Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Yang Che never expected that the first person in the industry he met after arriving in Beijing would be his fellow townsman Ning Hao.

He is indeed an insider; I overheard Ning Hao's companions telling him about being assigned to the Shanghai Film Studio after graduation.

You could tell that neither of them were good with words; their conversation sounded more like old classmates meeting up for a meal after a long time.

When Yang Che heard Ning Hao address his companion as Cheng Er, he thought, "Wow, these two already know each other? They really are old friends." He stopped eavesdropping, pulled the stool he was sitting on around the corner, and looked at Ning Hao with a grin, saying in his hometown dialect, "Hey buddy, from Longcheng?"

Ning Hao paused for a moment, his gaze distant, his tone indifferent: "Oh, you too?"

Yang Che didn't take it to heart and continued to smile as he extended his hand: "My name is Yang Che, I'm from Longcheng, and I'm a screenwriter. I heard you talking about music videos and the Shanghai Film Studio, so I thought I'd like to get to know you."

A look of realization dawned on Ning Hao's face as he grasped Yang Che's outstretched hand: "Hello, my name is Ning Hao, uh, I'm from the Beijing Normal University Film Academy."

Yang Che reached out his hand to Cheng Er, and after shaking it, he said, "Cheng Er, you just graduated from Beijing Film Academy this year and have been assigned to Shanghai Film Studio."

They were all in their early twenties.

As Yang Che pulled the stool, he said in a very familiar manner, "Let's eat together, it's on me. You don't know, I just came from Longcheng, and I took a train for more than 10 hours."

The two men exchanged a glance and gave each other an awkward smile, but neither said anything that showed their displeasure.

Ning Hao said, "No, how could I let you come?"

Yang Che waved his hand, looked at the few meat skewers on their table, turned around and shouted to the waiter, "Add another 50 skewers and bring them over here," and also ordered half a dozen beers.

"Cheng Er, you graduated from Beijing Film Academy, Ning Hao, you're currently studying at Beijing Normal University, how did you meet?"

Yang Che's question made the two of them inexplicably relieved, because they started to have more to talk about... This was really funny, since they had never really talked about anything other than photography and movies.

Ning Hao was more talkative than Cheng Er, so he began to speak.

It turns out that Ning Hao was studying at Beijing Normal University with a part-time job. He often asked people from Beijing Film Academy to go out and shoot music videos for people like the Tang Dynasty band. He was also a part-time reporter for Channel V. He often went to Beijing Film Academy to watch films.

Cheng Er was a prominent figure in the directing department, so the two naturally got to know each other quickly and found they could chat easily. Most importantly, Ning Hao, a student from Beijing Normal University with a vocational diploma, helped them, a group of students from Beijing Film Academy, find work to earn extra money...

"The joint graduation project of Beijing Film Academy this year, 'Criminals,' was written, directed, and edited by Cheng Er. It was really awesome."

Hearing Ning Hao's words, Yang Che raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, awesome people are awesome even when they're not famous. These two are really awesome.

Cheng Er's face showed a proud yet humble expression: "Speaking of which, it was Haozi who suggested the idea of ​​multiple intersecting clues."

Ning Hao seemed to have realized the brilliance of the film, and slapped his thigh: "You edited it well too, the flashback technique and the cross-cutting of multiple storylines, the surveillance footage and the news broadcast creating a narrative distance..."

Yang Che could understand the professional jargon used by the two men; after all, he had attended advanced training courses, written scripts, and made short films.

Yang Che interjected, "The Two Smoking Barrels?"

The two looked at him, both with puzzled expressions.

"What?"

"What?"

Yang Che also asked in confusion: "You haven't seen it? It's Guy Ritchie's directorial debut, which won Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival last year."

Both of them shook their heads at the same time.

When was the script for "Criminals" written?

Cheng Er blurted out, "Last June, no, buddy, what do you mean?"

"Two Smoking Barrels" was released at the end of August last year. Before that, because it was directed by a new director and the actors were all amateurs, no one paid any attention to it. In this respect, it was not as popular as "Crazy Stone".

Of course, it caused a similar sensation after its release, but "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" was the pioneer after all, and it became the third highest-grossing film in British film history, so its influence was incomparable.

Seeing Cheng Er's displeased expression, Yang Che chuckled and waved his hand: "I didn't say you plagiarized. I was just marveling at the wonders of this world. 'Two Smoking Barrels' is a story with multiple narratives that eventually intersect..."

Yang Che gave a brief account of the plot of "Two Smoking Barrels," and then it was all over. The two men excitedly asked where they could buy the videotape of the film, and Yang Che immediately realized that he was doomed.

Damn it! Where the hell did he find out? He could only make up that he heard it from a friend who was studying abroad during the Chinese New Year. He was very interested in it and remembered it very well. He hadn't even seen the original film.

Disappointed, the two began to press for answers...

Yang Che had no choice but to try to salvage the situation: "If you say any more, you'll spoil the plot. Send me a text message with your addresses, and I'll go find the tapes and send one to each of you."

He remembered that there was a legendary figure in Shenzhen who spent his entire life selling videotapes. He could get his hands on any kind of videotape, and Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang were among his customers.

However, he felt that even though news spread slowly these days, pirated tapes and DVDs of such an excellent film as "Barrels of Two Smoking Barrels" should already be available...

Ning Hao and Cheng Er were deeply moved upon hearing this. They had only met by chance, and this man, who was about their age, spoke with the unquestionable authority of an "elder brother."

Hmm... if this were in later generations, it would be called "dad vibe".

Yang Che then gave his phone number. Well... both of them had phones, so he edited their addresses and sent them over.

Ning Hao lives in a residential area near the south gate of Beijing Normal University, while Cheng Er lives in the Shanghai Film Studio dormitory...

The three of them then made a record of it.

Yang Che raised his glass and clinked it with theirs before saying, "Ning Hao, I'm in a similar situation to you. I'm also working part-time while studying for the Beijing Film Academy's directing graduate program next year. I plan to shoot a movie in the next six months. Would you be interested in coming over and being my executive producer?"

That statement contains a lot of information.

Ning Hao took a few seconds to process this: "Uh...you want to be a director, no, you're not a screenwriter? Uh, you have money?"

Yang Che glanced at Cheng Er, who was still looking curious and shocked, and explained with a smile:

"I graduated from the Department of Arts at National Taiwan Normal University this year. I didn't want to be a teacher, so I wrote a romantic comedy story. I know a boss who thought the story was good and could be made into a movie, so he gave me some money. So, I am both the screenwriter and the producer."

The studio logo has been purchased, the script has been approved, and we've contacted some behind-the-scenes staff. We'll start meeting tomorrow to build the team and officially begin preparations. What do you think? Want to join us?

Ning Hao swallowed hard. "What do you plan to have me do?"

Yang Che chuckled inwardly. "Still so young," he thought, "that coy, hey thing."

"They do everything, they're basically my assistant."

"Okay, I still have some work to do. I'll contact you in three days."

Yang Che nodded, "Three days it is then."

At this moment, Cheng Er's eyes were filled with envy and disappointment.

To Yang Che's surprise, neither Ning Hao nor Cheng Er seemed to think they were liars...