This director is so innocent.

Chapter 87 The Domineering Mountain Eagle

February 24th, the seventh day of the lunar calendar.

It is auspicious for travel, weddings, and visiting relatives and friends.

It is taboo to open a business, break ground, or move into a new house.

Su Jin bid farewell to her family, drove her Mercedes-Benz, facing the rising sun and feeling the spring breeze, and set off for the provincial capital to catch a plane back to Beijing.

I was incredibly bored at home and wanted to go out as soon as possible, but I was reluctant to leave at the last minute. Perhaps this is the bond of family ties!

Around 11 a.m., the Mercedes arrived at the provincial capital airport.

I returned the Mercedes to the rental company staff, boarded the plane, and landed safely in Beijing around 3 PM.

"Brother Jin".

As soon as Su Jin stepped out of the airport, he saw Sister Xia waving at him with a big smile on her face.

He smiled, quickly walked to the blind woman's side, and said, "Didn't I tell you not to pick her up? Why did you come here again?"

'

"Because I miss you!" Liu Shishi said with a smile.

"Let's go!" Su Jin shook her head and smiled wryly. She really knew how to play the direct card well!

Liu Shishi wasn't too bothered when Su Jin didn't respond to the topic; she believed that sincerity could move mountains.

One day, Brother Jin will accept her.

"How's your script for 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' coming along?" Su Jin asked as they walked.

The script reading for "Sheep Without a Shepherd" will begin tomorrow, followed by a press conference at the end of the month to mark the start of filming.

After all, with an investment of 30 million and two big stars in the cast, a press conference to mark the start of filming is still necessary.

The day after the press conference announcing the start of filming, they will head to Bangkok, Thailand to begin shooting.

"Absolutely no problem, I've even memorized most of my lines," Liu Shishi said confidently.

Su Jin nodded and instructed, "After you go to Bangkok, don't go out and play by yourself. Just stay with the film crew and come back as soon as filming is over."

"Mmm-h ...

The following day, Jianmu Media.

Su Jin, Huang Jiaqiang, Shen Haobo, and the 7.6 group were all dressed in suits and ties, with red scarves around their necks.

Everyone wore a professional smile as they handed out red envelopes to each employee to mark the start of the work week.

There's no custom of giving out red envelopes to start work in the capital now, but Su Jin did it for the sake of celebration, or rather, for good luck.

After handing out the start-of-work red envelopes, Su Jin received a call from Zuo Shandiao.

"Third Master, Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year." Han Sanping asked, "Have you come to the capital yet?"

"We're here. We arrived yesterday."

"Where is the post-production of 'The Coffin in the Mountain' at?"

"One-third done."

"Can it be done before March 20th?"

"I can't handle it." Su Jin asked, puzzled, "Third Master, what's wrong?"

"Aren't you planning to attend this year's Cannes Film Festival?"

Holy crap!

If Han Sanping hadn't mentioned it, he would have completely forgotten about the Cannes Film Festival.

The Cannes Film Festival usually opens in mid-May, and this year it runs from May 16 to 27.

He didn't have much hope of winning the award.

First, "The Coffin in the Mountain" is an ensemble piece, so the actors don't have much room to showcase their talents.

Secondly, this year marks the 60th anniversary of Cannes, and many renowned directors are participating.

It seems that no Chinese-language films were nominated for the main competition this year; even Jiang Wen's "The Sun Rises" was not selected.

This is the film that caused Emperor Entertainment to lose a lot of money, and it was also Jiang Wen's first film after being banned from directing for five years.

But—but here's the thing, we can sell movies!

The prerequisite for selling the film is successful registration.

"Third Master, is the deadline for Cannes Film Festival registration the 20th of next month?"

"right."

"Okay, I understand, Third Master. I'll go recruit people right away and try to finish the post-production of 'The Coffin in the Mountain' before the 20th of next month."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Su Jin called Du Yuan again and learned that she had started work today, so she came to her studio for a face-to-face meeting.

"Teacher Du, can the post-production of 'The Coffin in the Mountain' be finished before the 20th of next month?" Su Jin went straight to the point.

"It can't be resolved; it will take at least until mid-April."

"How many people do you think you'll need to get post-production done by the 20th of next month?"

Du Yuan didn't answer, but instead asked, "Isn't 'The Coffin in the Mountain' going to be released during the summer season? Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?"

"I want to participate in this year's Cannes Film Festival, and the registration deadline is the 20th of next month," Su Jin explained.

"I see!" Du Yuan thought for a moment and said, "If you want to finish the post-production by the 20th of next month, you'll need to find at least 20 people to come and work overtime for 20 consecutive days. That should be enough to get it done."

"I'll find you thirty people, and you must get it done before the 20th of next month."

"With thirty people, I can definitely finish it." Du Yuan changed the subject, "But for the next twenty days, you'll have to supervise the post-production with me, otherwise the style might change."

"Okay." Su Jin agreed immediately. After all, it was a rush job, and if he didn't keep a close eye on it, the style might really change.

After finishing their discussion, Su Jin took out her phone and called Huang Jiaqiang, telling him about "The Coffin in the Mountain" and asking him to find someone.

Then he called Wang Ying again.

Wang Ying is the assistant director of "W One Two Worlds". He is now supervising the post-production of "The Coffin in the Mountain". The casting work for "W One Two Worlds" is not yet completed, so it will definitely be handed over to him now.

The male and female leads for "W: Two Worlds" have been cast, and Luo Jin has been confirmed as the second male lead. The remaining roles are just a few supporting characters.

He already had his choices for these supporting roles in mind; all that was left was to give them auditions.

Wang Ying has been the assistant director for the project for so many years, so she is quite skilled at casting.

Back at the company, I had three meetings in the afternoon, which didn't end until after 8 p.m.

Since there are three companies, of course we need to hold three meetings.

Huang Jiaqiang is very capable; he got the thirty people done in the afternoon.

The next day, the thirty people brought their own food utensils and moved into Du Yuan's studio. Fortunately, there was an empty office space next to her studio, otherwise the thirty people would not know where to sit.

With thirty people in place, Su Jin arranged all the tasks and moved into Du Yuan's studio to oversee the post-production process.

Of course, it doesn't mean he has to be there every day.

He doesn't understand post-production; he just supervises to prevent them from going astray. It's not a problem if they go out occasionally.

With the help of thirty people in the later stages of "The Coffin in the Mountain," plus overtime work and guidance from Su Jin, progress was rapid, with each day marking a new step forward.

If nothing unexpected happens, at this pace, it should definitely be finished before the 20th of next month.

On March 1st, the press conference for the start of filming of "Sheep Without a Shepherd" was held at the Hilton Hotel.

Su Jin didn't go, not because he was busy supervising post-production, but because he was just an investor and screenwriter, and since he wasn't very famous, there was really no need for him to go.

That evening, Sister Xia went to have dinner with Su Jin and said goodbye.

The next day, Ning Hao took the main cast and crew of "Sheep Without a Shepherd" to Bangkok.

Chen Zhixi, as the executive producer of "Sheep Without a Shepherd," also went there.

When she comes back this time, we can let her produce a movie on her own.

As time went by, the post-production of "The Coffin in the Mountain" was finally completed on March 17th.

It's not just a preliminary solution, it's a complete solution.

The music, editing, special effects, and subtitles have all been completed.

During this period, Wang Ying also completed the casting for "W: Two Worlds".

The male lead is Jiang Zhe, the female lead is Wu Yanzhu, and the female lead is Gao Yuanyuan.

The second male lead's bodyguard Xu Daoluo Jin, the second female lead's secretary Yin Xi, and the villainous female lead's father Wu Chengwu sought out Ni Dahong.

The second villainous prosecutor sought out Uncle Dong, Wang Jinsong.

Wu Chengwu's apprentice, Lin Xiufeng, sought out his classmate, Lu Fangsheng.

Jianmu Media, Conference Room.

Su Jin, Huang Jiaqiang, Han Sanping, and Zhong Li watched the projector.

At this moment, the projector is playing the last scene of "The Coffin in the Mountain," showing the White Tiger burning incense and praying to Buddha.

After the thank-you credits appeared, Su Jin pressed the pause button and looked at Han Sanping and Zhong Li, waiting for them to share their thoughts.

But after waiting for more than ten seconds, neither of them spoke.

-

Han Sanping and Zhong Lilao remained silent, truly astonished by Su Jin's debut work.

They initially thought that Su Jin, as a novice, would have some flaws in the final product, or that she liked to express herself.

That's understandable; beginners are all like that, it's understandable.

However, after watching the entire film, they found nothing. Not at all. The film's logic was very clear, the lighting was handled very well, and the technique was very skillful.

If they hadn't known that Su Jin took the photos, they would never have believed that a novice had taken them.

"Third Master, how is it?" Su Jin asked.

"Very good," Han Sanping said succinctly.

very nice?

That's way too easy!

Can't you give me more details?

"Sister Fang, what do you think?" Su Jin asked Zhong Li.

"Very good," Zhong Lilao said in return.

"No, could you please be more specific? I still have a few days to revise it."

"No need. The more you change it, the worse it gets. This is fine as it is." Han Sanping waved his hand and made the decision directly.

He added, "Su Jin, remove the subtitles at the end that say the Xiao family father and son surrendered themselves, and make it an open ending."

"Remove it? That won't pass censorship!"

"What I mean is to remove the version for Cannes, but add it to the domestic version."

"Third Master, if word gets back to China, won't the film's release later attract reports from malicious individuals?"

"So what if you report it? I can handle this kind of small matter for you."

"Okay, I'll remove the subtitles later."

"Once you've finished editing, send me the video. Christy Jon happens to be in Beijing, so I'll take you there to meet him."

"Third Master, who is this Christy Jon?"

"Forget you don't know him." Han Sanping smiled, then explained, "He's the Cannes Film Festival's Asian selector."

Su Jin nodded, indicating that she understood.

Christy Jon is a big fan of Wang Xiaoshuai.

It's not that he likes it!

Wang Xiaoshuai is probably a close associate of the Cannes Film Festival; if he participates, he's guaranteed a spot in the main competition.

This year, Wang Xiaoshuai has a film that will be submitted to the Cannes Film Festival. The film is called "Left Right".

However, the film is still in post-production and may not make it to the application deadline.

At this point, the media started praising how good Cannes was to Wang Xiaoshuai, saying that they would give him special treatment and that even if he missed the deadline, it wouldn't matter as long as he participated.

I've forgotten whether we actually participated in the exhibition or not.

After chatting for a while, Han Sanping left, while Zhong Li stayed behind.

Su Jin called Du Yuan and asked her to remove the confession subtitles and release a new version.

"Su Jin, have you written any songs lately?"

"Sister Fang, I don't have time at all!" Su Jin complained, "These past few days, in order to catch up on the post-production of 'The Coffin in the Mountain,' I've been living and eating with them, and I simply haven't had time to write songs."

Zhong Li looked at Su Jin, whose face was rosy, and didn't believe his nonsense at all.

Who doesn't look tired at all when working on post-production?

"I knew I couldn't count on you. Look at the songs I invited for you, see if there's anything you like."

As she spoke, she placed several sheets of A4 paper in front of Su Jin.

Su Jin picked up the A4 paper and looked at it. The lyrics were catchy, but none of them were familiar to him, which meant that these songs were very likely to flop.

He put down his manuscript and asked, "Sister Fang, didn't you ask Zhang Yadong and Dou Wei for songs?"

"Zhang Yadong invited him, but he declined. Dou Wei, you can forget about it. He doesn't write songs at all now. I heard he's about to become an immortal."

"You've become an immortal?"

"Describe, do you even understand what description is?" Zhong Lilao said irritably.

"You don't like any of these four or five songs?"

"No, it's too ordinary." Su Jin shook her head and said, "How about this, Sister Fang, you don't need to invite her anymore. I'll write it for you next month."

"Aren't you supposed to be filming 'W: Two Worlds' next month? When will you have time?"

"Don't worry, Fang-jie, writing songs is as easy for me as eating and drinking; it's quick."

Are you sure?

"Sure."

"OK, I'll be waiting. Don't let me down."

Su Jin suddenly remembered that Wang Xiaoshuai's film "Left Right" was invested in by Dama Benteng Investment, so she asked, "Sister Fang, your company invested in Wang Xiaoshuai's 'Left Right', right?"

"Hmm." Zhong Lilao nodded and asked, "Why are you asking this?"

"You should know about the unspoken rules of film selection in Asia at Cannes, right?"

Zhong Li nodded; as a filmmaker, she was well aware of this.

The Cannes Film Festival typically selects only four or five films from Asia, no more and no less.

This is the unspoken rule.

Seeing Zhong Li nod, Su Jin continued, "I heard that Wang Xiaoshuai's 'Left and Right' will be participating in Cannes this year, and Jiang Wen's 'The Sun Also Rises' will also be participating. I'm under a lot of pressure!"

"A lot of pressure? Didn't you say you didn't have much hope of winning?"

"I don't have much hope, but being nominated for the main competition and not being nominated for the main competition are two different things, and the selling price of the film is also different."

"I don't know about Jiang Wen, and Wang Xiaoshuai probably won't be able to participate."

"How so?"

"It's already the 17th, and his post-production work on 'Left Right' is still not finished."

"Didn't the news say that Cannes might postpone his film release?"

"Yes, but this extension isn't nearly enough. He's still arguing with a music copyright company in England!"

"What's going on now?"

"Wang Xiaoshuai wanted to use their music, but the price was too high, and the two sides have not been able to reach an agreement."

"Didn't he consider using other music or domestic music?"

"No, Wang Xiaoshuai is a very stubborn person. He has been insisting, but I don't think he has been able to persist for very long. The investors simply cannot accept it."

After Zhong Li finished speaking, she stood up and said, "That's all for today. I still have work to do, so I'll head back now."

"

"Remember to write the song, don't be lazy."

"understood."