Huayu: Tianxian Qianmeng

Although she was still a bit green, her eyes no longer wandered around, her lines were much smoother, and her spoiled and willful air as a young lady was naturally revealed. Even her movements were smoother!

"Click! This one's done!" Li Dawei's voice was filled with obvious surprise.

"Bravo!" A round of applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

Although Chen Kun didn't speak, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little.

"Sisi, you've improved so quickly!" someone praised.

Liu Yifei's face flushed slightly, a hint of pride in her eyes, as she pointed to the corner of the corridor: "It's a technique Ling Yuan taught me!"

All eyes immediately focused on Ling Yuan, filled with surprise. This kid can not only act, but also teach?

Ling Yuan quickly waved his hand, his face sincerely humble: "No, no, no, it has nothing to do with me! It's just that Qianqian is quick to understand and has a great talent for acting; she grasps it immediately!"

On the other side, You Jianming, having just finished his phone call, walked casually to Li Dawei's side: "Old Li, it's all settled! Xiu Qin will be here tomorrow!"

Li Dawei gestured with his chin toward Chen Kun, who was still on the sidelines and looked rather unwell.

You Jianming smiled knowingly and said, "I'll go and comfort our Seventh Young Master."

He walked over, affectionately put his arm around Chen Kun's shoulder, and led him to a more secluded spot.

"Kun'er, don't get angry with a little girl. Think long-term," You Jianming pointed to Liu Yifei, who was listening to Ling Yuan explain the play and whose skin was glowing white in the sunlight. "See? That girl has a certain energy; she's got a natural talent. I dare say, her face is the face of the next era! Do you believe me?"

Chen Kun: "..."

……

Ling Yuan didn't have many scenes in the film crew, but he was very busy every day.

Not only do they observe other people's performances to improve their own acting skills, but they also observe or assist the work of directors, producers, and even cameramen, costume designers, makeup artists, prop masters, lighting technicians, and so on.

He's a study fanatic; he wants to learn everything.

He plans to start taking a second major in directing, which is a double degree program, starting in his sophomore year.

If I have free time, I'd also like to take some screenwriting courses. In my past life, I was a drama school teacher, so I do write scripts. But stage scripts are quite different from film and television scripts.

Furthermore, taking these courses gives one a "reason"—that one's abilities didn't come from nowhere, but from hard work and dedication. This is a positive and quite inspiring persona.

This will provide a compelling story for future film promotions and give the film a more impressive resume.

That evening, in his hotel room, Ling Yuan took out his laptop to summarize his work from the day (some observations and feelings about acting, directing, and producing). Then, he opened a document titled "My Brother Disappears!" and continued writing his novel.

During my first semester of freshman year, I wrote a book called "Spirit: Ghostly Records" and registered the novel's copyright. In the second semester, which was the first half of this year, I completed the adaptation and refinement of the script.

There are many more installments to the "Phantom Chronicles" series, but we'll have to take it slow. First, let's secure the IP. He also plans to translate it into English and collaborate with Random House for overseas distribution.

This movie is incredible; it's the first film shot entirely using a handheld home DV camera. The production cost was only $1.1. However, it grossed a staggering $1.93 million, a return of approximately 17545 times.

Once Ling Yuan has saved up some money, he might be able to make the film. It would be great if it could be released in China. If it could gain fame, he could find investors in North America to remake it or make a sequel.

After all, he owns the full copyright to everything from novels and screenplays to film, animation, and even game adaptations.

At that time, the domestic film market in China was far less prosperous than in North America. Making a big splash in North America and earning money from Americans was the real money-making opportunity, equivalent to exporting culture and bringing glory to the nation!

Ling Yuan pondered for a moment, then continued typing rapidly, his fingers flying across the keyboard, leaving trails of afterimages.

His current novel is "My Brother, Disappear!", and he plans to set up a studio, recruit staff, and adapt the novel into a comic book, as well as create and film scripts for movies and television series. Of course, all of these will be registered for copyright.

The reason he plans to set up a studio or company is because his personal energy is limited. He has at least hundreds of potential IPs that could become wildly popular, and he can't possibly write about them all on his own. Right now, he just doesn't have the money, so it's a temporary measure.

"My Brother Disappeared!" is also incredibly successful. Not to mention how popular the comic is, the live-action movie made in China in 2018 had a production cost of only 2000 million RMB, but its box office reached 3.75 million RMB.

While the return on investment isn't as high as that of Paranormal Activity, it's still quite good.

If filming could be done in the next few years, the production cost would likely be only two to three million. After all, money is worth more these days. Of course, the box office would definitely be lower. It mainly depends on the return on investment.

As for "Blind Shaft," which won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, launched Baoqiang's career, and earned him the Golden Horse Award for Best New Performer, Ling Yuan did consider it. However, he didn't want to take the role because Baoqiang was a really nice person.

He hopes that Baoqiang can become famous so that he can work with him in the future.

……

The next day, at the Huairou Film and Television Base, on the set of "The Story of a Noble Family".

Today's scene is a bit special. Bai Xiuzhu is feeling depressed because she hasn't seen Jin Yanxi, and she needs to smoke to vent her emotions.

Yes, in this movie, the fourteen or fifteen-year-old fairy sister smokes, drinks, gets her hair permed, and plays mahjong—she's got it all covered.

The problem is coming.

Liu Xiaoli frowned, looking at her daughter with disapproval in her eyes: "How old is Qianqian? She's never even touched a cigarette, how can she act?"

Director Li Dawei also scratched his head, realizing that this was indeed a bit difficult for the young girl.

They're so young, and you're making them do this? It has to be real, otherwise it'll look too fake and won't be effective.

Li Dawei's gaze swept over Ling Yuan, who was chatting with Chen Kun on the sidelines, and then looked at Chen Kun next to him. His eyes lit up, and he walked over: "Kun'er, you're a seasoned smoker with plenty of experience. Go and teach Qianqian how to hold a cigarette and how to smoke it."

Chen Kun was taken aback when he heard this, and then shook his head like a rattle drum. He already had a bad relationship with Liu Yifei, and they had even thrown the script yesterday. How could he teach her?

The atmosphere became a little tense for a moment.

"How about I go?" Ling Yuan volunteered.

Li Dawei looked him up and down, his face full of suspicion: "You? Xiao Ling, I've never seen you touch a cigarette before? Are you sure you can handle this?"

Ling Yuan laughed heartily: "Director, look at what you're saying. I've never smoked before, but we men! Do we need to learn this kind of thing? Aren't men born knowing how to do it?"

As he spoke, he patted his chest, adopting a "leave it to me" attitude.

Li Dawei naturally didn't believe it, his eyes saying, "You're just bragging."