Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 200 The Hollywood Reporter Association, Lu Yang Joins
Get Out is currently only being shown in North America; overseas releases are scheduled for February or March, after the Oscars.

Universal has made no secret of pushing "Get Out" to the forefront as a core contender for the Oscars.

Films with Oscar aspirations are naturally unwilling to be left behind and are gradually ramping up their efforts.

The primary battleground is naturally the Golden Globe Awards, whose nominations will be announced this December.

On the other side of the media headquarters on California's west coast, the heated discussion had already spread from film critic circles to the meeting room of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

This small building in Beverly Hills houses more than 30 international journalists, mostly from Europe, South America, and Asia, who form the core of the voting process that determines the Golden Globe nominations and winners.

"Should we repeat last year's strategy?" a middle-aged journalist from Le Parisien asked first. "Last year, we strongly promoted Li An's 'Brokeback Mountain,' and it worked very well."

“But that’s Lee An,” another reporter with a British accent frowned and shook his head. “You can’t expect a miracle like that every year. Get Out is essentially a thriller.”

“But it’s not a horror film in the traditional sense,” someone countered. “It’s an allegory, a social allegory, and we’ve already seen its standing in American public opinion.”

Do you guys remember Trainspotting? It also broke into the awards season from a fringe subject in the same way.

After these words were spoken, another silence fell.

Actually, everyone knows the truth but keeps it to themselves.

This is because there are people influenced by Universal Pictures, as well as those influenced by Warner Bros. and other production companies.

Someone mentioned box office data:

"It generated 37 million in the first week, and remained strong in the second week. I just got the data today; it was stable around 4.5 million on Wednesday and Thursday, but surged to 9.3 million on Friday. My initial estimate for Saturday is that it could reach 12 million."

"What does that mean?"

"This means it's not just word-of-mouth spreading, it's word-of-mouth exploding." The reporter spread his hands. "Are we going to miss out on a movie that could win multiple awards?"

The meeting descended into a brief but intense and heated discussion.

Wu Chen was naturally unaware of the discussions at the Hollywood Reporter Association. After "Get Out" reached $1210 million at the box office on its second Saturday, he booked a flight back the next day.

In late autumn, the weather in Beijing is slightly chilly.

Ginkgo leaves carpeted the campus roads with a golden hue, and the wind swirled the fallen leaves along the tree-lined avenues of Beijing Film Academy, creating a serene and refreshing atmosphere.

"How's it going? Filming's about to start?"

Wu Chen looked at the lovely girl in front of him. She had just finished training, and the tip of her nose was still slightly red and her sweat was not yet dry. He subconsciously took out a tissue to wipe her nose.

Liu Yifei remained quietly in place, her dimples spreading slightly, her eyes smiling, her face flushed as Wu Chen's slight movements stirred her cheeks.

"A little nervous"

"I just heard Teacher Zhang and Teacher Liu say that you've been doing quite well lately."

Wu Chen smiled slightly. After returning from Hollywood, he came here as soon as possible to inquire about the upcoming filming of "Black Peony".

At this moment, Liu Yifei raised her fingers and gently pinched them together, as if to make a gesture of "only one centimeter between the thumb and forefinger," with a playful smile, "Just this little bit of nervousness."

Wu Chen blinked and nodded seriously: "So nervous? You'd need a barbecue to calm down."

"How about that? Is that enough to keep you from getting sick? If not, we can have another meal."

Liu Yifei laughed upon hearing this and gently pushed him away. "I'm not a pig. I've just never made a movie with such a big budget before, so it's normal to be a little nervous."

After a moment's thought, Wu Chen slowly said, "Hmm? Actually, there's no need to be nervous. The basics have already been laid for you."

Did Teacher Zhang initially require you to avoid any mistakes during your Kunqu Opera performances, otherwise you'd have to start all over again?

"Ok!"

"Then let me tell you, acting in film and television dramas is actually much simpler than acting in plays."

"Why?" Liu Yifei asked, puzzled.

“Because movies and TV shows can have retakes,” Wu Chen replied softly.
"The pressure of acting in film and television dramas is not as great as that of drama. If you don't do well the first time, you can do it again, even ten or a hundred times. There will always be one or two times that are satisfactory. Of course, it is more expensive. The audience is unaware of the mistakes behind the scenes. They can only see the finished product."

However, when performing on tour like Zhang Jiqing, they cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake, because it would be very embarrassing if they did, as all the audience members below could see it clearly.

Therefore, actors who have trained in traditional opera have a certain advantage when acting in film and television dramas. This is also why we had you first train in Kunqu Opera under Teacher Zhang Jiqing; this was one of the considerations.”

"Wow!" Liu Yifei's mouth gaped slightly; she hadn't thought of that yet. "Junior brother, you've really considered everything."

"Of course, we're the directors, so we have to consider all aspects. Just focus on your acting, give full play to what you've learned in the past year and a half, don't feel pressured, the production team and I will take care of the rest."

Wu Chen comforted her, knowing that Liu Yifei had been under a lot of pressure since the female lead was cast, pressure stemming from her own psychological state as well as various external factors.

Therefore, timely psychological support is very important.

"Mmm."

"."

The following day, Starry Night Pictures.

Sunlight streamed onto the gray-blue carpet in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the glass curtain wall reflected the late autumn morning light of the CBD.

In the office,
Wu Chen met Lu Yang, a tall and thin young man, in the Xingchen Pictures office.

This matter was initiated by Xiang Zhuo.

In Xiang Zhuo's words, after mentioning Wu Chen's name, things went exceptionally smoothly, and Lu Yang was already eager to sign the contract.

"Director Lu, let me first tell you about the company's situation."

Starry Sky Pictures isn't considered a large company in the industry, as Xiang Zhuo has probably already told you. However, compared to other companies in the industry, Starry Sky is willing to invest time and energy in nurturing new directors.
I believe you have no doubt about that.

Lu Yang shook his head.

Ning Hao's rise to fame has been thoroughly investigated by the industry; it was all thanks to Wu Chen's support.

Many directors are envious, wishing that such a good thing as Ning Hao would fall into their laps, and that they would find a mentor who doesn't give bad advice.

Now that such a great opportunity was presented to him, he quickly signed his name on the contract.

Wu Chen and Xiang Zhuo were both stunned; they hadn't expected him to be such an impatient person.

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, we're colleagues now. I hope you'll take good care of me in the future." Xiang Zhuo chuckled after realizing what was happening and put his arm around Lu Yang's shoulder.

Lu Yang was at a loss with this somewhat overly familiar producer, but for some reason, he felt that the company atmosphere was quite good.

"Director Lu, there are two things I need to do recently." Wu Chen considered it for a moment. Since Lu Yang had already joined, his potential was undeniable, and it was better to train him sooner rather than later.

"The company currently has two projects."

One is "Black Peony," which I have on hand, and the other is "Painted Skin." The script for these two projects is currently being rewritten. Which one would you like to add?

"Ah, Director Wu, can I still choose?" Lu Yang was taken aback when he heard this. It was so good that he could still choose.

"For the first project, since I developed it, you can work on it as an assistant director. The second project is still in the scriptwriting stage, but the director hasn't been decided yet, so I probably won't be directing it."
"Besides me, you're the only director left in the company, but whether you can handle it is uncertain; it depends on you, considering this project has an investment cost of tens of millions."

Wu Chen smiled slightly and dumped a huge pie on the ground, leaving Lu Yang and the others completely dumbfounded.

"Wow, Brother Chen's ability to make empty promises is getting better and better," Xiang Zhuo thought to himself as he listened from the side.

With a budget of tens of millions, who, apart from a handful of directors in the industry, could resist the temptation of a movie?
It's impossible not to be tempted by such a huge pie.

Lu Yang almost blurted out that he was going to the second project, but he calmed down.

He has already served as assistant director.

However, Wu Chen's assistant director position is obviously very tempting; at least it's definitely a cushy job, but it's almost entirely devoid of challenge.

He had already experienced this firsthand; the director had completely taken control of the situation. What he was learning from was Wu Chen's experience in filming and directing.

But can a soldier who doesn't want to be a general be a good soldier?

With such a great opportunity presented to him, Lu Yang thought long and hard before finally asking:
"Director Wu, how can I become competent for the second project?"

"It's very simple. As the screenwriter, you need to be involved throughout the entire process and, based on the script and your own vision of the scenes, draw up a satisfactory storyboard," Wu Chen replied with a faint smile.

"This is not an easy task. They revised the script until late at night every day. Although I had set the framework, the script was not so easy to fill in."
As for the storyboard, that depends on your skill.

If we're going to train them, let's do it for real.

Wu Chen thought about it and realized that he would most likely need to spend some time as a producer to oversee the overall direction of the film. In this case, it would be most suitable to use this opportunity to train Lu Yang.

"Director Wu, I'd like to give it a try."

(End of this chapter)