independent filmmaker

There was a second of silence, and Xin Ye could only follow along: "Well, my grandma always wants to come back, but she is already [-], and she can't walk or take the plane, so I just want to take some photos and bring them back to the United States." Let her see."

After a pause, Xinye asked again: "Does the township government have a phone number? I can ask someone to prove my identity." His expression was very sincere.

The dozen or so menacing people all looked at the village head.The mayor stood with his hips on his hips for a while, but there was no other way to do it, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

So the crew of six were surrounded by the villagers, and the prisoners usually entered a dilapidated small courtyard in the east—the two-story building inside was the township government here.

In the innermost office, Xinye turned the phone on the desk, turned on the receiver, bowed slightly, supported the edge of the desk with one hand, and dialed a series of numbers with the other hand.Then Xinye picked up the microphone, leaned against the desk lightly, and waited until he heard a voice before asking, "I'm Xinye. Is Wang Tai there?"

One minute later, the person named "Wang Tai" answered the phone, and Xin Ye smiled lightly: "Wang Tai...it's me, Xin Ye. It's not a big deal, I'm just too big, you know, 1, I want to leave I visited my hometown before, so I came here to take some photos and bring them back for her to look through. But, I don’t know that we need a letter of introduction for taking pictures and videos here, and I was detained. Am I not from the United States? The township chief is worried about foreign forces Do everything possible to discredit China. You help me, prove my identity, and let them release me. What you say will definitely be useful. Okay, okay, then give them the phone number, thank you."

After finishing speaking, Xinye turned his eyes and said to the mayor, "Come on. The director of CCTV is on the phone."

Hearing this, the head of the township suddenly widened his eyes: "!!!" He didn't notice that the other party actually sent the phone to Beijing!

Xin Ye laughed again: "It's really the director of CCTV, Wang Tai. The phone number is 010-xxxx...you can check it, and you can call again if you hang up now. Come on, answer it?"

Xie Lansheng watched from the side, wanting to laugh.

It is not unusual for Xin Ye to be the first film star to know CCTV. Xie Lansheng has seen Xin Ye several times on TV.

Xie Lansheng also already understood the purpose of Xin Da Ying Ying.He first fooled the mayor of Lianghe into agreeing to take him to make a phone call, and then dialed a series of numbers on the spot to CCTV!Isn't Lianghe Township a mess? Isn't the head of Lianghe Township afraid of reporters? Why don't you let CCTV know that you are in Lianghe Township now?If he didn't come out today, there must be something wrong with Lianghe Township.In this way, for the sake of safety, Lianghe Township Chief can't touch him, otherwise it will inevitably lead to investigation.At the same time, Xin Ye did not say that the head of Lianghe was afraid of reporters, but gave a high hat, "The head of the township is worried about foreign forces." Then, as long as there is no follow-up, CCTV will not only not suspect it, but will Thinking that "Lianghe" is a model township, the mayor of Lianghe has devoted himself to it.One is a 100% risk and the other is a 50% risk.

This immediately reversed the current situation on both sides.Lianghe dared not act rashly.

On the phone, Wang Tai realized in an instant that Xinye had been taken as a reporter, so he cooperated patiently.

The head of Lianghe Township was undecided, but he still reached out to take it.

Wang Tai said: "Hello, hello, misunderstanding. That's right. He is the son of a friend of mine. He is not a foreign influence. He has just graduated and has not yet worked. He doesn't understand these things in China. Please let him go. He cooperated, pretending to really know that Xin Ye's grandma is 105 this year, and also pretending to really prove that Xin Ye's trip was only for "filial piety".

The village head of Lianghe vaguely agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Xie Lansheng struck while the iron was still hot, and said to the township chief, "Really, we are not reporters. If you are still not at ease, just pick up the film inside, and we don't want it anymore."

The mayor needed time to think about it, but he didn't immediately agree, saying, "Sit here for a while."

Xiaohong refused to let go when she heard this, two lines of tears came down again: "Please, please, we are really not reporters..." She was afraid and flustered, her voice trembling slightly.

Xie Lansheng hugged Xiaohong tightly with one arm, and said: "Don't worry, let's just accompany Xin Ye to take some photos for Grandma, and I haven't done anything bad. I believe the township head and the township cadres I won’t wrong the good man, let’s just wait.” After speaking, he smiled again at the village chief, patted his elbow, and said, “Go and do your work, you don’t have to. Don't worry about us, don't worry, eat dinner when it's time to have dinner, do whatever you want, take it slowly, just wait for the few of us." He and Xinye sang a good face and a bad face, both Point out the threat, and give enough face, let the village head have a high step down in front of everyone.

The village head of Lianghe looked at Lan Sheng, turned around and left without saying a word.

After that, Xie Lansheng and others fell into a long wait.Under strict defense, Xiaohong kept crying, Xie Lansheng comforted softly, photographer Luo Dajing and sound engineer Zhang Jixian seemed very anxious, turning around like two wild animals in a cage, only Xin Ye raised his long legs Sitting on the sofa of the VIP, he kept looking at Xie Lansheng, and tapped the right armrest with his middle finger and ring finger, but he didn't know what he was thinking.

The six of them waited at the township government until ten o'clock in the evening, and the head of Lianghe came in again, and said in a calm tone, "You guys can go."

Except for Xinye, everyone stood up suddenly!

The township chief's tone eased: "A letter of introduction is required for taking photos and videos, and we also follow the rules. You really don't understand, so let's forget it this time."

Xie Lansheng said: "Thank you, thank you! I'm really sorry to trouble Lianghe Township." He knew that the village head had already made a decision after weighing the pros and cons.

"Okay." The head of Lianghe hinted, "The head of CCTV may be worried, so I'll make a call when I get back."

"Of course."

Because he knew that Ye Chang had many dreams and that the greetings were almost over, Xie Lansheng stretched out his hand and hurriedly took Xiaohong Xiaolu, Xin Ye, Luo Dajing, and Zhang Jixian away from the place of right and wrong.When they left the gate, two rows of strong men stared at them with iron bars in the corridor.Except for Xinye, who was also leisurely strolling in the garden like a gentleman, the other five hurried past with their heads down.

Come out, the sky is full of stars outside.In early summer, the weather is humid and hot, which is suffocating.The sound of cicadas was like a gust of rain, hitting his face, chilling Xie Lansheng's enthusiasm.

He couldn't be happier.

One problem was temporarily solved, and another problem followed-without a letter of introduction, it was impossible to even "start the machine".

He thought: Why on earth is this happening?He is not a villainous person, he just wants to be a director, he just wants to make movies.

I don't know whose dog has been barking hoarsely.Frustration and bewilderment were intertwined, twisted together into a whip, and whipped fiercely on the tip of Xie Lansheng's heart, which was painful.

"Xie Lansheng," Zhang Jixian, a sound engineer who is also retired, said, "Otherwise, forget it, it's too difficult, and this is just the beginning."

Xie Lansheng shook his head: "I will find a way."

The two of them continued to persuade: "It's too difficult to make a film by yourself. No one has done this before."

Xie Lansheng repeated: "Continue to prepare. I will find a way."

Xinye turned to look at him.

What can he do?

…………

As for the filming location, Xie Lansheng's second choice is in Hebei Province, called "Xuyi Village".It is located on a mountain, Xu means Zhangmu, and Yi means overlooking, and the scenery is beautiful from the name.

Xie Lansheng sneaked into the village one morning, saw an old man squatting at the entrance of the village, and leaned over to ask the village head which building it was, and asked if he could hide from the sun and drink water under his eaves , the other party responded.

After getting the other party's permission, Xie Lansheng also squatted at the entrance of the village, next to others, calling "Master" and "Master" one by one, and being affectionate.He said that he was from Beijing, and he kept pushing him endlessly.When he was familiar with it, he asked the uncle: "Master, what does the village head usually like?"

The uncle said that the village head likes smoking and drinking the most.His accent was very thick, but Xie Lansheng still understood.

Understood.

Xie Lansheng walked around the village and felt that it was quite suitable for shooting, so he turned around and went back to the city, bought a few Hongtashan wines at 70 each, and bought a few bottles of Moutai at 90 each, for a total of about 800 yuan.

He wrapped everything in a big black plastic bag, intending to "move around".

For the Chinese, there are basically three ways to get close: treat guests to drink, treat guests to drink, treat guests to drink.

Because Xinye wanted to see the pandas, Xie Lansheng had no choice but to go with him, and said to Xinye: "It's fine... that's fine, you can help with half of the things. Let's start at eight o'clock tomorrow, first by car, then Take a donkey cart, and you will arrive at six in the afternoon. Wait until evening at the entrance of the village before entering, so that no one can see you."

Hearing "Take a car first and then a donkey cart", Xin Ye said with a bit of foreign style: "........."

He paid too much for seeing pandas.

What Xie Lansheng didn't expect was that on the second day, Xinye assembled the car out of nowhere and said, "It's a hot day, I don't want to carry anything", which sounds reasonable at first glance.Xin Ye threw all the cigarettes and liquor into the trunk, turned on the ignition, put the gear in gear, and with one hand on the steering wheel, let the car slide into the main road.

Xie Lansheng stared.It was the first time Xie Lansheng saw that he was not a driver but could drive.He knew from American movies that everyone can drive a car, but he still felt amazing when he saw it.Xinye's driving was different from those drivers Xie Lansheng had met, and it was very tasteful.

Xie Lansheng also noticed that Xin Ye was wearing a wine red silk shirt today.He had never seen a man wearing clothes of this color, and he had learned a lot.Xie Lansheng could also see the thighs wrapped in trousers, because he stepped on the gas pedal and exerted a little force, the taut muscle lines showed masculine strength, which was very beautiful and made him envious.

Xin Ye didn't have a Chinese driver's license, but he didn't care. He stumbled all the way and drove the car over the dilapidated dirt road that the donkey walked, and finally stopped outside Xuyi Village.

Lan Sheng took a cigarette and liquor to the door of the village chief's house, took a deep breath, raised his hand and knocked on the door, bang bang bang.

Soon someone opened the door, it was a woman, seeing Xie Lansheng and Xin Ye were obviously taken aback, with doubts on their faces.

"We are from Beijing." Xie Lansheng said, "Is the village chief there?"

"Oh...in..." the woman said blankly. The word "Beijing" is very powerful.

Then the mayor also came over and saw that the two of them were also frowning—these two people have different temperaments but they don't belong here, he can feel it.

Seeing the key person on this trip, Xie Lansheng smiled enthusiastically and shouted: "Village Chief!"

Village head Zheng asked: "Are you...?"

Xie Lansheng stepped up to the threshold and was sure he could finish his speech: "Village Chief, I am a senior student at Beijing Film Academy, and my name is Xie Lansheng. That's right, I am shooting a graduation work and I need the countryside as the background. I think our Xuyi Village is very special. Appropriate, very good. However, because this is a personal behavior, the school will not issue a letter of introduction...! We will only shoot for a month, can you see if you can accommodate it? Surely don’t cause trouble, don’t do anything, be honest and quiet , we'll leave after filming." Dun Dun, he opened the plastic bag in his hand and handed it over, "It's a bit good for cigarettes and wine, so I should thank the village chief for his help."

The village head looked down: Good guy, five Hongta Mountains, five bottles of Moutai.

It’s okay to collect cigarettes and alcohol these days, but he’s just a poor village head, and it’s the first time I’ve seen the gift of “five red pagoda mountains, five bottles of Moutai” and I’m very tempted.

He hesitated, wanting to see if Xie Lansheng could believe it.

It just so happened that the wife of the village chief brought the rice and vegetables to the table, and kept saying, "It's almost time to eat." He turned his head and said to Xie Lansheng and Xin Ye, "You two haven't eaten yet, have you? Come, eat here, chat while eating."

Xie Lansheng didn't want to miss any opportunity, so he was quiet for a while, and said, "Thank you, I'm sorry." It was already nine o'clock, and the village chief's house hadn't served dinner yet.

The village chief's wife took the children to the kitchen to eat, leaving the three men to eat and talk.

The village head was indeed a big alcoholic, he gave Xie Lansheng and Xin Ye cups, and said, "Come, come, let's have a drink first."

Xie Lansheng toasted.In order to prove that he is a student, Chi Chi Gua Bi Bi Bi Bi Bi Bi began to talk about Beiying.

As soon as he started, he only said a word, and the village head filled the wine cup in front of him for him, drank it in one gulp, and signaled Xie Lansheng with his eyes to do the same.

Xie Lansheng paused, raised his glass, and drank.

After drinking, another glass was poured.

Xie Lansheng doesn't drink much.He tossed all day and didn't eat lunch or dinner. At this time, his stomach seemed to be on fire, so he smiled flatteringly and said, "Village chief, I really can't drink white wine. I have a bad stomach. I'll pour it for you and accompany you." Do you drink?"

"Huh?!" The village chief's face was obviously displeased, "It's only two glasses! Brother, you can drink it just by looking at it!"

Xie Lansheng said: "I really can't drink..." He had a bad stomach. He had been working hard for the past two years, and he ate when he was hungry, and he didn't eat when he was not hungry, which was even worse.

Holding the bottle in his hand, the village chief yelled: "You lied to me? You don't even want to drink a little wine? You are an artist, high-minded, right? Look down on me, right? Let me tell you, little brother, Chinese Feelings are what comes from drinking on the wine table! If you drink too much, your mind will become confused, and you will talk too much. If you don’t drink, be cautious, just don’t treat people as friends!"

Xie Lansheng's hands paused, and after a while, he gritted his teeth, picked up the wine cup, and said, "Actually, I really can't drink it. But, I finally met the village chief, and I will give up my life to accompany the gentleman today. Come on, do it." !"

He drank a cup after speaking three sentences, and the village head was finally happy.Those who love to drink like to have someone to accompany him to drink. Seeing that Xie Lansheng is so refreshing, his interest is getting higher and higher.

After eating all the vegetables, the village head opened another pack of cigarettes, took out one and handed it to Xie Lansheng, and another to Xinye, smoking while drinking.

Xie Lansheng's movements were skillful, he leaned his head, put the cigarette holder in front of the village chief, lit it, squinted his eyes, and puffed out the clouds.

It seems to be more uncomfortable in the stomach.

They kept drinking and smoking, and finally became "best friends" at eleven o'clock in the evening.The village chief was happy, accepted the gift, and told Xie Lansheng and Xinye: "Let's make a movie here! I will ask everyone to cooperate and make a good room for you to rest at night."

The final goal was finally achieved. Xie Lansheng was ecstatic and couldn't hold it back. He grabbed the village head's hand and said, "Thank you, brother... Thank you, brother. I, Xie Lansheng, will never forget this love in my life."

The village chief let out a belch: "Hey, let's talk about it."

"Then I'll bring the group in another day, and we'll have a drink together then."

"Okay, hiccup...I'll wait."

After the matter was done, Xie Lansheng didn't stay any longer, and took Xin Ye and Zheng Village Chief's family to say goodbye, intending to return to the city.He stepped out of the threshold, and when he heard the wooden door close behind him, there was a kind of unreal joy in his heart, which made him throb whenever he thought about it, and there were also some uneasiness and worries because the things that were too good had not been fulfilled.The two emotions were entangled with each other, making Xie Lansheng a little dazed.

He took two steps forward, but suddenly stopped his feet and stood where he was, unable to see the picture or hear the sound, and only concentrated on feeling something.Ten seconds later, he bent down suddenly, like a shrimp in a river, covered his mouth with his hand, and coughed a few times, a little creepy in the silence.

He knew that he drank too much liquor just now.

Xin Ye turned to look at Xie Lansheng.In the moonlight, he saw streams of bright red blood oozing from the crevices of his thin fingers.The blood dripped into the soil under his feet, like clumps of cranberries, which was shocking.

"Hey!" Xin Ye's heart skipped a beat, "You vomit blood...!"

The author has something to say:

This section refers to director Li Yang’s two experiences, one is about being asked for a letter of introduction, and the other is about being besieged and detained by locals during the filming of "Blind Well", who suspected that he was a reporter who came to film illegal coal mines.In the previous part, he gave wine and drinks, and in the latter part, he said that he knew many big reporters including CCTV, and finally invited a reporter from "China Coal News" to come forward to coordinate, and then left.