Huayu: Serious director, who's eavesdropping on your thoughts?

The two-hour lecture finally came to an end.

Tian Zhuangzhuang's mouth was dry from talking. He had just entered the office, hadn't even sat down properly, and hadn't even had a sip of water when the door was pushed open.

Zhao Huaiyuan strode in, closed the door behind him, and moved with the practiced ease of returning to his own home.

"Did I let you in?" Tian Zhuangzhuang frowned slightly.

"Director Tian, ​​there are no outsiders here, so let's skip the formalities."

Zhao Huaiyuan grinned, pulled up a chair and sat down, casually picked up a Hongtashan cigarette from the table, took one out, and then very naturally picked up Tian Zhuangzhuang's lighter, lit it himself, and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Zhao Huaiyuan squinted, looking quite content.

The reason they dared to do this was not because of the tiger.

Rather, in his previous life, he had worked his way up in the entertainment industry and had drunk with Tian Zhuangzhuang in his later years several times.

He knows the other person's temperament too well.

If you are obsequious and constantly address him as "Teacher," he will look down on you. It's better to treat him as an equal.

There's a saying, isn't there?

If you're an artist and you don't have a bit of wildness, you might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes!

really.

Tian Zhuangzhuang did not get angry.

He laughed in exasperation; this was truly the first time he'd ever seen a young man like this.

Tian Zhuangzhuang leaned back in his chair, looking the young man, who still looked quite immature, up and down with great interest.

"Alright, not very old, but you act like a seasoned veteran. What brings you here?"

"The martial arts world is in dire straits, Director Tian!"

Zhao Huaiyuan flicked his cigarette ash and looked directly at Tian Zhuangzhuang: "I want to make a film, do you think it's possible..."

"That's your problem. Hey, kid, what do you take me for?" Tian Zhuangzhuang raised an eyebrow, a strange look on his face. He slowly took a sip of tea.

"There are plenty of people at the Beijing Film Academy who want to make films here, and they all come to me. My office has already been demolished. Go out, turn left, wash up, and go to sleep. You can dream about anything."

"I heard the deadline for submissions to ISFVF (International Student Film Festival) is approaching?"

Zhao Huaiyuan remained seated and uttered these words.

Tian Zhuangzhuang paused, holding his teacup, and looked up at him: "You're quite well-informed. What, you have something on your mind?"

He quickly realized something, shook his head, and scoffed, "Don't even think about it. The machines in the department are limited; they're all allocated to third- and fourth-year students for their graduation projects. This is serious business."

Why should I make an exception and give you a camera when you're a complete newbie who hasn't even figured out aperture and shutter speed yet?

"Just because Hitchcock is a fan of 'Strongman'? Don't be ridiculous! Go back. Although I have high hopes for you, I can't break the rules for you. If word gets out, where will I put my face? What will the other students think? What will the teachers think?"

"I don't want good machines."

Zhao Huaiyuan leaned forward, his tone calm.

"Director Tian, ​​I know that in the innermost corner of the equipment department's warehouse, there are two Arri 16STs that have long been obsolete."

That thing wasn't anything good either. It was as noisy as a tractor, and you had to wind it up manually. Nobody uses it anymore, and it's not on the teaching asset list.

So, lending it to me isn't against the rules, is it? It's just sitting idle anyway, might as well put it to good use.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was stunned.

There are indeed two old antiques there, abandoned there for several years. How does this kid know them so well?

"Even if you get the machine, what about the film? That stuff is expensive, do you have the money?"

"Isn't there a batch of expired Kodak 7219 films in the warehouse?" Zhao Huaiyuan chuckled. "A lot of those films are ruined by the light, who would dare use them for serious work? Lend them to me, Director."

hiss..

Tian Zhuangzhuang gasped.

How does this kid know everything?

He stared at Zhao Huaiyuan for about half a minute.

I've discovered that it's actually a bit hard to understand.

This kid not only knows a lot, but he also knows the details of the few junk items in the warehouse very well. He's meticulous and seems to have come prepared.

Tian Zhuangzhuang couldn't help but take it seriously:

"Do you know what ISFVF is? It's something our school organized to align with international standards. The participants are all graduates from places like USC, NYU, and the London Film Academy."

That was their graduation project, or even a mature work that they were aiming for in the Oscar short film category.

You're a freshman, you have nothing, what do you have to fight them with? Your head?

Tian Zhuangzhuang's words were unpleasant to hear, but they were the truth.

Back in 02, China's film industry was just starting out, and the works of domestic students could not compete with those of top foreign institutions. There was a significant generational gap in both technology and concepts.

Last year, at the first film and television works exhibition held by the Beijing Film Academy, all the major awards were won by foreigners, and the Beijing Film Academy won nothing, which was quite embarrassing.

"I want to give it a try. It's just a few rolls of waste film anyway. If it works, it'll be a good thing for Beijing Film Academy. If it doesn't, we won't lose anything, right?" Zhao Huaiyuan shrugged.

Tian Zhuangzhuang stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

Indeed, I have to admit that what the other party said makes a lot of sense.

In fact, he didn't have much hope that Zhao Huaiyuan could win the award.

He didn't mention looking at the notebook either. In his opinion, what good stuff could a young man possibly produce?

These international film festivals are all about hard power; you can't succeed by taking shortcuts.

But he doesn't mind giving young people a chance.

"Slide"

Tian Zhuangzhuang opened the drawer, searched for a long time, and threw out a rusty key.

"Let's get the ugly truth out of the way first."

Tian Zhuangzhuang lit another cigarette for himself, pointed at Zhao Huaiyuan, and said, "If those two machines break down, you're responsible for fixing them. Put them back where they were taken from."

Also, if you end up posting a picture of a pile of poop, don't say it was borrowed from me.

"Okay!"

Zhao Huaiyuan grabbed the keys, stood up, walked to the door, put his hand on the handle, and was about to pull the door open to go out.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Looking back at Tian Zhuangzhuang, who was engulfed in smoke, I couldn't help but recall how this highly respected director later had to stop working multiple times due to heart problems.

Moreover, after what happened to him in his previous life, Director Tian stood up for him. Otherwise, he would have no place in the industry and wouldn't even be able to work as an assistant director anymore.

"Director Tian."

He dropped his playful grin and said seriously, "Smoke less; it's bad for your health."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and left.

Inside the office, Tian Zhuangzhuang's hand, holding a cigarette, hovered in mid-air.

He stood there stunned for several seconds before finally managing to utter a curse, a mixture of amusement and exasperation:

"This little brat actually knows how to teach me how to do things!"

He instinctively reached for two more puffs, but somehow, as if possessed, he stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

...

As Zhao Huaiyuan stepped out of the office building, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

At noon, the sun was blazing.

The equipment is ready.

All that's missing now is the actors.

For the short film script, Zhao Huaiyuan chose "The Tuner".

A thirteen-minute story.

It tells the story of a piano tuner who pretends to be blind after losing a competition. While tuning a piano for a client, he accidentally stumbles into a murder scene.

In order to avoid revealing his secret that he was not blind, he had to continue to play the blind man calmly in front of the murderer, completing the tuning in extreme fear.

In the original film, women had few scenes, while the male lead had 90% of the screen time.

Zhao Huaiyuan decided to switch the genders, which might reduce some of the tension of the male protagonist pretending to be blind and spying on other people's private lives, but it would undoubtedly be more logically convincing.

For example, there is an undeniable problem in the original film: how could a young and strong man like the male lead be unable to beat an old and faded woman?

In his script, the female lead plays a piano tuner, and his choice of Liu Yifei was based on many considerations.

It's worth noting that Liu Yifei already had a certain level of fame in the industry at that time. If he could star in his own short film, it would undoubtedly help the film gain wider recognition.

Furthermore, Zhao Huaiyuan wanted to use cinematic language to convey a sense of cold-bloodedness in the so-called upper class, so simply finding a rental apartment wouldn't be appropriate, not to mention having to move a grand piano there, which would be incredibly troublesome.

Liu Yifei's godfather is rich...

He owns many properties in Yanjing, including some luxuriously decorated, empty villas with expensive pianos.

Why not take advantage of the opportunity to get a venue for free by being naive and innocent?

...

The second canteen at Beijing Film Academy.

It was lunchtime, and as soon as Zhao Huaiyuan entered the hall, the originally noisy environment became subtly quiet for a moment, with whispers rising from all sides.

"Hey, look, that guy by the door. You didn't come this morning, so you don't know what he is."

Who is it?

"This freshman is something else. He was arguing with Director Tian during the big lecture this morning, and he talked at length about how Hitchcock was a hardened criminal."

"Oh, wow! She looks so quiet, I didn't expect her to be so wild..."

Zhao Huaiyuan remained calm, ignoring the pointing and whispering glances around him.

He picked up a plate of rice and cabbage, his eyes scanning the area before quickly locking onto the ethereal figure in the corner by the window.

Liu Yifei was looking down, poking at the braised pork on the plate with his chopsticks, but not eating a single bite. There was a hint of worry between his brows.

Zhao Huaiyuan saw it all and knew what Liu Yifei was thinking.

A 15-year-old girl, in her first acting role, has to play Bai Xiuzhu, a spoiled and willful rich girl who is obsessed with love. She has a lot of pressure to bear.

Everyone says she's a child prodigy, but only Zhao Huaiyuan knows that right now she's more confused and doubtful of herself.

She desperately needed an opportunity to prove that she was more than just a pretty puppet.

"You've poked the braised pork belly so many times it's practically falling apart."

Zhao Huaiyuan naturally walked to the opposite side of Liu Yifei, put down his plate, and sat down.

"Hey, there's someone here..." Liu Yifei instinctively wanted to push them away, but when he looked up, he froze.

She recognized the boy; he had been the center of attention that morning and left a deep impression on her.

"I bet you're very tired?"

A seemingly random remark left Liu Yifei stunned, and a sudden pang of sadness gripped his heart.

No one has ever asked her if she's tired!

Everyone praises her and envies her, but only she knows how many times she has cried in the dead of night.

"Everyone is teaching you how to be an adult, how to hate, how to fight for men, but you're only fifteen, you've never experienced love, you're just a child. You've never experienced those adult emotions, so how can you act well?"

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