Chapter 538 You are the vulgar person
The atmosphere in the editorial office of Contemporary magazine before the Chinese New Year this year was completely different from the leisurely and relaxed pace before the Chinese New Year in previous years.
"White Deer Plain" was published in the first issue of 1990, which was considered a big satellite.
How big is this satellite?
Tu An, the former editor-in-chief of Guowen Publishing House, made a special phone call to Lin Weimin, the editor-in-chief of Contemporary Magazine, to ask for two copies of Contemporary Magazine that published White Deer Plain for musician Qu Xixian, at his request.
And this was not the first call Cheng Zaochun had received.
The first issue of Contemporary Magazine in 1990 was sold out within half a month of its release. The book was in great demand and was in great demand.
The number of copies to be reprinted for this issue became the focus of discussion in the editorial department. After a long discussion, Lin Weimin finally waved his hand and ordered another million copies to be reprinted. He also asked the printing factory to work overtime to ensure that these publications would be distributed to all parts of the country before the Spring Festival.
There is still one week left until the Spring Festival and the holiday is coming soon, so this task is quite stressful.
When Contemporary Magazine was in turmoil because of the sensation caused by White Deer Plain, Arthur Miller, who was far away in the United States, called Lin Weimin.
The American version of "Farewell My Concubine", which has been in preparation for more than half a year, finally premiered at the Barrymore Theatre on Broadway on January 14, US time. "Farewell My Concubine" set a record in Broadway history on the night of its performance.
There was no such thing as online ticket purchase these days. The only way to buy tickets for a play was at the theater or at a few purchasing points in New York City.
"Farewell My Concubine" has been published in the United States for eight years and has accumulated a large number of novel readers. When this group of people heard that the drama version of "Farewell My Concubine" was about to be performed, they bought out the tickets for the premiere day early, causing many regular customers who usually watch dramas on Broadway to be unable to buy tickets before the premiere.
On the day of the premiere, many audiences who wanted to watch the play but didn't have tickets could only wander around the door of the Barrymore Theatre. At this time, a smart guy had an idea and shouted high prices in the crowd to buy tickets.
If no one sells at double the price, then triple the price.
After shouting for a while, the man actually bought a ticket, and the price he paid was ten times the normal price.
Seeing that Dacongming's strategy was successful, some wealthy audience members in the crowd became eager to imitate his tactics.
Suddenly, a wave of reverse scalpers appeared in front of the Barrymore Theatre.
This incident immediately became the biggest news on Broadway that night.
The direct consequence of this incident was that tickets for "Farewell My Concubine" were hard to come by after the premiere day.
"Farewell My Concubine" has a large audience base because of its vast number of novel readers. Coupled with such publicity, readers who want to buy tickets to watch the drama flocked to the theater ticket office, and the tickets for the performance were sold out as soon as they came out.
In just a few days, "Farewell My Concubine" became popular on Broadway in this way.
Of course, this is just one aspect of Farewell My Concubine's popularity on Broadway.
It took a full seven months from the time Lin Weimin came up with the script to the time it started performing, which is quite long for a Broadway production. The main reason for this was to wait for Zun Long.
After "The Last Emperor", John Lone became a popular Chinese actor in Hollywood.
Putting the two words "hot" and "Chinese" together meant that John Lone was destined to be very famous in Hollywood, but he had very few options.
In 1988, he finally got the chance to star in the historical film "Glorious Times" directed by Alan Rudolph. In 1989, he was in a situation where he had no good scripts to shoot. He finally got the chance to star in "Dragon in China", but it was a weird mix of Eastern and Western styles.
During the break in filming "Dragon in China", Zun Long heard in Hong Kong that "Farewell My Concubine" was going to be staged on Broadway, so he contacted Lin Weimin and expressed his wish to play the role of "Cheng Dieyi" in the movie.
Despite their collaboration on "The Last Emperor", Lin Weimin had no close relationship with Zun Long. He did not participate in the production of "Farewell My Concubine" at all, but only recommended Zun Long to Arthur Miller.
Arthur Miller naturally welcomed it with open arms. Although Zun Long had the blessing of "The Last Emperor", his development in Hollywood was still limited because of his skin color.
But "Farewell My Concubine" itself is a Chinese drama, and it has an all-Asian cast. The addition of John Lone has only increased the topic and popularity. How could Arthur Miller not be happy?
Moreover, Zun Long himself comes from Broadway and has been active on the Broadway stage since the early 1980s.
In 1980, he first starred in the stage play "FOB" written by David Henry Hwang.
In 1981, he directed and starred in the stage play "Railroad and Dance". In the same year, he won the 25th Obie Award for Best Performance for "FOB" and "Railroad and Dance".
In 1983, Zun Long once again wrote, directed and starred in the stage play "Sound and Beauty", which led to his discovery by Hollywood and his film career.
In addition to these factors, there is another reason why Arthur Miller was willing to wait for Zun Long, that is, Zun Long was sent to Hong Kong to study Peking Opera since he was a child, and he himself had a foundation in Peking Opera.
In addition, he looks handsome and feminine, making him the perfect choice to play Cheng Dieyi.
It turned out that Arthur Miller was right to wait.
Zun Long's joining not only brought great convenience to the promotion of "Farewell My Concubine", but also after the premiere, his role as Cheng Dieyi also received unanimous praise from the audience and critics who watched the performance on the premiere day, saying that he "100% restored Cheng Dieyi in the novel."
Ever since he watched the People's Art Theatre version of "Farewell My Concubine" in China in 1983, Arthur Miller has been obsessed with this drama. Now that the drama has finally been brought to the Broadway stage, Arthur Miller has finally fulfilled his wish.
After He Lin Weimin reported the good news, Arthur Miller told him another piece of news.
"Lin, after Farewell My Concubine, I will no longer participate in the production of a play."
Lin Weimin was stunned by the news. "You're not going to do this anymore? Are you retiring?"
"I'm over eighty and I don't have that much energy anymore!" sighed Arthur Miller.
When the two met, Arthur Miller was nearly 80 years old, but his physical condition and mental outlook gave people the impression that he was only in his 60s. Arthur Miller did not mention his age, and Lin Weimin sometimes ignored his age.
After bringing Lin Weimin's works to the Broadway stage for several years, he has gradually felt a lack of energy.
"Although it's a bit regrettable, Arthur, I wish you all the best in your retirement life!"
"I am very honored that Farewell My Concubine will be the last work I participate in in my drama career," said Arthur Miller.
"Arthur, it's my pleasure too!"
The tone of both parties on the phone was somewhat sad. Arthur Miller smiled and said, "You won't need an old man like me when your work moves to Broadway in the future."
Arthur Miller was right. With the accumulation of three plays and his popularity in the United States, Lin Weimin is now well-known in the American theater industry. Even if Arthur Miller retires, his works can still be performed on the Broadway stage, and people will be begging for them.
After ending the call with Arthur Miller, Lin Weimin looked out the window.
It was snowing in Yanjing. The sky was filled with snowflakes. The buildings in the distance were hidden in the snow, and the whole world was left with only a monotonous white.
These days, Tao Huimin is filming the TV series "Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai" produced by Shanghai TV Station, playing the heroine Xiao Baicai. She does not get home until after eight o'clock in the evening.
After work, Lin Weimin drove to the Shichahai courtyard.
"Tiesheng! Tiesheng!"
He knocked on the gate loudly. Cheng Ximi opened the gate and saw Shi Tiesheng pushing his wheelchair under the eaves at the door, looking at him.
"Hui Min came back late, so she came to your house for dinner today." Lin Weimin and Cheng Ximi said.
When I entered the house, a wave of heat hit me in the face and the heater was very warm.
"In this weather, we should get some mutton!" said Lin Weimin.
Shi Tiesheng smiled and said, "Do you know that our family has prepared mutton for the New Year?"
"Really? That's great!"
Lin Weimin was in high spirits and not at all shy.
Shi's father and Cheng Ximi were busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. Lin Weimin and Shi Tiesheng were standing and sitting by the window, looking out.
"It's snowing so heavily!" Lin Weimin exclaimed.
"Yes! It's really big!" said Shi Tiesheng.
Lin Weimin glanced at him and said, "You haven't become a leader yet, it's because you are uneducated!"
"You are educated, so why don't you say something!" Shi Tiesheng retorted.
"I haven't even graduated from junior high school. Strictly speaking, I only have an elementary school education. You at least have a junior high school education!"
“I’m better at sports!”
After a few words of argument, Lin Weimin became depressed.
"Tie Sheng! The eighties are almost over!"
Shi Tiesheng's eyes sparkled as he said, "Yes, the brand new 1990s are coming!"
Lin Weimin looked at Shi Tiesheng helplessly and said, "Can you please stop ruining the atmosphere? I'm reminiscing about the glorious 1980s that are about to become a thing of the past!"
"Were the 1980s glorious?" Shi Tiesheng asked in return.
Lin Weimin stood there in a daze.
Yeah, were the eighties a glorious decade?
If we look at it purely from the perspective of the literary world, it should be brilliant, even the most brilliant thing ever seen in China's history.
People who were in the midst of it might not have noticed it, and they thought it was all natural. Little did they know that this was a grand scene that had never been seen in the history of Chinese literature.
As long as it is related to literature, everyone will follow it and envy it!
But……
What about literature?
The direction of reform and opening up has been like branches swaying in the wind over the past decade. Domestic material life has been enriched to a certain extent, and a very small group of people have become rich. However, while the majority of people are enjoying the fruits of reform and opening up, they are also enduring the pain it brings.
The past ten years have not been easy for the country and even more so for the people.
"The 1980s will eventually pass!" said Shi Tiesheng.
Lin Weimin nodded, "Yes, it will eventually become a thing of the past!"
In the room, the two looked at each other in silence.
At this time, Father Shi came into the room with a bowl of sesame paste and handed it to Lin Weimin, "Weimin, please dilute this sesame paste for me!"
Lin Weimin took the sesame sauce, poured some warm water into it and started stirring it. When Shi's father was about to leave the house, he reminded him, "Uncle, don't forget the pickled garlic!"
"Got it!" Father Shi agreed and left the house.
After Shi's father's interruption, the sentimental atmosphere in the room disappeared.
Shi Tiesheng looked at Lin Weimin happily stirring the sesame paste and said disdainfully, "You are such a vulgar person!"
"Bah! You are a vulgar person, I am an artist!"
I've updated 10,000 a day for a week, and today I've updated twice
(End of this chapter)
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