1978 Synthetic Writers - Chapter 484: Showing Love to the People of the Country
1978 Synthetic Writers
Chapter 484: Showing Love to the People of the CountryChapter 484: Showing Love to the People of the Country
"Interested in movies?"
Zhu Lin is an actress.
And Bertolucci asked her if she was interested in movies.
The implication was obvious.
Bertolucci asked Zhu Lin whether she was willing to star in "The Last Emperor".
When these words were spoken, everyone present was surprised.
Including Jiang Xian.
Of course he wanted to introduce Zhu Lin to the movie "The Last Emperor", but he hadn't mentioned it yet, and Bertolucci actually took the initiative to bring it up.
After a brief moment of surprise, Zhu Lin quickly organized her words and smiled generously.
"I can't say how much I know about this movie. I just heard my wife talk about some of the content of the movie. I know that this movie tells the ups and downs of Puyi's life from becoming an emperor to finally becoming an ordinary citizen over a period of 60 years. I have seen "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Empress Dowager Cixi" by Hong Kong director Li Hanxiang. I think this movie will not lose to these two films in terms of scenes.
I have been making movies for many years and have made many films before, and have won some awards, but I have never participated in the filming of this type of movie. If you ask me if I am interested, I think I would be very happy to participate. "
Zhu Lin's answer was neither humble nor arrogant, and not a single mistake was made. She had been to the United States and had met foreigners. She knew that their speaking habits were different from those of Chinese people, and she couldn't beat around the bush.
Although she didn't understand why Bertolucci suddenly asked her this, she did not hide her desire to star in this movie in her answer.
"Director Bei, I have to recommend it to you."
Translator Gong Haoxiang looked at Bertolucci with great enthusiasm, "You may not know how good an actor Comrade Zhu Lin is in our country.
Previously, a film called "Shaolin Temple" was released in our country. This film is equivalent to the American "Gone with the Wind". It created a huge box office miracle and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a household name.
Zhu Lin is the leading actress of this movie.
I heard that this film was also shown in Japan and South Korea a few years ago, and it also became a sensation at the box office in those two countries.”
The Nam Chao Xian mentioned by Gong Haoxiang is South Korea. In later generations, it has become common to call it South Korea, but at this moment, the Chinese do not accept or recognize the name of South Korea.
Because during this period, there was a very subtle phenomenon, that is, the countries in the SHzy camp did not call South Korea "South Korea", but called it "South Korea", while the countries in the ZBzu camp did not call North Korea "North Korea", but called it "North Korea".
Let’s talk about “Shaolin Temple”.
As a landmark work in the history of martial arts movies, the film set off a viewing craze after its release in China. Even now, many rural areas are still playing this film back and forth.
At the same time, this movie made the "Shaolin Temple", which had been ignored for many years, become a hit.
Overseas, "Shaolin Temple" was first released in Hong Kong. As the first mainland Kung Fu film to be released in Hong Kong, and under the complicated environment at the time, "Shaolin Temple" set an extremely high record of more than 10 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, breaking the highest box office record in the history of Hong Kong Kung Fu films in one fell swoop.
Subsequently, "Shaolin Temple" was introduced to Japan and set a box office record of more than 40 billion yen.
The year before last, in 1983, "Shaolin Temple" was released in South Korea, where it continued to be a hit, setting a box office record of more than 50 billion won.
At this time, someone will say something.
Ten million Hong Kong dollars, 40 billion Japanese yen, and 50 billion Korean won may sound like a lot, but they are actually not worth much.
Not too much.
But they are few in number!
And movie tickets are cheap right now!How popular is Shaolin Temple in Japan and South Korea? Li Lianjie has become an idol for Japanese and Korean teenagers! Even many Japanese and Korean girls regard Li Lianjie as their dream lover, and love letters and gifts for Li Lianjie are sent to Beijing across the ocean.
In addition to Japan and South Korea, in recent years, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Africa, Central and South America, Southeast AsiaThere is a wave of watching "Shaolin Temple" in all five oceans.
In short, two words:A hit!
This kung fu film was so famous that Bertolucci, a director who traveled between Europe and Hollywood, was immediately surprised and looked at Zhu Lin when he heard Gong Haoxiang mention "Shaolin Temple".
He was attracted by Zhu Lin's image at first sight.
In Bertolucci's view, Zhu Lin is a very typical image of an oriental beauty.
And there is a very noble temperament between Zhu Lin's eyebrows.
This kind of temperament seems to be something that every queen has, and Bertolucci cannot describe it.
In fact, in Chinese it is called: Mother of the World!In a trance, Bertolucci felt that this was the image of the queen he was looking for.
Therefore, he couldn't help but say this and asked Zhu Lin if she was interested in participating in the filming.
The result surprised him.
Jiang Xian’s wife actually has such an extraordinary identity!She starred in Shaolin Temple? And she was the female lead!Bertolucci immediately became interested in Zhu Lin.
Moreover, director Bertolucci understands "traffic" very well. When making a movie, he wants to cram all the "big names" into the movie.
For example, Ying Ruocheng, then deputy minister of culture.
Everyone knows that this person played a prison warden.
There is also Comrade Ryuichi Sakamoto, who composed the music for the film. Sakamoto himself is a staunch communist fighter, but he did not play a good role in the film. He was the highest chief of the puppet Manchukuo police. On the surface, he supported Puyi, the emperor of the puppet Manchukuo, but in fact he was under the orders of Japanese Emperor Showa and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo to monitor Puyi.
In addition to these two, our little prince of poetry, Chen Ai Ge, is also involved.
That’s right, Chen Ai Ge!
He also made a cameo appearance, with lines to his name. At the beginning of the movie, there was a captain in armor reading an imperial edict. That was him.
Later, that character became a gatekeeper of the Forbidden City. He also appeared when Puyi was being stopped. While stopping Puyi, he showed sympathetic eyes to him.
Therefore, after hearing about Zhu Lin's extraordinary acting experience, Bertolucci's original momentary interest suddenly turned into excitement.
"How good is your English?"
"It's okay." Zhu Lin replied.
Zhu Lin had been exposed to English since she first met Jiang Xian, and having lived in the United States for more than half a year, basic English communication was not a problem for her.
"Perfect."
Bertolucci was simply too pleased.
His heart, which had been blocked by Jiang Xian's anger all night, suddenly became clear the moment he saw Zhu Lin.
This actress not only satisfied him in terms of her image, but also spoke English and, most importantly, had a certain international reputation and seemed to be very popular among Chinese people.
Isn't this better than Chen Chong?!
Although Jiang Xian and Bertolucci had talked about how bad Chen Chong's image was in the eyes of the Chinese, Bertolucci still gave Chen Chong some chance in his heart.
Actors are really easy to find, but also really hard to find.
Moreover, Chen Chong was recommended by his producer Jeremy Thomas.
Thomas is a producer with a very strong personality. In order to ensure that Bertolucci's creation would not be disturbed, he did not allow Hollywood film giants to participate in the investment. Instead, he went to five European banks and borrowed US$500 million from each of them based on his own reputation.
With such a great favor in mind, Bertolucci naturally had to give careful consideration to the candidate Thomas recommended to him.
Therefore, Chen Chong is still Bertolucci's last backup. If he cannot find the Wanrong he has in mind, Bertolucci will have to let Chen Chong play the role of Wanrong.
but now.When Bertolucci saw Zhu Lin, he had the same illusion as when he saw John Lone, that this actress was born for this role.
They fit perfectly in every aspect!
As for Thomas.
As I said, everything is for the good of the movie!
With a loan of 2500 million US dollars, it can be said that both Bertolucci and Thomas were on the edge of a cliff, taking a huge gamble.
$2500 million to make a movie!The banks were afraid to lend to them. Not only did they require guarantees for the loans, they also sent specialists to supervise the crew during filming to prevent them from spending money recklessly.
So at this moment, neither Bertolucci nor Thomas cared about each other's face.
Do whatever is good for the movie.
After chatting for a while, Zhu Lin left with Jiang Xian's reply to "Huacheng". This Chinese female comrade also left a very deep impression on Bertolucci.
"I want to find some films your wife has starred in." Bertolucci and Jiang Xian said.
"Films you've acted in?"
Jiang Xian thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you don't have to go out of your way to look for it. The day after tomorrow night, take an hour to watch some TV. CCTV is going to broadcast a TV series starring my wife."
"TV drama?"
Soon the day arrived.
Out of curiosity, Bertolucci specially set aside an hour in the evening, at the time Jiang Xian mentioned, and with the help of translator Gong Haoxiang, he tuned the TV in the hotel room to the CCTV channel.
The screen flashed, and first a few clouds appeared, and then a few red words popped out from the clouds:"Episode 16"
"Interesting Journey to the Kingdom of Women"
That’s right, the movie Jiang Xian asked Bertolucci to watch was “Journey to the West” directed by Yang Jie.
The episode "Fun Journey to the Kingdom of Women" starring him and Zhu Lin has finally been aired.
At the beginning of the scene, there is a chilly and cold air, and the music also has a scary taste. The scene is a cave with silk draped everywhere, and it is only illuminated by a few braziers. Little demons in strange costumes are standing guard with weapons in their hands, and there are also some bones and other decorations.
As the camera moves forward, a woman dressed in ancient costume appears in the camera.
"King Dai!"
"King Dai!"
"Ok?"
"Did you find out?"
"I have learned that the new king of the Xiliang Women's Kingdom has ascended the throne recently."
"Good~"
The female character has a ferocious look on her face as she holds up the pipa, her expression full of conspiracy and somewhat creepy.
"This is one of the four great classics of our China, Journey to the West."
Gong Haoxiang stared at the TV with great interest and explained to Bertolucci, "You know Buddhism, right? This is a story about four Buddhist disciples who went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Among these four disciples, only two are human, one is a monkey spirit, and the other is a pig spirit."
"interesting."
Bertolucci did not know much about China. Although he dared to borrow 2500 million to shoot "The Last Emperor", he was actually driven more by passion. Before coming to China, his knowledge of China was limited to a 220-minute documentary "China" shot by Antonioni.
As the scenes switch, the four masters and apprentices make their grand appearance.
Bertolucci also saw the strange-looking four-man team of masters and apprentices that Gong Haoxiang mentioned.
But what surprised Bertolucci the most was...
This monk in a red robe seems familiar.
"River!"
Bertolucci jumped up suddenly, "Is it Jiang Xian?!"
Gong Haoxiang had also seen it a long time ago, and now he confidently confirmed it several times.
Not good!
This Tang Monk is actually played by Jiang Xian!
In the acting industry, it seems that anyone can get involved, including cooks, singers, models, live-streamers, and those who are "born by their mothers."
It is rare for writers to switch careers and become actors, and most of them just play guest roles in film and television works.
If I have to say, Zhang Yi is such a person.
That’s right, Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi had no roles to play in the early days because he was ugly. He spent a long time as a writer and screenwriter. His writing and screenwriting skills are quite good, and he has won many awards.
But in general, there are very few writers who switch careers to become actors.
It is no wonder that Bertolucci and Gong Haoxiang almost dropped their jaws when they saw Jiang Xian’s portrayal of Tang Monk.
"Jiang's acting is quite natural." Although Bertolucci could not quite understand it, he knew that Jiang Xian should be playing the role of a highly respected monk. After watching Jiang Xian's performance for a while, he felt that there were some remarkable aspects in his performance.
And Gong Haoxiang has never missed every episode of "Journey to the West".
So he knew that the actor who played Tang Monk in "Journey to the West" was Wang Yue.
Wang Yue plays the role of Monk Tang, who looks pious yet a little naive.
In contrast, the Tang Monk played by Jiang Xian has clear eyes, as if he has experienced some hardships and begun to understand human nature.
When it comes to acting, Gong Haoxiang is an amateur and can only feel that Jiang Xian’s acting is not bad, and his outstanding and handsome appearance is not inferior to that of Wang Yue of the previous generation.
In the room, Bertolucci and Gong Haoxiang became more and more excited as they watched, but as the picture changed, another unexpected figure appeared.
Bertolucci touched his forehead.
“Isn’t this Jiang’s wife?”
"It's really Comrade Zhu Lin!" Gong Haoxiang was surprised.
Looking at the Queen of the Kingdom of Daughters, who was like the moon surrounded by stars, sitting on the throne, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes were like shooting stars, her skin was like solidified fat, and her teeth were like shells.
For a moment, Gong Haoxiang felt that his breathing almost stopped.
nice!So beautiful!Bertolucci also saw some of what he wanted in this elegant and noble king role.
No wonder Jiang Xian asked him to watch this!In just a moment, Bertolucci decided that he must invite the actress Zhu Lin!
While Bertolucci and Gong Haoxiang were watching TV in their hotel room, countless TV sets in the country were also broadcasting "Journey to the West" at the same time, including the first episode of "A Funny Journey to the Kingdom of Women".
As the plot unfolds, the audience gradually sinks into this exquisite love story of Journey to the West.(End of this chapter)