Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 52: It's hard to refuse a kind offer, but I have to do it reluctantly

After the celebration, a few people walked along the north road of the Workers' Stadium. The night was as dark as ink, and the shadows of the locust trees on the roadside were stretched out thinly by the dim street lights.
A breeze blew by, bringing a hint of coolness to the summer night.

Street vendors were calling out to their cassette vendors in intermittent voices, and Dao Lang's raspy voice could be faintly heard echoing in the air.

"It's a scam, absolutely a scam!"

Xiang Zhuo walked and waved, his tone full of resentment, his feet stepped on the gravel on the roadside, kicking out a series of crisp sounds:

"I thought I'd get to see the full movie tonight, with the ticket price over a thousand, but instead I was shown a bunch of random highlights and behind-the-scenes footage. Zhang Weiping even had the nerve to say on stage that he wanted to save the mystery until the end."

Liu Yifei walked beside Wu Chen, her light blue skirt swaying in the wind. The moonlight fell on her face, outlining a bright white halo.

She pursed her lips and chuckled, glancing at Xiang Zhuo. "Xiang Zhuo, didn't you say it was worth over a thousand? Just now you were yelling, 'Dao Lang, keep singing, don't stop,' but how come you changed your attitude faster than turning the pages of a book?"

"Senior sister, you don't understand him yet. Just now when Zhang Ziyi was dancing, Xiang Zhuo wanted to dig out his eyes and move forward." Chu Tianshu and Park Songri finished off the attack and killed the opponent.

"Pfft!" Zhou Yang and Liu Yifei covered their mouths and laughed.

"What about you?" Liu Yifei looked up and asked Wu Chen, with a smile in her eyes, and her figure was as light as a willow in the night.

"I'm different from Xiang Zhuo!" Wu Chen said seriously.

When everyone heard this, they immediately looked over.

Xiang Zhuo's eyes widened: "Brother Chen, I was just appreciating art."

"There are so many works of art in the school history museum, but I don't see you appreciating them." Wu Chen shook his head slightly, walking at a leisurely pace. His black shirt was blown to his shoulders by the wind, revealing a bit of casualness.

"What's different?" Liu Yifei asked curiously.

Wu Chen stopped, pointed at Xiang Zhuo's nose, and sneered, "How can Zhang Ziyi alone compare to the three of SHE? He's so young!"

Liu Yifei couldn't help it, she bared her teeth slightly, stepped lightly on Wu Chen's instep with her little foot, then turned her face away to chat with Zhou Yang, and decided to ignore Wu Chen for a while.

Summer vacation came quietly. Although the Beijing Film Academy campus was not as deserted as the tide had receded, most people had left. Wu Chen returned to his hometown in Foshan.

Under the eaves of the old house, mother Yuan Xiaoqin brought a bowl of mung bean soup, the cool sweetness dispelled the summer heat, while father Wu Yangming was busy with factory affairs all day.

On the way, Wu Chen even visited Zhang Zemin. Zhang Zemin was so happy to see him that he couldn't stop grinning and slapped his thigh, "It was a good bet, it really was a good bet!"

During his time at home, he did not just lie around, but also took the time to write his second suspense thriller script.

This trip to Sitges is not just about the competition unit.

July and August belong to Zhang Yimou’s special show.

"House of Flying Daggers" was released in mid-July, and it was a box office success and a hit, breaking many records. It was obviously another billion-yuan domestic film after "Hero", and its popularity was unmatched.

However, on August 30, at the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics, the eight-minute performance directed by Zhang Yimou turned out to be a disaster, receiving a flood of negative reviews.

Evaluations of it being unfashionable, weird, and neither Chinese nor Western came one after another.

Yuan Xiaoqin cursed as she peeled peanuts: "What the hell is this!"

Wu Yangming also frowned and agreed.

Even the teachers and students of Beijing Film Academy kept cursing.

At the beginning of September, Wu Chen had just returned to school for two days when Liu Yifei asked him out.

The autumn wind gradually rises on campus, ginkgo leaves cover the paths, and passing students are still discussing Zhang Yimou's "Dark Eight Minutes".

Liu Yifei wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans, looking like a fresh and bright early autumn rose. She lowered her head and walked carefully on the bricks, afraid of stepping on them wrongly, and couldn't help sighing:

"Director Zhang is really miserable."

She didn't expect that the famous director she had just met two months ago was now being criticized by people inside and outside the circle.

"There's a fine line between praise and slander." His eyes fell on her stepping on the bricks, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "Tell me, Senior Sister, what do you want from me?"

"Why can't I come to you if there's nothing wrong?" Liu Yifei stopped and snorted, "Did you forget that it was my birthday a few days ago?"

Wu Chen was stunned. His mind raced to recall what he had just thought and he had truly forgotten about it. He was so busy writing the script.

"Forget it, I forgive you!" Liu Yifei gently lifted her hair from her forehead, looked towards the distant sky, and said softly with a hint of anticipation: "I'm going to Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

"The female lead has been decided? Congratulations, senior sister!" Wu Chen said sincerely with a smile in his eyes.

For some reason, Wu Chen's congratulations always made her happier than anyone else's. Her eyes sparkled with joy. "So, are you coming to visit the set? Last time you said it was too far, is that the same reason again?"

"Since you have invited me so kindly, I have to go once." Wu Chen did not hesitate this time and agreed readily.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yi's eyes curved into crescents, but he said stubbornly, "Who invited you? It was you who wanted to go, Junior Brother. I can't refuse such a kind invitation, so I agreed to it with reluctance."

"Okay, then I'll edit the reason as you wish." Wu Chen couldn't help laughing.

"What do you mean by editing it according to my meaning? It's your meaning, it's your meaning."

Liu Yifei looked at Wu Chen fiercely and forced Wu Chen to agree.

Wu Chen smiled and nodded. The setting sun lengthened the figures of the two people, one tall and one short, walking side by side towards the distance.

Just two days after Liu Yifei left for Jiangsu and Zhejiang, news came from the school that "The Dark Side" had been shortlisted for the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival.
Also competing in the same arena is Hong Kong's Johnnie To's "Big Event".

As a genre film event, there were naturally a lot of reports on the nominees, but the wording annoyed Park Song-il and others.

"The crime action drama "Big Event" directed by the famous Hong Kong director Johnnie To has been shortlisted for the world's top fantasy film festival in Sitges.

Johnnie To has directed many excellent films such as "A Lang's Story", "Justice, My Foot" and "Infernal Affairs".
Wu Chen, a student at the Beijing Film Academy, was also shortlisted with his film "The Dark Side," which is being supported by the Beijing Film Academy.

"This is too much! In one report, Johnnie To accounts for 80% and Chen Ge only accounts for 20%. Why? Aren't they all nominated for the same film festival?" Xiang Zhuo pointed at the Sohu Entertainment report and cursed.

"Other portals and some media newspapers are not much better. They write about Brother Chen as if he is an incidental character. They look down on others." Park Song-il was also indignant.

"The BBSs of major universities in Beijing are much better than this. Well, it's just that the people in our directing department have started to keep silent." Chu Tianshu scrolled through the web pages and couldn't help laughing.

To the outside world, Johnnie To is very famous.

But for major art colleges in Beijing, Wu Chen's name is actually more worthy of attention.

"I didn't expect that old Mu to be so lucky. That girl Hu Jing came here a while ago and was very impressed with Wu Chen. Could it be that the photography department of Beijing Film Academy is going to produce another great director?"

Chang Li looked at the report and sighed, feeling happy for Hu Jing but sad for the Central Academy of Drama.

Directors are so scarce at the Central Academy of Drama, we can't always have to look up to the Beijing Film Academy.
If we were to ask who pays the most attention to these news, it’s not journalists or the media, but actors;

They are actors who are about to graduate or have just graduated a few years ago and are not well-known.

Opportunities are something you have to fight for yourself. You should pay more attention to directors who have potential but have not yet taken off.

In art colleges in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, many people silently memorized the name "Wu Chen".

In an apartment in Beijing, Zeng Li saw the report and a trace of loneliness flashed in her eyes. A great opportunity just passed by.
(End of this chapter)