The only sun in Huayu

Shen Shandeng also smiled.

The computer screen displays a financial news article.

On the morning of August 8 (evening of August 8 Beijing time), S&P downgraded Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's ratings from AAA to AA+, following the downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating.

Da Mimi leaned closer and asked, "What does this mean?"

Da Mimi doesn't understand financial terminology very well.

"What do you mean by not understanding anything yet investing in stocks?" Shen Shandeng laughed. "It means that things are about to get turbulent in the US."

And the timing is also interesting.

As soon as the talks are finished, the bubble bursts on the other side.

In later generations, if this side doesn't agree, they will stubbornly insist on raising interest rates.

This is to coincide with the old saying, "If you borrow and repay, it's easy to borrow again."

It's shameless of them to return to the Asia-Pacific region as soon as they've stabilized.

The nation's destiny has returned; Heaven helps those who help themselves.

Shen Shandeng happily put his arm around Da Mimi and kissed her on the cheek.

Da Mimi was a little stunned by his sudden excitement. She gently slapped him and scolded, "Keep your voice down! Mom and Dad are still in the next room!"

Shen Shandeng chuckled and teased her deliberately, "Oh, you're not even married yet, and you're already calling for Mom and Dad?"

Da Mimi blushed and spat, "Who called me that! I meant uncle and aunt!"

"Don't worry," Shen Shandeng whispered in her ear, "I made sure this room was soundproof."

The warm breath brushed against her earlobe, and Da Mimi's face turned even redder, like a ripe apple.

Her body tensed slightly involuntarily, and a hint of shy anticipation appeared in her eyes.

However, the anticipated "action" did not come.

Shen Shandeng simply hugged her quietly for a while, then gently patted her back and said softly, "Alright, I won't bother you anymore. Get some rest."

Da Mimi looked up at him with some confusion.

Shen Shandeng stared into her eyes.

Under the lights, his gaze was deep and earnest as he slowly said, "I respect you."

Emotional value must be provided adequately.

Without any further words, just these four simple words, like a warm current, instantly broke through Da Mimi's defenses.

Her nose tingled, and all her little worries vanished, leaving only a heart overflowing with emotion.

She buried her head in Shen Shandeng's arms, gave a muffled "hmm," and wrapped her arms even tighter.

8 month 9 day.

The next morning, Shen Shandeng ate breakfast while browsing the news.

An international current event caught his attention.

Georgia attacks South Ossetia.

A question that arose in later generations was why Georgia did not take advantage of the situation to its fullest extent.

The answer is simple: because they had truly experienced the devastation of war and witnessed the true face of the "civilized" Western world.

Shen Shandeng occasionally made some marks on the newspaper.

He pays close attention to current events.

The Olympics, the financial crisis, and other events may seem far removed from movies, but they are actually closely related.

Film, especially phenomenal films, is never an isolated artistic creation.

We must keep pace with the times, reflect, and even guide changes in social consciousness.

The success of "The Eunuch" is a result of the fact that period dramas have long disappointed audiences, and in the long run, this is due to two or three decades of cultural repression.

The success of "Lost in Thailand" reflects the audience's desire for entertainment and also caters to the societal need to move beyond national hardship and embrace tomorrow.

Shen Shandeng was well aware that after the Olympics, the Chinese people's national pride and cultural confidence would reach an unprecedented level.

This shift in mindset will directly affect the audience's aesthetic preferences and acceptance.

Future historical epics can be made with greater confidence.

For plot settings involving foreign countries, a level or even overhead perspective can be used.

Without much explanation, the audience will naturally take it for granted.

Conversely, if the film is made with an attitude of looking up to the West, the audience will subconsciously feel uncomfortable and that it is not real.

"It seems that the tone of subsequent projects will need to be adjusted accordingly."

Shen Shandeng thought to himself silently.

His film production plans are never haphazard; the Olympics and other international events are all related to his strategic planning. The next two days...

Shen Shandeng unusually turned down most of his work to spend time with his parents in Beijing.

I visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the memorial hall.

But my parents were clearly not used to such intensive tourism and crowds of people, especially with a large number of excited foreign tourists mixed in.

Within two days, they started mentioning that they had things to do at home. Shen Shandeng could tell that his parents genuinely couldn't stand it anymore, so he didn't insist on keeping them and carefully saw them off on their flight home.

Watching the plane soar into the sky, Shen Shandeng thought to himself, "It's so much better to have high-speed rail. It's fast and stable, and my parents are comfortable on it too."

Speaking of high-speed rail, he recalled that on August 1st, China's first truly high-speed railway, the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, officially opened for operation, marking China's entry into the high-speed rail era.

"To be honest, that leap was truly impressive."

"It's not easy to truly achieve the goal of exchanging market access for technology, with trillions of yuan passing through our hands and being spent wisely."

Monday, at the company.

Shen Shandeng checked the progress of "No Man's Land", especially the costumes, props and sets.

These props differ from the original; they not only have a rough, western feel, but some of the signs also have a Republican-era feel, creating a sense of temporal dislocation.

He's going to play big.

In the afternoon, the secretary reminded me that there was a class for the directing class today.

Shen Shandeng rubbed his temples, indicating that he understood.

If his requirements for producers are management and direction, then Shen Shandeng has a different set of standards for directors.

In his mind, the directors of Peak Pictures must first and foremost be able to shoot and understand creation.

This is a basic skill.

However, at the same time, it is essential to have a "democratic spirit," to avoid being too self-centered, and to avoid a "director-dominated" approach.

Compared to the director-centric system commonly seen in China, directors under the Peak Pictures system undoubtedly have more constraints on their power.

The director is mainly responsible for matters during the filming stage, while the producer has the authority to oversee the entire process, from pre-production planning and filming to post-production and even marketing.

The director's focus is more on the later stages of filming.

However, Shen Shandeng also understands that even in Hollywood's producer-centric system, the director's role remains crucial.

The directors under his wing wield far more power than those in Hollywood.

Even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice; if the film itself isn't of high quality, no matter how clever the marketing and distribution methods are, it's all just castles in the air.

Publicity and promotion may have the power to turn lead into gold, but more often than not, over-reliance on publicity and promotion is just a fine line away from false advertising or even fraudulent marketing.

It might fool audiences into going to the cinema once, but what will inevitably follow is a backlash in reputation and punishment from the market.

Therefore, the director's aesthetic sense is very important.

It determines the final presentation of costumes, props, and sets, as well as the design and selection of camera language.

These are the cornerstones of a film's quality, something that no amount of marketing can replace.

Shen Shandeng's biggest concern is that directors will become "artistically obsessed," losing sight of the market and the audience in pursuit of so-called personal expression or international awards.

Therefore, Shen Shandeng's directing class mainly focused on unifying thinking.

Shen Shandeng got straight to the point: "What are the three major European cities, Berlin, Cannes, and Venice, in essence? They are show venues deeply influenced by Hollywood's industrial strength and market power, rather than the pure art temples that many people imagine."

He stood in front of the whiteboard, his gaze sweeping over the young directors sitting below, his tone extremely penetrating.

"Talk is cheap; let's look at the data. This is data from 1980 to this year, 2008, the latest Berlin and Cannes editions; Venice hasn't been held yet. We can clearly see the others."

Shen Shandeng pointed to the projector and wrote down key numbers on the whiteboard as he spoke.

"In Cannes, France, they kneel the earliest; it's a historical tradition."

"And Venice? As soon as they saw that their own film festival wasn't attracting enough viewers and the films weren't selling well, they immediately switched gears and started fawning over them. Last year, they brought an all-American lineup."

"Berlin is about the same."

Shen Shandeng circled the data for several key awards in red.

"Look, after 28 film festivals, the proportion of the core awards such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress given to American films is astonishingly high."

"On average, almost every year, at least one of the four major awards at these three film festivals is given to an American. This doesn't even include filmmakers with dual citizenship."

"Venice and Cannes are comparable, Berlin is slightly less, but it still far surpasses any other country."

Shen Shandeng used detailed data to deliver abstract lectures.

His goal was simple: to give these young directors a head start.

Just like Georgia, only after suffering losses can one gain clear vision.

The room was silent except for the rustling of papers and the scratching of pens.

The young directors, including Wu Jing, stared at the shocking numbers on the whiteboard with varying expressions—some shocked, some thoughtful, and some suddenly enlightened. (End of Chapter)