Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 574 Host?
The battle for box office revenue during the National Day holiday has begun as scheduled.

Ultimately, Tsui Hark's "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" came out on top.
With its boundless imagination and industrial quality comparable to Hollywood blockbusters, it was widely praised by audiences and won the box office champion during the National Day holiday with 1.47 million yuan.

Just after the National Day holiday, Guo Fan and his team returned to Beijing from the filming location.

"It took three months to film this, you were quite cautious," Wu Chen said with a smile in his office, looking at Guo Fan who looked tired but had excitement in his eyes.

In his view, a film like Ex Machina, where a single scene occupies the majority of the screen time, should have been completed in just over two months, but Guo Fan took two extra weeks on top of that.

"Insuring just one item is too much; it's a waste of time!"

Guo Fan chuckled and scratched his head.

This is his directorial debut, so being meticulous is always a good idea.

If we mess things up in order to rush things, then we might really waste this precious opportunity that Wu Chen gave us.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and Lu Yang walked in, holding a trophy in his hands.

"Senior brother, congratulations!" Guo Fan immediately stood up, his face full of sincere congratulations.

"A small prize, a small prize"

Lu Yang spoke modestly, but his eyes, looking at the trophy, were filled with undisguised joy and satisfaction.

"Let me see, this is a replica, right?" Wu Chen took it and weighed it in his hand.

He was well aware that Lu Yang had won the "Audience Choice Award" at the Busan International Film Festival for "Blind Cinema".

During the National Day holiday, because Zhang Yimou's "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was the opening film, domestic media also gave extensive coverage to the film festival, which in turn increased the prestige of Lu Yang's award.

"Filming wrapped up?" Lu Yang finally realized and looked at Guo Fan.

He just returned from Busan yesterday, and Guo Fan didn't even hold a wrap-up ceremony, so naturally he was unaware of it.

"Hmm!" Guo Fan nodded, and immediately extended an invitation, "Senior brother, would you like to go to the visual effects department and give me some feedback? I just sent the film over for post-production yesterday."

"Okay!"

Lu Yang was also very curious about how Guo Fan would adapt that wonderful script into a film, so he readily agreed.

The two put their arms around each other and prepared to walk out. Wu Chen looked at this scene with a strange expression.

To be honest, he was a little worried that Guo Fan would "trick" Lu Yang into the post-production of his sci-fi movie and he wouldn't be able to get out.

After all, Guo Fan was later jokingly called "Science Fiction Daji" because his ability to "bewitch" people was not for nothing.

He then shouted towards the door, "Lu Yang! Don't forget about your 'Painted Skin 2,' speed things up!"

"Okay, we'll definitely be able to start preparations this year!"

With Lu Yang's assurance, Wu Chen felt much more at ease.

Following the National Day holiday, another major event involving Wu Chen and Liu Yifei quietly unfolded, and it was quite significant.

The Beijing Film Academy will celebrate its 60th anniversary on October 22.

Mu Deyuan called early on to confirm the time with Wu Chen repeatedly.

"Teacher, don't worry, I'm sure I'll be there."

"Alright, then this time, you'll represent the new generation of graduates and give a speech on stage." Mu Deyuan then assigned the task.

Wu Chen naturally had no objection to this.

Meanwhile, Liu Yifei also received a call from Wang Jinsong, a teacher in the acting department, who also gave her a small task.

"Yifei, would you be interested in being the host for our school anniversary celebration?" "Huh?" Liu Yifei was leaning against Wu Chen's chest reading a book when she heard this and was a little surprised, not reacting for a moment.

Wu Chen also curiously went over to join in.

host?
Well, he had never actually seen Liu Yifei hosting before.

"No, no, Teacher Wang," Liu Yifei said, snapping out of her daze. "I'll get nervous. What if I say the wrong thing on stage?"

Wu Chen listened from the side, unable to suppress his laughter.

Liu Yifei noticed, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but glare at him reproachfully.

"Mistaken word"

Wang Jinsong on the other end of the phone also found it amusing, but still asked one more question. Only after confirming that Liu Yifei really did not want to take the position did he regretfully give up.

"Alright, let's look for other people then."

"Teacher, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just remember to arrive early with Wu Chen that day!" Wang Jinsong reminded him before hanging up the phone.

In the performing arts department's office, everyone looked over.

Wang Jinsong shook his head: "It's not convenient for Yifei."

A collective sigh of regret immediately followed.

"Sigh, Iphie is still the most suitable. She's a Cannes Best Actress, one of our own, what a honor! What a pity."

“Yes,” another teacher chimed in, her tone full of helplessness.

"Have you seen the short film for the school anniversary that the Academic Affairs Office made? It's an edited version of outstanding works filmed by our school's teachers and students over the years."

Aside from Wu Chen and Ning Hao's films, and "Tuya's Marriage," the clips that could be included in other directors' excellent works are not the most exciting parts of the film.

Why? Because the lead actors aren't from our school; they're all from the Central Academy of Drama next door.

At this point, everyone in the performing arts department's office was getting a little annoyed. What kind of mess was this? Everyone watching that day must have laughed themselves to death.
On the other side, Liu Yifei was blushing from Wu Chen's teasing, and kept patting his shoulder with her small hands.

"What's the problem? I do get nervous, but it's not like filming a movie where you have to do multiple takes!"

"Hahaha!" Wu Chen couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Don't laugh! You're not allowed to laugh!"

Liu Yifei stood with her hands on her hips, glared at Wu Chen, and pouted in dissatisfaction.

Just then, Paramount launched its global promotional campaign for "Black Swan," and it soon made it onto the front page of major North American media outlets.

With Wu Chen's renowned reputation and being a "twin film" of "Black Peony," which won awards at Cannes and the Oscars a few years ago, "Black Swan" has always been highly anticipated and popular in Hollywood.

Moreover, it's scheduled for release in mid-December.

Everyone knows Paramount and Wu Chen's ambition: the film is set to directly target next year's Oscars.
The most eye-catching item in the promotional materials is undoubtedly a pure black poster, which is full of the sense of stage depth.

Keira Knightley plays Nina, dressed in a white swan dress, her face both innocent and terrified.

But behind her, in a huge, cracked mirror, was a completely different image: herself dressed in a black swan dress, with alluring yet wicked eyes.

The most ingenious design is that every crack on the mirror is like a black lightning bolt, separating the two "Ninas" and then strangely connecting them together.

At the bottom center of the poster, several large characters were prominently displayed.

Director: Wu Chen.
(End of this chapter)