Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 565 Something's happened, something's happened.
Late August, Songyuan, Jilin.

The sky was like a clean blue pane of glass, with sunlight pouring down without obstruction, scorching the boundless black earth.

The thousands of acres of cornfields, stretching as far as the eye can see, are thriving under the influence of the summer heat.

Each corn stalk stands tall and strong, its broad leaves swirling in the wind, creating vast "green waves" that stretch from our feet all the way to the distant horizon.

"buzzing"

The helicopter responsible for aerial photography is hovering low over the cornfield, conducting final testing of its position.

The huge rotors churned up the hot air, causing the corn leaves below to sway wildly.

On the ridge of the field, the film crew was setting up the cameras and lighting equipment in a tense but orderly manner.

Wearing a simple white T-shirt, Wu Chen stood on the solid ridge of the field, holding a storyboard in his hand, looking up at the helicopter in the sky, confirming the trajectory and angle of the aerial photography with the pilot through the walkie-talkie.

Behind him were the filming team, including Park Song-il, wearing professional monitoring headphones and looking focused.

Although Liu Yifei didn't have any scenes in this part, she still came along.

Wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, she stood under a parasol not far away, quietly watching everything with a hint of amazement and curiosity in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Matthew McConaughey and the other lead actors stared with their mouths slightly agape, awestruck by the seemingly endless cornfield that far exceeded their expectations.

Oh my God

Matthew couldn't help but exclaim, "I thought the 'endless expanse' in the script was just an adjective, but I never expected that Wu would actually find a place exactly like the one in the script. It's so amazing."

“This is more spectacular than any cornfield I’ve ever seen in Texas.”

Ellen Burstyn, who plays the older Murphy, also expressed her deep feelings.

The arrival of the film crew became a novelty in the area.

Although the filming location was remote, under the scorching sun, many nearby villagers, carrying hoes or riding bicycles, gathered in twos and threes outside the cordon, curiously peering inside.

The local government's assistance personnel are patiently reminding the villagers in their local dialect.

"Fellow villagers, you can take pictures of that big plane and the cornfield as you like, just try to keep it confidential and don't take pictures of people, okay? It hasn't been released yet."

An elderly farmer with dark skin and a wrinkled face waved his hand cheerfully:
"Hehe, we're just watching for fun. We don't really know how to use those cell phone cameras. The young men who do know how have all gone to the city, and those who haven't left don't want to do farm work with us because it's too hot down there."

By the afternoon, everything was ready.

With Wu Chen's command, the aerial photography officially began.

The helicopter slowly ascended, and the camera swept across the scene from low altitude, capturing the details of each corn leaf in the light and shadow.

Then, the plane suddenly climbed higher, and the camera's field of view instantly widened.

On the monitor, the vast green ocean stretched out before us, with farmhouses and pickup trucks appearing as tiny models within it.

Sunlight casts flowing spots of light on the "sea," and the wind blows, causing green waves to roll and stretch all the way to where the sky meets the earth, creating an extreme, vibrant solitude and magnificence.

This is exactly what Wu Chen wanted: a last glimmer of hope stubbornly growing against the backdrop of Earth's apocalypse.

While the Interstellar crew was working tirelessly on the black soil of Northeast China, the box office of Aftershock in the domestic film market continued to rise steadily.

However, Huayi Brothers' voice was much quieter than before, no longer promoting box office figures as loudly as before, and they didn't seem so smug.

This scene made many industry insiders want to laugh.

In a quiet study in the capital city.

Lu Tianming was speaking to his son, Lu Xun, explaining the information he had just gathered.

Since Wu Chen took "Nanjing! Nanjing!" off the air ahead of schedule, Lu Xun's career has plummeted, and Lu Tianming is extremely worried about it.

"China Film Group's 'The Founding of a Party' is about to start filming. Like 'The Founding of a Republic,' it will feature an all-star cast and will also invite some industry directors to co-direct."

Lu Xun listened with little interest, and simply shrugged: "Isn't that just Wu Chen, Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and those other guys?"

Seeing his son's useless state, Lu Tianming felt a pang of sadness, but he still patiently explained:
"This time is different. In order to give more people a chance, and in order to promote the so-called 'hundred flowers blooming', the list of co-directors will give priority to a new batch of people."

In other words, those from the previous batch will most likely be excluded. This is an opportunity.

Lu Xun's eyes lit up instantly: "Dad, you mean..." "Yes." Lu Tianming nodded, "My idea is to have you sign up and recommend yourself. Although what you did before had a bad impact, it's not all bad from another perspective. A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold."

He stood up, paced back and forth a couple of steps, as if rehearsing lines for his son:

"In your self-recommendation letter, you should adopt a humble attitude and say that after deep reflection, you have realized your past mistakes and are eager for an opportunity to contribute to the Chinese film industry again."

I hope that by participating in such a grand, patriotic production, I can present a new, humble, and eager-to-learn version of myself to the public.

Lu Xun's breathing became somewhat rapid.

It must be said that Lu Tianming's words were absolutely impeccable.

If you make a mistake and want a chance to make amends, are you not even given that chance?
It's not like I've committed a capital offense.

“If you can secure this deal, then you can take advantage of the opportunity to announce your collaboration with Stellar Media on ‘The Last Supper.’” Lu Tianming looked at his son, his tone becoming exceptionally serious. “You’d better do a good job with this movie. If you fail again this time, you’ll be on your own from now on.”

After saying that, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and slumped into the chair.

He was willing to risk his reputation for Lu Xun's sake.

Lu Xun nodded heavily, pondering the feasibility of the matter, when Lu Tianming suddenly remembered something and called out to him:

"You should talk to your teacher about these things first and ask him to pass on a message for you. No matter what Han Sanping is like, he has to think it over. Then, you yourself should also go to the bureau in person and make sure you show the proper attitude."

News of Wu Chen using a helicopter to film large-scale scenes in Songyuan naturally spread quickly.

In today's internet age, it is impossible to keep things completely secret.

Many netizens sighed in despair upon hearing the news.

"It's a pity, it's in Songyuan, too far away, otherwise I really wanted to go and see it."

"What kind of big event is this? Why is there such a large-scale operation? Do any of you have friends from Songyuan? Let's go check it out!"

"I went to see it, I went to see it! But the corn was taller than a person; even on tiptoe, you couldn't see inside. All I saw was a helicopter taking aerial photos."

During a break in filming, while Wu Chen was resting, Ning Hao secretly called.

"Something's happened! Something's happened!"

As soon as the call connected, Ning Hao lowered his voice.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen became somewhat curious.

"You know Han Dong's 'The Founding of a Republic,' right?"

Wu Chen nodded. This matter had been in preparation for a long time, and everyone in the industry knew about it; it wasn't a secret.

"Isn't this because Chairman Han is planning to use the same method as the previous film, co-directing?"

However, in order to give newcomers a chance, this time we won't consider people from the previous batch; instead, we'll have everyone nominate themselves.

Ning Hao's tone became somewhat strange, "Lu Xun recommended himself. It's said he even went to the bureau in person, tearfully expressing his desire to reform."

"I wipe!"

Wu Chen was stunned for a moment.

Goodness, has Lu Xun actually read Sun Tzu's Art of War?

Are people this smart now?

He was immediately puzzled: "Speaking of which, I didn't even know about this news. How did you find out?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Hao chuckled somewhat sheepishly.

"It's because my film 'No Man's Land' hasn't been released yet, so I've been paying close attention to news from the bureau. I've even asked around and made connections with a few people. And here's the news that just came out!"

"Don't worry, 'No Man's Land' should be finished soon, don't rush it."

Wu Chen immediately understood and offered words of comfort.

(End of this chapter)