Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

He Yi'an was packing his things in his dormitory when his phone rang.

"Dad?" He Yi'an answered the phone.

"Anwa, good news!" He Changlin's loud voice came through the receiver, full of excitement.

"The Venice Film Festival has announced the nominees for this year's main competition, and your film has been nominated!!"

He Yi'an paused, his heart skipping a beat.

Although we had put in a lot of effort for this film and guessed that there was a high chance of it being nominated, we were still on tenterhooks until the official announcement came out.

Upon hearing the confirmed news, He Yi'an finally felt a sense of relief.

"It's true that planning is key to success!"

He Yi'an subconsciously uttered Jiang Wen's childish words.

He had actually wanted to say this for a long time, but he had been holding it in.

Although Jiang Wen's story hasn't happened yet, He Yi'an sees it as a real warning that's not far off.

So until the actual results are in, he doesn't dare to be 100% certain.

Nowadays...

"What did you say? What do you mean 'man proposes, God disposes'?"

He heard his father's puzzled voice through the receiver, and He Yi'an instantly calmed down.

He had completely calmed down by now. He didn't answer his father's question, but said in a nonchalant tone, "It's nothing, I just made it up. I know about being shortlisted. Thank you for calling to tell me, Dad."

It's only because there's no one else in He Yi'an's dorm right now, otherwise his attitude and Versailles-like tone would definitely have made people unhappy.

Even his father found this hard to accept.

He Changlin, unaware that this was a form of subtle showing off, was very dissatisfied with his attitude: "Is this your reaction? This is a nominee for Venice!"

"Oh, Dad, it's just a minor nomination, it's a piece of cake!"

He Yi'an, who was about to completely lose control of his ego, continued to act like Versailles.

He's not someone who can hold back much. Before, when things weren't confirmed, he was criticized but could only endure it. Now that he's shortlisted, and judging by his progress in winning over Gong Li, he's very likely to win an award.

How can He Yi'an keep up the act now?

If you're about to succeed, what's the point if you don't show off?

However, it is said that no one knows a son better than his father, so how could He Yi'an's emotional changes and tone of voice be kept from his father?

He Changlin, who was very familiar with his son's erratic emotions and somewhat wicked personality, immediately understood.

He laughed and cursed, "You little brat! You're trying to pull this on me? This is what you said to your second uncle before, what was it called again? Showing off, huh?!"

"You actually dared to show off to me?"

"Oh, no, Dad, I wouldn't dare to act like that in front of anyone else, but not in front of you!"

"Get lost! Don't think I haven't punished you all these years. If you try to act tough again, I'll hang you up and beat you to a pulp!"

"Hey, hey, hey, no, no, no!" Hearing that his father was actually going to punish him, He Yi'an immediately recalled some bad memories and shuddered. "I'm your precious son!"

"You scoundrel! I called to tell you that President Han is very happy and wants to throw you a celebration banquet. What are your thoughts?"

"A celebration banquet? Forget it, we've only just made it to the finals, nothing's even close to happening!"

He Yi'an could actually understand Han Sanping's thinking in doing so.

He had been suspected before, but now that the news of his inclusion in the shortlist has come out, Han Sanping has no choice but to completely shed the label of "transferring benefits." Instead, with just a little guidance, he will appear to have keen insight and be full of the ability to recognize talent.

That would surely make you happy.

This perfectly clears him of the charges that were previously fabricated and framed, and completely removes him from suspicion.

But while He Yi'an understood and President Han was happy, the celebration banquet was still out of the question!

"Alright, then I'll reply to President Han directly!" He Changlin, who had already guessed that He Yi'an would say this, was not surprised.

"Oh, right," he suddenly remembered a crucial detail just as he was about to hang up, "the list of this year's judges also came out. Guess who the chairman of the judging panel is?"

"Gong Li," He Yi'an blurted out.

"How did you know? Did you see it?" He Changlin was taken aback. "Didn't the news just come out?"

Having let slip the secret, He Yi'an didn't dare continue and quickly hung up the phone: "Dad, I'm hanging up now. We'll talk about the rest when I get back."

After hanging up the phone, He Yi'an tossed his phone aside and lay down on his bed in the dormitory, his composure, which he had maintained to appear cool, completely vanishing.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

The excitement could finally be released, since there was no one else in the dorm anyway.

To be honest, He Yi'an was still a bit depressed.

You can tell just by looking at how much he prepared for his first movie.

Eighteen years have passed since I was born and reborn.

Eighteen years have passed. From initially showcasing his talent to earning money for his family, then becoming an apprentice of Mu Deyuan to learn all the techniques of directing and cinematography, and then practicing aesthetics and learning color from Zhang Yimou...

Along the way, he not only took one step at a time, but also proceeded with utmost caution and trepidation.

Many times, when the night was dark and no one was around, He Yi'an would silently ask himself, is what I'm doing meaningful?

He can just lie down and relax, why does he need to struggle?

Even if you strive, will you be able to reach the other side?

Unfortunately, no one answered, nor was an answer necessary.

This is just a phase and a change in mindset that everyone goes through.

Intermittent bursts of ambition, followed by a continuous state of listlessness and complacency.

This is the healthy mental state of an ordinary person.

He Yi'an is just an ordinary person, and he hasn't been transformed by aliens like Zhang Yimou, so he needs to plan every step he takes.

Can't be blind.

So from the moment he actually started preparing to make the movie, he personally assembled the crew, found partners, and cast members, running through almost the entire process from beginning to end.

In order to ensure the success of this film, he went to the extreme and made use of everything he could.

Isn't everything all for this moment?

A golden carp is no ordinary fish in a pond; it transforms into a dragon once it encounters wind and clouds!

But who knows how much pain and preparation Jinlin had to go through before transforming into a dragon?

Although he is not Hou Longtao, everything is indeed developing in the direction he envisioned.

This is undoubtedly a huge positive development!

As a film director, especially after returning from the film industry downturn of 2026, He Yi'an is very clear about one thing: many times, although there seem to be many opportunities, the cost of trial and error is actually very high.

Many viewers in the future will not go to the cinema anymore.

Today's audiences are not as disillusioned with the film industry as they were twenty years later, after being subjected to countless forced-to-watching films by production companies, and have directly boycotted going to the movies.

But the audience's retaliation and the public's thoughts were delayed.

With his current resources, while one film might not be enough to determine his fate, he should still try his best to avoid showing audiences bad movies.

Only by striving to maintain one's reputation and influence can one go further in the future.

"Now that the shortlist has been confirmed, the next steps and arrangements need to be moved forward..."

After pondering for a moment and organizing the ideas in his mind, He Yi'an sat down at his computer desk and sent a message to an overseas email address.

"Richard, it seems I've won our agreement."

My film has been selected for the main competition at this year's Venice International Film Festival.

"However, our agreement still stands. Follow my instructions for the rest of the plan. Let's start with this trip to Venice. Go there beforehand to get some preparations done, and I'll be there shortly after."

After sending the email, He Yi'an picked up his phone and sent Yu Feihong a text message: "Senior, the film has been shortlisted for Venice. Would you like to see how foreign films are made?"

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