Film Star Helps His Brother Grow Into Film Director

By Chen Yuan

Zhu Shimao rose to national fame in 1982 as he starred as the lead man in “The Herdsman”, a national film blockbuster. His reputation was further consolidated as he and comic entertainer Chen Peisi made the whole nation laugh with their two-men humorous shows at CCTVs annual gala on the eve of the Spring Festival in the 1990s.

Zhu Shimao is from a large family. He is the third of five brothers and he has five sisters. Born on December 12, 1965, the youngest brother Zhu Shichun is 11 years junior than Zhu Shimao. When the film that starred Zhu Shimao was screened across the country in 1982, Zhu Shichun was still in senior high school. A special ceremony was held in the hometown of Zhu Shimao. When Zhu Shichun heard about the screening, he rushed back all the way from the school. He got the tail end of the film.He watched the film several times in the following days and memorized all the lines. A naughty boy often involved in fight, Zhu Shichun was changed by his brothers fame. He wanted to be a film actor like his brother. He prepared himself by learning to speak the standard mandarin after television programs.

Zhu Shichun failed to get into college. With the recommendation of Zhu Shimao, he found a job with a wine company in Yantai. While working as a salesman with a good payment, he dreamed of becoming a film star. He quit the job and tried to get himself enrolled into a performing art school. He came out first in the auditions but failed in the academic test. His actor brother found him another job and said that he needed a good job while seeking an opportunity for his performing future.

Then he unexpectedly got a job offer for a character in a television drama. The young amateur actor thought he was dreaming. It turned out that a teacher had noticed his acting in the audition and recommended him to the casting manager of the drama. Coincidentally, Zhu Shimao had recommended his younger brother to the casting manager, but the casting manager had not taken the recommendation seriously after learning Zhu Shichun had never appeared in any production. He asked the old boys network to recommend local talents. Zhu Shichun was recommended. And the casting manager was satisfied with Zhu and then learned the young man was the very younger brother Zhu Shimao had recommended.

The television drama was finally screened on CCTV. Zhu Shimao watched it and took detailed notes of his younger brothers acting.The two brothers later talked about the drama and the acting for a long while. On the strength of the first success, Zhu Shichun got an offer and appeared in another television drama.With more self-confidence, Zhu Shichun decided to try his luck with Qilu Academy of Art, a provincial higher institution in Shandong Province. Zhu Shimao often flew from Beijing to coach his younger brother. He also found a good teacher to prepare his younger brother. Zhu Shichun came out the first again in the test of performing skills but he failed again in academic subjects.

Zhu Shimao started up a showbiz company in Beijing and employed Zhu Shichun as a showbiz manager. Zhu Shichun received training from his brother. In 1995, Zhu Shimao sent him to a one-year training course at Beijing Film Academy.

Working as a showbiz manager, Zhu Shichun did quite well. But he was not content with organization work and backstage work. However, Zhu Shimao often turned down acting offers on behalf of his younger brother. The two misunderstood each other and quarreled. Zhu Shimao wanted his younger brother to learn by watching other people perform. The younger brother thought he was already good enough to act. In 1999 Zhu Shimao ran into trouble after he and his partner Chen Peisi sued a company affiliated with CCTV for piracy. Though they won the copy-rights case and got compensation, they were shut down by CCTV. Their careers were seriously affected.

The two brothers had a talk and made up with each other. Zhu Shimao promised to have more confidence in his younger brother. In June 2003, he created a television drama and cast himself and his younger brother. Zhu Shichun appeared in more television dramas. In 2007, Zhu Shichun starred in “The Commando Soldier”, a television national blockbuster. While starring in the play, Zhu Shichun also worked as an associate director for the drama. The audiences thought Zhu Shichun great in the drama, but Zhu Shimao saw something different. He observed his younger brothers direction was much better. Zhu Shichun agreed and wondered whether he needed to work toward directing as his career direction.

Looking back at his experience as an associate director for a few television dramas, Zhu Shichun realized he was more interested in directing. From then on, he began to figure out ways to direct his own film.

He jointly wrote “Stepmothers Diary” with a screenwriter back in Shandong and asked his older brother for comments. Zhu Shimao thought the script was not thrilling at all. The younger brother defended his work fiercely and the two brothers quarreled. Zhu Shichun decided to raise money for the film on his own. He drew blank everywhere. One day he received a call from Zhu Shimao. Zhu Shimao offered 5 million yuan to make the film. Zhu Shichun became aware that his older brother was always on his side.

With the money, Zhu Shichun began to work. And one day, he found Zhu Shimao unexpectedly among a crowd of spectators at the location shooting site. It turned out that his older brother had just driven all the way from Beijing to Shandong to take a look at how everything was going on. The big brother drove back to Beijing that same night.

In February, 2009, Zhu Shichun invited Zhu Shimao and a manager of a film distribution company to watch the film before it went through the final touch in the postproduction phase. The young director was nervous. But when seeing his elder brother and the manager wiping their eyes, he sighed with relief and knew that the film was good. With tears in his eyes, the manager jokingly complained that he had not wept for four or five years even though he watched new films almost every day.It was definitely a very good tear-jerker. Zhu Shimao congratulated his younger brother and graded it 6.5-7 points in a ten-point system. Zhu Shichun was pleased.

In June, 2009, the low-cost film was screened across the country.