1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 604 Opening Ceremony

Of course, not all of Pauline Kyle's film reviews are negative.

She has certainly made many contributions to the film industry.

For example, the 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde" tells the story of a couple who make a living by robbery in the 1930s and eventually die by gunshot.

This is based on the true story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, two famous American outlaws.

These two are as famous in the United States as Yanzi Li San is in China.

They were the notorious Robin Hood-like figures of the Great Depression, primarily engaged in robbery, but with a touch of robbing the rich to help the poor, thus becoming role models for many young Americans.

It is said that after the two were shot dead by the police, the town, which originally had a population of only 2000, suddenly saw an influx of 1 people.

People try every means to collect something from the "hero" as a memento, such as hair or pieces of clothing.

Their funeral also attracted 2 onlookers.

Many people also gave Bonnie flowers.

Newspaper boys delivered the most flowers.

Newspaper sales skyrocketed after the notorious thief was killed.

Arthur Payne's "Bonnie and Clyde" is hailed as the pioneering work of "New Hollywood". This film broke the pattern of traditional Hollywood genre films, combining crime films, westerns, comedies and even romance films. The characters in the film are no longer stereotypical. Director Arthur Payne is therefore known as the pioneer of "New Hollywood".

However, when it was first released, this unconventional film did not receive such high praise. Instead, it was met with great criticism because it broke the conventions of Hollywood film production and its subject matter was controversial.

When the film was released, it was widely believed that its critical reception did not match its respectable box office performance, with critics accusing the film of glorifying violence.

Approaching fifty, she wrote a long essay of 7000 words. At the beginning of the essay, Kyle sharply pointed out the old-school film critics' stagnation:

"How can one make a good film in this country without being attacked?"

She believes that the "villainous hero reformation" formula that Americans used to love is no longer applicable to audiences of this era. People don't need to be lectured by movies; the doomed couple brought people "fun." Audiences sit in the movie theater just to "find fun."

Later, the media said:
"The reputation of 'Bonnie and Clyde' was like a sinking ship, and Kyle pulled it ashore."

It is clear that Pauline Kyle's film review made a huge contribution to the film becoming a classic.

Another film is the X-rated movie "Last Tango in Paris".

It is also a famous erotic film by the great director Bernardo Bertolucci.

As mentioned before, this movie has faced huge criticism from the outside world because of the fake-on-screen-to-real-life incident.

Pauline Kayle's film review vindicated the film, making it a favorite among later generations of film buffs with an "artistic obsession."

In short, her writing is not only sharp and unsparing, but also possesses a captivating charm that can bring the dead back to life, making "Bonnie and Clyde" a classic and vindicating "Last Tango in Paris".

But Zhao Zhenkai was still more worried about the damage Pauline Kyle would do to the film "The Last Emperor." Fortunately, after reading the first sentence of the film review, he felt relieved:

"Under the illusion of power and freedom, Bertolucci uses his lens to reveal a soul that is forever trapped in the dream of childhood."

That's a pretty good comment.

If you still can't tell whether it's praise or criticism, then Kyle bluntly says something later:
"As a film critic, I have always believed that film should be a feast for the senses and a collision of ideas, rather than a dry history textbook. Bertolucci's The Last Emperor is such a work."

"It uses dazzling visual language and a bold narrative structure to transform the life of Puyi, the last emperor of China, into a universal allegory about power, freedom, and identity."

This is where it comes in.

Kyle's film review was clearly a compliment to "The Last Emperor," which put Zhao Zhenkai in a good mood, and he continued reading:
"In my opinion, the greatest success of The Last Emperor is that it tells the complete story of a 'human being'."

"Before writing this film review, I wanted to learn more about the background of the film and the characters, so I consulted some of my friends who study Eastern history, including experts and scholars from China."

“I heard a very interesting point from them. They said that Chinese history books have always dealt with emperors in a simple dichotomy: either a wise ruler or a foolish ruler, with no middle ground.”

"As for Puyi, he should be classified as a foolish emperor. As soon as he is mentioned, he is immediately labeled as cowardly, incompetent, and traitorous. It seems that there is no need to write a biography for such an emperor."

"In China, the emperors most frequently written about by historians are Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. These emperors possessed powerful personal charisma, moving the people to tears with emotion at their great achievements in navigating complex political landscapes and creating prosperous eras."

"As for the stories of those tyrannical rulers, they are basically used as negative examples and stories, with the aim of telling everyone that such people should be nailed to the pillar of historical shame forever."

“But The Last Emperor did not film it that way. It did not glorify or belittle Puyi. It simply treated Puyi as an ordinary person who was born into an imperial family by accident, was inexplicably made crown prince, and was then swept along by the times, moving forward, forward, and forward again.”

"We have witnessed the entire life of Puyi in the film, starting from the age of three. He was not very wise, and his vision was neither profound nor broad. His favoritism and bullying of the weak were written all over his face. During the film, I often seemed to forget that he was an emperor, just as we can easily forget that an emperor is first and foremost a person, and only secondly an emperor."

"What surprised me the most was that, to my knowledge, the screenwriter of this film was Chinese!"

"Jiang Xian, this Chinese man is truly incredible. He actually knows what can move Western audiences."

“There is a cultural gap. As far as I know, most Chinese audiences do not know which country or era Hamlet is set in, but they have all heard the line ‘To be or not to be, that is the question’ and have had a lot of discussion and reflection on it.”

"Similarly, for most Western audiences, we are not very clear about China's past history, but we can feel from this film the insignificance and helplessness of individuals in the face of the wheels of time. We can identify with those ugly or beautiful faces that are shown."

"As for history, it's just a stage."

"History has continued for so many years, and all the backgrounds have changed, but people, only people, are the unchanging protagonists on the stage."

"In this respect, screenwriter Jiang Xian grasped it quite accurately, and his creative techniques were equally superb."

"He is a true artist!"

"By combining personal stories with historical narratives, they created artistic masterpieces that are both personal and universal, proving that true art can transcend cultural and historical boundaries."

After Zhao Zhenkai finished reading it, he showed the magazine to Zhu Hong again. Zhu Hong's face lit up with joy after reading it.

"It's so well written! I'm going to send this magazine back to China for my brother-in-law to see."

"Tell him while you're at it."

Zhao Zhenkai smiled and said, "The Last Emperor is a real hit in the United States!"

"Anyway, let's have a celebration party tonight," Zhu Hong suggested, then remembered something else, "How's the filming of Ang Lee's movie going? When will it wrap up?"

"It'll be done soon, we've been filming for over a month."

Zhao Zhenkai then explained, "Hollywood is different from China; they make movies very quickly and with very high quality."

"What do you think of director Ang Lee?" Zhu Hong inquired. She had just arrived in the United States and was not familiar with Ang Lee, only knowing that he was a new director recruited by her brother-in-law.

"how to say"

Zhao Zhenkai thought for a moment, "This person is quite interesting. If you ask him a question and he says, 'Give me a minute to think about it,' it sounds like a trivial matter, but in reality, he will actually spend a minute thinking about it, or even much longer than a minute."

You might tell him something, he might nod to indicate that he understands, and then you might go about your other business, like having lunch and then doing something else. At this point, he might come back to answer the question you asked him a few hours ago, but he often doesn't realize that time has passed or that other things have happened in the meantime.

He's as if he's still in that same moment, and he's asking you to return to the moment you asked the question.

So I later realized that I had to give him plenty of time, because he would often come up with some brilliant ideas as a result.

Now, when I go to the set during filming, the assistant director or other crew members always come to me with concern and say, "Ang Lee is in that state again." When I look around the set, I usually see Ang Lee standing motionless, frowning, or deep in thought. He's thinking alone, while his colleagues stand by and watch him.

After listening quietly to Zhao Zhenkai's description of Ang Lee, Zhu Hong asked, "What about his directing skills?"

"Hope, who was in charge of production, once told me something."

Hope is Ted Hope, hailed as the "King of No-Budget Filmmaking in New York," and "the only person in New York who can make a good film on a very low budget." He is also a producer at Today Pictures.
"He felt that Ang Lee's graduation film at NYU, The Dividing Line, was one of the best short films produced by NYU."

"It seems this guy really has some skills." Zhu Hong nodded, thinking that she should go to Los Angeles in a while to see the independent film invested and produced by "Today Pictures" at Ang Lee's film studio.

Across the ocean.

The capital city in the golden autumn season.

Peking University held another entrance ceremony for its new cohort of students.

"Comrade Jiang Xian."

Jiang Xuan, who had just gotten out of the car, shook hands with the school leaders who came to greet him, saying, "Hello, hello."

He didn't originally intend to come to this event.

Previously, Peking University President Ding Shisun had said that he would recommend a novel to all new students at the meeting, and that novel was his "The Little Prince".

You know, once he came, and Ding Shisun gave him that recommendation, it was still within the school.

Wouldn't that make the lectures at the school just like those book salespeople?

Therefore, Jiang Xian refused again and again, saying he didn't want to come and attend today's freshman enrollment ceremony.

But Ding Shisun couldn't refuse his hospitality and insisted on inviting this well-known alumnus who had just graduated from Peking University to greet the current graduating class.

In order to refuse him, Jiang Xian simply stated her concerns.

Ding Shisun laughed after hearing this, and said very sincerely, "How can this be considered selling books?"

"The Little Prince is a literary work that originated at Peking University. If we follow your logic, even if you didn't come, my speaking like this would make it seem like I, Ding Shisun, am selling books for Peking University."

Finally, Ding Shisun told Jiang Xian that his plan was to personally give each Peking University freshman a copy of "The Little Prince," which had just been published by Sanlian Bookstore, at the freshman ceremony.

In this way, the idea of ​​selling books disappeared, and Jiang Xian had no reason to refuse Ding Shisun.

However, Ding Shisun was also a shrewd old fox. Having bought so many copies of Jiang Xian's "The Little Prince," he naturally couldn't let Jiang Xian off the hook, so he asked him to sign one hundred copies of "The Little Prince."

As soon as he arrived today, before he could even greet the teachers from Peking University, Ding Shisun pulled him aside to sign copies of "The Little Prince" piled on the table.

Jiang Xian was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

Ding Shisun's money was really hard-earned.

When Sanlian Bookstore published "The Little Prince" this time, Jiang Xian still insisted on using the royalty system to settle the royalties.

The royalty rate offered to him by Sanlian Bookstore was also very considerable.

Previously, when Jiang Xian published his collection of works with Writers Publishing House, the publisher offered him a 12% royalty rate.

As for the collection of works produced after winning the Lu Xun Literary Prize, the royalty rate is 10%.

This time, Sanlian Bookstore offered him a higher percentage, 15%, than the previous two times!

It's important to know that even in later generations, publishers typically offer royalty rates of 5% to 10%.

Sanlian Bookstore offered Jiang Xian a 15% discount, which shows their great sincerity.

Having made so much money from Ding Shisun, Jiang Xian was no longer stingy.

All I want is an autograph?
He touched the copy of "The Little Prince" published by Sanlian Bookstore, which had gone to great lengths to produce an exceptionally beautiful copy for him.

The cover is simply stunning, combining ink wash and cartoon lines. It features Hua Junwu's illustration of the Little Prince, wearing a cape, holding a rose, and reaching out to touch the stars floating above the pages.

The background is also a planet, with shooting stars swirling around it. On the planet, the rose in the Little Prince's hand extends two vines that wrap around the wrists of a father and daughter.

No waist belt!

The waist belt is a design that originated in Japan in the 90s.

Turning the pages, you'll find several lengthy and substantial prefaces.

The works were written by Ye Shengtao, Bing Xin, Jin Jin, and Yan Wenjing, respectively.

Besides these prefaces, there is another one.

— Jiang Xian's preface.

(End of this chapter)