1979 Golden Age

"He's a real savage!"

"He is arrogant and conceited, and he slandered my character and art without any reason!"

"He disrupted the crew's filming progress and took away Chinese staff without permission. Do you know how much money we lose if we stop working for one day? I came here with goodwill and hope, but now I am so disappointed with China! So disappointed!"

The project of "The Last Emperor" was jointly undertaken by foreign companies, Beijing Film Studio and China Film Co-production Corporation.

Bertolucci was looking for a co-production company. His red cheeks had not yet faded as he shouted, "You have breached the contract. I want that Chinese man to compensate for all the losses and apologize honestly in front of me... You must punish him, and punish him severely!"

"You must solve this problem immediately!"

Producer Thomas was even more anxious than Bertolucci, as he was the one who obtained those loans.

“…”

The people at the co-production company were already terrified. Can they solve this kind of thing by themselves? Report it!

…

Forbidden City.

Zhu Jiahui stood in the square of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where he had just played tennis, and pondered over and over again.

"Puyi is here, Wanrong is over there, and Johnston is in the middle. Oh no, he's sitting on top!"

"Sit on it!"

The old man suddenly climbed up the white jade steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, stood on a high place, looked around, and clapped his hands: "So this is called the Western bird's-eye view! Wow, Xiao Chen is really good."

Concepts like Eastern perspective and Western perspective are too advanced and seem very abstract when discussed in detail.

Zhu Jiahui understood at this moment, and murmured to himself: "The real Johnston is not like this at all. They chose to film him like this. They really have ulterior motives. If there is a first time, there will be a second time. If the whole "The Last Emperor" is expressed in this way, then the Italians are really bad.

Fortunately, we treated him like a distinguished guest... No, I have to talk about this!"

Over the past month, several elderly gentlemen have come to the crew several times, and each time they were disgusted.

But due to Bertolucci's peculiarity and his own cultivation, he did not express any opinions publicly. At this time, Zhu Jiahui was not happy and hurried to find Wang Shixiang and others.

…………

The bus carried the employees of Beijing Film Studio back with the sound of a powerful engine.

The discussion was chaotic and divided into three groups: those who watched the fun, those who were worried, and those who thought Chen Qi's words made sense. The last group had fewer people, and not everyone dared to face the hegemony of film discourse established by the West.

But movies are like this. For example, when we see some scenes, we may not be able to explain any profound theoretical knowledge, but we just instinctively feel uncomfortable watching them... Hey! Don't doubt it, there is something wrong with it.

Many times we lose the opportunity to express ourselves because of our lack of confidence.

This is also related to the country. When the country is not very strong, it is understandable. But when the country is strong, but not confident, then isn’t it a waste of strength? Times are changing, and thoughts must keep up. Just like decades later, who would have thought that the former beacon would become that virtue?

Todai: We still have room for development, and we still have room for catching up!

America: In fact, we can’t even solve the problem of food and clothing!

“Ding ding!”

The two buses quickly returned to the Beijing Film Studio. When we got off the bus, we ran into a deputy director who asked curiously, "You guys are here so early today? Aren't you coming back in the evening?"

"Don't mention it, the movie can't be filmed!"

"What's going on?"

"Comrade Chen Qi had a big fight with Director Bei!"

"ah???"

But how the commotion would unfold has not yet been made clear.

"The Last Emperor" was approved by the top leaders. Bertolucci was also known as a member of the Italian Communist Party. He wanted to cooperate and earn some foreign exchange at the same time - the bulk of the 25 million US dollars was spent abroad, and the money left in the country was mainly for food, lodging and labor costs. For example, the foreign-related hotels where they stayed settled the bills in US dollars.

"This Xiao Chen is such a worry. Why would he quarrel with them for no reason?"

Leader Zhu immediately called Oriental Company and asked Chen Qi to come over.

…………

“Ding ding bang bang!”

“Buzz buzz buzz!”

Chen Qi has gone home because he wants to have lunch.

He was holding a bowl, standing on the balcony and looking at the fence not far away. It had become a large construction site where the company's headquarters building was being built. He said, "It's too noisy. I have to tell them to stop working tonight, otherwise they won't be able to sleep."

"Of course we have to stop working at night. What if we scare the child? Look at him, he's very irritable now." Gong Xue said.

"He's just eating milk."

Chen Qi glanced at his son, came back with the bowl, took a bite of shredded potatoes and said, "Why aren't you worried about me at all? This is no small matter."

"Which of the troubles you have gotten into is a small one?"

Gong Xue rolled her eyes at him, pinched her son's cheek, and said with a smile, "But that's true. We have a child now. If you get into trouble, just don't tell us about it."

Chen Qi snorted, slurped his meal, rinsed his mouth, and then went out.

"I'll wait for you for dinner tonight and make braised pork for you." Gong Xue said.

"Um!"

He went downstairs and took a car to the Ministry of Truth.

It had been a while since the incident happened, and everyone must have known everything they needed to know. He was not panicking at all, as he had a lot of credits and achievements that had not been settled yet.

What's the big deal about getting an Italian?

Of course, his attitude must be correct. When the car entered the Ministry of Truth compound, he had already put on a serious expression, showing his concern for the country and the people.

“Boom boom boom!”

"Come in!"

"Minister Zhu, you are looking for me..."

Chen Qi knocked on the door and went in. When Leader Zhu saw him, he was furious and started to scold him: "Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen! What can I say about you? You caused trouble as soon as you came back, and such a big trouble?"

"Don't you know the nature of The Last Emperor? Why are you arguing with him? You have always been very measured in your actions, so how come you suddenly made a mistake? I think you are proud and complacent, and you don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is just because you won an Oscar!"

“…”

Chen Qi said nothing, lowered his head, and was thinking about the braised pork for dinner.

If your leader is willing to take the trouble to say these things to you, it means there is nothing wrong.

Sure enough, Leader Zhu scolded him and said, "Don't be silent, what's your attitude?"

"First of all, I admit my mistake! I was rash in this matter. No matter what, I shouldn't have disturbed other people's filming. I accept any criticism and punishment. But I really couldn't bear it and acted on impulse."

"Why can't you bear it? What have they done to anger the heavens and the people?"

"It's a long story..."

So Chen Qi recounted the whole story in detail, saying: "Several old gentlemen were very angry. Mr. Wang Shixiang even wanted to beat them up. It was difficult to persuade them to stop, but they refused to go.

I thought our company had this responsibility, we had to build good relationships with the outside world, and we had to go and take a look. But the Italians were too rude, and Mr. Zhu Jiahui was old, otherwise he would have wanted to beat him up. I was young, so I thought I should go ahead, so this happened. ”

“…”

Leader Zhu automatically ignored his exaggerated part and frowned, "Is "The Last Emperor" really like this?"

"They have been filming for more than a month, and they look neither human nor ghost. If you ask me to unite people abroad, I have to find the right people. How can I unite people like this who secretly smear China?

Think about it, if The Last Emperor is really released in Europe and America, how will foreigners see us? Now that the country is open, it is time for the world to know China, but we end up using a feudal colonial puppet emperor as a cultural symbol?

How could you not know what Puyi is like?"

"Could it be your guess? The movie takes half a year to shoot, and no one knows what the story is about."

Leader Zhu handled this matter very cautiously, as it involved the question of how to characterize "The Last Emperor."

"I know!"

Chen Qi suddenly raised his voice and said, "There are reporters from Hong Kong following up on the story in Beijing. They have obtained first-hand information a long time ago. They have the script story, behind-the-scenes, and photos of the shooting site. If you want to see it, I'll get it for you."

Leader Zhu was stunned for a moment.

He stared at the boy with a strange look. Chen Qi was open and honest, a gentleman, and he would tell anyone anything.