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

It was a little after nine o'clock at night.

The TV was showing "My Chief and My Regiment," a show that had just started airing.

Yang Mi, who had just finished showering, was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with a face mask on and her hair, which was still frizzy from being dried.

She's been very annoyed lately.

"Chinese Paladin 3" is about to premiere and is at the peak of its popularity, but Li Shaohong is keeping her on set for "Dream of the Red Chamber" and refusing to give her any leave.

What leading lady doesn't have to do promotions?

It's clearly a tactic to force her to renew her contract; if she doesn't, they'll squeeze every last drop of value out of her to promote newcomers.

Tang Ren is also causing trouble. Cai Yinong can't even keep up with the resources of Tang Yan and Liu Shishi under her command, and she's also openly and secretly poaching her resources.

Rongxinda goes without saying.

Even Chen Kun and Zhou Xun, these two top stars, couldn't be kept. This broken ship is open to whoever wants to get on it.

At worst, I can do what Li Yan said the other day and open my own studio like Fan Bingbing did!

Ultimately, it's because he's not famous enough...

"Ugh...this is so annoying!"

Her pale legs thrashed angrily in the air a few times before she buried her head in a cushion and collapsed onto the sofa, motionless.

"Buzz..."

The sofa shook.

After a long while, Yang Mi finally managed to pull her phone out from under her chest.

Upon picking it up, I saw the words "Li the Great Conman".

She immediately rolled her eyes.

It's all this guy's fault; I haven't felt good since talking to him.

They didn't even bother to call and talk about things at the studio.

I even considered introducing him to those young girls in the group who were obsessed with his Peking Opera singing.

He opened the message: "Emergency! There's a female lead available, wanna come?"

"I knew this big liar was up to no good."

Yang Mi snorted and ripped off the face mask, then sat up and started rapidly typing on her phone.

"No way! I'm very expensive!"

Before I could even put my phone down, it rang immediately.

Why doesn't this person play by the rules?

Yang Mi cleared her throat, answered the phone, and spoke in a cute but fierce tone:

"Who is it? So late at night, if you don't give me a good talking-to, I'll kill you."

"Stop pretending. Judging from the noise, you just took off your makeup and were picking your toes at home, right?"

"Get lost! You're the one picking your toes, your whole family picks their toes!"

On the other end of the phone, Li Yan chuckled:

"Are you free tomorrow? 10 AM, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, let's find a place to sit, I have some good stuff to show you!"

"Your cat can do somersaults? It just goes like that! Who are you? I have to go back to the office tomorrow..."

"A short film featuring Canon cameras, with a female lead tailor-made for her, and promotion across the entire internet."

Yang Mi: I can do somersaults...

This person is really annoying!

Canon's GG is quite tempting.

It's well known that Canon China invested 1 million yuan in promoting its IXUS compact camera last year, with Karen Mok as the spokesperson, which shows how attractive it was to her.

It's not just about endorsement fees, but also about popularity and status.

"Fine, since your attitude is alright, I'll listen to your nonsense. Let me tell you, if you dare to be late, you're dead!"

"Remember to wear sunglasses. Your show is about to air, and I don't want to be involved in any scandals with you!"

"Beep...beep..."

Hearing the busy tone, Yang Mi ground her teeth in anger and punched her phone viciously.

Who wants to be involved in a scandal with you!

"If you don't give me a straight answer by tomorrow, I'll beat you to death and make you change your surname!"

……

The next day, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi.

The coffee shop wasn't very crowded at 10 a.m.

Li Yan chose a corner spot, with a laptop and the Canon camera he had borrowed from Ding Xiaoxiao in front of him.

A fragrant breeze wafts by.

Yang Mi, wearing oversized sunglasses and a long black down jacket, plopped down opposite him.

Behind the sunglasses were a pair of bright, captivating eyes.

Her lips were delicate and rosy; it seemed she had put on a natural makeup look before going out.

"Spit it out already, I have to rush to the company soon."

Without wasting any words, Li Yan turned the laptop over and said, "Look at this first."

The screen displays a hand-drawn storyboard.

A girl carrying a camera suddenly turns around on a misty, rain-drenched stone bridge in Jiangnan. She looks sweet and intellectual, but the overall composition seems somewhat fragmented.

"What is this?" Yang Mi pointed at the screen, somewhat hesitant.

Li Yan pressed the spacebar; the next chapter would be a close-up sketch.

"It's you, a mature, affectionate, and story-filled heroine."

One sentence was enough to pique Yang Mi's interest.

As an actor, who wouldn't want to play a character with depth?

Especially when I was almost sick of Rong Xinda's formulaic acting style.

She stared at the screen and pressed, "Where's the script?"

Li Yan leaned back slightly, crossed his hands, found a more comfortable position, and began to tell the story of "Let Me Stay".

His voice is steady and clear.

Following the director's usual practice of explaining a scene, he started with the visuals and the characters.

From a broken camera to a search that transcends time and space, and finally to the freezing of the last second.

When the story goes that the male protagonist wrote "Let me stay" on his palm and chose to be trapped in his memories forever.

Yang Mi sniffed, her eyes slightly red.

Short, concise, and emotionally stirring!

She has good taste; if this script is well-made, it will have a stronger impact than a romance drama.

"The notebook is very good..."

Just when Li Yan thought she was about to agree, Yang Mi took a deep breath:

"How much money can you give?"

"...Talking about money at this time would be too hurtful to our relationship."

"What else should we talk about if not money? Dating, of course!"

Yang Mi rolled her eyes, exuding charm.

"Let's talk about the bargaining chips."

Li Yan stopped smiling and looked directly into her eyes:

"The entire plan, in addition to TV stations, will also include full-network marketing. I'm confident that this video will get over ten million clicks."

"Ten million? You're dreaming!" Yang Mi exclaimed in shock.

"And if you do that? You can take the data and throw it on Rongxinda's table, and tell them that this is Yang Mi's commercial value."

"At the very least, you could use this to let Jia see your popularity and try to get an endorsement deal."

Yang Mi, biting on the straw, was caught in a mental struggle.

The pancake was too big; she needed to take her time.

After a while, she asked another crucial question, "Who's the director? Is he reliable?"

Li Yan pointed to himself.

"Ha," Yang Mi laughed angrily, "Big brother, are you kidding me? Acting and directing are two different things! And where's the crew? Where's the equipment?"

She raised her chin, gesturing to the camera on the table, "Tens of millions of views? What are you going to use to film that? A camera?"

Li Yan smiled too, "You guessed right, that's it!"

Yang Mi paused for a few seconds, then grabbed her bag and was about to leave:

"Li Yan, are you making fun of me? Taking a picture of my penis? Are you crazy or am I?!"

Li Yan naturally pressed her hand down.

"Sit down first."

Yang Mi subconsciously stopped what she was doing.

Li Yan opened the lens cap, adjusted the parameters, and pointed the huge lens at Yang Mi, who was on the verge of exploding.

"Turn to the side, turn your face, and look at the camera."

He pressed the record button and then made a hand-held push-pull motion.

Half a minute later.

"Come and see."

Yang Mi approached suspiciously and sat down next to him.

The small screen was replaying the scene from earlier.

Her expression of anger and surprise was vivid and clear, while the coffee shop in the background was slightly blurred.

The 2.35:1 aspect ratio, combined with the rich colors and high-contrast tones, evokes a cinematic feel reminiscent of a female protagonist being dumped on the big screen.

Yang Mi's mouth gaped open, her face filled with disbelief. "This...this was taken with this camera?"

"Using Canon to shoot Canon movies—just based on that concept, Canon itself will go to great lengths to promote it for us, and..."

Li Yan put away his camera, leaned close to Yang Mi's ear, and whispered:

"The first short film shot entirely with a DSLR camera, coupled with 'Yang Mi's Private Footage Leaked from Her Boyfriend's Perspective!', it's no wonder it's a hit!"

Yang Mi felt a warm sensation near her ear, and her face flushed instantly.

She shoved him, both angry and amused: "Pah, you pervert! Who leaked your private videos?!"

"Marketing is nothing to be ashamed of."

Li Yan leaned back in his chair. "So, Boss Yang, how about it? You dare to take a gamble? If you win, you'll gain both fame and fortune; if you lose, it's on me."

Yang Mi looked at the man in front of her who was two years younger than her.

Confident, composed, and with an inexplicable sense of self-assurance!

This ignited her inner fighting spirit, which was determined to prove herself.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly reached out her hand, gritted her teeth, and said:

"fifty thousand."

"What?"

"I don't want the payment, the 50,000 is for Rong Xinda's image rights... Also, if this doesn't become popular, I'll come to your house and smash your windows!"

Li Yan grasped Yang Mi's outstretched right hand; it was cool and somewhat soft.

"make a deal!"

Before leaving, Yang Mi put her sunglasses back on, and after taking a few steps, she suddenly turned back.

"Give me that manuscript; your drawing... is passable!"

Li Yan waved the camera in his hand and laughed:

"By the time filming wraps, we'll have as many as we want!"