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

Ding Xiaoxiao, true to her reputation as a socialite, wearing her black-rimmed glasses, suddenly pounced on Fan Bingbing, her mouth practically agape in an "O" shape:

"My God... Sister Bingbing, you're so cool!"

Ding Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled, she reached out her hand and then pulled it back, wanting to touch it but not daring to. "They really cut it? That's too much!"

Fan Bingbing looked at this loud and boisterous young girl and knew that she was Li Yan's confidante and would be the executive producer of the crew in the future, so she didn't put on airs.

She reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, giving a cool smile:

"What if I really cut it and then had to take on other roles? I specially had a wig made for me! How is it? Doesn't it look real?"

"That's so true! Sister Bingbing, I declare you're my male god from now on! The director can only be second!"

Ding Xiaoxiao immediately pulled out her phone. "Sis, can we take a picture together? I want to post it on my WeChat Moments and make all those guys who like good-looking guys drool!"

"Come on." Fan Bingbing casually put one hand in his pocket, put his arm around Ding Xiaoxiao's shoulder, and made a cool expression for the camera.

Li Yanzheng and Lu Zheng were quietly confirming the final procedures.

Hearing the commotion, he shook his head helplessly.

"Alright, Xiaoxiao, stop swooning over there. Let Sister Bingbing rest for a bit, we're about to start!"

……

The press conference officially began at 10:00 AM.

The red cloth was lifted, revealing the huge concept poster on the backdrop.

Liang Jiahui, Wang Zhiwen, Fan Bingbing, Wu Zhenyu, Jing Tian... their costume photos, some arrogant, some cold, some profound, are arranged one by one.

In the center of the poster are four large, blood-red characters: "Silent Witness".

Below is a line of smaller print: "What you see may not be the truth."

When Li Yan took the stage with this heavyweight lineup, the flashbulbs of the cameras below the stage instantly went off one after another, and the sound of camera shutters clicking incessantly followed.

Lu Zheng sat in the first row below the stage, looking at the impressive lineup on stage and the shocked, excited, and unexpected expressions of the reporters around him. He stood up straight, feeling a secret sense of satisfaction.

He turned to Jiang Zhiqiang and whispered, "Boss Jiang, this money was well spent! This is quite a show..."

Jiang Zhiqiang nodded with a smile, but his gaze remained fixed on Li Yan.

However, once the Q&A session began, Lu Zheng's good mood was no longer as wonderful as before.

After a few pre-arranged reporters asked some trivial questions,

The reporter from *Southern Entertainment* stood up, his gaze unfriendly as he directly targeted Li Yan, who was sitting in the middle.

"First of all, congratulations to Director Li on the start of filming for his new movie! But there are rumors in the industry that this seems to be more of a capital-driven project, a customized drama to promote newcomers."

The scene instantly fell silent.

The reporter continued to press, speaking with sarcasm:

"Your resume only consists of a short video. Facing these experienced seniors on stage, do you really have the right to speak? Or is it...?"

He glanced at Liang Jiahui and Fan Bingbing on the stage:

"This is basically everyone getting paid to do their job and doing their own thing. You're just a mascot who calls out 'cut'? Everyone in the industry knows that it's unrealistic for a newcomer to come in and direct an award-winning actor."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

This is blatant sabotage!

He not only questioned Li Yan's abilities, but also subtly mocked Liang Jiahui and his ilk as money-grubbing scoundrels who disregarded their reputation.

It also subtly criticized Jing Tian.

Jing Tian sat on the far side, her smile now somewhat stiff.

Most of those present knew a bit about the feud between the Southern Media Group and Li Yan, and were waiting to see if the young director would make any more shocking remarks.

But when Li Yan calmly picked up the microphone, Liang Jiahui reached out and pressed his hand on the back of his hand.

He glanced at Li Yan with a hint of admiration.

He had previously suspected this young man, but at the script reading session three days ago...

When Li Yan took out the director's script, which was two hundred pages thick and filled with storyboards and annotations of each character's micro-expressions, Liang Jiahui was stunned.

These past few days, Li Yan's analysis of the relationships between the characters in the script has been so profound that even this old guy who has been acting all his life has to admire him.

Moreover, his repeated verbal sparring with Wang Zhiwen regarding the lines left him in awe.

Not only are their words substantial, but they are also very persuasive.

Liang Jiahui took the microphone, a humble smile on his face, but his words, spoken in Cantonese-accented Mandarin, were somewhat impolite:

"My friend, there are two common-sense errors in your question."

"First of all, we are not 'doing things for money'! I read the script and took a pay cut to act in it. Zhenyu did the same. Good scripts are hard to find, and directors who understand film are even harder to find."

"Secondly, during these past few days of readings together, Director Li's professionalism has put me to shame! On set, there are no seniority distinctions, only professionalism! Whoever is right, we listen to."

Regardless of the reason, even if it's just out of the professional ethics of traditional filmmakers, these words carry a lot of weight coming from the mouth of a movie star.

The reporters at the scene looked at each other in surprise, not expecting Liang Jiahui to have such a high opinion of Li Yan.

Before the reporter could react, Fan Bingbing spoke up as well.

She understands the media well. Since she has committed to transforming her image, she will not allow the film to be labeled as a "hobby" before it even starts filming.

"mascot?"

She pointed to her neat short hair and looked directly at the troublemaking reporter:

"He's the one who made me cut my hair, he's the one who decided on my makeup. If he's a mascot, then what am I? A prop to be manipulated at will?"

Fan Bingbing paused for a moment, then continued firing:

"I, Fan Bingbing, am not that free! I believe he can portray a different side of me. In this crew, there are no big names, only roles! If anyone doesn't perform well, Director Li will not hesitate to call 'cut,' and that includes me."

Even Wang Zhiwen, who had been fiddling with a mineral water bottle as if lost in thought, raised his eyelids and glanced indifferently at the reporter.

Although he has a bit of an eccentric temper, he dislikes reporters who start trouble without explanation even more.

He snorted coldly, his voice still coming through clearly even though he was far from the microphone:

"Ask questions related to movies, don't waste your time thinking about those trivial things, it's so boring."

The three main actors didn't hold back and directly refuted the reporter's provocation.

Jing Tian, ​​sitting on the very edge, shrugged slightly: Should I say something? Maybe not…

Finally, Li Yan took the microphone.

He looked at the somewhat embarrassed reporter and calmly said:

"Thank you for your trust, teachers."

"Ultimately, movies rely on their stories to tell their story."

"Whether it's good or not, see you at the cinema! Next question..."

……

Not long after the press conference ended, Ding Xiaoxiao's marketing team began to exert their efforts.

First, the first set of official photos were released.

The topic of "Fan Bingbing's short hair and suit" has been forwarded an astonishing number of times on Weibo, and its Baidu Index has skyrocketed.

In the high-definition unedited photos, Fan Bingbing's powerful and assertive look completely overturns her previous "outshining" image.

FHM magazine capitalized on the momentum by releasing a special issue cover shot at Li Yan's suggestion.

(See the previous bonus chapter for details; half of the garter belt beauty was cut off before it passed censorship.)

Whether they were perverts or female hooligans, everyone bought a copy to collect, and sales skyrocketed.

"Holy crap! Is that Fan Bingbing? She's so cool!"

"I'll buy the movie ticket just for this outfit!"

"Li Yan's got some skills, how did he manage to train Fan Bingbing like this?!"

Not long after filming began, Li Yan released a 15-second "concept trailer" on the official Weibo account.

There are no lines, only fast-paced editing and background music:

Car accident, corpses, roars, Jing Tian's panic, Liang Jiahui's arrogance, Wang Zhiwen's sharp tongue, Fan Bingbing's indifference...

The final image is a slogan: "Is what you see really the truth?"

For a time, discussions about "Silent Witness" came one wave after another.

Guan Hu, who was recovering from his heartbreak at home, was so angry at the waves of online discussion that he smashed another ashtray.

"Unorthodox methods! Absolutely unorthodox methods! They've already hyped this up so early in filming, I'll see how they manage to clean up this mess!"

……