Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 149 Brother Chen Kai has a breakdown, and no one can help him

The light in the cinema was dim, and "A Solo Journey of a Thousand Miles" was playing on the screen.

The mountain road in southern Yunnan in the picture is vast and tranquil, and the elderly father's journey to fulfill his son's wish slowly unfolds.

Liu Yifei sat in the middle of the back row, with the collar of her plush coat slightly raised, making her look quiet and gentle.

Her eyes were fixed on the screen, her gaze clear and focused.

When she was emotional, she bit her lower lip gently, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she looked serious and cute.

Wu Chen occasionally tilted his head and watched the subtle changes in her expression, and thought it was even more interesting than the movie.

"Director Zhang shot it pretty well." Liu Yifei said softly, with a hint of surprise and sincerity in her tone.

As she spoke, she subconsciously reached out to grab the popcorn bucket in the middle, and her fingers just happened to touch Wu Chen's.

The moment his fingertips brushed past her, she shrank back as if she had been electrocuted, her fingers froze in mid-air, her eyes widened, her eyelashes fluttered, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

Wu Chen smiled and continued to grab a handful, placing it directly in Liu Yifei's hand, "Take it!"

"No, your hand touched it." Liu Yifei said deliberately in a soft voice with a little girl's playfulness.

"Oh, then give it back to me!" Wu Chen said righteously, and planned to take it back from Liu Yifei.

"No, my hand touched it." Liu Yifei picked them up and put them into her mouth one by one. Then she picked up the Coke, bit the straw, and concealed the upward curve of the corners of her mouth.

The two of them finished watching "A Lone Journey" with great interest, and while they were still in high spirits, they bought another ticket for "Crazy Stone".

The venue was almost empty, as if it was reserved for them, and it was quiet and comfortable.

During the movie, the two of them would occasionally exchange a few comments while laughing quietly, and the atmosphere was indescribably relaxed and warm.

By the time the theater lights came on again, the sky was already dim.

After having a simple meal nearby, Wu Chen sent Liu Yifei back home.

Inside the villa, Liu Yifei returned to her room, took off her coat, and curled up on the bed with a sweet smile that she couldn't hide, so light and soft.

At this moment, the door was pushed open with a "click" and Shu Chang walked in, looking a little tired.

"Auntie said you came back early today, but I didn't believe it." Shu Chang said while yawning, obviously a little tired after just finishing an activity outside.

"Yeah." Liu Yifei paused, a little speechless, with a hint of unnaturalness on her face.

"That's perfect. Come with me to the movies tonight. I haven't seen any recent ones." Shu Chang stretched and sat down on the bed.

Liu Yifei hesitated for a moment: "How about tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"

"Eh?" Shu Chang frowned and looked at her suspiciously, but he didn't take it seriously. He asked casually, "Okay, then what are we going to watch tomorrow? 'A Solo Journey of a Thousand Miles'?"

“Shall we watch ‘The Promise’?” Liu Yifei asked tentatively.

"Ah? Xixi, what are you thinking?" Shu Chang said in shock. "Haven't you seen all the online abuse? You don't think the two of us can understand it, do you?"

Shu Chang pointed at himself and then at Liu Yifei.

"What about 'A Chinese Odyssey: Part One'?" Liu Yifei asked another question.

"No, why do you choose to watch movies with bad reputations? Such ugly movies are an insult to my eyes and a waste of my ticket money." Shu Chang sat up, looking puzzled.

"If you don't go to see it, how do you know it's ugly?"

Liu Yifei's casual remark left Shu Chang speechless for a moment. After pondering for a moment, he slowly nodded.

"That makes sense. Okay, then let's go watch The Promise. After all, it cost over 300 million yuan, let's see how bad it really is."

The next afternoon, Beijing, China Film Building.

In Han Sanping's office, sunlight poured in through the thick floor-to-ceiling windows, with a mixture of warmth and coldness, but there was no sense of relaxation in the air.

Wu Chen looked at the thick pile of newspapers on the table next to him, pulled out a piece of newspaper, sat on the sofa, and said casually, "Boss Han, do you still have the habit of collecting newspapers?"

When I opened it, I found various reports from "The Promise", and most of them were negative.

Gao Chengsheng, who was concentrating on making tea, smiled awkwardly when he heard this.

Han Sanping didn't take it seriously. He glanced at the time, frowning with dissatisfaction, "Where are Brother Chen Kai and Chen Hong?"

"Director Chen said they'll be here soon." Gao Chengsheng replied quickly.

Around two o'clock, the door was finally pushed open from the outside.

Although Brother Chen Kai and Chen Hong were not late, generally speaking, everyone would tacitly arrive ten minutes early.

Han Sanping's face darkened slightly at this time. He didn't say anything, but he looked a little gloomy and cursed in his heart.

Damn it! I even hired someone specially for “The Promise”, and you two are the ones who are trying to put on airs.

If Wu Chen hadn't been here, he would definitely not have given the couple a good look.

You can't tell what's going on, right? Chen Hong quickly noticed something was wrong in the air and hurriedly explained, "Mr. Han, I'm sorry, there was a traffic jam on the road, so I was delayed for a few minutes."

"Yeah." Han Sanping responded in a low voice, and his emotions were barely restrained.

"Director Wu, I've long heard of your name. I'm sorry to trouble you this time." Chen Hong gestured to Wu Chen.

"No, no." Wu Chen stood up and shook hands with Brother Chen Kai and Chen Hong one by one, and also looked at Brother Chen Kai again.

Brother Chen Kai has maintained himself well, wears a well-tailored coat, and has an upright figure. He is indeed one of the more imposing ones among many great directors.

After sitting down, Han Sanping spoke first, starting with other topics about "The Promise". As for the domestic reputation issues in recent days, the few of them seemed to have a tacit understanding and no one mentioned it.

After a while, the topic turned to the issue of North American distribution.

Wu Chen then spoke slowly: "Jason has already asked some channels for me.

Although the Weinstein Company's decision to drop The Promise has caused some distributors to hesitate, there are still some distributors willing to contact us.

He paused, glancing at the three people's expressions, and continued, "Like Fox's Searchlight, Warner Bros.'s Warner Independent, Focus, IFC Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. These companies all have experience in independent and foreign-language films."

Han Sanping looked a little more relaxed after hearing this.

However, Brother Chen Kai still frowned, because to be honest, these independent production companies were not the distributors he was satisfied with.

"Focus Features made 'Brokeback Mountain,' and IFC likes to produce topical art films. These are all areas we can strive for."

Wu Chen said lightly.

Before Han Sanping could speak, Chen Kaige asked, "What are these companies' resources for the Oscars?"

"Well," Wu Chen hesitated for a moment, "This is because the previous distributor, Weinstein, gave some internal feedback, which may have an impact on The Promise's Oscar bid.

I guess you, President Han and Director Chen, will need to go and communicate with them in person."

Chen Kai's brows twitched, and he turned his gaze to Wu Chen: "What feedback?"

Wu Chen looked normal, but still said truthfully:

"After watching the film, they felt that The Promise's potential for an Oscar was too low, the plot was incomprehensible, and form was more important than content."

As soon as he finished speaking, Brother Chen Kai's face suddenly turned pale and blue, and his originally straight back slowly tensed up.

The pressure of the past few days, coupled with the Weinstein Company's comments and Wu Chen's presence, made Chen Kai, who heard the news, embarrassed for a moment and stood up suddenly.

"Ridiculous! Weinstein and his team didn't even understand what the movie was about, yet they jumped to conclusions?"

The air pressure in the room dropped suddenly.

At this moment, Wu Chen could feel Brother Chen Kai's complex emotions, a mixture of anger, self-esteem, and frustration - like a mountain that was quietly cracking and could collapse at any time.

"Director Wu, have you seen 'The Promise'?" Brother Chen Kai turned his head and asked.

Wu Chen was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "It's not too late yet."

"Then you should watch it. 'The Promise' will never fail simply because it's 'incomprehensible'."

Can't understand? That's because they lack cultural background. It's their problem, not the movie's."

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely awkward.

Seeing this, Chen Hong quickly spoke up, "Director Wu, I'm so sorry. Old Chen has been under a lot of pressure lately and is easily anxious. I'll take him out for some fresh air first."

Before he could finish his words, Brother Chen Kai had already strode out of the office with a sullen look on his face, without even saying hello.

Chen Hong turned around with an embarrassed look on her face and gave Han Sanping and Wu Chen an apologetic smile:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Han!"

"I'm sorry, Director Wu!"

After saying that, he quickly chased after him.

Watching the two leave, Han Sanping snorted coldly, and angrily grabbed the teacup and almost threw it to the ground, finally hitting it heavily on the coffee table:

"Fuck, the airs are now on my head."

"Mr. Han, it seems I can't help you." Wu Chen said coldly. Not everyone has to endure the temper of the Palme d'Or director.

He is not Liu Yan, and it is a good thing that Brother Chen Kai restrained himself in the end, otherwise he would not tolerate it and would directly fight back.

"Then I'll go first." Seeing this, Wu Chen also stood up and said.

"Well, I'll let Chengsheng take you there." Han Sanping felt guilty for a moment. Damn, he asked someone to help, but ended up causing such a mess. He quickly called Gao Chengsheng.

Gao Chengsheng saw that Wu Chen looked normal, but he had just seen Brother Chen Kai walk away in anger, and Chen Hong hurriedly chased after him.

In this situation, Gao Chengsheng didn't ask any more questions. After sending Wu Chen to the door, he smiled and said, "Director Wu, take care!"

Wu Chen waved his hand and nodded with a smile.

When Gao Chengsheng returned to the office, he heard the Sichuan dialect cursing in Han Sanping's office.
(End of this chapter)