Who says Beijing Film Academy has no great directors? (2002)

After receiving the call from the kidnappers, Depp began to bend over with difficulty, trying to find the note they had mentioned.

However, the narrow coffin squeezed his bones with every movement. He also found two glow sticks, a knife, and a flashlight that worked intermittently at his feet.

He immediately called the rescue center commander, who kept reassuring him, saying, "We will do everything we can to rescue him, but the commander told him that he must not let the kidnappers film him pleading for help, and we must not let this incident escalate into an international incident."

Depp then realized that the other party didn't care about his life at all; they just wanted to keep him calm.

The kidnappers sent a urging phone call, which made Depp shudder. The kidnappers threatened him with a colleague, demanding that he film the video, and Depp complied.

After posting, Depp even seemed somewhat relieved and laughed mockingly. Even in his current state, he still cared about other people's safety.

But then danger struck; he noticed his trouser leg was slowly trembling—it was a rattlesnake.

Of course, the fangs were removed, but it still made Depp's legs tremble.

Depp tried to burn the rattlesnake with alcohol, but instead enraged it. Flames erupted inside the coffin, and at the last second, Depp extinguished the fire with sand. The snake then slithered away through the cracks in the wooden planks.

The kidnappers sent Depp a video of his colleague being shot, which devastated him. He vomited, and his commander called to reprimand him for complicating things. Just then, the wooden plank shook violently.

Sand began to be poured into the coffin.

"Click!" Chen Yan let Depp out for some fresh air.

These scenes were filmed for more than a week, and the two gradually became closer. Depp even started talking to him about his family and friends, and warmly invited him to visit his home next time.

"That snake really scared me to death; I'm terrified of snakes," Depp said with a pained expression.

Chen Yan replied with a smile, "So the bulging veins and trembling thighs in your shots weren't acting, huh? Hahaha, that shot was fantastic. If you were to win an award for Best Actor, that snake would definitely be your best partner."

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow at Depp: "It helped you a lot."

Depp shook his head helplessly. This Chinese director loved to tease him too much, but he was too clumsy with words to tease back.

Just then, Chen Yan's phone rang.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Liu Yifei.

Chen Yan has been working day and night all week and hasn't had much time to contact Liu Yifei.

Chen Yan answered the phone with a smile, then waved to Depp, indicating that she would make a call first.

Depp grinned slyly and mouthed, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Chen Yan smiled but remained silent.

"What's wrong, Sisi?"

"Did you finish work today?" Liu Yifei asked sweetly as she stretched her legs while lying on the bed.

"Not yet, almost there." Chen Yan glanced around; the employees around him were all yawning.

"You need to take care of yourself." Liu Yifei was a little embarrassed. She guessed why Chen Yan had flown to the United States to rush to film this movie.

Chen Yan revealed that the male lead of this drama is the Mad Hatter who will be playing the role in "Alice in Wonderland".

He's a great actor, very difficult to get.

Perhaps Chen Yan paid some price for this drama that Liu Yifei was unaware of, but Liu Yifei didn't ask; she just needed to remember it.

"Hurry up and hang up, get some rest," Liu Yifei urged Chen Yan after chatting for a few minutes.

"Okay, goodnight." Hearing this comforting word, Chen Yan actually felt a bit tired.

He couldn't wait to get back to the hotel, take a shower, and get some sleep.

"Good night!"

......

The filming process was really stuck at the last two weeks, with only the last scene being filmed. Chen Yan filmed according to the script order in order to ensure the integrity of Depp's emotions.

Depp looked rather haggard today. He stayed up all night specifically to experience the feeling of impending death and utter despair.

Chen Yan pursed his lips: "I understand, I respect..."

Depp lay back down in the coffin, sand kept pouring into it, and for the sake of his wife and children, Depp cut off his own finger and sent the kidnappers a video of himself bleeding.

Excessive blood loss turned his face pale.

In a daze, he answered his wife's call. His wife was sobbing uncontrollably on the other end of the line. The commander also shouted that they had captured a rebel. He knew Depp's location. Depp solemnly swore on the phone that he would definitely return alive.

"He's down there! Right down there!"

He heard a noise above him, as if someone was digging through the sand.

A sliver of light pierced through, and Depp opened his eyes, eager to embrace his new life, but darkness engulfed everything.

Being rescued was just his fantasy; the leaking sand had already buried Depp's chest.

A chilling silence followed, then the commander's trembling voice came through the phone: "That's Mark White."

Meanwhile, the sand had already buried the coffin, and the scene was plunged into eternal darkness.

"Click!"

After Depp came out, he took deep breaths of fresh air.

"I hereby declare that I'm going to sleep with the lights on these days!" Depp joked.

Two doctors came forward to examine Depp's body with instruments, and Chen Yan also went over to take a closer look at him.

Aside from being a little mentally exhausted, he seemed fine, like he'd been playing games all night. The only signs of what he'd just been through were some smudges of sand on his face and collar.

"Was it good?" Chen Yan asked Depp with a smirk.

"Awesome! So this is what it feels like to be buried alive." The final scene was one that Depp insisted on being buried alive in real life.

Chen Yan shuddered. This guy's a masochist!

"Take a good rest. I need to finish editing the film and submit it to the film festival as soon as possible," Chen Yan said, changing the subject.

Depp's eyes widened: "Berlin?"

"Yes." This is the closest one, and this film has a high chance of winning an award in Berlin.

Depp immediately relaxed. "Chen, remember to contact me again if you have any good scripts."

Chen Yan joked, "You're too expensive!"

Depp jumped to his feet: "Where am I expensive!"

But the doctor immediately pushed her back down.

"Sir, we need to take your blood pressure. Please don't move."

Depp instantly fell silent: "Okay, okay."

But he still retorted, "Well... okay, maybe some, but you know, I don't care about the pay for actors who win awards, and Leonardo DiCaprio is much more expensive than me. I'm not the most expensive."

Finally, under Chen Yan's teasing gaze, he timidly said, "We're all familiar with each other now. As long as there's a good script, we can discuss anything."

Chen Yan chuckled and said, "Okay, I got it."

Chen Yan left the mess to James and took the earliest flight back to Beijing.

The day after I got home, I took the film to the Beijing Film Academy.

When Qiao Liang saw Chen Yan in the editing room, his eyes widened in surprise: "You're such a hard worker!"