Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Actually, neither of them was very interested in their respective scripts at first.

Yang Che hoped to obtain some of the behind-the-scenes resources of Ulan Tana, those capable and young behind-the-scenes personnel. After all, he couldn't hand over the entire crew to the director alone; he wasn't Fan Zeping.

Ulan Tana hoped to get investment from Yang Che's "elders in the family," so she patiently explained the plot of "Warm Spring," and from time to time pointed out what made it so appealing.

Then Yang Che felt unwell all over. Ulan Tana's starting point of wanting to praise the truth, goodness and beauty in human nature was naturally good.

The creative idea was to have Xiaohua take the action that seemed most morally perfect.

But this goes against human nature, concentrating all imaginable difficulties on the most vulnerable shoulders, and then expecting this most vulnerable little girl to embrace all suffering with the greatest resilience, tolerance and kindness, and naively believing that this creates the greatest kindness.

If Ulan Tana's goal was to make the audience cry, that's true, but she has become trapped in her own world. She really hopes that the "little flower" on the screen can educate people.

This made even a seasoned veteran like Yang Che, who had experienced countless trials and tribulations, feel somewhat uncomfortable, and even a little fearful.

Creating a character that is almost impossible to achieve, whose only purpose is to provide the audience with false and cheap spiritual comfort within two hours, is not only useless but also despicable.

Indeed, human cognition progresses in a spiral and waves.

Yang Che initially responded to Ulan Tana very seriously, but later he became very perfunctory.

Although he knew that "Little Flower" had won many awards and performed well at the box office, he had already given up the idea of ​​investing in it. Yes, he originally wanted to invest, after all, the film would cost less than 100 million to make, and "My Sassy Girl" would definitely not cost 400 million.

He wasn't a good person in the traditional sense, but he was definitely not a scoundrel who would make money from anything.

It's good that he didn't realize the meaning of "Warm Spring" at first, but now that he has figured it out, how could he possibly still invest?

"Sister Tana, the sincere emotions and profound humanistic concern in your script, once it's made into a film, will definitely be a very influential and heartwarming realist movie. Could you please make a copy of the script outline for me later? I'll show it to my uncle when he comes back in a few days."

Yang Che was obviously talking nonsense, but he simply didn't want to listen anymore.

"Okay, thank you, thank you."

"Leave me your contact information."

After saying this, Yang Che remembered that he still had a cell phone in his bag and that he would have to get a SIM card later.

Ulan Tana also used a pager, so the two exchanged pager numbers.

"Sister Tana, do you know any photographers who have solid basic skills and produce beautiful images without showing off their techniques?"

Ulan Tana laughed upon hearing this. She understood that Yang Che was looking for capable "tools." After thinking for a moment, she said, "There's someone in Beijing's gay scene named Zhao Xiaoding. All the gay directors love using him. There's also Zeng Jian, a third-year cinematography student at the Beijing Film Academy. I've seen his documentary; it's very well done..."

Yang Che was completely dumbfounded, and he didn't pay any attention to the next few things Ulan Tana said.

He only knows Zhao Xiaoding, Zhang Yimou's go-to cinematographer, which means he's still involved in the gay scene?

He secretly sighed, thinking that talented people naturally gain fame over time, and once given the opportunity, they will soar to great heights.

Unbeknownst to Yang Che, the following year, Zhang Yimou met Zhao Xiaoding while filming a promotional video for the Olympic bid, and from that moment on, their passion ignited and spiraled out of control...

Afterwards, Ulan Tana took out her contact list from her bag, which was full of handwritten notes. She then wrote down the contact information of several photographers, editors, audio recorders, lighting technicians, and so on for Yang Che. There were cell phone numbers and pager numbers, all of whom she considered capable and competent.

At this point, both of them were very happy.

Faced with Ulan Tana's enthusiasm, Yang Che felt a little reluctant to give in...

"Come on, let me buy you a drink."

Not far from the film studio, at the entrance of Taoyuan Second Alley, there is a stall selling lamb skewers. It only sells lamb skewers. The owner wears a white hat and has been selling them for 10 years. Back then, a skewer cost one cent.

Yang Che's dad brought him over to eat, and he would buy 50 or 100 skewers at a time, along with chugging Yingze beer he had bought from elsewhere.

Back in 1999, the owner was still wearing a white hat, and the store already had a storefront, selling Tsingtao beer and Taiyuan Iron & Steel soda.

Hmm... It was still open in 2109, but the owner had changed. It seemed to be some kind of popular skewer restaurant. Yang Che looked at it from the roadside but didn't go in to eat.

Yang Che walked up and shouted, "Boss, give me 100 skewers!"

"Okay, have a seat first, help yourself to your drink."

It was not yet 6 p.m., and the sun had not yet set, but three gangsters who looked like gangsters were already sitting at a small square table on the sidewalk. When they heard Yang Che's loud voice, they all looked over, glancing at Yang Che and then at Ulan Tana.

That look in her eyes seemed to say, "Ulan Tana must be very rich..."

Ulan Tana naturally had feelings for Yang Che. Of course, he was a good-looking younger brother who called her "sister" this and "sister" that, and they could talk about art together. If she didn't like him, would she dislike him?

As for thoughts like "let's have sex," that's definitely not the case; it's not that far off.

Yang Che maintained a distance, treating Yang Che as a senior and seeking his advice on industry knowledge. There are some things you can never know if you're not in this industry.

As we chatted, the conversation turned to China Film Group, which was established two months prior.

Ulan Tana expressed her deep concern: "Everyone knows that the first thing China Film Group will do is abolish 'centralized purchase and distribution' and 'tiered distribution,' and implement market competition. But if they do that, won't art be held hostage by box office revenue?"

Yang Che really wanted to say: If the people like it, and you don't, who do you think you are?

However, he said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Businesses are going bankrupt and closing down, but the government still has to pay for all these film studios and cinemas across the country. The burden is getting heavier and heavier, and there aren't many excellent works being produced. We can't make movies that the people like. Reform is imperative. Top-down reform is always better than bottom-up reform."

"I know, but..."

Ulan Tana launched into another long speech, stating that even today, many people still firmly believe that personal destiny and national destiny are intertwined. Correspondingly, the immigration rate of university graduates and the elite class was highest between 1999 and 2009, far exceeding that of the 1980s and 1990s.

Later, the immigration rate gradually declined, and people stopped talking about it.