Huayu is here for you

Chapter 180 February

November 28, 2008 —

Lin Yu was constantly fiddling with his newly acquired Apple smartphone in his North American residence.

Speaking of the first generation of Apple, it was actually released as early as 07, but Lin Yu was so busy at that time that he didn't even notice it.

So today, he finally got his first Apple smartphone.

"Still not very good!" After playing with his phone for a while, Lin Yu tossed it aside and complained, "Oh well, I'm an Apple shareholder after all, I can't complain about my own company's products." Lin Yu glanced at the phone he had thrown aside and thought to himself, "Huawei will be better in the future!"

"I'll go back in the next couple of days! I miss Ms. Liu a bit, and 'Your Name' should be almost finished filming! It's time for me, the male lead, to return."

Just as Lin Yu was sighing, the domestic film and television industry was bustling with activity.

The film and television industry at the end of this year is truly a battle of titans!

先有陈楷歌的《梅兰芳》定档12月4日，后有冯晓刚的《非诚勿扰》在12月28日上映0

Furthermore, Huayi Brothers' Sino-foreign co-production blockbuster, "The Forbidden Kingdom," has also announced its premiere on December 15th.

The promotional posters for these three movies have practically taken over every corner of first- and second-tier cities.

They've appeared on every kind of promotional program imaginable!

Suddenly, domestic movie fans seemed to feel that spring was coming to the film and television industry.

Three blockbuster movies that you would never normally see in December were actually available to watch in a row?

However, the only thing that domestic movie fans regret is that Lin Yu was not involved!

If Lin Yu also has a movie released in December! Then————

It's estimated that these three movies won't exist during this time period!

While domestic movie fans were incredibly excited, one person began to feel dejected.

That's right! This poor man is Wu Jing!

His film "Wolf Warrior" will be released on December 10th!

With "Mei Lanfang" and "The Forbidden Kingdom" preceding it, and "If You Are the One" by director Feng Xiaogang following behind, Wu Jingxuan's chosen release date became a nightmare!

Fortunately, there's no "Ip Man" movie in December of this lifetime, so there's no "International Dan"—well, now he should be called "Universal Dan."

His senior brother, Yu Zhou Dan, didn't say that sentence: Not all martial arts champions can become kung fu superstars!

Because the actor who plays Ip Man is still this guy!

Perhaps due to the inertia of time and space, Lin Yu did not intervene and the original timeline was indeed followed!

Apart from Shu Chang as the female lead, the cast of this movie is almost identical to that of the original timeline! There's hardly any change!

However, such a "small matter" obviously did not catch Lin Yu's eye, because he was now troubled about what gift he should bring back for Miss Liu when he went back!

After all, it had been more than two months since they last met, and he had come all the way to North America this time, so it would be a bit unreasonable not to give Miss Liu a generous gift.

Lin Yu was mainly afraid that Miss Liu would pinch him!

Those two little fingers pinching someone—ouch! Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine!

"Ugh—this is so frustrating! I just can't think of anything!" Lin Yu, who had been racking his brains for a long time, muttered to himself, scratching his hair.

Just as Lin Yu was scratching his head in frustration, he inadvertently saw the room key he had left on the table—

Thus, an "immature" idea began to slowly take root and sprout in his mind!

"Hehe—Miss Liu! Your senior brother has already thought of what gift to bring you!"

At this time, the domestic film crew of "Your Name" in the mountain village—

"Card!"

"I hereby announce that filming for 'Your Name' here has officially wrapped! We'll have a small wrap party tonight, and tomorrow we'll move on to Kyoto!"

Wen Muye, holding a megaphone, shouted excitedly:

He has now almost single-handedly completed half of this film, which represents a huge investment for him.

The sense of accomplishment I felt was simply unparalleled!

Although he would often send the footage he had filmed to Lin Yu for her to review and decide whether it was good or bad!

Fortunately, Lin Yu did not make too many changes to the scenes he had already filmed, which shows that Lin Yu believed he was fully capable of handling things on his own!

"Next time we film a movie—hehe! Maybe I'll be the only director on set—" Fumino mused.

After the film crew finished shooting, Ms. Liu, Shu Chang, and others naturally began to return to their residence to pack their luggage.

"Sissi—when is Brother Lin coming back? He's been abroad for so long, and you've finished filming your scenes here, why isn't he back yet?" Shu Chang asked Liu as soon as they got back. "He should be back soon, and my senior brother called me yesterday, saying it'll be in the next couple of days," Liu replied while packing. "You should hurry up and pack too! Maybe we'll see him when we go to Kyoto tomorrow!"

"Hehe—Sisi, you miss Brother Lin, don't you? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"screw you--"

Lin Yu did indeed board a plane back to China at this time.

And while returning to China, he also planned out his upcoming itinerary.

First, prepare the gift for Miss Liu, and then go to attend the premiere of his senior brother Chen Kaige's film "Mei Lanfang".

Chen Kaige called Lin Yu three times, afraid that his junior brother might forget about him "by accident".

So Lin Yu should attend this premiere. After that, he'll go to the set of "Your Name" to film his scenes.

Although Feng Xiaogang and the Wang brothers also contacted Lin Yu, they both wanted him to appear in "If You Are the One" and "The Forbidden Kingdom"!

Lin Yu didn't pay much attention to the two movies, which were released at different times than in the original timeline.

After all, the timeline of his movies' releases in this life had long been obliterated by this big moth.

So he's long been used to each movie being a few days or months behind the original timeline.

However, Lin Yu only accepted one of the two film offers, "The Forbidden Kingdom." After all, he couldn't give too many offers, as Lin Yu was definitely filming at the time and wouldn't have much free time.

And if it weren't for the fact that his own people were in "The Forbidden Kingdom," he wouldn't even want to go to this movie; he's really just lazy! But since he promised, he has to go, so he'll just consider it as supporting Shu Chang.

On December 2, the global premiere celebration of "Mei Lanfang" was held in Kyoto.

From the global premiere press conference that opened in the afternoon to the "Starlight Never Sleeps" premiere celebration of "Mei Lanfang" in the evening, a series of events focused everyone's attention on Chen Kaige's latest masterpiece.

At 14 PM, the global premiere celebration press conference for "Mei Lanfang" was grandly launched, mimicking the countdown to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, filling the entire venue with a rich Chinese flavor.

Chen Kaige and his wife Chen Hong, along with Li Ming, Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei, Wang Xuexi, Yu Shaoqun and other main cast members, made a joint appearance. Han Sanping, together with the famous Peking Opera master Mei Baojiu, also attended the event.

The main creators also expressed their gratitude to Master Mei for his support of the film: "Thank you, Master Mei!"

Lin Yu's arrival made Chen Kaige's lips curl into a smile even higher.

After all, Lin Yu is not as easy to invite as before. The fact that he came to this premiere is a favor to Chen Kaige.

"Junior brother! Long time no see! Haha—you've gotten even more handsome!" Chen Kaige rarely flattered Lin Yu.

"Hehe, senior brother, long time no see. You're the same as before, you haven't changed at all, you're still so young!" Lin Yu stepped forward and hugged the senior brother who had mentored him before.

After exchanging greetings, Lin Yu was seated in the first row of the audience by Chen Kaige.

After all, he was the host today, and there were many things he needed to do, so he couldn't just keep exchanging pleasantries with Lin Yu.

Lin Yu also "sensibly" sat in the seat arranged for him by his senior brother, without any intention of "wandering around the streets and alleys".

After a series of preludes, the film "Mei Lanfang" officially opened its curtain to the public at this moment.

Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang" is not a biographical film that strictly pursues historical accuracy. It uses a three-part story to restore the character: his faith and rise to fame in his youth, his emotional entanglement with Meng Xiaodong, and the Japanese occupation period.

Lin Yu, who had seen the film in his previous life, was already very familiar with the storyline.

However, he did not show any impatience. After all, it was his senior brother's place today, and he couldn't possibly ruin it, could he?

Sitting next to Lin Yu, Chen Kaige, perhaps noticing his lack of interest or perhaps harboring some kind of expectation, spoke to Lin Yu.

"Junior brother, what do you think of my movie?"

Lin Yu was slightly taken aback by Chen Kaige's sudden question. "It's great, much better than the biographical film I made recently. Senior brother, you're still got it!"

"Heh—you little rascal, always flattering me! But—have you heard? I'm planning to try and get this film approved at Berlin. Do you think it has a chance?"

"I've heard that there's a lot of buzz about your film in China. After all, your 'Farewell My Concubine' won the Palme d'Or, and coincidentally, 'Forever Enthralled' is a similar type of film, so I think there's still hope." Lin Yu lied through his teeth, "Hehe—then I'll take your good wishes, junior brother! You must attend the banquet later, we brothers can have a good chat!"

After Chen Kaige finished speaking, he sat up straight and adopted a serious expression.

Lin Yu then turned his attention to the big screen, watching the plot unfold.

Lin Yu believes that the first half of the film "Mei Lanfang" was quite brilliant. Although it is slightly inferior to Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine", it can still be considered a classic and a good movie.

But the problem lies in its second half, which makes Lin Yu feel utterly disconnected!

I don't know if it's because of the demands of this master's descendants or because of Li Ming's acting skills, but Lin Yu always felt that there was a big difference between the two halves of the performance!

If the second half of this film can maintain the narrative style of the first half, Lin Yu really thinks it might be possible to make it to Berlin.

Although Lin Yu didn't know what kind of Mr. Mei Chen imagined in his film, he felt it definitely wouldn't be like Li Ming's portrayal. Furthermore, he felt that Li Ming was far from being the best choice for Chen Kaige to play Mei Lanfang.

Although, purely in terms of temperament, Li Ming is also a suitable actor to play the role of Mei Lanfang.

Tranquil, neat, refined, graceful, and with an extraordinary temperament, Li Ming is basically a reliable actor. The only problem is that he is 5 years older than the character, so he can only play Mei Lanfang, not Mei Lanfang.

If it's wrong for celebrities to use the passing of their youth to make their fans realize the cruelty of time, then casting a frail and unkempt actor like Li Ming to play Mei Lanfang is an even bigger mistake.

The most commanding presence in this film is probably Wang Xuexi's Thirteen Swallow, which is Chen Kaige's only bright spot in "Mei Lanfang" that can be compared to the level of "Farewell My Concubine".

Some people say that Wang Xuexi's portrayal of Shisan Yan stole the show, but Lin Yu thinks this is utter nonsense. The reason why Shisan Yan stood out was not because Wang Xuexi took a step forward, but because all the other actors took a step back.

If all the characters in "Mei Lanfang" were as well-developed as Gan Sanyan, and if the script were well-structured and the director remained consistently strong, "Mei Lanfang" would still be a film comparable to "Farewell My Concubine." However, in reality, only Shisanyan's performance, like a blood-red sunset, still vaguely reminds people of Chen Kaige's former heyday.

It seems there's nothing more to say about this film. Regarding Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang," Lin Yu believes there's actually a more ideal possibility.

But Chen Kaige just didn't have that confidence. He didn't believe in his own box office appeal and didn't dare to do what Zhang Yimou did when he made "The Road Home," which led him down a path of no return.

It can't be called a road of no return—because even Lin Yu himself wouldn't dare to do it!

To make this movie well, we need to look beyond the film itself and examine Mei Lanfang as a person. We also need to find someone who understands and is skilled in opera to play Mei Lanfang. Who can play him?

Wang Gang can sing opera, but could he play Mei Lanfang? Guo Da can also sing a few lines, could he perform? And Zhang Guoli is also an amateur opera singer, but he's not really involved.

It's already difficult to find someone like Mei Lanfang in the entertainment industry, so finding someone who can sing is practically impossible.

So the only solution now is to avoid using big stars. In reality, how many people buy tickets for Chen Kaige's movies because of the big names among the actors? Aren't they attracted by the title of Palme d'Or winner?

If Chen Kaige were truly willing to forgo star power when directing "Mei Lanfang," his work would truly come alive. Not only would it avoid the nauseating lip-syncing of actors like Li Ming and Zhang Ziyi, but it would also eliminate the unsettling visual effect of stage doubles. Furthermore, it could increase the proportion of Peking Opera performances in the film, more fully showcasing the charm of Mei Lanfang and Peking Opera itself.