Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

"Huai'an, how are you?"

Having just come out of the screening room, Brother Kai couldn't wait.

Zhuang Huai'an shook his head with a heavy expression, deciding to tell the truth after all.

"Senior brother, please forgive me."

He looked at Kai's gloomy face and said, "Excuse my bluntness, but if this movie weren't credited, I would never believe it was directed by you. The structure is loose, the plot is weak, the acting is frivolous, and aside from piling on flashy visuals, I..."

Alas, I feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles, like I'm being pricked by thorns, like I have a fishbone stuck in my throat…

These comments were like knives, piercing Kai's heart. His eyes turned red, his lips trembled, and he leaned on Chen Hong to keep from falling to the ground.

"Could it be... that..."

Kai's voice trembled, "Could it be... that the Loess Plateau is fake, that Farewell My Concubine is fake... then what is real? Tell me what is real... Red, I can't see it, I can't see it!!"

Chen Hong remained silent, only shedding tears along with her.

Zhuang Huai'an looked and realized, "Oh no! I used too much force! Don't die here!"

He quickly stepped forward to take Kai from him, helped him to sit down on the sofa, and said gently, "Don't worry, senior brother, I have a plan. Although it can't change the plot, it can make the structure more compact."

Upon hearing this, Kai grabbed Zhuang Huai'an's hand tightly as if grasping at a straw, and cried out, "Huai'an, what plan do you have? Please save me!"

Chen Hong, who was standing to the side, quickly wiped away her tears and said hastily, "Yes, Huai'an, you must think of a way. We can't let your senior brother's lifelong reputation be ruined..."

Zhuang Huai'an poured a glass of warm water for the two of them and pretended to be thinking.

To be honest, although Kai has many flaws, he is a decent person. Since Zhuang Huai'an debuted, the two have gotten along well. He has not only supported him many times, but also publicly praised him on various occasions, not to mention his strong support for the kidnapping incident.

Given all of the above, he really has to help with this.

Besides, given Kai's pride, the fact that he would lower himself to come to us shows that he has truly realized his own problems. In that case, let's give it a try.

Coming to his senses, and looking at the two expectant faces, Zhuang Huai'an asked, "Senior brother, explaining this in advance won't hurt our feelings, will it?"

I've come up with one solution: give me all the footage, and I'll re-edit it for you. If there are any unclear parts, the actors will need to come back and reshoot those scenes, and my opinion must take precedence. Can you agree to this?

Upon hearing this, Kai Zi was immediately caught in a dilemma.

Although he saw through the reality, his junior apprentice's words reminded him of the arguments he had with Zhang Yimou during the filming of "Yellow Earth," which were also his most steadfast principles.

What kind of director can't have their own voice?

But... "Yellow Earth" is really well made...

Kai Zi put his hands in his pockets, and in his mind, four little figures were fighting in pairs: one was principle, one was art, one was pride, and one was reason.

How to choose?

After a long silence, Kai stood up and straightened his suit. His expression remained calm, but his eyes were filled with deep sorrow.

"Huai'an, thank you, but I want to test the audience's reaction. Wuji is my life's work, my child. Even if it gets slammed, I should stand up and bear it. A complete director shouldn't only offer praise, but also criticism."

Otherwise... it's easy to become detached from the audience and lose oneself.

After saying that, Brother Kai let out a long sigh, stepped forward to give him a hug, and then left without looking back. Chen Hong sighed helplessly, smiled at Zhuang Huai'an, and got up to follow him.

Zhuang Huai'an did not stop him. He knew that in the end, Kai's pride prevailed over everything. Knowing this, he was still able to face it calmly, which showed some integrity.

Looking at Kai's resolute back, there was a sense of tragic grandeur, like the desolation of a mournful journey, and also a sense of carefree relief. These two different emotions blended together in him, yet they were surprisingly harmonious.

"No destruction, no construction; destruction precedes construction, but I don't know if you can withstand it."

"Tsk, speaking of which, between Kai, who has overcome his inner demons, and Zhang Yimou, who has reached the pinnacle of his abilities, who is the better fighter?"

Whatever, I'll win anyway.

Zhuang Huai'an shook his head and chuckled, then turned on his computer to process the emails.

"The boss?"

Yang Chen walked in, looking curious. "I just saw Brother Kai and his wife walk out looking very disappointed. What happened to them?"

"It's nothing, I was just upset," Zhuang Huai'an avoided the topic. "You've come at the right time, take a look at this."

Yang Chen stepped forward and took the script. The cover bore the large characters "The Hangover," and he asked in confusion, "A road comedy?"

"Yeah, isn't that sunny, pretty girl really popular lately? Let's ride her coattails."

Zhuang Huai'an tossed him a cigarette. "But the hangover is different from the young lady. She's more adventurous. I reckon the censorship will be rated R."

"R-rated?" Yang Chen exclaimed in surprise, "For a comedy film to reach this rating, it's really quite sophisticated."

Hollywood's movie rating system has five levels: G stands for all ages, PG recommends parental guidance, and PG-13 is the mainstream rating, which includes any line of "fuck you" and requires parental accompaniment for children under 13.

The remaining options are R-rated and NC-17. The former is either a horror film or one with lots of nudity and profanity, while the latter is more direct, a pure Category III film, and those under 17 are not allowed to go to the theater.

"And what about the director?"

Yang Chen then asked, "It's impossible that you're the one filming, right? Or is it the James Wan brothers?"

"We don't need them. We'll hire outside this time," Zhuang Huai'an pointed to the script and indicated, "The actors and director are on the last page. You can just call in the right people."

Yang Chen opened it and saw that the director was Todd Phillips, and the actors included Bradley Cooper, etc.

This Phillips isn't the one who swims; he's also a famous director and screenwriter. This film, "The Hangover," is his own work, which Zhuang Huai'an stole and still used the original cast.

Besides The Hangover series, Michael Phelps has two other well-known works: the fat man shooting in the street in The Arms Dealer, and the amazing Joaquin Phoenix's Joker.

Zhuang Huai'an's performance was impressive, no less than Heath Ledger's. The reason it wasn't as classic as Heath Ledger's is perhaps because he's still alive.

After reading it, Yang Chen nodded and said, "Okay, I'll contact them now."

"You have to explain to him that this is a series, and you have to sign a contract for three parts at once, including the four male leads. You have to control the increase in their salaries so that foreigners don't take advantage of the situation and act arrogantly."

"I know what I'm doing." Yang Chen smiled; he was very familiar with this kind of rote learning.

"In addition, we will take the lion's share of the investment, and MGM will take 20%, but in the list of production companies, we will put them first."

Zhuang Huai'an's Little Classroom is now open for classes!

The reason for doing this is, of course, to mislead the outside world into thinking that MGM is the dominant party.

What? You mean listed companies need to submit financial statements?

That's something for the end of the year. Before the end of the year, of course I want my stock price to soar for a while!

Moreover, it's just a matter of order in the rankings. I've never said in public that this movie was primarily funded by MGM.