1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 239 You Are in My Arms
"Are you looking for this grandson?"

Chen Ai Ge was happy when Jiang Xian told her the name of the person he was looking for.

Zhang Yimou?
Of course he knew him.

He also teamed up with others to "dominate" him!

Zhang Yimou is old, has been a farmer and a worker, is from the northwest, and has a bad family background. What kind of place is Beijing Film Academy? It is a place where Tian Zhuangzhuang, Chen Aige, Hu Mei, Li Shaohong and other second-generation talents gather.

When they get together, naturally, they don't think highly of him, and they ridicule and laugh at him. Those who have experienced those terrible things in school understand.

Rumor has it that Zhang Yimou had never seen a foreign film before he entered the Beijing Film Academy. He watched it for the first time at school. When he returned to the dormitory, he couldn't wait to discuss it with his classmates. Later, when Chen Ai Ge and Tian Zhuangzhuang passed by him, they would say sarcastically, "Grandma Liu entered the Grand View Garden."

It is no wonder that Zhang Yimou has no feelings for these alumni and later refused to attend any gatherings.

I'm giving you face by not going there. What's the point of gathering here? Recall how you bullied me in the past?
"This kid studies very hard." Chen Ai Ge led Jiang Xian to Zhang Yimou's dormitory.

I was able to work hard for three months just for the camera. How could I not work hard when I had the opportunity to learn?

Zhang Yimou's days at Beijing Film Academy can be summed up in two words: struggle.

I took the most detailed notes. Since I couldn't afford a photography book, I just copied 20 words. I always got the best grades in every exam.

Chen Kaige said that he also saw his works at a photography exhibition and felt that this person was no ordinary person. He developed a sense of respect for him and felt that he could make friends with him.

For decades afterwards, the two of them maintained this hot-and-cold relationship. When they were close, they could sleep on the same kang, but when they hated each other, they would grit their teeth when they mentioned the other person's name.

As they were talking, they arrived at the dormitory door. Jiang Xian glanced inside and immediately saw Xiao Mouzi.

A neat crew cut, an exceptionally mature long face, some deep eye bags, some deep wrinkles, a little shy, honest and simple, very immature, with a strange appearance of eye bags and deep lines. Most people with this vigorous feature have made achievements in the field of art.

"Zhang Yimou, my buddy is looking for you!"

Chen Ai Ge shouted loudly.

Jiang Xian frowned when he heard this.

Are you still calling me your brother?

There is no respect for elders and the order of generations is messed up.

Your father Chen Huaikai was a student of Cao Yu, and I am also a student of Cao Yu.

Logically, you should call me uncle and I should call you nephew.

Zhang Yimou was confused when Chen Ai'ge called him. He came over in slippers. After listening to Chen Ai'ge's introduction of Jiang Xian's identity, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Writer Jiang!"

"Don't be so formal, just call me Xiao Jiang."

"Hello, Comrade Xiao Jiang!"

Zhang Yimou was not good at speaking. He nervously grabbed his pants with his two big hands and shook hands with Jiang Xian.

"I've seen your photography work, it's pretty good. Are you interested in taking some photos with me?"

"What's the matter?"

Zhang Yimou was immediately excited when he heard this, and he held Jiang Xian's hand tightly, with thick calluses on his palms.

"So interesting! What shall we shoot?"

Chen Ai Ge was unhappy when she heard this, "Brother Jiang, how can you not call me when filming? Even though I am a director, I know everything from cameramanship to screenwriting!"

He is indeed a good screenwriter, and he is inexplicably confident in it. "The Emperor and the Assassin" was written by him, and a group of top-notch actors starred in a terrible movie.

Before filming "Farewell My Concubine", screenwriter Lu Wei watched all the plays he had filmed and immediately came to the conclusion: this bastard cannot touch the script at all.

Jiang Xian gently pulled Chen Aige's hand away, "Look, you're anxious again!"

"Let me introduce you first."

"I am planning to shoot a documentary. The crew was jointly approved by the Film Association, Writers Association and other cultural authorities. We are currently short of technical personnel such as photography, lighting and recording."

Zhang Yimou became very interested after Jiang Xian's brief explanation. As the saying goes, "Photography makes three generations poor, and SLR cameras ruin your life." Although he likes photography, each roll of film is a considerable expense.

In order to save film, every frame has to be carefully crafted. Carrying the camera, composing the picture everywhere, finding the angle, and waiting for the light, only then can I press the shutter button with trepidation.

Now someone asked him to shoot something, which was like a huge blessing from heaven, and he was more than willing to do it.

Zhang Yimou was eager to make the move, but he was a little embarrassed: "Will the school leaders approve it?"

"We will deal with these issues. Just tell me whether you agree or not?"

"Promise, leave the photography to me!"

"Okay, let's settle this. I have one more thing to tell you. Your students are about to have their winter break, and we are waiting for the camera to start. You sound like someone from out of town, so you definitely can't go back for the New Year."

"Where do I live then?"

Zhang Yimou was worried because the school would not allow him to stay during the holidays.

Chen Aige immediately patted his chest and said, "You can live in our house. My wife has gone abroad."

He had already married Sun Jialin, but unfortunately, just after the wedding, the other party was admitted to study in Canada.

After going out and seeing the capitalist society, his heart became wild. In addition, the couple lived across the coast and could never see each other. In the long run, there was no love between them at all, so they eventually divorced. This was the first marriage of the Little Prince of Poetry, and it ended in failure.

He decided on Zhang Yimou and asked him to recommend a few candidates.

Zhang Yimou recommended his roommate Gu Changwei, who had shot Red Sorghum, Farewell My Concubine, Bright Sunshine Days, and Devils on the Doorstep.
Chen Ai Ge was also very attentive and helped to point out Hou Yong and Lu Lok.

The former directed the film "Not One Less".

The latter directed "The Great Earthquake in Mount X" and "19X2".

It seems to be a recommendation, but in fact the candidates are all on the list written by Jiang Xian.

In a short while, Jiang Xian had recruited half of the top photographers in Chinese-language films since the 80s.

Talented directors and editors are also needed.

"Let me do it, Brother Jiang, just leave it to me!"

Chen Ai Ge volunteered.

Jiang Xian said, "Of course I have no problem with you coming, but you have to introduce someone else to me. I heard that you have someone named Zhang Jianya here."

Chen Ai Ge listened carefully to the tone. Although he heard Jiang Xian agreed to him, he still felt like he was a gift and that he had chosen someone else.

"Zhang Jianya? That grandson is the best at learning Hollywood. Why are you looking for him?"

These days, Hollywood is a bad word.

Chen Ai Ge thought for a long time but couldn't figure out why Jiang Xian would look for him.

Zhang Jianya was also from their directing department, and Jiang Xian soon met this guy.

He has a very high hairline and his looks can only be described as straight. If you really want to talk about how pleasing he is to the eye, Jiang Xian feels that he is not as good as Ge You. Ge You is a bit sneaky, but he looks very likable.

With this level of skills, how did he attract Zhang Yu?
She was Zhang Yu from "Lush Mountain Love". When Wang Jiawei went to find Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu was having a hot affair with Zhang Jianya. Later, she did marry Zhang Jianya, and then she went abroad and kicked him out.

"Hello, hello." Zhang Jianya was very excited when he heard Jiang Xian's name. "I read all your novels. I bought several copies."

"Sit down and talk."

Jiang Xian handed him a Marlboro and asked, "Do you want to be a director?" Zhang Jianya stood up immediately, his eyes shining, "I want to so much!"

Zhang Jianya is also a famous director of the fifth generation. He once directed: "Sanmao Joins the Army"

The film "Survival in Despair" played by Pan Zi

The movie "Love Call Transfer" starring Xu Zheng

Since they had decided to ask him to be the director, Jiang Xian chatted with him for a while and asked Zhang Jianya to look up information about foreign documentaries and think about how to shoot this documentary in advance.

After returning to the Beijing Film Studio, Jiang Xian asked Jiang Huaiyan for help and asked him to contact the school leaders to transfer someone to him.

It took several days to complete the formalities. Jiang Xian gathered his soldiers together and took them to Quanjude for a meal.

The directors are Zhang Jianya and Chen Ai'ge, while the camera work is entrusted to Zhang Yimou, Gu Changwei, Hou Yong and Lu Le, who are also responsible for lighting, sound recording and art design.

Jiang Xian took a glance.

These old guys from later generations now have clear stupidity in their eyes.

"Order whatever you like." He handed over the menu and began to win people over.

Everyone at the table was quite reserved. They looked at each other, passed the menu among themselves, and were too embarrassed to order.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, you should order." Zhang Yimou shyly handed the menu back.

If it was a state-owned restaurant, the waiter would have rolled up his sleeves and prepared to scold you, wasting half the time and in the end not being able to take your order.

Fortunately, Quanjude’s service attitude was good and the waiters didn’t rush us.

"Let's do this." Jiang Xian took the menu, looked at the side, and said quickly: "Fried duck cubes, soft fried prawns, fresh mushrooms and rapeseed, mushroom bamboo shoots."

He cooked more than a dozen dishes in a row, and his generosity shocked everyone at the table.

Jiang Xian can afford to eat at Quanjude every day now. If he orders everything on the menu, the total cost will not exceed 50 yuan.

Of course, he was not a sucker. He ordered so many dishes naturally to appease these people.

As the saying goes, if you want to be someone's boss, you must first learn to choose the right time to pay the bill.

Such a meal is a good opportunity for him to win people's hearts.

"Can everyone drink?" he asked.

"That's great!"

The wine was poured and the group chatted about the film field they were most familiar with. The atmosphere instantly became harmonious.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, I didn't expect you to know so much about movies?!" Hou Yong was surprised.

Chen Ai Ge said, "Brother Jiang is the deputy editor-in-chief of Film Creation. If he were in the Beijing Film Studio, he would be at the level of deputy director of the literature department. He studies movies every day and must know more about movies than you do."

"Okay, okay."

Jiang Xian smiled, took a puff of cigarette, and said calmly, "Don't call me Comrade Jiang Xian anymore. Since we are all in the same crew, we are all family. It's too formal to always call me Comrade Jiang Xian or Comrade Jiang Xian. You are all older than me, so just call me Xiao Jiang."

"That won't work! It's so undignified!"

His eldest nephew Chen Ai Ge kept waving his hands, "How about this, from now on just call me boss."

The others' eyes lit up.

"Boss?"

"Hey, this is good!"

"Okay, you're our leader, so you should call me leader!"

Jiang Xian refused verbally, but his body honestly felt good about it.

It was not in vain that I brought Chen Aige along to play, as my nephew was very willing to be a lackey.

After they had eaten and drunk most of the time, they started talking about things, and Jiang Xian explained the filming project to everyone in detail.

There is no concept of documentary in China at this time, and there are only a few TV station feature films, so even a group of people studying film are a little confused.

However, after listening to Jiang Xian's brief talk, everyone became excited.

New way to record!

In the early 80s, breaking through the existing ideological framework, seeking non-mainstream voices, expressing individuality and being different were the common aspirations of young people of that period.

Whether it is the "Stars Art Exhibition" or the "Today" magazine founded by Mang Ke and Bei Dao, this vision has become a trend in a large circle.

Under the influence of the general trend in the same environment, the imaging aspect is naturally also eager to move.

This kind of pioneering photography art activity is exactly what they yearn for!

"Boss, I checked the information these days."

Zhang Jianya shared with everyone that the concept of documentary was born very late in foreign countries. The word was proposed by an Englishman named Grierson, but he did not give a precise concept, so there are different opinions on what a real documentary is.

Jiang Xian directly clarified the content of the filming to him, "One episode will film one writer, and this episode will introduce this character."

A group of people discussed the specific shooting plan. They were all young people and their ideas were very wild and imaginative.

"Directly investigate their daily lives and follow them to film."

"No, no, if we just shoot it like this without telling a story, the audience will be confused after watching it. How can we tell a story about a character without mentioning his past?"

Zhang Yimou put forward his idea. He felt that they should not only record life, but also go to the places where they once lived, worked and fought to shoot, and then record more traces from the mouths of others.

“That’s a very bold idea.”

His words inspired Jiang Xian. His original idea was just to follow the daily life and mix in some interviews. He told Wang Fulin the same thing, so he and Wang Fulin put almost all the budget on film, because the first documentary "Wandering in Beijing" was shot in this way.

Now that I think about it, this plan is indeed a bit naive. If it is filmed like this, it will just be a video and will not have much filming value.

A group of people talked at once and came up with a rough outline of the shooting.

Zhang Jianya only then thought, "Boss, which writer should we film in the first episode?"

"Yes, we should design the plan based on the subject we are photographing."

Jiang Xian pondered for a moment and slowly said a name.

"Mao Dun."

As the first episode of the "Chinese Literature" documentary, it would be unreasonable not to film the story of Mr. Mao Dun.

Everyone at the table was startled at the same time.

"Can he take a photo for us?"

"That's my responsibility. You just need to think about how to shoot it." Jiang Xian patted Zhang Jianya on the shoulder.

He had high hopes for him.

We chose this guy because he is avant-garde. He started working with postmodern photography and surrealist films in the late 80s.

His film "Sanmao Joins the Army" also splices real documentaries with cartoon clips, playing with truth and falsehood.

(End of this chapter)