Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

By the end of November, the capital city was already experiencing howling winds, and the sky was overcast, looking like it was about to snow.

After many days,

Zhuang Huai'an returned to his loyal Beijing Film Academy.

Red flags still fluttered at the school gate, and two banners waved in the wind.

"Congratulations to Zhuang Huai'an, a sophomore majoring in directing at our school, for winning the Best Director award at the 39th Golden Horse Awards."

"Congratulations to Professor Wang Jingsong, head of the Department of Performing Arts at our school, for winning the Best Actor award at the 39th Golden Horse Awards."

Wow, the Holy Son's prestige is terrifying.

Zhuang Huai'an, carrying a plastic bag, smoked a cigarette with the gatekeeper, Uncle Qin, and headed straight for the office building.

"Hello, senior."

Well, as soon as Zhuang Huai'an heard the voice, he knew who it was. He turned his head and saw the little girl standing not far away with another girl by her arm. She raised her other hand and waved it, and her face had a very sunny smile.

"Didn't you join the film crew?"

Zhuang Huai'an walked over, and whether it was from filming or from growing up, the little girl's baby fat looked like it was almost gone.

"I don't have any scenes to film recently, so Teacher Wang gave me time to go back to school and prepare for my final exams."

Liu Yifei was wearing a long, blood-red down jacket, and her breath was still steaming as she spoke. "By the way, senior, this is my classmate and my good friend, Zhou Yang."

Zhuang Huai'an was speechless at her coat. In his memory, she had worn this coat for at least 20 years.

"Hello, senior." Zhou Yang was a little reserved. In fact, none of the students at Beijing Film Academy were comfortable in front of Zhuang Huai'an.

What others start from may be the destination that you can never reach in your entire life.

"Hey, hello Zhou Yang."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled and nodded to the Third Holy Mother. She wasn't bad-looking at all, and had the air of a leading lady. Why did she have to get plastic surgery?

"Yangyang is my best friend at school," the little girl said, tilting her head back.

Not knowing what she was so smug about, Zhuang Huai'an teased, "Wasn't I your best friend at school? Tsk, woman, your name is fickle."

"Oh dear," the girl blushed and quickly said, "Then you are my best boyfriend, and Yangyang is my girlfriend."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Huai'an and Zhou Yang both had strange expressions, and Liu Yifei also realized that she had said the wrong thing, her face turning even redder.

"I'm ignoring you, Yangyang, let's go." The little girl stomped her foot, grabbed Zhou Yang, and ran off.

"Wait a minute, let's eat together later."

"I don't want to eat with you!"

Tsk, Zhuang Huai'an smiled and shook his head, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, and continued walking towards the office building.

As soon as I opened the office door, good heavens, it was filled with smoke again.

Old Wang sat in the main seat making tea, while Cao Baoping, a teacher from the Department of Dramatic Literature, sat to one side with a worried expression.

"Teacher, Teacher Cao."

Zhuang Huai'an went over to greet them and handed them cigarettes to refill their cigarettes, saying that smoking directly was better than smoking secondhand smoke.

What's wrong?

Receiving a signal from his good apprentice, Wang Hongwei gestured with his lip, indicating that he should ask the question himself.

"That doesn't seem to be a big problem," Zhuang Huai'an nodded, and asked, "Teacher Cao, what's wrong?"

"Hey, it's all about my movie."

Cao Baoping frowned and began to explain.

Zhuang Huai'an nodded repeatedly. The matter was simple. It was a tradition at the Beijing Film Academy that students and teachers of all majors dreamed of becoming directors.

Cao Baoping did the same; he wrote a book called "The Glorious Wrath," which Zhuang Huai'an had seen at Lao Wang's place and found to be quite well-written.

But the problem is that it's too realistic.

Given the nature of men, how could they possibly allow such a plot?

So they started making things difficult for people. Cao Baoping submitted the script three times, but it still didn't pass the review.

This time he made some changes again, and even went through Zhang Huijun's connections to submit it, but it was still rejected.

Cao Baoping angrily denounced the crimes of the officials, but Zhuang Huai'an found it somewhat tiresome to listen to.

You can't just listen to Lao Cao's side of the story. The men are difficult to deal with, but most of them are from academic backgrounds, and the majority are from the Beijing Film Academy.

Even though you got the head of the Beijing Film Academy to intervene, they still didn't give you face and sent it back, which shows that there is indeed a problem with this script.

In Zhuang Huai'an's view, the bad habits of these directors at Beijing Film Academy were set off by people like Tian Zhuangzhuang. It's not that you can't make realistic films, but you should tone it down a bit.

At this juncture, we are eager to make our voices heard in the world again. This is not a whitewash, but a genuine strategic decision.

Film is also a form of cultural exchange between countries. If you make a film and then screen it abroad without permission, what's the difference between that and blatantly exposing your wounds to others?

When people see this, they think, "Oh, so this is what the East is like."

May I ask?

The US also has its limits, and its directors incorporate realistic themes into their films, but they use allegory rather than direct dialogue, much like mainland Chinese directors, who practically tell you directly, "We are having a very difficult time."

You could say that Hollywood is also whitewashing the truth, but they have indeed created a very good image of the United States. A country's strength, while not solely dependent on movies, is absolutely inseparable from film propaganda.

(This is just one person's opinion; please engage in rational discussion and refrain from personal attacks if you disagree.)

Zhuang Huai'an did not agree with Cao Baoping; he simply listened quietly.

After complaining for a while, Cao Baoping wisely left.

"Old Cao, he's too calculating."

Wang Hongwei shook his head, also not understanding. He was one of the very few people at the Beijing Film Academy who had not been influenced by the so-called fifth generation of directors.

This is why Zhuang Huai'an always felt that Lao Wang was a good person to work with. As for the legendary "newbie village chief" Tian Zhuangzhuang, he really wasn't interested.

Without saying anything more, Zhuang Huai'an picked up the black plastic bag from beside his feet and said with a smile, "Master, this is a replica of the Golden Horse Award trophy. I brought it over."

"Good grief, you just use garbage bags to carry it?"

Old Wang was speechless. Even if you won the Golden Lion, you can't be so dismissive of the Golden Horse Award, can you?

Zhuang Huai'an said earnestly, "It's not a garbage bag, it's a new plastic bag. I even put an extra layer inside to protect it."

Good, good, you won an award, you're amazing.

Old Wang was too lazy to pay attention to him. Anyway, he had already achieved the educational results, and the trophy had nothing to do with him. He casually pointed and said, "Put it there."

"Alright."

The master and apprentice were chatting over tea when Wang Jingsong came over from next door.

The offices for the directing and acting departments are all on this floor, so it's quite convenient to visit each other.

With Wang Jingsong's arrival, Huang Xiaochu saw him in the corridor and joined in, followed by the other teachers from the performing arts department.

For a while, there wasn't enough room in Old Wang's office.

Seeing this, Old Wang waved his hand and said, "I'll pay for lunch today on the third floor of the cafeteria."

"Well, all talk and no action."

Wang Jingsong gave his cousin a disdainful look, stood up, and said, "I haven't treated anyone since I won the Golden Horse Award. Huai'an is here today, everyone's here, and the weather's perfect. Guys, Shaguoju or Donglaishun?"

"Then it must be Donglaishun!" Old Wang was very enthusiastic, as he didn't have to pay for it himself.

"Alright, let's go then?"

"Let's go!"

A group of people walked towards the parking lot, chatting and laughing.

The lively atmosphere frequently drew the attention of students who had just finished class.

In a corner, a young girl who wished to remain anonymous held her phone, watching Zhuang Huai'an surrounded by a crowd, and couldn't help but grit her teeth.

"You wretched man, your name is truly fickle!"

Zhou Yang, standing to the side, secretly chuckled as he looked at the pouting little girl.