Similar to the dilemma encountered by Yang Weifan and Cheng Lin.
At almost the same time as them, Chen and his son also suffered hardships in their careers due to national conditions.
The hard work of the two fathers and sons - "Father and Son", the first part of the "I Was Born to Be Useful" series, fell into an intractable dilemma.
It almost came to ashes and was completely destroyed.
Speaking of this series of comedy movies, there is no doubt that it occupies an important position in the history of our country's films.
He expressed the confusion of a low-level man named "Er Zi" who was experiencing great social changes during the period of reform and opening up.
In the movie, this character who seems to be living around people has been looking for his own uncertain destiny by relying on his instinctive kindness and simple nature.
It is precisely because this character's words and deeds are based on values ​​recognized by the common people.
Moreover, from a life-oriented perspective, it truly recorded the rapidly changing social conditions at that time.
The influence and value of this series of movies is completely comparable to Japan's "The Story of Torajiro", which is known as the longest series.
But in fact, as the main creator of this series of movies.
At the beginning of their creation, Chen and his son did not have such clear goals or such far-sighted ambitions.
In fact, the real reason why they want to make this series of comedy movies is because the people need comedy.
Mr. Chen once said this.
"Our people are suffering so much, we must bring joy to them."
This kind of sincere and simple idea is the most fundamental creative motivation of the two of them.
In addition, there may be another reason that cannot be told.
That is, in Mr. Chen's mind, comedy will be a relatively safe field.
Nothing else. His personal experience in the "movement" made Mr. Chen really afraid of the phrase "How can a good person play a villain so well?"
He neither wanted to make the same mistake again, nor did he want his son to be put in danger.
So from then on, he refused to deal with villains and focused solely on the path of comedy. This is human nature.
However, although the wish is good, there are many objective problems that need to be faced, and the path of "Oriental Chaplin" is really not easy to follow.
For example, at that time, the republic's film industry was still under a completely planned economic system.
If you want to make a movie, the film studio must accept a national assignment or propose a plan.
Only with state approval can a screenwriter, director, and film crew be organized for production.
After the film is completed, it must be reviewed by the Film Bureau.
Finally, it is acquired by a government-controlled distribution and projection company before it can be distributed and shown in theaters across the country.
In addition, ideologically speaking, comedies are also not popular.
At that time, the Chen father and son's attempts at comedy creation, which focused on entertainment, not only seemed too advanced, but also had a somewhat "deviant" flavor.
Moreover, in terms of film types, even "comedy films" with educational significance have a far lower status than "artistic films".
To put it bluntly, film professionals who exist like civil servants, from top to bottom, only care about artistic achievements and whether they can win awards.
No one cares about whether the people like it or not, and no one cares about the economic benefits of low-cost comedies and high box office.
Even some directors at that time made art films that were deliberately far away from the lives of the masses, but they were ashamed of their high box office.
Therefore, in our country's film industry, the survival space of comedy movies has always been awkward.
In fact, if Mr. Chen hadn't been a member of the party committee of Beijing Film Studio, he would have had a certain amount of power.
He did not hesitate to rely on his old age and betray his old age, and even sacrificed his face to personally write the scripts for "Look at This Family" and "Sunset Street".
These two films will not appear in Beijing Film Studio's shooting plan at all.
Naturally, the classic character image of "Two Sons" will not be shown to the audience.
In fact, even the sketch "Eating Noodles" is the same.
When I booked the show, it was because it was so funny.
On the contrary, because of concerns about not being too serious and lacking in thoughtfulness, no one dared to make the decision to let it go to the Spring Festival Gala.
If it weren't for the socially experienced "Hong Ye", who had been shamelessly dragging Chen Peisi to insist on renting a car and room to attend the "Spring Festival Gala" rehearsal without being acknowledged.
In addition, Director Huang attached great importance to it, and at the last moment, he supported this program just like he had supported Gu Yi.
Such a classic folk art program may never be seen by people across the country.
It can be seen from this that in this specific era, the Chens and his sons had to overcome many difficulties if they wanted to turn their comedy into a series of movies.
Not to mention anything else, at the beginning of filming, the "seeking status" issue stumped the father and son.
Because even with the good response and popularity of "Sunset Street", it is useless.
The old man has already owed two debts of gratitude for the two films he made earlier.
If you want to continue shooting comedy films in the short term, it is impossible to get support from Beijing Film Studio.
And Chen Peisi is an actor affiliated with "August 1st Factory".
The military studio has more serious requirements for filming content, and there is no quota for comedy films at all.
As a result, they have to humble themselves and beg for help everywhere, trying every possible means to find a way to get a "birth certificate" for their movie. Unfortunately, rushing is not a business. How can it be so easy to ask for help?
This process is destined to be discriminated against and even humiliating.
For example, last year, before Chen Peisi and "Red Leaf" became popular, they took a train to the "West Film Studio" with their own script.
Unexpectedly, the director of Xiying Film Studio, who expressed his collective gratitude to the "fifth generation directors" for supporting art films, did not even bother to come out to see them.
I only sent a deputy director who casually flipped through the script and made a clear rejection.
"We don't make these kinds of movies."
Later, Chen Peisi and "Hongye" without exception encountered such perfunctory soft nails.
So after they went back and discussed it exhaustedly, they had no choice but to adopt the method of "getting on the bus first and paying for the ticket later".
That is to go outside and find ways to attract investment, and then rely on your own strength to make movies first.
They place their good hopes on their future luck.
Do you think that maybe once the film is finished, the "quota" issue will be solved?
Maybe they were also afraid that they would ask for funds and actors after being given a "spot", so they made excuses to shirk it.
It was precisely because of this that later it emerged that "Hongye" and Chen Peisi used Hong Yanwu's wedding to sell favors, and then treated him to dinner to seek sponsorship from him.
But who would have thought that after finally getting investment, the crew would be able to save money by asking for people everywhere.
They even became famous with "Eating Noodles" at the beginning of the year, which made their movie prospects more secure.
But now, halfway through the filming of the movie, something unexpected happened, and they were actually reported to the film bureau.
The superiors immediately ordered them to stop and they were not allowed to take any more pictures.
Now Chen and his son were in great panic.
They are looking for ways to smoothen the relationship and lift this restriction.
But the person responsible for handling this matter resorted to bureaucratic tactics.
They insist on insisting that any movie must be affiliated with a film studio before it can be made, otherwise it will not be released even if it is made.
He also said that because Mr. Chen was an old comrade, he did not seriously hold all the crew members accountable.
This is already considered leniency.
He is about to "die before his master comes out". But the clay figurines also have a certain earthy nature.
To be honest, as a parent, no one cares about their children.
Often, you may be able to tolerate things that involve you, but parents cannot bear to see their children's hard work being wasted.
So Mr. Chen got really angry when he received this unkind feedback.
The old man simply took the risk and went directly to the movie office and patted the table.
Unexpectedly, this seemingly reckless move without regard to status actually worked wonders.
Although Mr. Daqing became famous as a villain, he is very popular in real life.
If this matter becomes a big deal, many old comrades in the film industry will not be able to stand it, some will ask questions, and some will plead for mercy.
The film bureau had no choice but to release this movie out of consideration.
In the end, the film bureau decided to let "China Film Company" take over this "motherless child".
This has created the only film in the history of our country that does not have a factory logo.
But even so, Chen Peisi couldn't be happy.
Because first of all, after so much trouble, the performance was suspended for a month, and everyone dispersed.
Props and equipment had to be found again, and the economic loss was really considerable.
I really want to organize a team to finish filming the movie, but I don't have enough funds.
Secondly, the film bureau had no choice but to acquire "Fathers and Sons" this time, and at the same time it also issued a warning that "it won't happen again."
In this way, the script for the second sequel that Chen Peisi has already written will definitely not be filmed in this way.
So he had to beg again for a "birth certificate" for his second movie.
The screenwriter who participated in the joint creation approached "Changying Studio" specifically for this matter.
"Changying Film Studio" felt that the script had potential and agreed to take over the filming.
But it also denies the comedy model of a father-son partnership.
They demanded that the movie must show tall and complete characters.
It is said that the protagonist cannot be a comic character, it must be a positive character.
Therefore, it was decided to change the script into a political propaganda drama and even change the name of the movie to "Hey, Buddy."
In this way, Chen Peisi faced a difficult choice that was heartbreaking no matter how difficult it was.
Do you want your hard work to be completely wasted? Or do you want to give your "child" to someone else and let them dress it up as they please?
Finally, even the "August 1st Factory" began to put pressure on Chen Peisi.
He said that he would not be allowed to work outside from now on and asked him to focus on his job.
And Chen Peisi's handling method is just like the "second son" he plays, which is very straightforward.
He actually voluntarily gave up his iron job, not even the quota for titles and housing assignments, and resolutely changed his career from the "August 1st Factory".
In order to adhere to the ideal of comedy, even "Aunt Tian" who originally admitted him persuaded him to change his mind, but he did not waver.
It's just that although his father understands him, his wife at home doesn't do it.
My wife has been crying for several days, saying that he is "famous all over the world, but has no body." She is very worried about the future.
Chen Peisi was a bit vague this time.
Because although he can make money by "traveling holes" now, it is not stable after all.
Moreover, something happened to the "big cat" (Liu Xiaoqin) who had been responsible for organizing the performance, and it seemed that he was going to be severely punished for "taking acupoints."
Then there is no telling whether we can do this in the future or how long we can do it.
He is also afraid that if something unexpected happens, his wife and children will suffer along with him.