1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 547 Green Light
Uh.

Jiang Xian was stunned.

He wasn't worried that Mi Jiashan would do a bad job of making "The Troubleshooters." On the contrary, the original "The Troubleshooters" was made by Mi Jiashan, and how should I put it, it was exceptionally good.

Despite the fact that Mi Jiashan's fame did not become prominent in later generations.

Actually, at the end of this century, the name Mi Jiashan was incredibly prestigious in the Chinese film industry.

Seven generations of Chinese film directors: the first generation includes Zheng Zhengqiu and Zhang Shichuan; the second generation includes Cai Chusheng, Sun Yu, and Fei Mu; the third generation includes Xie Jin, Xie Tieli, and Shui Hua; and the fourth generation includes Wu Yigong, Huang Jianzhong, and Wu Tianming.
The fifth generation includes Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, and Jiang Wen. These individuals all rose to fame after Mi Jiashan.

This guy is indeed a talented man. With just one film, "The Troubleshooters," he made himself a leading figure among China's fifth generation of directors, making waves in the film industry back then.

The movie "The Troubleshooters" is incredibly well-made. Although there are many excellent films in the industry, "The Troubleshooters" has always been considered one of the most successful film adaptations of Wang Shuo's novel.

Feng Xiaogang also spoke highly of this film, privately referring to it as the origin of "Personal Tailor".

It's worth noting that contemporary Chinese cinema lacks comedies in the style of Feng Xiaogang, and Wang Shuo's films are similarly absent. Even Gu Changwei's "Sanmao" was a later production.
The only ones that can be called comedies are Wang Haowei's "Look at This Family" or "Traffic Bustle," which are "comedies" with a strong old-fashioned feel.

As for "The Troubleshooters," it has a completely modern comedic feel, with sharp satire. To put it bluntly, how can Feng Xiaogang's later comedy films not be considered imitations of Mi Jiashan?

However, even the pants have something to offer: they can figure out how to commercialize movies, something Mi Jiashan can't do, which is also what Jiang Xian is worried about.

Mi Jiashan is indeed capable of making good movies.

There is no doubt about this.

There's something particularly sad about Chinese cinema:

Many films that were later discovered to be classics were not very successful at the box office when they were made. They were overlooked because they were released at the wrong time, resulting in poor box office returns but outstanding word-of-mouth.

Wong Kar-wai is a master of this.

Like "Days of Being Wild".

Producer Deng Guangrong invested HK$4000 million, and Wong Kar-wai was known for his meticulous work, delaying the start of filming and filming without a script. Of course, the most famous scene was the one where Tony Leung ate a pear, which was filmed 27 times, to the point that Tony Leung questioned his life and felt he couldn't act. In the end, this scene was cut out by the editor and was no longer used.

The movie was a box office failure as soon as it was released.

Although it is now recognized as a classic, it only grossed HK$975 million in Hong Kong when it was released.

There's also "Ashes of Time".

A pioneering work of Hong Kong's new martial arts films, it rejected the drawbacks of previous Hong Kong martial arts films, returning transcendent humanity to ordinary people, and giving the characters in martial arts films personality and soul.

Unfortunately, the film only grossed HK$900 million at the box office.

When Wong Kar-wai saw that this wasn't working, he quickly grabbed the group and made another comedy, "East Meets West," during their free time. This film managed to salvage the losses with a box office of 2200 million.

Besides Wong Kar-wai, Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey" is also the most classic example of this type of film.

The first film, "A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box," was released on New Year's Day in 1995 and only grossed over HK$25 million. The second film, "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella," was released a month later and grossed approximately HK$28 million, far lower than the box office of Stephen Chow's other films. After being introduced to mainland China, the film performed even worse, averaging only 200,000 yuan in box office revenue for both films when they were shown in Beijing, becoming a famous case of distribution failure that year.

In short, over 80% of good domestic films will inevitably fail at the box office; this is almost like a curse, and too many good films have proven this point.
For example, Gu Changwei's "Sanmao the Vagabond".

For example, Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises".

For example, Zhang Meng's "The Piano in a Factory".

For example, "Wrath of Silence".

For example, "The Coffin in the Mountain".

For example, "Reign of Assassins".

For example, the movie "Mad Detective" starring Lau Ching-wan.
Well, excluding Chen Aige's films, except for "Farewell My Concubine," he is one of the rare directors whose films are not doing well at the box office or in terms of critical reception.

In short, it was quite dramatic.

Years later, audiences were surprised to find that they hadn't even noticed such a great film had been made back then. However, the box office performance and the harsh reality of the time gave the creative team a resounding slap in the face.

This reversal is truly heartbreaking.

And what about Mi Jiashan's "The Troubleshooters"?

They were also deeply poisoned by this curse.

Why did Mi Jiashan's "The Troubleshooters" win six Golden Rooster Award nominations upon its release, yet he didn't make many other works afterward?

Because this movie didn't do very well at the box office back then.
The box office results were far below Mi Jiashan's initial expectations, which led to the factory suspending his salary for two years, and as a result, he did not participate in any film production work for two whole years.

Later, when he tried to make films again, he could only make small-scale, low-budget productions. He couldn't make something out of nothing, and many of his films were banned. This made his name pale in comparison to rising stars like Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Yimou.

Jiang Xian didn't care how much "The Troubleshooters" sold at the box office. What mattered more was that Mi Jiashan could make it a classic, since he was the direct beneficiary of that fame.

He just felt a bit sorry for burying such a talented person like Lao Mi.

"Well then, things are urgent today, so you need to give me some time to think about it."

Jiang Xian smiled at Mi Jiashan, then smiled at Xie Jin, "You two go back first. I'll give you an answer as soon as I've thought it through."

"."

Mi Jiashan was a little disheartened at not getting Jiang Xian's direct consent, but the thought that it wasn't a direct rejection rekindled a glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, then please consider it carefully. Yes, I know I am young and inexperienced, and may not be qualified to work on your novel. But to be honest, the novel 'The Troubleshooters' is best adapted by a young director. You should understand that as well."

"I know, I understand."

Jiang Xian patted Mi Jiashan on the shoulder, "Don't overthink it. I'll take some time these next few days. Since we're in Beijing, I'll treat you to a meal, at least once."

"Then I'll bring the wine," Xie Jin said with a smile.

"This"

When Mi Jiashan heard this, he felt embarrassed. One of them brought wine, and the other was treating him, while he, who had come to ask for help, came empty-handed.

That's so unhygienic!
So ungrateful!
This is an insult to him, a young master!

"Look at what you're saying, I'll treat you, I absolutely have to treat you."

Mi Jiashan and Jiang Xian started arguing. "It's already a great honor for me that you would do me the honor of having dinner with me. How could I let you treat me? Director Xie, I'll have to bring the wine too. My father has some connections in Beijing, so it's not like he can't get a couple of good bottles."

After some initial refusals from the three, Mi Jiashan ultimately took on all the drinking and dining arrangements.

Looking at Mi Jiashan, whose appearance was not ordinary, unclean, unkempt, and even a bit greasy, Jiang Xian was still a little curious: Did Pan Hong really fall in love with someone so much older than her, or was she attracted to his family background?
The two are not divorced yet. Their love story back then was a big deal in the film and television industry, even more sensational than that of Huang Xiaoming and Ye Ke.

Pan Hong came from a modest family; her father had passed away long ago. After graduating from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, she became an actress at the Shanghai Film Studio.

As for Mi Jiashan, he was working odd jobs at the Emei Film Studio at the time, as a set designer. The Emei Film Studio was filming "The Daughter of a Slave" when an incident occurred that resulted in the dismissal of the film's assistant director and lead actress. The film could not be stopped even though the people were gone. In a moment of desperation, the Emei Film Studio, which was short of talent, had no choice but to promote Mi Jiashan to assistant director, which was also a kind of director's assistant, and send him to Shanghai to select actors.

During his trip to Shanghai Film Studio, Mi Jiashan encountered Pan Hong. However, Pan Hong was already working in Xie Jin's film crew at the time, so Mi Jiashan went to great lengths to find Xie Jin and, through persistent pleading, managed to get Pan Hong away from him. Later, Pan Hong, a beautiful and promising actress with suitors lining up at the entrance of Shanghai Film Studio, fell in love with a 8-year-older, rather plain-looking, and unkempt art director from Emei Mountain, and they married in a flash.

After getting married, the two lived apart for most of the time, because Mi Jiashan worked at Emei Film Studio and Pan Hong worked at Shanghai Film Studio. It is said that in the eight years of their marriage, the total time they spent together was less than 380 days.

And there was something particularly lively happening at the time.

The year after their marriage, Pan Hong was rumored to be having an affair with Yang Yanjin, a director at Shanghai Film Studio. At that time, Yang Yanjin's wife, Hong Rong, went directly to the film crew and, in front of the entire crew, said that Pan Hong had written love letters to Yang Yanjin and that Pan Hong was shameless for interfering in their relationship. This caused quite a stir and became a very public and exciting affair.

Yes, those who like art and literature should be familiar with Yang Yanjin. His film "Little Street" in the early 80s was a favorite among young people at the time. Moreover, this film was particularly ahead of its time and very impressive because it completely subverted traditional filming techniques and played with the concept of "meta-film" in the film. To put it bluntly, it was using film to shoot film itself.

This fellow was a student of Xie Jin; he was both talented and romantic.

Regarding his affair with Pan Hong, you could say that Hong Rong was just making things up, but that's not entirely true. Whether Pan Hong had feelings for him or not is unknown, but Yang Yanjin probably did, because Hong Rong, this "hardcore first wife," was particularly ruthless. She directly posted all the love letters Yang Yanjin wrote to Pan Hong on the Shanghai Film Studio's bulletin board.

This was essentially equivalent to "confirmed evidence" on social media back then, which would be a total social disaster in later generations.

Because of this, Pan Hong had no choice but to leave the Shanghai Film Studio in disgrace and go to the Emei Film Studio.

Hmm, so why did Yang Yanjin dare to be so audacious as to target the wife of the young master Mi Jiashan?

The reason is that their family is even more ruthless.

Well, that's all for now.

It was probably this incident that spurred Lao Mi to go to the Beijing Film Academy for further studies, changing his career path from art design to directing.

Unfortunately, their marriage couldn't be saved, and it would end in a few years.

Beijing Film and Television Art Center.

Zheng Xiaolong rubbed his sleepy eyes, picked at the sleepiness, yawned, and realized he hadn't really woken up.

He sat down on his office chair and poured himself a cup of hot water when someone rushed in. He quickly put the water down.

"Leader, why are you here?"

"Ah."

The newcomer was a lean old man who simply nodded upon hearing this. He was the leader of the art center and Zheng Xiaolong's superior, named Wu Qing.

Wu Qing approached Zheng Xiaolong's table, looked around, and then tapped on the table.

"Xiaolong, what about 'Stories from the Editorial Department'?"

"Stories from the Editorial Department?"

Zheng Xiaolong frowned. "Boss, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"This TV series. Here's what you do: go talk to the people at 'Seahorse' and ask them for a price. Our arts center will buy this TV series."

"You bought it?!"

Zheng Xiaolong was dumbfounded.

Not long ago, there was collective criticism, with a firm stance against purchasing or broadcasting the content.

Why did you suddenly change your mind?
This change of heart is faster than a change of face!
"Boss, what's wrong? Why the sudden change of heart? Didn't we agree not to buy it?"

"Oh dear, I didn't want to buy it before, but now I've changed my mind and want to buy it."

Wu Qing looked impatient. "Alright, don't ask about the details. Just get things done."

"I'm not going."

"You're not going?"

"Don't go."

Zheng Xiaolong crossed his arms. "How can you do this? You're sending me there without explaining things clearly. What am I supposed to do there? Get yelled at? I've already offended 'Haima' so badly because they won't let me broadcast it. Don't send me there to get yelled at until you explain things clearly."

"Hey."

Wu Qing rolled up his sleeves, but couldn't do anything to Zheng Xiaolong, so he lowered his voice and patiently explained to Zheng Xiaolong.

"Someone has bailed out this show."

"Is someone guarantor?"

Zheng Xiaolong sensed a hint of gossip. "Who is it?"

"Zhang Yongjing, the former director of the State Administration of Radio and Television, said he would come to serve as an art consultant for TV dramas."

"What?"

Zheng Xiaolong was dumbfounded.

How could someone in this line of work not know Zhang Yongjing? He used to be the deputy editor-in-chief of the Beijing Youth Daily, and now he's the director of the Beijing Radio and Television Bureau—a truly high-ranking leader.

"Isn't he afraid of ruining his reputation in his later years?"

Hey, what did you say?

Wu Qing quickly glanced around, wishing he could shut Zheng Xiaolong up. "These young people nowadays, how can they say such nonsense?"

"I was just joking."

"Well, Director Zhang said that he thinks this work is harmless, it just satirizes some social problems in the laughter."

"You know what, his thinking is much more open-minded than many young people in the broadcasting industry."

"Shut up."

"."

Meanwhile, Jiang Xian also heard a big piece of gossip about "Stories from the Editorial Department" from Wang Meng: "Some time ago, the film adaptation of 'Stories from the Editorial Department' was sent to Comrade Li."

"Oh, comrade, you've seen this?"

"I asked a question during the meeting that day."

Wang Meng said, "I asked him, 'Did you watch the tape that they sent you from the editorial department?'"

"How did he say?"

He said, "I didn't watch it, but I asked the young people in our office to watch it. I played basketball with them during the break and asked them what they thought of it. They said it was very good and funny. I think the young people in the office are quite capable; they all thought it was great, so I think it should be fine."

(End of this chapter)