Chapter 411 The Storm is Coming

In September, not only will The Kite Runner premiere on Broadway, but The Phantom of the Opera will also premiere in London's West End.

This musical, which took more than a year to prepare and produced and cost nearly $300 million to create, officially opened on September 27 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End.

Because it was the latest work of the talented composer Andrew, the performance was very grand and even Princess Diana of the royal family came to watch it in person.

"The Phantom of the Opera" not only has an extremely romantic plot, beautiful melodies, and wonderful performances, but the mysterious and gorgeous stage that was designed and built at great expense also has an extraordinary effect, and even the actors' costumes are extremely exquisite and sophisticated.

By the next day, the London media was flooded with positive reviews.

The performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" was an unprecedented success.

Lin Weimin summarized this information by listening to Andrew's words on the international long-distance call.

"I really want to see the faces of those investors who opposed me using Sarah and Michael. Those bastards don't know anything and can only give orders all day long!"

The work was successfully performed, and Andrew spoke with great pride and high spirits.

Green Weimin could not learn the flamboyant personality of the foreigners. After all, his principle in life has always been to be low-key.

"Congratulations, Andrew!" said Lin Weimin.

"It should be congratulations to us! Lin, we succeeded!"

Andrew is very grateful to Lin Weimin, an investor who is only responsible for providing money, never interferes, and is willing to support his ideas.

These days, there is no investor who does not pursue efficiency.

There are not many rich people like Lin Weimin who are stupid, rich, and also pursue artistic goals!

Andrew cherishes it very much!

Although more than half a month has passed since the premiere, Andrew still can't hide his excitement every time he thinks of the grand occasion on the premiere day.

In the past half month, he has been busy dealing with various media interviews every day, just like Arthur Miller. Two days ago, he finally remembered to contact Lin Weimin and tell him the good news.

Unfortunately, Lin Weimin was in China, and he made several phone calls before he finally got in touch with him.

Upon hearing the news of the successful performance of "The Phantom of the Opera", Lin Weimin remained calm, after all, this work had achieved great success in the future.

What Lin Weimin has to do next is to wait, wait for this work to bring him a steady stream of huge income.

In late October, the weather in Yanjing was getting colder day by day, and Han Zhuangzhuang returned from the crew of "Red Sorghum".

The filming took more than three months and now it has been completed. The next step is post-production, which has nothing to do with him as an actor.

Discussion and criticism of "Burning" continues in newspapers and magazines.

The publication of this novel was like stepping on the tail of some people in the cultural circle, making them feel the pain and wanting to eat Lin Weimin alive.

Because of their work and status, this group of people have a lot of say in the public opinion circle and have never stopped attacking Lin Weimin.

However, unlike the situation in "The Lover", the power and resources in the hands of these people are only good enough for talking, and the real threat and harm they can cause to Lin Weimin is minimal.

Therefore, Lin Weimin never paid any attention to the clamor of these people.

If they have enough fun, someone will naturally come to deal with them.

That afternoon, Lin Weimin heard laughter coming from the editorial department in his office.

When I pushed the door open, I saw Yu Hua sitting there, like a glamorous socialite, getting along with everyone.

Seeing him, Yu Hua instinctively stopped laughing, stood up and said seriously: "Teacher Lin, you came at the right time. I plan to write a novel and I am listening to everyone's opinions. Please give me some advice."

Yu Hua's words made Lin Weimin look much better. "Okay, I'm about to graduate, and I finally remembered to write a work."

Yu Hua scratched his messy hair and said, "Teacher Lin, I have always been planning to write a long novel. It's just that I didn't have enough ability and experience before, so I was still learning."

"So what, have you learned it this time?" Lin Weimin joked.

"It's not like I've learned it, but I just think I can give it a try. There are very few classes this semester, and everyone has nothing to do. I mainly focus on writing."

Lin Weimin glanced at Yu Hua with disdain. It was not like he had not worked in the Institute of Literature before. This kid didn't tell the truth at all.

It goes without saying that it’s the pressure from the school and teachers.

This is normal. I have been studying at the National Academy of Arts for almost two years. Now it is my last semester, so of course I have to produce some results.

Just like Lin Weimin and his classmates, it was only half a year, but by September and October, wasn’t it the same?

The teachers and leaders in the institute even personally contacted publications for everyone, fearing that everyone’s works would not be published.

But it’s a good thing after all that this kid can start writing long novels.

Lin Weimin listened to Yu Hua telling the story he had conceived, which basically told the story of a family's changes from the protagonist's perspective.

Just from his description, the overall tone of the story is sad and depressing.

"There's nothing wrong with the overall idea. If you can write about this bleak, sad, and desperate tone, the effect should be very good."

Lin Weimin's words gave Yu Hua some confidence, and he said, "Then I will start writing when I get back."

"The dormitory of your School of Arts is too noisy. There are many empty rooms upstairs. It would be better for you to write upstairs in peace and quiet," Lin Weimin suggested kindly.

Yu Hua's eyes flickered when he heard this, with a bit of panic hidden behind them. "No, no. Teacher Lin, although we have fewer classes now, we still have to go to class every day. It's not convenient to live in the guesthouse."

"Is that so? Forget it then!" Lin Weimin's tone was full of regret.

Yu Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

I was so scared and almost got locked up in a dark room.

Teacher Lin’s small dark room is well-known, and all the authors who contribute to the editorial department of Contemporary magazine know it.

Once you go in, you won't be able to get out until you finish writing the novel.

This method is very effective for authors with complete ideas and overflowing inspiration.

But for a player like Hua who writes whatever he thinks of, if he wants to get out of that, he will have to peel off a layer of skin, right?

No, I absolutely cannot go!

Even if I don’t write this novel anymore, I can’t go!

Yu Hua’s refusal made Lin Weimin very regretful. Ever since Teacher Lin became the editor-in-chief, the small dark room upstairs has been empty for a long time.

This is not because Teacher Lin has a change of heart, but because after becoming a leader, he can no longer serve his author friends personally as before.

Teacher Lin felt very guilty and always wanted to find an opportunity to make up for his shortcomings in work.

It's a pity that no one gave him this opportunity.

It seems that Lu Yao has been there for less than a month this year. He has become a frequent visitor to the small dark room, so there is nothing new about him going there.

"By the way, Xiao Tong, how is the author I asked you to contact before?" Lin Weimin asked.

"Teacher Lin, that person said he was a little busy at work. He was transferred to the publication under their Cultural Bureau as an editor last month."

Lin Weimin said, "Okay. Then you can write to him when you have nothing to do, keep in touch, and encourage him from time to time."

"Okay, Teacher Lin."

After a day's work, Lin Weimin drove to Yanying Studio.

The preliminary preparations for the film version of "Dream of Red Mansions" have entered the final stage, and the training of Tao Huimin and other actors is about to be completed. The filming will officially begin in a few days.

When Lin Weimin arrived at the guesthouse and was about to go upstairs to find Tao Huimin, he met a familiar face.

"Teacher Lin?"

Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Comrade Xiaoqing, hello!"

"Are you here to look for Huimin?"

"Yes. You just came here?"

Liu Xiaoqing nodded and said, "I just came here after finishing filming 'Furong Town' directed by Xie Jin."

Lin Weimin nodded. The actors and actresses of the film version of Dream of Red Mansions were carefully selected from film studios and theater troupes across the country, but some of the roles were decided long ago.

For example, the role of Wang Xifeng was reserved for Liu Xiaoqing by Xie Tieli early on.

Liu Xiaoqing has been at the peak of her career in recent years. Starring in Xie Jin's "Furong Town", it was no big deal for her to have Xie Tieli reserve a role for her.

The two chatted for a few minutes and passed each other.

Lin Weimin found Tao Huimin and took her out for dinner. During their chat, they naturally brought up the gossip about Liu Xiaoqing on the set of "Furong Town".

In the domestic cultural circle, this matter is no longer a secret, and even many people know about it.

Liu Xiaoqing fell in love with the male lead Jiang Wen, who had just graduated two years ago, on the set of "Furong Town", and she did not hide it at all.

You have to know that at that time Liu Xiaoqing was not only over 30 years old, but was even married, while Jiang Wen had just graduated. Before starring in "Furong Town", he was just an unknown drama actor.

The affair between Liu Xiaoqing and Jiang Wen soon reached her husband's ears, and he became furious and beat up the crew.

It is said that the relationship was very unhappy, and Liu Xiaoqing subsequently divorced her husband and lived openly with Jiang Wen.

While chatting about gossip, Lin Weimin thought of Jiang Wen’s overly mature face again.

It’s bad enough that the boy is growing up quickly, but he also has such a strong taste!

A few days later, Cheng Zaochun called Lin Weimin to his office.

After chatting for a while, he asked about the publication of "Burning" in the United States.

Lin Weimin told the truth, "It was published by Random House, with an initial print run of 100,000 copies. Everyone agreed that this novel was unlikely to be a big seller, but we could try to win some awards."

"Can I still win a prize?" Cheng Zaochun looked a little surprised.

"Why can't I win the award?" Lin Weimin didn't understand what he meant.

"Doesn't your novel criticize the United States? How can Americans give you an award?"

Lin Weimin smiled and said, "In the United States, cursing the United States has never been a problem. What really makes Americans jump is touching on their political correctness, such as topics like democracy and racial discrimination."

Cheng Zaochun nodded. He understood. This kind of political correctness also existed in China. However, due to the openness of the cultural sector in recent years, this kind of political correctness was gradually at risk of being broken.

The reason why he asked Lin Weimin to come here today was also related to this matter.

"The day after tomorrow, you go to the Publishing House to meet with the Border Office." Cheng Zaochun instructed.

"Meet the Border Department? Just me?"

Cheng Zaochun nodded, and no matter how Lin Weimin asked, he didn't say anything more.

Two days later, Lin Weimin went to the Publishing House.

After talking for a long time in the director's office, Bian Shu and Cheng Zaochun behaved in a similar way, only asking some questions about the domestic and overseas publication of the novel "Burning".

Although it seemed calm, Lin Weimin felt depressed.

No one said it explicitly, but Lin Weimin knew that things were definitely not that simple.

(End of this chapter)