Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 481 Revenge
After reading Cao Yang's plan for "A Bite of China," Lao Situ remained silent for a long time.

He appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.

For a traditional documentary authority like Lao Situ, the presentation of "A Bite of China" is undoubtedly revolutionary, with its innovation mainly reflected in its narrative techniques and cultural expression.

Traditional food documentaries often focus on ingredients or cooking techniques, while "A Bite of China" connects the food ecosystem with specific personal stories, showcasing the humanistic depth of food culture through individual destinies.

This "human-centered" narrative breaks away from the traditional one-way presentation of documentaries. As for the specific effects, even after a lifetime of making documentaries, Lao Situ is still a bit unsure about this novel approach.

Regardless of whether the innovation is widely recognized, Old Situ supported it.

Only innovation can lead to continuous progress, while sticking to old ways means stagnation.

Combining food with regional culture, family ethics, and survival wisdom embodies the significance of the philosophy of time, making food a vehicle for conveying Chinese values.

This "nostalgia on the tip of the tongue" transcends a simple record of food, constructing a sense of ritual for cultural identity.

From this perspective, it is worthwhile for Lao Situ to set aside his previous "prejudice" and fully support this innovative form.

What impressed Lao Situ even more was Cao Yang's use of montage transitions.

If it were a typical documentary director, Lao Situ might worry that this kind of montage transition would seem "pretentious and empty," failing to capture the desired "sense of ritual," "sense of inheritance," and "sense of destiny."

This is no longer simply a field that documentary directors excel at.

But Lao Situ had no concerns about Cao Yang, a top director in both art-house and commercial films.

These transitions are techniques favored by directors of art films, and also adept at being used by directors of commercial films.

Old Situ still had confidence in Cao Yang.

"You have seven sub-themes here, such as 'Nature's Gifts,' 'The Story of Staple Foods,' 'Inspiration for Transformation,' 'The Taste of Time,' and 'The Secrets of the Kitchen.' Are you planning to film them as seven chapters?"

Old Situ did not discuss the specific details of the plan with Cao Yang.

He's getting old, and he's been teaching all his life. Plus, he's been semi-retired for the past few years, so he doesn't know much about the latest digital photography equipment and techniques.

Furthermore, judging from the planning scheme, he couldn't offer too much guidance for this innovative experimental documentary, lest it affect Cao Yang's creative process.

Therefore, what he cares about now is only the superficial things.

"Yes, seven sub-themes, and I plan to make a seven-episode documentary."

Cao Yang looked up and replied with a smile.

He had also finished reading the "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road" plan that Lao Situ had given him.

Compared to traditional documentaries, Cao Yang actually saw some "changes" in the planning of "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road," which is somewhat similar to "A Bite of China."

However, "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road" still retains many elements of traditional documentaries and is not as thoroughly "transformed" as "A Bite of China".

Of course, it also lacks the multi-dimensional narrative strategy of "A Bite of China," which uses food as a carrier of cultural genes.

However, even a "small" innovation is quite an achievement for someone of Situ's age, someone who stands at the "pinnacle" of traditional documentaries.

"Seven episodes, even if we calculate it at 45 minutes per episode, seven episodes would be..."

Old Situ silently calculated in his mind, and then said, "Seven episodes is 315 minutes, which is 6 hours and 15 minutes. Have you ever thought about how much footage you need to edit into a 6-hour-plus feature film? This number may not seem like much, but how much material do you need?"
It's already March. Planning, selecting materials, filming... all of this takes a lot of time. Can you finish it during graduation season?

"Don't worry, teacher. I've already planned it out when I was writing the proposal, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Cao Yang replied.

Old Situ was silent for a moment before nodding and saying, "Alright, just keep that in mind."

Cao Yang smiled, waved the book "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road" in his hand, and asked, "Teacher, is this... the topic you gave me?"

Old Master Situ was taken aback, then quickly shook his head and said:
"No, this is, this is one of my documentary film students... You don't know him, he graduated in the 80s, um, he works at a TV station now, and he just happened to want to plan a food documentary, so he sent me a proposal and asked for my opinion."

"Oh, is that so? I think this plan is very good, very creative, and it should turn out very well."

Cao Yang praised him earnestly.

"Really? Haha..."

Old Situ stopped laughing halfway through.

Perhaps thinking of Cao Yang's plan, he realized that everything is subject to comparison. Even though he thought "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road" was very creative, it paled in comparison to "A Bite of China".

At least that's the case creatively.

"Well, his plan isn't quite mature yet, and he didn't say he definitely had to film it... Never mind, let's not talk about this."

Old Situ waved his hand, stood up, walked a few steps to Cao Yang's side, and took the "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road" proposal from Cao Yang's hand.

He coughed lightly, calmly put the proposal into the drawer, and said:

“I know you’re busy, so go ahead and do your job. I don’t expect you to change the traditional way of making documentaries, but at least show people a possibility… Go ahead.”

Wait until Cao Yang leaves.

Old Situ opened the drawer, took out the "Retracing the Flavors of the Silk Road" proposal, stared at it for a long time, and then sighed, "Alas, what a wonderful idea, what a pity, what a pity!"

At this moment, he actually felt a sense of being born at the wrong time.

Therefore, he began to understand the feelings that art-house and commercial film directors had towards Cao Yang.

Although Cao Yang is a professor at the school, he has no teaching duties.

It's not that he doesn't have teaching duties, but his teaching duties are different from other teachers. Whether he's filming movies in Hollywood or in China, he will give some internship opportunities to the Beijing Film Academy, and the school counts this as part of his teaching duties.

In addition, he also needs to prepare his graduation project, so there is no need for him to stay at school.

When Cao Yang arrived at Li Xiaoran's place, he saw that Li Xiaoran's agent, Zhang Sumei, was also there.

"Sister Zhang."

Cao Yang greeted him.

Zhang Sumei has been Li Xiaoran's agent for many years. It's not that Li Xiaoran doesn't want to change, but since Li Xiaoran won the Berlin Film Festival's Best Actress award, Zhang Sumei has been too clear about her position.

As a result, Li Xiaoran never even considered changing her agent.

Zhang Sumei also works full-time for Li Xiaoran, and has not managed any other artists in the industry over the years.

Therefore, the two still have a very good relationship.

"Director Cao."

When Zhang Sumei saw Cao Yang, she quickly greeted him warmly. She was not surprised at all that Cao Yang was there.

"I have some things to take care of, Director Cao, Xiaoran, I'll be going now."

Zhang Sumei stood up and said with great tact.

After leaving Li Xiaoran's villa, Zhang Sumei got into the car and couldn't help but shake her head, secretly sighing that Li Xiaoran was a bit foolish.

With Cao Yang as a powerful figure to rely on, she couldn't understand why Li Xiaoran didn't want to pursue a career in Hollywood.

Looking at Bingbing's performance in recent years, she is definitely the most popular actress in China, even surpassing Zhang Ziyi by a considerable margin.

How did Fat Ice rise to fame?
Anyone with eyesight can see it.

But Xiao Ran, for some reason, just stayed in China and refused to go to Hollywood. This was what Zhang Sumei couldn't understand the most. She could sense that Cao Yang had special feelings for Li Xiao Ran. Although they hadn't officially announced it, Cao Yang definitely considered Li Xiao Ran a close person...

If Li Xiaoran were to develop her career in Hollywood, Cao Yang would definitely be able to provide her with many good resources, at least no worse than Fan Bingbing's.

In that case, Li Xiaoran, being a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner, would definitely be the most popular female star in China, and... and she wouldn't be experiencing this frustrating situation today.

Of course, no matter how much she couldn't understand, Zhang Sumei would only feel secretly depressed, just like today. She had a clear understanding of herself and was only responsible for Li Xiaoran's external liaison, and would never interfere with any of Li Xiaoran's decisions.

This is also why she was able to gain Li Xiaoran's trust.

Of course, with Cao Yang as her backer, she wouldn't dare to make decisions about Li Xiaoran's future on her own.

She was still very sensible.

Even if some people have a clear understanding, when faced with interests, they may know it's a trap, but they may still think they are the exception and can get through it easily.

This is also why "stupid people" sometimes appear.

In this respect, Zhang Sumei believes she has done a good job.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Cao Yang asked, somewhat puzzled.

After Zhang Sumei left, Li Xiaoran pouted, looking like she was unhappy.

"Cao~~~Yang~~~~"

Li Xiaoran dragged out her words, pouted, and looked aggrieved.

"I've been bullied, you have to help me."

Cao Yang felt a chill run down his spine, a bad premonition creeping over him.

He stood up, turned and walked away, saying, "Oh right, I suddenly remembered that I have some things to take care of at school, and I need to go and deal with them right away."

Cao Yang was all too familiar with this kind of coquettish expression from women.

The one who is best at this is actually Gao Yuanyuan.

Gao Yuanyuan used this tactic against Li Xiaoran most of the time.

Now that Li Xiaoran has used this tactic, Cao Yang has a premonition that Li Xiaoran must have been "bullied" by Gao Yuanyuan.

Li Xiaoran rushed over and hugged Cao Yang's arm. She blinked her big eyes at him, pouted, and said pitifully, "Cao Yang, aren't you going to take care of me? Are you just going to stand by and watch me get bullied?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment and then sat down.

"?"

Li Xiaoran blinked, her mind filled with questions.

"I sit and watch."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

"You're such a jerk!"

Li Xiaoran stopped pretending and sat down next to Cao Yang, saying, "Aren't you going to do anything about it..."

As he said this, perhaps realizing he had said something inappropriate, his eyes dimmed for a moment, then his facial muscles twitched, and he gave a smile.

That smile looks very natural.

But this made Cao Yang feel somewhat uneasy.

"Cao Yang, I was bullied by that vixen Gao Yuanyuan. Sister Su Mei was helping me negotiate an endorsement deal with a major international brand, but that vixen interfered and stole it away. I'm so angry."

Cao Yang smacked his lips. A big brand endorsement isn't so easily snatched away.

When people are looking for a spokesperson, they definitely don't have just one target. They're probably hesitating between Li Xiaoran and Gao Yuanyuan, and then Gao Yuanyuan won.

Is this...revenge?
He remembered that Xiao Gangpao had said that Li Xiaoran was originally not planning to take on "If You Are the One." He had even revealed that he was going to invite Gao Yuanyuan, but Li Xiaoran agreed to take the role.

For Xiao Gangpao, the female lead in "If You Are the One" was inspired by the character of the female lead in Cao Yang's "On the Beach at Night Alone," and Li Xiaoran won the Best Actress award at the Berlin International Film Festival for her role in this film.

Is it even necessary to say who the best choice is for the female lead?

As long as Cao Yang doesn't mind, Xiao Gangpao is prepared to hype up the idea that "If You Are the One" is a sequel or sister film to "On the Beach Alone at Night".

He had already thought of all the details.

"The female protagonist in 'A Night Alone on the Beach' is extremely disappointed in the famous director who is having an affair with her. After breaking up with him, she even contemplates suicide..."

What follows is the plot of "If You Are the One".

Even more surprisingly, Xiao Gangpao changed the background of the female lead Xiaoxiao's married lover in the movie, turning him into a married director.

To avoid any objections from Cao Yang, he brought in China Film Group, Qingdao Film Studio, and Huayi Brothers for investment.

They even planned to have Cao Yang listed as the film's executive producer or producer.

"Didn't you lose to Gao Yuanyuan?"

Cao Yang asked, feigning concern.

"Hmph, it's not that I can't compete with that vixen, she has no sportsmanship, she actually offered the same endorsement terms as me, the brand will definitely..."

At this point, Li Xiaoran quickly stopped herself.

She blinked again, then turned to look at Cao Yang, bared her teeth, and threatened, "What did you just hear?"

"No, I didn't hear anything. I've been thinking about my graduation project. What did you just say?"

Cao Yang quickly replied with a smile.

In China, if Gao Yuanyuan can't compete with Li Xiaoran in the film industry, then she is the undisputed leader in endorsements.

If Gao Yuanyuan relaxes her endorsement fee terms even slightly, Li Xiaoran will absolutely not be able to compete with her.

"You really didn't hear me?"

Li Xiaoran continued to grin.

Cao Yang shook his head and said seriously, "No, I swear I didn't hear you say that Gao Yuanyuan lowered her conditions to the same level as you and the brand chose her... Really, I didn't hear anything."

"Ah, Cao Yang, I'm going to bite you to death!"

Li Xiaoran yelled and lunged at Cao Yang.

In the film industry, Li Xiaoran's salary is higher than Gao Yuanyuan's, but in the advertising industry, she is overshadowed by Gao Yuanyuan, which is something she is ashamed of.

The two were playfully fighting, and before they knew it, the fight was getting more and more intense. Before they knew it, their clothes had been knocked off.

In the end, Li Xiaoran successfully bit Cao Yang.

And it took a very, very long time before they finally gave in.

(End of this chapter)