Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

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Zhuang Huai'an thought about it for a long time before finally making a decision.

After finding the mundane yet impactful movie script in the documents, I made a phone call and returned to the Beijing Film Studio's residential compound.

The one who opened the door was Xie Lao's second daughter, whom Zhuang Huai'an always called Second Sister Xie.

"Huai'an is here, come in and sit down." Second Sister Xie warmly welcomed him into the door.

"Why."

As Zhuang Huai'an walked in and was greeting people, he noticed that Professor Xie was also there, raising an eyebrow at him.

Without a second thought, he stepped forward and bowed deeply at a sixty-degree angle, saying respectfully:

"Professor Xie, I apologize for the intrusion and for disturbing you."

Old Xie's eyes were kind. "I'm so happy that you could come to see this old man. Please sit down."

"OK."

Xie Erjie brought over tea, and Zhuang Huai'an stood up to take it. This was not a pretense, but rather a display of manners he had been taught since childhood.

"I just finished reading the script you gave to Xiaofei. It's really well written. No wonder people outside call you the god of screenwriting. I think it's very fitting."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled modestly. Although these were all works he had copied, receiving praise from this person meant that these works had not been wasted.

"Thank you for your kind words, Professor Xie. I've come to visit with a notebook that would be particularly suitable for you."

Zhuang Huai'an opened his briefcase, took out a script, and handed it over with both hands.

"like?"

Looking at the words on the cover, Old Xie shook his head and chuckled, "I'm too old for this stuff."

"Mr. Xie, would you please take a look?"

"Alright."

Mr. Xie took the reading glasses handed to him by his daughter, put them on, and became engrossed in the story after only watching the beginning.

This piqued Professor Xie's curiosity. A good script is more attractive to a director than a beautiful woman in a body art piece.

After a while,

Mr. Xie closed the script, a tear glistening in his eye.

"What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it? This book is worthy of the name 'Love'."

Old Xie took off his glasses, wiped his eyes, handed the script to Professor Xie beside him, and looked at Zhuang Huai'an with gentle eyes.

"Huai'an, I know what you're thinking, but this notebook isn't suitable for me."

"Mr. Xie, you..." Zhuang Huai'an was momentarily at a loss, as this was the very person he had specially chosen to repay a favor.

"Don't worry, let me tell you."

Old Master Xie slowly began, "Firstly, it's my own fault. My wife and I have known each other since childhood, we're childhood sweethearts. Now that we're both old, I'm afraid I'll become too attached to the past..."

Secondly, this film is excellent. You already have three major awards and two major gold medals; this film has the potential to help you complete the Grand Slam. I don't want to take away your opportunity.

Mr. Xie spoke frankly, his gaze gentle, "Huai'an, you are now the face of Beijing Film Academy and the face of Chinese-language cinema. I am getting old and I want to see you bring Chinese-language cinema to the world. This is the lifelong wish of our generation."

Zhuang Huai'an was speechless upon hearing this.

He can't exactly say, "It's okay, I still have a lot of good scripts and movies in my head."

He couldn't say that times have changed, that making a good movie doesn't guarantee an award anymore, and that in this world, background, connections, and resources matter.

finally,

Zhuang Huai'an returned the way he came with the script; this was the first time he had failed to deliver the script.

Actually, he never really thought about directing the movie "Love". Although he had the whole plot in his mind, he was not sure about the slow pace between the old people.

While the original version is excellent, it has also been criticized for the details of how the elderly interact. It's worth noting that the director of the original version, Michael Haneke, is himself an old man.

Moreover, this movie is very out of touch with reality and too bourgeois. It's suitable for criticizing older white men, but it's hard for Chinese people to understand.

To paraphrase the words of the great warrior Comrade Cuiping: Would women in the mountains cry and whine?

Moreover, the old woman in the movie could still walk a few steps.

That's enough.

Anyway, he can't possibly win all three gold medals in a short time. He can hire someone to take the photos later and boost the company's awards. Let's put it off for now.

Speaking of Cuiping,

Zhuang Huai'an flipped through the memories in his mind,

The original novel of "Lurking" seems to have been published not long ago; this award-winning drama is not to be missed.

Back at the company, he asked Zhong Lifang to follow up on the matter. The company hadn't started any new dramas this year, and the writers were all bored out of their minds. It was time to find them something to do.

The next day,

Zhong Lifang successfully acquired the adaptation rights to "Lurking". Zhuang Huai'an thought about it and realized that such a serious drama still needed someone to oversee it. He made a phone call to Jiang Wei, a teacher in the directing department, who was also the original director.

The two got along well before because of "Gone Girl".

After discussing the matter over the phone, Jiang Wei readily agreed to serve as the cultural consultant. 91 Company is now a "mini-Beijing Film Academy," so there wouldn't be many restrictions on him after he joined.

Good things always come in pairs.

Lan Xiaolong brought good news: the script for "Soldiers Sortie" has been completed.

Zhuang Huai'an glanced at it and found it to be almost identical to the original drama. So, with a wave of his hand, he launched the project!

The director was still Kang Honglei. When he heard Zhuang Huai'an call him by name, he came over in a hurry, bringing with him a group of his confidants, all of whom came from the military region's cultural troupe.

The cast was personally selected by Zhuang Huai'an: Baoqiang as Xu Sanduo, Duan Yihong as Yuan Lang, Zhang Guoqiang as Lao Qi, Zhang Yi as Shi Jin, and Xing Jiadong as Qiao Longbiao... cough, no, Wu Liuyi.

They only changed the actor playing Cheng Cai, and directly used their own perennial runner-up, Yuan Hong, who also has a very frivolous vibe.

The rest were left to Kang Honglei and Lan Xiaolong to handle.

July has passed, and the summer movie season on the small screen continues to be fiercely contested.

CCTV heavily promoted "The Lotus Lantern," broadcasting it day and night, captivating viewers and achieving ratings of around 10% for both the first and rebroadcast episodes.

Following his role as Xiao Li Tan Hua, Jiao Shu once again landed a role that was his signature. With a turn in the bamboo forest, he became the representative of Erlang Shen.

"Bright Sword," which was hailed as a Waterloo by Chung Lai-fang, is far ahead with an average viewership rating of 14%. According to experts, the finale is expected to break 17%, shaking the status of the Legend of Sword and Fairy series.

"Water Moon Cave 2" maintained a stable output, with an average viewership rating of 8%, which was slightly lower than the first season, but it was still considered a big hit.

As a derivative IP of "The Fairy Couple", "Happy Seven Fairies" focuses on fantasy, comedy, romance and beautiful women. This kind of TV series is suitable for all ages and has a large market. It averaged 8% and the finale broke 10%. With this result, it is expected to enter the top 20 of the 2005 TV ratings.

The most surprising one is "The Deer and the Cauldron".

Originally, it was thought that with the success of Chicken and Stephen Chow, this drama might not achieve good results. However, due to the suitable casting and the hype of being the first mainland Chinese adaptation of The Deer and the Cauldron, the ratings broke 7% on the first day of airing and continued to rise, stabilizing around 9%.

After watching a few episodes, Zhuang Huai'an realized that Guo Jinfei was indeed a natural actor. He captured Wei Xiaobao's slickness with a hint of slyness, along with his occasional neuroticism, quite perfectly.

Tsk, with that eccentric temperament, Guo Jinfei could take over Wang Jingsong's job.

In early August,

After a year in the making, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has finally been released.

It will air on CCTV-8, taking over the time slot from "The Lotus Lantern".

Upon its premiere, the show's ratings immediately jumped to 10%, and after Xiaolongnu appeared, they gradually rose to around 15% before stabilizing.

This allowed people in the industry to witness the charm of the "celestial beauty" once again.

After two months of fierce fighting,

The summer movie season on the small screen has officially come to an end.

"The Jade Maiden's Heart Sutra" ultimately couldn't beat "The Italian Cannon," while "Bright Sword" secured its place as the top drama of 05 with an average viewership of 17% and a finale rating of 19%.

Adding to the other TV dramas produced or invested in by 91 Company, it is foreseeable that when CCTV compiles the top 20, it will definitely shock many people.