"Old Zhong, what kind of wind is blowing your old man's house over? Please come in!" Xu Wangqiu turned his head to see that it was Zhong Xianfei, and hurriedly stepped forward to invite the old man to the room, and shouted to Liu Lin and them, "What are you doing stupidly, hurry up and move a stool for Zhong Lao!"

Gu Changwei gave up his position: "Elder Zhong, you sit here." ”

"I'm going to your school to see you. After Zhong Xianqi sat down, he took out a magazine and handed it to Xu Wangqiu, with a white cover and a seal-like pattern in the middle, which read "Film Art"; ”

Xu Wangqiu didn't expect the old man to send him a sample journal and manuscript fee, and he was very moved: "Old Zhong, how can I trouble you to send these over? You bring a letter, and I will go to the editorial office to pick it up myself." ”

Liu Lin and the others saw that Xu Wangqiu had received the manuscript fee again, and they all shouted excitedly: "Wangqiu, you are really good, you have the manuscript fee again!", "It's more than 100 yuan again!", "With so much money, you must have a treat." ”......

Xu Wangqiu waved at them: "Go, go, I'll talk to Zhong Lao, don't make trouble!"

Zhong Xinfei raised his eyes and saw the storyboard on the table. Storyboards are something invented by the Americans, and they have not yet been transmitted to China, and domestic directors only write storyboards, not storyboards. Zhong Xianfei had never seen it, and felt that this thing looked like a comic book, but it was not a comic book, so he couldn't help asking, "What are you drawing here?"

Liu Lin saw that a big expert like Zhong Xinfei didn't know storyboards, so he couldn't help but say proudly: "This is called a storyboard, and Americans will draw a storyboard first when making movies." After speaking, he gave Zhong Xinfei a storyboard and what it does.

After hearing this, Zhong Xianfei felt that the storyboard was a good thing, and couldn't help nodding and said: "This is a good thing, with this thing, the film studio is very clear about what the effect of the movie will be, and everyone can shoot according to the labeling of the storyboard when shooting, which can save a lot of things." Let me see your scripts and storyboards. ”

Xu Wangqiu hurriedly handed over the script and storyboard to Zhong Xianfei, and waited for the old man to read it, wanting to hear his opinion.

Zhong Xianfei watched it very seriously, and he also watched it very carefully, holding the script and the storyboard and reading it carefully. "The Rape" is undoubtedly a good story, but what really shocked him was the filming technique of the movie, all of which was sports, and there had never been a movie like this in China. This is a new way of shooting, this little guy really dares to think and do!

The storyboard only drew the content of the first ten minutes, but Zhong Xianfei could not think of what the back looked like. When he finished reading the script, he raised his head and smiled: "Your ideas are very good, I am looking forward to this movie!" He looked at Xu Wangqiu and smiled: "Now everyone is discussing where the future of Chinese films is, some people support learning from the United States, some people support learning from Europe, some people support montage, some people support long shots, the two sides are fighting more and more, and the entire film industry is probably involved." ”

Xu Wangqiu knew that after the special issue of "Film Art" came out, the debate about film language would be in full swing, and the entire film industry would be involved, so he exhaled and said: "In fact, whether it is Hollywood and the New Wave, or montage and long shots themselves, they are not contradictory, they can coexist, but many people may go to extremes when they quarrel, and they want to strangle each other to death." ”

Zhong Xianqi nodded secretly in his heart when he heard this, this is what I was worried about, and looked at Xu Wangqiu and said slowly: "I think so too, if there are problems, you can discuss them, but you should be rational and should not go to extremes." I came to your school with the intention of organizing a symposium and inviting experts and professors in the field of film to discuss rationally. Your film academy is the future of Chinese cinema, and I hope you can listen to the views of both sides and think about how you should go in the future. ”

Xu Wangqiu said with a smile: "Our school students are also divided into two factions, we belong to Hollywood and Montage supporters, but we are not against the New Wave and long shots, we believe that technology and theory are in the service of film, and what works well can be used." ”

Zhong Xian nodded approvingly: "It's best that you can think like this, it's really important to be rational." But you also have to be prepared, and you will definitely have to speak when the time comes. ”

Xu Wangqiu remembers that in the previous life, there was a debate about the language of film for several years, and it involved the debate on many issues such as the film ontology; even after entering the new century, Zhou Chuanji had a big war of words with Shen Yubing and Yin Hong of Peking University over this issue.

Xu Wangqiu believed that although Zhong Xianfei wanted everyone to discuss rationally, the confrontation would be particularly fierce at that time, so he nodded solemnly and said: "I will prepare carefully, I don't know when the symposium will start?"

Zhong Xianqi said: "At the beginning of next month!"

Xu Wangqiu said with a hippie smile: "No problem." When the time comes, I will have a war of words, and the others will have nothing to say. ”

As Xu Wangqiu expected, after the release of the special issue of "Film Art", it set off a shocking wave in the entire film industry, and almost all filmmakers were discussing how Chinese films should go in the future. Among them, Xu Wangqiu's "On the Sinicization of Film Language" and Zhang Nuanxin and Li Tuo's "On the Modernization of Film Language" have two long essays with each other and have become the focus of discussion.

In a courtyard house in Nanzhugan Hutong, Nanxiao Street, Beiping, Xia Yan, a pioneer of China's left-wing film movement, is sitting in the courtyard reading a book. Xia Yan is over 70 years old, with a thin body and severe cataracts, and must use high-powered glasses and magnifying glasses to read.

"Xia Gong, Xia Gong!" A young man ran into the courtyard and handed Xia Yan the "Film Art" in his hand, "Look at this article, "On the Sinicization of Film Language". ”

"What kind of article, why do you get excited like this?" Xia Yan said with a smile.

It is an article about the future development of Chinese cinema, which talks about left-wing cinema, says that left-wing cinema is ahead of Italian neorealism, and believes that we should restore the tradition of left-wing cinema. ”

"Oh, then I'm going to take a look. Xia Yan was slightly stunned when he heard this.

The left-wing film movement was a progressive film movement in China in the 30s, and its exploration of Chinese film language played a huge role in promoting the development of Chinese film. After the movement began, many left-wing filmmakers were criticized, and the film was called a poisonous weed. After the end of the movement, Xia Yan and many old left-wing filmmakers began to publish articles to appeal for the unfairly criticized left-wing films and seek legitimacy for the historical status of left-wing films.

The current article is different from all the articles that complain about left-wing films, and does not mention anything political, but analyzes the value and historical status of left-wing films from the perspective of world film history, and raises left-wing films to a very high height.

Xia Yan read the article slowly, and a smile appeared on his dry face: "The future is terrifying, with such a young filmmaker, there is no need to worry about the future of Chinese films!"

The man said curiously, "Xia Gong, how do you know that this article was written by a young man?"

Xia Yan chuckled: "An old man like us is too dull to write such a sharp article, and we are writing an article focusing on the history of Chinese film, but this article puts left-wing films in the history of world cinema; ”

In a room in the family area of the Magic Capital Film Studio, Wu Yonggang, a representative of the second generation of directors, sat at his desk and slowly flipped through a copy of "Film Art". In 1934, Wu Yonggang wrote and directed his first silent film "The Goddess", which became famous in one fell swoop. After "The Goddess", Wu Yonggang tried children's films, detective films, classical opera films and other theme films, but except for the "national defense movie" "Top Gun", other films received a mediocre response. After the movement began, Wu Yonggang was imprisoned in the cowshed as a "black cadre in the thirties" and was forced to retire in 1975. After the sport, he made a comeback and started making films.

The article called "On the Sinicization of Modern Film Language" talks about Wu Yonggang's "The Goddess", and believes that "The Goddess" perfectly combines German expressionism and French avant-garde with China's reality, and is the pinnacle of Chinese silent cinema and one of the best works that Chinese artists have contributed to the history of world cinema.

Seeing this evaluation, Wu Yonggang smiled, but then tears came out, and he sighed slightly: "I can't make a movie like "The Goddess";

In the office of Xiumei Film Factory, Zhang Xiaoping, deputy director of the factory, held a copy of "Film Art" and said to Su Zhensheng: "When others talk about left-wing films and Chinese films, they are all talking about Chinese films themselves, but Wangqiu, this kid, puts Chinese films into the world." This is a big vision, a big pattern! Talent is rare, you must help when the time comes, keep him in our factory!"

The apprentice is so powerful, and the master naturally has a light on his face. Su Zhensheng said proudly: "If he didn't have two brushes, would I accept him as an apprentice? As for returning to Xiu Studio, this is his own business, and I, as a master, am not good at interfering." ”

With the release of the special issue of "Film Art", the debate about the language of film and the future direction of Chinese cinema really began. The studios were arguing, the academic circles were arguing, and Nortel's campuses were arguing. The entire film industry is embroiled in this debate, and everyone is thinking about what the future of Chinese cinema really is.

After watching Antonioni's "Enlargement" from the China Film Archive, Liu Lin, who was dizzy, shook his head and said: "Antonioni's movies are too boring, they can suffocate people to death, or Hollywood movies, Hitchcock is much better than him." ”

Chen Kaige, who was next to him, sneered when he heard this: "Hitchcock's film has no ideological connotation, and it can't be compared with Antonio Nini at all." Of course, Antonioni's films are art, and uneducated people can't understand them. ”

Without waiting for Liu Lin to speak, Zhao Ban preemptively countered: "Truffaut said that Antonioni's film makes me bored, he is so serious and lacks a sense of humor. Could it be that Truffaut has no culture? Antonioni's films are just ugly, and if no one watches a director's film, no matter how high the idea is, no matter how new the form is?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang said disdainfully: "Is it true that a movie must be understood by everyone in the market to be called a good movie?

Liu Lin said unceremoniously: "For us Riba people, movies that can't be understood just don't have much value." ”

Brother Chen Kai sneered: "It's terrible to be uneducated. Without the arduous exploration of avant-garde directors such as Antonioni and Fellini, cinema would never have progressed, and would always have been what it was decades ago. ”

Wu Ziniu retorted: "Speaking of which, it seems that only avant-garde directors can explore, didn't Hitchcock and Kurosawa explore? Hitchcock's suspense and Kurosawa's multi-camera shooting, isn't it an artistic exploration?"

Xu Wangqiu felt that there would be no result in arguing with Brother Chen Kai, so it was a pure waste of time, and said to Liu Lin: "Okay." Don't quarrel with the spring and white snow, let's go to dinner with the Riba people, I'll have a treat today!"