Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 622 A Clash of Three Best Directors
"Filming for 'Painted Skin 2' has been completed in Mentougou District, Beijing. Director Lu Yang will lead the team to Keqi Grassland."

Just two days after returning, "Painted Skin 2" was already moving to another location.

Wu Chen inquired about the progress.

Unlike in "Painted Skin 1", Lu Yang was still a newcomer at that time, and he was still observing things a bit.
Lu Yang has grown into someone who can stand on his own, so naturally he won't interfere too much.

Of course, on the other hand, he was also too busy and neglected this matter for a while.

Lu Yang sent a congratulatory message a few days ago, but I didn't receive a phone call.

"The filming went smoothly without any problems."

"That's good. When filming in the Keshiketeng Grassland and later at Yamdrok Lake, please be careful and mindful of environmental protection. Have the production team coordinate with the local environmental agencies."

Wu Chen smiled and gave a special instruction.

He didn't want the film crew to leave in the end and then be sued by the local environmental protection department; that would be a huge loss.

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, on set, Zhou Xun leaned close to Huang Xiaoming and whispered, "Judging from Director Lu's tone, Xiaoming, do you think Director Wu is coming to visit the set?"

"How could that be?" Huang Xiaoming looked at him with a "you're overthinking it" expression. "It might be possible if we were filming in Mentougou."

"Now that we're moving to Inner Mongolia, he doesn't have the time."

"Sigh, I was hoping to see Director Wu's second Oscar in person," Zhou Xun said with a regretful expression.

"Congratulations are enough. There will be other opportunities," Huang Xiaoming muttered to himself, since he had already sent the congratulatory text message immediately.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang also relayed Wu Chen's instructions to Ning Ying's Pang Hong.

"No problem, we're good at this."

Pang Hong patted his chest and assured him, but he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions when he mentioned Wu Chen.

"I never imagined that in just a few years, Director Wu would have won two Best Director Oscars."

He was somewhat relieved that Ningying Film Studio had managed to secure Wu Chen's support back then; otherwise, he didn't know what the studio would be like now.

Looking at the well-organized and large-scale film crew before him, he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope:
"I wish the 'Painted Skin' series could keep going like this forever."

"."

Just as the domestic film industry was still reeling from Wu Chen's second Oscar win for Best Director, another bombshell dropped from Hollywood.

Following Wu Chen and Li An, another Oscar-winning director—Martin Scorsese—has officially joined the ranks of native 3D films.

Photos from the set of his new film "Hugo," shot in Paris, have been leaked to the media, revealing its massive $1.5 million budget.

Movie fans around the world are thrilled.

Cameron ushered in a new era of 3D movies with Avatar.

Now, three Oscar-winning directors who have reached the pinnacle of narrative and art have all picked up this new technology, which inevitably sparks much speculation.

In a short time, three renowned directors worldwide, following Cameron, have joined the ranks of native 3D directors.
Of course, Wu Chen's "Interstellar" currently has the largest investment.

However, the fact that all three are Oscar-winning directors inevitably sparks speculation.
"Wow! This is going to be amazing! Wu Chen, Ang Lee, and Martin Scorsese, three Oscar-winning directors, in native 3D!"

"Awesome! It's just a pity that their schedules aren't aligned. Wu Chen's 'Interstellar' will be released this year, but Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi' is probably in doubt, and as for Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo,' we'll have to see how it goes."

"Now the three of them have something to talk about; whoever takes a bad picture will be the one who suffers."

"."

It is indeed a coincidence that the three films were shot around the same time, and all three directors are recent Oscar winners for Best Director, which naturally sparked a great deal of discussion.

The world's film industry has focused its attention on these three highly anticipated 3D films in a short period of time.

However, the outside noise did not affect Wu Chen much. He devoted his main energy to writing the new script.

While they were at it, they discussed the other actors for the new script with Liu Yifei.

"Hehe, regarding the character of Shi An's father's friend, I saw that you described him as a grumpy, cynical, but kind-hearted old screenwriter."
"Haha, I've figured out who would be perfect for the role!" Liu Yifei said with a cheerful laugh as she sat cross-legged in her chair, holding the character sketches Wu Chen had completed.

"Ok?"

Wu Chen looked over curiously.

"I think you could let Director Ning play the role."

"Ning Hao?"

Wu Chen paused for a moment, then matched Ning Hao with this character—a screenwriter with a volatile temper.
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

I have to say, it's very lifelike, mainly because the face is just right.

"Don't tell anyone I told you," Liu Yifei said, revealing her pearly white teeth.

"Hmm, no problem. What about Shi An's father?" Wu Chen asked while writing the script.

"A university professor, a scholarly intellectual, humorous and witty," Liu Yifei muttered, finally coming up with three suitable candidates.

Chen Daoming, Wang Zhiwen, Wu Gang.
Wu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and Liu Yifei immediately understood.

"Hehe, wasn't my recommendation spot-on?"

"It's pretty much what I expected."

Actually, casting most of the actors wasn't difficult, since the male and female leads had already been chosen, and many people around Wu Chen and Liu Yifei were suitable for the roles.

During their conversation, Wu Chen directly sent a message to reserve Zhang Yi.

"I need a favor. Could you play a small role for me? It'll be a small part with very few scenes."

"Director Wu, why are you being so polite? My schedule is very free, so it's okay if I get more scenes." Zhang Yi agreed without hesitation.

Wu Chen smiled upon seeing this.

It's definitely false that Zhang Yi has a very free schedule, but it's true that the other party responded positively.
While Wu Chen was engrossed in writing the script and discussing crew members with Liu Yifei, the film market in March also ushered in its first wave of head-on clashes.

Fan Binbin's "Buddha Mountain" may have been released a day earlier than planned by its distributors in order to avoid competing with "Black Swan".

On its opening day, "Buddha Mountain" grossed 420 million yuan, which is not bad for an art film. It ranked second in daily box office, second only to the Hollywood sci-fi film "I Am Number Four" which was released at the same time.

The film has received fairly good reviews.

But when Fan Binbin saw this result, her heart skipped a beat.

This opening performance means that the film's final box office will likely be very difficult to break 100 million.

Three days later, Wu Chen's "Black Swan" will arrive with a roar.

as predicted.

Three days later, "Black Swan" was officially released in the country.

On its opening day, it swept the box office with overwhelming force, raking in over 2300 million yuan!

In this sluggish March off-season, this achievement even surpasses that of many commercial blockbusters.

In cinemas and online, the discussion among audiences was absolutely heated.

"My God! After watching 'Black Swan,' I finally understand why Wu Chen won an Oscar! The cinematography in this film is simply textbook-worthy!"

"Compared to 'Black Peony' from back then, it's a completely different feeling! 'Black Peony' is an oriental, restrained beauty about repression and destruction;

"Black Swan," on the other hand, is Western, extroverted, and a madcap exploration of obsession and metamorphosis! Wu Chen is phenomenal; he can create two completely different top-tier works from the same theme!"

"It was really good. The final mirror maze scene was really satisfying. The foreigners were right to praise it."

(End of this chapter)