independent filmmaker

When you are sober, what you say after drinking is all lies.

Once something happens to the "underground movie", who knows what will happen.Although there is no relevant law, the consequences are not predictable.

Before Xie Lansheng could think deeply, at the end of March, good news came from the school—he was assigned.

As a graduate of the 85th class of Beijing Film Academy, Xie Lansheng will leave school with the 86th class.

He did not rush to the popular big factories, but went to the Xiaoxiang factory in Changsha, Hunan Province in order to have an early opportunity to make films.He took the initiative to ask for an unpopular unit, and the school naturally did not refuse. Therefore, the time he was assigned was relatively early among his classmates.

Xie Lansheng's choice is actually not difficult to understand.

In the past, a film director had to make several scene notes first, and then step by step to become an assistant, assistant director, executive director, and chief director. After decades of hard work, it must go smoothly without any accidents.Because there is only one "director", everyone is ranked according to their seniority. Only in this way can the selection system be fair and reasonable.Factory labels are limited. Ordinary film studios can get one or two films a year. Beijing Film and Shanghai Film Changying Bayi seem to be able to get a little more. There are more than ten films. The older generation of well-known directors monopolize these precious spots. Graduated kids don't get any chances.However, in the past few years, after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the students recruited by the Film Academy went out of the school, and they were able to be valued in some "small frontier factories" where talents were scarce. This made some students, including Xie Lansheng, eager to try.It is said that at the very beginning, a few young people in the Guangxi factory set up some kind of film production team, made films that others didn’t want, and shaved their heads to show their ambitions. The final result was very good. The Guangxi factory was very surprised, and other factories began to pay attention.

Xie Lansheng's parents were naturally disappointed when Xie Lansheng was going to Changsha, but his job was the most important thing, and they didn't stop him. What's more, "staying in Beijing" usually needs a backstage, those with connections use connections, and those without connections use all means to create connections.Xie Lansheng is from Beijing and has good grades. Because of this, a female student in his class thought he would stay in Beijing, pretending to be ambiguous and unpredictable, and told the school that he hoped to be separated from his boyfriend. In the end, he was also assigned to Hunan. Unable to hold back, he burst into tears, and Xie Lansheng didn't know about it until a month later.It is said that Nortel is quite conscientious, a certain school deliberately dismantled all couples in order to crack down on love.

…………

The predecessor of Xiaoxiang Film Studio was Hunan Film Studio, which was founded in the 50s and was renamed "Xiaoxiang" in 1980.

After arriving in Xiaoxiang, Xie Lansheng's first job was as an assistant director, helping the famous ghost Li Xian to shoot a film called "Fortune and Prosperity".

Xie Lansheng liked the script very much.It describes the mentality of the Chinese people when they were first hit by capital in the early 90s. It includes the "one hundred thousand troops going to Hainan" after Hainan was established as a province in 1988, the "tide of public officials going to sea", and the opening of the Shenzhen Special Zone Securities Company in 1989 and 1990. The crazy scene -- the first stock in New China, "Shenzhen Development", which was originally extremely difficult to promote and forced party members to buy, paid dividends and allotted shares. The stock market has since become crazy, and even temples have sent monks to speculate in stocks. % daily limit, to 10%, to 5%, to 1%, can't suppress people's enthusiasm.The air was full of the smell of banknotes, and the common people saw money flowing for the first time in thousands of years.

Unexpectedly, everything was ready, everyone sang songs and arrived at the designated shooting location. When it was time to start the filming, the entire production crew was rushed back to Changsha by the tens of thousands of people in the factory, saying that the preparation period was too optimistic, and 18 revisions had just been mentioned. Opinion.

There is no way, one by one, and, in the revision after revision, gradually become nondescript.

Xie Lansheng was quite disappointed.But soon he regained his spirits, because no matter how he gave up, his title of "Associate Director" was not fake! ! !

For Xie Lansheng, the dream of making a film has long been paved with gold and silver, and it fascinates him.

He especially remembers the day when he saw the movie for the first time when he was two or three years old.

At that time, because my uncle had some connections, he and his family went to the printing factory to watch "internal reference films".The so-called internal reference films are films that are not screened nationwide, but imported, translated, and shown to the chief executives by special personnel.At that time, Wen X hadn't finished yet, and the internal reference films were far less relaxed than later, so it was difficult to see them, and they were basically for the central leaders to watch.

And Xie Lansheng, who was only three years old, saw the heroine on the screen being killed, he broke free from his parents' arms, screamed "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh rescued.In vain, the bayonet still pierced into his chest, and he immediately burst into tears.The uncle was very embarrassed, and hurriedly dragged him out of the room. He ruined the rare opportunity to watch the reference film.Back home, he was still sad, sobbing, and suffocated for a while. This incident was the material for his family to make fun of him for a long time afterwards.

But maybe, since then, he has been obsessed with "movie".

…………

The good news is that after the revision, the new script passed the review, and everyone went south to shoot again.It was the end of September at this time, and the Beijing Asian Games were in full swing. Pandas all over the street, Panpan, held up the gold medal with bright smiles, and the hearts of everyone in the crew became brighter.

On the set, Xie Lansheng asked Li Xian humbly if he could take a few shots with his hands, and Li Xian agreed and asked him to shoot two of them.

Li Xian is 34 years old this year. He has feelings and thoughts. He is a great director whom Xie Lansheng respects very much.However, it is said that the old mother in Li Xian's hometown was diagnosed with cancer last month and is undergoing treatment, which made Li Xian always thoughtful.

When Xie Lansheng was "doing homework", director Li Xian stood aside, staring at Xie Lansheng's working method, suddenly shook his head and asked, "Lan Sheng, did you modify the storyboard?"

"Ah, yes, that's right." Xie Lansheng said, "In the end, instead of taking a photo of the sun in the sky, I changed it to a close-up of the face. I just adjusted this. Is there a problem?"

Li Xian was silent, and said after a while: "Lan Sheng, your way is very scary."

Xie Lansheng: "Huh?"

"You don't realize it yourself...Generally, after shooting something sad, the director will focus on the big scene, such as the blue sky, such as the earth, to balance emotions and give people time to ease. Your The method is too cruel, straight to the point, after the protagonist has gone bankrupt, he still has to take a close-up of him."

Xie Lansheng said: "I want to face the truth and human nature directly, not to escape, not to deny, and to accept all the good and evil of people."

Li Xian didn't speak.

Xie Lansheng added: "We should have the courage to watch."

Li Xian shook his head, changed it anyway, and took the picture by himself.

Therefore, the whole movie did not retain anything about Xie Lansheng.

However, Xie Lansheng was very happy even though he was preparing and coordinating on the scene as an assistant director.

…………

After the filming of Li Xian's film was completed and entered the later stage, Xie Lansheng contacted around the factory again, looking for work.

Xie Lansheng is a graduate of Nortel, so the "Associate Director" is not difficult to accept, and he is even a favorite.However, when he was assigned to the Xiaoxiang factory, the unit promised to let him make films independently, so he did not agree to do it again.

According to his current qualifications as a director, it is difficult to pass the method of submitting the topic selection and preparing the film. He can only search for the ready-made scripts that Xiaoxiang Factory has confirmed to shoot.

However, he is just a rookie director in the factory, so where can he get his turn in those projects? ? ?

Xie Lansheng was in a bad mood. On the one hand, he was unable to become a director, and on the other hand, he felt that he had been cheated, because Xiaoxiang did not do what he promised.Thinking about it, a studio like Xiaoxiang only has a few labels a year, so how could it be his turn easily?The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. This gap is unbearable.Although, when facing people, he still always shows his trademark bright smile.

It was not until 1991 that the director's career took a turn for the better.

A girl from the literature department came to Xie Lansheng in a hurry and said, "Xie Lansheng! There is a script, do you want to write it?!" The literature creation department specializes in script creation. After they finalize the script, they will submit it to the production office of the factory. After the production order is issued by the factory leader, it will be directed The preparations can begin.

Xie Lansheng: "Huh?" He straightened his back.

The girl yelled: "I've made a lot of money! Big-name directors have jobs! I'll let you find a cheap one!!"

Xie Lansheng instinctively felt that something was wrong with this matter.

Is that a coincidence?

Do big-name directors have jobs?

Sounds like an excuse.

He is just a rookie player here, can it be his turn? ? ?

Is there really such a good thing as a trap in the sky?

He pondered, not being dazzled by the news, and said with a smile: "Thank you, sister, but..."

"I am older than you!"

"Ah, I really can't see it!" Xie Lansheng changed his words and said, "Thank you sister for thinking about my brother, but I want to read the script first, okay?"

"..." Xie Lansheng was handsome. The girl thought it was troublesome at first, but she was very happy to be coaxed, and said, "Hey, then hurry up."

"rest assured!"

Xie Lansheng took back "Children in Troubled Times" and found that, as expected, the plot of this script is simple, the characters are flat, and the way of promotion is extremely rough!It is a matter of one sentence for a good person to become a good person, and it is also a matter of one sentence for a bad person to become a bad person. Chuachuaachua's is confusing.

After inquiring about it in the factory, he realized that "Children in Troubled Times" had already been passed by all the directors, and no one wanted it.

It is said that the screenwriter has some background, someone from a certain leader in the city, and "Children in Troubled Times" cannot be filmed.Colleagues from the literature department have already talked with other directors several times, which made everyone take a detour and regard the literature department as the plague.In desperation, the Department of Literature thought of the newcomer Xie Lansheng who had just arrived.

How to do it……

On the one hand, being able to make movies, on the other hand, making disgusting movies, Xie Lansheng was very embarrassed, thinking of going bald.

Xie Lansheng took the garbage script back to his dormitory, flipped through it repeatedly, read it back and forth, and remained silent all the time, making the pages black and wrinkled.

One day later, in order to fulfill his dream of being a director, Xie Lansheng finally made up his mind, took the notebook, rushed to the factory, and said to the colleagues in the literature department: "Sister Zhang, my dear sister, this is the case, I can take this notebook, but I hope Make major changes."

The girl from the literature department had no right to decide this, so she reported it to the director, but the director didn't dare to make a decision on her own, so she took Xie Lansheng to the office of the temporary factory director.

The temporary factory manager is called Zhang Fugui, 69 years old, and will soon retire. He used to be the deputy factory manager.Last year, the factory manager went out to study and let Zhang Fugui take over temporarily.

Zhang Fugui is a good old man, relatively timid, cowardly, without authority, and unable to convince the public. After decades in the Xiaoxiang factory, he was only a deputy factory director, and was oppressed by the factory director who was 24 years younger than him.

Sure enough, after hearing Xie Lansheng's request, the temporary factory manager hesitated and told Xie Lansheng to go out and wait. He had to make a phone call.

Xie Lansheng stood outside the office, watching the temporary factory manager pick up the microphone and dial the number.The phone number was not pressed, but dialed. The temporary factory manager's fingers were short and thick, and he tried his best to dial the number inside the number circle, which was a bit funny.

About 5 minutes later, the manager of the Fugui factory moved his fat hand inward, told Xie Lansheng to go back, and began to speak in official language: "Lan Sheng, you are a dead horse and a living horse doctor, and you can modify and modify it yourself." The director of Fugui wanted to complete the task quickly and satisfactorily to make the big man happy and satisfied. After finally catching a strong man, he wanted to finalize everything as soon as possible.However, even though he agreed with Lan Sheng's revision, his words were vague and missed the point, so that he could remove himself in case something happened in the future.

Xie Lansheng said, "Thank you, director."

Facts have proved that there are no secrets in state-owned enterprises like Xiaoxiang.

At noon on the day when he received the book, Xie Lansheng was stopped by a director named Chi Zhonghe at the entrance of the dormitory building of Xiaoxiang Factory.

"Yo Yo Yo Yo, look who it is???" The other party looked mocking, "Xie Lansheng graduated from Nortel!!!"

Xie Lansheng: "..."

"Are you going to make "Children in Troubled Times"?"

Xie Lansheng smiled again: "Yes."

"Do you still pick up the rotten bones we lost???"

Xie Lansheng: "..."

"Come on~~~" Chi Zhonghe said, "Let us all open our eyes and see how powerful the film made by the great director who graduated from Nortel! Hahahaha, don't smash the Xiaoxiang brand! If the film is too bad and too stinky , crying at that time, but it does not match the status of a top student of Nortel!"

"..."

Xie Lansheng is very clear that graduates majoring in directing have touched other people's cakes.In order to attract talents, the 16 film studios have more or less given some preferential policies, but the number of factory labels is limited. If you have a film, he will not, and if you have a film, you will not. It is an inevitable fact that the two factions are fighting openly and secretly. .

Chi Zhonghe was mocking them.

It is said that Chi Zhonghe is also a related family, and he is a fairly close relative with a certain leader in the province, either a nephew or a nephew-Xie Lansheng didn't understand it, but his level is not good at all.

In the past, all studios handed over films directly to China Film (a Chinese film distribution company) after filming, so they didn't have to worry about screenings.Where and how many games will be played are all planned by China Film Group itself, which is a bit of a strong buy and sell nature.After 1985, however, the pattern gradually changed.Although movies must be screened uniformly through China Film Group, each locality can decide whether to buy a copy of a movie and how many copies to buy, and then China Film Company will pay the producer according to the total amount it counts. It is no longer mandatory to buy movies anywhere.Generally speaking, the price is 1 yuan per copy. No matter how much the production cost is, China Film will pay as much cash as it buys as many copies.In the past two years, some films can sell hundreds or even two hundred copies, while some films can only sell a few or a dozen copies.Xie Lansheng heard from his colleagues that only 4 copies of Chi Zhonghe's last film were sold, and he went to his grandma's house at a loss.

Xie Lansheng didn't like to play tricks, and said: "Thank you Director Chi, but it won't be rotten and smelly. I have confidence in what the masters of Nortel teach."

"You...!" I don't know if it's really stupid or not.

After a pause, Chi Zhonghe's eyebrows stretched, he smiled, and put a meat bun in his hand on Xie Lansheng's rice bowl: "By the way, you are going to the cafeteria, right? The buns in the cafeteria have been robbed. I happen to have one left, since Director Xie likes me so much to pick out the leftovers, then take it too!"

This operation was so inexplicable that Xie Lansheng was taken aback for a moment. Before he could speak, Chi Zhonghe had already left.

Xie Lansheng didn't bother anymore, walked past the trash can at the entrance of the building, threw the meat buns in with a "rou" and said, "Hmph, who wants your shit meat buns?!"

…………

Xie Lansheng asked for leave from the factory and hid in the dormitory thinking about the plot and changing the script day and night.He smoked more than half a pack of cigarettes every day, puffing clouds and mist, and his dormitory was like a gas chamber.Strange to say, he usually doesn't like to smoke, and he doesn't have an addiction. However, every time he thinks about a story or writes a line, he has to unpack a pack of cigarettes.

He pressed the red manuscript paper of 300 characters per page, and wrote line by line.He was so affectated that he often wept when he told stories.The two fingers of his left hand held the cigarette, straightened out, and wiped his tears with the palm of his hand.

About four weeks later, Xie Lansheng carried the new script on his body and returned to the factory, full of dust.

In the literature department, in front of the literature department and the acting director, he read aloud the completely changed script.

Everyone present knew that, except for the protagonist's name and initial background, the main and branch lines of the entire story of "Children in Troubled Times" were completely passive. They couldn't even imagine that the two originated from the same root!

When it came to the finale, the girls burst into tears and sobbed softly.

"Okay...okay..." the acting director said, "That's great, let's set up a crew and let's work hard!"

Xie Lansheng said, "Thank you, Director Zhang."

He was very happy.

I planned and prepared in my heart, and even planned to borrow the camera from the Shanghai Film Studio.The "A Nai" film used by Xiaoxiang Factory often has cross marks, and it has long been eliminated abroad, while Shanghai Film Factory has "Mo Yingkang". Mo Yingkang was borrowed during the intermission of filming in the factory.

That's Mo Yingkang.

The effect is good!

He hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

Thinking of this, my palms itch.

However, to use the classic line of "Forrest Gump", life is like a plate of dumplings mixed with various fillings. You never know whether the next one will be pork and cabbage, fresh meat and mushrooms, or shrimp and leeks.

Before the film crew of "Children in Troubled Times" was established, a leader of the unit approached Xie Lansheng and said, "Lan Sheng, the director of the factory Guan who is studying in closed Beijing called. He attaches great importance to "Children in Troubled Times" and told you to do a good job in filming it." , take up the heavy responsibility of director, and make more contributions to Xiaoxiang Factory."

Xie Lansheng was also very moved, even a little flattered, and said: "Thank you, Director Guan, I will definitely work hard to shoot."

"Then..." After a pause, the leader continued: "At the same time, in order to make this highly anticipated film reach the highest level, the factory decided to let Chi Zhonghe be the chief director and you to be the executive director."

"???"

Xie Lansheng thought: What do you mean?Let Chi Zhonghe come over as the chief director?

The leader was high-sounding and regarded Xie Lansheng as a fool: "Chi Zhonghe didn't participate in the filming, and he didn't give pointers. You can do your art without any interference. But, when signing the name, he will say that he is the chief director , you are the executive director. Chi Zhonghe is an old-fashioned director, and he has more appeal than newcomers. The factory can sell more copies and complete the annual task earlier. You also hope to sell more copies so that more people can see the film. You want I'm really worried, I can ask Director Chi to promise not to even enter the set."

Xie Lansheng: "..."

Xie Lansheng knew that "Children in Troubled Times" has taken on a completely new look after his changes, and the stinky stone has turned into a sweet pastry, and the number of copies is expected to hit the top three in Xiaoxiang Factory's history.

Therefore, Chi Zhonghe, who once humiliated himself, who has the status of a relative of the "superior person", blatantly wants to steal this film.

Although he didn't participate in the filming, he still had to be the chief director, and he was ranked in front of him, in the number one position.

Let the world think that "Children in Troubled Times" was shot by Chi Zhonghe.

The author has something to say: Su, the Chinese stock market once had a daily limit of 0.5%.It was called a "securities company" at that time, and it was only in 1990 that there was a "stock exchange".

After resuming the college entrance examination, the students got a chance in the studio, that is, "a few young people in the Guangxi factory set up some kind of production team, made films that others didn't want, and shaved their heads to show their ambitions. The final result was very good. The Guangxi factory was very surprised. Other factories have also started to pay attention.” In this passage, in reality, the protagonists are Zhang Yimou and the others.They deliberately went to a small factory, because they felt that there were more opportunities, and then set up a youth filming group.

Modifying a script that no one wants, and then others come to snatch it after repairing, is a true story I have heard...