Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

The interviewers stopped laughing and looked at each other blankly.

They had never heard such arguments from students, nor from them in their work and teaching careers, but it was true.

The exam was over as soon as Yang Che said those words.

In particular, Xu Tongjun and Hou Keming exchanged glances, confirming Yang Che's research direction.

Wang Xinyu continued, "You're so talented, why do you still want to take the postgraduate entrance exam?"

Hou Keming's face turned green. Ever since this student was falsely accused, he's been incredibly sharp-tongued.

Sure enough, Yang Che said, "Why did you test me? I already answered that question before. Besides, I'm not that great; I only rely on the contrast with my peers, especially in the film market."

Xie Fei laughed and said, "Tell me more."

"There are mainly two aspects. First, most films nowadays either praise or criticize, which no longer satisfies the spirit of the people today. This is a disconnect between creation and the market. Second, out of the pride of cultural figures, they disdain to engage in propaganda or publicity, feeling that it lowers their status."

The cast and crew of "My Sassy Girl" visited the top ten box office cities in mainland China. We talked with a lot of citizens and found that they really don't like Chinese movies.

Therefore, I became even more determined to make films. Besides the potential for greater financial success, I also felt a sense of mission: to diversify Chinese cinema. "If you won't make films for ordinary Chinese people, then I will. And I will find a whole bunch of like-minded people to make films with."

Yang Che couldn't figure out if he was putting on an act for the interview or if he was being genuine; it was probably both.

Of course, he wasn't criticizing anything; he was simply stating the facts.

We cannot judge the present with the eyes of posterity, nor can we say that all directors today are idiots.

Why did such a good movie like "The Birth of a Nation" fail at the box office?

It's not something that can be covered up by simply saying the market is sluggish; the main reason is that today's audiences don't like it.

Can you say that today's audience is stupid? It's just that after being suppressed for so long, the audience likes to watch something lighthearted.

Every era has its own problems. At this time, China was in a period of heightened social contradictions, with all sorts of monsters and demons coming from top to bottom, a truly chaotic situation.

Ordinary viewers were also full of resentment, and filmmakers went to extremes.

So when Yang Che said it was either praise or criticism, the five examiners' expressions were either solemn or serious.

They never thought about it from this perspective; yes, it's that ridiculous.

Xie Xiaojin began, "You seem very certain that Chinese cinema will become commercialized. When the vast majority of practitioners are only making films to pursue box office success, do you think that's a good thing?"

Yang Che paused for a moment: "First of all, this is an inevitable trend. Under the sweep of the times, no one can stop the commercialization of Chinese films. And Chinese films can only move forward, they cannot turn back, nor can they stop."

Secondly, although I believe that good movies and high box office revenue are not mutually exclusive, the Chinese film industry must go through a period of impulsive development in order to mature, even if it is a false prosperity.

Finally, when market expansion slows down, there will inevitably be a period of growing pains. But truly dedicated filmmakers will not fluctuate with economic ups and downs; they will always be there.

At that time, the average audience had a very high level of appreciation, and they would naturally eliminate some filmmakers who couldn't keep up or who simply didn't have any talent. Film content creation at that time would mature and become more rational again.

I believe that Chinese films produced under such circumstances will be world-class films.

After he said this, the examiners' expressions softened, even though they all knew that this person was definitely going to be hired, even though he hadn't participated in the second round of interviews.

However, at this moment they couldn't help but feel that there was no such thing as a false reputation. Many people in this world can see far and accurately, but most of them cannot. Yang Che in front of them was someone who had already proven his abilities.

Moreover, the scripts "The Myth" and "Robot Girlfriend" made them feel that Yang Che could still achieve success, especially the former.

So the examiners asked about the two scripts, and it seemed that only then did they start talking about topics related to "director".

"I plan to shoot 'Robot Girlfriend' at the end of October this year. I need the desolate feeling of late autumn and early winter. 'The Myth' will have to wait until I have the ability to shoot large-scale scenes, and until the Chinese cinema chain is completely reformed. After all, the investment in this film will definitely exceed 10 million yuan."

Xie Xiaojin said with a smile, "One of the directors in China who is good at big-scale productions is Chen Weiya. He's in the same Olympic bid committee as you. I'll put in a good word for you, and you can ask him for advice."

Although Yang Che and Chen Weiya were already quite familiar with each other, he still sincerely thanked them and explained the situation to avoid an awkward situation if Xie Xiaojin made a phone call.

Chen Weiya is not only a skilled director of large-scale productions, but also a dancer and currently a professor at the Beijing Dance Academy. He is also exceptionally proficient in various traditional musical instruments, especially the Chinese drum, which he plays superbly. He can also draw and write.

This kind of person, like Yang Che, is an assistant to Zhang Yimou...

Finally, Xie Fei pointed to the camera that was recording the entire event and said, "Yang Che, I hope you will always remember what you said today: to make movies for ordinary Chinese people."

Yang Che's lips twitched: "I'll do my best."

The other four examiners either facepalmed or looked down and burst out laughing, though it was unclear what they were laughing about.

With that, Yang Che's postgraduate entrance examination ended, lasting 20 minutes.

Well, it's not quite over yet. In the afternoon, I had various physical examinations at the school hospital, mainly in four areas: vision, color blindness and color weakness, cardiopulmonary function, and limb flexibility.

Ning Hao was colorblind and was rejected by the art academy. Yang Che, of course, had no problem, but there was something surprising about his physical examination: he had grown taller.

Yang Che had the school doctor measure his height twice, confirming it was 178.9cm.

It is indeed 0.9 centimeters taller.

After expressing her doubts, the school doctor said, "You'd better go to the hospital for a bone age test to see if your epiphyseal plates have closed."

So the next day, the weekend, Yang Che went to the hospital alone for a checkup. It turned out to be closed, and his growth hormone levels were also frighteningly normal.

The doctor said his physical condition is excellent and all his indicators are normal, so there's no need to worry. If he still grows taller, it's not too late to do more detailed examinations.

The doctor was a bespectacled woman in her thirties. She was very sexually withdrawn; yes, she looked sexually frigid.

However, the doctor accompanied the patient throughout the entire examination and was exceptionally warm and attentive.

This made Yang Che feel flattered and he was impressed by the benefits of fame.

However, after the consultation, the doctor said with a smile, "When I was pursuing my doctorate, I was the vice president of Wang Fei's Beijing fan club, but after I started working, I didn't have time to participate in the activities."

Yang Che was completely bewildered. He wanted to say that he had never heard of any fan club... but he was afraid that this vice president doctor would give him a scalpel.

"Thank you, it's rare for you to be so nice to me, haha."

The doctor smiled and said, "I support you. You're much better than Dou Wei. You can write songs and make money. But don't be like Dou Wei and try to have your cake and eat it too."

Yang Che felt inexplicably aroused.

After leaving the hospital, Yang Che told Li Xiangdong, who was waiting for him, "I'm fine. The doctor said I'm as strong as an ox."

Li Xiangdong said, "Many people grow taller after joining the army because their back muscles are strengthened."

Yang Che said irritably, "Then why didn't you say so yesterday?"