Chapter 823 A strange combination of circumstances
No one can do everything perfectly.
That sentence is so good, "It is not difficult for a person to do something good. What is difficult is to do good things throughout his life, not to do bad things, to consistently benefit the masses, to benefit the youth, and to consistently benefit the masses." It is beneficial to the revolution and working hard for decades, this is the most difficult thing.”
The same goes for Ning Weimin’s behavior. No matter how thoughtful he is, he cannot satisfy everyone. .
Why else do Lan Lan’s father and brother have such a hostile view of him?
Professor Lan objected to his commercial use of the ancient building, and Lan Zheng hated him for standing with Qiao Wanlin and blocking his future.
Although this is not what Ning Weimin wants, he has no choice. He is inevitably forced by the situation, and he even doesn't know about some things. How helpless is this.
On May Day this year, something like this still happened.
Precisely because the opening of Tianqiao Shopping Mall was so popular, Ning Weimin, who originally wanted to take care of both, had no choice but to focus on one.
As a result, at the opening ceremony of an exhibition held at the Temple of Heaven on the same day to raise funds for the "Journey to the West" crew, it was inevitable that some people would regret his absence, or even be dissatisfied.
Who?
Not a member of the cast of "Journey to the West".
After all, people are poor and their ambitions are short, but their hair is thin and their hair is long. The entire crew is so poor that only their acting skills are left.
Who dares to have an objection to the wealthy businessman who offered help in times of need and took the initiative to help them solve their financial problems?
But the problem is that Director Yang is a woman, and the problem lies precisely with her.
This female director, besides having the problem of not keeping her words, is also quite meddlesome.
At this opening ceremony, she invited the station leader who had appointed her as the director as a distinguished guest to cheer for the crew.
It should be said that such an idea was entirely her impromptu personal act.
It may be a good thing if it is used in the filming of TV series, but it is not the case for the opening ceremony of such a large-scale cultural event that requires a lot of preparation work.
Because it will cause great trouble to the host organizing the event.
Originally, the Temple of Heaven thought it would be enough to have a deputy director come forward to cooperate with the crew to complete the opening of the exhibition.
After all, tourists come here for the "Journey to the West" crew, and it doesn't really matter whether other people come or not.
As long as everyone can meet the main actors of the four masters and apprentices, they will be happy, which will be enough to increase the popularity and boost ticket sales.
I didn’t expect that this was so good that it actually alerted the Taiwan leaders.
Not only does he have a high level, but he also controls the media channels.
If Tiantan Garden dared to neglect, the entire leadership team would come out to accompany him.
Not only the director of the park came, but also a large number of attendants. Even Qiao Wanlin rushed from the bureau to wait on him after getting the message.
The relaxed and lively atmosphere that I originally expected for the opening ceremony was gone. The crew members all became serious and reserved, and their speeches were cautious.
Many people have tried their best to figure out how to shoot a rainbow fart without showing off.
So the most embarrassing thing is the Pierre Cardin company.
As the main organizer of the exhibition, they can't find a suitable person to accompany them.
Zhai Gong and Northern Divine Chef have nothing to do with this matter.
Only Zhang Shihui, Ning Weimin's first confidant, was still a subordinate of the head office's operations department, and was temporarily promoted to take up the job.
But the problem is that Zhang Shihui doesn’t know anything about the exhibition and the preparations, which were all decided by Ning Weimin himself.
Zhang Shihui could not tell the truth when the station leaders asked him any relevant questions. He was even confused about the details and even made mistakes if he was not careful.
It all depends on the help of people from the Temple of Heaven, so naturally when he speaks, the atmosphere becomes very awkward.
Finally, the fact that the real planner of the exhibition, Ning Weimin, is not here, but is accompanying the district leaders at Tianqiao Shopping Mall, can no longer be concealed.
It has to be said that once a person reaches a certain level, his thoughts are definitely different from ordinary people.
There are some things that ordinary people may not care about, but people with status may not.
Although the leader of the station seemed calm and smiled generously at this time, he still looked cheerful and smiling.
Next, it’s time to take photos and visit, but there’s not much to say.
Basically, during the visit, I just watched him. It’s hard to say that he was as happy as when he first arrived, and he had no grudges at all.
But then again, Ning Weimin is very popular, and Temple of Heaven Park is his hometown.
Every one of the people accompanying the leader here, including Director Yang, no one does not miss his kindness.
Although no one dared to take credit for him openly, they still pointed towards him between the lines.
What's more, this exhibition was really well run, with highlights everywhere. It would be too easy for everyone to give him a thumbs up in front of Taiwan leaders.
For example, at the gate of Nanshen Kitchen, next to the ticket gate of the exhibition, a giant background board with a photo of Sun Wukong was erected along the courtyard wall.
Not only is the theme of the exhibition "Dare to Ask Where the Road Is - The Difficulties of the Crew of "Journey to the West"" written in large red characters, but also a brief introduction to the content.
This head-starting background board made the Taiwan leaders very satisfied.
Because it not only has a strong visual impact and attracts attention, but also clearly explains the causes and consequences of the birth of the domestic "Journey to the West".
Why does the country spend huge sums of money to film this TV series?
That's because the Japanese remake of "Journey to the West" was such a waste of our classics. It was made up and altered randomly. It was just a joke.
If we do not produce a qualified "Journey to the West" ourselves, people around the world will think that our so-called masterpieces are only of this low level.
So filming "Journey to the West" has become an urgent mission in the contemporary literary and artistic creation world.
Then why is the exhibition called this name?
It's because the crew of "Journey to the West" has had to face and overcome countless problems and difficulties since the day it was established.
Insufficient funds, backward technology, insufficient crew, and even only one camera.
If it weren’t for the firm support of a certain leader of the National Television Station, the audience would not have seen such a wonderful mythological drama.
But even now, the crew is still facing the dilemma of insufficient funds and may stop filming at any time.
So the purpose of this exhibition is to raise funds for the crew.
The crew hopes that the audience who like this TV series will come and buy tickets to watch it.
Not only can we have an in-depth understanding of the unknown filming inside story, but we can also provide support and contribute to our favorite "Journey to the West".
In short, such a title and introduction not only give the exhibition a legitimate necessity and demonstrate the personal achievements of Taiwan leaders, but also encourage everyone to donate generously and openly.
This takes into account the interests of everyone in every aspect.
Whether it is an exhibition organizer or an exhibition visitor, I am afraid that no one will think that this should not be done.
After entering the first exhibition hall, more than a hundred photos and picture materials on the walls are presented in the light.
There are also some physical props to reflect the actual difficulties and various dangers faced by the crew of "Journey to the West" during the filming process.
For example, in order to film the Fire Cloud Cave, the crew went to Changbai Mountain for filming.
But because they were too far away from residential areas and the budget was not enough, they could only eat moldy bread to satisfy their hunger.
Even the packaging bags used for bread are polyester bags that have been filled with fertilizers.
It can be said to be risking food poisoning to make art.
For example, in the section where the master and the apprentice were walking through the waterfall, they almost fell to the bottom of the cliff while the crew was filming.
Poor Bai Longma was in danger several times and almost fell to pieces.
While filming the scene of Sun Wukong and Ma Wen on the grassland, the photographer was almost trampled to death under the hooves of a horse.
In order to shoot the Five Elements Mountains, the crew took a flight to Kunming, Yunnan.
But I never thought that during heavy rain, the plane was affected by turbulence and almost crashed.
Fortunately, the air force pilots were experienced and they were able to escape death.
When the crew went to Huangshan for filming, the van that came to pick them up didn't even have headlights. They relied on the driver's intuition to drive along the cliff late at night.
For another example, Liu Xiaolingtong and Ma Dehua both fell while hanging wires, and Liu Xiaolingtong even fainted after falling.
Not only is working at heights risky, but in order to be realistic, the sea of fire in "The Battle of the Red Boy" was filmed in real fire by actors who took risks.
In addition, in order to create a fairyland dream like the floating clouds and mist of the heavenly palace, the props group uses dry ice to create gas.
At the shooting scene, dozens of staff were shaking dry ice bottles at the same time to create gas.
Although the wonderland shrouded in fairy mist is really wonderful, the staff almost suffocated to death due to poor ventilation in the environment.
To put it bluntly, the crew is definitely worthy of the vast audience.
It was precisely in order to perfect the filming of "Journey to the West" that all the crew members survived several disasters, which made this TV series widely recognized and praised.
Visiting the last part of this exhibition hall, there is another blockbuster exhibit that makes the outside world's doubts about the crew's spending money unanswered.
That is the original shooting budget form of "Journey to the West", placed in a glass display case with lights.
The signature date is May 1982, and the paper used is the special paper of the national television station.
It can be seen through the large enlarged photo hanging on the wall behind the original.
On the table, the main actors in the play are not even paid as much as ordinary people, and some even bring their own wages to film, which is really sad.
For this reason, the exhibition content in this hall is more powerful and credible.
Not to mention that the audience who saw the exhibition were moved by the content of the display, even the station leaders truly felt the efforts of the crew and couldn't help but say "Thank you for your hard work" to the director and crew on the spot.
In this way, the awkward atmosphere just ended and turned into a harmonious atmosphere of mutual sympathy.
Looking further back, we came to the props and special effects area. The content was quite interesting, which made everyone feel happy and relaxed at the same time.
The props here are large and small.
There is the alchemy furnace of Taishang Laojun, the guillotine and oil pan of the Tiger Power Immortal's fighting method, the lotus throne of Buddha,
there is an elixir pot, Nezha's hot wheel, the circle of heaven and earth, and the tower of King Li Tian pagoda.
There are small paper-mâché peaches, carved ginseng fruits... and so on.
The exhibition hall also provides detailed explanations in the form of large picture illustrations on the methods of completing several special effects that the audience is most concerned about.
For example, how did Sun Wukong walk on water?
How did Sun Wukong soar into the clouds and mist?
How were the Hot Wheels on Nezha’s feet photographed?
How does the golden cudgel in Sun Wukong's hand change from big to small...and so on.
In addition, there is a large-scale on-site photo of "The Burning of Guanyin Yuan" hanging on a side wall.
The Guanyin Temple above is a miniature landscape carved from wood, and the crew is arranging the fire source.
Although it is a pity that there are no physical objects on display here, you can fully feel through the photos that the props are quite exquisitely made, and the crew did not make do because of lack of funds, and they were very careful.
As for the most amazing parts of this hall, there are two points.
First, in front of many prototype sculptures of Buddha and Bodhisattva characters, and in front of many ironing samples of buildings, the exhibition organizers imitated the style of real temples and also placed a merit box made of wood and glass.
Through the glass, you can see the colorful banknotes and coins inside.
Secondly, there is a large fish pond with an area of more than ten square meters in the middle of the house.
Not only are there thousands of small goldfish, rockeries and water plants in the pool, but there are also miniature dragon palaces, shrimp soldiers and crab generals carved from stone. Looking towards the middle of the fish pond, it’s even more amazing.
There stands a tall stone pillar, with a stone-carved Sun Wukong squatting on it.
Under the water of the stone pillars are the Dragon King and the Turtle Prime Minister.
Obviously, it is modeled after the scene in "Journey to the West" where Sun Wukong "obtains a treasure from the Dragon Palace" and obtains the Dinghai Needle.
Such ingenuity not only fits the theme of the exhibition, but is also lively and interesting.
Especially for the visitors to the exhibition, in this exhibition hall, you can throw a piece of 50 cents to the crew of "Journey to the West" and raise some money.
You can also look at the goldfish and relax, or spend a few cents to buy two small goldfish to take away.
Some people even threw coins into the pool, trying to hit the Monkey King on the stone pillar.
It undoubtedly greatly enhanced the interactivity of the exhibition.
Even the leader of Taiwan led people here and saw many people beside the fish pond saying, "One dime is not too expensive. These are fish swimming in the Dragon Palace. It will be lucky to buy a few and go back."< br>
Some people who have just stuffed money into the merit box can’t help but raise their thumbs and say to the group of them, "You guys took great photos! It’s amazing!"
He They all suddenly became interested, took out ten yuan from their pockets, and went to put together a charity box to donate to the crew.
Unexpectedly, the Temple of Heaven Garden had already thought of it for him.
At this time, naturally, an accompanying person quietly handed over the 100 yuan prepared in advance.
At the same time, there were also people holding cameras and getting ready to take pictures.
In this way, the Taiwan leader not only left a generous and elegant photo amidst the huge applause, but his mood really improved.
He obviously became talkative and started asking questions again.
Continue walking further and you will come to the costume and makeup hall, where the content is even more interesting.
Because the costumes of each character, the headgear of various monsters, and weapons and armors are displayed here.
In addition, there are many rich three-dimensional display methods.
For example, the Academy of Fine Arts has made statues based on the physical proportions of actors. There are both wax statues and wood carvings in the exhibition hall.
The wax figure is closer to the character in the play, and the costume is particularly lifelike, which surprised the audience.
Even the cast and crew felt it was too realistic and had the urge to stand under the characters they played and take photos with them.
Wood sculptures are movable, something that emerged based on the cooperation between teachers and students of the Academy of Fine Arts and the National Puppetry Art Troupe.
The advantage of wood carvings over wax figures is that the joints are made in the manner of puppets and can be manipulated manually.
Therefore, this exhibition hall rarely has two life-size dynamic scenes.
One is three dozen white-bone spirits, and the other is Zhu Bajie carrying his wife on his back.
One is thrilling and the other is humorous.
This greatly enriches the interest of the exhibition.
Although it is only shown every half hour, it not only requires special personnel to operate it, but also uses a tape recorder to play the tape.
This method is very crude. It is indeed not as realistic as American theme parks, which are fully automated.
But there is another folk custom, and looking at the country, it can be regarded as the only one where scorpions poop.
The key is that the level of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts is also there.
To use an analogy, these wood carvings are the Hermes of the puppet category.
Not only is it large, but it is also exquisite and has collection value.
In addition, there is another feature in this hall that is not found elsewhere.
That is, the dedicated staff put on makeup according to the characters in the play, and the four people who acted as masters and apprentices took photos with the customers.
This is of course chargeable.
Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie each received one yuan, while Tang Sanzang and Sha Seng received five cents each.
If you need four masters and apprentices to accompany you for a group photo, the package price is two yuan.
This project made the hall very busy, and there was a long queue of customers who wanted to take photos with the four people.
It must be managed by dedicated personnel, otherwise it will be blocked.
Liu Xiaolingtong and Ma Dehua looked at each other. Not only did neither of them expect that their costumes would be so popular and they could make so much money, but they both found it very interesting.
The two quickly developed a tacit understanding, and then negotiated with the Temple of Heaven Garden, claiming that they had always taken photos with others while wearing makeup, and had never taken photos with the characters they played.
So I hope to take this opportunity to take a photo with the staff who play the role of "the four masters and apprentices".
Of course the Temple of Heaven Garden had no reason not to agree, so in front of everyone, a wonderful scene appeared.
The four masters and apprentices without makeup took a photo with their own character styles, and finally there was a group photo of eight people.
This is simply the best of Li Kui and Li Gui.
Although the four actors did not queue up, and it was considered as a back door to add a barrier, the people in the queue behind did not complain at all, and everyone was happy to see it.
Some people even took the lead in applauding this scene.
For this reason, the number of spectators in this hall was increasing, which soon caused great congestion.
The station leader, who was smiling and watching the excitement, did not dare to stay longer. After the actors took photos, he quickly took the lead and entered the next room.
At this point, the exhibition content has come to an end.
Looking here again, there is more of a commercial atmosphere than elsewhere.
Because in addition to the dough makers, there are also craftsmen who draw sugar paintings.
There is also a special counter selling snacks and cold drinks, masks of Journey to the West characters, inflatable golden hoops, rakes and crescent shovels, as well as books and comics related to Journey to the West.
At the same time, free large bowls of tea are provided to tourists to quench their thirst as a consistent welfare measure.
What’s more worth mentioning is that the house also functions as a movie theater.
Ganqing hung color TVs and video recorders in the four corners of the room, playing the accidents of the "Journey to the West" crew while filming different episodes.
These filming behind-the-scenes can provide visitors to the exhibition with first-hand information in a very timely manner and understand the latest progress of the "Journey to the West" crew.
So don’t look too much at the smell of copper and worldly atmosphere, but this room is the most unforgettable.
Those with children, as long as they come here, they can’t help but buy some things to comfort them.
Then while drinking tea or soda, you will be amused by the scene of the four masters and apprentices taking a break and smoking on the TV screen, as well as the shot of the wire hanging in the air.
When the leaders of the station came here, they couldn’t help but lament the exhibition organizers’ knack for making money.
Through the theme of the exhibition, the business aspect is very good. The more money you make, the happier the audience will be.
Secondly, I was sincerely shocked. This exhibition was really cheap. It cost a lot of money at first glance.
If nothing else, the price of color TV and video recorders is tens of thousands.
At this moment, another accompanying person followed the director's instructions and went to the cold drink cabinet to get ice cream for everyone to taste and quench their thirst.
The station leader was stunned again when he saw it. It turned out to be a peach-flavored ice cream with a three-dimensional statue of Sun Wukong. The facial features were almost consistent with the character of Liu Xiaolingtong in the play.
I couldn't help but feel interesting and surprised, and couldn't help but ask
"No wonder the cold drink shooting team is buying this ice cream?"
The director of the Temple of Heaven took the words, "Yes. , thanks to the idea of Pierre Cardin manager Xiao Ning, we cooperated with the Polar Bear Company to have such a stable financial source. Don’t underestimate this thing, the profit is huge. We now have the cream ice cream of the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvests. , Sun Hou’s peach ice cream, Zhu Bajie’s chocolate ice cream, Tang Monk’s lychee ice cream, and Sha Seng’s coconut ice cream will soon be launched. If you are interested, I will send a few boxes to Taili later, so you can try them all. "
At this time, a six-year-old boy was heard saying to Director Yang, "This ice cream is so delicious. It blooms once every three thousand years and bears fruit once every three thousand years. It tastes better than the paper ice cream you forced me to eat. The mushy flat peach is much stronger..."
Just because of this sentence, the scene immediately aroused laughter.
However, this is not the end yet, Ma Dehua said again, "You eat yourself, don't you have any psychological barriers?"
"Hahaha..." This time he laughed harder and took control of the camera. People also lost no time in leaving a classic photo again.
Then the Taiwan leaders’ bad impression of Ning Weimin finally began to dissipate.
Especially after learning that Ning Weimin was only in his twenties, he seemed to think that this young man was very talented, and it was understandable that he was a little unstable.
For this reason, I happily called Director Yang and said in front of everyone, "This manager Xiao Ning from Pilkington organized the exhibition very well. I would like to meet him. Remember to contact us Let’s take a moment.”
At this point, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that there would be no sequelae from today's exhibition.
In the back, of course, everyone is dining together at Tan Gong Restaurant, and the guests are enjoying themselves.
Zhang Shihui also had an idea. For this reception meal, he asked the kitchen to change the dishes to look like characters from Journey to the West.
Successfully gained a smile from the Taiwan leader, making up for the mistake.
Logically speaking, this matter should go in a good direction.
But it was a pity that the Taiwan leader wanted to see Ning Weimin. He left it to Director Yang, and he didn't say why he wanted to see Ning Weimin.
Director Yang didn't take it seriously, thinking that the leader was just being polite.
After that day, she was so focused on the crew that she completely forgot about it.
It wasn’t until more than a week later, when the crew was almost ready for the business trip, that she remembered to call Pierre Cardin to convey the station leader’s request for a meeting.
Unfortunately, Ning Weimin is no longer in the capital.
Even the people at Pierre Cardon didn't know where he was. They only said that he had urgent personal matters to deal with and asked for a week's leave.
You can only tell Director Yang that he is looking for him after he calls the company.
So Director Yang, who was preoccupied with the progress of the filming, was too lazy to say anything else.
The next day, I took the crew to the woods of the Temple of Heaven to film a scene about the master and apprentice traveling westward, and a martial arts scene about fighting a little monster.
Leaving the Temple of Heaven Park with cultural resources as a filming location for the "Journey to the West" crew will be considered as fulfilling the promise.
Then I also took the team on a business trip and devoted myself wholeheartedly to the filming work.
So, Ning Weimin didn't know that there was such a situation at all.
Is there anything you can’t offend?
The station leader waited for a few days and asked the secretary to contact Director Yang, and finally got a reply that Ning Weimin was on a business trip.
The Taiwan leaders also mistakenly thought that Ning Weimin was Canada, and of course they were even more unhappy.
So without waiting, he called two capable subordinates to come in and assign tasks.
"The "Journey to the West" exhibition jointly prepared by the Temple of Heaven Garden, Pierre Cardin Company and the crew of "Journey to the West" in order to finance the filming is very good. You two should go take a look and learn from the experience. Isn't our station still filming "Four Generations Under One House" and "A Dream of Red Mansions"? I think it can be used as a reference. Let's figure out how much it will cost. Let's start with the "Four Generations Under One House" exhibition. If it's good, maybe we won't have to worry about funding for the filming of TV series after the station... Hey, but if you go, don't say hello to the Temple of Heaven Garden. I don't want them to interfere. We will organize the future exhibitions ourselves. I don't believe it. If you want to be a butcher, you have to eat pigs with hair on them..."
The two subordinates looked at each other, somewhat understood, and kept saying yes.
Look at what happened, it was all a mistake.
People say that you can't do anything if you don't talk well. This sentence is probably true.
(End of this chapter)