debuted as a "seeking girl", but did not become a star, Wei Minzhi should be the first person.
In 1998, Zhang Yimou directed the movie " Can't Miss ", which made the rural girl Wei Minzhi popular all over the country.
After she became a seeker, she suddenly disappeared.
Where is she now? What is your life like?
In 1995, Zhang Yimou went through the waterloo of life, his father passed away, his partner disbanded, and the box office reputation was not satisfactory...
He urgently needed a masterpiece to dispel the haze from the bottom of his head. By chance,
saw a novel written by writer Shi Xiangsheng and was deeply attracted. The novel by
tells the story of a country girl who does not let any of her classmates drop out of school when she is a substitute teacher in a mountain village.
"That's it!"
's film adaptation of this novel, "No One Less", won numerous awards at major film festivals, giving Zhang Yimou a beautiful turnaround. In this movie
, Zhang Yimou uses all amateur actors. The process of
's role audition is complicated and huge, and the staff went deep into the major villages across the country to find suitable actors.
Hebei Zhenningbao Village, the arrival of the casting director made Xiaoshan Village lively.
Wei Minzhi and Wei Congzhi also came to watch the fun. Director
immediately fell in love with Wei Congzhi, his younger sister with a good image.
Wei Congzhi was timid. When the director talked to her, he kept his head down and rubbed the corners of his clothes vigorously.
's sister Wei Minzhi replied generously, and also took the initiative to sing and dance.
So Wei Minzhi entered the competition for the heroine of the movie.
's audition team of more than 30,000 people, in the end, only Wei Minzhi and another mountain village girl were left. Zhang Yimou wrote the final exam questions for
, and the staff took them to different rooms. There was only one camera in the empty room. The title of
is to have the two of them shout at the camera, the louder the better.
Another girl couldn't let go, and shouted shyly at the camera.
Wei Minzhi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he shouted at the camera in a heart-wrenching manner, startling Zhang Yimou.
Just like this, 13-year-old Wei Minzhi became the appointed "seeking girl" and joined the crew.
This documentary about a substitute teacher in a mountain village is very similar to Wei Minzhi's life.
However, Wei Minzhi in real life is luckier than the heroine in the movie. The filming process of
for several months was not only personally trained by Zhang Yimou, but also allowed Wei Minzhi, who walked out of the mountain village for the first time, to see a different world outside. After the successful completion of the
movie, Wei Minzhi returned to her hometown to supplement her homework, help her parents feed pigs, and do farm work, and she lived the same life as before.
Soon, the small village broke the tranquility of the past, and many people came from outside.
These people are all here for Wei Minzhi.
She starred in "No One Less" won many awards at domestic and foreign film festivals.
became popular overnight as a "girlfriend" Wei Minzhi, and promotional posters with her profile pictured on the media were all over the place.
reporters poured into this remote village one after another, scrambling to report on Wei Minzhi.
Many film agencies also hope to sign Wei Minzhi and take her to make more movies.
The Wei family has also become the envy of everyone in the village, saying that their family is such a life, and they have raised a star girl.
In front of the dazzling temptation, Wei Minzhi, who has always been bold, was a little dazed.
She doesn't know what to do next?
At this time, Zhang Yimou also knew her situation, he made a special trip to find Wei Minzhi, and told her what he thought:
"Minzhi, making a movie will not change you. Life. Your conditions are not suitable for entering the entertainment industry. The most important thing for you at the moment is to study hard and get into a good university."
Wei Minzhi's heart, Zhang Yimou is her noble person, more like a relative, his words must be to listen.
Since then, Wei Minzhi has refused all invitations, no longer appear on any occasion in the entertainment industry.
She understands that only reading can change her destiny.
Immediately after, Wei Minzhi's second nobleman appeared.
is the chairman of a private school in Shijiazhuang, Hebei. After learning about Wei Minzhi's family background and her personal situation,
made a special trip to invite her to study at the school, and waived all tuition and miscellaneous fees.
Wei Minzhi knows that all this is hard-won. She started learning Mandarin from and , and put all her energy into learning.
's family conditions are not good, Wei Minzhi rarely offers to let her parents buy things. Shortly after
went to school, she asked her father to buy her a flashlight.
After the lights in the dormitory are turned off every day, she secretly uses a flashlight under the quilt to memorize words and do exercises. A day like
lasts for six years.
During the college entrance examination, everyone in the family wanted Wei Minzhi to apply for a normal school that would be good for employment.
Wei Minzhi already had an idea in mind. Since
can't be an actor, he should be a director.
It turned out that the filming experience many years ago had already planted the seed of a dream in Wei Minzhi's heart.
She insisted on taking the Beijing Film Academy's directing department exam despite her family's objections and her teachers' hard persuasion. The fate of
played a joke on her. In the second round of exams, Wei Minzhi was brushed off.
For a time, the major media chased Wei Minzhi again, but this time it was full of negativity.
said that although she made a movie, she still did not meet the threshold of art.
During that time, Wei Minzhi's life was overshadowed. Fortunately, with the company of her family and the encouragement of her teachers, she successfully completed the college entrance examination.
is lucky to have been with this hardworking girl. After the college entrance examination, she was admitted to a university in Xi'an to study the major of editing and directing. Although
did not get into the ideal school, Wei Minzhi is one step closer to her dream.
She is no longer the ignorant girl she was 6 years ago. She used her persistence and diligence to change the way of life.
On the campus of the university, Wei Minzhi was exposed to a wider world, and everything here made her feel fresh. When
was a sophomore, she began to learn to be a director, and made her own experience into the movie "Night Fairy Tale", and she was the princess in the fairy tale.
Luck landed again on the princess's head.
Chen Ergang, a Chinese-American professor, wanted to help Wei Minzhi when he saw the movie "A Lot of One" many years ago.
Many years later, when his university launched a student aid program, he first thought of Wei Minzhi. After
made inquiries, he flew to Xi'an from the other side of the ocean and met a girl from a mountain village who had grown up. In the
conversation, Wei Minzhi gave Chen Ergang the same impression he experienced in the movie.
is strong, diligent, and has the dream that he has been pursuing.
Chen Ergang decided to help Wei Minzhi realize her dream and bring her to the United States for further study.
Regrettably, Wei Minzhi's poor English foundation hinders daily communication, let alone attending lectures in college.
Chen Ergang applied to the school and decided to give Wei Minzhi two years to study languages in China.
's chance to fulfill his dream is just around the corner. Wei Minzhi is madly practicing English like a demon. Two years after
, she was admitted to Brigham Young University by virtue of her good first place, and continued to study the major of editing and directing.
, a confident girl, is not the village girl who can't even speak Mandarin well.
She is active in various campus activities: she hosts school parties in English, writes scripts in English, and shoots feature films with alumni.
Her dream of directing has finally become a reality.
After graduating, Wei Minzhi stayed at the school to become a teacher by virtue of her excellent performance in school.
At this time, more than ten years have passed since the filming of the movie "No One Can Be Missed". What is unexpected about
is that more than ten years later, she and Zhang Yimou met on the other side of the ocean.
In 2010, Zhang Yimou and another "seeking girl" Zhou Dongyu , with" Hawthorn Love " came to the United States to participate in the film festival.
Wei Minzhi sat in the press booth and asked Zhang Yimou questions.
When she used fluent English to introduce herself as Wei Minzhi of "No One Can Miss", Zhang Yimou was filled with emotion.
He said that Wei Minzhi has grown up and that her life is the best documentary. The documentary
would not have had the best ending without Zhang Yimou's initial heart-to-heart conversation.
Now, Wei Minzhi has not only fulfilled her dream of being a director, but also gained love.
Wei Minzhi met her husband Liu Jinhui in the United States. After marriage, she had two lovely babies.
In 2010, Wei Minzhi gave up the excellent job opportunities abroad and returned to the motherland with her husband and children. After
returned to China, she prepared to shoot the movie "Miracle Daughter" based on herself.
In her own way, she builds a beacon of dreams for children in mountain villages like her, and helps them open the door to changing their lives.
Wei Minzhi, who is 37 years old this year, is still relying on his own talents to enter the China Young Writers Association .
She is the lucky one among thousands of village children. She may not be the best, but she is the hardest and most diligent one.
She is no longer the rural girl who feeds pigs and collects firewood in the mountain village. She relies on her own efforts to step by step to the other side of victory. The success of
's movie made Wei Minzhi reach the peak of her life, and she did not lose her life direction.
She can clearly realize that only real learning is what she really needs.
Some people say that Wei Minzhi's life is the story of the ugly duckling turning into a white swan. However, few people in
know that this swan has gone through untold hardships in every transformation process. Although
did not become a big star, Wei Minzhi made a wonderful life with persistence and persistence. There are many paths in
's life. In addition to seizing the right opportunities, it is also necessary to keep moving forward with tenacity, so that we can go farther and more steadily.
-END-
Author: Su Moxiang
Editor: Qingcao
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