The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"And do you think the original author would agree to such changes?"

Gu Ning remembered that the original author valued this novel highly and wanted to adapt it into a movie after writing it.

As a result, no one was interested, and after hitting walls everywhere, he decided to raise investment himself to make the film, and it took several years of preparation to finally make it.

Given the author's high regard for the work, even if they sell the adaptation rights, they will definitely make some demands.

Jing Tian blinked and said, "I asked, and the company bought the adaptation rights for mainland China, so the author has no restrictions on adapting it."

"..."

Gu Ning was silent for a while, then shook his head and said, "This kind of story lacks appeal, and it won't do well in terms of box office or word-of-mouth."

"I just felt that was too regrettable, and I wanted them to have a more satisfactory ending."

Jing Tian said dejectedly, "I'll ask the screenwriter to revise it again."

Gu Ning was at a loss for words. The fact that Jing Tian could have such thoughts meant that she was really absorbed in the novel and really liked it.

That's why people feel so resentful and want to change the outcome.

But this is putting the cart before the horse. If the male and female protagonists of this novel actually end up together, she might not still like it.

Jing Tian looked dejected and pitiful. Gu Ning refrained from comforting her, marked the parts of the script that needed to be revised, declined her invitation to dinner, and left.

Back in the car, just as I was about to call Liu Yifei, the phone rang.

Liu Yifei told Gu Ning that her mother had returned, and that she needed to attend an event at Xiao Rizi in a few days, which would take about half a month before she could come back.

Gu Ning wanted to coax her out so they could have a get-together before parting, but Liu Yifei wouldn't agree no matter what.

She and her mother had been separated for a while, and her mother hadn't come home at night since she returned. Even if she used Shu Chang as a cover, her mother might still be suspicious.

Liu Yifei is not yet ready to tell her mother about her relationship with Gu Ning.

Seeing that he couldn't get her to cooperate, Gu Ning could only tell her to be careful.

After hanging up the phone, he had nowhere to go for a while, so he decided to drive to the school.

To be honest, he barely spent any time at school during his junior year, and in just over a month, his junior year will be over.

Upon arriving at the school, Gu Ning went straight to Xu Bing's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter!"

Gu Ning was given permission to open the door and went inside carrying the tea leaves.

"Teacher Xu."

"Oh, what a rare guest!"

Xu Bing smiled and said, "Isn't this our Director Gu?"

"Teacher Xu, please stop teasing me."

Gu Ning smiled and held up the tea leaves in her hand, saying, "This is Lu'an Melon Seed tea from my hometown, the new tea harvested this year. Please try it and see if you like it."

These tea leaves were sent to him by his father as a gift.

Gu's father was a businessman and very shrewd in interpersonal relationships; he sent him a lot of money.

Gu Ning had put quite a lot in the trunk of the car.

"Have a seat and make yourself some tea," Xu Bing said.

"Why."

Gu Ning unpacked the tea leaves and brewed a cup for herself and Xu Bing.

Xu Bing asked, "What about what I told you before? Have you considered it?"

"I've thought it through. Since Director Tian is so kind, I'm willing to pursue a master's degree," Gu Ning said.

He wasn't very confident about taking the postgraduate entrance exam, but since he could get a guaranteed admission to postgraduate studies, it would be inappropriate for him to refuse.

"Um?"

Xu Bing was somewhat surprised to hear this. He had thought he would need to use some persuasion, as he could sense from his last conversation with Gu Ning that she was not very willing.

However, it's a good thing that Gu Ning agreed.

"It's good that you understand. Some professors at the school had quite a few complaints about what you did, and Director Tian gave them a good scolding on your behalf," Xu Bing said.

"Is that so?"

Gu Ning asked in surprise, "Why didn't Teacher Xu mention this last time?"

"Director Tian forbade us to say it, and it wouldn't sound good if it got out," Xu Bing said.

Gu Ning had also found it a bit strange before, as Lu Chuan's father was quite famous in the industry and had good personal relationships with some professors at the Beijing Film Academy.

However, the school's reaction to his revenge against Lu Chuan was not significant.

He thought the school considered it a children's fight, which is why they didn't intervene.

Now I understand that this was entirely Tian Zhuangzhuang's doing.

He could already picture the school leaders holding a meeting, with Tian Zhuangzhuang engaging in a heated debate with them.

Given Tian Zhuangzhuang's temper, it would be perfectly normal for him to swear and curse in that kind of situation.

It seems he has no choice but to pursue this graduate degree.

"Is Director Tian still at the school? I'd like to pay him a visit," Gu Ning said.

"It's worth a visit. I'll give them a call and ask."

As Xu Bing spoke, he took out his phone, made a call, said a few words, and then hung up, saying, "Director Tian hasn't left yet; he's in the editing room and wants you to go there now."

"Director Tian is filming a movie?" Gu Ning asked in surprise.

After his ban on directing ended, Tian Zhuangzhuang not only filmed several movies but also acted in roles.

However, the response was lukewarm, and it didn't win any significant awards.

His most recent directorial work was "Go Master," which received considerable acclaim abroad but received only lukewarm reception in China, with limited screenings.

"Um."

Xu Bing said, "This is the first commercial film that Director Tian has directed. It is an action-romance film adapted from the novel of the same name, called 'The Wolf's Tale'."

"..."

Gu Ning really wanted to ask, "Is this movie serious?"

The combination of everyday life and action-romance makes it hard not to have some thoughts.

However, Gu Ning also knew that Tian Zhuangzhuang wouldn't go so far as to make that kind of film.

"That's perfect, I can learn a lot from Director Tian if I go."

Gu Ning greeted Xu Bing and left, taking a box of tea from her car before heading to the school's editing room.

It's possible that Tian Zhuangzhuang gave some instructions; he mentioned it to the teacher in charge of the editing room, and the teacher then told him which editing room Tian Zhuangzhuang was in.

Upon arriving outside the editing room, Gu Ning knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Gu Ning heard the sound, pushed open the door and went in, and saw Tian Zhuangzhuang busy at work.

"Director Tian, ​​am I not disturbing you?" Gu Ning asked with a smile.

"No problem, you've come at the right time. This is my first time shooting a commercial film, could you help me take a look and see how it goes?" Tian Zhuangzhuang said.

Gu Ning quickly replied, "Director Tian, ​​you're too kind. I'd like to come and learn from you."

Asking him to critique Tian Zhuangzhuang's work? That's ridiculous.

"There is no order of precedence in learning; those who are accomplished are teachers."

Tian Zhuangzhuang said irritably, "I've never made a commercial film either, I'm not as good as you in that area. Enough talk, come and take a look."

Helpless, Gu Ning could only sit down next to Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Tian Zhuangzhuang showed the roughly edited video to Gu Ning.

Filming a movie involves shooting in segments, and rough cuts are the process of piecing these segments together.

The purpose is to test whether the story is coherent, whether the pacing is reasonable, and whether there is any redundancy in the plot, so as to lay the foundation for subsequent fine-tuning.

The rough cut lacks color grading, and the sound effects and background music are mostly temporary tracks. The camera transitions are also rather abrupt.

The viewing experience is terrible, and it's very difficult to understand.

To help Gu Ning understand better, Tian Zhuangzhuang explained the plot and background to him while the movie was playing.