Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Although Zhuang Huai'an was not involved in this year's Cannes Film Festival, the media coverage was still enthusiastic.

Zhang Yimou's new film "House of Flying Daggers" premiered in Cannes, and the response was reportedly not very good. Many people felt that the film did not meet Zhang Yimou's standards at all.

This film is also considered by many to be the first step in Zhang Yimou's fall from grace.

Maggie Cheung won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role in the French film "Clean," becoming the first Chinese actress to win the award. She was also the first Chinese actress to win the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival. She is the most awarded actress in the Chinese film industry, and fans affectionately call her "Goddess Maggie."

Unfortunately, she gradually faded out of the film industry after this movie.

Perhaps influenced by the film "Clean," when Maggie Cheung reappeared in the public eye, she was as a rock singer.

...

After a month of salting fish in the courtyard house,

Zhuang Huaiquan devoted himself wholeheartedly to the post-production of "Love Like a Bouquet". This film is different from the past because the male and female leads are both newcomers, so it is impossible to have them speak the same lines.

Fortunately, 91 Company had already upgraded its equipment and was using the latest digital cameras. Moreover, during the editing process, Zhuang Huai'an only provided guidance from the side, while the actual operation was still done by the company's editors.

Qin Hao and Dong Xuan are also our own artists, and they are available whenever we need to re-record.

"I'm so confident, I absolutely cannot use newcomers again next time."

Zhuang Huai'an leaned back in the chair in the editing room, rubbed his sore eyes, and felt completely drained. After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and sent a message to someone.

"Qian, listen to your brother's advice, you really need to practice your lines properly, I'll be checking them later."

The other party replied instantly: "18".

"18? What does that mean?"

"Including this time, you've said similar things to me 18 times this month!" Liu Yifei emphasized with an exclamation mark.

Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat embarrassed; he was truly terrified by what he had just witnessed in this movie.

"Okay, here you are. Are you coming to the company for lunch? I'll treat you to an extra chicken leg as an apology."

"two!!"

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you at the school office building."

Tsk, Liu Qianqian is so useless.

After having the company's editor finish up, Zhuang Huai'an found Lin Jiachuan's motorcycle keys and sped off towards the Beijing Film Academy. He hadn't seen Lao Wang in a while and really missed him.

"Master, it's me. If I had an extra ticket, would you be willing to come with me?"

In the office, Wang Hongwei saw that his good apprentice's illness was recurring intermittently, and he couldn't help but twitch his lips. Who in the family understands this? Ever since his apprentice broke through the seclusion, this has been happening every few days. Could it be a delusion?

Thinking of the legends from his hometown, Wang Hongwei's heart tightened, and he said earnestly, "Disciple, why don't you find a doctor to take a look at you? You must have been tainted by something unclean."

"What you said, Master, is true. I've broken through my inner demons."

Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat displeased. "With my level of attainment, I'd be considered a true master in both Buddhism and Taoism. You know Lu Zhishen's verse, right?"

Wang Hongwei nodded in agreement. "What's it to you?"

"I made some changes."

Zhuang Huai'an cleared his throat and said in a melodious tone, "Suddenly, the golden shackles are broken, and the jade lock is torn off. Huh! A letter has arrived from the relevant departments; only today do they realize who I am!"

Wang Hongwei was speechless. His disciple looked nothing like the enlightened Lu Zhishen; he was clearly a demon star that had just been released by Grand Marshal Hong.

However, after a moment, Lao Wang felt relieved. No matter how successful Zhuang Huai'an was, he was only 21 years old this year, and he inevitably had the impetuousness of a young man.

"Alright, alright," Wang Hongwei waved his hand, "Go make yourself some tea, I'm busy here."

"What are you busy with?" Zhuang Huai'an leaned over to look.

"Summer homework. You'll be a junior in college when school starts, and none of your classmates have ever touched a camera before. I'm thinking of having them stay on campus during the summer to practice with the school's equipment and make a short film."

Zhuang Huai'an's eyes lit up immediately. He smelled the scent of top-quality cattle and horses... no, nuclear-powered donkeys!

"Oh, dear teacher, what a coincidence!"

Zhuang Huai'an slapped his thigh, feigning delight, and said, "You didn't need to go to all that trouble? I'll take care of it for you!"

"What should we do?"

"My company is starting a new film, *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, this summer. It's co-directed by Zhiyong and Haozi. I'm here to ask you to be the producer. Why don't you just bring your classmates to the set on your way?"

"This...isn't that a bad idea?"

Wang Hongwei hesitated. Ever since Zhuang Huai'an took Wang Zhiyong and Sun Hao out, the other students in the class were indeed green with envy, and they often asked him, intentionally or unintentionally, if they could go to the Good Apprentice film crew to learn from him.

But Lao Wang refused them all. He was worried that these greenhorns would cause trouble for Zhuang Huai'an, so he never mentioned it.

I have students every year, but only this one apprentice.

Do you even understand the difference between a disciple who is registered in name and a disciple who is personally instructed?

"What's wrong with that? You're supervising on set, and the two directors are your students. Are you worried about not being able to keep things under control?"

Zhuang Huai'an also knew Lao Wang's concerns. To be honest, even at his current level, the Beijing Film Academy still played a significant role in his life. One should not forget one's roots, but one should not be too naive.

The best approach is to complement each other and make progress together.

"Although it's just a TV series, it's much better than the short film you mentioned. Besides, the students will eventually have to intern on film sets. Rather than being criticized by outsiders later, it's better for you to personally guide them. Theoretical knowledge is not enough, my dear teacher."

Since things had come to this point, Wang Hongwei no longer held back and said he would find an opportunity to make it up to his apprentice later.

"Okay, when do you start filming, and how long is the shooting period? I need to report this to the school."

"It will be turned on in a month, and the cycle will be three to four months."

Zhuang Huai'an handed him a cigarette and explained, "The main filming locations for this drama are Xiangshan Film and Television City, Jiuzhaigou, and Yandang Mountain. We've already arranged everything. The female lead is Qianqian, and the male lead is Yan Kuan from my company."

"The male and female leads are a good match, and Yan Kuan's appearance is also suitable for period dramas." After reviewing the images in his mind, Wang Hongwei felt that they were indeed a good fit.

"The reason why we started filming a month later was that I wanted the actors to have some intensive training in martial arts moves first. Otherwise, the filming would be disjointed and wouldn't look good. Also, Zhiyong and the others still have half a month to finish their work."

"It is indeed very necessary."

The martial arts choreography for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" continued to use Cao Long's team. He was very pragmatic and didn't have so many messy things to do. Moreover, after working together several times, they didn't need much adjustment and had already become like the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix.

"It's about the photography team; I'm still considering it."

Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat conflicted. The original version of The Return of the Condor Heroes, also known as "Liu Yifei's Ancient Costume Photo Album," had outstanding visuals, with almost every frame being a perfect screenshot for wallpaper.

To surpass the original visuals, the lighting team is important, but the photography team is even more crucial.

"Don't panic, my disciple. Let me think of something."

Wang Hongwei touched his bald head, pondered for a moment, and then suggested, "I thought of someone, Chi Xiaoning, a senior from the 84 photography department. He was Zhang Yimou's go-to cinematographer in the early days. He filmed Ju Dou and Qiu Ju's lawsuit, as well as Hu Mei's Yongzheng Dynasty and Emperor Wu of Han."

"If it's this person, then that's perfect!"

Zhuang Huai'an laughed. Actually, many people don't know that in the film and television industry, the real masters are the cinematographers who can shoot interior scenes well. This is because interior scenes test not only individual ability but also teamwork. Chi Xiaoning can handle even the dark and gloomy interior scenes of "Yongzheng Dynasty" so well, so other scenes are naturally no problem for her.

"Okay, I'll ask about his availability."

Wang Hongwei didn't hesitate and took out his phone to make the call. After explaining the situation, the other party readily agreed and promised to bring his friend, the lighting master Lei Zi, to help out.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Hongwei raised an eyebrow triumphantly at his apprentice, while Zhuang Huai'an gave him a thumbs-up, offering his sincerest praise, "Awesome!"

See? So the rumors in the industry are absolutely true. As long as you have someone in your WeChat Moments who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, you can assemble an entire film crew.

The master and apprentice continued to discuss some details.

Casting is also a standard for verifying whether a director is qualified or not, so Zhuang Huai'an handed it all over to Wolong and Fengchu.

The only thing he interfered with was changing the male leads. To be precise, there were two male leads: Xiao Ming's adult Yang Guo was replaced by Yan Kuan, and Xiao Dingdang's young Yang Guo was replaced by Cao Jun, who also debuted as a child star.

The criticisms of the original Condor Heroes by later generations are mainly about the first half, where Yang Guo, Xiao Dingdang, and Xiao Ming were all portrayed as too slick.

However, Zhuang Huai'an believes that Xiao Ming's portrayal of the brokenness of the Condor Heroes sixteen years later, with his constant desire to die, was indeed quite well done.

During the chat, the acting department also finished their get out of class.

Liu Yifei walked into the office with practiced ease and greeted Teacher Wang politely, "Hello, Teacher Wang."

"Hey, get out of class's over?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that's all for today. I'll call you if anything comes up."

"Okay, then you go ahead with your work."

Zhuang Huai'an agreed and stood up, beckoning Liu Yifei to follow.

Wang Hongwei watched the two leave with a doting smile.