1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Just when Jia Guoping was confused by Zhou Qing's three consecutive questions, Zhou Yan walked in with a smile, Old Jia, if you want to scare our Zhou family with ghost stories, I'm afraid you will be disappointed.

Zhou Minnong, the old man of the Zhou family, is known as the king of ghost stories and he especially likes to tell ghost stories.

The old man was a soldier when he was young and had heard countless ghost stories, all of which had a high horror index.

These children of the Zhou family have grown up listening to ghost stories.

Some people in the family were worried before that the old man telling ghost stories every day would scare the courage of these little guys. But what they didn't expect was that not only did their courage not weaken, but they became more and more frightened.

Are you going back to the dormitory with me, or playing here for a while? Zhou Yan asked.

Go back to the dormitory. All six people answered in unison.

Of course they want to be with the third brother.

Jia Guoping said quickly, No, I have other stories, more terrifying and scary.

Zhou Qing said with a smile, Then let's wait until it gets dark. It's not scary to hear ghost stories during the day.

Jia Guoping twitched the corner of his mouth. Today's battle had severely damaged his self-esteem.

…

After Zhou Yan returned to his dormitory, he began to think about the script of The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly and wanted to turn it into a feature film.

This movie was originally a feature film, but if Zhou Yan wanted to make it, he definitely couldn't copy it. Many of the plots in it had to be modified, which would take a lot of work.

Also, after expanding into a feature film, the soundtrack work will also increase, and now these two original songs may not be enough.

Writing in the dormitory until evening, Zhou Yan took his brothers and sisters out to eat, and then went to the hotel to continue writing.

The next morning, when Zhou Yan was still sleeping, the pager on the bedside table beeped. He picked it up in a daze and saw that it was from Xu Feng, asking him to take his brothers and sisters there, and also sent a message. got an address.

Zhou Yan picked up the watch on the bedside and looked at it. It was already past nine o'clock.

He rarely wakes up until after nine o'clock. He was so busy yesterday that he didn't check the time when he lay down on the bed after writing, but it was at least two or three o'clock.

After getting up and taking a shower, Zhou Yan rushed to Changchun Street with his brothers and sisters.

The place where Xu Feng lives is a courtyard. The yard is not big, but there are many rooms.

After entering the door, there is a guest restaurant on the right and a tea room on the left.

As soon as Zhou Yan and the others arrived, Xu Feng led Zhou Qing and the others to the guest restaurant. She had already prepared fruits and refreshments for them.

This guest restaurant is very large and is divided into two parts. In one half there is a large wooden round table for gatherings, and on the other side there is a set of sofas for guests to rest and chat.

After arranging the children, Xu Feng took Zhou Yan to the tea room on the other side.

She personally poured a cup of tea for Zhou Yan, and then said with a smile, Actually, I didn't drink much tea before, but after arriving in the mainland, I became accustomed to drinking tea. I brought this tea from the south. Please try it.

In fact, there was a lot of tea drinking in Taiwan, but Xu Feng didn't drink much tea before. After arriving in the mainland, her tea drinking frequency gradually increased.

Zhou Yan took the teacup, tasted it, and praised, Well, it's very good-looking Taiping Houkui.

You can actually tell what kind of tea it is? Xu Feng asked in surprise.

It's not from drinking it, Zhou Yan said with a smile, but from seeing it. Many tea leaves have very different shapes, and this one is the monkey king.

It's indeed different. Xu Feng looked at the tea leaves, and then said: Hou Xiaoxian is already in Pengcheng today. If nothing unexpected happens, he will come to Yanjing in two days.

She looked at the time again, I made an appointment with him to have a phone call at 10:30, and I'll call him later.

Zhou Yan nodded and asked, How was your discussion yesterday?

Xu Feng smiled and said, Of course there is no problem. He is also very interested in this plan, and he can't wait to listen to your two songs.

What is Director Hou doing in Yanjing this time? Zhou Yan asked.

He didn't tell me in detail, but I guess he came here about The King of Chess. This movie has not been approved for release in mainland China. Xu Feng said.

Zhou Yan nodded, he knew a little about this.

There are two versions of The King of Chess, one is the mainland version directed by Teng Wenji, and the other is the Xiangjiang version directed by Tsui Hark and Hou Xiaoxian is the producer.

The two versions are very different, the latter is actually two novels blended together.

Because the movie involves a sensitive period, and the Hong Kong version contains too many satires, it is naturally difficult to release it.

In fact, it would be useless if Hou Xiaoxian came, unless they were willing to reshoot the movie.

The two chatted for a while, and Xu Feng looked at the time again, I'll call him now.

After the call was dialed, it rang for a while before being picked up.

Hello. Hou Xiaoxian's voice came from the other end of the phone.

It's me. Xu Feng smiled.

I knew it was you. Hou Xiaoxian smiled and asked, Is Zhou Yan around?

Zhou Yan smiled and said hello, Hello, Director Hou.

Haha, hello, when Xu Nuxia asked me about you, I knew that she would definitely be interested in your script. It turns out that my guess was right.

Xu Feng became famous with Xia Nv, and her character is relatively straightforward, so Hou Xiaoxian likes to call him Nv Xia.

This is an afterthought. Why didn't you say it before?

Then just treat me as an afterthought... Zhou Yan, Xu Nuxia has already told me about the script. You wait for me for two days. When I go to Yanjing, we will have a good chat about the script. Xu Nu Xia has money, just let her invest in you.

What do you mean I'm rich? Isn't it because I have a sharp eye and can recognize pearls?

You may have a keen eye for pearls, but it doesn't affect your wealth. Hou Xiaoxian laughed and continued, Since Xu Nuxia has invested, when expanding the film, don't consider the cost, and make the production cost higher. Write.

Zhou Yan pursed his lips and smiled. Although Hou Xiaoxian was joking, he was telling the truth. Xu Feng was indeed rich and was willing to spend money on the movie.

Nowadays, it only costs tens to millions of RMB to make a movie in China.

However, the budget of Farewell My Concubine exceeded US$3 million. With this investment, it would normally be enough to make dozens of movies in China.

Zhou Yan said with a smile, I am only responsible for writing scripts and filming. How the money is spent depends on the producers and producers.

Haha, I understand. If I were to be your producer, I would definitely help you spend a lot of money. Hou Xiaoxian said.

Xu Feng raised his eyebrows, I'm scared to hear you say that. How about Zhou Yan, I'll find another producer for you. I'll save you money by changing to one.

Those who can save money are not good producers. Hou Xiaoxian directly concluded.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan laughed. From a director's point of view, this is true. Producers who save money are not good producers.

Of course, Hou Xiaoxian was also joking. Even if he came to be the producer of The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly, Xu Feng should still be in charge of the money. The most he could do was help Zhou Yan ask Xu Feng for money. Whether he would give it or not would ultimately depend on Xu Feng.

After chatting for a while, Xu Feng hung up the phone, and then said to Zhou Yan with a smile, This matter is basically settled. You should quickly come up with the script of the feature film. I will help you in advance when I have time these days. Contact us and prepare everything that needs to be prepared. First of all, we can already find actors. The currently known main actors, the young male protagonist, his parents and grandfather, do you have any candidates for these actors yourself?

Zhou Yan didn't expect Xu Feng's pace to be so fast. He was still thinking that he would wait until Hou Xiaoxian came to Yanjing to decide on this matter.

Xu Feng is about to start casting.

However, no matter how fast her pace is, Zhou Yan will not find it too fast. The faster is naturally the better for him.

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, As for actors, I have a candidate for the role of grandpa.

Oh, who is it? Xu Feng asked.

Teacher Li Shouhai, he also played the role of grandpa in Reply from Heaven that I just helped score for Yanjing Studio.

Oh, it turns out to be that old man. Xu Feng said suddenly.

When Xu Feng listened to Zhou Yan's soundtrack, he watched it along with the edited clips. Naturally, he had an impression of Li Shouhai, who played the grandfather in it.

This old man is very good, but how is his physical condition? There is a paragliding scene in the movie. Can he complete it?

You should be able to capture some simple shots, but you will definitely need a stand-in for more difficult ones, Zhou Yan said.

Xu Feng nodded, What about the other characters? What do you think?

As for the young male protagonist, he must be able to play the piano, and the higher the level, the better.

Xu Feng pondered, There are many children who can play the piano, and you should be able to find those with high levels, but you have to take into account performances. We can find them from some professional schools. You are from Yangyin, so you should have channels in this area. ?”

Well, our attached primary school in Yangyin should have a lot of good talents.

The piano department of Yangyin Affiliated Primary School is very famous, and there must be good talents. However, Zhou Yan doesn't know much about the Affiliated Primary School, so he will ask Jia Guoping later.

Jia Guoping may not understand, but Zhang Xinning definitely knows.

Then you can look for a candidate for the male lead from the attached primary school. As for the actors who will play the parents, do you have any requirements?

I have no special requirements for these two roles.

Xu Feng waved his hand and said with a smile, No, you can't have no requirements. If you, the director, don't have requirements, how can the movie be made well?

Zhou Yan thought it right and made a request, Mom, I want He Saifei to come.

He Saifei has a strong personality and is quite suitable for the role of the hero's mother.

Xu Feng had never heard of He Saifei, so he asked, Who is she and what drama has she acted in?

She has acted in Dream of Red Mansions before.

Zhou Yan knew that Xu Feng had probably never seen He Saifei's version of A Dream of Red Mansions. Even if he had seen it, he probably wouldn't remember He Saifei, so he added, She just finished playing Raise the Red Lantern .

Oh, I know, you met in Raise the Red Lantern.

Yes, I think she is quite suitable for the role of the hero's mother, but I don't know if you can call her over.

Is it difficult for her to please?

Zhou Yan nodded, She is in the Yue Opera Troupe, and it is not easy to let people go in the troupe.

Xu Feng said confidently, It doesn't matter, I will solve this matter. Where is the hero's father? What do you think?

“I don’t have any specific ideas, but the requirements are, of course, the more famous the better, and the higher the professional level, the better.”

Xu Feng smiled and said, Yes, as long as you ask for it, I will know how to satisfy your request only if you ask for it, right?