1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 586 Cult Films

Jiang Xian suspected that Liu Xinwu was a drunkard who came to his house to mooch drinks. One glass after another, nearly half of the several bottles of Xifeng liquor on the table were gone.

"To be fair, your piece 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain' is really well written. After reading it, I, Old Liu, am completely convinced!"

"Whether it's Teacher Liu's 'Bell and Drum Tower' or not, it tells the story that happens in a single day, showcasing the lives and fates of many characters. It's a beautiful and vivid depiction of urban life, a contemporary 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'."

"I'm flattered, I'm flattered. If we're talking about a contemporary 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival,' then it has to be your work, Editor-in-Chief Jiang."

"."

Cui Daoyi and Wang Chaoyin sat next to each other, exchanging glances while holding their wine glasses, finding the scene before them particularly surreal.

Who in the literary world would dare to believe this?
Jiang Xian and Liu Xinwu were actually sitting at the same table drinking together; this was truly a literary spectacle.

This trip was definitely worth it.

As Jiang Xian and Liu Xinwu chatted about their respective literary works, then about outstanding works in "People's Literature," and finally about "Dream of the Red Chamber," this hastily put-together dinner party was finally coming to an end.

"Where did you get here? You're all so drunk. I'll have Xiao Xu take you back."

"no, I'm fine."

"Don't be so polite, Lao Liu. Look at you, you can barely walk straight. Besides, this car isn't just my official vehicle, it's also the official vehicle of 'People's Literature.' It should serve our own people."

"thanks, thanks."

Liu Xinwu was completely drunk, with one arm on Cui Daoyi's shoulder and the other on Wang Chaoyin's shoulder. His face was flushed, and he staggered towards the car, muttering to himself as he went:
"Editor-in-Chief Jiang is a good person to work with."

Cui Daoyi and Wang Chaoyin exchanged a glance, both overjoyed. Liu Xinwu must have really drunk a lot today. They'd never seen Liu Xinwu like this before; he always looked so gloomy, as if everyone owed him eight hundred yuan.

Xu Chenhui had never seen Liu Xinwu look so ridiculous before. He couldn't help but complain to himself, "He's not as good at writing novels as our Brother Jiang, he's not as good at being an official as our Brother Jiang, and he can't even hold his liquor as well as our Brother Jiang."

He had been out with Jiang Xian before and knew Jiang Xian's alcohol tolerance; there were very few times when he couldn't drink enough.

So Jiang Xian was fine at the moment. He wiped his face with a hot towel, then took off his clothes, put on a pair of imported brand shorts, and lay down on his big bed in his room.

comfortable.

He had to admit that since he took office, although the circulation of People's Literature magazine had been increasing every month, the senior management had never been united.

Jiang Xian originally intended to handle this matter slowly, but unexpectedly, just as the ancients used a cup of wine to release military power, he now used a cup of wine to win over the hearts of the people.

He slept soundly, oblivious to the world around him. When he woke up and stretched, he met Zhu Lin's concerned yet slightly teasing gaze.

"woke up?"

"Look at how much you're drinking, even your daughter is laughing at you."

Are you still feeling unwell?

Jiang Xian chuckled twice, rubbed his head, which still felt a little heavy, but overall he felt fine.

"How long have you been sleeping? It's already dawn."

"Yes."

Zhu Lin went to his side and gently massaged Jiang Xian's head with her two delicate and smooth hands.

"Have Mom and Dad gone back?"

"gone back."

“When Mom and Dad retire, let’s move to the city. It’ll be closer, and we can take care of each other if anything happens,” Jiang Xian said. “Zhongguancun is still too remote.”

"Ah."

Zhu Lin softly agreed. Hearing her lover so earnestly considering her parents' well-being, she felt a sweet warmth in her heart, as if she had eaten honey.

"Zhu Lin, you've been resting at home for quite a while now." Jiang Xian held Zhu Lin's hand, his rough hand gently stroking the back of her slightly cold hand.

"What? Are you tired of looking at me?" Zhu Lin asked in a sweet voice.

Jiang Xian laughed and pulled her to his side, wrapping an arm around his wife's slender waist. "No way, I'll look at you every day and treat you like a goddess, and I won't get tired of it."

"Then urge me to go out and do some work."

"I'm not urging you, I'm just worried that you'll be delayed," Jiang Xian said.

He understood Zhu Lin's feelings; some women prioritize family over career.

But Her Majesty the Queen is not that kind of woman. She is not the kind of woman who would sacrifice her entire career for her family. Even if she did, she would still hope to achieve what she desires in her career.

Unlike typical "strong women," Zhu Lin is truly the type of queen of women. She is indeed passionate about her career, but she can also be blinded by love, preferring handsome men to power, and even submitting herself to her "royal brother."

However, Jiang Xian did not want his marriage to Zhu Lin to hinder her continued development in the film and television industry.

If, after his rebirth, he is with Her Majesty the Queen and keeps her locked up like a canary, watching and playing with her every day, causing Her Majesty the Queen to lose the opportunity for continued advancement in her career, then he has done Zhu Lin a terrible disservice.

Therefore, he cares about Zhu Lin's career and doesn't want her to make huge sacrifices in love.

"It's not like I don't have films to shoot."

Zhu Lin blinked. "A while ago, several film studios in China, as well as those overseas and in Hong Kong, contacted me. I turned down a few, and I haven't given a reply to a few yet."

"Really? Even Hong Kong knows about you?" Jiang Xian was taken aback. "What Hong Kong movies?"

"It's said to be a film about the War of Resistance against Japan, and the director is Mou Dunfei."

"Mu Dunfei's Resistance Against Japan"

A flash of inspiration struck Jiang Xian.

Black Sun?!

This is a film co-produced by Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd. and Changchun Film Studio in mainland China, directed by Hong Kong cult film director Mou Dunfei.

Uh, what is a cult film? The word "cult" originally means "worship, adoration, or ritual," referring to the fanatical worship and superstition of people, doctrines, or things.

"Cult Film," also known as cult films, are films with very unique shooting techniques, bizarre themes, unconventional approaches, and unusual styles.

Examples include American and European films such as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Eraserhead," and "A Clockwork Orange."
Japanese films include "Shura Yukihime", "Love Exposure", and "Mermaid in the Sewer".

These films were very popular in the 80s and 90s because of their low cost and high returns, and most of the cult films we see today were created during this period.

This is mainly because the rise of the video industry has given cult films, a low-budget genre, a place to survive.

For example, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" earned more than $8 million at the box office with a budget of only $3000.

Similarly, "Carrie," with an investment of $180 million, garnered a box office of $3300 million.

"Halloween" was even more impressive, with a budget of $30 and a box office of $6000 million!

Which filmmaker wouldn't be envious of this low-return, high-yield model?
Especially in Hong Kong, they quickly learned this new profit model from Western films, resulting in a large number of cult films, so many that they were almost piled up and rotted. Even in later generations, these endless cult films continue to nourish a large group of video film editing bloggers.

Mou Dunfei is hailed as a master of cult films in Hong Kong.

He directed two films in Hong Kong, both of which spearheaded the Hong Kong New Wave cinema movement at the time. His later work was an extremely avant-garde, extremely explicit, and textbook example of cult exploitation.

"Snake Slayer"!
The "snake-beating" here doesn't refer to actually beating a snake. The "snake" is actually a "human snake," which was a group at the time. I won't go into details, but it represents the extreme of darkness.

How cult is this movie?
Watching this movie on screen, the way the "snake" was fought was incredibly violent and bloody, depicting all sorts of torture.

So how were these shocking scenes filmed?
It's a real fight!

That's right, it's a real fight!
Mu Dunfei hired actors to play "human snakes," but these people were not actors; they were real "human snakes."

Mu Dunfei promised these actors that as long as they performed well in the film, he would resolve their identity issues.

Therefore, each of the "human-snake" actors put on a very dedicated performance.

Even when they were acting until their skin was raw and bleeding, they persevered in order to resolve their identity issues.

As for "Black Sun," it was the first film in Hong Kong to be rated Category III after the city announced its film rating system.

Needless to say.

This is not a horror movie.

This is terror itself!
A large number of people have probably seen this film; it's a childhood nightmare for countless people, and it's also a part of many people's childhood.

Director Mou Dunfei remained reckless while making this film. In "Snake Fighting," he used real human snakes as actors. As for "Black Sun," it's said that because there were no special effects at the time, many of the corpses in the film were...
It can only be said that those directors who are often touted as masters of real-life filming in later generations would all have to bow down in front of Mou Dunfu.

This guy truly deserves the title of "madman"!

Moreover, "Men Behind the Sun" is a true classic, and its box office performance was also very good, ranking among the top 40 films of the year with tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars in box office revenue. It has been discussed continuously for decades since then.

Even though director Mou Dunfei passed away many years later, and his film "xxx" faced numerous difficulties in being released, "Black Sun" was re-released and tickets were in high demand.

"I think this movie is actually quite interesting."

Jiang Xian thought for a moment and said, "This is a period of history that is very worth filming. Filming it would be of great significance. I think you can't always limit yourself to your own acting roles. You should also try to challenge yourself with the roles in this film."

"Black Sun?" Zhu Lin pondered, stroking her chin. "I'm not familiar with Hong Kong. I've heard that director Mou Dunfei's films are quite controversial there. People say he dares to film anything. I've also heard that people in Hong Kong call him a 'beast director'."

“I know him. He’s from Taiwan, but he works as a director in Hong Kong. This time, his collaboration with Changchun Film Studio on the mainland is especially significant,” Jiang Xian said. “If possible, I’d like to get to know him this time.”

Speaking of which, Mou Dunfei was also from Shaw Brothers. However, when people mention Shaw Brothers, the directors that come to mind first are usually Li Hanxiang, Zhang Che, Hu Jinquan, and Chu Yuan. Few people mention Mou Dunfei, and another one is Gui Zhihong, who directed the "Evil" series.

Shaw Brothers both loved and feared these two "cult directors," and in the end, they chose to discard them after they had served their purpose, forcing Mou Dunfei and Gui Zhihong to leave Shaw Brothers.

Of course, Jiang Xian was also a little worried about letting Zhu Lin direct Mu Dunfei's film.

After all, this director is too "abnormal," he's really gone to a certain degree of obsession.

At that time, Mou Dunfu had just joined Shaw Brothers and directed an erotic film called "Dream of the Red Chamber".

This movie, on the one hand, recreates scenes from "Dream of the Red Chamber" such as "Wang Xifeng's poisonous scheme of unrequited love", "Qin Keqing's death and being granted the title of Dragon Guard", and "The foolish maid mistakenly picking up the embroidered sachet" on the screen.

On the other hand, it deliberately incorporates a large amount of erotic writing, including but not limited to: Jia Zhen peeping at Qin Keqing while she is bathing and assaulting her, Jia Rui fantasizing about making love with Wang Xifeng in the "Mirror of Love and Lust", and Siqi and Pan Youan having a secret tryst at night.
Without exception, they presented the scenes of men and women having sex directly on the screen without any concealment. They relied entirely on explicit love scenes and the nudity of women's bodies to create hype and attract audiences.

Mu Dunfei finished filming this movie in just seven days.

At that time, Mu Dunfei had a former girlfriend named Hu Yinmeng. She later married Li Ao and then divorced him; she was Li Ao's ex-wife.

At the time, Hu Yinmeng was preparing to marry Mu Dunfei, but after seeing her boyfriend making movies like this, Hu Yinmeng couldn't stand having such a perverted boyfriend, so she decisively chose to break up before the wedding.

Jiang Xian would never have supported Zhu Lin's participation in any of Mu Dunfei's other films.

But Black Sun is different.

To portray this period of history is, frankly, the responsibility of every actor. Jiang Xian felt that Zhu Lin should not avoid it, and it would also be a contribution to that period of history, which is of great significance.

Furthermore, this film was shot domestically and co-produced with Changchun Film Studio, so there's little chance of any trouble. Jiang Xian had never heard of any problems during the filming of this movie in his later years.

After careful consideration, it's feasible to film this movie. Moreover, Zhu Lin has a strong audience base in Hong Kong. Her film "Shaolin Temple" achieved excellent box office results in Hong Kong. Filming "Black Sun" this time would be another step forward for her in Hong Kong after "Shaolin Temple".

Jiang Xian wouldn't let Zhu Lin take on ordinary film roles; in his mind, he had long planned to help Zhu Lin go international.

September will arrive soon.

It's really strange, the sweltering weather in Beijing that year came and went quickly, disappearing just as fast as it came.

A light breeze was blowing, carrying raindrops, and it had been blowing all day, making it feel both cool and a little cold.

In short, summer in Beijing is completely over; at least the sweltering heat will be gone.

Meanwhile, on the "Seahorse" side, a group of people were bored out of their minds because they hadn't received any instructions from their superiors. Except for Yu Hua, who was busy attending classes at Peking University, the others would sit together and chat about literature, scripts, and women whenever they had nothing to do.

Just as they were suppressing their desire to touch each other's thighs, Jiang Xian arrived.

(End of this chapter)