Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

In the new semester, Fang Yuan's main tasks are studying and writing.

The core of the second year in the Dramatic Literature Department is drama studio and writing, which are advanced courses from the first year's foundation in acting and directing.

The course requires in-depth participation in playwriting, rehearsals, and even stage performances, to understand the structure of the script and character development through practice.

At the same time, all students must complete a large amount of writing exercises and study contemporary Western theater art to broaden their international perspectives.

This year's studies have two core objectives:

First, it cultivates the ability to translate life experiences into scriptwriting, emphasizing the ability to feel life and transform life materials into drama; second, it enhances writing ability and creative skills through extensive and intensive writing training.

For Fang Yuan, the pressure wasn't too great.

On the contrary, some supplementary courses require him to spend most of his time and energy reading and studying.

In my memory, 1998 was undoubtedly the year that marked a turning point in Zhao Yanzi's life.

She starred in "My Fair Princess" during her sophomore year of college. The show premiered in Taiwan in April and quickly became a nationwide sensation after being introduced to mainland China in October, achieving a peak viewership rating of over 62%, breaking the record for domestic drama viewership at the time.

With her role as the quirky and clever "Little Swallow," Zhao Wei rose from an ordinary student at the Beijing Film Academy to become a household name and a "national idol." She was the first and most prominent among the 96 class of the Beijing Film Academy.

Unlike Zhao Yanzi's triumphant success, Chen Kun experienced a crucial setback in 1998.

He was chosen by the famous director Zhao Baogang to play the male lead "Xiao Tong" in the TV series "Never Close Your Eyes", but the role was eventually replaced by Lu Yi, who became famous overnight with the series.

In his previous life, Huang Xiaoming filmed his first TV series, "Love Is Not a Game," in the summer, playing the male lead, "Xiao Zhuoyi."

Although the show was invested in and broadcast by CCTV, it did not attract much attention.

Yan Danchen stands out among the four. While the others are still looking for opportunities, she has already made a name for herself in the film industry and has garnered many honors.

In 1997 (during her freshman year of college), she starred in two films: "Carry Dad to School" and "The Rainy Season".

Therefore, when "The Rainy Season" and "Carry Dad to School" won awards at the 6th China International Children's Film Festival in 1998, Yan Danchen was undoubtedly one of the most dazzling new stars in the class and even the whole school.

In 1998, Zhang Ziyi was selected by Zhang Yimou to star in the film "The Road Home," playing the role of Zhao Di. For this role, she won the Best Actress Award at the 23rd Hundred Flowers Awards and was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award.

Winning the Best Actress award at the Hundred Flowers Awards during her sophomore year was the biggest dark horse event of the year.

There's a rumor circulating online that Director Zhang initially favored Zeng Li for this film, but for some reason, he changed the casting to Zhang Ziyi. Apparently, Zeng Li declined the offer because she wanted to "focus on completing her studies."

The truth is unknown, but Fang Yuan believes it's not that simple. How many people who can get into the Central Academy of Drama's acting department could refuse the invitation from the then-rising star Director Zhang?

Everyone has their own choice.

Yuan Quan: She debuted in 1998 with the film "Shanghai Chronicle" and was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards.

She signed with Red Star Production Company in October to enter the music scene.

In the same year, director Teng Wenji came to the Central Academy of Drama to select actors who knew Peking Opera. Yuan Quan starred in "Spring Rhapsody" as Zhou Xiaomei, thanks to her Peking Opera skills.

Liu Ye and Chen Hao starred in Huo Jianqi's "Postmen in the Mountains" in 1998, playing village postmen, which won the Most Popular Feature Film Award at the Montreal Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award.

Mei Ting dropped out of university during her freshman year.

The others remained unknown.

Now, due to Fang Yuan's intervention, some people's fates have changed to some extent.

For example, Huang Xiaoming, Zeng Li, and Li Xinyu.

The Shanghai Film Studio plans to premiere "Eighteen-Year-Old Sky" in December.

In September, good news came.

Buried beat out its competitors to win the Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival.

To Fang Yuan's great surprise, he remembered that this year's winner was the French film master Rohmer's "A Tale of Autumn".

Looks like they're incredibly lucky.

While pleased, he also stopped Ellie from making the suggestion that she send "Buried" to the Golden Globes and the Oscars, as she was getting too excited.

"There is absolutely no chance of winning any awards."

There's no need to do public relations.

Sell ​​the copyrights well and do a good job of the theatrical release and distribution.

In its first year, it was a great success, winning awards at the three major European film festivals and far exceeding box office expectations.

very good already.

Having gained both fame and fortune, it's time to settle down and reflect for a while.

"The remaining work is to handle the subsequent copyright and book publishing and distribution of these films. The studio has no plans to make any films for the time being, but we can negotiate the script copyright."

Fang Yuan has already registered more than a dozen scripts with the Writers Guild.

Some of them are ready to be sold, while others can be used for personal investment.

I arranged the work for this year with Ellie and told her that by the end of December, the studio would set aside 30% of its funds, and the rest would be distributed as dividends.

Fang Yuan was typing on his keyboard in his dormitory when he received Wang Jinghua's call.

"Fang Yuan, it's me. Sister Hua."

"Sister Hua, please speak."

The person on the other end of the phone took a deep breath, their voice tinged with amusement:

"Did you set me up, kid?"

Fang Yuan was taken aback.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook for the past three months."

Wang Jinghua's voice carried a weariness, as if she were being chased by debts of gratitude.

"Your 'Never Ending' has been reported by an intermediary who said that Director Feng has seen it and wants to buy it."

The films "Big Shot's Funeral" and "Be There or Be Square" generated even more buzz, with several famous directors calling to inquire about them.

I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but the day before yesterday, there was a meeting with four people, three of whom were directors. As we were talking, we realized they were all looking for you.

They started arguing amongst themselves. One said your script was perfect for a Lunar New Year film, another said your characters were brilliantly written, and yet another said you're just a student who doesn't understand the market and shouldn't get involved.

I said, "Can you guys just shut up for once?" Guess what?

They quieted down and started calling me—more than a dozen a day.

After listening, Fang Yuan said, "Sister Hua, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard work," Wang Jinghua sighed.

"But you have to tell me, what exactly do you want to arrange?"

Fang Yuan thought for a moment and said something that made Wang Jinghua both laugh and cry:

"Let's not think about that for now. Sister Hua, I'm already in the limelight too much."

"Let's wait a bit."

"Aren't you making things difficult for me?"

Fang Yuan remained silent.

"Alright, alright," Wang Jinghua waved her hand, "You decide for yourself. Should I just say this to the public?"

"Can."

"By the end of the year, I might have one or two more novels to write; I'm currently researching and brainstorming ideas."

Wang Jinghua's voice carried a hint of helplessness, but a smile was suppressed at the corners of her mouth.

"Okay, you focus on your work, I'll take care of the rest."

In fact, Fang Yuan had been waiting for Mr. Zhang's call; some things had to be faced and resolved.