So what if I work with celebrities?

As "Joyful Face" entered post-production, Hsu Tsan worked day and night in the editing room, cutting footage.

In my past life, there was a question on short video platforms: why do Hollywood movies have director's cuts, but China doesn't?

Many people believe that directors in the country have no power and are controlled by capital, which is why there is no director's cut.

This is actually a misunderstanding. Domestic films in China are almost entirely director-centric. Hollywood, however, varies from person to person; directors like Cameron and Spielberg inevitably employ a director-centric system.

The films they release are essentially director's cuts, but apart from that, the film production also follows a producer-centric system. The famous Warner Bros. often does this, spending huge sums of money on trivial matters, ignoring the director's ideas, and ultimately botching the films.

Although Xu Zan spent money on post-production, he still kept a close eye on things and guided the editor to cut the film according to his own wishes.

"Director Xu, your shooting style is different from the popular films these days?" The editor had roughly browsed through all the film reels and already had a plot framework in mind.

"I don't know if you've heard of André Bazin. In the 1960s, a trend of filmmaking emerged that focused on the psychological dilemmas and emotional relationships of urban dwellers and adopted fragmented narratives."

"This is the New Wave cinema! My film has two storylines: one is the story of the female protagonist and her first love, and the other is the story of the young boss and his deceased wife. The two storylines are connected through the restaurant's live music performance."

"Is that so? That's rather rare." The editor made marks on the film with a pen to facilitate subsequent operations.

Besides editing, the next step was naturally the production of the film's music. Li Taixiang truly delivered on his promise, completing the theme song and insert songs for "Joyful Encounters" in just one week.

In addition to "Olive Tree", there is also the theme song of the same name, "Joyful Face", and the interludes "Walking in the Rain", "World of Love", "The Answer" and "Qingmeng Lake".

Hsu Tsan sat in the recording studio, listening to Chi Yu sing "Olive Tree". Although she had become familiar with the lyrics during this period, she still often forgot the lyrics while singing, causing the recording to be interrupted.

"How about we record it line by line?" Hsu Tsan suggested.

Li Taixiang immediately objected, "How can that be? You can't cheat when you're singing!" He thought the boss was dissatisfied, so he stood up and walked into the recording studio to start instructing Qi Yu.

However, since Qi Yu was introduced by Xu Zan, he couldn't go into too much detail, so his expression was rather complicated.

They sing from morning till night, basically without any rest time except for meals and bathroom breaks.

As Qi Yu was leaving get off work that evening, she complained to Xu Zan, "I should have known better than to take this awful job! Teacher Li's standards are too high; she can't tolerate even the slightest flaw!"

"You should cherish this opportunity. Among the music producers in Taiwan, Lee Tai-hsiang is a rare gem, a true master. You haven't entered the music industry yet, so you don't know much about it."

"A singer doesn't need many songs; one classic hit is enough to sustain them for a lifetime."

"Really?" Qi Yu asked in surprise, "But so many singers release an album every month."

"That's the demand of capital, not the demand of singers. Truly great songs are rare! Many songwriters may write thousands of songs in their lifetime, but only a few are worth singing."

Hsu Tsan rode his motorcycle, carrying her through the streets of Taipei. The city was brightly lit at night, and the real nightlife was just beginning.

Debauched music filled the nightclubs, and beautiful women swayed gracefully in the hotels.

"Sing me 'The Olive Tree,' shall I begin? Don't ask me where I come from, my hometown is far away..."

Qi Yu continued singing, perhaps because Li Taixiang's pressure was gone, or perhaps because the night sky was sparkling with stars.

Her singing style evolved from the Western folk singing method that Li Taixiang resolutely rejected, to a wide vocal range, free of breathiness. When gentle, it exudes a simple, earthy quality; when powerful, it is ethereal and graceful.

"Sing it like this tomorrow, and I guarantee Li Taixiang will be satisfied!"

At this point, you might suddenly think of an excellent channel for promoting the film.

If I remember correctly, June 6th is Yang Xian's Chinese Modern Folk Song Concert.

Hu Defu and Yang Xian had a good relationship, while Li Taixiang and Hu Defu had an unusual relationship.

Indeed, you can get to know anyone in the world through just six people.

……

As the sailor's underling, Xu Zan needed to proactively report the progress to his older brother to avoid giving the sailors any reason to overthink.

At Delin Café, sailors often played cards on the second floor when they had nothing to do. It wasn't as noisy as a karaoke bar, nor as crowded and chaotic as a pub.

"Big brother, Xu Zan is here!" Meng Zheng said.

"Let him come up!" the sailor threw down his cards. "Two Kings, hahaha, I won!"

Just then, Xu Zan came up, carrying some pineapple cakes he had bought in Songshan District. "Brother, have a taste. I heard there's a really popular shop there, so I bought some on my way."

The sailor opened the package and let everyone in the room have a taste. He took a bite and said, "Not bad. You didn't come here just to bring me food, did you?"

"No, it's been a month already. Let me give you an update on the film's progress. My Panda Entertainment company's procedures are all done, the pre-production work for the film is basically complete, and we're currently doing voice-over and music production."

Xu Zan gave a detailed report on every penny spent. When the sailor heard that he was the producer and would receive 20,000 yuan, he pointed at him and laughed and cursed.

"Brother, I have 50,000 yuan left for the final promotion. I estimate it'll only be enough to put up posters and hand out flyers."

"Oh, money's so tight? I thought 800,000 was a lot. I didn't expect making a movie to be so expensive." The sailor nodded.

"You did a great job. I'll put in a good word for you with the gang leader. By the way, do we need to talk to the movie theater?"

"That's right, brother. I don't have any connections in this area. Let's see if we know anyone in the gang," Xu Zan said.

"Leave this to me. I've built up some connections over the years. I'll also get my brothers to go and support us. Hopefully, we can get off to a great start!"

Post-production, editing, and dubbing for the film "Joyful Encounters" are basically complete. Li Taixiang is very satisfied with Qi Yu; under his tutelage, Qi Yu's skills have improved rapidly.

The songs for the "Olive Tree" album are being polished one by one, and according to Li Taixiang's estimate, it can be completed in about seven days.

Xu Zan immediately found another company, GG, to produce movie posters and flyers, which he would then have some underworld figures help distribute.

"Sir, it makes things much easier if you have the stills. This young lady is very pretty and could be the subject of the poster. We just need to add some embellishments around the edges, and I think that will be enough. She's really beautiful!" Duan Zhongyi said.

He and his brother passed around a dozen movie stills, all of which were photos of Hu Huizhong.

Just half an hour later, they produced the first draft of the design, which consisted of several blue roses arranged in a heart shape with a profile photo of Hu Huizhong in the center.

The words "Joyful Face" are written where the rose stems are folded. Below is the tagline: "Produced by Panda Entertainment."

At the bottom are the words arranged in an arc: Dedicated to you a modern Chinese film.

"Are there any other designs?" Xu Zan wanted several to be posted in different movie theaters.

The Duan brothers didn't hold back either, sketching out several circles with their pens and placing different stills inside, the largest of which was still a headshot of Hu Huizhong.

This version lists Hu Huizhong's name alongside "Huan Yan," which is seen as a way of promoting the female lead.

A few days later, Qi Jishui sent word that the approval for "Joyful Face" had been granted. It had been a long and complicated process, and it wasn't because the plot of the film was inappropriate.

The problem lies with "The Olive Tree." At the time, an official from the press office asked, "Don't ask me where I'm from." What did that mean?

Does it evoke homesickness among people from other provinces? Does it express dissatisfaction with the authorities?

The National Assembly delegate didn't personally intervene; instead, he asked a friend in the bureaucracy to speak on his behalf. This person was eloquent and said, "This isn't about homesickness; it's about heroes not being judged by their origins, and good men having ambitions beyond their hometowns! That's why I'm not asked where I come from."

"Really? Then how do you explain that my hometown is far away?"

"Haha, brother, we mainlanders will eventually build this beautiful island into a developed, modern society. So this 'distant future' refers to the future!"

"Then why be a homeless person? You can't expect a developed society to thrive by begging and homelessness, can you?"

"Wandering is a concept; it's not about begging physically, nor is it about being blind. It's about following the trend of the times. 'Wandering' is also a homophone for 'staying,' leaving behind the waves created by every trendsetter. Those are the fruits of success!"

There were countless reasons, but what mattered most was actually the relationship. Several officials promised at the dinner table that they could help Xu Zan, whether it was out of a desire to invest in a distinguished fellow townsman or to save face.

These people really went to great lengths, finding friends who could speak with the Information Services Department. They managed to get past the censorship by using a joking approach.

In addition, the sailor found six cinemas in Taipei through connections. There were only twenty-four screens, which was quite few, but the schedule was good, on July 15th.