Exciting 1979!

Chapter 165: Contribute to Hong Kong Paper Media (Guaranteed 2 Updates)
Since it was the first time to go to Cannes and also the first time for Shanghai Animation Film Studio to participate in an international film festival, it was inevitable that mistakes would occur.

Wei Ming expressed his understanding, but he certainly hoped that it could be avoided. If they could make a name for themselves with Chinese animation this time and find a way to distribute high-quality domestic animation overseas, it would also be beneficial for the subsequent "The Magic Book".

So when everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Wei Ming suggested: "At that time, we can hire a consultant from the European film industry in advance to avoid making an international joke that would be bad if it was reported back."

At this time, they may not be afraid of anything else you say, but if they embarrass themselves internationally, that would be a big deal. Everyone is very cautious about anything involving foreign affairs.

Only Wei Ming didn't take it seriously, and the international students did as he was told.

While eating, Wang Shuchen nodded solemnly: "Writer Wei, you are right to remind me. I will have to ask the leaders of the Film Bureau for instructions later."

Wei Ming stopped talking here. After all, he had no idea what mistakes he had made in his previous life. He could only put his hopes on his leader.

After returning to the guesthouse, Wei Ming called Peking University to ask if Biaozi and Xiaomei had arrived.

"It's here, all the goods are sold out," Biaozi answered the phone, his tone filled with joy, it seems that he has made a lot of money, "Brother Ming, after we came back, we found that we received a letter these days, and the sender is Gong Xing."

He now knew who Gong Xian was, and there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Wei Ming: "Keep it properly. If there is a person named Zhu Lin, remember to put it away separately."

Mei Wenhua, who was standing by, immediately said, "Yes, there is one, and it's from Yunnan!"

Wei Ming was happy. It seemed that his two sisters were quite in tune with each other.

Later, his colleagues at the gate told Wei Ming who had called him, including Liang Xiaosheng from Beijing Film Studio, Wu Tianming from Xi'an Film Studio, and some editors.

Liang Xiaosheng was asking about the script of "Heroes Have Always Been Young". Wei Ming had already finished writing it, but he wanted to wait a little longer to see the feedback from his grandfather.

As for Wu Tianming, he probably wants to talk about the adaptation of Wei Ming's other novels, which is something that can be discussed.

~
In Hong Kong, Lao Gui had just helped Zhou Huimin and her daughter move house. Unexpectedly, the move brought them closer together. Lao Gui also lived in the same public housing estate, but not in the same building.

After returning to his home, Lao Gui finally had time to look at the package he had received from his grandson in the morning.

He was also about to write a letter to the boy, telling him that he had visited his classmate's father in prison.

I opened the package and found a book and a stack of stationery inside.

The name of the book is "Animals Are Fierce - A Collection of Short and Medium Stories by Wei Ming".

When I opened the catalog, I saw that there were animals in the titles of the novels, such as "The Story of Two Donkeys", "Two Cows", "The Ducks Know When the River Water Warms in Spring", "The Horse Herder", and "The Shepherd Class". No wonder it is called "Animals Are Dangerous".

Hey, there seems to be something stuck in the book.

When Lao Gui opened it, he found it was a black and white photo. Looking at the two young men in the photo, Lao Gui recognized who they were at a glance.

Goudan and Gousheng!
They were probably less than 20 years old when the photo was taken, and it has been less than ten years since I left. I can vaguely see what they looked like when they were children.

Looking at them, Lao Gui thought of their mother again, and his eyes became moist. Xiu'er, Zi Yan, I'm sorry for having wronged you.

The old ghost wiped his face, picked up the stack of letter papers again, and saw the big words "Heroes have always emerged from young people" written on the first page.

"This should be the martial arts novel that Xiao Ming mentioned."

Wei Ming also attached a text message.

"In addition to providing you with reading to relieve your boredom, you can also submit your works to Hong Kong media under the pen name 'Wei Kuangren'. The royalties can be used to improve your life. We are far away in the north and cannot be by your side to serve you. This is also a small token of our children and grandchildren's kindness."

Wei Ming's mentality when writing this passage is probably like that of a son working in the city who gives red envelopes to his parents during the holidays, hoping that after his parents are happy, they will say, "It's good that you have this intention. We don't need it," and then return the money.

Lao Gui didn't have such a mentality. He just felt that God was kind to him, so he accepted the money.

He doesn't want a penny of his eldest brother's money, but he has to accept his grandson's money. He can't let the child's filial piety go to waste!

I just don't know how much royalties this thick stack of works can bring. I'll take a look for myself first.

The more he read it, the more interesting it seemed to him. Although the story was relatively traditional, the content and characters were fresh and there should be a market for it. Lao Gui had already thought of a suitable company to invest in it.

Among the left-wing newspapers in Hong Kong, Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po are the two strongest ones, and Ta Kung Pao has a subsidiary called New Evening News.

In the early days, Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong were both editors of Ta Kung Pao. Their works "Dragon and Tiger Fight in Beijing" and "The Book and the Sword" were published in the New Evening News, so the New Evening News was in great demand.

Although Jin Yong now has Ming Pao and has stopped writing, Liang Yu's "Records of the Battle of the Great Sai" written two years before his death was still published in the New Evening News, so the New Evening News is a newspaper with a tradition of martial arts novels and a high circulation.

Lao Gui dug out a copy of last year's New Evening News from his home, pointed at the address on it and said, "It's you!"

In the next building, Zhou Huimin was singing the Mandarin version of "Homesickness" to her mother.

"Your voice, your singing/are forever imprinted in my heart..." This is what Zhou Huimin learned from her music teacher based on the simple musical notation sent by Wei Ming.

Although it is not exactly the same as Li Guyi's original version, it is still very nice to listen to, with beautiful timbre and the flavor of the old Shanghai. This may also be related to the fact that my mother often listens to old Shanghai songs.

The mother, who is from Shanghai, applauded her. Her daughter usually likes singing and painting, so she supports her child in cultivating her interests and hobbies so that she can watch less TV.

Moreover, Amin will become a white-collar worker in the future, and he will definitely have some hobbies and specialties. He cannot just work like me.

After finishing her needlework, Zhou's mother said to her daughter, "I have already told the piano teacher that you will have lessons with her starting this Sunday, half a day every week."

"Thank you, Mom. Long live Mom!"

Holding her mother, Zhou Huimin was thinking, after so many days, she wondered if A-Ming had received her letter.

~
The next day, Wei Mingxian called Wu Tianming of Xi'an Film Studio back.

"Writer Wei, I heard that you are not in Yanjing, but in Guangzhou?"

"Yes, but I'm in Shanghai right now and will be back in a few days," Wei Ming asked, "Did Director Wu contact me about the adaptation?"

"Yes," Wu Tianming said, "I think 'Er Niu' is a work with great potential for adaptation. I wonder what your attitude is, Writer Wei."

Wei Ming: "I have seen Director Wu's works, and I feel very relieved to hand over "Er Niu" to you."

Wu Tianming breathed a sigh of relief and said, "But I hope that Writer Wei can adapt this script yourself."

In fact, even if he didn't mention it, Wei Ming would have asked for it. He was reluctant to give up the script fee, after all, he was a man who was planning to buy a house.

"That's no problem. Director Wu, you can also tell us about your specific requirements for the script."

After that, the two talked for a few more minutes. When Wei Ming finished the call and walked out of the guesthouse, he suddenly found that snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

In mid-March, it started snowing in Shanghai, but it wasn't heavy. It stopped after a few small snowflakes.

Wei Ming suddenly thought of the origin of Gong Xing’s name. Could it be that her birthday is in March?
Unfortunately, I can't contact her directly, so I can only write to her and ask.

Wei Ming then came to the Shanghai Film Studio, talked to director Xie Jin, learned about the progress of "The Shepherd", and visited the sets in the studio.

However, Wei Ming did not agree to Director Xie's plan to shoot "The Shepherd Class".

His appearance attracted the attention of many actors in the Shanghai Film Studio. At first, they thought he was an actor, but later director Song Chong announced: "He is a writer, Wei Ming, writer Wei! We met at the Literature Congress."

And there are photos as proof!
The eyes of several little girls, including Zhang Yu, lit up. The famous Wei Ming turned out to be so tall and handsome!

Wei Ming didn't come here specifically to see Director Xie, and certainly not to see the female star, but he wanted to watch the pre-founding documentaries preserved by the Shanghai Film Studio.

In addition to text materials, video materials are also very important and more concrete.

Although China's first film was shot in Yanjing, the first prosperous period of Chinese-language films was in Shanghai, including Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers, which started in Shanghai.

Many video materials shot by Shanghai filmmakers before the founding of the People's Republic of China were eventually collected by Shanghai Film Studio with its establishment, including many documentaries.

If it weren't for Xie Jin's prestige in the Shanghai Film Studio, even if Wei Ming was a somewhat famous writer, it would have been difficult for him to get a chance to watch the film.

Knowing that Wei Ming was going to write a new work, Xie Jin naturally gave his full support. They first watched a batch of documentaries about the Huaihai Campaign period, which included not only those shot by our army but also those from the perspective of the Kuomintang army, which were captured after the victory.

Through these documentaries, characters such as General Liu, General Su, Du Yuming, Huang Wei, and Qiu Qingquan have become vivid in Wei Ming's eyes.

He began to think about which important figure to include in the story and how to portray him when creating it.

When changing the film in the middle, Director Xie said to Wei Ming: "Speaking of documentaries of that period, there are actually quite a few in Beijing Film Academy and Changchun Film Studio. For example, the Liaoshen Campaign was filmed by Changchun Film Studio throughout the whole process."

Wei Ming nodded: "I will go."

Especially the Changchun Film Studio, which was established in 45 and is the cradle of New China's film. This also means that they have the most complete video records of the Liberation War period.

But I don’t have many connections in Changchun Film Studio, and only Sister Xue has worked with them.

After watching documentaries at the Shanghai Film Studio for a day, Wei Ming took note of a lot of things and gained a lot.

Just as he was about to leave, someone called Director Xie Jin's office.

Director Xie asked Wei Ming to wait for a moment. After she finished speaking, he said to Wei Ming, "It's Xiao Gong. Do you want to chat for a while~"

(End of this chapter)