Huayu: Are you even sitting up straight? You're going to be the director?

Chapter 134 Curly Hair in the Jade Elixir
Meanwhile, in a residential area of ​​Beijing.

The room was warm. Lu Tianming leaned back on the sofa, smoked a cigarette, and listened quietly to his son's sobbing.

After listening to Lu Chuan's words, Lu Tianming showed no emotion and remained calm.

"Qin Hong has already called me. The investors do have the possibility of withdrawing their investment, but they are still a bit hesitant. After all, they have already invested the money, and they don't want their previous investment to go to waste."

Lu Tianming was also unsure about Qin Hong's attitude. "On this point, it's similar to what you said, but I can sense that their attitude is quite firm."

"That would be the end of it! Dad, you know how much effort I put into this movie. Can you use your connections to help me out again?"

Lu Chuan couldn't hold it in any longer; filled with grievances, he was about to start crying again.

“A grown man crying like this, what kind of behavior is that?!” Lu Tianming snorted coldly. “But they also told me that it’s not impossible to continue filming.”

"How so?" Lu Chuan hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise.

"Qin Hong said that Chairman Han consulted Cao Zhong about this film and wanted his help. Cao Zhong's point was that there was a problem with your narrative perspective."

Lu Tianming said,

"Although I think the perspective is optional, Cao Zhong is, after all, the only director who has filmed a Nanjing-themed film and earned more than 400 million yuan at the box office. Qin Hong is indeed very hesitant about his opinion."

"Cao Zhong, it's Cao Zhong again!"

There was a loud bang on the other end of the phone, as if something had been knocked over.
Lu Chuan's voice suddenly became more intense.

"Cao Zhong is going too far! Not only is he trying to steal my reputation as the first person in the new century to make a commercial film about Nanjing, but now he's also trying to interfere and make my film fail!"

And then there's Qin Hong and Chairman Han, they're both clueless. They know perfectly well about my relationship with Cao Zhong, yet they still bypass me and ask for his opinion...

What do you take me for?

Lu Tianming thought for a moment and said slowly, "I'm not sure what Cao Zhong really thinks right now, but I heard that he just mentioned it to Chairman Han and doesn't really want to help."

“He’s afraid of me.” Lu Chuan’s eyes reddened slightly, his voice trembling with emotion. “Zhang Yimou’s Nanjing movie hasn’t even been filmed yet because it was delayed by the Olympics. He gained fame from that movie, so he’s worried I’ll steal his fame. What narrative angle? It’s targeted, it’s fear! He just doesn’t want me to finish filming this movie normally!”

Lu Tianming nodded and said, "Then I'll go and try to persuade them again."

"Dad, you really have to help me. After all, you are the honorary chairman of the screenwriters' committee and a member of the jury."

What did Lu Chuan think of?
“You are a leading figure in protecting screenwriters’ copyrights. If the film is really canceled and the news gets out that it’s a script problem, can you afford to lose face like that? Cao Zhong isn’t just targeting me, he’s targeting you too, Dad.”

Inside the room, smoke swirled, and Lu Tianming pondered for a moment.

“You’re right. No matter how the movie turns out, the script can’t be changed. I reviewed it for you so many times. If we change it according to his opinion, he’ll be stepping on my head.”

Lu Tianming's eyes suddenly sharpened.
“Cao Zhong is too young and doesn’t understand our rules. There are some things he can say and some things he can’t say, at least he can’t go around talking to the investors without our permission. Besides, I’ve disliked him ever since he mentioned ‘Kekexili’. Liu Yujun shut up, so what’s it to him?”

"I'll make some connections and try my best to get you some investment. It will take some effort, but there are a lot of sunk costs involved. I can use my connections to get it done."

"Thank you, Dad," Lu Chuan said. "With our father and son working together, we will make sure Cao Zhong learns his lesson!"

After hanging up the phone, Lu Chuan frowned as he looked at the empty film crew in the distance, at the scenes, and clenched his fists.

"We Live in Nanjing?"

Lu Chuan's eyes were fierce, and after letting out a cold snort, his anger surged.

"Cao Zhong, Cao Zhong, wait until my film 'Nanjing, Nanjing' is finished, and see how I'll have a show with you."

"So that you, Cao Zhong, know that your success is just a fluke."

"And you are just a bastard who stole my reputation, plagiarized my ideas for filming Nanjing-themed movies, and only dares to make movies about Nanjing!"

……

On January 25, filming officially began near the 350.2-meter high ground in Longjing City, Yanbian, Jilin Province.

The production team selected several teachers from Changli, Tangshan, who also went directly to the production site, mainly to teach Zhang Yi the local dialect.

Because this film contains some iconic dramatic scenes, Cao Zhong tried his best to preserve the essence of the original. After the news of the start of filming broke, most of the crew from "Soldiers Sortie" were directly transferred to Cao Zhong's new screenplay, which sparked a heated discussion across the internet.

Entertainment media outlets need buzz, and they don't harbor any hostility; their approach is primarily encouraging.

"Cao Zhong's new novel, 'Li Yannian, a Man of Both Literary and Martial Arts,' has officially started filming, and the participation of half of the cast and crew from 'Soldiers' Sortie' has sparked heated discussions across the internet!"

"Shi Jin takes the lead role, Xu Sanduo becomes a supporting character. The cast of the national TV drama's annual ratings champion, with screenwriter Cao Zhong and co-directed by Zhai Junjie, Tsui Hark, and Mao Weining, is highly anticipated!"

With a phenomenal actor and a phenomenal screenwriter, and three directors joining forces for their new film, can "Li Yannian, a man of both literary and martial talents," create a new miracle in mainstream films?

However, a group of media outlets that were hostile to Cao Zhong began to criticize him.

"Is he the director or a master of media manipulation? Did he choose the team from 'Soldiers Sortie' for his new film to generate buzz or for the roles?"

"The Nanjing Photo Studio," "We Live in Nanjing," "Li Yannian: A Man of Both Literary and Martial Arts"—when will this patriotic diet end?

"The movie 'Assembly' has sparked widespread criticism online. Anyone who makes movies for the sake of popularity will inevitably face backlash from netizens."

This year's "Soldiers Sortie" was incredibly popular, even a phenomenon. The phrase "Never give up, never surrender" became a popular saying of the year, and it was rebroadcast all over the country, reaching audiences nationwide.

The news of the start of filming for this movie has naturally attracted widespread attention across the internet.

Cao Zhong had no intention of paying any attention to the praise and sarcastic remarks.

However, with the arrival of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, discussions about Cao Zhong inevitably began to stir up.

At this year's Berlin Film Festival, Wang Xiaoshuai's "In Love We Trust" was nominated for the main competition, becoming a hot topic of discussion among Chinese-language films along with Johnnie To's "Sparrow".

Shu Qi became the only Asian jury member at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

Although the shortlist had been announced before, the news coverage was overshadowed by the Lunar New Year film season.

Now, the issue has finally been brought up, and many media outlets have seized the opportunity to attempt to attack Cao Zhong.

Cao Zhong's "Main Competition Unit - Triple Structure" theory has once again sparked a wave of interest, with people applying it based on the plot of the movie "In Love We Trust".

The observation that the author is adept at choosing to discuss humanity within specific historical contexts, adept at discussing suffering under certain specific policies, and unconsciously presents a sense of Western moral superiority seems to apply to none of these three points.

But people probably only know the main plot of the film.
A divorced couple, hoping to save their child from a previous marriage who is suffering from leukemia, decide to have another child through stem cell transplantation. After multiple failed in-vitro fertilization attempts, they are forced to try natural conception. This presents the couple, and their current family, with ethical and emotional challenges.

Even within the film crew, actors such as Chen Daomin, Wang Jinsong, Wang Zhiwen, and Jing Tian were curious and asked Cao Zhong for his opinion.

"A sense of moral sublimity."

Cao Zhong explained to them with a smile,

"Haven't you seen it online? This is adapted from a true story, a legal lecture on CCTV12, about two families saving a child. The mother and father in it are divorced, but neither of them remarried. They did it for their child, which is a narrative structure that shows the great love of parents."

Even though I haven't seen this movie yet, just looking at the cast list and the descriptions of "natural conception" and the couple's current family situation in the main plot, I can roughly guess that it will involve plots like "Wife, you can't do this," "Incompetent husband," and "Tearful sex."
In the original story, this is an ethical tragedy that cannot be spoken, even filled with the weariness of life and death, yet melted away by maternal love.
This film will undoubtedly contain numerous erotic adaptations or embellishments that are best left unsaid, catering to a hidden, morbid curiosity. Believe it or not?

Everyone was stunned.

Chen Daomin seemed to be deep in thought.

"How about it, Teacher Chen, how about a ten-yuan bet?" Cao Zhong asked with a smile.

Chen Daomin chuckled. "I don't gamble. I feel you're right."

“My senior brother is definitely right.” Jing Tian also stretched out his hands and feet in support.

Cao Zhong smiled, then covered Jing Tian's ears and looked at the other three.

"Can the original story be made into a movie? I believe it can. But I also believe that this film, 'In Love We Trust,' which is nominated for the main competition, will definitely be able to add some curly hair from an unknown part to the meticulously crafted broth."

If that's really the case, then the chef must have done it on purpose.

(End of this chapter)