I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Every year, thousands of students graduate with directing majors from art colleges across the country, but there are very few "director" positions available in the market. Most core director positions in film and television projects are occupied by industry veterans, and newcomers often have to start from the bottom positions such as script supervisor, assistant director, and editing assistant. Moreover, these positions have low salaries and high turnover rates, and graduates may even face the dilemma of "no work to be found".

Studying directing requires not only tuition fees but also practical costs: purchasing professional cameras, editing computers (which can easily cost tens of thousands of yuan), renting venues/actors/equipment for shooting short films, as well as expenses for participating in film festivals and further training.

If one wants to improve their competitiveness, the cost of postgraduate studies or further education abroad is a considerable burden, which puts a lot of pressure on ordinary families.

Directing is not a profession where you can "get a job right after graduation". Newcomers usually need 3-5 years or even longer to accumulate experience before they can independently direct small projects. During this period, their income is unstable and their working hours are irregular (shooting all night is the norm).

Even if I have the opportunity to direct, the success of the project and the availability of subsequent resources are uncertain.

The director needs to be proficient in all aspects of the process, including scriptwriting, camera language, actor coordination, art design, and music matching. They also need to have strong communication and coordination skills (coordinating actors, crew, and investors) and the ability to withstand pressure (handling unexpected situations during filming).

Passion alone is not enough; talent and long-term practice are both indispensable.

Online, there's even a joke that "graduating from a directing program means unemployment."

These situations demonstrate just how difficult it is for directing graduates to find employment.

Without someone to promote them, most freshmen graduating from directing programs will give up their major due to the pressures of life and turn to jobs in real estate, sales, or other fields.

If Cheng Sheng didn't have the cheat code and the memories of his other self from another world, he probably would have been "unemployed upon graduation".

Then, just like his counterpart in another world, he gave up his directing career and switched to another job to make money.

……

Time flies.

The second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has reached its end.

The total box office reached 14 billion.

It directly broke the record of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Part 1".

The two domestic films together grossed over 27 billion yuan.

This result shocked the entire entertainment industry.

Although everyone knows that Cheng Sheng's historical films have incredibly high box office returns.

But the two movies of "Three Kingdoms" almost broke the 3 billion mark, which is a bit frightening.

This is just the domestic box office; what about the international box office?
The first part of the Three Kingdoms grossed $230 million in North America and $800 million worldwide.

Although "Three Kingdoms Part II" is still showing overseas, its total box office has already reached $5 million.

It can be said that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Part II" has broken the global box office record of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Part I".

The two films in the Three Kingdoms series have grossed a total of $16 billion worldwide.

When the news was reported by reporters, it caused an uproar in China.

The internet was buzzing with excitement.

[Cheng Sheng is amazing! $16 billion, that puts him in the top 10 of the all-time global box office charts.]

[To the person upstairs: These are two movies, not one.]

Although "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is divided into two parts, isn't it essentially a movie when put together?

[Haha, if a film series is considered a single movie, then Mission: Impossible would probably be number one at the box office.]

Yes, and Jurassic Park too. If you put them together, nothing can compare.

Regardless of whether it's all added together or not, Cheng Sheng is simply awesome.

I agree with this point; no one in the world can compare to Cheng Sheng when it comes to making historical films.

[In the past two years, thanks to Cheng Sheng's historical films, history books from our country have been selling like hotcakes, and the same is true abroad.] [No doubt, I'll support any historical film directed by Cheng Sheng from now on; they're so good.]

[The immersive viewing experience, with each historical figure rendered in a vivid and three-dimensional way, left me feeling incredibly excited.]

After reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," I felt as if I had experienced the life journeys of my ancestors.

Jing Tian is my goddess; her portrayal of Fan Yuan is so cool!

People in China probably don't know how popular Jing Tian is in North America. I was on a business trip in North America last week and witnessed a truly outrageous scene: many foreigners were marching in the streets holding up pictures of Jing Tian, ​​chanting: "We need her, she's our hero."

[Damn, upstairs, let's get to the point, there's something wrong with this slogan!]

[I know this too. I've seen this video on YouTube. It's about a woman in North America who was oppressed, and then feminists held up posters of Jing Tian in support of her during a march.]

I still don't understand, what does this have to do with Jing Tian?

[What a spirit of resistance! In ancient patriarchal society, Fan Yuan, as a female general, was still recognized by history. Isn't this women's rights resisting men's rights?]

[I see. The US is really something else, using our country's celebrities for a parade. Aren't they afraid that Jing Tian will be blacklisted by the Chinese authorities?]

[Ban my ass! The authorities even liked it after seeing it!]

[Like? Is it real?]

Of course, it was chosen by the central bank.

[Awesome! Long live Jing Tian!]

[I'm going to like this too; from now on, Jing Tian will be my goddess.]

[American feminism is really prevalent.]

[It's not just Jing Tian who's become popular in the US; ever since "Three Kingdoms" was released there, the entire cast and crew have become famous. Not long ago, director Chen, Li Heiniu, Jing Tian, ​​and Bao Guoan even appeared on a New York television station while promoting the film in the US!]

This news is outdated. These days, if we're talking about which Chinese celebrity is most popular in the US, it's not Jing Tian, ​​nor director Chen, but Su Chang.

[Su Chang? What did she do?]

Do you know about Hollywood blockbuster movies?

[Spider-Man?]

Yes, that's the type. Marvel is going to start filming its first self-funded Iron Man movie next year, with Robert Downey Jr. as the male lead and Gwyneth Paltrow as the female lead.

I know this news. I'm a huge Marvel fan, and I'm so excited for this movie!

[Upstairs, what does this have to do with Su Chang?]

[There's a Chinese-American scientist in Iron Man, who's the second female lead. Su Chang was just cast in this role yesterday.]

[Is Su Chang going to star in a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster? And as the second female lead? Why isn't this news circulating in China?]

[It probably hasn't spread to China yet!]

[This is insane, absolutely insane! Su Chang is probably the first Chinese actress to star in a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster.]

[Now, domestic actresses are going to be incredibly envious.]

[What's there to envy? It's not like domestic actresses haven't appeared in Hollywood movies. For example, Zhang Ziyi starred in "Memoirs of a Geisha."]

How can Zhang Ziyi's movie be compared to Su Chang's "Iron Man"?

[...] (End of this chapter)