was about to die, exuding a smell of decay.

The tone of the letter was surprisingly loud, and Lin Weimin couldn't help but smile as he read it.

A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger!

Lin Weimin unfolded his manuscript, read it once and then put it down.

The young man has good ideas, but he is still not mature enough and needs guidance from Teacher Lin.

He first wrote densely packed comments on the manuscript, then spread out a piece of letter paper and wrote back to this arrogant classmate Ma Yuan.

This kid thinks highly of himself. He cannot be subdued unless his arrogance is defeated first. Teacher Lin once again uses the KTV method.

Don't you read a lot of novels? Then let's not talk about novels, such as Maugham and Hawthorne. The more familiar you are with them, the less I will talk about them. Let's talk about philosophy and history, and talk about the less familiar ones. This is called an asymmetric attack.

After chatting for several pages, Lin Weimin felt a little sorry for himself when he looked back.

This is all money!

Boy Ma Yuan, if you don’t write a few works for me every year, you will be ungrateful for all that Teacher Lin has done for you.

In the afternoon, the company issued coal coupons, and I left work after receiving them.

Riding a bicycle on the road, feeling the cold wind blowing, Lin Weimin began to miss his four-wheeled car.

I don't know when we can open it!

Han Zhuangzhuang made an appointment with a colleague to go to the movies tonight. He didn't know whether the colleague was a man or a woman. Lin Weimin had nothing to do, so he came to Muxidi.

"Hello, teacher! Hello, teacher's wife!"

I could smell the delicious food as soon as I walked in. The timing was perfect.

Mr. Wan was watching TV on the sofa while waiting for dinner. When he saw Lin Weimin coming, he asked him to sit down and chat. "I haven't seen you for a long time."

"Hey, busy all day."

When I came to Mr. Wan, I had to report on my work and life.

When he heard that The Cliff was going to be adapted into a TV series, Mr. Wan was quite happy. “This format is very good. Your novel was first broadcast on the radio, and now it is broadcast on TV. This is a great bonus for the dissemination of the work.”

"That's true. But the most important thing about this kind of adaptation is to be faithful to the original work. There are always text works first, and then film and television works. If the audience cannot accept it, it will also harm the work itself."

Mr. Wan nodded and said, "Yes, you have thought it through carefully. You don't need to worry too much about this. Comrade Jinshan and the comrades from the TV station will be in charge, so there won't be any problems."

Lin Weimin nodded. Of course he was not worried now.

After all, these current film and television workers are still in the literary and artistic circle, and have not expanded to the point of listing themselves in a separate circle - the entertainment circle. But it is hard to say what will happen in another 20 or 30 years.

What screenwriters and writers are? They are nothing!

I am a director/producer/investor/actor. It is your honor to use your things and I will give you a meal!

The two also talked about "Farewell My Concubine" which is still being prepared by the People's Art Theatre. The preparation progress of this play can be considered very slow at the People's Art Theatre. According to the current progress, it would be fast if it can be performed in the early spring of next year.

"Good food is never too late, and good show is never too late." Mr. Wan said with a smile.

Taking the opportunity to talk about "Farewell My Concubine", Lin Weimin mentioned how he got his eldest nephew Han Zhuangzhuang into the People's Art Theatre.

"Not bad, you didn't think I was old and confused!"

Mr. Wan's words made Lin Weimin feel ashamed. He wanted to make some more remarks, but Mr. Wan said, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish; if the person is too careful, there will be no followers. Don't say that I am only a nominal dean now. Even I couldn't completely prevent such things back then. But you are my student after all. Such things will definitely be scrutinized under a magnifying glass."

"I'm sorry to trouble you, teacher." Lin Weimin said apologetically.

Mr. Wan's smile was somewhat amusing. "Do you know the difference between using the back door and breaking the rules?"

Lin Weimin understood immediately and nodded to the old man.

The old man gave a mischievous smile.

A few days later, the first snow of the year fell in Yanjing City. Winter was coming, and getting up early to go to work every day became a torture.

He had enjoyed riding his bicycle to work last year, but this year he couldn't do it anymore. Lin Weimin could only blame Han Zhuangzhuang.

It’s all because of this kid being too lazy. He led me astray.

When Lin Weimin arrived at the Guowen Publishing House and just sat down, he received a registered letter.

It was sent by Ren Hao to Lin Weimin. He has now returned to Qindao from Harbin.

The crew is currently preparing for the film and has just finalized the cast. We would like to seek the opinion of Lin Weimin, the original author and screenwriter.

The letter not only included a list of actors, but also included photos of the leading actors for Lin Weimin's reference.

Lin Weimin saw two familiar names at first glance.

Tang Guoqiang and Zhu Lin, they are actually the male and female protagonists of the TV series "The Cliff".

Lin Weimin has certainly heard of Tang Guoqiang's name, whether in later generations or now. He is now an actor at the Bayi Film Studio. He played the leading role in his first film at the age of 23. In recent years, he has starred in several well-received and critically acclaimed films and has a great reputation.

Chen Xiaoer, who was also from the Bayi Film Studio, always gritted his teeth whenever he mentioned him, as if he was his lifelong enemy.

In the 1980s, he was an idol star who was no less famous than the so-called "top-tier" idols in later generations. The term "creamy boy" was invented specifically to criticize him because he said in an interview that he loved cream cakes.

Zhu Lin, the beautiful Queen of the Kingdom of Women, of course, has not played the role of the Queen yet. I have met Lin Weimin several times before, and his acting skills, well, are hard to describe.

Wasn't she transferred to Sichuan Film Studio to be an actress? Where did Ren Hao find her?

However, when I think about the fact that Ren Hao was able to find Tang Guoqiang from the Bayi Film Studio, it is not surprising that he went to the Sichuan Film Studio to find Zhu Lin.

If we just look at their appearance, the two of them are quite suitable for each other.

The male and female protagonists of the novel "The Cliff" Zhou Yi and Gu Qiuyan are both middle-aged people in their thirties. The most important thing is that Zhou Yi's superficial identity in the novel is a spy of the puppet Manchukuo. He speaks and acts in a very stylish way. As his wife, Gu Qiuyan must also have such style.

Lin Weimin looked at the photos of the two of them. The final makeup photo was very pleasing to the eye and very much in line with the temperament of the novel.

Just as Lin Weimin was reading Ren Hao's letter, he also called the editorial department.

"Hello, Teacher Lin, how are you? Did you receive the registered letter?"

"Director Ren, hello, I got it."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Ren Hao explained the reason for the call.

After the cast list was finalized a few days ago, he emailed it to Lin Weimin.

These two days he received a call from a young man named Wang Gang, who was the announcer who previously broadcast "The Cliff" at Liaodong People's Broadcasting Station.

I don't know where I got the news that he was preparing for "The Cliff," so I called him and offered to play a role.

Because Wang Gang mentioned several old acquaintances who worked at Liaodong TV Station on the phone, Ren Hao did not refuse directly for the sake of face. He called today just to seek Lin Weimin's opinion.

“Is there any suitable role?”

"There is room for him to find a role."

"Then give him a role! He also broadcast the novel of "The Cliff", so it can be considered a kind of fate." Lin Weimin said.

"Okay, then let's do as you say, Teacher Lin. By the way, Teacher Lin, do you have any questions for the actors?"

"No, no, everything is fine. Just take good pictures."

"Okay then. It's settled. When we start filming and you're free, you must come and give us some guidance!"

"Of course, of course."

After hanging up the phone and returning to the office not long after, Lin Weimin found that Liu Yin and Yao Shuzhi both came to his side.

"What?"

"Weimin, the male lead of your TV series adapted from "The Cliff" is Tang Guoqiang?" Liu Yin's eyes lit up.

Lin Weimin glanced at the pile of actor photos and letters spread out on the desk. Everyone should have seen it. "Yeah."

Liu Yin and Yao Shuzhi couldn't help but exclaim, "It's really him!"

"I said, do you really need to do that?"

"How could it be possible? That's Tang Guoqiang!" Yao Shuzhi said in amazement.

Lin Weimin looked at the other male comrades in the room, and they all looked helpless.

This is probably the love of beauty, which everyone has.

Otherwise, where would so many star-chasing girls come from in later generations?

On that day, the casting of the TV series "The Cliff" not only became a hot topic in the editorial department of "Contemporary", but also spread throughout the Guowen Publishing House in a short period of time.

Not for any other reason, but simply because of the performance of the popular young actor Tang Guoqiang.

When he returned home in the evening, Lin Weimin told Han Zhuangzhuang about how Zhu Lin accidentally became the heroine of "The Cliff". Han Zhuangzhuang was also a little amazed, because Zhu Lin was the first student in their 1980 amateur acting class to play the leading role.

When she was in school, she played the leading role in "The Small Courtyard", the graduation work of her classmates from Class 1978. Now, she has just graduated and is directly playing the leading role in a TV series, and her partner is a popular young actor like Tang Guoqiang.

Even Han Zhuangzhuang, as a man, was jealous.

"Uncle, why do you think she did that?"

"Why?" Lin Weimin thought for a moment, "Maybe... the face?"

Han Zhuangzhuang nodded after listening to it. "You know what, it's true. Zhu Lin is the most beautiful girl in our class, not to mention in the entire acting department. Even among the college students in the class of 1978, there is no one prettier than her."

At this point, he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, "Uncle, is appearance so important to an actor?"

Lin Weimin comforted him: "Your route is different from theirs."

"Why is it different?"

"You are a real talent."

Han Zhuangzhuang yelled, "Why don't you just say I'm ugly?"

It’s over. The child is heartbroken.

"That's not what my uncle meant..."

"Uncle, please stop talking. I understand everything. Do you know Zhou Lijing from the class of 1978 in our school?"

Lin Weimin nodded. Of course he knew Zhou Liqing. Like Tang Guoqiang, he was a popular young actor in the 1980s. He was still studying at Yanying School and there were a lot of directors who wanted to find him to act.

“When we were in school, we often heard that some director wanted to ask him to act in a movie, but the teacher always turned them down on his behalf, saying that he was still young and his foundation was not solid, so he should focus on his studies.

The teachers never worried that Zhou Lijing would have no more roles to play in the future if he rejected this director or that director. Because the teachers all knew that Zhou Lijing was born to do this job, just like you, my uncle, were born to do writing.”

Han Zhuangzhuang said this with a bit of melancholy on his face, "I was ignorant when I was in Shanghai Film Studio before, and I was also stupid when I went to school, but I didn't realize it. Now that I have entered the People's Art Theater, I have gradually understood that this is called talent, and it doesn't even require effort. It's really enviable!"

Lin Weimin listened to Han Zhuangzhuang's mumbling and realized for the first time that his nephew was not that stupid. Sometimes he just didn't speak.

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(End of this chapter)