Chapter 34 The Fallen Child Star (End)

"A Letter Home" tells the story of a farewell letter written by a battlefield doctor named Xu Qing to his mother in 1942.

After reading the synopsis of the script, Xu Weiheng immediately found his agent and said to him, "I want to make this movie."

It was not "want", but "want".

Hearing the firmness in his words, the agent took the script of "A Letter Home".

Before submitting these scripts to Xu Weiheng, he had already read and screened them, so he naturally had an impression of this movie.

"The director of this movie is a newcomer, and the investment has not been found yet."

"Did the director write the script himself?" Xu Weiheng just glanced at the name of the screenwriter column.

"Yes."

Xu Weiheng pursed his lips and thought for a moment, then decided to take a gamble: "Please contact the director for me first, I want to talk to him in person."

He has acted in many plays and read many scripts, but no script has ever moved him more than "A Letter Home".

Xu Weiheng had a hunch that if this movie could be made well, even if it could not win a high box office, it would definitely have a high reputation and even become his representative work.

So it is worth spending more time to understand it.

With the help of the agent, Xu Weiheng met with director Ning Hui.

From Ning Hui, Xu Weiheng learned that Ning Hui was the apprentice of the director of "In the Prime of Life". When Ning Hui decided to shoot the movie "A Letter Home", the director of "In the Prime of Life" recommended him to Ning Hui.

The two of them talked openly for three hours. The last bit of hesitation in Xu Weiheng's heart disappeared. He extended his hand to Ning Hui: "Happy cooperation."

Ning Hui was surprised: "Happy cooperation."

"I heard that the investment for this movie has not been raised yet?"

Ning Hui nodded: "Yes, but if you decide to participate, I can find a way to raise the remaining investment."

The investment in "A Letter Home" is at most 30 million. Xu Weiheng's current fame is not much worse than Wen Qiu. In addition, this is his first movie starring. With this reputation, it is not difficult to raise another 10 million investment.

"If you don't mind, I am willing to invest 10 million, and then convert my salary into the investment. What do you think, Director Ning?"

Ning Hui was overjoyed and had no opinion.

It doesn't matter whose investment is asked.

But if Xu Weiheng invested, he would definitely act more devotedly in order to make the movie profitable.

The two sides agreed, and the crew was successfully set up.

The process of selecting actors was relatively smooth, but there was one actor who could not be decided.

After a moment of hesitation, Ning Hui sent a message to Xu Weiheng and came to Xu Weiheng's house with two bags of fruit.

It was Yao Rong who opened the door for Ning Hui: "Is that you, Director Ning? Please come in."

Ning Hui smiled and handed the fruit in his hand to Yao Rong: "Sorry for disturbing you by coming here without your permission."

"It's okay. We are all here for business."

Xu Weiheng was reciting lines in the study. He came out when he heard the noise and asked Ning Hui to sit down on the sofa: "Director, why are you here?"

In the WeChat chat, Ning Hui only said that he came here for something but did not say what it was.

Ning Hui coughed and explained the purpose of her visit directly: "It's like this. In the movie, the mother of Xu Qing, played by you, will appear on screen for three or four minutes. I was thinking... if Ms. Yao is free, I wonder if Ms. Yao would be willing to make a cameo appearance?"

To be honest, although Yao Rong is not a star, after the bonus of the third season of "Dear Family" and the title of screenwriter of two phenomenal movies "Sinking" and "Starry Sky", her number of followers on Weibo is more than some third-tier stars. Moreover

, Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng are mother and son, and the audience will have a stronger sense of substitution when watching the movie.

"Am I going to make a cameo appearance?" Yao Rong pointed at herself.

"Yes. The role of that character is relatively simple, but in the end, he died. I wonder if you are willing..."

"Of course, no problem." Yao Rong nodded.

She was very interested.

After resolving this matter, Ning Hui did not leave immediately. He talked with Xu Weiheng about the crew: "The crew has almost finished preparing, how are you preparing?"

Xu Weiheng: "I have no problem."

If it was a movie with a different theme, he might need some time to figure out the role.

But... "A Letter Home" is a movie about the love between mother and son.

He couldn't accept that he couldn't act well in this movie.

Ning Hui: "Then we will join the crew in a week. I will notify Ms. Yao separately when she joins the crew."

A week later, Xu Weiheng joined the crew to shoot "A Letter Home".

He is the absolute protagonist of this movie. With his outstanding performance and the other actors not lagging behind, the filming progress of "A Letter Home" was very smooth. It took only two months to shoot most of the plot of "A Letter Home".

Because the filming progress of the movie was gratifying, after discussion, Ning Hui decided to release this movie during the Spring Festival.

However, the competition in this Spring Festival period was also very strong, with three family comedy movies alone.

"A Letter Home" was sandwiched in the middle, and it did not have an advantage in terms of cast or subject matter.

However, Ning Hui was very calm.

Cast and subject matter are empty. The final success or failure of a movie still depends on its quality.

When it comes to quality, no one knows better than him what a wonderful performance Xu Weiheng has contributed to the film.

There is an unwritten custom during the Spring Festival, that is, generally no advance screenings are held.

Advance screenings, firstly, will allow opponents to understand the quality of the film, and secondly, if the quality is not good, the reputation may be overturned.

Even a strong film like "Sinking" did not have advance screenings.

But after a meeting and discussion, "A Letter Home" decided to have an advance screening, allowing a small number of audiences to enter the theater in advance to watch the movie.

Xu Weiheng sent several Weibo posts in a row to promote the movie.

Friends in the circle such as Wen Qiu and Shi Qingqing forwarded them one after another.

Even Dan Xueming, who rarely uses Weibo, specially went on Weibo to help forward them.

As long as there is no competition, all the big directors who have worked with Xu Weiheng, including Director Chen, have helped with the promotion.

[Wow, a movie about the mother-son relationship during the Anti-Japanese War, the DNA has moved! ]

[Hahahahaha reminds me of "Dear Family" Season 3 +1]

Many netizens have expressed their expectations for this movie, but more netizens are not optimistic about it.

"A Letter Home" was screened amidst a chorus of pessimism.

Xu Weiheng bought two movie tickets and went to the cinema with Yao Rong.

There were quite a few people sitting in the theater. Xu Weiheng and Yao Rong disguised themselves and sat in the best seats.

Not long after, the movie started -

Xu Weiheng played the battlefield doctor named Xu Qing in "A Letter Home".

Unlike the brave mother, Xu Qing is a very cowardly person. Xu

Qing was forced by her mother to study medicine and to go to the front as a battlefield doctor.

At the beginning of the movie, Xu Qing hardly concealed her complaints and resentment towards her mother.

But after seeing many life and death separations on the battlefield, Xu Qing gradually understood her mother.

Later, because she had learned Japanese, Xu Qing applied for a job at a church hospital in Shanghai.

After staying in the hospital for about half a year, one day, Xu Qing returned home and opened the door to find two men sitting inside whom she had never met before.

Before Xu Qing could scream, the two men revealed their identities in advance: they were members of the underground party lurking in Shanghai, and they found Xu Qing in the hope that Xu Qing could provide help.

It turned out that an important member of the Shanghai underground party was arrested by Japanese spies three days ago. Because he was seriously shot, the important member was sent to the church hospital for treatment.

"We hope Mr. Xu can help us check the situation so that we can formulate a rescue plan."

After a fierce ideological struggle, Xu Qing gritted his teeth and decided to participate in the rescue.

Before the action, he wrote a letter to his mother.

In the letter, Xu Qing sincerely apologized to his mother and hoped that his mother would forgive him for the harm he caused to her when he was ignorant.

After writing the letter, Xu Qing did not send it out immediately, but asked the comrades of the underground party to take it.

If he had any accidents during the action, please send the letter to his mother together with his savings over the years.

After making all preparations, Xu Qing went to work at the church hospital.

With no danger, Xu Qing, as a doctor's assistant, entered the ward openly.

But when Xu Qing saw the face of that important member, he was struck by lightning - he would not mistake the person in front of him.

The woman lying on the bed dying in front of him was his mother, whom he had blamed for ten years and whom he had not seen since he went to college.

While Xu Qing was stunned, the middle-aged woman on the bed seemed to sense something, slowly opened her eyes, and regained consciousness.

After seeing Xu Qing's face clearly, she seemed to smile with an oxygen mask on.

Just like that, Xu Qing couldn't help but redden his eyes.

"I... I..." He spoke subconsciously with a trembling voice, but the woman on the bed shook her head and smiled at him again.

At that time, Xu Qing didn't understand what this smile meant.

He only knew that he had to leave here as soon as possible and tell the two underground party members about the situation in the hospital so that they could start the rescue as soon as possible.

He did not even bother to say a word to her and hurriedly left the ward.

However, just as Xu Qing led the two underground party members disguised as doctors and nurses to sneak into the hospital, a large number of Japanese suddenly rushed into the hospital gate, and some were shouting and cursing in Japanese.

Xu Qing listened to those Japanese and suddenly couldn't move.

The two underground party members looked back at him, confused.

"No need to rescue..."

Xu Qing slowly raised his head, his eyes a little wet.

"She, sacrificed..."

The stubborn, dictatorial, indifferent woman, who was also his mother, protected her comrade and her son for the last time.

At the cost of her life.

Later, Xu Qing received his mother's suicide note.

As Xu Qing read the suicide note, the scene of the movie suddenly changed.

In the last two minutes, the protagonist of the movie became Xu Qing's mother.

She admitted that she was an incompetent mother.

But this incompetent mother sat for a whole night when her child left home in an almost escaping manner.

She silently sent all the money given to her by the organization to her friends in the hospital, asking them to pass it on to Xu Qing. But don't pass it on in her name.

The kindness surrounding Xu Qing was her best compensation. But he never knew.

The movie spent most of its time telling the story of a son's resentment and understanding of his mother, but only two minutes to explain a mother's silent love for her son.

"I had already taken this life with the determination to die."

"When I saw you lying on the hospital bed, all my fears of death disappeared."

"My child, you have always been my pride."

As these words fell, the ending song of the movie sounded, and everyone in the theater came back to their senses.

Even actors Xu Weiheng and Yao Rong were amazed after watching the film.

They quietly mixed in the crowd and listened to the audience's comments on "A Letter Home."

"Oh my god! The twists and turns in this movie are totally unexpected and reasonable!"

"Xu Weiheng acted so well. When he laughed, I laughed too. When he cried, I cried too."

"After watching this movie, I instantly wanted to go home for the New Year."

As this group of audiences walked out of the cinema, discussions about "A Letter Home" gradually increased online.

[The love for the country and the love for the family are perfectly integrated. I didn't expect "A Letter Home" to be such a movie. ]

[I went to the cinema with the idea of ​​supporting Hengzi. After watching the movie, I just want to say: It was worth the trip. ]

[Those who are pessimistic about this movie, you'd better go to the cinema to watch it. I look forward to seeing you slapped in the face and sliding down on your knees after watching it. P.S.: Anyway, I have been slapped in the face.]

Professional film critics have also given high praise: [A movie about family affection, a movie with true emotions.]

Director Chen even posted a related Weibo at the first time: [I originally thought that Xu Weiheng had contributed a wonderful performance in "Sinking in the Wind", but after watching "A Letter Home", I was silent. If Xu Weiheng's performance in "Sinking in the Wind" still had traces of acting, in "A Letter Home" he is Xu Qing himself, and he completely brought this character to life.]

In addition, many old professors who have taught Xu Weiheng at the Chinese Opera also commented on and recommended this movie.

As the preview time increased, the reputation of "A Letter Home" gradually spread out of the circle. The first day box office rebounded from 160 million, and by the third day, it had firmly taken the first place in the single-day box office.

Director Ning Hui praised Xu Weiheng again and again when he was interviewed by reporters.

"It was the most correct decision I have ever made to ask Xu Weiheng to participate in this movie."

"If Xu Qing was not in the role, the score of "A Letter Home" would definitely be reduced by one point from the current basis. The actor and the movie complement each other, which is really a great thing."

After two consecutive months of release, "A Letter Home" finally left the theaters with a box office of 3.2 billion. In

July, it was nominated for the Golden Elephant Awards, and "A Letter Home" successfully won four nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Actor.

On the day of the Academy Awards ceremony, Xu Weiheng and the crew attended the red carpet.

From the moment he walked onto the red carpet, all the media and live broadcast cameras were chasing his figure.

Behind him, the afterglow was like a beautiful sky, and the crowds around him were like the sea. He had a gentle smile and a beautiful face. He was no longer the thin and skinny boy in the past.

Today, he is proud and confident, calm and composed, and the focus of everyone's attention.

[From the age of sixteen to the current twenty-six, a full ten years have passed. ]

[I never thought that I would like an idol for ten years, but Hengzai can make the impossible possible. When I liked him, I also became a better person. ]

[When I first started to like Hengzai, I had just graduated from college, and now I have a child. I held my child in my arms, pointed to the live studio and told her: Look, child, this is the person that mom has liked for so many years, isn't he exceptionally outstanding, isn't he shining. 】

Walking across the red carpet, Xu Weiheng entered the award ceremony.

He looked around and saw Yao Rong, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, sitting in the middle seat. She had not walked the red carpet with them just now, but had entered the venue in a low-key manner.

After waving to Yao Rong and making sure that she saw him, Xu Weiheng walked to the seat specially arranged for him and sat down.

Not long after, other actors also entered the venue and took their seats, and the award ceremony officially began.

With his wonderful performances in many movies and TV series, Xu Weiheng won the "Most Popular Actor of the Year" award, and "A Letter Home" also successfully won the "Best Screenwriter" award.

However, in the competition for "Best Director" and "Best Cinematography", "A Letter Home" lost to its rivals.

Not long after, it was finally time for the competition for "Best Actor".

"This winner has amazing talent and moving empathy. He is very young, but has been in the industry for many years and has created many classic roles. Some say he is a star, while others say he is not a star, but light itself. Let us -" "

Congratulations Xu Weiheng!"

Xu Weiheng's figure suddenly appeared on the big screen at the awards ceremony.

He walked up to the awards podium and took the trophy symbolizing "Best Actor" from the award-giving guest.

Holding the trophy, Xu Weiheng stood in front of the microphone, his lips slightly raised, and starlight flowing in his eyes.

"I entered the entertainment industry because I wanted to get a lot of attention and be loved by a lot of people."

"When I was sixteen, I thought about quitting the entertainment industry. It was then that I met the person who loved me the most in the world."

"Slowly, I rediscovered my love for acting. After that, I moved forward step by step."

"From the age of sixteen to twenty-six, from standing in front of the camera to apologize to standing here with the trophy in my hand, it took me a full ten years to walk this road. The biggest motivation for me to persevere is because I want to stand in this place where everyone is watching and ask the person who loves me the most-"

"Am I proud of you now?"

The camera at the award ceremony and the camera in the live broadcast room simultaneously aimed at Yao Rong in the audience.

The reporter in the audience quickly handed the microphone to Yao Rong.

Yao Rong stood up holding the microphone and smiled at Xu Weiheng.

"I have already told you the answer to this question at the end of the movie."

"If you want to hear it again, I can tell you now with certainty that you have always been my pride."

Xu Weiheng's eyes flashed, and his voice was slightly choked: "It is my luck to have a mother like you."

"No. Being your mother is the luckiest thing in my life."

There are countless people of all kinds in this world, but only one is her child.

He may not be the smartest or the most sensible, but in her eyes, he is the most unique. He

is connected to her by blood, depends on her life, will depend on her, and will protect her; sometimes he will make her angry, but more often, he brings her soul comfort.

Who would not like to see the blooming of the night-blooming cereus.

Who wouldn't like to watch the falling stars, just like the rising sun, slowly rising in the east.

(The Falling Child Star/Big White Teeth)