Huayu: Everyone's been reborn, who's still going to be an actor?

you guess?

Will you guess or not?

Cheng Yuan's soul was decades old, but he spoke these words without any sense of incongruity.

That's just how men are.

"I only found out because my friends in North America asked me. Yeah, I bought a copy too," Liu Yifei said with a smile. "Why are you writing novels again?"

"I'm poor, and you won't support me, so I have no choice but to write novels to make money."

"Hmph, I'm hanging up."

Liu Yifei hung up the phone immediately after speaking, while Cheng Yuan smiled and then suddenly remembered that his grandfather was next to him.

"Grandpa, float away!"

Cheng Yuan saw his grandfather looking at him with a half-smile, then pointing at the water and shouting.

The fish came just in time.

"Sissi, who are you talking to on the phone?"

"Oh, what about my classmate?"

"A male classmate?"

"Ah? Yeah. It's Cheng Yuan, the one I ran into at the school gate last time."

"The director thing?" Liu Xiaoli's alertness spiked, and she looked at Liu Yifei with suspicion, asking, "What are you talking about?"

"I was chatting with Lisa the other day, and she mentioned a very popular novel in North America whose author's name sounded like a Chinese name. When I looked at it, it seemed like 'Cheng Yuan'," Liu Yifei said. "The novel is also available in China, so I bought a copy, and it really was written by Cheng Yuan. So I called to confirm, and it turned out he really did write it."

"Really?" Liu Xiaoli looked at Liu Yifei and asked, "Then why is your face red?"

"Are you blushing?" Liu Yifei asked. "Maybe it's because you're hot. Mom, aren't you hot?"

"Yeah?"

Liu Xiaoli had no doubts; the weather was indeed quite hot.

But Liu Yifei suddenly remembered that Cheng Yuan went fishing in such hot weather.

Cheng Yuan's days at home were quite pleasant.

However, even though I was "fully armed" and chose shady spots for fishing, I was still much darker than when I came back.

After staying at his maternal grandfather's house for more than a week, Cheng Yuan returned home.

He stayed home and started writing a novel.

The second book in The Hunger Games has been completed, but there's no rush to publish it.

This novel didn't make much of a splash in China, but it became a huge hit in North America.

The news came back from abroad and then became a hot topic in China.

There are still quite a few people who think that the grass is greener on the other side.

Flowers that bloom inside the wall may not be fragrant outside, but flowers that bloom outside the wall will definitely be fragrant inside.

It's ironic, but that's how it is now.

A few days later, Cheng Yuan finished writing the third book in "The Hunger Games" and decided not to continue writing.

He's going to write something else.

Before she could make up her mind, Jiang Wen called.

"Why did you suddenly decide to call me, Brother Wen?"

"Where?"

"My hometown!"

"Buried has been nominated."

"It's been shortlisted for Venice?" Cheng Yuan stood up immediately upon hearing this and asked, "Which section?"

"Main Competition!"

"Holy crap! That's awesome!"

Cheng Yuan was pleasantly surprised.

Although he doesn't think the film can compete for the Golden Lion, being nominated for the main competition is more prestigious than being nominated for other sections, and this prestige is likely to be reflected in the copyright fees.

Films that are shortlisted for the main competition generally receive more attention than those shortlisted for other sections, and their copyright sales are naturally better.

"Remember to get your passport and other documents sorted out..."

Cheng Yuan hung up the phone, still somewhat excited.

Subsequently, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Wang Jingsong also called.

Two days later, Zhu Yawen called.

"You directed a film called 'Buried Alive'? And it was nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival?"

"Um!"

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"So-so."

"Having wandered for half my life without finding a wise ruler, if you do not abandon me, I am willing to become your godfather!"

"I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it."

"What?"

"Think about it."

"roll!"

"Ha ha......"

......

Not long after Zhu Yawen's call, Liu Yifei called.

"Cheng Yuan, your film 'Buried Alive' has been nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival?"

"Um!"

"You're amazing!"

"Really? I thought you would think, like some people online, that Jiang Wen directed the movie."

"Oh? People online say that?"

Yes, there are quite a few.

"Why not? Just because Jiang Wen is a director doesn't mean he directed the movies he acted in, right?"

"You'll understand once you read about 'The Missing Gun'."

"The Missing Gun? That sounds familiar."

"Actually, I already guessed this would happen when I approached Jiang Wen. After all, I'm still too young. Think about it, a 20-year-old sophomore majoring in acting, who has only played a few minor roles, suddenly makes a movie that gets nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival. Who would believe that? The key is that the lead actor is a rather powerful director who is banned from directing. It's like he has a superpower."

"Ah, then why did you even cast Jiang Wen as the lead actor in the first place!"

Liu Yifei didn't doubt, but rather felt puzzled.

Cheng Yuan spoke too frankly; if it were really as rumored online, he certainly wouldn't have acted that way.

"I don't have the money to make movies, and I know that even if my script is the best, I won't be able to attract investment. So, I used the script as payment and invited Jiang Wen to star in 'Buried Alive' for free. His directing ban ends next year, and he'll definitely be looking for scripts. So, the script has to be solid for him to refuse."

"And that's exactly what happened; he agreed to star in it. Then, I used his name to get sponsorship from GG Entertainment. I not only told them that Jiang Wen was the lead actor, but also that I was a second-year acting student and director. I even bragged that it had won international awards... Do you think they would think like the netizens do?"

"Definitely! Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to secure hundreds of thousands in product placement fees! And I subsequently used that money to film 'Buried'!"

Liu Yifei, who was watching the movie, was completely exhausted.

This movie was actually made like this.

Lacking funds and unable to secure investment, they resorted to using actors' names to attract hundreds of thousands of dollars in product placement and then produced the movie.

The key point is that this film was also nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival!

Cheng Yuan spoke casually, but Liu Yifei knew very well how difficult it would be to accomplish this.

"Then, what are you going to do?" Liu Yifei asked. "Rumors spread like wildfire online..."

"Go ahead and tell me," Cheng Yuan said. "Jiang Wen is not only an actor but also a director, and he has a very strong personal style. Once the movie is released, won't it be obvious who directed it?"

"Is this obvious at a glance?"

Liu Yifei was somewhat puzzled.

She watches movies, but she really can't tell what style they have.

"Those in the know will definitely be able to tell," Cheng Yuan said. "Besides, so what if they can't tell? Just make another one to prove yourself."

Moviegoers may not all be experts, but what about the film and television companies?

They must be experts.

Regardless of whether this movie makes money or not, even if it doesn't, Cheng Yuan should be able to attract investment if he makes another movie.

Putting everything else aside, China Film Group should invest in him, as long as it's not a big production.

All beginnings are hard.

Besides, this movie should be profitable. It's hard to say how much, but it will definitely be enough for him to make his next movie.

Once you have your first pot of gold, the road ahead will be much easier.