Chapter 349: Ordinary World
"Haha, Anhua, Mr. Lin is a screenwriter and a writer by profession. He has never been an actor. You are making things difficult for him." Yang Meng advised.
"Everyone is a born actor. As long as you want to act, you can do it."
Ann Hui seemed to be stuck in some kind of stubbornness, or perhaps it was Lin Weimin's identity as the author that made her determine that Lin Weimin was the male lead of the movie.
After chatting for a few more sentences, seeing that Ann Hui was still unwilling to give up, Lin Weimin said, "Director Hui, I definitely won't act in the movie, but I can recommend you a male actor to play the leading role."
Yang Meng asked, "Mr. Lin, do you have a suitable candidate?"
Lin Weimin nodded and said, "Have you seen The Burning of the Old Summer Palace?"
Yang Meng's eyes suddenly lit up, "Xianfeng?"
"Yes. The actor who plays Emperor Xianfeng is called Tony Leung Ka Fai, right? I think he is very suitable for the role of Guo Yudao, the male lead of "The Lover."
"Tony Leung is indeed very suitable for this role." Yang Meng said and looked at Ann Hui.
After Lin Weimin finished speaking, a gentle face flashed through Xu Anhua's mind.
Unfortunately, he is more gentle than handsome, and is a little inferior to the writer in front of him.
Seeing that Ann Hui was still hesitating, Lin Weimin had no choice but to say, "Anyway, I have recommended the candidate to you. It is up to you whether to use him or not. But as for me, you'd better not make any plans. I can't possibly act."
Lin Weimin ruthlessly refused to disappoint Ann Hui. If this is the case, then Tony Leung Ka Fai is a good choice.
Thinking of this, Ann Hui couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
It would be a shame if such a handsome writer didn't play the leading role in his own work.
Seeing that Ann Hui seemed to be giving up, Yang Meng decisively changed the subject and continued chatting about some topics related to film shooting and post-production.
At noon, we had lunch together, and today's meeting ended successfully.
Before leaving, Yang Meng handed over the cost of the script adaptation, a total of 120,000 Hong Kong dollars.
In the current Hong Kong film market, if a screenwriter is new to the industry, he or she may only receive a few thousand yuan in royalties for a film script.
It is common for experts to sell their scripts for 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, and only scripts by famous writers can be sold for more than 50,000 yuan. For example, Ni Kuang, a top novelist and screenwriter in the industry, can sell a script for 100,000 yuan.
Lin Weimin's royalties for his work "The Lover" were 80,000 yuan, and the extra 40,000 yuan was for the storyboard script.
The storyboard script is supposed to be created by the director based on the literary script. It is the director's secondary creation and one of the most important bases for future film shooting. It determines the final effect of future films to a large extent.
But Lin Weimin and Yang Meng had agreed beforehand that if his work was to be adapted, his own ideas must be consistently maintained, and Yang Meng agreed.
This led to the storyboard script written by Lin Weimin.
Yang Meng and Ann Hui stayed at the Yanjing Hotel. When they parted, they saw Lin Weimin out of the hotel.
Yang Meng saw Ann Hui looking at Lin Weimin's elegant back as he got into the car and left, and she joked, "Mr. Lin is very handsome, but you don't have to be like this, right? Andy Lau is also very handsome!"
Andy Lau was the leading actor in Ann Hui's previous film "To the Wrath of the Sea".
Ann Hui shook her head and said, "They are different. Their temperaments are very different. Handsome guys are everywhere, but handsome guys with outstanding temperament like Mr. Lin are rare."
"Okay, okay. Don't worry about it. He is a great writer. How could he lower his status to act in a movie?" Yang Meng advised.
"I know, I just think it's a pity. He is too suitable for the role of Guo Yudao."
Ann Hui said as she looked at Crown's receding back.
After meeting Yang Meng, Lin Weimin received a check for HK$120,000, which he deposited into his account at the Bank of China.
When she returned home in the evening, Tao Huimin was still reading the script with a serious expression and no distractions.
She read the first draft of the script of "The Sound of Wind", which basically did not have any major problems, but Tang Peilin still planned to refine it.
The crew of "The Sound of Wind" is currently preparing for the show, and it is estimated that filming will start in half a month. During this time, Tao Huimin has been reading the script at home.
After the two had dinner, Tao Huimin continued to read the script while Lin Weimin went to the study to work on his novel.
After the intense work a few days ago, Teacher Lin is now able to remain unmoved by beautiful women.
For this new novel, a lot of time and energy was spent on researching information in the early stages, but it felt very smooth when the actual creation began. After all, the plot and characters were all in Lin Weimin's mind.
No one has disturbed him these days, and with the harmony of yin and yang, Lin Weimin's creative efficiency has returned to its peak.
At this pace, the novel can be finished in another month or two.
Late at night, done, in bed.
Although a car will get tired after running too much, daily maintenance is still necessary.
Lin Weimin smoked a cigarette and said, "Tomorrow I will take you to the People's Art Theater to ask the teachers for advice."
Tao Huimin asked in surprise: "Can it work?"
"What's wrong? We are all family."
Teacher Lin did not treat the People's Art Theatre as an outsider, and the People's Art Theatre did not treat Teacher Lin as an outsider.
The next evening, Lin Weimin and his girlfriend ran to the People's Art Theatre and were immediately warmly welcomed by a group of acquaintances.
When he heard that Lin Weimin wanted to find a teacher for his girlfriend to take acting lessons, Yi Zhi directly pulled Zhu Lin out.
This Zhu Lin is not that Zhu Lin. She is a meritorious actor of the People's Art Theatre. She has created countless classic roles on the stage of the People's Art Theatre throughout her life and is known as the "Queen of Chinese Drama".
Tao Huimin stood in front of Zhu Lin, who was already in her sixties, trembling like a little lamb.
"Haha, don't be nervous. To be an actor, you have to have a big heart." Zhu Lin comforted.
"Teacher Zhu, I'm sorry to trouble you with Huimin's care these days." Lin Weimin asked.
Zhu Lin smiled and nodded, "It's okay. But the time is too short, I'm not sure I can teach you anything."
"Just a little bit of your teaching will be enough for her to learn for the rest of her life!"
Lin Weimin and Zhu Lin made an appointment that Tao Huimin would report to the People's Art Theatre every day and learn from her during the days before joining the crew. When Zhu Lin was rehearsing, she would watch and learn from the side.
The intensive improvement in half a month will not lead to any qualitative leap in Tao Huimin's acting skills, as long as it does not slow down the progress of the crew.
After all, she is my girlfriend, and she got into the crew because of my face. If her acting skills are not good, I will lose face.
Starting from mid-June, the city of Yanjing gradually became hotter.
During this period, with the help of Li Guangfu, Lin Weimin bought six properties. The best one was a courtyard house with one entrance. The others were single rooms or two or three rooms in large courtyards. The locations of these houses were not very good and the buildings were not well preserved. In total, he spent less than 10,000 yuan.
Ma Dudu brought one or two antiques every now and then. Finally, Lin Weimin got a little annoyed and gave him 20,000 foreign exchange coupons, asking him to spend all the money before bringing all the other items back.
The two of them worked on it for two months, and if calculated in RMB, the total cost was less than 40,000 yuan.
In a month or two, the revenue share from the drama performances in the United States will have to be settled, and several companies will come to the table from time to time.
Lin Weimin was worried. If he continued to spend the money like this, how would he ever be able to spend it all?
While Lin Weimin was worrying about not having enough money to spend, some people were still worrying about not having enough money to spend.
Lu Yao got off the train carrying a bag, which contained the first draft of the first part of "Ordinary World" which he had just completed a few days ago.
He came up with the idea in July 1983 and it took him two years to finally finish the first part of the novel. He spent a year in Chenjiagou Coal Mine alone.
Only he himself knows the joys and sorrows involved.
Before, Lin Weimin had always told him to come to Beijing to revise the manuscript after he finished the first draft, and he had written to him several times to urge him. This time, he finally came.
I had no choice but to come. I had no money left and all the money I had left in my pocket was spent on train tickets.
I walked all the way to the Guowen Society, and as soon as I entered the yard, I saw a magnificent Crown parked in the yard.
Lu Yao heard last year that Lin Weimin bought a car. He walked around the Crown twice, which caught the attention of Mr. Zhai in the mail room.
He leaned over and took a look through his reading glasses before he recognized the person.
"Lu Yao!"
Hearing the voice, Lu Yao looked over and greeted, "Uncle Zhai!"
"What's up? Did you like Editor-in-Chief Lin's car?"
Lu Yao took a look at the Crown and said, "Hey, it's a nice car."
After chatting for a few words, Lu Yao went straight to the back building.
"Lu Yao?" Lin Weimin was a little surprised to see Lu Yao. "Why didn't you say hello in advance?"
"I know this place well. Why are you saying hello? Didn't you ask me to come to Yanjing to revise the manuscript?"
Lin Weimin asked in surprise: "So the novel is finished?"
Lu Yao nodded: "I just finished writing the first part!"
"That's good. Don't be in a hurry to write a big book. Once you have the first one, you can slowly revise it. With time, the story in your mind will become clearer and clearer, which will be more helpful for future writing."
Lu Yao likes Lin Weimin's encouragement. He is an editor and a writer, and he always hits the nail on the head.
Lin Weimin asked Lu Yao to say hello to everyone, then took him to the third floor and arranged a room for him.
Lu Yao pulled him, looking embarrassed.
As soon as Lin Weimin saw his expression, he knew that he must be out of money again.
"I'm not saying anything bad about you. Can't you be more frugal with your money? You've earned a lot of money from writing these past two years, right?"
While saying this, Lin Weimin reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and took out all the money inside.
"That's all I have in my pocket. Take the flowers first."
Lu Yao took the money and was overjoyed, "I knew you were the most reliable."
"Deduct it from the royalties!" Lin Weimin said skillfully.
"no problem!"
After making arrangements for Lu Yao, Lin Weimin began to read the manuscript of the first part of "Ordinary World".
His first feeling was that it was long-winded and the story was too slow. Before traveling through time, he watched the TV series "Ordinary World" and learned about the original novel. He knew that the novel was frequently rejected when it was published because of this reason, and the first publication to reject it was "Contemporary".
Lin Weimin patiently continued reading, and after the initial slow-paced narrative, the charm of "Ordinary World" began to gradually emerge.
Lin Weimin read the entire manuscript very carefully and it took him two full days to finish it.
He finally understood the real reason why this novel was repeatedly rejected in another time and space.
Apart from the slow pace of the narrative, the story lacks suspense.
The real reason why this novel is not favored by editors is probably the times.
In China in the mid-1980s, many Chinese people had been mentally hungry for years. They read novels eagerly, not only reading stories and emotions, but also reading new ideas, new concepts, new forms and new techniques.
And "Ordinary World"...
Lin Weimin stroked the manuscript, which actually told the story of an ordinary boy in a rural area of northern Shaanxi's ordinary life and ordinary pursuits. It was so simple, so simple that it was incompatible with the aesthetic of that era.
Lin Weimin felt inexplicably sad. Such a story is obviously the ordinary life and spiritual epic of most ordinary people in this country, but it was rejected. This is really sad!
At this time, a smile appeared on Lin Weimin's mouth, but it didn't matter, gold will always shine.
(End of this chapter)
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