Zhang Niancheng was particularly devoted to "In the Name of the People". He took hundreds of people to it through wind and rain, and spent several months. Now the story has finally turned into a video, which was condensed with sweat.
The total length of the film is more than ten hours, and now two hours need to be edited out of it. This is not a simple task, and it requires both brains and physical strength. There are five editors, plus director Zhang Niancheng himself, and six people are fully devoted to it.
After all the hardships he had endured, why would he care about editing? For the next week, Zhang Niancheng spent all day in the editing room, communicating with the editor day and night, and editing the film together.
Because of their disagreements, he had many conflicts with the editors, which resulted in him blushing and having thick necks. The most intense one was when the editor gave up his job, but it was Zhang Tan who intervened and persuaded them to come back.
Zhang Niancheng apologized to others afterwards. During the quarrel, he said inappropriate words, which indeed hurt people's self-esteem.
This was the first time that Zhang Tan encountered a director who scolded the editor. In the past, movies and TV series were mostly noisy and noisy, but in the end they expressed unanimous opinions. However, this time Zhang Niancheng was full of fire, which shows how much pressure he is under.
Finally, after a lot of twists and turns, the film was cut out. The length was controlled at 120 minutes, not more than a minute, not less than a minute. Zhang Niancheng said that he cut every second, and he felt distressed and troubled every time he cut out a second.
It doesn't work.
Zhang Tan and producer Zhao Silu watched the entire film for the first time. Compared with the last version, it was much smoother and more refined, with more laughs. It made people cry when they laughed.
Zhang Tan and Zhao Silu were both very satisfied and had no suggestions for revision. They felt that this version could be submitted for review.
The process of submitting it for review was not smooth. Zhang Tan learned the news immediately. The film had not passed review. Many parts were marked with red lines and required to be deleted. In some places, entire plots had to be deleted.
Pujiang Film Studio stepped in. They found people to find connections and got a chance to communicate face-to-face with the members of the film review committee. As long as they could convince them, they could change their minds.
After much deliberation, it was Zhang Tan and Zhang Niancheng who finally went to Peking to participate in the meeting. It was just the two of them. There was no use in having more people, and it was not necessary to have more people in a quarrel.
As far as this movie is concerned, no one is more familiar than Zhang Tan and Zhang Niancheng, and if they can't convince each other, it's useless to go to anyone else.
The two of them took a flight to Peking a day in advance, chose a hotel very close to the radio and television, checked in, and rested for a while. Zhang Tan went to the next door and knocked on the door, calling Zhang Niancheng to go out and meet someone.
"Who?" Zhang Niancheng asked.
He didn't know in advance that there were plans to meet today.
Zhang Tan also contacted the other party just now and said, "It's a director of Radio and Television. Let's talk about tomorrow's meeting."
Zhang Niancheng perked up. He didn't expect Zhang Tan to have such a connection. He found the other party's person. He immediately thought that Zhang Tan was related to the Pujiang City Propaganda Department, and "In the Name of the People" was the evidence.
The two of them arrived at the appointed teahouse, and soon a young man appeared. He was wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and a pair of black leather shoes. He had short hair and was in good spirits. He was a man from the radio and television industry.
The director, surnamed Sun, was contacted by Qin Huifang.
Upon meeting Director Sun, he shook hands with Zhang Tan warmly, asked about Qin Huifang's physical condition, and asked about the relationship between Zhang Tan and Qin Huifang in a roundabout way.
He told Zhang Tan some precautions and some details of the last time he reviewed the film. For example, some local committee members had different opinions and could be fought over. In some areas, everyone was more consistent. It is estimated that it would be difficult to change everyone's opinions.
While Zhang Tan was talking to Director Sun, Zhang Niancheng was taking notes with a pen and paper. He returned to the hotel and immediately threw himself into the film review process, discussing with Zhang Tan what to say in tomorrow's meeting.
The next day, Zhang Tan and Zhang Niancheng came to Radio and Television and met 9 committee members. There were 15 film review committee members, but only 9 were able to come today. After all, many of them are not based in Peiping, so it was quite troublesome to go back and forth.
This was only possible through the trust relationship between Pujiang Film Studio.
Zhang Niancheng gave the lecture, and Zhang Tan assisted. When he spoke, the committee members listened attentively and nodded from time to time, which made them think the effect was good. However, when the committee members expressed their opinions after the speech, they found that it was not the case. Some points agreed that they would not move.
But most places still need to be deleted.
Zhang Niancheng argued with the other party, but the person on the other side still insisted on his opinion, which made him feel frustrated.
At this time, Zhang Tan said: "I listened to it for a while, and I will tell you my opinions. Please correct me if I am wrong. You are all my seniors, and your understanding of movies is much deeper than mine. You are also familiar with our movies."
I also understand the current situation in more detail than I do. In the past thirty years, Chinese films have made leaps and bounds. The film market has become the largest market in the world, surpassing North America. This shows that the material and cultural needs of our people are rising rapidly. Films are spiritual food.
It is not only used for entertainment, but also to criticize current ills and bring positive social influence."
"This "I'm Not the God of Medicine" is not a fictional story. It happened in real life. It happened in Pujiang. But the difference from the ending in the movie is that he did not go to jail. He won the lawsuit. This is legal.
Victory is also a victory for human nature. I made this story into a movie not only because the story is touching, but also because it reflects the loopholes in our society and system. In a healthy civilized society, there is such a vulnerable group
, they cannot afford life-saving medicine, they can only wait to die..."
Zhang Tan spoke eloquently for nearly half an hour. During this half hour, the other nine judges rarely interrupted him. They listened carefully to him one by one until he finished speaking.
…
He and Zhang Niancheng left the conference room, went to the bathroom, and went to the smoking room to smoke. Zhang Niancheng handed Zhang Tan one, but Zhang Tan didn't take it because he didn't smoke.
"I didn't expect you to be so eloquent and expressive. I was moved every time I heard you." Zhang Niancheng said sincerely.
Since he met Zhang Tan, Zhang Tan hasn't spoken as much as he did today.
Zhang Tan: "I'll do my best to obey fate. Now I'm waiting for their results."
Zhang Niancheng nodded. Just after Zhang Tan finished speaking, the committee members opposite said they wanted to discuss it behind closed doors and asked them to wait outside.
After smoking a cigarette, the two of them went to the corridor outside the conference room to wait. The door of the conference room was still closed, but Director Sun came out and stood against the railing, as if waiting for them.
Seeing them appear, Director Sun said that the discussion inside was very intense.
Zhang Tan felt more hopeful after hearing this. The intense discussion showed that someone's attitude had changed, which was a good thing.
After about ten minutes, the door of the conference room finally opened, and a committee member came out and called them in, saying that they still wanted to chat.