Chapter 359: Running into a Gunpoint
The next morning, Lin Weimin drove Tao Huimin to the Temple of Heaven Hotel, where all TVB cast and crew from Hong Kong were arranged to stay.
Today is the day before filming begins. CCTV and TVB have called together the main staff to get acquainted with each other. As the screenwriter, Lin Weimin will naturally come.
The person in charge of TVB is Xiao Sheng. The producer of TVB is actually the chief director of the TV series and has great power. So when people talk about TVB's TV series, they always mention the producer's name but rarely the director.
The person in charge at CCTV is our old acquaintance Huang Yihe. He messed up last year's Spring Festival Gala and has been having a bad time recently.
Wang Fulin was filming "Dream of the Red Chamber" and Yang Jie was filming "Journey to the West". Now there was no one available in the station, so they sent him to the crew of "The Legend of Female Doctor".
The large conference room on the fourth floor of the hotel was packed with people, and Lin Weimin also saw the leading actor that TVB had been keeping secret for a long time - Leslie Cheung.
After listening to Tao Huimin's talk about the candidate for the male lead last night, Lin Weimin's first reaction was that it was nonsense. Why would a movie star like him come to act in a TVB TV series?
Later, I thought about it carefully. I think Leslie Cheung's famous work "A Better Tomorrow" was filmed in 1986. At that time, he appeared more as a singer and idol in the Hong Kong entertainment circle. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he did act in many TV series.
He first joined Rediffusion Television in 1977 and starred in Crocodile Tears produced by Mak Dang-hung, playing the supporting actor.
Later, he played the leading role in "Under the Eaves 15.16" and the costume drama "Swordsman".
In 1993, Far East Group Chairman Qiu Degen invested HK$100 million to purchase 50% of the shares of Rediffusion Television and obtained the co-operation rights. He also changed Rediffusion Television to Asia Television Limited, causing turmoil within the television station.
After leaving ATV, Leslie Cheung devoted most of his energy to his singing career and achieved remarkable results.
During the years since leaving ATV, Leslie Cheung did not completely give up acting and had always been flirting with TVB.
But unfortunately, there were so many young actors in TVB that the "Five Tigers of TVB" promoted by Run Run Shaw alone took up most of the male lead resources.
Over the course of three years, Leslie Cheung only starred in a 10-episode drama, "You Are So Affectionate", which was produced by TVB in order to promote newcomer Sheung Tin-ngor.
However, after the broadcast of "You Are My Destiny", the ratings and audience reputation were very good. The audience praised the handsome and unruly rich young master Zhan Shiyu played by Leslie Cheung, and TVB also saw the potential in Leslie Cheung.
At this time, Leslie Cheung released the album "Leslie", which sold over four platinum copies in Hong Kong. The song "Monica" even won a series of awards. For a time, Leslie Cheung's status in the Hong Kong music scene soared, which made him want to concentrate on his singing career.
When TVB saw this, they thought it was not going to work. They couldn’t let him go just when he became so popular.
With a wave of his hand, Run Run Shaw chose Leslie Cheung as the leading male role in "The Female Doctor".
It was co-produced in two places, with an investment of tens of millions and shot entirely on real locations, and he was also given the male lead role.
Leslie Cheung was so fooled by TVB that he agreed to the drama without thinking.
It was only after he arrived in the mainland that he realized he had been cheated.
It's true that he was given the role of the male lead, but this is a drama with a strong female lead!
Ajie has much more scenes than the male lead, and all the highlight is on her.
But he has already signed the contract and is already in Yanjing, so it is impossible not to shoot.
At today's meeting, he sat in the conference room with a look of despair on his face. Despite being the leading actor, he felt as miserable as an ant.
After forcing himself to smile and finishing the meaningless meeting, Zhang Guorong was planning to retreat back to his room to continue reading the script, but he was stopped by producer Xiao Sheng.
"Young Master Rong!"
Rong Shao is the name of a character played by Leslie Cheung in the movie "The Unemployed" in 1981. Later, everyone on the set kept calling him that.
"It was inconvenient because there were so many people just now. I came to say hello to Mr. Lin."
There were too many people at the meeting just now, and everyone introduced themselves briefly. I couldn’t remember everyone, so Xiao Sheng specially introduced them again.
Zhang Guorong forced a smile and greeted Lin Weimin, "Hello, Mr. Lin!"
After a few pleasantries, Zhang Guorong said, "Mr. Lin, just call me Ah Zai."
Xiao Sheng added: "Mr. Lin is not only the screenwriter of our play, but also a well-known writer in the mainland! Farewell My Concubine and The Lover are both works of Mr. Lin."
When Zhang Guorong heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Before coming to Yanjing, he had never paid attention to who the screenwriter of "The Legend of Female Doctor" was, and he was absent-minded when the introduction was made at the conference just now.
But he knew the two novels "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Lover", which were quite famous in Hong Kong.
In addition, some time ago, there was news that Ann Hui, the director of "Boat Man", was going to shoot the movie "The Lover".
After a few polite words, Xiao Sheng pulled over the elegant young man next to him, "This is Liu Songren, our male number three."
In 1971, Liu Songren was admitted to the 5th Artist Training Class of Rediffusion Television and joined Rediffusion Television after graduation the following year. In 1976, he switched to TVB and starred in TV series such as the "Lu Xiaofeng" series and "Spring Dream in Beijing".
His good acting skills, handsome looks and unique elegance make him stand out among the male actors in TVB. The rise of the "Five Tigers" has not affected his acting career at all, and he is considered one of the talented young actors in TVB today.
Given his seniority and status in TVB, playing the third male lead is enough to show how much importance TVB attaches to the TV series "The Female Doctor".
Another reason is related to his schedule. Among the many young actors in the station, he is the only one who has just finished filming "Ping Zong Xia Ying Lu". The next drama will start shooting in half a year.
The leading female actor, Liza Wang, is an old acquaintance, so she greeted me.
The second female lead, Michelle Lai, is a newcomer who debuted in 1984 and has only played a supporting role in one TV series. This time, she plays the second female lead and is obviously another one that TVB is promoting.
Xiao Sheng said that the station originally planned to let her star in "Di Qing" which started filming last month, but later they felt that the second female lead in "The Legend of a Female Doctor" could be more flattering, so they temporarily changed her role. This was said during lunch.
When the crews from two places worked together, interpersonal relationships were the most difficult issue to deal with. Xiao Sheng and Huang Yihe thought of the same thing and organized everyone to have lunch together at noon.
During the dinner, Zhang Guorong came over to toast Lin Weimin. After drinking, Zhang Guorong said, "Mr. Lin, this script you wrote is good in every way, except that the male lead doesn't have enough roles!"
His straightforwardness made Lin Weimin burst into laughter. "Young Master Rong, a real actor doesn't need so many scenes. Even just one scene can leave a deep impression on the audience."
When Leslie Cheung heard his words, he looked skeptical. At that time, he had not yet starred in the classic movies that made him famous in later generations, and his understanding of acting was very superficial.
At this time, Xiao Sheng on the side also smiled and said: "Mr. Rong, you can believe whoever you don't believe, but you can believe what Mr. Lin says."
Zhang Guorong looked at him with a questioning look in his eyes.
Xiao Sheng said: "You don't know yet, right? Mr. Lin is not only a novelist, but also an outstanding playwright."
Didn't she just write "The Biography of a Female Doctor"? It's a bit exaggerated to say that she is a playwright.
Xiao Sheng looked at Zhang Guorong's expression and guessed what he was thinking. He said to Lin Weimin, "Mr. Lin, it seems that you should give a few more tickets to Young Master Rong so that he can have a look!"
Zhang Guorong was confused by what Xiao Sheng said, but he could still hear some information between the lines, "Mr. Lin also writes drama scripts?"
"Mr. Lin is the last disciple of the drama master Mr. Wan Jiabao. Many of his plays were performed at the People's Art Theatre. Do you know the People's Art Theatre? It is the most prestigious drama theatre in the mainland."
Zhang Guorong was greatly surprised by Xiao Sheng's popular science. He had never heard of the name of the People's Art Theatre, but he had heard of Wan Jiabao's name for a long time.
As early as the 1950s and 1960s, several of Mr. Wan's classic plays had been performed in Hong Kong and received excellent responses.
He never expected that Lin Weimin would actually be Wan Jiabao's disciple.
"Mr. Lin, disrespectful!"
Lin Weimin didn't expect that Xiao Sheng's mention of Mr. Wan would have such a good effect.
"You're welcome, Young Master Rong."
After Xiao Sheng's popularization, Zhang Guorong became more interested in Lin Weimin. "Is Mr. Lin's play still being performed?"
Lin Weimin hesitated for two seconds and said, "There is a play called The Horse Catcher being performed now."
Zhang Guorong said happily: "Why don't we all go to see a play together tonight? I'll treat you. How about that?"
Tao Huimin was sitting next to Lin Weimin. She reminded him, "It's not easy to buy tickets."
Zhang Guorong was a little surprised, and Xiao Sheng also said with a smile: "The People's Art Theatre's drama performances are very popular, and Mr. Lin's works are even harder to get tickets for."
As the two of them acted like this, the other people around them also looked at them with interest.
Seeing this, Lin Weimin said, "It doesn't matter. Since everyone is interested, leave the ticket issue to me."
The people around cheered enthusiastically.
In the afternoon, Lin Weimin went to the National Theatre of China and bought twenty or thirty tickets.
When it comes to entertaining guests, it is better to leave out a group of people than to leave out just one person.
Lin Weimin called all the main cast and crew members from the two crews.
At around six o'clock in the afternoon, a group of people arrived at the Capital Theatre in a mighty procession. From afar, many people could be seen blocking the theatre gate.
When everyone approached, these people consciously made way for him. Many people recognized Lin Weimin and shouted, "Teacher Lin!"
Having been squatting at the entrance of the Capital Theatre for years, there is no one among these drama fans who does not know Lin Weimin.
Lin Weimin responded with a smile, and sister Wang Mingquan asked curiously, "What are they doing?"
"Waiting for the role!" Lin Weimin said.
Everyone was confused, so Tao Huimin took the initiative to explain this tradition at the entrance of the Capital Theatre to everyone.
Every day when the actors go on and off stage, these loyal audiences will wait here.
Lai Meixian said: "Isn't that the same as Rong Shao's fans? I never thought there are such drama fans in the mainland!"
Her sighing words attracted the attention of Liza Wang, who reminded her that what she said was a bit inappropriate.
Lin Weimin didn't care. He nodded and said, "Almost."
He raised his hand and glanced at his watch. It was already past seven o'clock and there were still more than twenty minutes before the performance. Normally, this group of people would have dispersed long ago.
This group of people hasn't dispersed yet today, it's obvious that an actor is late.
Lin Weimin asked the fans loudly, "Who else hasn't come yet?"
Someone yelled, "Bartel!"
Lin Weimin's face suddenly turned dark. The A-role of Battelle in "The Horse Catcher" was Han Zhuangzhuang.
There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.
Everyone knows the relationship between Lin Weimin and Han Zhuangzhuang, so they are naturally happy to see such a scene.
As soon as the crowd finished shouting, the roar of a motorcycle was heard not far away, and a few seconds later the motorcycle braked suddenly in front of the theater gate.
Han Zhuangzhuang had already seen Lin Weimin standing at the door, his face looking deathly pale.
"Why are you riding so fast? Are you rushing to be reincarnated?" Lin Weimin cursed with a dark face.
Han Zhuangzhuang knew he was in the wrong, so he pushed the cart and explained, "I have something urgent to do today!"
"Is there anything more important than your job?"
Han Zhuangzhuang wanted to explain further, but when he saw a group of people behind Lin Weimin, although he didn't know what these people were doing, it was obvious that they came with his uncle.
He sighed in his heart, thinking that he had run into trouble today!
(End of this chapter)
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