The previous audition was just one of the tests. Lin Xiwen wanted to shoot "Beijing Events" and went to great lengths to invite an old writer like Hou Xiling to be the screenwriter. It was obvious that he had some ulterior motive.
The role of 'Doukou' is very important, and he won't give it to himself lightly just because of his awkward performance.
Even though Gu Jiaer had called him before, judging from the fact that Assistant Li persuaded him to take on the role of "Erlang Shen Quells the Rebellion on Earth" at that time, Gu Jiaer's call had a certain effect, but the effect was not so great that it made him give up the role of "Doukou".
But Jiang Se remembered what Assistant Li said when she first met her.
She once said that Lin Xiwen attached great importance to "Beijing Events" and took great pains to invite Hou Xiling to write the script. Hou Xiling had a great say in this film.
And he likes readers who admire him and read his works seriously.
When Jiang Se thought of this, he glanced at Assistant Li standing next to Lin Xiwen from the corner of his eye, and his expression became more cautious.
"That's my schoolmate." Hou Xiling said this and looked at Jiang Se:
"Mr. Lin said earlier that Shangjia Company prepared two movies for you, one of which had two roles, with lots of lines and a lot of pay. Why did you choose 'Doukou' in 'Beijing Events'?"
He stared at Jiang Se with burning eyes through the lenses of his reading glasses, waiting for Jiang Se's answer.
This question is very important. If it is not answered well, no matter what impression Hou Xiling had of her before, it is very likely that Jiang Se will lose the qualification to compete for the role of "Doukou".
For someone like Hou Xiling who has a literary temperament, he holds a pivotal position in the Chinese literary world.
Even though his works are not in the style that young people like today, many people among the older generation of literati hold him in high regard. Even some senior figures in the art industry have to respectfully call him "Mr. Hou" when they see him.
He is already over 70 years old. He has experienced many ups and downs in his life and heard countless flattery and compliments.
Although Jiang Se had been reborn, she was not very old before her rebirth. It was useless to play tricks in front of Hou Xiling, and it would only make people dislike her.
Lin Xiwen also raised his head when he heard Hou Xiling raise this question.
Many thoughts flashed through Jiang Se's mind at this moment, and a somewhat embarrassed look appeared on his face:
"To be honest, I didn't think too much about it at first. I just saw that the screenwriter was you."
Hou Xiling didn't say anything. Jiang Se's two sentences didn't change his expression. He was still smiling, waiting for Jiang Se's next words.
Although he likes to admire his readers, what Assistant Li did not say at the time is that he does not like readers who pursue him blindly, but prefers to have spiritual exchanges and conversations with readers who can understand his works.
In fact, if it weren’t for Jiang Se’s final performance, he might not have signaled Jiang Se to stay, let alone asked her these questions.
"The reason why my first reaction was to pick up "Beijing Events" while I was still reading the script is because I know that you, Mr. Hou, are old and have rarely produced new works in recent years."
Hou Xiling thought of many reasons and guessed what Jiang Se might say. He thought that she might impress him with the excellence of her work and her analysis of the character "Doukou" in the play, but he never expected that Jiang Se would say such words.
"When you were writing 'The Autumn of the Year Before Last', in the story, the protagonist Zhou Qingsong said, 'Goodbye.'" She mentioned Hou Xiling's previous works, and Hou Xiling was stunned for a moment. Jiang Se continued:
"When I read this, I always felt that you were using Zhou Qingsong's words to say goodbye to your readers who loved you. I'm afraid you had already planned to stop writing at that time."
The smile on Hou Xiling's face slowly disappeared, his expression gradually softened from being stunned, and there was a bit of appreciation in his eyes when he looked at Jiang Se.
He didn't say anything, but just gestured, indicating Jiang Se to continue.
"So when I saw that Peking Events was written by you, I thought that I couldn't miss this opportunity." Jiang Se said this. Since he was not politely interrupted by Hou Xiling, it proved that what he just said was not wrong. "As I said before, you are old and you may not have many opportunities to produce works in the future. If I miss Peking Events, I may not have many opportunities to participate in and personally interpret the stories of the characters you wrote in my life."
As we all know, Hou Xiling has an extraordinary passion for his own works. The copyright of his collection of works is entirely in his own hands and has never been sold to any other parties.
He didn't want his works to be adapted into movies and tarnish the characters in his plays, so he would rather remain in poverty and stop writing.
The reason why he stopped writing, besides because he was old and his health was gradually failing, was more importantly that he didn't want to write just for the sake of writing.
If he loses the readers who know him, understand him, and can see what he wants to express in his book, then it will be meaningless for him to continue writing.
The older generation of writers has his own persistence. He is unwilling to bow down for a few pieces of silver. That kind of pride is even engraved in his bones. He is unwilling to compromise with reality. So this time, Lin Xiwen of Shangjia Company really spent a lot of effort to invite him out. He lobbied him for a long time and finally persuaded Hou Xiling for nearly three years and agreed to many of his conditions. Some of them were due to family reasons of the Hou family and were not known to outsiders. Only then did Lin Xiwen get what he wanted.
"I think that in this century, few people can understand what Zhou Qingsong said." Hou Xiling sighed and took off his glasses. Lin Xiwen handed him a handkerchief. He thanked her and gently wiped his forehead and eyes.
"The only people who understand my state of mind are the old guys. I didn't expect to hear someone say this to me today."
With the development and changes of current affairs, young people prefer fast food culture, and the works of the older generation have been submerged in the torrent of history.
Sometimes, even if students select a few passages from the textbook, they may not be able to understand more.
When he wrote "The Autumn of the Year Before Last", he did have the intention of stopping writing. After years of writing, he did not rely on typing on a computer like the young people today, but wrote many books with a fountain pen, stroke by stroke. Over the decades, this caused great damage to his body and left him with many sequelae.
At that time, his health was already a bit bad, and he was disappointed with the gradual decline of traditional writers, so he had such an idea. (To be continued)