Run, Best Actor!

"Wang Changtian from Guangming specifically asked you to have tea?!"

Yang Mi soon learned of this as well, and was so shocked that her eyes widened instantly. "My God, you can even negotiate collaborations with such a big shot?"

"Seriously, Honey, do you think I'm low-class?"

Liu Taile frowned slightly. "In fact, I had previously collaborated with Enlight Media and invested in one of their films, called 'Lost in Thailand'."

"Is this a sequel to the road movie 'Lost in Thailand' starring Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang?"

Yang Mi immediately asked.

"Yes, this movie is another collaboration between the two of them, and Huang Bo has also joined the cast."

Liu Taile replied.

"I know, I've heard of that movie. Xu Zheng even crossed over to directing."

Yang Mi chimed in, "I also know that Zhao Bafei has crossed over into directing and made a movie."

Zeng Jia, Zhao Ruoyao, and I even discussed it back then; we thought it might become a trend for actors to cross over into directing in the future.

"So you've also crossed over into directing?"

Liu Taile asked with a smile, "You made a short film?"

"Oh, you saw that movie too!"

Yang Mi blushed instantly. "Don't laugh at me. I know I don't have much talent for directing. That short film was just something I made for fun."

It turns out that when filming "Midsummer's Love" in June this year, Yang Mi also took some time to film a short film called "Exchange Trip" with Wu Jianfei, who was in the same crew.

The film's plot is roughly as follows:

Xiao Mi (played by Yang Mi) is a working professional who, like many urban white-collar workers, faces a heavy workload every day. Despite the high work pressure, she still needs to handle related matters and live a regular life. With numerous tasks to complete at the company and often continuing to work at home, Xiao Mi feels stressed and considers temporarily leaving.

When Xiao Mi was feeling exhausted, she received a text message inviting her to a travel exchange program. Xiao Mi decided to give it a try and traveled to Paris, France alone. In her Parisian accommodation, the refrigerator was stocked with drinks, and the walls were covered with hand-drawn Parisian travel guides. During her time in Paris, Xiao Mi visited many attractions, watched street performances, and took photos with locals, temporarily escaping the pressures of work.

This experience gradually distracted Xiao Mi from her work troubles and sparked her curiosity about her travel exchange partner. Finally, as she prepared to return home, Xiao Mi encountered the stranger (played by Wu Jianfei) with whom she had exchanged travel experiences.

The film uses this experience to express the theme that "there must be another version of myself in this world, doing what I want to do."

This short film, which is only 11 minutes long, was released in July 2012 and was available on video platforms such as Youku, 56 Video, Baidu Video, Douban, and Tudou.

In just two days after its release, the video received over 121 million views on Youku and over 500,000 views on 56 Video.

This has sparked a discussion among netizens about the relationship between reality and dreams.

However, to be fair, the overall quality of the short film is quite poor, only at the level of a mid-to-lower-tier wedding planning company.

After watching it, you'll only have two thoughts—

1. Yi Li is really rich; she specially asked Yang Mi to shoot a pornographic film for her product, Mei Yi Tian.

Second, Paris is really beautiful from Yang Mi's perspective.

That's all I remember.

After the short film, which only received a 5.6 rating on Douban, was released, Liu Taile also received a treasure chest reward from the system.

[Ding! Evaluate the character "Xiao Mi" in the short film "Exchange Trip": Worldview completeness: below average; Character portrayal: below average; Screen time: above average; Character development: below average; Professional evaluation: below average; Public evaluation: average... Overall evaluation: below average. Reward: Green Treasure Chest.]

The treasure chest gave Liu Taile 900 director experience points, helping him unlock the "Director" skill and directly raising its level to beginner (790/1000).

After acquiring basic directing skills, Liu Taile reviewed the short film and found that there were many areas for improvement.

Well, this shows that Yang Mi's actual directing talent is not even as good as the basic level in the general evaluation!

He really doesn't have much talent for directing.

"Honey, the fact that you think this way shows you have a lot of self-awareness."

Liu Taile praised, "Life is about constantly trying, knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and continuously maximizing your strengths and minimizing your weaknesses."

"Fine, you're mocking me!"

Yang Mi gently patted Liu Taile and said reproachfully, "Hmph, at least I did dare to try."

Stop making fun of me. Who knows, you might not even be as good as me in that area!

Liu Taile smiled but did not reply.

But in his heart he thought: Sister Honey, you're wrong. I'm definitely much better than you!

Because he unlocked the "Director" skill, Liu Taile couldn't resist spending another 5,000 reputation points to exchange for a green treasure chest for "Exchange Travel".

I was incredibly lucky and got another 900 director experience points!

As a result, the director's level was directly upgraded to intermediate.

At this level, Liu Taile estimates that short films and music videos would be no challenge for him.

He's even confident he can make some simple contemporary urban dramas!

Before you enter the game, this skill is basically useless. Like many skills you get from treasure chests, it just sits in your skill list collecting dust.

However, since he has already crossed over into other fields, it is entirely possible that he will try his hand at directing in the future.

"Stop joking."

Yang Mi suddenly turned to Liu Taile with a serious expression and said, "Xiao Le, since Boss Wang from Guangxian contacted you, I suppose he wants to discuss further cooperation with you?"

"It should be."

Liu Taile nodded. "But more likely, they're afraid I'll get too close to LeEco Pictures."

Afterwards, Liu Taile told Yang Mi about the "feud" between Enlight Media and Le Vision Pictures President Zhang Zhao, based on what he knew and guessed.

"Wow, does that mean Enlight Media and LeEco Pictures are destined for open and covert competition?"

Yang Mi clicked her tongue in surprise, "My goodness, will this have any impact on us?"

When powerful figures clash, it's the lowly pawns who are most likely to get hurt.

"Don't worry, as long as you don't always side with LeEco Pictures, Enlight Media won't do anything to you."

Liu Taile comforted him.

"I've already collaborated with LeEco on two films."

Yang Mi lightly bit her finger and said, "Oh, strictly speaking, it's three movies, and there are two more 'Tiny Times' movies coming up!"

Oh, about the previous movie "The Bullet Vanishes," although it was mainly produced in Hong Kong, Le Vision Pictures also participated in the investment, so it can be considered a collaboration between Yang Mi and Le Vision Pictures.

That's how Yang Mi was able to successfully land a role in the "Tiny Times" series.

"It's nothing, just these few movies."

Liu Taile waved his hand, "You're just an actor. Just work with whichever company offers the highest pay."

"Once I've talked to Boss Wang, I'll get you a movie produced by Enlight Media, and that'll be fine."

In fact, Yang Mi from the original timeline had already filmed the movie "The Breakup Guru" produced by Enlight Pictures in 13.

It is clear that actors do have to go with the flow and cannot put all their eggs in one basket.