This director lacks vision.

Chapter 276 Han Sanping's Advice - Aiming for the Prize

Liu Jicun lured Wang Churan into making a mistake, thus reducing one of his competitors, but he was not very happy.

Because she was also punished.

First, there will be a monetary penalty: preferential treatment will be canceled, and all training fees, room and board fees, and nutrition fees will have to be paid by the individual.

Then, during training, Han Jia, who was penalized for losing her wages, got angry and tormented Liu Jicun for several days.

Finally, there's the issue of relationships with teammates. Liu Jicun already had very poor interpersonal relationships in the training camp.

After Wang Churan's incident, she became the target of public criticism and was targeted by everyone.

There are quite a few tactics that young girls use to target each other.

One moment, while drinking water, he accidentally spilled it on Liu Qicun's shoes; the next moment, while eating, he carelessly knocked over Liu Qicun's lunchbox.

Han Jianu turned a blind eye to this.

As long as no serious bullying incident occurs, Han Jianu has no intention of intervening; she also wants to teach Liu Jicun a lesson.

Jiang Yifeng spent another week overseeing the post-production of "The Longest Nite" and "Stranger Things" before returning to the Youth Training Camp on June 29th.

He didn't look for the girls' group, but went to the adults' group first.

Besides Yan Danchen, the adult group also includes some actors who graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy, but they are not very famous, such as Lü Yi and An Yuexi.

Compared to the girls' group, the adults' group was much more disciplined.

Upon seeing Jiang Yifeng enter, everyone stopped training and greeted him.

All Jiang Yifeng saw were ingratiating smiling faces.

He responded politely for a few moments, then said to Yan Danchen, "Come with me."

The two arrived at a small training room.

Yan Danchen thought Jiang Yifeng wanted to test her training results, but unexpectedly Jiang Yifeng asked, "Are you left-handed?"

Yan Danchen didn't understand Jiang Yifeng's thoughts, but still said truthfully, "Yes, I am left-handed, but my right hand is also very dexterous. You can't tell in daily life."

Jiang Yifeng nodded and carefully examined Yan Danchen.

This Chang'e fairy herself is very well-maintained and looks quite youthful.

After this period of training, she has lost some weight, has better energy and spirits, and looks younger.

Even without makeup, her skin is smooth, delicate, elegant, and beautiful.

But this is not the effect Jiang Yifeng wanted.

Jiang Yifeng said, "You're still too pale. You need to get a tan. Starting today, you'll be going to the army for a month of military training. Do more work there."

I need a Hunan girl who is "hardworking, assertive, and patient."

Yan Danchen nodded and said, "No problem, Director Jiang, I'll do whatever you tell me!"

After hesitating for a moment, Yan Danchen still asked, "Director, can I take a look at the character script first? Without the script, I don't know what I'm supposed to act, and I'm not confident."

"Don't rush the script. After you get to the army, use your left hand more for eating and doing things. He Qingfang is also left-handed."

Hearing Jiang Yifeng say this, Yan Danchen didn't dare to say anything more.

Nowadays, fewer actors receive a complete script when filming.

She still doesn't know about her role, so she has no choice but to do as Jiang Yifeng asks.

She thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Director, I've been practicing this dance for over half a year. Would you like to check my training results?"

"Okay, you can get ready."

In fact, Jiang Yifeng knew about Yan Danchen's training situation.

Han Jianu regularly reports on everyone's performance.

Yan Danchen was the most hardworking and made the fastest progress in the training camp.

After a period of hard practice, she has become quite skilled at folk dances.

Yan Danchen set up the sound equipment and then started dancing to the music.

Her dance is not the graceful and classical style, but rather bold and expansive. Although there are graceful aspects, the overall movements are very powerful, sometimes rowing a boat, sometimes picking lotus flowers.

This is a folk dance called "Lotus Picking Dance".

The earliest origins of dance lie in the various movements that people summarized in their daily lives and work, which formed certain standardized forms, and thus became ethnic folk dances.

These dances are primarily for personal enjoyment, adding some fun to a dull life;
Then it was gradually used in various celebrations.

However, as social classes diverged, some dances gradually changed their function, becoming a form of entertainment to please the wealthy and powerful, and thus their movements became more alluring and seductive.

Jiang Yifeng's film *Youth* is completely different from Feng Xiaogang's.

He photographed the youth of two eras and also compared the differences between the two eras.

One of the distinguishing features is the change in the dancer's demeanor.

Yan Danchen plays the female lead, He Qingfang, who was initially selected to join the cultural troupe because of her excellent lotus-picking dance.

He then learned other dances at the performing arts troupe.

Therefore, Yan Danchen focused on practicing the Lotus Picking Dance.

After watching Yan Danchen's performance, Jiang Yifeng was very satisfied. He said, "Your level is good enough. Go to the army for training now."

You'll be going to this training session alone.

You are the soul of my movie.

If you do well in this movie, you'll definitely reap both fame and fortune, and you can hold your head high at future class reunions.

The character He Qingfang is both pure and crazy, making her very difficult to play. Jiang Yifeng did not discuss the character with Yan Danchen.

Just praise and promise, enough to give Yan Danchen expectations and motivation.

He plans to break this movie down and shoot it separately, without providing a script, in order to find the actors in their best condition.

Of course, doing this would be a waste of time and very grueling for the actors.

Yan Danchen was unaware of the pain that was about to come. After being praised by Jiang Yifeng, she felt full of energy and thought that she could train for another six months without any problem.

Seeing Yan Danchen's happy smile, Jiang Yifeng did not suppress her emotions, after all, she had indeed suffered a lot during this period.

After praising Yan Danchen a couple more times, Jiang Yifeng went to the girls' group. The six girls stood in a row, waiting for Jiang Yifeng's inspection.

Jiang Yifeng's gaze lingered for a second on Cheng Xiao's bear mouth, which was already showing signs of trouble.

Cheng Xiao misunderstood, and proudly straightened her chest.

Little did people know that the character Liu Miaomiao was the inspirational and uplifting part of the script, as well as the biggest plot twist and satire. The prototype was somewhat similar to Jin Xing, and she needed to have an androgynous feel, with her female characteristics not being too obvious.

Cheng Xiao suffered a great loss in this regard.

Although Liu Yicun is quite cunning, she has small tiger teeth and a stubborn look. After cutting her hair short, she looks like a tomboy.

If Wang Churan hadn't been so unserious in her training and hadn't been tricked into auditioning for the drama "Zhu Xian," she would have had a very good chance of competing for the lead role.

After all, when she rolls her eyes, she looks a bit like Venus...

After Jiang Yifeng checked the training results of the six girls one by one, he finally made a decision: Liu Yicun would play another female lead, Liu Miaomiao, and Cheng Xiao would play the school's big sister.

The other girls each have their own roles.

Once the roles are confirmed early, the next step is to conduct targeted pre-shoot preparations.

Many people were dissatisfied with this result, but they had no choice but to accept it.

Liu Jicun was overjoyed and extremely proud.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yifeng said, "You need to live in the countryside for a month, and do at least 8 hours of farm work or housework every day to experience the life of the children in the village."

The filming location for the second season of "Back to Field" has been confirmed: Haotang Village in Henan Province.

This village is one of the first batch of demonstration villages of the most beautiful countryside in the country. The "Back to Field" program team is also responding to the national call.

Jiang Yifeng's plan was to have Liu Jiecun go with the program crew to the village to repair the "Mushroom House" and live in the poorest village nearby for a while, so that she could experience the life of a poor farmer.

Although it may not have a significant effect, it is still useful.

After all, Liu Jicun already had a solid foundation in dance, and continuing to practice would be a waste of time.

Hearing this, Liu Yicun felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. She had visited her rural hometown when she was very young and only knew that there were three things that were plentiful there: dry toilets, piles of firewood, and garbage pits.

The outhouse was in the open, and people carried manure around. What Liu Jicun remembers most vividly is that he was eating at his doorstep when an old man carrying manure passed by. He couldn't eat his meal at that moment.

Besides the dry toilet, the woodpile attracted insects and snakes, and the garbage pit smelled terrible, all of which were things that Liu Yicun found hard to accept.

After visiting his rural hometown once, Liu Jicun never went back.

She now has to live in the village for a month, which she finds even more grueling than training, so she instinctively whine, "Director~ I don't want to go to the countryside~ Can I not go~"

Jiang Yifeng glared at Liu Jicun, which made her tremble in fright.

“Acting is not child’s play, you can’t be willful. I will send someone to follow you, so don’t even think about slacking off.”

Liu Qicun: "..."

Seeing Liu Jucun's lifeless expression, Cheng Xiao and the others became happy again, somewhat gloating.

Han Sanping, who had just arrived, said with a smile, "Leave this to me. Hu Qian just mentioned that there is a very poor village near the Mushroom House called Gujing Village."

I need to go and investigate the situation.

If the conditions are really bad, then let Liu Qicun experience life there.

Liu Jicun: "???"

The filming of "Youth" includes scenes set in rural areas, and Han Sanping is also looking for suitable filming locations.

The two historical periods in which "Youth" is set are 1977 to 1980 and around 1998 to 2000.

The rural locations we find must be places that fit the era.

Those conditions certainly won't be good.

Liu Jicun's good days are about to begin.

After the roles were finalized, it was already noon, and Jiang Yifeng had lunch with Han Sanping and his daughter.

Han Sanping suggested, "The core of the script for 'Youth' is very popular, but foreigners may not necessarily be able to see it."

Your film uses the past to satirize the present. Besides being inspirational, it has a strong satirical tone, which foreigners should really like.

Should we try our luck with the three major European awards?

Judging by the timing, "Youth" would be the most suitable choice to compete in Cannes.

The so-called export of films, in terms of hard metrics, are box office revenue and awards.

It is difficult for Chinese-language films to achieve high box office returns globally, so awards are crucial.

This is why major film studios supported directors in competing at film festivals in the early days.

The director certainly reaped both fame and fortune, and the film studio leaders also achieved outstanding results, with promotions on their minds.

Therefore, Han Sanping is also very enthusiastic about hedge funds.

He continued, "You've achieved business success, but you're lacking in terms of recognition."

Just like when you criticize the Golden Horse Awards, many people will say you're just being a sour grapes.

If you win an award at Cannes, you'll have more confidence to criticize the Golden Horse Awards.

The key is that your script is really suitable; it would be a waste not to compete for awards.

The script for "Youth" is divided into four acts:
The first act is about sharing the same fate;
In 1998, Liu Miaomiao's mother died of illness. Having always lived in the countryside, she came to the city to stay with her father, who had been a sent-down youth.

The educated youth father already had a new family and was afraid that Liu Miaomiao would cause trouble, so he had to spend money to send her to live with an old lady and arrange a school for her.

At school, Liu Miaomiao was bullied because she came from a rural area.

She wanted to learn to dance, but her classmates laughed at her.

When He Qingfang saw Liu Miaomiao, she was reminded of her past self, so she decided to teach her to dance.

The second act is a tapestry of youthful beauty;

He Qingfang was extremely strict with Liu Miaomiao, demanding an abnormal level of strictness in every aspect. She even made her train until her feet bled, and she still had to keep training.

Liu Miaomiao couldn't understand, but she had no choice but to grit her teeth and accept it in order to change her fate.

While practicing her dance, she was filled with hatred for He Qingfang.

Until I saw He Qingfang's diary.

In 1977, He Qingfang represented her township in a performance in the city. She was beautiful and danced the lotus-picking dance well, so she was noticed and joined the cultural troupe.

At that time, most of the members of the performing arts troupe were second-generation rich kids or children from the city.

They looked down on He Qingfang and complained that she smelled like pickled vegetables.

But He Qingfang was a steadfast believer and a warm-hearted person, and didn't care about these things at all.

She was helpful and diligent in training at the performing arts troupe, and her outstanding performance eventually earned her the opportunity to pursue higher education at university.

However, He Qingfang displayed her character by giving the opportunity to go to school to others, while she herself chose to go to the battlefield to contribute to her country.

The third act is about breaking free from the cocoon and becoming a butterfly.

Inspired by He Qingfang's past experiences, Liu Miaomiao trained hard and finally won an award at the Taoli Cup, gaining the appreciation of renowned teachers and stepping onto a bigger stage.

The fourth act is the moment of awakening from the dream.

After performing in the United States, Liu Miaomiao returned to China and returned to her hometown in glory.

When she saw He Qingfang again, the truth came out, and the story took a turn.

It turns out that Liu Miaomiao wasn't a girl; he was a boy who changed his gender after going abroad.

He Qingfang lost her right arm in the war, so she is left-handed.

Liu Miaomiao's success was not only due to her hard work, but also because He Qingfang broke her own principles for the first time and asked her former friend for help.

The final result was that Liu Miaomiao became an American citizen and underwent gender reassignment surgery.

He Qingfang couldn't bear the blow and went insane.

The preceding stories are all told from Liu Miaomiao's perspective. She embellishes her own story, presenting it as a touching and inspiring tale.

The ending was a complete reversal, full of irony.

In the script of "Youth", Jiang Yifeng left many metaphors and contrasts.

We can use He Qingfang's tragic fate to reflect on some of the problems of our time.

This kind of reflection and satire certainly aligns with the preferences of international film festivals.

With its Rashomon-like narrative trickery and sufficient artistic merit, it has a good chance of winning an award at Cannes.

Jiang Yifeng smiled and said, "I can compete for the award, but given my current status, I'm afraid I'll have to go from being a 'little pink' to a mere 'know-it-all'."

Han Sanping shook his head and said, "How could that be? In the movie, you are reminiscing about He Qingfang's youth and your former comrades, and satirizing some people and things today. Your background is very red."

Foreigners who are unaware of the situation might not think that much about it.

Films and television dramas that reflect on contemporary development issues need to be made; they can't all be songs of praise.

Jiang Yifeng's standards are very clear: he will film both good and bad movies, and if he is relatively objective, then it is a good movie.

Those who deliberately avoid filming the good aspects of China, only filming the bad, and praising the good things about foreign countries are simply biased.

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "Then let's try applying for Cannes. I'll cover the PR costs."

Jiang Yifeng wasn't sure how much box office revenue "Youth" would generate.

After all, it's a movie with a serious subject matter.

By having the public relations expenses paid through his account, the film can save some costs and improve its system rating.

Han Sanping shook his head and said, "It's okay. The public relations expenses will be listed separately, and we producers will split the cost equally."

Don't worry, I have some connections in the film industry, and I'll definitely use them all this time.

I have a feeling this time we'll succeed.

Han Sanping was very confident and had high expectations.

Jiang Yifeng is alright; he has always taken awards lightly.

After the meal, everyone went their separate ways.

Jiang Yifeng arrived at the set of Pacific Rim Season 3 by car.

(End of this chapter)