1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan didn't expect Hou Xiaoxian to come to Shanghai. He couldn't help but sigh, this guy is really able to run away and never leave home every day. Forget it if you don't go home for the New Year, I just returned from abroad and you have to come to the mainland again.

Is he coming to Shanghai this time because of The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly? Zhou Yan asked.

Xu Feng shook his head, Yes, but not entirely. He is currently preparing for his next movie, and he came to Shanghai to do some things related to the new movie.

Hearing that Hou Xiaoxian was preparing for his next movie, Zhou Yan asked curiously, Director Hou is already preparing for his next movie? What is the theme of the new movie?

Do you know anything about puppetry? Xu Feng answered Zhou Yan's question with another question.

not too much.

Zhou Yan shook his head. He only knew that the puppet show is a traditional drama performance in the Fujian-speaking area. The performance form is somewhat similar to the shadow puppet show. He didn't know anything else, and he had never seen a complete puppet show performance.

Zhou Yan's answer was also what Xu Feng expected. She did not popularize the puppet show for Zhou Yan, but talked about the movie itself, This movie was also invested by Mr. Qiu. I guess Director Hou may ask you to do the soundtrack for them. .”

But I don't know much about puppet theater.

Xu Feng smiled and said, Where do you think he can find a composer who knows puppetry? So, not knowing puppetry is not a problem. Of course, this is just my guess, and he may not be looking for trouble.

Zhou Yan nodded. If Hou Xiaoxian really came to him, it would be a bit difficult for him, because he is too busy this year, promoting the feature film The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly, and he, the director, must not be absent, and there is also Green Snake. The project has not started yet.

In the first half of the year, he was also busy with his graduation project and job handover, and there were a lot of things inside and outside.

Seeing Zhou Yan's look, Xu Feng smiled again and said, In two days, the news that the short film The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly won an award abroad will be published in the domestic newspapers. In the future, there will be more and more jobs for you, not only Those who are looking for you to score music will definitely be looking for you to be their director. The leisurely days will be gone forever, and you have to adapt to that busy life slowly.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, Actually, I feel very busy now.

He remembered the days he spent on the set of Raise the Red Lantern the year before last. At that time, he was really free. He didn't have much to do every day, and he still had time to play cards with the rest of the crew.

Your career planning at this stage is very important. You can't waste too much time on other things, so I suggest you find someone to help you handle some work-related matters. At this point, Xu Feng talked about Green Snake again, Let's just say that you came to Shanghai this time just to read a script. Why do you need to come in person for this kind of thing? Just find an assistant to help you with the preliminary docking. It won’t be too late for you to come forward until further cooperation is possible.”

Zhou Yan smiled and said, I really haven't thought about this.

It's not too late to think about it now. Xu Feng smiled, and then said, Tang Chen can help you with the movie matters.

When Zhou Yan heard this, he immediately understood that Xu Feng wanted to pull him onto Tang Chen's boat.

Tomson Films must be very strong. After all, the Tomson Group is behind it. However, Zhou Yan is still a little hesitant. Even though Xu Feng has been very interested in Tomson Films in the past few years, movies cannot ultimately be the focus of Xu Feng’s career. .

Maybe within a few years, Xu Feng will shift his focus to other affairs of the group.

In the past two years, Tomson Group has set its sights on the Shanghai real estate industry. As the first batch of companies to invest in Pudong, their subsequent development will be very rapid, and Xu Feng’s husband does not seem to be in good health. By then, Xu Feng How much energy can you focus on movies?

Just when Zhou Yan hesitated whether to accept the olive branch offered by Xu Feng, Xu Feng said again, If you are willing to hand over your music copyrights to our company, I will set up a special department in the company. Even In the future, I can also set up a music company specifically.

Not to mention movies, the two directors our company is currently working with are Chen Kaige and you. Chen Kaige is from Yanjing Studio, and the cooperation between our company and him is relatively simple. But you are different , we can have more in-depth cooperation, and you can start the shooting plan for the next movie at any time.”

Hearing what Xu Feng said, Zhou Yan couldn't help but sigh. This sister is really a courageous person, and she makes quick decisions on everything she does.

Since Xu Feng was so decisive, Zhou Yan naturally did not delay. He nodded, Sister Feng, of course I am willing to cooperate with you, but the cooperation model may still need to be discussed.

He has to hold the copyright in his hands. Even if he can't hold it temporarily, he can't leave any hidden dangers in the future.

Hearing Zhou Yan's words, Xu Feng laughed, Of course the model must be discussed, the purpose is win-win.

Xu Feng loves movies and appreciates her talent, but she is not a philanthropist. The cooperation between her and Zhou Yan will definitely make money.

In the past few years, there are two people who have made Xu Feng cherish talents the most, one is Chen Kaige and the other is Zhou Yan. She believes that Chen Kaige and Zhou Yan have unlimited potential that can be tapped.

Compared with Chen Kaige, Zhou Yan has a very big advantage. This advantage is not musical talent or age, but Zhou Yan's adaptability.

Chen Kaige is indeed talented, but sometimes he is too self-absorbed and not able to listen to other people's opinions.

For the filming of Farewell My Concubine, Xu Feng was really worried and kept mediating in the middle. If the crew was completely handed over to Chen Kaige, she didn't know what would happen.

After initially reaching an agreement, Xu Feng mentioned Green Snake again, I think you can improve your attitude when you are in contact with Tsui Hark.

Zhou Yan is a little confused. This is the second time Xu Feng has taken the initiative to mention Green Snake. Is she saying this because she has a problem with Tsui Hark?

Noticing the confusion in Zhou Yan's eyes, Xu Feng explained, You are now a well-known director who has won an international award. It's almost enough for him to go to you. You coming here in person is too much of a favor to him.

I really haven't thought about it that much.

You should think about it. Xu Feng said firmly.

This sentence reminded Zhou Yan of the sentence Xu Feng said to him last year, You can't have no requirements. The tone of the two sentences was exactly the same.

Xu Feng then shared with Zhou Yan another incident from his past.

Back then, when Xu Feng went to the Cannes Film Festival with director Hu Jinquan for the first time, he happened to meet the French star Alain Delon.

In those years, many Alain Delon movies were released in Taiwan, and Xu Feng was a fan of his.

Of course Xu Feng was very happy to see her idol. She wanted to tell Hu Jinquan that she wanted to take a photo with Alain Delon, but was stopped by Hu Jinquan.

Hu Jinquan told Xu Feng in an unquestionable tone, Sit down, it's almost like he comes to take a photo with you.

In Hu Jinquan's view, Xu Feng is also a big star and there is no reason to take the initiative to take photos with others.

Xu Feng, who was still young at the time, didn't understand and thought why he couldn't take a photo with Alain Delon. In fact, she was not a big star at that time, and she was not famous internationally.

Putting on airs like this will make people feel ridiculous.

Later she realized that Hu Jinquan wanted her to develop her own aura.

Finally, Xu Feng and Zhou Yan concluded, Sometimes, being too polite is not a good thing. Most people will not respect you because you are polite.

Zhou Yan was also very touched after hearing Xu Feng's words. This may be a shortcoming of his character.

For many years, he has been working in schools and wants to take care of all aspects of whatever he does. In addition to maintaining a serious image in front of students, at other times, he is considering the feelings of everyone around him.

Although he does well in school, he does feel tired sometimes.

The same goes for coming to Shanghai this time. He simply thought that if he came to Shanghai from Jinling, and then directly from Shanghai to Yanjing, both parties could save time.

He was also very grateful to Xu Feng. It was obvious that Xu Feng really wanted to teach him some ways to get involved in the film and television industry.

I've been taught a lesson, I will pay attention to it in the future. Zhou Yan nodded sincerely.

Xu Feng couldn't help but nod. This is the difference between Zhou Yan and Chen Kaige.

…

Zhou Yan stayed in Shanghai for three days and basically signed the contract with Tomson. In addition to leaving the music to Tomson, he also signed two movie contracts with Tomson.

After he signed the contract with Tomson Company, Hou Xiaoxian still didn't come.

After calling, I found out that Hou Xiaoxian's schedule had changed and he was not planning to go to Shanghai for the time being.

Hearing that Zhou Yan was waiting for him in Shanghai, Hou Xiaoxian said with a smile on the phone, There is a certain destiny, and God doesn't want me to see you. Let me tell you, I have all the bonuses and trophies. If you want it, you have to come to Taiwan to get it.

Zhou Yan couldn't remember how many times Hou Xiaoxian had asked him to go to Taiwan. Hou Xiaoxian seemed to be very persistent about this matter and would talk about it almost every time he called.

Are there no girls in Taiwan?

Zhou Yan smiled and said, Sister Feng will give me the bonus directly. If it's the trophy, it doesn't matter if I keep it with you for a while.

You can keep the trophy here with me, but you must participate in a promotional event in Baodao in April.

Then I'll go there in April.

Regarding the April event, Zhou Yan had already heard from Xu Feng that the short film would first be sold locally in Taiwan, and then the feature film would also be released in Taiwan, so publicity activities were essential.

It’s not just Taiwan. When the time comes, Zhou Yan will go to Xiangjiang first, and then transfer from Xiangjiang to Taiwan, and he will also hold an event in Xiangjiang.

For this movie, Xu Feng is more optimistic about the markets in Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as Korea and Neon.

Not only is the market for movies not good in the Mainland, but the market for soundtracks is also not good. It is unlikely that Zhou Yan's songs will be recorded as an album and be a big hit in the Mainland.

But in places like Taiwan, the market for soundtracks is much better.

Moreover, Xu Feng believes that the style of Zhou Yan's songs is relatively trendy and should be welcomed by music fans in Neon and Goryeo.

Tomson's current plan is to release the movie in early July, so promotional activities are bound to start.

Zhou Yan chatted with Hou Xiaoxian for a while, but he didn't hear Hou Xiaoxian mention his movie about the puppet show. If he didn't mention it, Zhou Yan naturally didn't mention it either. Now he is busy and doesn't want to take the initiative to take work for himself.

…

Since Hou Xiaoxian is not coming, there is no need for Zhou Yan to stay in Shanghai longer.

But just when Zhou Yan was about to leave Shanghai for Yanjing, his pager received a message, which turned out to be from Zhang Jianya, whom he met at the Shanghai Studio last time.

Zhang Jianya asked Zhou Yan if he was still in Shanghai and left a number.

Zhou Yan called Zhang Jianya back with doubts.

Zhang Jianya was very happy to hear that Zhou Yan was still in Shanghai, and immediately expressed that he wanted to talk to Zhou Yan face to face.

Zhou Yan agreed without thinking too much.

More than half an hour later, Zhang Jianya knocked on the door of Zhou Yan's room.

Zhou Yan was surprised to see Zhang Jianya arrive so quickly. The hotel he was staying in was not close to the Shanghai Studio. Being able to arrive so quickly showed how urgent Zhang Jianya was.

As soon as the door opened, Zhang Jianya came over enthusiastically and held Zhou Yan's hand, Director Zhou, I'm so happy to know that you are still in Shanghai!

Zhou Yan was a little confused by Zhang Jianya's enthusiasm. He couldn't help but retract his hand and asked, Director Zhang, do you have anything to do with me?

That's it. Zhang Jianya took out a stack of scripts from his bag, Our factory is currently preparing a movie, which is adapted from Mr. Zhang Leping's comic book of the same name, Sanmao Joins the Army. Zhou will guide you to take a look.

Before he even finished speaking, he had already thrust the script into Zhou Yan's hands.

Looking at the script in his hand, Zhou Yan's mouth twitched. This was the first time he had seen such an enthusiastic director. Zhang Jianya, Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou all came out of the same batch of Yanjing Film Academy. It is said that even if they don't have any masterpieces, they can be considered relatively good. A director with qualifications wouldn't be like this.

However, when Zhou Yan heard San Mao Joins the Army, he became interested, and at the same time he was a little surprised. He only thought that the name Zhang Jianya was familiar before, but he did not expect that Zhang Jianya was the director of San Mao Joins the Army.

It may also be because Sanmao Joins the Army really doesn't look like a work by a fifth-generation director.

San Mao Joins the Army is a comedy, and it is a very special comedy. Throughout the history of Chinese film, San Mao Joins the Army is a special one among comedy movies.

Some fans say that it is the pinnacle of Chinese black humor. This may sound exaggerated, but it also proves that everyone recognizes it.

After receiving the script, Zhou Yan didn't say much. He just asked Zhang Jianya to sit down first, and then he took the script and started reading it.

Seeing Zhou Yan reading the script, Zhang Jianya also breathed a sigh of relief.

Since meeting Zhou Yan in the factory that day, Zhang Jianya has been thinking about the soundtrack every day. He even went to the cinema to watch the movie Reply from Heaven again.

But the more he watched the movie, the more Zhang Jianya wanted Zhou Yanlai to sing the soundtrack for San Mao Joins the Army. He even felt that it was their fate to meet Zhou Yan at Yanjing Studio.

If you don't grasp this fate, it will be a huge waste.

After thinking about it for several days, Zhang Jianya finally made up his mind. Even if Zhou Yan's price was relatively high, he would still use it. At worst, he could save a little on other places, and he could always save the salary of the soundtrack director.

After that, he called Chen Kaige and asked Chen Kaige about Zhou Yan's fee.

But when Chen Kaige heard him asking about Zhou Yan's fee, he hesitated and said he didn't understand at first. Later, under Zhang Jianya's questioning, Chen Kaige told the truth that Zhou Yan's soundtrack fee was not high.

Zhou Yan was paid a salary, but he took it for a longer period of time, starting from the year before last.

Calculated, from the year before last to this summer, it would be twenty months at most, a total of three thousand yuan.

At that time, the reason why Chen Kaige said that Zhou Yan's soundtrack fee was high was to make his crew appear rich and high-end to Zhang Jianya, an old classmate.

Hearing that Zhou Yan was only getting a fixed salary every month, Zhang Jianya almost scolded Chen Kaige. If Chen Kaige hadn't been talking about cheating, he would have gone to see Zhou Yan long ago. How could he not think about food and drink these days, always struggling with this? matter.

Having almost lost such a good music director, Zhang Jianya not only wanted to scold Chen Kaige, but also wanted to give Chen Kaige a slap in the face if he was in front of him.

Fortunately, Chen Kaige made up for his mistake and gave Zhou Yan's contact information to Zhang Jianya, and then Zhang Jianya dialed Zhou Yan's paging number.

Fortunately, Zhou Yanren was still in Shanghai. After hanging up the phone, he ran over quickly.

Zhou Yan didn't know that there was such an episode in the middle. He was looking at Zhang Jianya's script seriously at this time.

This script is already a completed version, and it is not much different from the later film Sanmao Joins the Army.

When he saw the middle part, Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh.

I have to say that the script of San Mao Joins the Army is indeed interesting, but I don't know whether this is the credit of Zhang Jianya or the original author Mr. Zhang Leping, because Zhou Yan has not read the original work.

After reading all the scripts, Zhou Yan closed the script and did not rush to return the script to Zhang Jianya. Instead, he put his hands on the script and asked Zhang Jianya with a smile, Director Zhang, you asked me to read this script because you want me to Do you want to score the movie?

Zhang Jianya couldn't help but nodded, Yes.

When will the movie start shooting?

Filming will start early next month.

Where are you going to shoot the scene? Zhou Yan asked again.

Sioux City.

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, I'm in Yanjing and I'm quite busy this semester. I don't have many opportunities to go to the site. I may only go twice at most.

no problem.

Zhang Jianya said readily that he would have no objection if he didn't go even once. Many soundtrack directors were not present at the scene in the early stage and only got involved during post-production.

Seeing what Zhang Jianya said, Zhou Yan nodded, Director Zhang, I took over the soundtrack for this movie.

Although Zhou Yan has been very busy in the past six months, he doesn't want to miss the movie Sanmao Joins the Army.

Zhang Jianya's expression was obviously stagnant. He didn't expect Zhou Yan to agree so readily. He also prepared a lot of words to persuade Zhou Yan, but now none of them have been used.

This... Director Zhou, don't you ask about the salary?

The salary is three hundred per month, starting from today until the movie is edited. Is that okay?

Zhang Jianya said quickly, No problem, no problem at all.

Counting from today until the movie editing is completed, it will only take a few months. Calculating, the total is only about a thousand yuan, which is not much at all.

Zhou Yan added, You need to reimburse me for all the expenses I incurred going to the set during this period.

Of course, we should do it. Zhang Jianya nodded.

Everything else is fine. Now you only have the script, and there are many things that are hard to talk about. I will go to the set in April. By then, the storyboards will be ready and some films will be shot. Then we can talk in depth. Let’s chat.” Zhou Yan thought for a while and then said, “I will also call you during the period to talk about some music-related matters. There is also a situation that may arise, that is, you need to make some adjustments when shooting to match the music. Of course, don’t worry, the adjustment will definitely not be big and will not affect the plot. It is mainly an adjustment to the rhythm of the shots.”

Hearing Zhou Yan's words, Zhang Jianya was also filled with emotion. Today he has experienced that when making a movie, you have to follow the soundtrack. No wonder the soundtrack in Heaven Replies matches the camera very well, and even gives people the impression that the movie is just for the music. The feeling of shooting.

Zhang Jianya doesn't care about this. As long as it doesn't affect his plot, there is no problem if the camera rhythm is adjusted. Everything is for the final effect.

That's no problem. If you have any ideas, Director Zhou, you can tell me at any time and we can discuss it together. I heard from Chen Kaige that you have been a director yourself, so you must know a lot about the camera.

Zhang Jianya heard from Chen Kaige that Zhou Yan had made movies, but he didn't know what Zhou Yan had made.

In fact, the fact that The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly won the award was already reported by domestic media yesterday, but Zhang Jianya has not seen the news yet.

Zhou Yan waved his hand, I'm just giving my opinion. In the end, it's up to you, Director Zhang. The soundtrack is the soundtrack, and it still has to serve the movie you make.

I understand. Zhang Jianya nodded.

Looking at Zhang Jianya, Zhou Yan also sighed. Xu Feng said before that his posture was not high enough. If Xu Feng saw Zhang Jianya's posture, he didn't know how to evaluate it.

In fact, if Zhou Yan had seen Zhang Jianya looking for Wei Zongwan to participate in Sanmao Joins the Army, he probably wouldn't have felt that Zhang Jianya's attitude was low today.

Before the script of Sanmao Joins the Army was written, Zhang Jianya was determined to let Wei Zongwanlai play the veteran Old Ghost in the movie.

When Zhang Jianya went to Wei Zongwan's house for the first time to invite Wei Zongwan to participate in the show, Wei Zongwan refused because Wei Zongwan was already over fifty years old and worried that his body could not bear it.

However, Zhang Jianya did not give up. When he arrived at Wei Zongwan's house for the second time, Zhang Jianya knelt down on one knee in front of Wei Zongwan before Wei Zongwan could say anything.

If you don't show up, I won't get up.

Wei Zongwan and his wife were shocked at that time, and Wei Zongwan quickly knelt down to Zhang Jianya.

In this way, the two people were kneeling to each other, one begging the other to participate in the show, and the other begging the other to find someone else instead of him.

Fortunately, the final result was good. Wei Zongwan was moved by Zhang Jianya's persistence and was persuaded by his family to agree to star.

Today, if Zhou Yan did not agree to Zhang Jianya to be the soundtrack director of Sanmao Joins the Army, Zhang Jianya would not kneel down, but he would definitely be able to do it if he didn't leave.