Chapter 1777: Difficulty

As they spent more time together, Xu Shengli realized that although Wang Yan only had a middle school education, he still had culture and depth. And upon hearing that Wang Yan wanted to make a movie, he was happy because he finally had a chance to gain practical experience, but he still didn't think highly of Wang Yan, believing Wang Yan was purely acting on a nouveau riche impulse, doing whatever came to mind.

But after listening to Wang Yan's more detailed story concept, the whole person was not very good, because the structure of the story was very good, very interesting, and also had suspense and reversals. In his view as a not-famous and unprofessional screenwriter, as long as it is filmed qualifiedly, it will be a good movie.

"Brother Yan, amazing! Truly amazing!" Xu Shengli clapped excitedly, "This story of yours is really great. As long as it can be filmed, it definitely won't be bad! Brother Yan, don't worry, I will definitely write a good script."

"Nonsense, I won't use it if you write it badly." Wang Yan looked disgusted.

Xu Shengli wasn't the least bit embarrassed, and instead asked: "Brother Yan, what is our movie called? Have you prepared a title?"

"The Man from Earth."

A group of people savored it, and all said that this name was well taken, very appropriate, and people were interested just by hearing the name, etc.

Tao Liangliang asked: "Brother Yan, what about me? How do you arrange it?"

"I think you should be able to compose music, right? Didn't we say we needed someone for the soundtrack? If you can, then do the soundtrack based on the script Xu Shengli writes. If you can't, then later we'll have Brother Cui find someone, and you can tag along to learn. Having more skills is never a burden; learning more is always the right thing to do."

"Then you'd better find someone to do it, Brother Yan, I'll follow and learn. If you really hand over the music to me, I dare not do it. I can write a few melodies myself, but I can't produce, and I don't have confidence in my melodies. If I mess it up, how can I be worthy of you. You find someone to do it, I follow and learn, and I can supervise, not letting people fool you."

Tao Liangliang is very realistic and speaks very sincerely.

"Okay, your understanding of yourself is relatively clear. Put a few more saxophone music in the movie, all handed over to you to play."

"Good, good, good, I will definitely play well, and take out all my life's skills." Tao Liangliang giggled happily, and then tentatively asked, "Then Brother Yan, do you say I can play a small role playing the saxophone in it?"

"It's definitely doable. You certainly can't play the main roles, but there are other scenes; Xu Shengli can just look into adding them."

Zhuang Zhuang asked: "What about me?"

"You sing, I'll see if I can fix two songs, all handed over to you to sing." Wang Yan looked at Cao Ye again, "You just follow and do odd jobs. There must be places where painting is needed in it. You also look at the script, study metaphors, etc., and create a few, and then put them in the movie.

I will also give Old Guo a holiday when the time comes, and let him play a main role. Everyone is engaged in art, this time is a good opportunity, let's not be idle."

This made Cao Ye, who was originally uninterested and thought it would delay making money, come to spirit: "Really use my painting? Brother Yan?"

"I've already finished talking, what's true or false. Even if it's fake, you still have to paint. If you have a little pursuit, your hands can't be raw. Running sales is temporary, art is eternal."

"Right, Brother Yan, art is eternal, I actually haven't given up my pursuit of art. You look at it, I will definitely take my life's skills to paint."

Cao Ye also wants to use his life's skills, but in fact, looking at his performance in the play, his talent points are poor, he might not have it. Of course, his painting is actually quite okay, it's just that painting can only be the most basic point if he wants to become a famous painter.

Shen Ranran said: "Brother Yan, I called Brother Cui when I came back

Wang Yan nodded: "Sooner is better than later. Let's do it tomorrow at noon; we'll have a meal together at that restaurant on the street."

"Alright, then I'll go call Brother Cui right now." Shen Ranran replied, and trotted off to make the call.

Just like that, the matter was settled. The group ate and drank, and just like Guo Zongbao, they began to fantasize about the movie's success, how everyone would reap huge benefits, how they would all successfully embark on their artistic dreams, and they thanked Wang Yan for putting up the money and being willing to bring them along, and so on.

This group of people were not bad people; they were all ordinary, common people. They wanted to pursue their dreams but seemed unable to give it their all, and also seemed tired to the point of death. They seemed to be bumping around like headless flies, yet also seemed to have clear goals. This is a portrait of many people.

But at this moment, they were high-spirited and advancing, full of hope, and had clear goals. They all drank a lot of alcohol, said many heartfelt words, and all expressed their willingness to work their lives away for Wang Yan, saying Wang Yan was their guiding light, and so on...

Brother Cui, whose real name is Cui Lin. He is the Brother Cui in Shen Ranran's mouth, but in the mouths of a large crowd of directors, producers, etc., he is Little Cui. He wants to truly be a Brother Cui, wants to be a Director Cui.

He is indeed an assistant director, but assistant director is just a position, not the second-in-command on a film crew. He still has to serve tea and pour water for others, smile at those above him, and he can't bring himself to put pressure on those below him. Day after day, it really is bitter, tiring, and difficult—pain, pain, pain.

Unexpectedly, a young girl he met by chance actually wanted to introduce him to a project, and it was someone who had just made a little money and wanted to fulfill a movie dream, wanting to hire him as an assistant director.

He was more than willing to do it!

Everything requires a resume and experience. Being a director is of course best done with experience, but the problem is that a movie costs hundreds of thousands or millions in capital; how can one feel at ease handing that over to someone without experience?

Although those experienced directors can't guarantee a steady profit, their odds of winning are always higher, and their losses can be smaller. Moreover, some movies involve many complex issues, and if it's not one of their own people, there's no way they'd be allowed to take the lead.

Now that this little nouveau riche's movie has found him, and he wants to make a movie without understanding anything related to it, wouldn't him being the assistant director be equivalent to him being the director? And listening to Shen Ranran's implication, it's clear she wants him to help pull together a film crew, which is even better.

After all, when he introduces jobs to others, he can also build up many connections and sell many favors. From behind the scenes to in front of the camera, a production involves quite a few people. Even if it's a small project with few hands, it still requires dozens of people.

Therefore, he attached great importance to today's meeting, even dressing specifically in a suit and leather shoes, wearing a tie with his short-sleeved shirt, and his hair was styled to be slick and shiny.

The Wang Yan he met exceeded his expectations. He had originally thought the person he met would also be dressed in a suit and leather shoes with a slicked-back hairstyle, fitting the successful person attire of this era. Unexpectedly, the person he actually met was just someone in a short-sleeved shirt, big shorts, sandals, and a fluffy middle-part hairstyle.

"Brother Yan, this is Brother Cui." Shen Ranran acted as the introducer.

"Cui Lin."

While speaking, Cui Lin had already reached out with both hands to catch Wang Yan's hand, shaking it very excitedly, "I'll just call you Brother Yan like Ranran does. I've long heard Ranran mention you. You came to the capital all by yourself, empty-handed, and in two months you opened a factory and created a huge situation. Truly amazing! To be able to meet you, I am truly thrice blessed."

"We're all our own people, no need to be so polite."

Wang Yan patted Cui Lin on the shoulder, and Cui Lin also released his hands at the right time and sat down beside Wang Yan.

There were only four people eating today, just with the addition of Zhuangzhuang, who was on Wang Yan's other side, having come along to eat.

Once the dishes were all served, both sides exchanged pleasantries for a while. Cui Lin appeared very enthusiastic, flattering Wang Yan as he spoke, keeping his posture quite low. After drinking a glass of wine while chatting and laughing, they were considered familiar with each other.

Zhuangzhuang took two sheets of paper out of the bag placed to the side and handed them over. Wang Yan took them, unfolded them, and handed them to Cui Lin: "This is the movie outline. Take a look from a professional perspective and see how we should film it and what the budget will be."

"Brother Yan, you flatter me. I'm also just a newcomer in the film and television industry; there are still many things I don't understand, so I wouldn't dare call myself professional. I'll just give you a rough idea based on my experience to serve as a reference for you."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, signaling for Cui Lin to take a look before speaking.

Cui Lin read quite seriously, while Wang Yan, Zhuangzhuang, and Shen Ranran chatted and ate casually. The three of them were quite at ease; after all, they were already familiar with each other, so the conversation was natural, and there was no pressure while eating and drinking.

Cui Lin read the two pages for about ten minutes, then counted on his fingers, his mouth opening and closing silently as he silently calculated the required manpower and material resources.

"Brother Yan, this idea is very good; it's a good script. Moreover, the scenes are relatively simple, the costumes, makeup, and props aren't complex—just find a decent house and it'll do. There aren't many characters, no big scenes, so these won't cost much money. The filming time doesn't need to be too long either; it can basically be finished in a little over a month.

If we don't hire famous actors and they are all newcomers, I estimate that about 300,000 or so should be enough. If you want the production to be a bit better, then add another 100,000 or so, and we'll look for improvements in the visuals and set design. That's about 500,000.

At the same time, considering various unexpected accidents, as well as our movie registration, submission for review, release, etc., there must also be certain public relations expenses. Add another 100,000 or so for redundancy, and it's about between 450,000 and 650,000. Having this much money is more than enough."

Seeing Wang Yan nod but not speak, still gnawing on a large bone, Cui Lin couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yan, how much do you plan to invest in this movie?"

"At most 200,000."

Cui Lin asked again: "Then do you have any plans for the other funds?"

"No." Wang Yan shook his head very honestly, "Didn't you say this story is good? The bosses you know are all willing to invest in movies. Are there any big bosses who don't care about these small change amounts and would reward us with some?"

"To tell you the truth, it's difficult!" Cui Lin sighed and said, "Brother Yan, there are too many good stories, but money is scarce. Everyone knows those big bosses have money in their hands, and everyone wants to get money out of them. Who do you think the big bosses will invest in? However, we can't say it's impossible; we can't rule out that some big boss might just like our script, and then they might invest money, you never know."

Cui Lin was being quite tactful. It's indeed not easy to attract investment, and besides, who is Cui Lin? He knows big bosses, but the big bosses don't know him.

"What you say makes sense." Wang Yan nodded and pondered, "I've also been asking around about these things recently. Isn't there some kind of movie support fund?"

"Brother Yan, isn't that even harder? There are so many good scripts waiting; how could it ever reach us? Moreover, we don't know anyone, so we can't even get a word in. Even if we submit the script, it'll just be used to prop up a table leg."

Wang Yan pondered again and sighed: "We are so close to the Capital Film Studio, how could we have forgotten them? Like this, you also reach out and see if there's anyone who wants to invest, and register it while you're at it. Once the script is written, I'll go to the film studio and take a look. They have everything they need; if they really agree to invest money, that would be great."

Cui Lin didn't know what to say anymore. It was as if the film studio was run by his family, which really left him speechless.

He could only smile bitterly and put away the two sheets of paper: "Brother Yan, I will definitely do my best to find investment. If I find someone interested, you might have to go over and talk to them yourself."

"Easy enough."

"Then if our film is really to be registered and started, as for the director..."

"Didn't I say I would direct it?"

Cui Lin nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, Brother Yan, but after all, you are an outsider crossing over. If you are funding it entirely yourself, then that's that, but if you still want to attract investment, you have no experience, and those big bosses might not trust us. Don't you think so?"

"What you say is correct, but I'm investing money because I want to film it." Wang Yan raised his wine glass, "Just do your best to find someone. Later, I'll go talk to them. If it works, it works; if not, forget it. If the problem can't be solved for a while, then just forget it. By next year, I estimate it won't be a problem for me to get 700,000 or 800,000, and it'll be the same if I play with it myself then."

"Yes, Brother Yan, if you say so, then I have nothing to say. I'm just afraid you'll be anxious and then be too disappointed if the funding can't be negotiated."

"Alright, the matter is just like that. If it works, it works; if not, we'll talk later. Come, come, come, this is our first time meeting, eat well and drink well. Focus on eating; don't force yourself to drink if you can't."

After the business was finished, the rest of the time spent together was quite pleasant.

Cui Lin discovered that he was actually having a great conversation with Wang Yan, whom he had imagined to be a nouveau riche and a roughneck. Especially since he specifically discussed film production with Wang Yan and pulled Shen Ranran in to chat about actors' performances, Wang Yan was actually able to make sense of it all. Although his terminology might not be professional and he sounded like an outsider, the meaning he expressed was indeed on point.

This made him feel that maybe Wang Yan really was a directing genius, and he couldn't help but hold quite high expectations for this film; even if it didn't work out this year, it could work out next year. Although he might not be able to actually lead the filming as he had imagined, it certainly wasn't a garbage project. And the functions he would undertake were destined to be more significant.

He was quite content.

After the meal was finished, the host and guests were all happy, and Cui Lin left with beautiful expectations for the future.

"Ranran, are you a bit disappointed?"

Zhuangzhuang saw that Shen Ranran's spirits weren't very high and couldn't help but ask.

"No, it was something we had already discussed. Brother Yan had already said it might not succeed, so how could I be disappointed." Shen Ranran sighed, "I just feel that making a movie is too difficult. Brother Yan has 200,000 and it's still not enough; he still has to look at other people's faces."

"Feeling sorry for me?" Wang Yan raised an eyebrow at Zhuangzhuang.

Unsurprisingly, he received a light punch from Zhuangzhuang.

Shen Ranran quickly explained: "I'm afraid Brother Yan's money will all go down the drain."

"You've said this many times before. I'm not even afraid, what are you afraid of? Alright, let's go back. I'll talk to Xu Shengli again and strive to get the script out quickly, then go to the film studio to try our luck."

Shen Ranran let out another long sigh and followed Wang Yan and Zhuangzhuang back to Winter Goes, Spring Comes, her mind elsewhere...

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