1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 525 "Culture is Terrifying"

"what did you say?"

"TV drama?"

Zheng Xiaolong was somewhat taken aback.

Because in his view, Jiang Xian was a person involved in literature and film.

These days, literature and film are the mainstays of the arts and culture scene, attracting the most public attention.

In other words, it's a red ocean market; the market is booming, but the competition is incredibly fierce.

What about their TV dramas?

That was truly a blue ocean market, and compared to mainstream arts and culture like film and literature, it was really not well received.

Unfortunately, the concept of "TV series" is still too vague in the country.

Their Beijing Television Art Center produced several TV series, such as "The Mine Manager" and "The Story of Hair." These films are more like movies than TV series.

It's too much like a movie in terms of its format.

The reason is quite simple: the staff of the Television Art Center, such as Lin Ruwei, the director of "Four Generations Under One Roof," all come from Changchun Film Studio, Xi'an Film Studio, and various other film studios.

They were originally filmmakers and had the ability to make films, but in order to return to Beijing, they couldn't get into the Beijing Film Studio, so they had to "condescend" to come to this Television Art Center and all gathered here.

They didn't really understand what a TV series was, but they were trying to get into it, so what they produced was more like a movie in terms of form.

Then again.

These people are making TV dramas out of necessity; they have no other choice but to make movies. Nobody makes movies and then insists on making TV dramas.

But Jiang Xian is different.

Zheng Xiaolong guaranteed that Jiang Xian's movies would be highly sought-after. If he wanted to collaborate on a movie, major film companies would flock to his house and practically break down his door. But Jiang Xian actually took the initiative to get involved in TV series matters.

That's incredible.

"You mean collaborating on a TV series? How exactly will the collaboration work?"

"That's it."

Jiang Xuan slowly began, "As you know, I'm currently in charge of the Museum of Modern Literature, and I've also set up a film and television production center there."

"Film and television production center?"

"Yes, it's called a seahorse."

Jiang Xian briefly explained to Zheng Xiaolong the process of establishing the Haima Film and Television Creation Center. "We are a small unit, and we definitely can't afford to make movies. So we can only look for cooperation with you who make TV series to see if it's possible to produce something together."

"I see."

When Zheng Xiaolong heard that the screenwriter was not Jiang Xian, but a group of writers he had invited, he felt a little disappointed.

However, after listening to them, it turned out that these people were quite famous and had impressive backgrounds, especially Wang Shuo, who was among them.

Zheng Xiaolong not only knew Wang Shuo, but was also very familiar with him.

He had his eye on Wang Shuo's novel "Air Hostess" and wanted to adapt it into a TV series, with him personally handling the scriptwriting.

However, the mainstream of creative works at this time emphasized politics. For example, in terms of subject matter, it had to be revolutionary heroes, advanced figures, and good deeds.
But Zheng Xiaolong thought differently. He wanted to emphasize that the story was good and that he wanted to make TV dramas about the lives and emotions of ordinary people.

Therefore, his "Air Hostess" immediately sparked a great deal of controversy.

Because it's a pure love story, a leader who read the script questioned him about its significance and what the drama could represent.
Zheng Xiaolong said, "Isn't beautiful human love meaningful? Shouldn't it be celebrated?"
However, he still couldn't get the approval of the center's leaders, so he had no choice but to go to the higher-ups.

After all, the current social atmosphere emphasizes liberating our minds and looking outward.

A large number of diverse and vibrant literary and artistic works are also emerging.

These young creators always want to keep up with the times, but they also always want to break free from certain things.

"Air Hostess" was never completed, but Wang Shuo's work still left a deep impression on Zheng Xiaolong.

Upon hearing Jiang Xian mention Wang Shuo, Zheng Xiaolong immediately became interested in the Haima Film and Television Creation Center. He felt that this Haima must be different; with Wang Shuo around, it was impossible for them to create anything that was too restrictive in terms of ideology.

"What TV series? Could you tell me more about it?"

Do you know what a sitcom is?

"sitcom?"

"Correct."

"Oh, I've heard of it." Zheng Xiaolong had never been abroad, but he had seen some introductions to sitcoms in some books and materials, but he didn't know much about the specifics.

"They are basically all about family matters. The scenes usually have a central setting with three solid walls, and the camera and the audience are outside the open 'fourth wall.' Most of the plot takes place in this central setting."

"."

Seeing that Zheng Xiaolong still didn't understand, Jiang Xian had no choice but to continue giving examples.

"Imagine that instead of a wall, there's a camera in front of us, filming us talking. And 90% of the plot of this TV series takes place in this scene."

"Oh~"

Zheng Xiaolong roughly understood, "So this is what a sitcom is? That's good, filming it this way will reduce production costs a lot."

He quickly realized that it was a sitcom. Jiang Xian had mainly introduced the situation to him, but hadn't mentioned the word "comedy" much.

"Teacher Jiang, if I haven't misunderstood you, a sitcom, a sitcom, so you're making a comedy, right?"

"Yes, it's a comedy, a story about the everyday lives of ordinary people like us."

"Oh my, comedy!"

Zheng Xiaolong rubbed his chin.

Comedy is a genre that appears more often in movies, but it has hardly appeared in TV series, or rather, it hasn't appeared at all yet.

"That's really bold. Our domestic TV dramas have never done anything like this before. If they really did it, then..."

"This is unprecedented."

Jiang Xian said with a smile, "How about it? Do you have the guts to try it with me?"

"This is me."

No one is so easily swayed by enthusiasm that they're willing to take a gamble.

Although Zheng Xiaolong is unmarried and has no family burdens, he still needs to think about his future.

If this TV series succeeds, great; if it fails, he'll definitely be the first person held accountable by the authorities.

After all, the Television Art Center was a struggling company with limited funds, and each TV series it produced used up all of its meager resources.

“Teacher Jiang, I might need to think about it. Please give me some time,” Zheng Xiaolong said.

"no problem."

Jiang Xian understood him perfectly and patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "How about this, I'll come over again in a few days, and I'll show you the script then."

Zheng Xiaolong was immediately surprised upon hearing this.

"Is the script finished?" "Not yet."

Jiang Xian waved his hand, "If we urge them, they should be able to write out the beginning. Haven't you heard what that saying goes?"

"Time is like water in a sponge; if you're willing to squeeze, there's always some left."

"No."

Which sentence is that?

“Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn’t dare rest like this,” Jiang Xuan said calmly.

Zheng Xiaolong waited, and the last few days of December 1986 passed.

In the blink of an eye, it was 1987.

This year was designated the "International Year of Housing," an initiative by the United Nations aimed at raising awareness of housing issues.

Our country attaches great importance to this matter and has even issued a set of commemorative stamps for the International Year of Housing.

This story resonated deeply with many people, and later there was a TV series called "I Love My Family," which included several minutes of "My Family Highlights" before the end of each episode. These highlights included clips of outtakes and "I Love My Song," which was the theme music video. Additionally, the opening credits included a line of text: "Dedicated to the International Year of Housing."

Amidst the nationwide celebration of the "International Year of Housing," the first issue of "Contemporary" magazine was published in 1987.

Zhu Lin had not yet read the novel "The Playboy" and happened to be traveling to Europe, so she simply brought a copy of the first issue of "Contemporary" from 1987 to read during the flight.

There were many members of the Chinese film crew who went to Europe this time, but one of them who is worth noting is Su Cong.

Su Cong was actually a little embarrassed at this moment.

Initially, Bertolucci and Thomas commissioned two composers to compose music for "The Last Emperor".

One is Maurice Jar, who composed the score for the film "Lawrence of Arabia," and later also composed the score for "Ghost."

The other one is Su Cong.

Su Cong is not a famous musician. He is an international student in Germany who participated in arts festivals and international composition competitions and won many awards, but he did not earn much money.

On one occasion, he saw in Variety magazine that Bertolucci was looking for film scores, so he asked the publisher he was signed with to send some works to Bertolucci.

After a year of no news, Su Cong had almost forgotten about the matter. However, a year later, just as he was preparing to pursue his doctorate, he suddenly received a call from Beijing, saying that the movie was about to start filming and asking him to come to Beijing immediately.

Su Cong thus joined the cast and crew of "The Last Emperor".

But trouble soon followed. The copyrights to Su Cong and Morris's works had already been signed with publishers, which meant Thomas was missing out on film and music copyrights. Thomas felt he had suffered a huge loss and it was not worth it.

Bertolucci simply approached Ryuichi Sakamoto and offered to write all the versions if he asked him to.

When Maurice Jar heard about this, he stormed off in a fit of anger, leaving Su Cong behind.

He was caught in a dilemma: whether to leave or stay.

After much deliberation, Su Cong still wanted to cherish this opportunity to compose the score, believing that a Chinese film should have at least one piece of music composed by Chinese people. So he stayed with the crew and took it very seriously.

He read a lot of literature and visited many scholars. Old Bei had many requirements. The music had to have an oriental flavor and a modern feel, but he only gave Su Cong a literary script and asked him to go to the film set from time to time to watch the filming. When he had free time, he would talk to Su Cong. Su Cong could only watch the scenes during the day and write at night. He wrote many scenes and had about four or five drafts.

He also accompanied us on this trip to Europe for filming.

Seeing the strange looks from those around him, as if they were looking at a piece of dog skin plaster, Su Cong himself felt uncomfortable.

He had actually considered leaving.

Moreover, his actions had already drawn opposition from many people. Publishers and agents believed that he was wasting his time, squandering his talent, and doing something fruitless and meaningless.

Even his family and friends advised Su Cong not to waste his time on "The Last Emperor".

Su Cong couldn't explain it.

He wanted to persevere.

He's just stubborn.

He wanted to stay in the crew of "The Last Emperor" even though everyone else objected.

In his confusion, Su Cong pulled out several magazines he had just bought before boarding the plane from his bag.

The magazine "Contemporary" placed at the top caught his eye.

To be precise, it was a sentence written on the cover of "Contemporary":

"Culture is terrifying; it's like food. If you don't eat it, you die; if you do, you're shaped by it."

Just one sentence was enough to attract Su Cong's attention.

He glanced at it to confirm.

Yes, "Contemporary"!
He had a stereotype of the magazine "Contemporary," believing that it published mostly realistic novels about heroic deeds and rural life.

Su Cong also heard from a writer friend that his previous literary views were very wrong. He thought that literature was fiction, and fiction was telling lies. Of course, theorists and editors don't say that. They call this artistic truth, which is to be derived from life but higher than life, the sublimation of art, and to give people hope and direction.

At that time, the writer talked to Qin Zhaoyang, the editor-in-chief of "Contemporary", because one of his novels had no ending. Qin Zhaoyang said that the protagonist should have a destination.

“My characters have no destiny. I only wrote about their stories, and that was it. How would I know what their destiny would be?”

The writer said that he didn't know when he started writing, so he couldn't figure out where it would end until he finished the manuscript.

Qin Zhaoyang said that wouldn't work. Your character needs to be elevated, and it needs to give people some meaning.

What he said back then was even more pathetic than this, something about creating a new character. The writer at that time didn't even know how to write a novel, but after his explanation, he seemed to understand a little and accepted this literary concept.

It should have a bright ending, giving people hope.

But where is this light and hope? Well, we'll just have to make it up ourselves.

So that ending was completely fabricated.

This incident was a funny story that Su Cong remembered, something he heard during a casual chat over tea.

The writer's tone at the time was somewhat sarcastic, and his evaluation of Qin Zhaoyang was not very high.

Su Cong is not a writer.

Just listen to it and let it go.

But this also inadvertently formed part of his stereotype of "Contemporary":

They are all novels about "light and hope".

Judging from this sentence on the cover, this issue of "Contemporary" seems to be quite extraordinary!
Culture is terrifying; it's like food. If you don't eat it, you die; if you do, you're shaped by it. This saying is neither bright nor hopeful.

With a touch of curiosity, Su Cong opened this issue of "Contemporary" magazine, only to discover that it had published just one short story, and it was by an acquaintance:

Jiang Xian.

Su Cong met Jiang Xian a few times on set, and even discussed some plot details with him to help with the composition process.

I never expected that in the blink of an eye, I would be reading his novel in "Contemporary" magazine, and in such a special issue at that.

The author's popularity in China was far greater than he had imagined.

(End of this chapter)