Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 221 Choosing a Person
Recently, news of the overwhelmingly negative reviews of "Hannibal Rising," starring Gong Li, in North America has been quietly reprinted by mainland media.

"Even Gong Li is struggling in Hollywood. If his next film repeats the same mistake, he might not be accepted in North America either. It's really tough."

The next day, Ning Hao and Wu Chen couldn't help but sigh as they went to Starry Night Pictures.

Even actors of Gong Li's caliber didn't have it easy in the past, and he genuinely admired Wu Chen for being able to carve out a niche for himself as a director.

“It will indeed be a bit difficult.” Wu Chen nodded.

"By the way, is Zhang Ziyi's new boyfriend someone important? They're so affectionate, even kissing in front of the cameras while watching a basketball game."

"It has some connections, it's related to Time Warner and Weinstein."

"No wonder, the voice acting for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' was provided by them; it seems to be a Time Warner production."

Ning Hao and Wu Chen discussed as they walked.

"Boss!" the receptionist called out as soon as she saw Wu Chen approaching.

"There's no need to be so tense, just relax."

Wu Chen nodded and responded with a light laugh.

Pushing open the glass door, the open-plan office area was brightly lit by fluorescent lights, with a dozen or so beige workstations neatly arranged, and everyone working in an orderly manner.

"The company is much better than my studio," Ning Hao said slowly, looking at Xingchen Pictures, which was now on the right track.

"You can open one too."

"Come on, I only earn this much money, I know my own limitations, it's not enough to keep me from making a fortune." Ning Hao shook his head with a smile.

"Wait a minute, or would you like to come in and listen too?"

"I'll just sit outside and have some tea."

Wu Chen nodded and started a meeting with the screenwriters. Lu Yang was also there. He knew why Wu Chen had come today and seemed a little nervous.

After carefully scanning the script, Wu Chen finally spoke:
"The main plot of 'Painted Skin' should be based on 'martial arts + fantasy + romance,' with the main focus on 'new Eastern fantasy.' The old formula should be discarded. At present, martial arts and romance are acceptable, but the fantasy element is not strong enough."

Scenes like the fox demon's painted skin and the human heart being eaten need to be recreated.

After discussing with the screenwriters, Wu Chen immediately called out:
"Lu Yang, come out here for a moment."

Inside the office, Ning Hao saw a tall, thin young man, about 1.8 meters tall, follow Wu Chen as he walked in.

“Director Ning Hao, you should have heard of him,” Wu Chen introduced to Lu Yang.

"Director Ning!"

“Although we’re not from the same school, we’re all from the same institution. If you don’t mind, you can call me senior brother,” Ning Hao said with a smile.

"Brother!"

Lu Yang quickly changed his tune.

"Storyboard, let me take a look first."

Wu Chen then reached out his hand, and under Ning Hao's curious gaze, Lu Yang hurriedly took out a stack of storyboard manuscripts and pushed them in front of Wu Chen and Ning Hao. Although the movement was light, it revealed a bit of nervousness.

These days, he not only participates in the entire process of reconstructing the script for "Painted Skin," but also has to create storyboards based on the reconstructed content.

Now is the time to see the results.

Wu Chen flipped through the storyboard pages, his brows not furrowing, but rather gradually relaxing as he turned the pages.

He paused on a certain page, looking slightly off.

This scene is not from the original "Painted Skin" because the script was not yet finished. However, Wu Chen did not care because he was looking at a director's "theatrical thinking," which is something that can be reflected in storyboarding.

This is a night scene setting:
Under the moonlight, a fox spirit draped in human skin silently rises from a human bed, its eyes vacant and its steps silent. The composition is clean and powerful, the camera panning down from above, first showing a wisp of smoke-like shadow dissipating at the corner of the bed, then cutting to the fox spirit's toes lightly touching the ground; it is unshoe-free, yet its footsteps are silent.
Ning Hao, who had been casually watching from the side, couldn't help but put aside his teasing attitude and sit up a bit straighter.

Turn the page further, and you'll see another scene from the storyboard.

As dusk fell, the distant mountains turned as black as ink, soldiers fled with swords drawn, and the painted-skin demon followed stealthily.

First shot: a very long shot, a figure running across a loess slope, casting a long shadow in the afterglow of the sunlight.

Second shot: A low-angle follow shot emphasizes the deserter's rapid breathing and staggering steps.

Third shot: A woman in white suddenly appears from the side and behind, the camera suddenly speeds up, zooming in to show her fingers tracing across the soldier's neck.

"That's great," Ning Hao thought to himself.

Storyboards aren't actually drawn for others to see; they're the initial, completed form of the film in the director's mind.

Clearly, Lu Yang already had a rough idea of ​​the specific scenes from "Painted Skin" in his mind.

And it looks pretty good.

It seems that those who catch Wu Chen's eye are truly extraordinary.

Ning Hao took another deep look at Lu Yang, and the other man's fatigue was obvious, with very noticeable dark circles under his eyes.

They put in a lot of effort and have great perseverance.
Ning Hao gave his judgment almost immediately.

Because opportunities are earned through one's own efforts. Even if others are willing to give them, you won't get them if you don't work hard. Isn't that how he got to where he is today?

However, Lu Yang seems to be luckier than him at the moment, as he was noticed by Wu Chen before he even left the school.

"Very good, keep it up." Wu Chen smiled, closed the storyboard, and gave his approval.

Lu Yang was overjoyed: "Thank you, Director Wu!"

"It's really very good!" Ning Hao didn't hold back his praise when Wu Chen spoke up.

"Thank you, senior brother!"

"Keep going. We'll wait for the final draft of the script and see your final product." Wu Chen patted Lu Yang on the shoulder, but he already had a plan in mind.

"Looks like the director has been decided?"

After Lu Yang left, Ning Hao asked.

Wu Chen stood in front of the blinds, looked at the bustling traffic below, and nodded slightly: "Well, if there are no major problems, then he'll be the one. We need to train some people, otherwise I'll be exhausted by myself."

"That's true, after all, this isn't a studio."

"."

The script was nearing completion, and Wu Chen immediately dialed Pang Hong's number.

These days, both Pang Hong and Yang Hongtao are getting anxious.

After a period of initial hype, "Painted Skin" entered a script reconstruction phase, and the project made almost no progress.

On the one hand, the two were worried that the script reconstruction of "Painted Skin" would not go smoothly, and on the other hand, they were worried that Ning Ying's gamble would end up being a complete loss. In addition, Wu Chen was currently in the filming period and could not be disturbed. The more they thought about it, the more anxious and uneasy they became.

Fortunately, after several communications with the producer of Starry Night Pictures, I learned that a group of screenwriters were working hard to reshape "Painted Skin".

Upon receiving Wu Chen's call, Pang Hong felt as if he had heard heavenly music and immediately asked:
"Director Wu, is there any progress on the 'Painted Skin' project?"

Wu Chen chuckled and nodded upon hearing this:

"I just finished reading the latest version of the script. It's still a bit lacking, but overall it's almost done. The project should be able to start after the New Year."

(End of this chapter)