Chapter 787: The Moonlight
"If You Are the One" is Zhang Yimou's new movie, and casting is a big deal for the domestic film industry.
But this major event in the film industry was decided in a small conference room at Mandarin Film and Television.
There was no thrilling plot in the process. In just half an hour, the cast of several main characters was decided.
As for the many supporting roles with few remaining parts, Zhang Yimou mentioned the actors he planned to invite. Everyone talked about it and felt there was no problem, so there was no need for a vote and it was decided.
After the casting meeting, Zhang Yimou shook hands with Yu Dong.
The meeting was not long, but it established Yu Dong's authority as general manager.
Teacher Lin came specially to cheer, and Yu Dong's performance was also remarkable. Wenhua Film and Television now has a leader, which is also a good thing for Zhang Yimou.
The crew was about to leave, and Tong Zhonggui asked Zhang Yimou: "Yimou, Xiaowei has organized a salon, shall we go together?"
Zhang Yimou said: "I won't go. There are too many things to do on the set."
"Let's sit together for a while. Now that everyone has gone, maybe we can find some inspiration for you!" Tong Zhonggui advised.
Zhang Yimou thought about it and followed Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan out of the company.
Today is the first day of National Day. Sister Xu has to come to the company to work overtime during her good holiday. She did not forget to complain while packing up her things.
After the crew and Sister Xu left, Yu Dong asked Xiao Gong, "What is the salon that Director Tong mentioned just now?"
"Let's have a party. It seems that all the people going there are writers." Xiao Gong said with a bit of envy on his face.
“Is the editor-in-chief going too?”
Xiao Gong shook his head. "I don't know. I think so. The editor-in-chief is Director Tong's master and they have a very good relationship."
"Master?" Yu Dong felt that he had heard something useful.
"Yes. Director Tong used to be the editor of Contemporary Magazine. He was always led by Chief Editor Lin in the editorial department. He said so himself."
Yu Dong nodded. He brought him with him when he joined the company? According to the old tradition of state-owned companies, this was indeed a master-apprentice relationship.
"What about Mo Yan?"
"Are you asking about his relationship with Editor-in-Chief Lin?"
Yu Dong answered Xiao Gong with his eyes, and Xiao Gong said, "Teacher Mo Yan is an author discovered by Chief Editor Lin. Teacher Lin has been with him since he was an editor. He just transferred to our company, and his job was arranged by the Chief Editor."
Yu Dong had read Lin Weimin's novels, but had never known anything about the literary circle. Today, after listening to Xiao Gong's words, he realized that it turned out that the two generals under him were the editor-in-chief's confidants.
Considering their lazy style, this team is really hard to lead!
However, he also understood that Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan were engaged in literary creation, which did not conflict with his work.
It was Qu Xiaowei's idea to hold a literary salon on November 1st.
In Lin Weimin's words, he had money to burn, but he still came.
If Qu Xiaowei is not given this face, he will probably be depressed for half a year.
If you don't return home when you are rich and powerful, it is like walking in fine clothes at night.
Mr. Qu has made a fortune from his Internet cafe business over the past year or so. He has finally found an opportunity to show off, so we have to give him a chance.
The literary salon is located on the floor above his new Internet cafe, which is located in the China World Trade Center.
The scale of the Internet cafe is twice that of the one in the Capital Gymnasium, with 50 computers.
As soon as you enter the door, you will see rows of computers placed together, which is a spectacular sight.
The interior decoration of the Internet cafe is also very grand, and you can tell at a glance that a lot of money was spent.
After entering the room, friends couldn't help but exclaim in amazement and compliment him, and Mr. Qu's face blossomed like a chrysanthemum.
Going up to the second floor, the noisy sounds from the first floor are isolated.
This place is decorated like an office. When you enter one of the large rooms, you will find a different world inside, which is actually a reception room of nearly 100 square meters. It is equipped with sofas, coffee tables, billiard tables, ping-pong tables, televisions, VCRs, and all kinds of entertainment facilities.
"I wonder if you are here to show off or hold a salon today?" Lin Weimin teased.
Qu Xiaowei had a bright smile on his face, "No delay, no delay at all."
"Virtue!"
Many people came today, including Zheng Guo, Shi Tiesheng, Yu Hua, Liu Zhenyun, Wang Shuo...
We are all acquaintances and the atmosphere is harmonious.
Qu Xiaowei's place has complete facilities. Although everyone complains about it, they are all eager to enjoy it.
"Come on, Tiesheng, let's play billiard for a while!"
Lin Weimin enthusiastically pulled Shi Tiesheng to play billiards, and instructed Yu Hua: "Yu Hua, you push Tiesheng!"
Yu Hua: Coach, I also want to play billiards.
Unfortunately, his small arms were not as strong as his thighs, and he could only push Shi Tiesheng around the billiard table helplessly, and he had to pose for Shi Tiesheng from time to time.
Not only did he lose the game, Shi Tiesheng still blamed him, saying that his posture was wrong.
After two torturous games, Shi Tiesheng was a little tired. He finally got a chance to touch the cue, and his opponent was Qu Xiaowei.
The billiard table belonged to Mr. Qu, so his skills were naturally beyond doubt. He beat Yu Hua so badly that he almost lost his mind. After playing three games, Yu Hua threw the cue on the billiard table.
"No more fighting, it's boring!"
Then he went to the table where he was playing table tennis, eager to try it out.
Shi Tiesheng's wheelchair was next to the sofa, and he sat there with a few people drinking tea.
"You call this a salon?" Wang Shuo took a sip of tea and looked at Qu Xiaowei who was walking towards him with disdain.
"What should a salon be like? Look at what I have here. There's food, drinks and entertainment. If you want to chat and exchange ideas, no one will stop you!"
"Vulgar! Too vulgar!" Director Wang said disdainfully.
"You are not vulgar, do you have a mistress?"
As the saying goes, don't hit people in the face, and don't expose people's weaknesses when scolding them.
Qu Xiaowei's words really irritated Wang Shuo, "You..."
“Stop, stop, stop!” Lin Weimin waved his hand to interrupt the quarrel between the two. “You are grown-ups, don’t let others make fun of you. You two are the same, so don’t say anything to each other.”
Wang Shuo and Qu Xiaowei do have many similarities in terms of personality.
Lin Weimin scolded the two of them with just one sentence, which immediately caused dissatisfaction among them.
"So what? A fight? Come on, I'll be your referee!"
Lin Weimin's words made the two of them lose the barking energy that was just coming from Wangcai. They looked at each other, turned their heads away in disappointment, and ignored each other, going their own way.
They are serious about talking, but they are absolutely not allowed to take physical action.
Shi Tiesheng looked at everyone with a kind smile on his face.
Tong Zhonggui, Mo Yan and Zhang Yimou came later. Tong Zhonggui sat on the sofa drinking tea, while Mo Yan leaned on the back of the sofa and listened to everyone chatting.
"...The model named Qu Ying was recommended by Jiang Wen. After everyone discussed it, we gave her the role of An Hong. I plan to ask Ge You to guest-star in the role of the policeman, and also Zhao Benshan..."
Zhang Yimou sat next to Lin Weimin and introduced to him the role distribution of the crew after he left. Lin Weimin nodded after listening.
"Zhuangzhuang's place..."
Lin Weimin said: "Don't worry about him. There are only so many roles. If an actor doesn't take the initiative to fight for it, are they just waiting for the opportunity to fall on their head?"
Zhang Yimou knew that Teacher Lin was not a petty person, so when he heard him say that, he stopped explaining and the two continued talking about movies.
The original movie had very reasonable casting, especially An Hong played by Qu Ying, who was youthful, fashionable, passionate and sexy. Qu Ying, who was in her 20s, was worthy of being called a stunner and left a very deep impression on countless moviegoers.
The movie "If You Are the One" should be considered the most underrated work of Zhang Yimou. It is also the one with the strongest comedy flavor and the most "Feng Xiaogang" style among Zhang Yimou's works.
The film's audiovisual language is highly stylized, the events are absurd and bizarre, and the narrative is non-linear. It actually has the kind of black humor feel that you'd find in Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo's films.
Considering Zhang Yimou's directing skills and the quality of this film, it was indeed a bit unfair that it only achieved a box office revenue of 46 million in the year of its release.
After all, "Party A and Party B" released in the same year raked in 36 million yuan. Although "Well-Said" had a box office of 10 million yuan higher, it's Zhang Yimou's movie after all.
Among the many criticisms of the movie "If You Are the One", the biggest objection from the audience was the large number of subjective shots.
These subjective shots shake dramatically, far exceeding the range of normal shoulder-mounted photography, fully reflecting the characters' emotional instability and serving the film's overall narrative effect.
But at the same time, these violent shaking also caused inconvenience to a large number of viewers.
If the audience cannot patiently watch the movie, there will naturally be no good reviews.
This also led to the unfavorable reputation and mediocre box office of "If You Are the One" in the early stage of its release.
Lin Weimin discussed the issue of shooting techniques with Zhang Yimou, and he talked incessantly, and the techniques he described were exactly the same as the finished effects of later films.
Lin Weimin had to remind him that too much is as bad as too little, "Movies are a process of constant compromise in the contest between art and commerce. Domestic movies are now being crushed by Hollywood movies, and everyone has high hopes for your work. While considering the artistry, you also have to accommodate the audience's viewing habits and tastes. After all, now you are not just a director, but also a leader of Chinese films."
Lin Weimin's words are not an exaggeration. Since his debut, Zhang Yimou has won numerous Golden Lion and Golden Bear awards. This is an achievement that many film masters have never achieved in their entire lives.
Now he has become a banner of Chinese films. At a time when domestic films are becoming increasingly difficult, many people in the film industry have high hopes for Zhang Yimou's new film, hoping that his film can compete with imported blockbusters at the box office and save some hearts and reputation for domestic films.
After listening to Lin Weimin's words, Zhang Yimou felt the heavy burden on his shoulders, his face became serious and his mind was heavy.
Lin Weimin patted his shoulder and said, "Don't be too stressed. Your current position is already stable, and your only opponent in the future will be yourself."
Zhang Yimou nodded seriously, yes, just as Teacher Lin said.
With his current achievements, he no longer needs to prove anything. The only person he needs to defeat in the future is himself.
Only when he surpasses his past achievements can he make real progress.
The two chatted casually about movies, and Lin Weimin suddenly asked, "Have you broken up with Gong Li completely?"
Zhang Yimou looked a little embarrassed, "We broke up."
Lin Weimin did not pursue the topic any further. He just confirmed it and asked with some gossip, "I heard that Jiang Wenye's talks broke down?"
Zhang Yimou was speechless. Is it appropriate for someone of your status to always love gossip?
"It seems so." At this point, he couldn't help but say, "I think there's something wrong with the way he looks at Qu Ying."
Lin Weimin became even more excited, "Didn't they say she was his friend's daughter? It's not fair for this guy to do this."
"I just said it casually."
"Yes, yes, I just asked casually."
The two looked at each other and understood each other tacitly.
Under the moonlight, the badger in the melon field was eating the melons to its heart's content.
(End of this chapter)
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