Chapter 432 Why is he everywhere?
At 9:30 the next morning, the press conference for the movie "Red Sorghum" was held in the large conference room of the Yanjing Hotel.
On the background board that was rushed out overnight, there was a striking red banner with a line of large characters written on it.
"Warm congratulations to "Red Sorghum" for winning the Golden Bear Award at the West Berlin International Film Festival."
The conference table in the meeting room was temporarily arranged in a circular shape. At one end sat relevant leaders from the Ministry of Rites, the Film Bureau, and the Xi'an Film Studio, as well as film creators such as Zhang Yimou, and at the other end sat reporters from major newspapers, TV stations and other media in Yanjing.
Today, Teng Jinxian and Wu Tianming seemed particularly excited, feeling very proud of themselves.
Wu Tianming was the one who decided to invest in the filming of "Red Sorghum", and Teng Jinxian was the one who decided to let "Red Sorghum" participate in the conference. One of them was the director of Xi'an Film Studio, and the other was the director of the Film Bureau. The film won the Golden Bear Award, which was not only a great political achievement for both of them, but also a huge honor.
The first Chinese film to win a world-renowned film award was produced during their tenure.
In addition to Teng Jinxian and Wu Tianming, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites was also present today.
The Film Bureau's superior administrative unit is the Ministry of Rites. Now that such great achievements have been made, the leaders of the Ministry of Rites will naturally come over to show their presence.
At the beginning of the press conference, Director Teng Jinxian of the Film Bureau gave a brief introduction and then went straight to the point, allowing Director Zhang Yimou to speak first.
The speeches were prepared in advance, and Zhang Yimou couldn't help but feel nervous when facing the flash cameras of many reporters.
After the routine polite words, he held the paper with his speech written on it and said aloud: "Here, I would like to especially thank Teacher Lin Weimin, Director Teng Jinxian and Director Wu Tianming for their help to me and the film Red Sorghum. Without their help, I would not have become a director, nor would I have made Red Sorghum, and Red Sorghum would not have won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival..."
While Zhang Yimou was speaking, the reporters on the opposite side were taking pictures and recording. Many people keenly noticed that in Zhang Yimou's order of thanks, Lin Weimin's name was actually ranked ahead of Teng Jinxian and Wu Tianming, the two senior leaders. Huge doubts arose in the minds of the reporters.
What virtue and ability does Lin Weimin have?
A reporter who witnessed Lin Weimin welcoming guests at the airport yesterday was also puzzled. Even if Lin Weimin was the screenwriter of this movie, there was no need to be the first one to be thanked, right?
While the reporters were speculating and discussing, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites, who was sitting next to Teng Jinxian, tilted his head and asked, "What does this movie have to do with Lin Weimin?"
Teng Jinxian patiently explained: "Zhang Yimou was originally a cinematographer at Guangxi Film Studio. He wanted to make a movie, but Guangxi Film Studio disagreed. Lin Weimin acted as a matchmaker between him and Xi'an Film Studio and facilitated their investment. In addition, he helped choose the film's subject, Red Sorghum by Mo Yan, and Lin Weimin also contributed a lot to the script."
After listening to this, the second-in-command nodded without saying anything more, but he felt very uncomfortable.
When a meeting was held in Zhuozhou a few days ago, the second-in-command had just finished praising Lin Weimin, but he ran away in the afternoon without giving him any face at all.
As a result, I came to the press conference of "Red Sorghum" today and heard stories about this guy.
From what Teng Jinxian said, wasn't this movie put together by Lin Weimin?
Why is he everywhere?
After all, the leader has been through a lot, so no matter how unhappy he is, he remains calm and even smiles.
After Zhang Yimou finished his speech, before Teng Jinxian could start the press conference, reporters started asking questions, talking at once, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.
Teng Jinxian had to use a microphone to maintain order, and it took a long time for the reporters to calm down.
After a while, when the leaders and creators on the stage had finished speaking, Teng Jinxian allowed reporters to ask questions.
The main target of the reporters' questions was naturally Zhang Yimou, who had just won the Golden Bear Award and was the absolute protagonist of today.
“Director Zhang, we all know that the film Red Sorghum was invested by Xi’an Film Studio, and that it was able to participate in the Berlin Film Festival thanks to the help of the Film Bureau. But when we heard you say thank you, you put Lin Weimin’s name first.
I want to ask, why do you say that? "
Facing the reporter's questions, Zhang Yimou smiled very honestly and said calmly: "The leaders of the Film Bureau and Xi'an Film Studio are here today. The list of thanks is indeed my own idea. During the preparation, shooting and competition of Red Sorghum, Xi'an Film Studio and the Film Bureau really gave me great support, which I am very grateful for.
Teacher Lin Weimin supported my original dream. As you all know, I was originally a photographer, and it was not easy for me to switch to being a director.
It was Mr. Lin who always supported me, encouraged me, and provided me with all kinds of help. I don’t know if the movie Red Sorghum would have won the award without his help.
But I know that without his The Help, I probably wouldn’t have become a film director.”
Zhang Yimou recounted the help Lin Weimin had given him, and scenes of him and Lin Weimin spending time together over the past year flashed through his mind from time to time, his face full of sincerity and emotion.
Facing the cameras of these reporters, he suddenly realized and thought of a word.
He added: "Teacher Lin is my mentor and friend!"
When the many reporters on the other side heard what Zhang Yimou said, they couldn't help but imagine the story of a good horse and its master, and they wrote furiously. There is a lot of story to be uncovered here!
Sure enough, another reporter stood up and asked a question, following up on the previous question and asking about some specific help Lin Weimin had given to Zhang Yimou. Zhang Yimou could only continue his statement.
The second-in-command standing nearby was so upset by what he heard that he even doubted whether he was here to attend the press conference for "Red Sorghum" or to attend the commendation meeting for Lin Weimin!
As Comrade Zhang Yimou continued his rambling description, an image gradually emerged in the minds of the reporters.
Talented, humble, kind-hearted, supportive of the younger generation, and with a strong network of contacts...
It’s not that the journalists have a strong imagination, but that Comrade Zhang Yimou’s praise was a bit too much, and the second-in-command next to him could hardly bear it anymore.
If you don’t know, you might think this movie was directed by Lin Weimin!
Teng Jinxian was also a little helpless. He had originally invited Lin Weimin to attend the press conference today, but Lin Weimin refused on the grounds that he had to go to work today.
Teng Jinxian naturally knew that Lin Weimin didn't want to be in the spotlight, but sometimes the more you don't want to be in the spotlight, the more likely it is to find you.
Dozens of media outlets from all over the country attended today's press conference. Zhang Yimou spared no effort to publicize Lin Weimin's help to him and the movie "Red Sorghum". It is estimated that in tomorrow's headlines, besides Zhang Yimou, the next most prominent person will be Lin Weimin.
This time, he is really the protagonist who is not the protagonist!
The press conference ended with Teng Jinxian’s sigh.
However, the reporters did not leave. Zhang Yimou and others were being interviewed by CCTV and People's Daily, while the reporters pulled other people to interview. If they could not interview the protagonist, it would be fine to interview the supporting actors first.
After the press conference, all relevant personnel were surrounded by reporters.
After Zhang Yimou finished his interviews with two national media outlets, these reporters immediately dropped the people they were interviewing and rushed towards Zhang Yimou. Their style was almost as good as that of the paparazzi in later generations.
Everyone present smiled bitterly, but they also understood the reactions of these reporters.
In February 1987, Zhang Yimou brought his film "Red Sorghum" to the Chinese Film Festival, launching an unprecedented satellite!
In a fierce competition among many reporters, Li Xiangyang defeated a number of heavyweight media and was the first to get an exclusive interview with Zhang Yimou.
Yesterday at the airport, due to the large number of reporters, Lin Weimin didn't communicate much with Li Xiangyang when he saw him.
But he took the initiative to arrange an exclusive interview with Zhang Yimou for Li Xiangyang, which made Li Xiangyang grateful.
Weimin is a good person!
After returning to the Yanjing Hotel last night, Lin Weimin told Zhang Yimou about the interview. As soon as Mr. Lin spoke up, Zhang Yimou agreed immediately. Besides, it was not a big deal at all.
——
At 7 o'clock that evening, the news broadcast was officially broadcast. The young Luo Jing still had a lot of hair.
"The West Berlin International Film Festival Best Feature Film Award, which has never been awarded to an Asian country, was won by Zhang Yimou, the director of the Chinese film Red Sorghum, yesterday."
At this time, the official name of Berlin was still West Berlin.
As he spoke, the images on TV switched, showing the Golden Bear shining, followed by images of Zhang Yimou and others attending the press conference.
"This Golden Bear has attracted the attention of many famous directors in the world. At this film festival, the United States presented two films that have been nominated for multiple Oscars, the Soviet Union presented The Female Commissar, which had been banned for 20 years, and many well-known directors also participated in the competition.
China sent Red Sorghum produced by Xi'an Film Studio, a film with strong national characteristics..."
The picture on TV just happened to cut to the scene of Zhang Yimou winning the Golden Bear Award. The picture was terrible and it was obvious that it was of wrong origin.
Mo Yan was listening to what was happening on TV and was very excited.
Yesterday, he had received the good news from Zhang Yimou. Because the PLA Academy of Fine Arts was on winter vacation recently, he returned to his hometown of Gaomi in eastern Shandong.
"Dou'er, is this movie the novel you wrote?" the elderly mother asked in a thick dialect.
Mo Yan nodded, "Mom, that's it!"
The old mother immediately smiled and said, "That's amazing! You won a big prize and are now world famous!"
Mo Yan hesitated for a moment. Winning the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival should make him world-famous, right?
"Yeah!" He nodded again.
The mother smiled even more happily, "Good! Good! My son has done well! His university studies were not in vain."
In the mother's simple opinion, Moyan's novels are good and can be adapted into movies and win major awards, all thanks to his college education.
Mo Yan also started laughing.
His mind inexplicably flashed back to his past years of experiences, including signing up for the army again and again, asking his classmates' fathers for help, writing day and night in the army, and...
The last scene in his mind was him sitting in the military office and a young man pushed the door open.
If it weren't for Teacher Lin, maybe my fate wouldn't be so wonderful! ——
Yanjing Hotel.
After a day of interviews, Zhang Yimou and others can finally take a break. Everyone gathers in the room and waits for today's news broadcast on time.
CCTV even sent cameras to today's press conference. Everyone knows that they will definitely be able to see the news of "Red Sorghum" winning the award on the "Xinwen Broadcast" tonight.
Everyone was excited when they saw Luo Jing's report on TV.
When the message was finished, Han Zhuangzhuang, who was bored out of his mind, raised his eyes from his watch and shouted excitedly: "59 seconds! A full 59 seconds!"
He started counting the seconds from the moment the news began to air until the end of the broadcast. It was actually 59 seconds, and one second less was one minute.
You have to know that the "News Broadcast" is only 30 minutes long. In such a big country with so much news every day, the fact that "Red Sorghum" can occupy a minute of the broadcast time alone is enough to show the importance of the Golden Bear Award and the country's attention to it.
After everyone was excited, they slowly calmed down.
"Okay, okay, we've finished watching the News Broadcast, let's get ready to go eat!" said Zhang Yimou.
Tonight, Wu Tianming organized a celebration banquet at the Yanjing Hotel. Leaders from the Film Bureau, leaders from the Xi'an Film Studio, and the main creators of the "Red Sorghum" crew gathered together.
At this moment, everyone returned to the room specifically to watch the "News Broadcast". When they arrived at the private room of Tanjiacai, everyone was already there, and everyone let Zhang Yimou take the main seat.
Today, no one has more right to sit in this position than Zhang Yimou.
He sat in his seat and glanced at Lin Weimin who was chatting and laughing with Teng Jinxian.
The scene when she first mentioned to Lin Weimin that she wanted to be a director came to her mind again.
"No one is born to be a director. If others can do it, why can't you?"
Zhang Yimou's eyes were filled with tears. Teacher Lin was right.
If others can do it, I can do it too!
(End of this chapter)
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