Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

April 29th arrived in the blink of an eye. Yang Che arrived at Beijing Normal University early in the morning, accompanied by Gao Yuanyuan, who wanted to watch her boyfriend give a speech, saying he must be incredibly handsome.

Yang Che was actually reluctant to have her come.

"Those students will definitely start a fuss about Wang Fei, and then you'll take it out on me again..."

"I'm so used to seeing these kinds of things online, it's a love story of the century."

Gao Yuanyuan knew she shouldn't bring this up now to put psychological pressure on him, but she just couldn't help it.

Yang Che could only pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Upon arriving outside Ying Tung Hall, there was a line of students queuing to enter, and they didn't look very happy.

Yang Che and Gao Yuanyuan used the guest entrance.

The students stared intently at the two of them, some with puzzled looks, others whispering among themselves.

Although Gao Yuanyuan did not have any physical contact with her boyfriend, the two were very close and their expressions were natural. Anyone who saw them would think that their relationship was unusual. However, Gao Yuanyuan was very open about it, and even a little arrogant, as arrogant as a male peacock.

Guided by the university student volunteers, the two sat down in the audience. Yes, this was Yingdong Hall, not the Beiguo Theater where Yang Che was supposed to give a speech.

I came here to listen to a group of experts and scholars give a presentation on "WTO and Chinese Cinema".

Also listening together were—

"Hello Mr. Yang, this is Wang Changtian from Enlight Media, the one from 'Entertainment Live'..."

"We've known each other for a long time, Mr. Wang. Your recently launched 'Music Billboard' is truly amazing!"

...

"Hey? Gao Yuanyuan, what are you doing here?"

"Hello Director Zhang Yang, I came with Yang Che."

"Director Zhang, hello! 'Shower' is really good. What have you been up to lately?"

"Producer Yang, busy doing nothing, busy doing nothing."

...

As a long-time fan of films like "Shower" and "Getting Home," Yang Che is naturally familiar with Zhang Yang, who wrote and directed his own film. He is currently preparing to shoot "Yesterday," an autobiographical film about his good friend Jia Hongsheng, which mainly tells the story of Jia Hongsheng's drug rehabilitation.

Jia Hongsheng was the undisputed heartthrob of the Central Academy of Drama back then. He was sunny, handsome, and had amazing acting skills. The girls who pursued him could stretch from the Central Academy of Drama to the Beijing Film Academy. He was the spiritual symbol of six generations of directors (except for Director Jia).

Until he started using drugs. It was in 92 when he starred in director Zhang Yang's play "Kiss of the Spider Woman," playing a gay drug addict. Because he couldn't get into character, he asked a fellow actor for some drugs to try, and the play was a great success.

Then Jia Hongsheng became the person the public remembers him as.

Then, the slightly shy Zhang Yang saw what a social terrorist looked like. How come this Yang Che knows everyone?

Huang Jianxin, Section Chief Jia, Senior Student Lu, Yu Dong, Zhang Weiping, Yang Yubing, Deng Jianguo, Dong Ping, the Wang brothers, Wen Jun...

Yang Che wasn't a social butterfly; he primarily greeted shy directors. These private business owners were the ones who initiated the greetings. Besides exchanging business cards, they also needed to coordinate—they were all small business owners, and they needed to stand together. Yang Che, you're a young talent, you need to be more presentable and not embarrass yourself…

Okay, so what I'm talking about is independent production and distribution rights.

Yang Che did not get close to the state-owned film studio or its leaders, because the leaders were relatively far away, and the host went on stage to announce the start of the show the moment the leaders entered.

Then Huang Huilin, founder of the Beijing College Student Film Festival, chairman of the organizing committee, and professor of the Department of Arts at Beijing Normal University, took the stage.

After speaking for about six or seven minutes, I can summarize it in one sentence: WTO accession is both a crisis and an opportunity for industrial transformation.

Then the leaders from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television took the stage to speak. To be fair, they did have some real substance. For example, they talked about the direction of cinema reform (which was genuine) and allowing foreign investment in cinemas. There was also some nonsense, such as encouraging state-owned film studios to distribute films independently and revitalizing state-owned distribution networks, etc.

Yang Che was getting sleepy listening to the audio, so he could only play with her little hands in private.

Gao Yuanyuan was also bored: "Your level is really bad, far worse than yours. Now I know why those students in line were unhappy. You should be the leader."

Yang Che shook his head: "You're wrong about that. I can't say things like that, so I can't be a leader."

Gao Yuanyuan laughed out loud.

The leaders' speeches lasted for an hour, followed by a Q&A session where the vice chairmen went on stage to interact with the audience. However, Yang Che had to leave, not out of disrespect for the vice chairmen, but because he had to go to the Beiguo Theater.

A group of people followed behind him, including the private business owners he had greeted beforehand, as well as some people from state-owned film studios.

When Yang Che arrived at the Beiguo Theater, there were no students queuing at the entrance. However, after entering, he saw a huge number of students, their young faces full of vitality, which was in stark contrast to Yingdong Hall.

Yang Che noticed that he wasn't nervous at all; on the contrary, he seemed excited, as if he had been holding back for a long time and was finally letting loose.

After a female student from Beijing Normal University, who was acting as the host, took the stage and introduced the theme, including the fact that "My Sassy Girl" had sold 6500 million tickets in China and 2.8 million tickets worldwide, she directly said: "Then please welcome Mr. Yang Che, the screenwriter and producer of 'My Sassy Girl,' to the stage to share his experience in operating commercial films."

New Film Union is very particular; it's straightforward and direct, just like the title "Operation Mode of Domestic Commercial Films."

Yang Che, waving as he stepped onto the stage, took the microphone from the host amidst applause, and calmly began to speak:

Good morning, students, teachers, and colleagues. I am Yang Che, General Manager of Doubao Media.

Sorry, host, your introduction wasn't detailed enough. I need to add some details. I am also the producer of "Spring Bright Pigsy", the producer of "Waiting Alone", the producer of the TV series "The Grand Mansion Gate", and the director of the public service announcement film for the return of Macau to China, "Not One Less".

This isn't bragging, it's a slap in the face—a slap in the face for our new movie and TV series, and also for myself. I'm a film and television investor; if you have a good script but need investment, you can contact me. My email address is db163... Remember, it has to be a good script; don't bring any garbage, because I'm a screenwriter too.

"Ha ha"

Applause and laughter erupted simultaneously from the audience.

In the aisle, there was a large head squeezed into the crowd. His face, which had been filled with envy and disdain, now showed a look of longing. He was Ning Hao, a student in the art department of Beijing Normal University.

Yang Che stood there, expressionless and motionless, and after a couple of seconds, he continued, "Actually, what I just said was the second most important aspect of film production: publicity and distribution, which is to seize every opportunity to make a mistake. Don't believe any of that 'good wine needs no bush' nonsense, or that our film is so great that word of mouth will spread. Anyone who believes that is a fool."

"Ha ha ha ha"

"Let me start by talking about the most important thing: creation... Oh, right, you can just laugh now, but don't clap. You can take notes, or hold your partner's hand or something. Just be careful not to hold the wrong hand, or the venue will turn into a fight."

"Hahahahaha"

"Clap clap clap clap"

The applause grew even louder.

It's clear that today's college students haven't heard of crosstalk or stand-up comedy.