Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 575 School Anniversary, Enemies Meet

As Paramount's core Oscar contender of the year, the first wave of promotion for "Black Swan" caused a huge stir in Hollywood.

Mainstream media outlets such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter immediately featured the artistic and divisive poster on their websites.

On major film forums and social media, terms such as "Oscar indicator", "annual anticipation", and "Wu Chen's psychological thriller aesthetics" have seen a surge in popularity.

This trend quickly crossed the Pacific Ocean and was reprinted by domestic media.

Discussions among netizens followed.

"I think 'Black Swan' is based on ballet, right?"

"It's a pity. The North American release date is December 17th, which happens to be our Lunar New Year film season. There's definitely no hope of it being imported this year."

"The person upstairs is overthinking it. Even if this kind of art film, which is vying for the Oscars, is imported, it will be after the Oscars next year."

"."

Amid the heated discussion, Han Sanping's call also reached Wu Chen's mobile phone.

"Is 'Black Swan' an Oscar contender? It'll be imported next year."

“Chairman Han, I don’t have much of a connection,” Wu Chen said honestly. “This film was originally made in exchange for the Interstellar project. It was made by the Ramon gang, and I didn’t have a share.”

"That's true, but it doesn't matter who gets the quota!"

Han Sanping smiled faintly.

He knew all too well that there were only so many slots for imported films each year. Rather than letting outsiders take them, it was better to use them on projects related to his own people, keeping the profits within the family.

Time quickly passed and it was already late October.

The news of the 60th anniversary celebration of the Beijing Film Academy has been widely discussed in the industry, since most people in the circle are graduates of this school.

Officials also stepped forward early to express their congratulations.

On October 22, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei got up early in the morning.

The celebration was scheduled for 10:00 AM.

In the dressing room, Liu Yifei sat in front of the dressing table, picking up a foundation brush and gently blending it outwards from the center of her cheek.

Every now and then, she would turn around and ask, "What time is it?"

Wu Chen glanced at the wall clock; it was just past eight.

It's 8:30.

"Huh? So fast?" Liu Yifei was nervous, and her hands moved noticeably faster.

Wu Chen chuckled inwardly.

At this point, it's better to report it a little later, since if it's too early, Liu Yifei might procrastinate. This shows the director's judgment in assessing the overall situation.

When Liu Yifei finally finished her makeup, changed into an elegant white suit, and stood excitedly in front of Wu Chen, she subconsciously glanced at the time.

"Wu Chen!" She couldn't help but exclaim after seeing the clock face clearly, "Didn't you just say it was almost nine o'clock? How come it's only eight-thirty now! Do you know how fast I was typing just now?!"

As she spoke, she chased after Wu Chen, her small fists raining down on him.

"I'm doing this for your own good. Look, now we definitely won't be late."

Wu Chen dodged repeatedly.

The two laughed and joked around for a while before driving to the school.

Today, the Beijing Film Academy is in an unprecedented state of prosperity.

The school gate was bustling with traffic, colorful flags fluttered in the air, and volunteers wearing work badges were everywhere, holding signs to guide students from various departments.

Wu Chen parked the car, and Liu Yifei had just gotten out when she saw the huge crowd in front of her and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, so many people!"

Not far away, several students who were clearly freshmen were having an excited discussion.

"Quick, Director Zhang Yimou has arrived!"

"Where is where?"

"It's right there on the signature board! If we miss this opportunity, we don't know when he'll be back at school!"

Wu Chen and Liu Yifei exchanged a smile and were about to walk inside when people nearby immediately recognized them, their eyes lighting up as they surrounded them.

"Senior Brother Wu Chen! Could you please sign your name for me?"

"Senior Sister Yifei! You're so beautiful!"

"."

The scene was joyful yet orderly.

As Wu Chen took the paper and pen, he joked with a smile, "Didn't you guys say you were going to find Director Zhang Yimou? If you don't go now, it'll be too late."

"There's still time! There's still time!" a girl exclaimed excitedly. "Director Zhang is surrounded right now and can't leave for a while!"

Wu Chen and Liu Yifei exchanged another glance and smiled.

After a long while, the two finally managed to "escape" from the crowd, the students' murmurs still lingering behind them. "Senior Brother Wu Chen's autograph is done, and Director Zhang's should be simple too. But Director Chen Kai is such a jerk, he just showed up and went straight in, without even a peek."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen smiled slightly.

Chen Kai is still Chen Kai; wherever he is, he maintains his directorial demeanor.

The two then headed to the signing area to sign their names. The red carpet was packed with media, as the celebrities present today were more impressive than those at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards combined.

Zhang Yimou was engrossed in signing autographs when he looked up and saw Wu Chen and Liu Yifei.

"Senior brother, that's quite early."

"Hahaha, you've come at the perfect time!" Zhang Yimou seemed to have seen a savior and immediately shifted the blame to the students around him, "Come, come, your senior brother Wu Chen and senior sister Yi Fei are here, go find them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two people who had just finished signing a batch of documents were instantly surrounded by another group of people.

Wu Chen was both amused and exasperated: "Senior brother, what are you doing?"

Inside the auditorium, many people had already arrived.

Yuan Li, Jiang Wenli, Yao Chen, Huang Xiaoming, Yang Mi, Jing Tian, ​​and Yan Danchen shone brightly.

"Directors Zhang and Wu are really popular; they're still signing autographs for their juniors at the autograph counter." The person who just came in brought the latest news from outside.

"Normal, normal!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Chen Kaige, sitting next to veteran director Yu Yang in the front row, twitched his lips slightly upon hearing this, but after glancing at the cameras and microphones around him, he maintained his upright posture, as his image was of utmost importance.

At this moment, Ning Hao, Xing Aina, Huang Bo, and others also arrived, and Wu Chen took the opportunity to have them share some of the firepower.
Although Ning Hao and Huang Bo grumbled, they were still enjoying the moment.

"Guo Fan and Lu Yang haven't arrived yet?"

After a while, everyone left, and Ning Hao asked them questions.

“There’s traffic on the way, but they said we’ll make it.” Wu Chen glanced at the message on his phone, then turned to Zhang Yimou and casually asked, “By the way, senior, how’s the negotiation with Bale going?”

Ning Hao, who was standing to the side, immediately perked up his little ears.

Bell? Could it be the Bell he's thinking of?
Wouldn't that be big news?
“That’s great. He’ll be coming next week, and we can have a meal together then,” Zhang Yi replied with a smile.

The entrance of the group in the auditorium attracted countless eyes.

Of course, one gaze was particularly different.

"Yifei! Huang Bo!" Wang Jinsong and others were waving from the performance department seats.

"You go ahead."

Wu Chen smiled at Liu Yifei.

The seating arrangement for the university anniversary celebration was quite elaborate. Although everyone was in the front row, there were still clear distinctions between departments.

Just then, Wu Chen suddenly felt a resentful gaze directed at him from the directing department's seating area.

He glanced over instinctively and immediately saw a pair of bloodshot eyes filled with resentment.

Lu Xun.

Ning Hao followed Wu Chen's gaze and was startled. He whispered in Wu Chen's ear, "Damn, the way he looked at you, it was like he wanted to eat you alive."

"When enemies meet, their eyes are filled with hatred. The ancients were right."

Wu Chen wasn't angry at all; in fact, he almost laughed.

He ignored him and swaggered over, passing Lu Xun two rows ahead, and sat in the empty seat to his left and in front of him. Before sitting down, he didn't forget to turn around and give Lu Xun a friendly smile.

Those in the directing and cinematography departments nearby who witnessed this scene were struggling to hold back their laughter, wanting to laugh but daring not to.

"Wu Chen, that bastard!"

Lu Xun was cursing inwardly.

"That's enough, don't cause any trouble!" Han Sanping, who was sitting in the row in front of Wu Chen, suddenly turned his head and muttered something in a low voice.

Wu Chen asked instinctively, "Oh, Chairman Han, you're here too!"

He only then realized that Han Sanping and Huang Jianxin were sitting in front of him.

"What are you talking about? Aren't I a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy? Can't I come?" Han Sanping retorted irritably.

Huang Jianxin chuckled softly to himself, then greeted Wu Chen and Zhang Yimou.

"How could that be?" Wu Chen chuckled awkwardly.

Meanwhile, in the acting department's seating area, many young actresses were looking at Liu Yifei's seat with envy.

Although she didn't sit with Wu Chen and the others, she still managed to secure a spot in one of the front rows of the performance department.

Those in those positions are all either highly successful or have a high status or seniority.

Yang Mi sat among her roommates, watching Liu Yifei's back, and felt particularly uneasy.

She was almost certain that Liu Yifei's name would be on today's list of "outstanding graduates".
(End of this chapter)