Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 81 Richie Jen's program was rejected?

In early February, the festive atmosphere in Beijing grew stronger day by day.

Zheng Hui and Richie Jen went to CCTV again to participate in the second dress rehearsal.

This rehearsal was more like a review; the process was very fast, and the directing team mainly focused on how smoothly the transitions between the various programs went.

Richie Jen's performance went smoothly. When he left the stage, he gave Zheng Hui an OK sign from the side.

Zheng Hui's performance of "Me and My Motherland" was scheduled for around 10 or 11 o'clock, which was a pretty good spot.

He went on stage, sang, and left the stage; the whole process was uneventful.

Someone from the production team smiled and told him to go back and wait for further instructions, speaking in a relaxed tone.

The two met backstage and both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like it's all settled." Richie Jen said with a smile.

"It's pretty close." Zheng Hui nodded.

This time, during the rehearsal review, the program wasn't skipped again, and the atmosphere backstage was much more relaxed.

Time flies, and it's February 10th, the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month.

This is the third major rehearsal for the Spring Festival Gala. This time, the main focus is on calculating the total time of all the programs and making adjustments based on needs.

The atmosphere in the studio became tense once again.

Zheng Hui and Richie Jen were waiting backstage when they could clearly hear the director urging them on through a megaphone.

"Quick! Get ready for the next program!"

"Lights alert! Camera three, get back on track!"

Zheng Hui's performance was successfully completed.

Richie Jen's "The Girl Across the Way" had a cheerful atmosphere, and he even interacted with the dancers on stage, which made some of the young staff members in the judging panel laugh.

The rehearsal ended late at night, and the two returned to their respective hotels.

The next morning, Zheng Hui was woken up by Li Zongming's knocking on the door.

"Boss, something's happened." Li Zongming held a newspaper in his hand, his face grim.

Zheng Hui took the newspaper; it was the day's "West China City Daily".

The entertainment section's headline pierced his eyes.

"99 Spring Festival Gala: Richie Jen faces dismissal."

Zheng Hui quickly scanned the contents.

Yesterday afternoon at 5 pm, the 99 Spring Festival Gala held its third major rehearsal. The pace of the program was noticeably faster this time—but it was still more than 40 minutes longer than the original 4 hours.

After repeated discussions, the production team decided to make drastic changes to some of the song and dance performances and temporarily cancel Richie Jen's solo song "The Girl Across the Way."

The newspaper also stated: "The directing team discussed the matter overnight and ultimately had to readjust some of the extra-long song and dance programs. They also selected two Taiwanese singers to participate in the gala. Tong Ange was temporarily chosen to sing a song, while Richie Jen's solo performance was temporarily canceled. The decision will be made at the fourth and fifth rehearsals depending on the situation."

Zheng Hui put down the newspaper, immediately picked up his phone, and dialed Richie Jen's number.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. Richie Jen's voice came through, a little hoarse: "Hello, Ah Hui."

"Brother Qi, have you seen the newspaper?"

"I saw it." Richie Jen's voice was tinged with suppressed anger: "Damn it, my assistant rushed in with a newspaper first thing this morning, like he was wailing at a funeral."

"What did the production team say?"

"My assistant went to inquire, and it's pretty much what the newspapers said. They said the production team didn't completely cancel it, it's just temporarily canceled, and they might add it back later because it went too far."

"Temporarily canceled—what's the difference between that and being executed?" Richie Jen said this with a self-deprecating tone.

Zheng Hui listened to the commotion on his end; it sounded like something was being smashed.

"Brother Qi, where are you now?"

"Where else could it be but a hotel room?"

"Don't move, I'm coming to you right away."

Zheng Hui hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and headed outside.

Li Zongming followed behind, asking, "Boss, where are you going?"

"Go find Brother Qi; he's not acting right right now."

Zheng Hui rushed to the hotel where Richie Jen was staying and knocked on the door.

The room reeked of smoke, the curtains were drawn, and the light was dim.

Richie Jen was wearing pajamas, his hair was messy, his eyes were bloodshot, and several empty cigarette packs were lying at his feet.

When he saw Zheng Hui, he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "You've come."

"I've read the newspaper." Zheng Hui walked into the room and pulled back the curtains.

As the sunlight streamed in, Richie Jen instinctively shielded his eyes with his hand.

"Brother Qi, things haven't reached the final stage yet."

"What's the difference?" Richie Jen slumped onto the sofa. "It depends on the situation," he said. "I've heard that kind of talk a million times. It's just a polite way of telling you to get lost."

"Selinmu, how many commercial performances did I turn down, how much money did I lose, all for this Spring Festival Gala? I came to Beijing a month in advance and stayed here, eating boxed lunches every day, like I was in prison. And what did I get in return? Just one sentence and I'm fired?"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and grabbed a glass from the table, intending to smash it on the ground.

Zheng Hui grabbed his wrist and took the glass away: "Don't take your anger out on the glass. Come on, let's go out and get something to eat."

"I'm not in the mood."

Zheng Hui pulled him up: "Even if you're not in the mood, you have to eat. Go change your clothes and wash your face. No matter how important the matter is, you have to eat first."

Half an hour later, the two were sitting in a private room at a hot pot restaurant.

Inside the copper pot, the charcoal fire burned brightly, and the broth bubbled and boiled.

Richie Jen remained silent, smoking in silence.

Zheng Hui poured the sliced ​​mutton into the pot and used serving chopsticks to separate it.

"Have something to eat." Zheng Hui put the cooked meat into his bowl.

Richie Jen didn't touch his chopsticks. He looked up and called out to the waiter, "Waiter, a bottle of Erguotou, please!"

The waiter quickly brought over a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

Richie Jen unscrewed the cap and poured himself a full cup.

"Ah Hui, you're going to drink with me to my heart's content today!"

He picked up his glass: "After I finish this, I'm going to buy a plane ticket back to Taiwan. I'd rather die than come back to this lousy place!"

He tilted his head back, ready to gulp down the glass of wine.

Zheng Hui suddenly reached out, snatched the wine glass from his hand, and slammed it heavily on the table.

The wine sloshed out and spilled all over the table.

Richie Jen was stunned. He looked at Zheng Hui, his eyes reddening, and exclaimed, "What are you doing!"

Zheng Hui didn't say anything. He picked up the bottle of Erguotou, screwed on the cap, and held it in his hand.

"Brother Qi, the newspaper says it's temporarily canceled," but the production team said it depends on the situation. This means there's still a chance things can change.

"Turning point my ass!" Richie Jen slammed his fist on the table, making the copper pot shake.

"It's not even the final rehearsal yet, how do you know there's definitely no chance?" Zheng Hui stared into his eyes.

He remembered very clearly that in his past life, Richie Jen definitely appeared on the Spring Festival Gala in 1999 and sang "The Girl Across the Way".

Something must have happened in between.

"It's not over yet, how can you give up already?"

"I firmly believe you can still go on!" Zheng Hui raised the bottle of wine: "I'll keep this bottle for now, in case, I mean if, in the end, you really can't go on."

"You'll see then, I'll finish it all in one go right in front of you as an apology."

"But you can't drink now."

Zheng Hui pointed at Richie Jen's throat: "You're a singer, that's your asset. What you need to do now is protect your voice, maintain your condition, and wait for the production team's instructions."

"Just in case, I mean just in case, we'll call you the day after tomorrow to attend the next rehearsal. If you lose your voice from drinking, even a god can't save you."

The room quieted down. Richie Jen looked at the glass of white wine on the table, then at Zheng Hui.

After a long while, Richie Jen's chest heaved violently a few times: "Gan Linmu!"

He cursed, as if venting all the resentment in his heart.

He slumped into the chair, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders twitching slightly.

Zheng Hui didn't say anything, but silently put a plate of fresh meat and vegetables into the pot.

"Eat."

Richie Jen put down his hand, picked up his chopsticks, took a slice of freshly cooked mutton, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it heartily.

He ate very quickly and forcefully, as if he was venting.

After eating several large pieces of meat, he looked up, his eyes still red: "Ah Hui, thanks."

Zheng Hui comforted him, saying, "Don't think about anything these next few days. Eat and drink as usual, just don't touch alcohol. Don't worry, just wait for our call."

Richie Jen listened and nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll wait and see; I refuse to believe this is so strange."

After dinner, Zheng Hui took Richie Jen back to his hotel.

Watching Richie Jen walk into the hotel, although he still seemed a little lonely, at least his spirit was still intact, and he still had some energy.

A few days later, the fourth dress rehearsal was held as scheduled.

At 2:30 p.m., all the actors were required to assemble in CCTV's Studio One.

Zheng Hui arrived half an hour early. He sat in a corner backstage, watching the time tick by.

At 2:30, only half of the people in the studio had arrived.

At 3 o'clock, many familiar faces still did not appear.

At 3:15, an actress who became a sensation last year with a TV series strolled in, smiling and greeting acquaintances.

At 3:30, a veteran singer arrived late, followed by several assistants carrying large and small bags.

The most outrageous thing was that at 3:50, a male singer rushed in from outside. He was wearing casual clothes, his hair was messy, and he looked tired.

He repeatedly apologized to the director who came to greet him, saying that he had just gotten off a flight from another city for a commercial performance, and the flight was delayed.

In the studio, the face of the chief director, Liu Tiemin, had turned from ashen to charcoal black.

He stood in front of the director's table, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand, without saying a word.

The atmosphere in the hall was frighteningly low, and the room began to quiet down.

Gradually, everyone present, whether actors or staff, became extremely nervous and dared not even breathe loudly.

Finally, around four o'clock, almost all the participating stars had arrived.

Liu Tiemin picked up a megaphone on the director's platform, and the megaphone emitted a piercing whistling sound.

All eyes were on him.

"Is everyone here?" Liu Tiemin's voice echoed throughout the studio through the loudspeaker.

"You look down on our stage, don't you? You think your show is a sure thing, don't you? You think the whole country is waiting to see you, don't you?"

He paused for a moment, and then, facing the hundreds of people below the stage, he shouted out the words that would later become widely known.

"Celebrities, we're begging you!"

This roar was filled with anger, disappointment, and a humble plea.

The celebrities who arrived late in the audience blushed and paled in turns, and all lowered their heads.

"Your time is valuable, but what about the time of our entire crew of hundreds? Lighting, set design, sound—hundreds of us have been waiting here for over an hour! Who are you trying to please?"

"If you don't want to, say so now! There are plenty of people out there who want to!"

Liu Tiemin slammed the megaphone onto the stage, turned around, and walked into the control room.

The rehearsal began in an extremely tense atmosphere.

Upon returning to the hotel, Zheng Hui immediately called Richie Jen and recounted everything that had happened that day.

"Brother Qi, I feel your chance has come."

"The production team is definitely going to make some major changes this time. Several of those who are too lax will probably be cut. Cutting them will free up time."

Richie Jen was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone: "Ah Hui, I hope so."

His hope seemed to have been rekindled.

Sure enough, the news spread within the industry the next day.

Several programs that were previously confirmed have been cancelled.

Among them are many familiar faces to the audience.

The entire Spring Festival Gala production team was on edge.

Two days later, the fifth rehearsal took place, which was also the last rehearsal before the Spring Festival.

When Zheng Hui walked backstage, he immediately saw that familiar figure.

Richie Jen was sitting in the corner, fixing his hair in front of a small mirror.

When he saw Zheng Hui, he stood up and gave a bright smile.

"Ah Hui!"

Zheng Hui walked over and hugged him.

"I knew it!"

"I received the notification late last night, instructing me to be there today." Richie Jen's voice was filled with the excitement of surviving a close call.

The atmosphere at this rehearsal was extremely serious.

All the actors arrived early and waited quietly backstage; no one dared to make a sound.

The production team informed us that this rehearsal would be recorded in its entirety.

In addition to the judging panel, a group of audience members were also invited to the event.

This pre-recorded video will serve as the final backup. If any irreparable major incident occurs during the live broadcast of the gala, the television station will immediately cut off the signal and replace it with this pre-recorded footage.

Everything is ready.

After the rehearsal ended, everyone received their last pass, which listed them as performers and staff of the 1999 Spring Festival Gala.

Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve.

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