Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

A month ago, when Huang Wenbin and his team were filming in Jiangmen.

An elderly man surnamed Chen, who sold large bowls of tea at Qianmen in Beijing, suddenly wrote a letter to the China Youth Daily under his real name.

The letter was written in a simple and straightforward manner, and its contents were not complicated.

Mr. Chen is a seasoned movie buff who has been watching movies since the 50s. He has become so obsessed with it that he often takes his family to the movies.

As soon as cinemas were allowed to reopen in 1977, he took his whole family to see a movie.

Soon, he discovered a problem: the domestic films were all the same few kinds, and the themes were always the same.

After introducing a few foreign films, his grandson became completely captivated and stopped watching domestic films altogether, saying that they were boring and not worth watching at all.

The old man was immediately overcome with grief. He thought to himself, "In the past, China produced countless excellent films. How come they're going to go backwards with each new one?"

He wasn't very educated and couldn't figure out the reason. He just wondered why major film studios were so stingy when making movies, completely lacking the grandeur of films like "Crossing the River to Reconnoiter," "Tunnel Warfare," and "Shangganling" from back then. Even films like "Early Spring in February" and "Li Shizhen" were becoming rare.

The editorial in *China Youth Daily* was quite direct, pointing the finger at the rigid film system, especially the policy of unified distribution and purchase. China Film Group Corporation (CFP) kept costs capped at 700,000 yuan, and the purchase price was further controlled to below 900,000 yuan. Film studios at the lower levels, wanting to survive, naturally tried every means to reduce costs and increase efficiency, making it no wonder that the films they produced were of poor quality.

This report caused a sensation as soon as it was published.

In just one month, China Youth Daily received tens of thousands of letters from readers, all discussing issues related to domestic films.

Even major film studios were severely criticized. Wang Yang, the director of Beijing Film Studio, had no choice but to bring together the directors of other major film studios to negotiate with China Film Group Corporation.

This matter has caused quite a stir, and the higher-ups are paying close attention, ordering China Film Group to resolve this issue as quickly and properly as possible.

When Huang Wenbin returned to Yanjing, the negotiations were just coming to an end, and a clear result was expected soon.

Huang Wenbin was quite surprised when he learned about this. If he remembered correctly, the historical film reform started around 1983. He didn't expect it to start so much earlier now.

Who exactly is this old man surnamed Chen, that he could cause such a big stir?

Many newspapers have been looking for this Mr. Chen, but no one has ever found him, and the China Youth Daily has also remained silent on the matter.

However, the teahouses near the front gate are doing better and better.

Of course, these things had little to do with Huang Wenbin. He went back to the Film Academy first and asked his class teacher, Sima Zhaodun, to cancel his leave.

"Is filming finished?" Sima Zhaodun is 41 years old this year. He is thin, with a gaunt face and sparse stubble on his upper lip.

Huang Wenbin nodded: "We've finished filming. We need to do the voice-over later, so I might have to ask for leave again."

"That's a small matter." Sima Zhaodun smiled. "Although you are very talented, and even famous directors praise your scripts, you have indeed fallen behind in your studies. For the next two weeks, I will personally tutor you to improve your grades and at least help you pass the exams."

Huang Wenbin said, "Thank you, teacher."

"Do you need to rest for a day or two?" Sima Zhaodun asked.

Huang Wenbin thought for a moment, then, finding that he still had some energy, said, "No need."

"Then go to class," Sima Zhaodun waved his hand. "He's in the projection room."

Huang Wenbin nodded, then went to the door of the screening room, quietly pushed it open, and tiptoed inside.

Students at Yenching Film Academy watch at least four movies a week, and sometimes two movies in a row in one day.

A student from the 78 directing class later calculated that they watched more than 780 films in four years. Some of these were so-called "internal reference films," such as the one we're watching today, "The Battle of Rome."

This is an "original soundtrack film," meaning it was not dubbed by a dubbing studio. Instead, professional staff provided simultaneous interpretation and explanation directly to the audience during the screening.

Today, the person in charge of translation and explanation is Chen Jingliang. At this time, he is a full-time translator in the Archives Department of the China Film Archive. He will be promoted to director in the future and will also be a member of the National Film Censorship Committee.

Although Huang Wenbin made a very small noise when he pushed the door open, it still attracted the attention of a few people. However, everyone just glanced at him and continued watching the movie and taking notes.

The teacher in charge of the explanation, Chen Jingliang, simply nodded slightly to Huang Wenbin and then gestured for him to find a seat.

Huang Wenbin could only choose an empty seat at the very back and sat down.

After sitting down, I was surprised to find a fragrant breeze around me.

Turning my head, I saw a young woman sitting next to me wearing a pure brown knitted cardigan. She had a gentle face and an elegant demeanor.

Feeling Huang Wenbin's gaze, she smiled slightly, said nothing, and continued watching the movie.

Huang Wenbin remembered that the woman was Fang Shu, a student in the 78 class of the Performing Arts Department.

Although this is a directing class, students in the same year who don't have other classes can come and watch.

Among the entire Class of '78 in the Performing Arts Department, the most outstanding male student was Zhou Lijing, and the most outstanding female student was Fang Shu, standing before us. In modern terms, they were the class heartthrob and the class beauty.

Fang Shu is currently the dream goddess of all the male students in the acting department. When she went to CCTV in September to film a single episode of the TV series "A Young Man", Zhang Tielin, who will later become a skating madman and a Buddha, pursued her madly. Unfortunately, Fang Shu had no interest in Zhang Tielin at all.

Her first marriage was to her first love, Chen Guoxing, a classmate. Later, due to the trivialities of her career and life, the two gradually drifted apart.

This woman was taken advantage of by Tu Honggang, who was ten years younger than her, during her single period. After marrying him in her second marriage, she immediately retired from the entertainment industry.

However, Tu was a lecherous old man. According to Mao Amin's assessment, "This man can't walk past pretty girls." He also liked to drink heavily and often beat his wife.

Ultimately, the two divorced, leaving the once-goddess in a mess. When she reappeared in the public eye, she was just an ordinary middle-aged woman.

Regarding career matters, Huang Wenbin does have the idea of ​​recruiting her, mainly to build his future team.

However, it would be foolish to interfere in other people's personal relationships; it's better to respect their fate.

Just then, he suddenly felt a pain in his lower back, as someone poked his lumbar chafing with a pen.

He gasped in pain and turned his head to look in the other direction.

Before the perpetrator even appeared, a note was handed to him: "Are you dumbfounded, you scoundrel?"

Huang Wenbin knew who it was just by looking at the handwriting.

It was his classmate, Li Shaohong.

Huang Wenbin had long noticed that Li Shaohong seemed to have a bit of a crush on him, but he had no feelings for her at all.

Li Shaohong's appearance is above average, and her temperament is passable, but unfortunately, she's not Huang Wenbin's type at all.

Having finally managed to travel through time, I should at least eat something good; there's no need to deprive myself.

Huang Wenbin decided to ignore Li Shaohong and focus on watching the movie, taking careful notes.

His handwriting and drawing skills are actually quite good. The storyboard he recorded, although seemingly hasty, is actually very artistic. With just a few strokes, he outlined the whole picture, making it unforgettable at first glance.

When it comes to storyboarding, these domestic directors each have their own unique style.

Zhang Yimou's storyboards are like those of a children's book, with a strong narrative and very neat drawings.

Feng Xiaogang's storyboards are like oil paintings, thickly applied and meticulously crafted.

Chen Kaige's storyboard is somewhat like a woodblock print, with layered shadows that are clear and distinct.

Jiang Wen, on the other hand, is a master of the unrestrained style. A frame with a few stick figures is already considered a relatively neat style of his.

Huang Wenbin is considered to be in the same school as Tsui Hark. He paints well, but he also pays more attention to artistic conception rather than realism.