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

Almost simultaneously with Li Yan raising the trophy at the Venice Film Festival Palace.

It's 2 AM Beijing time.

After a full week of overwhelming hype, questioning, and criticism, the banner on Youku's homepage has finally been unveiled.

Venice Film Festival Award-Winning Masterpiece! Exclusive Online Premiere!

Night owls, whose appetites had been whetted by the travel vlogs and sudden flame wars of the past few days, immediately clicked their mice when they saw the words "premiere".

The massive influx of traffic caused a brief lag on Youku's video servers.

The comment section below the video exploded from the very first minute.

"Is this the movie that got so much hate? Let's watch it first."

"Here it comes! I want to see what kind of rubbish these people who look down on others can produce."

"He won an award? He really won an award? Holy crap, no wonder this director is so arrogant!"

"I heard that Nazar in the red dress is in there? Guys, let's go!"

……

Fourteen minutes later.

The comment section was filled with nothing but "Holy crap" and exclamation marks.

"Damn it! That's it? My pants are... I'm not even breathing, and you just give me a black screen? Is this scammer even dead yet?"

"What happened in the end? What did the ending mean? Did the old woman shoot? I just want to know if the piano music stopped!"

"Hey upstairs, I don't think he's dead! Look at the last shot, the male lead looks like he moved..."

"Bullshit! He's definitely dead! That's a nail gun, man. Only a dead man can keep a secret!"

"Don't you guys think that old lady was a bit scary, especially late at night? I got chills when I saw her."

"Brother, that's Lü Zhong, who plays Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Wu Zetian! Her presence is so imposing, I wouldn't dare to run away if I were sitting there."

"Naza... wow, that figure, that back view, that dance... Director, please, can I play the blind man? I'm really blind!"

It has suspense, plot twists, temptation, and acting skills.

The four elements are perfectly integrated into 14 minutes, with no dull moments.

For viewers accustomed to the slow pace of domestic films and television dramas, this is comparable to Hollywood standards.

Almost simultaneously, major forums, online communities, and the newly emerging Weibo were flooded with posts about "The Tuner".

#The Ending of "The Tuner"#

Is he dead or not?

#Li Yan wins award at Venice#

#Nazha's killer back view#

Topics are rapidly gaining traction, especially on Weibo, where the interactive experience is far superior to that of forums and blogs.

For young people eager to communicate, this open-ended conclusion ignites their desire to express themselves.

Weibo's official account seems eager to push all topics related to Li Yan to the homepage.

After daybreak, with the "100,000-strong army" that Ding Xiaoxiao had arranged long ago officially entering the fray, the tide of public opinion began to turn.

In the comments section of those blogs that previously criticized Li Yan for being arrogant and ignorant, some bystanders who couldn't stand them posted counterattacks.

"Does the blogger feel ashamed? They won an award! The film is indeed good, much better than that terribly frustrating 'Cow'!"

"In the past, winning awards was all about wearing thick cotton-padded coats, and now they're still making films about wearing thick cotton-padded coats. 'Red Sorghum' is twenty years old, can't they come up with something more down-to-earth?"

"Screw those public intellectuals! Are there any good people among those Japanese devils? Li Yan is right, this is blatant self-colonization!"

"I support Director Li! Who says commercial films are vulgar? I'm a vulgar person, and I love watching 'vulgar' films!"

Li Yan sat in an outdoor café outside a hotel, scrolling through his phone, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He spotted a comment in a corner of the comments section with the ID "I just want sweetness".

"Li Yan, stop leading that guy aimlessly around Venice! Come back and film the movie! Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't dare rest like this!"

He leisurely took a sip of his espresso, casually took a screenshot, and sent it to Jing Tian:

"Received! Creditor! I'll go back and make you money right away."

……

Li Yan and his group stayed in Venice for two more days.

It wasn't so much to enjoy the fruits of victory; it was mainly to deal with the details of the agreement with Katz.

In fact, Li Yan even considered selling the overseas copyrights to Katz for a symbolic $1.

The premise is that Katz has already founded A24.

But not now.

Katz is currently just a working-class guy who hasn't left the Guggenheim.

Moreover, for Jews, if you let them gain too much advantage, they won't be grateful to you; they'll just think you're easy to control and a fool.

Only by pushing him to his limit, making him feel the pinch, and making him realize that every penny he earns is hard-earned, will he consider you a worthy opponent or a future partner.

$120,000, plus half a percent of the North American box office revenue.

Although the amount of money wasn't much, with the guaranteed minimum from Youku in China and subsequent revenue sharing, this short film brought him nearly two million yuan in cash.

This prevents him from appearing like a gigolo when facing Lu Zheng.

Although it seems Jing Tian doesn't care whether he eats it or not...

Apart from that, Huang Bo's chances are probably over for now.

He may have enjoyed his rant, but it's unrealistic to expect Huang Bo to offend Guan Hu, who brought him into the industry, just for the sake of a new director.

Anyway, the good karma has been established, we'll see how things go from here.

Jiang Zhiqiang happened to have arranged to chat with him today. Since Huang Bo couldn't come, it wouldn't hurt to have a suitable Hong Kong star.

For commercial films, the bigger the production value, the better.

……

Before long, Jiang Zhiqiang arrived, still dressed in a low-key gray suit.

Li Yan stood up and extended his hand with a smile:

"Boss Jiang, I've heard so much about you!"

"Director Li, congratulations! Horizon Film Best Short Film—a great honor for Chinese filmmakers!"

Jiang Zhiqiang could spout nice words without asking for anything in return. He shook Li Yan's hand:

"I've seen the reports in China, and the number of views online is also astonishing. It has both good reputation and market appeal. You're a force to be reckoned with! When I was your age, I was still carrying bags for people on film sets."

"Mr. Jiang, you flatter me. I was just lucky."

The two sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Jiang Zhiqiang picked up his coffee, took a sip, and brought up the movie "The Tuner":

"I heard the Americans bought the overseas rights? What a pity. I was hoping to help you with the European distribution if the opportunity arose. I have some connections in the MK2 area."

Li Yan smiled; he knew it was just a polite remark.

"It's just a short film, it's just to generate buzz. Katz is mainly interested in the adaptation rights and wants to make a fuss about it."

"Adaptation rights?"

Jiang Zhiqiang's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded:

"This shows that the script structure is very good. What the market lacks now is good stories."

He put down his coffee cup and asked, seemingly casually:

"Now that the short film has been such a success, what are Director Li's plans for the future? Will he continue to focus on short films, or is he preparing to try his hand at feature films?"

coming.

Li Yan thought for a moment and realized that beating around the bush was useless with this kind of old fox; it was better to be direct, and it would also make him seem more confident.

"To be honest, I had already prepared a feature film before I came to Venice."

"Oh?" Jiang Zhiqiang became interested. "What type? Or is it... more personal expression?"