Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 15 The Crown Princess's Promotion
When the sycamore leaves began to turn yellow, Jiang Ye was surprised to find that he had already been enrolled for a month.

While freshmen in the acting department are still practicing their singing in the morning, students in the directing department are already used to carrying their equipment around the campus.

The 2014 undergraduate class of the Directing Department had a total of 20 students, 15 of whom were male.

The homeroom teacher is Jiang Wei, a famous screenwriter and director.

While he didn't achieve much in the film industry, he can be considered one of the best third-generation directors of television dramas.

Jiang Wei is known for his screenwriting, with representative works including the TV series "Lurking" and "Borrowing a Gun". He is skilled in suspenseful narratives and human nature portrayals, and is currently preparing his new drama "Hunting Ground".

Every time he teaches a class, this middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses habitually pushes up his glasses with his index finger. When he speaks, he has the straightforwardness that is unique to people from Shandong Province: "A director must first be a good tailor. The script is the fabric. If the tailoring is not good, even the best fabric is useless."

As a benchmark figure in Chinese spy dramas, Jiang Wei's works always manage to find a delicate balance between censorship and artistic expression.

The professors in the department are all highly accomplished.

The department head is Wang.

He always had a pipe in his mouth when lecturing on "Fundamentals of Directing," even though smoking was strictly prohibited in the classroom.

He directed "Don't Come Looking for Me After the Divorce," which explored the theme of extramarital affairs in great detail back in the 1990s. Even now, when discussing camera work, he still cites how he evaded censorship back then as an example.

The student both respected and feared Tian Zhuangzhuang the most.

This "recluse" among the fifth generation of directors, along with Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 78. His film "The Blue Kite" remains a banned film to this day.

My father was the first director of the Yanjing Film Studio and a well-known "second-generation red" in the circle.

His hobby was having extramarital affairs; he first had a three-year relationship with Xu Fan, a teacher and student.

Later, while filming "The Blue Kite," he developed feelings for Lü Liping both on and off screen, which led to the breakdown of her marriage. In 2017, her ex-husband was still accusing him of sexually harassing actresses.

Jiang Ye was quite understanding of him; what's wrong with a director developing feelings for someone on set?
Isn't this normal?
What a fuss!
Tian Zhuangzhuang is a graduate advisor in the directing department and also teaches some elective courses for undergraduates.

Once, he came to class wearing an old man's shirt and talked about the past when he, Wang Suo, and Ye Daying were discussing scripts at the Jimen Hotel. Suddenly, he tapped the blackboard and said, "The stuff you guys are making now wouldn't even have gotten a film license back in the 1980s."

Every Thursday afternoon, the bidding hall is always packed with people.

The school will invite some well-known alumni to give lectures.

Guan Hu brought Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) to the lecture, and when he got excited, he jumped onto the stage to demonstrate the long shot from the movie "Killing".

Lu Chuan went even further, after showing unreleased clips from "Nanjing! Nanjing!", she immediately started arguing with the students about the historical accuracy of the film.

……

After a month of enrollment, Jiang Ye felt the time was right.

The first web series he was going to film was "Go Princess Go".

This drama achieved great success back then.

It was exclusively launched on LeEco in December 2015.

It garnered over 10 million views within 48 hours of its release, over 100 million views in 9 days, and accumulated over 24 billion views by the end of its run, ultimately exceeding 27 billion views in total.

The topic garnered over 25.3 billion views and 230.3 million discussions on Weibo, and at one point reached second place on the Weibo topic list.

Although the production was rough, it incorporated eye-catching elements such as time travel, gender swapping, palace intrigue, and male-male romance, leaving the audience completely bewildered.

Moreover, all scenes in the series were filmed at the Xiangshan Film and Television Base, so the budget was not high.

The copyright for this drama is currently held by LeTV.

But Jiang Ye felt that he might not need it.

A reborn person who can't plagiarize is unqualified...

Of course, he wouldn't just copy it verbatim; he would change the names and plot, which would be necessary.

As for whether it can be improved, he is still confident. He not only remembers every highlight of the show, but also all its flaws: cheap costumes and props, anticlimactic plot, and some overly vulgar scenes.

As the former "founding father of short dramas," he had many representative works.

The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with My Substitute Bride

The Return of the Dragon King: Daughter Lives in a Doghouse

The Divine Doctor's Son-in-Law: Spoiled by Nine Senior Sisters

Although these dramas are heavily criticized, viewers still can't stop watching them.

Especially college students...

Now that you've asked him to revise this drama, it's a perfect fit for his expertise!
Jiang Ye quickly listed the keywords on the paper: "male transmigration into female, palace intrigue, BL ambiguity."

He made necessary upgrades to the script.

The emotional storyline strengthens the ambiguous interactions between the Crown Prince and the "Crown Princess," adding memorable scenes such as bathing together in the bathroom and sleeping together while drunk.

The political intrigue is incorporated into the storyline, allowing the "Crown Princess" to use modern business thinking to solve ancient dilemmas.

The comedic elements incorporate more gender-bending jokes, such as the "Crown Princess" teaching palace maids to dance girl group dances.

Finally, there are the actors; the Beijing Film Academy has no shortage of handsome men and beautiful women.

……

Jiang Ye first sought out Professor Hou Kemin, who taught Genre Films.

“Professor Hou, I want to make a period light comedy.” He handed over the proposal, “Using modern thinking to deconstruct court intrigues would be a perfect way to put into practice the genre innovation theory you talked about last week.”

When Hou Kemin flipped to the "male transmigration into female" setting, his glasses almost slipped off: "Nonsense! How could this kind of subject matter pass censorship?"

Jiang Ye was prepared: "Look at 'My Own Swordsman,' isn't it also a period drama with a modern core? Besides, the 'Premium Program' requires departmental recommendations, so I'd like to try and secure an innovative practice spot for the directing department..."

Hou Kemin eventually signed his name in the recommendation section, but warned, "Don't use the department's official seal!"

Holding Hou Kemin's autograph, Jiang Ye staked out the teahouse that Tian Zhuangzhuang frequented.

Finally, on a rainy day, Tian Zhuangzhuang, who had come to buy Pu'er tea, arrived.

Rain dripped from the eaves, and he saw the old director in a navy blue jacket slowly walking towards the teahouse, holding an old-fashioned black umbrella.

"Teacher Tian!" Jiang Ye quickly stepped forward, tilting the umbrella at just the right angle to shield Tian Zhuangzhuang from the splashing rain.

Tian Zhuangzhuang looked up at the student who seemed somewhat familiar, his gaze lingering for a second on the student's rain-soaked shoulders: "Directing major?"

"Jiang Ye, Class of 2014, Undergraduate Program".

He bowed slightly, the umbrella still steadily covering Tian Zhuangzhuang's head. "I just finished reading your 'The Blue Kite,' and I have a question I'd like to ask."

Tian Zhuangzhuang raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.

“You used the kite as a metaphor for the fate of individuals in the torrent of the times, and I was thinking…” Jiang Ye paused deliberately, “If we put this metaphor in a time-travel drama, and modern people went back to ancient times, could we also explore similar themes?”

Tian Zhuangzhuang narrowed his eyes: "Come in and talk."

The innermost private room of the teahouse was filled with steam.

Jiang Ye skillfully scalded the cups and rinsed the tea, his movements fluid and graceful.

"Kung Fu tea?" Tian Zhuangzhuang was somewhat surprised.

“My uncle taught me,” Jiang Ye smiled. “He was filming a documentary in Yunnan and always said that you are the director he has met who understands Pu’er the most.”

Tian Zhuangzhuang's finger paused lightly on the rim of the cup: "Your uncle is... Lin Jianjun?"

(End of this chapter)