Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 373 Don’t give up

Cao Yang stayed in the office until almost the end of the school day, when Lao Tian leisurely knocked on the door. Only then did he get up to go out for dinner with Lao Tian.

"Don't panic, wait a moment."

Old Tian mysteriously reached out and smiled, stopping Cao Yang. He blinked and said, "There's another old guy here. Let's wait a bit longer."

"Ok?"

Cao Yang was taken aback. Was he really going to have to wait for an old man?
He didn't react for a moment until he saw Lao Tian's "cheeky" look, and then he realized what was going on.

"Is the teacher coming?"

It's not that Cao Yang was slow to react; the key issue is that Lao Situ has hardly ever come to the school these days. Even though he was retired and so-called rehired, he only supervises Cao Yang, his only graduate student.

"What?"

Old Tian glared, trying hard to suppress his laughter.

"What do you mean the teachers are coming? Our school has produced another director who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Which of those retired or rehired old guys who are still in Beijing won't come back to visit?"

Ha, look how arrogant you are.

Cao Yang asked with some confusion, "Since the teacher came to the school, why didn't I see him call me or come to my place? I didn't even know he was here."

"What's he doing here? What does he get out of talking to you? How does he brag?"

Old Tian sat down and said with a smile, "He only has eyes for those old guys like Zheng Dongtian, Jiang Shixiong, and Xie Fei now, and he keeps asking them if it's particularly easy to win the three major European teams now."

He said his student Chen Kai won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Cao Yang not only won the Palme d'Or at Cannes but also won two Golden Lions at Venice, and now even that good-for-nothing Tian Zhuangzhuang has won a Golden Lion at Venice...

Then, he deliberately asked how many people there were, and whether all the students he taught had won the top prizes of the three major European awards.

"If they weren't all old men and women, let me tell you, even if they were ten years younger, those old guys would definitely stake out this old man at night, put a sack over his head, and beat him up."

"Who to hit?"

As Lao Tian was talking, Lao Situ pushed open the door and came in, casually asking a question.

"teacher."

Cao Yang stood up and explained with a smile, "My senior brother was talking about Teacher Xie and Teacher Jiang..."

"Old Xie and Old Jiang must be incredibly envious. I mean, if their good-for-nothing students were in front of them, they might get beaten up."

Old Tian glared at Cao Yang and quickly took over the conversation.

"Ha ha……"

Despite his advanced age, Old Situ's laughter is full of vigor.

"They're no good. They just teach by rote and will never be able to teach anything... Sigh, let's not talk about it anymore, let's not gossip behind each other's backs."

Old Tian nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. We are cultured people who don't speak ill of others behind their backs, even though those few really didn't produce outstanding students like me and Cao Yang."

"Alright, alright, stop bragging. If it weren't for Cao Yang writing a good script for you, and if you weren't still somewhat sane enough to film it exactly as written, your abilities would be... well..."

Although Lao Situ was happy, he still had a clear understanding of Lao Tian.

Old Tian was about to retort.

What's wrong with my skills?
Old man, what do you mean by "heh"?
Don't think that just because you're my teacher I won't dare to talk back to you, I...

Old Situ glared.

Old Tian chuckled obsequiously. On such a joyous day, it wasn't worth getting into any trouble with the old man. He'd just forgive him this one more time.

Old Tian turned to look at Cao Yang and changed the subject, saying, "Cao Yang, do you have plans for your next movie?"

After hearing what Lao Tian said, Lao Situ also looked at Cao Yang.

"Yes, it's a movie we're working on with Warner Bros., but we'll have to see how far along our other movie to decide when to start filming."

After a pause, Cao Yang continued, "It's very likely that it will be after March next year. My movie needs a suitable time to be released."

As for the appropriate time, he didn't say much, and neither Lao Situ nor Lao Tian asked.

Old Tian nodded and casually said, "There's still about six months left. You should take a good rest. Don't spend all your time either filming or preparing for movies, without any time to enjoy yourself."

After saying that, she raised an eyebrow at Cao Yang, giving him a knowing look.

As it happened, Lao Tian's raised eyebrow was noticed by Lao Situ.

"What kind of expression is that? I'm warning you, Tian Zhuangzhuang, stop feeding Cao Yang your frivolous ideas. If you dare to corrupt such an innocent Cao Yang, I won't let you off the hook. Believe me, I'll break your legs."

Old Situ glared at Old Tian and warned him.

"Am I corrupting him?"

Old Tian looked at Old Situ with some disbelief.

What kind of talk is that? Do I need to teach Cao Yang how to be "bad"?

Old man, did you drink the spell Cao Yang gave you? How did Cao Yang become the "naive and innocent girl" you described?

"Of course it's because you corrupted him."

Old Situ glared at Old Tian and said in a low voice, "Don't think I don't know about all your messy affairs, and I'm too embarrassed to even mention your little frivolous hobbies."

"I...he...sigh!"

Old Tian was speechless for a moment. He couldn't help but think sadly that there was a mountain called "prejudice" in people's hearts...

Before Pietà, I hadn't made a proper movie in years. What other hobbies could I possibly have?

During the filming of Pietà, even though it was Hong Kong... I managed to hold back, didn't I?
At that moment, Lao Tian felt even more wronged than Dou E.

“Cao Yang, you must never follow in the footsteps of people like Tian Zhuangzhuang. The feng shui of the directing department was already bad, but it has finally changed for you. I think this is the transformation of yin into yang. You must not follow in their footsteps.”

Old Situ gave him earnest advice.

He paused for a moment and then said, "You are still young and at the peak of your creative career. If you have a good idea, then film it. Now is not the time to enjoy yourself."

Well, Hollywood isn't a place to stay for long. Everything is about money, and there's no human touch. Once you run out of creative ideas, they'll definitely abandon you without hesitation.

While you're young and full of inspiration, you can make some Chinese-language films to solidify our foundation. That way, your achievements will be stable. Even if your creative peak passes and your inspiration dries up, it won't be a big deal.

Of course, now that you have the Cannes Palme d'Or and the Venice Golden Lion, if you also win the Golden Bear, you'll be a living fossil of Chinese cinema, and might even become the first person to leave your mark on Chinese film history.

"Yes, teacher, you're right, I've got it."

Cao Yang quickly nodded in agreement, as these were indeed the old man's heartfelt words.

Old Tian breathed a sigh of relief; the old man was chanting scriptures again.

After Old Situ finished speaking, he quickly said, "Let's go eat, or the cafeteria will be out of food."

Old Master Situ turned his head, glared, and said as he stood up:

"Eat, eat, all you ever think about is food. You're a Golden Lion Director now, stop thinking about food and those trivial things all day long. You need to motivate yourself and seriously plan for the future..."

Old Tian nodded listlessly, "Yes, yes, you're right."

That evening, Cao Yang went to Yu Feihong's place again.

Yu Feihong still cooked herself. After the meal, she leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Cao Yang wash the dishes with great interest. At this moment, she always felt very satisfied and thought her life was perfect.

After dinner, Cao Yang sat down at his computer and created a new document, but for a moment he didn't know what to write.

He actually understood Old Situ's implied meaning today. Old Situ wanted him to take advantage of the six months of free time to make an art film and try his luck at the Berlin Film Festival. There hadn't been any major events in Europe in the past two years, and there weren't many politically correct films to make—the kind that, as long as they were above average, would definitely get awards.

Therefore, winning the Berlin Golden Bear is very difficult.

But it won't work if we don't try.

Having just established a friendly relationship with Dieter Kosslick, the "dictatorial" chairman of the Berlin Film Festival, we should attend one or two events, and with good films no less, so that Dieter Kosslick will feel "guilty" for not awarding the Golden Bear.

If Dieter Kosslick produces another film that surpasses his previous ones, he will definitely have to take into account his previous "shortcomings," which would be beneficial in winning the Golden Bear.

This was also Cao Yangding's strategy.

But what should we film?

Cao Yang hesitated. He had many choices, but he didn't know which one to choose.

"what's wrong?"

Yu Feihong brought a cup of hot milk to the study and handed it to Cao Yang.

"I wanted to write something, but I just didn't have the passion."

Cao Yang turned around, took the milk, placed it on the table, and patted her bottom.

Yu Feihong chuckled, leaned against Cao Yang's back, breathed into his ear, and lazily said, "Want me to give you some passion?"

Cao Yang's eyes lit up; the study seemed like a good option as well.

then……

Yu Feihong was still the same as before. At first, she was a majestic and arrogant female knight. Although Cao Yang sitting in the computer chair was not conducive to her performance, she still galloped around on horseback with great skill.

Unfortunately, her momentum waned after a brief burst of energy, and eventually gave out completely.

The rest is Cao Yang's turn to shine.

A study is not just a place for studying and working; it can also be a convenient and exciting space for special tasks.

In any case, the captured female knight continued to wail.

The next day, Cao Yang arrived at the school.

Nothing much happened in the morning. Cao Yang attended a high-level meeting of the school. He has now been appointed as the assistant dean, so he gets notified of many high-level meetings whenever he is at the school.

In the afternoon, Lao Hou came to Cao Yang's office again.

Cao Yang was taken aback. If Old Hou came over quietly, it must be because something was up.

"Is it still about the Golden Rooster?"

Cao Yang couldn't help but ask first.

Old Hou was also taken aback. He first nodded, then shook his head, which puzzled Cao Yang.

"Sigh, although it's still about the Golden Rooster Awards, this time it's not about Suzhou, but about the Golden Rooster Awards internally, or rather, the Film Association internally."

Old Hou said somewhat helplessly, "The association isn't a monolithic entity. There are still some... well, stubborn old men who are against our Beijing Film Academy taking the lead this time... cough."

Regarding the Golden Rooster Awards judges this year, some people felt they had seniority and were acting arrogantly, taking advantage of our rejection of the proposal from Suzhou to raise some issues with higher authorities.

"above?"

Cao Yang looked at Old Hou and asked, "Zhongxuan?"

He is currently the vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. His superior authority is neither the Ministry of Culture nor the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, but the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

If you want to sue him, only the Central Propaganda Department can do so openly.

"Ah!"

Old Hou couldn't help but laugh.

"A few old stubborn people who rely on their age and seniority are not qualified to be in the Central Propaganda Department. They can only say some small things to the Film Bureau."

"You say I'm domineering and wield too much power?"

Cao Yang asked with a smile.

If it's not from the Central Propaganda Department, then it's not a big deal.

"No way, you can rest assured about what I do. We're upright, and everything we do is based on rules and regulations and is decided collectively. How can you say that we're domineering and monopolizing power?"

Old Hou explained that he hadn't been a high-ranking leader for nothing all these years. He did many things with reason and evidence, leaving no room for criticism.

"They are just petty thieves and scoundrels, how dare they say it outright, let alone name them?"

I simply reported to the Film Bureau that some young directors, after gaining fame, fail to unite those around them, especially showing disrespect to their Hong Kong and Taiwanese counterparts and refusing to use Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors, which is detrimental to unity..."

Cao Yang thought for a moment and couldn't help but laugh. This was using the opportunity to make a fuss.

It seems there are some forces behind the scenes pushing this forward.

Ha, it's nothing more than those people from Hong Kong or Taiwan who collectively head north, or the capital behind them.

"Some people in the Film Association are getting old. They should retire completely. Don't they know their own limitations?"

Cao Yang glanced at Old Hou and continued:
"Those who need to be removed should be removed. In addition, professional matters should be left to professionals. From now on, all Golden Rooster judges must be experienced and have works to their name. We can't let just any random person become a judge."

Old Hou nodded. He had been slowly pushing this matter forward. Perhaps some people had noticed and panicked, and with the instigation of some capital behind the scenes, this matter came to be.

However, they all underestimated Cao Yang and did not understand his current importance.

On an international scale, Cao Yang is one of the most influential directors in the world, a top director in Hollywood, and one of the most central directors in the European art-house film scene.

In China, Cao Yang is the vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, chief consultant of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, chief consultant of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, vice chairman of the All-China Youth Federation, vice president of the Directors Guild of China, assistant dean of the Beijing Film Academy, and chief producer of the Beijing Film Studio...

With all these identities combined, let alone reporting them to the Film Bureau, even if they were reported to... how much of a difference would it make?
However, even though it was useless, Old Hou still voiced his concerns:

"Cao Yang, the Olympics are next year. As you know, those capitalists in Hong Kong and Taiwan are used to hyping things up. We don't need to worry about the print media, but we are afraid they will stir up trouble online, which will have a great impact on your reputation."

Cao Yang nodded thoughtfully; he largely agreed with this point.

Many of the negative trends that have emerged online in later generations were started by these people.

The best solution is to win over some and crack down on others.

Are there any worth trying to win over?

Compared to these, there are indeed others, such as Jackie Chan, who later actively sought to align himself with the mainland, and the capital behind him.

Some Hong Kong and Taiwanese capital only inserts their own agendas into movies, deliberately conveying some wrong culture and values.

So Cao Yang said to Lao Hou, "I can completely resolve those so-called comments by making a movie. As for the things behind them..."

Old Hou immediately said, "Leave this to me. I will discuss and resolve this matter with Old Han from China Film Group."

After Lao Hou left, Cao Yang carefully considered the matter to avoid overlooking anything.

After that, he began to seriously consider the movie project.

It just so happens that Lao Situ also intends for him to make more Chinese-language films. Half a year is more than enough time to make an art film and also take him to the Berlin Film Festival.

By employing a representative Hong Kong actor, all the rumors of disunity will be dispelled.

(End of this chapter)