HuaYu: A Great Director Starting with Dream of the Red Chamber

$50,000 is indeed a good price for a 14-minute award-winning short film.

But Li Yan simply swirled the ice in his glass, smiled, and after a while, he drank it all in one gulp, then turned to look at Katz:

"Daniel, we're all smart people. Fifty thousand dollars? You want to buy one of those short films that only deserve to be in DVD bonus content?"

"The script structure of 'Andhadhun' is a complete feature film in its embryonic form. Add a little detail, hire two second-tier stars, and bring in Hollywood-level production quality, and it's immediately a standard low-budget thriller with a box office potential of at least 30 million US dollars."

Katz narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him intently: "So, how many do you want?"

"Two hundred thousand, global distribution rights, excluding mainland China. In addition, I want to retain the screenwriter's credit, and... 1% of the box office revenue."

"Cough cough..."

Katz nearly choked on his whiskey; his eyes widened as he stared at Li Yan in disbelief.

"Wait a minute, box office revenue sharing? Li, do you know what you're talking about? That's a deal only Spielberg gets! Even I don't get those kinds of terms, you're dreaming!"

"If it were just a dream, I wouldn't have sent you the first draft of the feature film script. Remember to check your email."

Li Yan showed his "sincerity" before continuing:

"Also, Daniel, don't try to fool me with those kid-proof things like net profit. If there's no box office revenue share, I'd rather keep the adaptation rights to myself or go back and make my own film."

"Net income" is a joke in Hollywood.

There's a term called "creative accounting," and it's how 20th Century Fox made Star Wars appear to be a loss on paper, and Warner Bros. made Harry Potter look like they didn't make a single penny...

So, if the revenue sharing is a profit-sharing arrangement, well, some people call it "monkey points"!

In short, is this some kind of monkey show?!

"Damn it..."

Katz stared at Li Yan for a long time, but couldn't detect a trace of guilt in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and started walking on the balcony.

The young man in front of me is not only a talented director, but also a seasoned veteran who knows the Hollywood game inside and out.

Katz finally stopped and made up his mind:

"120,000 US dollars."

"A one-time buyout of global distribution and adaptation rights. As for revenue sharing... half a percent of North American box office revenue—that's my bottom line! If you ask for more, I'd rather invest in those disgusting gore movies!"

"make a deal."

Li Yan touched his wine bottle without hesitation.

$120,000 was far beyond his budget, and with his exorbitant box office revenue share demands, he had already made a fortune.

More importantly, he became a partner of the future founder of A24.

……

Just as Li Yan and Katz reached an agreement and were enjoying drinks together, a huge uproar had already taken place in domestic public opinion.

In 2009, microblogs were just emerging, and public intellectuals and "opinion leaders" still held absolute power of discourse through blogs.

Several newspapers and websites under the Southern Media Group rushed to publish articles overnight, taking the lead in launching the attack.

An article titled "Arrogance and Ignorance: Young Director Makes Outrageous Remarks in Venice, Embarrassing Him Abroad" was quickly reprinted by major portal websites.

The article was strongly worded, denouncing Li Yan for "lacking cultural depth," "using any means to attract attention," and "damaging the international image of Chinese filmmakers."

Following suit, several bloggers with millions of followers also joined in, portraying Li Yan as a clown who was trying to attract attention and had brought shame upon himself internationally.

This forced Dong Tianlei of Youku to send Li Yan a text message overnight:

"Director Li, the pressure from public opinion is quite high. Many netizens are being swayed by the narrative. Should we change the plans?"

Li Yan simply replied, "No need."

……

Two days later, at the Venice Film Palace.

The awards ceremony of the 66th Venice Film Festival.

Although it was just the awards ceremony for the Horizons section, it didn't attract as much attention as the main competition section.

But for the rest of Li Yan's team, it was still a highlight of their lives.

Li Yan changed into a fitted suit, while Nazha wore her specially chosen silver fringed dress and kept quietly asking Xiaoxiao, "Miss, let me see if my makeup is smudged?"

Zhang Qiang changed into his specially made suit once again.

Not far from them, Guan Hu was chatting and laughing with Huang Bo and the others, only occasionally glancing at Li Yan with disdain.

The awards ceremony was long and tedious.

Finally, it was time for the short film segment.

The award was presented by Stuart Gordon, the chair of the Horizons short film jury.

This master, who spent his life making cult horror films, has a smile that is completely at odds with his fierce appearance.

He opened the envelope, his gaze sweeping across the audience:

"The winner of the Best Short Film Award in the Horizons section at the 66th Venice Film Festival is…"

""The Piano Tuner", Li Yan!"

Zhang Qiang jumped up, grabbed Li Yan, and slapped him hard on the back: "Junior brother! Awesome! We won!!"

Ding Xiaoxiao and Nazha screamed excitedly, and Nazha's eyes even reddened. She had taken a gamble at the party that day in a daze, but now it seemed that it was at least worth it.

Li Yan was surrounded by jubilation.

Guan Hu's smile froze instantly; he didn't know whether he should applaud or not.

Why should someone who shouts that box office success is more important than art win an award at Venice?

Are the judges deaf?!

Li Yan took a deep breath, stood up, straightened his clothes, glanced in Guan Hu's direction, nodded slightly, and stepped onto the stage.

When Gordon handed him the trophy, he smiled and offered a word of encouragement:

"A terrifying calm, young man, you handled it well!"

Li Yan thanked them and accepted the trophy.

The light shone on his face in front of the microphone, making it somewhat dazzling.

For a moment, he was in a daze, recalling the days and nights he spent struggling in Hollywood in his previous life, and the opportunities that were rejected because of his skin color.

Since I've been reborn, why do I have to go through it all again?

He wanted to do something different.

Looking at the filmmakers from all over the world in the audience, he slowly began to speak:

"These past few days, someone told me that film is an art of thought, an exhibition of suffering. As the Buddhists say, all sentient beings suffer. If you are not profound and do not suffer, you are not a good director."

A slight commotion arose from the audience.

Li Yan smiled and raised the trophy in his hand:

"But I've always believed that film is first and foremost an art form about being 'aesthetically pleasing'."

"It should first allow the audience to temporarily forget the troubles of reality in the dark screening room, and to cry, laugh, and scream to their heart's content."

"This trophy proves one thing: we don't need to pander to anyone, we don't need to please anyone, and we don't need to emasculate ourselves because of any prejudice! By telling a compelling story in modern language, we can win the world's respect."

"That's all I wanted to say. Thank you, Venice. Thank you."

Daniel Katz, who was in the audience, was the first to stand up, leading the applause and blowing a loud whistle.

Marco Müller smiled and nodded from the audience.

Immediately afterwards, thunderous applause erupted.

……