A widower's entertainment

Columbia Pictures' desire to collaborate with Lin Youcheng is not surprising, given that it is a well-known Hollywood film company. Sidney Pollack, the producer of "Sense and Sensibility," specifically met with Lin Youcheng through Li An and expressed his appreciation for Lin's previous film works.

"Lin, it's a pleasure to meet you at the Berlin Film Festival."

"I really like your movies, and your latest film, 'The Sixth Sense,' is absolutely brilliant."

These words are also Sidney Pollack's true feelings. The Sixth Sense, a particularly low-budget thriller, is indeed a very hot movie in the current global film market. In terms of box office performance alone, it has really made a number of film companies excited.

Li An, who was standing to the side, was not surprised to hear what Sidney Pollack said, because he himself was also greatly shocked after watching the movie "The Sixth Sense" and had no doubts. It can be said that he had understood and was greatly shocked by every movie of Lin Youcheng before.

"Lin, our company very much hopes to have the opportunity to cooperate with you."

Sidney Pollack clearly knew that it wouldn't be that simple to reach an agreement with Lin Youcheng this time, but he at least wanted to make his stance clear, especially by using Li An, a Chinese-language director, to give Lin Youcheng a chance to collaborate.

"It would be great if you and An could work together."

Lin Youcheng naturally understood what Sidney Pollack meant. He glanced at him and said very seriously, "I also very much hope to have the opportunity to work with Director Li."

This was Lin Youcheng's true thought, not just polite talk, because he genuinely admired Director Li An. In fact, there were some films that were suitable for Director Li An to direct. After all, Director Li An not only makes art films, but also commercial films. For example, his current film, "Sense and Sensibility," is an English-language film based on a foreign novel. Its selection for the Berlin Film Festival is enough to prove Li An's directing skills.

Lin Youcheng was well aware that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, director Li An's English-language film "Sense and Sensibility" was about to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. This would be Li An's second Golden Bear win at the Berlin Film Festival, following his previous film "The Wedding Banquet".

Li An could clearly tell that Lin Youcheng was sincere, which pleased him greatly. After all, he himself very much hoped to collaborate with Lin Youcheng, whether it was an English film or a Chinese film, Li An had no problem with that.

Sidney Pollack was naturally pleased to hear Lin Youcheng's words and said, "How about we film the movie script you wrote for the next project?"

Clearly, Sydney Pollack is also very keen to finalize this collaboration. They undoubtedly admire director Li An, otherwise they wouldn't have cast him in the classic British literary work, "Sense and Sensibility." If they could also secure screenwriter Lin Youcheng from the East, it would be fantastic news that Columbia Pictures is eagerly anticipating.

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "I haven't written the script yet. We'll see what Director Li An thinks after I finish writing the script."

Li An was well aware that a collaboration couldn't be finalized overnight, so he quickly said, "Regardless of whether we can collaborate or not, I'm really looking forward to your next script."

This is not just Li An's idea, but also the idea of ​​many filmmakers in Hollywood. Just like Lin Youcheng brought us the particularly novel film "The Sixth Sense," the film industry was once again amazed by the stories written by Lin Youcheng. No one would deny Lin Youcheng's imagination, and everyone is also looking forward to what kind of amazing stories Lin Youcheng will bring next.

It can be said that because Lin Youcheng made an unprecedented appearance at the Berlin Film Festival, it wasn't just Columbia Pictures that wanted to collaborate with him; there were also many other overseas film companies that wanted to work with him or get to know him.

The media reporters were also very eager to interview Lin Youcheng, the mysterious screenwriter from the East. After all, he rarely makes public appearances, but his literary works and films have a great influence overseas, which is quite attractive. Lin Youcheng didn't even attend the Oscars, so how could the media workers not want to interview him in person at the Berlin Film Festival?

Naturally, some media outlets and newspapers wanted to contact Lin Youcheng through Warner Bros. and the Berlin Film Festival to conduct an interview.

Lin Youcheng didn't refuse outright. He accepted an interview with the Berlin Film Festival's official publication, Screen Daily, explaining that he came to the festival to accompany his daughter and that he admires the festival. He also mentioned that he had previously written the screenplay for the film "The Reader," which was also shown at the festival. He then shared his thoughts on the films in the main competition, praising Li An's "Sense and Sensibility" and also commending two Chinese-language films, "Sunlight Canyon" and "Mahjong."

Of course, in addition to this, Lin Youcheng will also make a short film called "Destiny" about his daughter Lin Zhaomei.

It has to be said that Lin Youcheng, this screenwriter from the East, is quite attractive. Although he is not a star actor, but just a screenwriter, his works are quite remarkable. As Lin Youcheng said, his previous work, "The Reader," was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival and won the Best Actress award at the festival. In addition, there are his works such as "The Truman Show," "Amour," "Atonement," and his latest work, "The Sixth Sense." It can be said that Lin Youcheng is a highly controversial figure and naturally receives a lot of attention.

Of course, the film festival itself is more concerned about the winners of the closing ceremony. Even before the closing ceremony begins, a lot of news will be circulating, all revolving around who will win the Golden Bear award.

Just as Lin Youcheng praised Li An's "Sense and Sensibility," other film critics will also praise other films in the main competition, such as "Classroom Romance." These discussions are mostly about the main competition.

There will also be discussion about the short film section, but the topic won't be as heated as the main competition section. This time, perhaps because of Lin Youcheng, the short films will receive more attention and discussion. Among them, Lin Zhaomei's short film "Destiny" has been highly praised.

It was under these circumstances that Lin Zhaomei received news from the organizers that her short film "Destiny" was going to win an award, obviously the Best Short Film Award. Moreover, this year at the Berlin Film Festival, three short films shared the Best Short Film Award, unlike the highly competitive Golden Bear Award where only one film could win.

Of course, the Berlin Film Festival has also awarded the Golden Bear to two films at the same time. For example, Li An's "The Wedding Banquet" won the Golden Bear together with Xie Fei's "Woman Sesame Oil Maker". There was even a time a long time ago when three films won the Golden Bear at the same time.

Lin Zhaomei was undoubtedly very excited about winning the Best Short Film award.

Although this award is far inferior to the Golden Bear and is only a short film award, it is important to know that this short film was Lin Zhaomei's first attempt at making a short film, and winning the Best Short Film award at the Berlin Film Festival really excited her.

Lin Zhaoqing was clearly very happy, and he was also very happy for his sister. He turned to his father, Lin Youcheng, and said, "Dad, that's wonderful! My sister won an award!" "Yes, that's wonderful!"

Lin Youcheng was all smiles, genuinely happy for his daughter Lin Zhaomei. He nodded repeatedly, as a father he naturally hoped for her success. However, this hope was more about supporting her in pursuing her own interests, such as directing. He knew that whether she would win awards was uncertain, but the fact that she had been admitted to the film academy's directing department and that her short film "Destiny" had won the Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival demonstrated that his daughter had a talent for directing.

Lin Zhaomei winning the Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival is hardly big news at the festival. The bigger news is that Li An's "Sense and Sensibility" won the Golden Bear, marking Li An's second Golden Bear win, which was undoubtedly the hottest news at the Berlin Film Festival.

However, for Lin Youcheng, the biggest news was that his daughter Lin Zhaomei's short film won an award, which should be considered the biggest news for the entire Lin Youcheng family.

Because it was close to Chinese New Year's Eve, Lin Youcheng naturally didn't stay at the Berlin Film Festival for long and soon flew back to China. Of course, he congratulated Li An before leaving, but he was more focused on bringing his own family's joy back to Xinghua Hutong in Beijing.

The news also reached the Beijing Film Academy. Although the school was on holiday, some people in Beijing naturally knew about it and were pleasantly surprised. None of them expected that Lin Zhaomei would actually win the Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Although it was just a short film award, it's worth noting that Lin Zhaomei is only a first-year student majoring in directing. Winning a short film award at the Berlin Film Festival is already quite an achievement.

This news will definitely become even more popular when the new semester starts.

The most popular place right now is the courtyard house in Xinghua Hutong. It's really bustling with activity. It's already a joyous time for the New Year, and now with this news, the atmosphere is even more festive.

Red festive lanterns hung under the eaves of the courtyard house, and lively firecrackers rang out, adding to the festive atmosphere. Inside the house, the whole family was joyfully celebrating the New Year.

"Third sister, you're amazing!"

Lin Zhaole looked at Lin Zhaomei with admiration, his eyes wide, and said with a smile, "You're really amazing!"

Hearing Lin Zhaole's words, Lin Zhaomei's face was full of smiles. She patted Lin Zhaole's head and said with a smile, "Thank you, Zhaole!"

After thanking Lin Zhaole, Lin Zhaomei turned to Lin Zhaoman and said sincerely, "Zhaoman, thank you so much. You've been keeping me company on set the whole time."

In fact, Lin Zhaomei always remembered that when she hadn't started school yet, it was Lin Zhaoman who accompanied her to the school to find a filming team. It was also Lin Zhaoman who accompanied her to film in the countryside in the suburbs of Beijing. Although her second brother Lin Zhaoqing also went, it was Lin Zhaoman who accompanied her and acted as her assistant at the beginning.

Hearing Lin Zhaomei's thanks, Lin Zhaoman felt a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and said with a smile, "Sister, don't be so polite with me. I didn't really help much. You're amazing. You won an award for your first short film. You will definitely become a great director in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaohuan chimed in, "That's right, Third Sister, you're sure to be an amazing director in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaoqing couldn't help but smile and say, "From now on, we'll all go to the cinema to watch your movies."

"That's right, we'll go to the cinema to watch your movies from now on!"

"Let's all go together!"

Lin Zhaoping and Lin Zhaoan also expressed their support.

Although Lin Zhaoxi didn't say anything, she was also filled with pride and very happy for Lin Zhaomei.

Lin Zhaomei felt a warmth in her heart as she listened to her siblings' words. She then turned to look at her father, Lin Youcheng, who was bringing in a steaming bowl of dumplings. She knew very well that she was able to win the award because of her father's support. Just like how Lin Youcheng supported her in writing scripts and trying to make films, he gave her more than 100,000 yuan to make a short film without hesitation. He had always supported her, and she knew this very well.

Because it was Chinese New Year, besides Lin Youcheng's family, there were also Lin Youcheng's parents-in-law and his elder brother Lin Youcai's family, making it even more lively. They were all talking about Lin Zhaomei winning an award abroad. Although Lin Youcai and Fang Mei didn't know much about the Berlin Film Festival or the Best Short Film Award, they knew that whatever award Lin Zhaomei won, winning it abroad was quite remarkable, and they were all happy for their niece.

Lin Youcai smiled at Lin Youcheng and said, "Youcheng, Zhaomei is so young and she's already winning awards abroad. She might even be more successful than you in the future."

Lin Youcai naturally knew that Lin Youcheng had also won awards abroad, but Lin Zhaomei was already winning awards while still in school, so he thought she would definitely be even more amazing in the future.

Upon hearing his elder brother Lin Youcai's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but smile and said, "That would be good, of course."

As a father, Lin Youcheng naturally hoped that his daughter, Lin Zhaomei, would do better and better in the future. If she could surpass him, that would be even better, and—

Lin Zhaomei is a director; she'll definitely be more successful than him in the future! (End of Chapter)