1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 478 I am the screenwriter, you listen to me

"We all come from all corners of the country and have come together for a common revolutionary goal."

Chen Huangmei's eyes lit up when he heard Jiang Xian's words.

This is a very good saying!

Why was Bertolucci given the green light? Wasn’t it just because of this sentence?
Comrades from all corners of the world came together for a common revolutionary goal!
On the other side, when the translator translated this sentence to Bertolucci, a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"Yes."

“Our goals are the same.”

If before, Bertolucci was more attracted by Jiang Xian's fame.

Now, after Jiang Xian said this, Bertolucci was certain that the writer in front of him was his "fellow traveler", and he became more determined to hire Jiang Xian as a cultural consultant.

"Comrade Jiang Xian is not only an outstanding writer, but also an outstanding screenwriter and playwright."

Chen Huangmei continued to reveal to Bertolucci, "Do you know Mr. Cao Yu from China? Jiang Xian was his student. Mr. Cao Yu once told me that Jiang Xian's talent in playwriting far surpassed his."

"Good, Good."

Bertolucci looked like he had found a treasure. "I'm willing to pay you $10 an hour to be our cultural consultant."

"$10 an hour?"

Jiang Xian and Chen Huangmei looked at each other. This amount of money was definitely not a small amount. Converted into RMB, what they earned that day was more than what an ordinary worker earned in a month.

But from the expressions on the two people's faces, Bertolucci thought that they were dissatisfied with the number.

Think about it too.

A writer as famous as Jiang Xian, whose works sell well all over the United States, would he care about a mere $10 hourly wage?
"What if you think it's too little? How about 20 dollars?" Bertolucci asked tentatively.

When Jiang Xian heard this, he thought these foreigners were really stupid and had a lot of money.

Of course, the fact that they can offer such generous prices is also related to their consumption concepts.

Italy was a fairly developed country in those days, and it was known as the Golden Age of Italy.

Just this year, Italy's GDP and per capita GDP even surpassed those of the UK for the first time, making it the world's fifth largest developed country after the United States, Japan, West Germany and France.

"$20 an hour?"

Chen Huangmei was surprised again.

Bertolucci still looked as if he was afraid that foreigners would think he couldn't afford it, "Isn't that enough?"

"Enough, enough." Jiang Xian said with a smile.

If it were a few years ago, he would be happy for a while if he heard that Bertolucci offered him such a high salary.

现在
He no longer cares about this number.

As for salary, just a symbolic amount is enough.

The most important thing is to have the opportunity to participate in the creation of "The Last Emperor", which is more important than money.

"Have the actors been decided?" Jiang Xian and Bertolucci asked.

“I’ve tried a few so far.”

Bertolucci said, "The first actor I auditioned was John Lone, and I think he was pretty good in every way, but I plan to wait and see."

"."

Jiang Xian was speechless.

look again?
After all the twists and turns, isn't it still him in the end?

But it’s no wonder Bertolucci thought so. Who could have thought that the first actor who auditioned would be so suitable for the role?

Who could have thought that I would be so lucky to find the most suitable person in one audition: John Lone.

Although Zun Long is not well-known in China, he is quite famous abroad. He has already won the first and only Golden Globe nomination for a Chinese actor, as well as two Obie Awards. In addition, he was named "the most handsome gangster boss ever" by the American media for his stunning performance in the movie "Year of the Dragon".

"Where's the actress?"

"Actress"

Bertolucci shook his head. "There is no script yet. There are only a few recommended candidates. There is a Chinese actress named Chen Chong. Someone recommended her to me to play the role of Empress Wanrong. I heard that she is not only well-known in Hollywood, but also very well-known in China."

Chen Chong has returned to her loyal country.

And now, Chen Chong is finally lucky enough to star in a bad movie called "Big Boss", in which she played a female role that needed to shoot some erotic scenes. The movie was also criticized.

But being a black and red is still being red. Thanks to her "undressing", Chen Chong has also gained a certain degree of fame internationally.

"Don't use her."

Jiang Xian shook his head when he heard this, "You don't know that Chen Chong is an actress who is hated in China."

"Disliked?"

"She's just like Chevy Chase in the United States, a nasty person that everyone hates," Jiang Xian explained.

Chevy Chase was one of the most successful comedians in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the one who originally supported the long-lasting comedy variety show "Saturday Night Live".

In the first year of the show, he won two Emmy Awards for writing and acting, which is unprecedented.

Unfortunately, Chase only lasted one year on Saturday Night Live.

There were many reasons, but one of them was that he didn't get along with almost everyone.

In 78, he returned to "Saturday Night Live" as a guest host. He actually mocked the host's marriage in public and even fought with the host on the spot.

Last year, "Saturday Night Live" asked him to be a guest again. He made up a joke about HIV patients and asked an openly gay actor to play the role.

Because this guy was so annoying, he was later banned from being a guest host on Saturday Night Live for life.

He is the only one in the show's nearly 50-year history.

The funniest thing is that in later generations, Chase, who was in his old age, still refused to feel lonely.

When he was invited to star in the sitcom "Community", he actually used the "N" word to another actor and was immediately kicked out of the show without hesitation.

Therefore, when Jiang Xian mentioned this name, Bertolucci understood, "I see, I have to think about it carefully."

"We need to think about it carefully. Believe me, Chinese people will not like Chen Chong," Jiang Xian said.

United States.

Chen Chong, who was sleeping, suddenly shuddered and woke up abruptly.

In a trance, she inexplicably felt that a bit of her luck had been taken away.

Chen Chong shook her head, took a sip of water, and continued to lie down and sleep.

I have to get up and wash the dishes tomorrow.

Jiang Xian was a very qualified cultural consultant and spent the next few days hanging out with Bertolucci.

Jiang Xian also has a clearer grasp of the filming situation of "The Last Emperor".

Bertolucci is a very sober director.

He believed that the profit-seeking nature of Hollywood movies would erode the director's independent creative spirit. Therefore, Bertolucci decided not to use Hollywood's money, and he asked his producer to help him raise a huge amount of funds of up to 2500 million US dollars from Europe.

Of course, $2500 million certainly cannot support the grand narrative envisioned by Bertolucci.

Hollywood will certainly get involved in the future, but by then the tone of the work will have been set and it will be difficult to change.

In addition, because the film was shot in China, with the help of the Ministry of Culture, we found the leader of the Beijing film industry, the Beijing Film Studio, to co-produce it.

In this way, all the basic conditions for film creation have been solved, and the only things left are issues such as the script and actors.

During the discussion with Jiang Xian and Chen Huangmei, Bertolucci heard from Chen Huangmei how good the play "The World's Number One Restaurant" written by Jiang Xian was, and also heard about the grand occasion when the play was performed.

Bertolucci was itching to see the play.

Since its creation, the National Theatre of China's "The World's Number One Restaurant" has always maintained its status as the "treasure of the theatre". It is performed again in Taiwan every year, and last year it was even performed in Tokyo, Japan, bringing the play overseas.

Unfortunately, when Bertolucci wanted to watch it, the performance of the People's Art Theatre had already ended, so where was the stage for him to watch?
However, Bertolucci is a comrade who is highly valued by his superiors. When he has such a request, the National Theatre of China cannot pretend not to hear it and must think of a solution.

We definitely won’t be able to see the complete stage performance, so we can only ask the actors to put on simple makeup and decorate the stage a little.

Lead actors such as Tan Zongyao and Lü Zhong put on their costumes and makeup and performed a show in the empty rehearsal room.

There were no stage lights, no sound effects, no scenery or props.

Bertolucci also couldn't understand Chinese, and could only rely on the help of a translator to roughly understand what the play was about.

Such simple conditions made Bertolucci very excited after watching it.

“This is the effect I wanted!”

“This is the kind of movie I want!”

After watching the play, Bertolucci asked Jiang Xian a question, "I will cancel the filming of The Last Emperor now. How about making your play The World's No. 1 Restaurant into a movie?"

After hearing his words, Jiang Xian frowned.

"Mr. Bertolucci, thank you very much for your love of The Best Restaurant in the World, but in my opinion, this play may not be suitable for you to adapt into a movie."

"why?"

“Drama is different from film. The plot of a drama is driven by the dialogues between the actors.

And what about movies?

Movies are visual arts that incorporate editing techniques, background music, special effects, etc., and are ultimately delivered to the audience through the screen.

This difference in artistic form makes it difficult for the audience to get into the role if the play is adapted into a film, an art form with a delayed effect.

Therefore, when adapting a play into a movie, it is not enough to just show the play part, it must also fundamentally conform to the tone of the movie, which is as difficult as writing another script. "

After hearing Jiang Xian's words, Bertolucci smiled.

"I was surprised. I didn't expect that Mr. Jiang Xian not only wrote such a wonderful play, but also had such a deep understanding of film creation. No wonder Mr. Chen said that your attainments in film are extraordinary."

"You're welcome."

Jiang Xian modestly said, "I don't know much about movies. What I just said is probably just a show of my skills in front of you. What's more, the creation of Italian dialogue drama and opera is extremely dazzling in the world."

"But I think you are extremely good at telling Chinese stories."

Bertolucci looked into Jiang Xian's eyes and asked seriously, "Mr. Jiang, are you willing to write a script for the movie The Last Emperor?"

“I’ll be the screenwriter.”

Jiang Xian was silent for a while.

Bertolucci caught Jiang Xian's hesitation and said, "Of course, this is a matter between us. You can also put forward your conditions."

"Um"

Jiang Xian nodded, "Then I won't be polite. It's nothing. Since we have decided to shoot "The Last Emperor", the general framework of this story has been decided.

But I have a problem. I don't like others to interfere with my work. I also know that you are the director and you are the one who has to check the plot. Therefore, I can accept some minor changes, but not major changes.

In addition, during the filming, some scenes must be shot according to my ideas. Of course, this is just about some small details. "

After hearing Jiang Xian's words, Bertolucci fell silent.

Can't change the script?

Does filming have to follow the screenwriter's ideas?

This is a rule he has hardly ever heard of since he started his career.

After all, in the foreign film industry, screenwriters are generally the dogs of the crew and have no status. Many times, the screenwriting responsibility is shouldered by the director himself.

As for why Jiang Xian did this, his intention was very simple.

He wanted Zhu Lin to replace Chen Chong and play the role of Wanrong.

But those who have seen "The Last Emperor" know that Wanrong has many explicit scenes in the movie.

This has a lot to do with the director.

Because the director Bertolucci is a famous erotic film director.

Bertolucci's most famous masterpiece, "Last Tango in Paris", is said to have been shot during the filming of the movie. He and the male lead Marlon Brando added a rape scene without the female lead's knowledge.

That’s right, the heroine had no idea.

Bertolucci did this, in his own words, to enhance the authenticity of the film, hoping that her reaction would be that of a girl rather than an actor.

Chen Chong also talked about how when she was filming "The Last Emperor", the director suddenly asked her to perform some drastic performances without any prior consultation, which made Chen Chong very resistant and she even wanted to leave the crew.

In the end, Bertolucci wrote her a letter of guarantee that he would not do this in the future, and only then did Chen Chong agree to continue filming.

Jiang Xian wants Zhu Lin to go global, but he doesn't want his wife to suffer any loss.

But Bertolucci is such a director.

In order to prevent any bad things from happening, he had to prepare for these things in advance.

"What if we have a disagreement during the shoot?" Bertolucci asked.

The boundaries between "small modifications" and "small details" given by Jiang Xian are still too vague.

He could not accept his power being taken away and needed to confirm his authority as a director.

"In most cases, I won't make any suggestions and will let the movie go according to your ideas. I guarantee that this will be the case 99% of the time."

“But if there is a disagreement.”

"Then listen to Marx."

Hiss.

Bertolucci's scalp tingled.

As a comrade with firm beliefs, after hearing this answer, he immediately felt that there was nothing wrong with Jiang Xian’s requests.

His face relaxed and he said:

"Okay, I can promise you."

(End of this chapter)