independent filmmaker

At the same time as La Cenchen, Xie Lansheng was also hiring a photographer.Xie Lansheng never forgets the Qi Yong that Xin Ye mentioned—the Qi Yong who is very serious as long as he picks up the camera.

Xie Lansheng also investigated and found that Qi Yong is also a true love movie.Ten years ago, there were very few Chinese in Hollywood, and some people even thought that Asians had no artistic aesthetics.Because Qi Yong likes photography, he went to various companies to introduce himself, and finally found a chore of "picking up broken film" - photography and editing belong to the same group. When doing post-production, the editing room will be full of broken film, and Qi Yong's work It just kept picking them up all day long, without even having a chance to raise their heads.Then one day, a big director needed 6 machines for a certain scene, but there were not enough camera assistants, so the director asked Qi Yong, who was still picking up film, to be on top. Qi Yong did a very good job, and he became a photographer assistant.During his studies, Qi Yong bought a camera himself, and also liked to take pictures and practice from the side when the actors were rehearsing, and asked the printing room to help with the development, and then compared with the director's shots, summarizing his own shortcomings.His skills gradually improved. Once, a certain director happened to see his work in the printing room and admired it very much. From then on, Qi Yong came out on top.Although not very famous, but at least he is a photographer.

Xie Lansheng knew that if he didn't really like him, it would be impossible to do this.

But the problem is, he also loves money... There is no conflict, he can choose movies within the range of satisfactory salary.

I can only try it.

Xie Lansheng asked Xin Ye to get the phone number of the other party, and made an appointment for a time that was more suitable for both of them.Xin Ye said that every household in the United States has a telephone, and Xie Lansheng guessed so.

It turns out that what Xin Ye said was correct.

On the phone, Qi Yong, who was eager to break a dollar into two, said: "My weekly salary is [-] US dollars. Without this amount, we can't talk about it!"

10 a week, Xie Lansheng was so frightened that he lost his voice. After a long time, he said with difficulty: "Our budget here is... 1000 a month, RMB, which is equivalent to about 200 US dollars." Up to 500's.

Qi Yong: "..." 80000 to 200 times worse, it works.

Xie Lansheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue: "The script of "Growing Roots" is very interesting, the actor Xin Ye is willing to come, and the other movie starring Ouyang Nannan is also very good. This movie will let the public know that China also has independence. Movies are very meaningful and valuable. In addition, everyone can know that there are still some phenomena in China, so as to help certain groups-"

"I have read all the faxed scripts, and they are not bad, but," Qi Yong said, "I don't do charity."

Xie Lansheng was silent.

Qi Yong said again: "I am a photographer, not a producer or a director. Basically, I can only earn a weekly salary, and I can't make a lot of money. Can your "Rooting" attract attention at the film festival? Talk to photographers behind the scenes. It doesn’t matter too much. Sorry, I’m not great enough to not be paid to make public service films. Besides, there are so many public service films in the world. Even if I want to make public service films, I won’t cooperate with newcomers. Your film is likely to be nine out of ten It can’t be screened anywhere, so why did you film it? Do you want to watch it yourself? You may not know it yet. If you want to participate in film festivals in Europe and the United States, you need contacts, and you must have well-known producers and directors to show the film to the organizing committee. You No connections, Xinye probably has no connections, so please don’t feel wronged by getting 1000 RMB a month, huh? That’s fine, bye bye.” Now he has a lot of similar stories, a better team, Zhou A movie with a salary of [-] yuan is waiting for him to accept it, so there is really no need to agree to this Xie Lansheng.

"Hey...!" Xie Lansheng didn't want to give up, and tried hard to persuade the other party, but failed, and in the end, he could only say goodbye as Qi Yong said.

However, Xie Lansheng was not reconciled.He has seen a few movies shot by Qi Yong before, and in the past few days, he felt that the other party's level is really good - Luo Dajing is not bad, but Qi Yong can beautify the picture.Now that he has connected, he doesn't want to give up easily.After seeing Qi Yong's strength, he doesn't like others anymore, or in other words, he can't get in touch with those he likes, and he doesn't like those he can get in touch with.Xie Lansheng felt that no matter what, it really didn't work out before we talked about it.

So, Xie Lansheng asked Xin Ye to help him find out about Qi Yong.

About a week later, Xie Lansheng accidentally got a piece of information from Xinye: Qi Yong is quite patriotic.Because he wanted to earn some dollars, he studied in the United States in 1979 and stayed there after graduation, but the essence remained the same.People of his generation have a strong "I and the motherland" elite thinking, not to mention, Qi Yong was born on April 1958, 4, the day when the Monument to the People's Heroes was completed, it is conceivable that people around him must keep mentioning to him This coincidence, something is ingrained.After arriving in the United States, he joined Chinese-American organizations and participated in many activities, supporting and supporting some activities being held across the ocean, such as the Asian Games.

"..." Xie Lansheng wanted to try.

He asked his good friend in Shenzhen to take some photos of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and send them to him.

In 1991, Shenzhen was young and prosperous.

In the 1980 years from 1990 to 10, Shenzhen's population increased from 33 to 165 million, its GDP increased from 2.7 million yuan to 172 billion, and its per capita GDP also increased from 1000 yuan to 10000, mainly due to exports.This is the only place in the country where you can "work". Migrant workers and girls flock to Shenzhen to seek opportunities, while elsewhere, the policy of "leaving the land without leaving the hometown" is still implemented. Traditional farmers can only go to factories and towns in the countryside. on the factory.

In short, the city of Shenzhen is very different from the past.

Friends quickly sent pictures.

Xie Lansheng and Xin Ye sat at the same table and watched.

Xie Lansheng first picked up one, very satisfied, and explained to Xinye: "Look, this one is Zhongying Street." He had read in the newspaper that there were more and more people on "Zhongying Street", usually 1 people a day People, there are 10 people every day during holidays, people are crazy about buying foreign goods, and then look at the Pearl of the Orient across the sea.

Xinye looked at it, and actually thought it was okay.He is tired of using top extravagance, and there are many more brands in LA.

"Well," Xie Lansheng picked up the second one and looked at it carefully.In the photo, there is a huge billboard across the road from the train station, with the words "Pepsi" and "Seven Up" written on it, instead of various slogans.These brands are officially stationed, not just in Chung Ying Street.

The third photo was taken at the Shenzhen port.Containers from various countries were unloaded one by one.Xie Lansheng heard that there were even high-end cars secretly transported to Guangdong, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW——

In the fourth photo, the store is full of goods, and in the fifth photo, the Avon lady with makeup is selling products on the road. This kind of buying and selling has not been done in other places.

A few seconds later, Xie Lansheng picked up another one: "Wow, this is the Shenzhen Stock Exchange...! Do you see that, there are so many people." After the approval, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange also rushed ahead of Shanghai to "trial market opening". It is said that the person in charge of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was very angry and said, "The baby has been born, and can I still press it back into the mother's belly?"

Xin Ye was still lazy as usual: "Yeah." He also bothered about NASDAQ and NYSE since he was a child.

Xie Lansheng saw another one: "This is the Splendid China~ It seems to be called "Theme Park". It opened at the end of last year. There are models of various scenic spots. They are all built to scale. There is the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and Otherwise, it's very, very fun."

Xinye said again: "Yes." She lacked interest in fake scenic spots.Many of the above things are true, let alone fake ones?

Behind it is Shenzhen University, the newly built Shenzhen Airport, and the newly completed Shenzhen New Station.

Seeing the last picture, Xie Lansheng was suddenly excited, patted Xinye's hand, and said, "Hey, this is... McDonald's!"

Xin Ye: "..."

Xie Lansheng: "Have you heard of it? McDonald's is the largest chain restaurant in the world! It only opened in October last year. It is the only one in China. My friend said it was very delicious! There are hamburgers, French fries, and a restaurant called It’s from “Xindi”! Well, I really want to try it, hey.” In the photo, the store’s signboard has yellow letters on a red background, and a clown sits on the roof. There are so many people outside Guanghua Building that the entire road is blocked.

Xin Ye raised her head and answered casually: "What can I eat at McDonald's?" The food inside is full of junk food, just looking at it is enough.

Xin Ye looked down on McDonald's, and Xie Lansheng was not happy when he heard it.From just now, Xin Ye acted as if he had seen the world, he didn't like this or that, he hated it.Xie Lansheng stood up suddenly, looked down at Xinye, put his hands on his hips, and asked loudly: "Why is it not delicious? Everyone says it is delicious! I want to eat McDonald's! I have to eat McDonald's once!"

Xin Ye was taken aback, and hurriedly coaxed: "Okay, okay, eat McDonald's, eat McDonald's."

"..."

"After filming "Rooting", the two of us will go to Shenzhen to eat McDonald's, okay?"

After hearing this, Xie Lansheng's anger subsided, he sat down again, and said, "That's not necessary."

Xin Ye narrowed her eyes.

This Xie Lansheng, who is usually cheerful and kind, has a little violent temper towards him.

Xie Lansheng gathered all the photos with fair hands and stuffed them back into the envelope.

Xinye asked, "What are you going to use these for?"

Xie Lansheng smiled: "Try it first, talk about it when you succeed, and don't talk about it if you don't succeed."

Qi Yong likes movies and banknotes, so it's best to satisfy him.

…………

Xie Lansheng asked Qi Yong for his mailing address in the United States, and said that he would send him some things. Although Qi Yong was puzzled, he agreed.He reckoned the delivery time and made an appointment for a phone call, and Qi Yong fully agreed, as if he wanted to see what kind of medicine was being sold in Xie Lansheng's gourd.

Xie Lansheng went to the Post Office to buy stamps and envelopes.He licked the stamp with his tongue, licked out the paste, stuck it on the envelope neatly, and stuffed the photos in, not only those taken by friends in Shenzhen, but also those he had taken in Beijing before.

It didn't take long for the letter to arrive.

Xie Lansheng also made another overseas call as agreed. The time was 5:[-] p.m. in Los Angeles and [-]:[-] a.m. Beijing time. He searched for a long time before finding a small shop that opened at [-]:[-] a.m.

On the phone, Qi Yong said: "The letter has been received... Where is this? Is it Hong Kong? Or Macau?"

"Neither!" Xie Lansheng said, "It's all about mainland China, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and Beijing. The motherland is changing a lot now. May I take the liberty to ask, when was the last time you came back to China?" He is a native of Beijing and is used to using "you".

Qi Yong did the math and said, "84 years."

"That's different now." Xie Lansheng said, "I'm sure you'll be surprised."

"..." Qi Yong pondered for a while, and said, "I also heard that China has changed a lot..."

"That's right," Xie Lansheng was also a little guilty, but he insisted on saying, "As an authentic Chinese, don't you want to come back and have a look? Don't you want to come back to feel the feelings? You come back to China, stay for two months, and work with you by the way. Isn’t it good? It can be regarded as a witness to the development of the motherland. I haven’t missed the big trend. I can even experience the speed of construction and the degree of change in two months. You know, it’s useless to travel only, and you can work and live like ordinary people. , That's good. China is changing too fast now, and it will be the same every one or two years. After a while, everything may slow down when I return to China. This is a pity, and I will miss the take-off period."

On the other side of the microphone, Qi Yong seemed to be a little shaken: "I'm planning to go back to China... either this year or next year... for two months."

Xie Lansheng continued to persuade: "Isn't it better to work and live in China at the same time? You can feel the feelings of thousands of Chinese people. Everyone comes from all corners of the country. You can understand China better while shooting and chatting. Yes. And, although there is no regular weekly salary, it is still a weekly salary! Air tickets from the United States to and from China, as well as your board and lodging in China, will also be provided by the crew of "Rooting". Come to China in September and October. How nice it is to go back to the United States in December, spend Thanksgiving and Christmas, and have a rest."

Qi Yong, who had experienced the most difficult [-]s in China, and spent penniless and impoverished years in the United States, was still able to save as much as he could, cut to death, and split a penny into two halves. At this point, after calculation, it seems that it is not too bad - he does not need to pay for transportation, board and lodging, and he can experience the development of the motherland and witness the start of the economy.

Xie Lansheng had a long phone call with Photographer Qi.Xie Lansheng had to buy another phone card at the small shop, which cost 50 yuan and had the Summer Palace on the card.

Finally, Qi Yong said he would think about it.

This is already great progress.Xie Lansheng didn't push anymore, and finally summed up for 1 minute, asking the other party to think carefully.His pious plea for cooperation had exhausted all his energies.

As a result, only a few days later, when he called again, Qi Yong told Xie Lansheng that he could go to work in China, but he could go to work in China for at most two months, and the weekly salary would be calculated as 1000 yuan—a figure that Xie Lansheng had promised at the very beginning. .

Hearing such a reply, Xie Lansheng was ecstatic, and hurriedly dragged Xinye to write the contract, faxed it, and asked Qi Yong to sign and seal it, and sent it back to China.

Then, Xie Lansheng and Qi Yong agreed on the time to return to China and the start-up time, and asked his assistants Xiaohong Xiaolu, Ouyang Nannan and Cen Chen to go to the shooting location, and he himself made some adjustments and changes to the script.

Xie Lansheng didn't realize that it was already July until the start time was confirmed—one and a half months had passed since Luo Dajing and Zhang Jixian quit the film crew.

…………

On the day Qi Yong returned to China, Xie Lansheng and Xin Ye rushed to the airport to pick him up.Xin Ye knew Qi Yong, and the two of them did not hold up the pick-up sign like others.

Xie Lansheng only flew back and forth twice when going to LA.When he was in school, he even needed a letter of introduction from his unit if he wanted to buy an air ticket. Everyone believed that only leaders were eligible to fly. At that time, one of his neighbors flew back to Beijing from Hunan, and the factory even sent a car to pick him up. Home.In the past two years, civil aviation has flourished and developed, but Xie Lansheng still seldom rides.

Qi Yong is very tall, with a thick beard and a large travel bag in his hand, which is very artistic.Xin Ye saw it at a glance, put his hands in his pockets, called the other party's name, turned his face sideways, and signaled him to meet at the exit.

As soon as Xie Lansheng met, he graciously helped carry the bag and asked about his health.

As soon as Qi Yong got out of the Capital Airport, he eagerly looked around, looking at the buildings, the road, the vehicles, and the pedestrians.

He didn't forget that he came back to feel the changes.

However, when Xie Lansheng and Xinye took him to Xuyi Village by train, passenger car, and donkey cart, Qi Yong wanted to cry when he looked at the yellow sand all over the sky and the mud houses everywhere. .

His ancestors, he was fooled into signing the contract.

What about development?What about prosperity?What about the tall buildings in the photo?

How is it actually like this!

He really didn't expect that Xie Lansheng was a native of Beijing, but he chose such a remote place as the set, and he had perfectionist obsessive-compulsive disorder.And Xie Lansheng didn't have a car yet, so to go to a big city, he had to take a donkey cart, then a bus, and then a train.A normal film crew must have a car, but Xie Lansheng is ridiculously poor.He thought he would be able to drive back to Beijing from time to time, and the worst would be a city.He lives in LA, he is not afraid of driving, and he can drive for an hour or two at every turn.

Little Red, Little Green, Ouyang Nannan, and Cen Chen all rushed out happily like birds to welcome the last main creator.

Especially the girl Xiaohong, with sparkling eyes and flickering eyelashes, unconsciously clasped her hands together and called: "Qi Dashe!!!"

Qi Yong: "..."

Xiaohong clenched her fists and jumped on the spot: "Qi Dashe, you're finally here! We've been looking forward to it day and night, and we've finally got all the staff together! "Rooting" can be turned on again!!!"

"Yeah," Xiaolu said, "It's been a long time since I've paused and my hair is growing. It's more interesting to shoot."

Qi Yong: "..."

Seeing that the photographer was silent, Xie Lansheng was also quite guilty, and redeemed: "Let's shoot in the countryside for a month first, and try to shorten it to three weeks, then go back to Beijing to shoot for three weeks, and finally go to Shenzhen for vacation, fully experience the three places, It’s pretty good. A classmate of mine in Beijing is from Taoshu Township on the edge of Beijing. He said that he can lend us his home to shoot interior scenes. I saw that it is more suitable, and we can shoot a few episodes inside the house.” Xuyi Village also There is no electricity, and some interior scenes are not easy to shoot.

Qi Yong looked at him blankly.

I still don’t have a car when I go back to Beijing?

Xie Lansheng looked around again, and said: "Our environment is not very good... If you want to break the contract, you can... I'll come out and return the ticket, and I will pay you for three days. Take a look... Do you want to leave? "

As soon as Xie Lansheng's words came out, the surroundings suddenly became extremely quiet, deadly still.Xiaohong Xiaolu, Ouyang Nannan and Cen Chen all looked at Qi Yong silently.

Qi Yong only felt that there was some sad BGM around him, and he was a little irritable, so he turned around and walked into the room: "It's all here, what a fart! Three weeks is fine."

Xie Lan let out a sigh of relief.

It is very difficult to hire a photographer and sound engineer for a true love film for shooting an independent film by himself. He thought that he could only get two more commercials at random, but he did not expect that the main creative personnel he wanted were deceived by him. Got it all.

The author has something to say: Normally, the exterior and interior scenes must all be filmed in this township. For the sake of the plot, I will return to Beijing in the second half.