Chapter 403: One in a Hundred, Establishing a New Award

The Beijing Film Academy's annual art examination has already been underway for several days; today is the day for the Performance Department's second round of auditions.

Liu Yifei got up early for once and even dressed herself quite formally.

A slim-fit women's suit made her look slightly dashing and capable.

Paired with heavy makeup, red lips, diamond-chip earrings, and long, draped hair, she truly had the air of a powerful career woman.

"Yifei, I'm not kidding, you really look like a boss scouting for talent, haha."

Sitting in the car, Wei Jin teased her.

Today was the day he had an appointment with Professor Cao; Wei Jin intended to hand the script for *Dearest* over to him.

The meeting place was at Beijing Film Academy, so it was convenient to give the young lady a ride.

"What? Brother, do you think it doesn't look good?" Liu Yifei raised her eyebrows, her tone somewhat provocative.

"That's not it, it's just that looking like this, I'm afraid you'll scare those candidates in the second round; after all, you don't look like a fairy at all, haha."

"Hateful, I don't want the fairy label anyway."

Amidst their laughter, the two had already arrived at Beijing Film Academy.

Unsurprisingly, Beijing Film Academy today could be described as a sea of people, with long queues already forming at the school gate.

Seeing this scene, Wei Jin couldn't help but sigh that there were more art examinees every year.

Moreover, each of them had great advantages in appearance, clearly the result of Beijing Film Academy's screening process.

You have to know that back when Wei Jin was in school, even someone like Huang Bai could get into the school.

"Brother, then I'll head over now?"

Liu Yifei asked while putting on the work badge issued by the school.

"Mm, go ahead. Call me when you're done, and I'll head straight to Professor Cao's side."

"Mm, okay, Brother."

As soon as Liu Yifei entered the campus, she was recognized, instantly attracting the attention of all the examinees.

"Is that Liu Yifei? Wow, so beautiful and dashing."

"She's the most popular actress right now, isn't she?"

"Sorry, I'm a fan of Senior Jing Tian, I don't agree with what you said."

"Have you all forgotten about my Da Meiyuan? That's a 1-billion-box-office heroine; across the country, Yuanyuan is the most beautiful."

"..."

The person who spoke didn't expect that there would be fans of various celebrities here, and the queue that had been orderly suddenly became chaotic.

Liu Yifei didn't know she had caused a stir in the queue; she went straight to the art examination site, and from afar, Teacher Zhou from the Performance Department started greeting her as soon as he saw her.

"Yifei."

"Teacher Zhou, I'm not late, am I?"

"No, no, there's still almost an hour left."

Teacher Zhou and Liu Yifei hadn't seen each other for a long time, so the two started chatting at the entrance of the examination hall.

"By the way, let me introduce you to Yang Zi and Zhang Yishan from the sophomore year."

"Hello, Senior."

"Hello, I haven't missed a single episode of your *Home with Kids*."

While speaking, Liu Yifei was also sizing them up, thinking about whether it was necessary to sign them.

Mm, she had thought about it for a long time and still felt she could try being a boss, but having a good rapport was the most important thing.

"Mm, let me observe them first."

Lao Zhu drove the car from the examination hall to the Director Department; parking was convenient over there.

Wei Jin headed straight for Professor Cao's office; as a professor at the Academy, the latter obviously had this privilege.

Along the way, he met several familiar teachers, but Wei Jin just exchanged simple greetings and didn't chat much.

Arriving at the place, Wei Jin knocked and entered, only to see Cao Baoping sitting upright behind his desk, wearing glasses.

"Professor Cao, are you busy?"

"Wei Jin is here, sit down quickly."

Cao Baoping greeted him and lifted the notebook in his hand.

"Mm, I'm pondering a script; currently, it's just an idea."

Wei Jin vaguely seemed to see keywords like youth, young girl, and family.

"Oh? Then will I be delaying you?"

"That won't happen; the way I do it requires slow conception and careful polishing, which can't compare to you, haha."

"Professor Cao is being modest; you are Beijing Film Academy's 300-million-box-office director, haha."

After some small talk, Wei Jin didn't delay any longer and handed the script over from his briefcase.

"Professor Cao, take a look at the script first."

"Good."

Taking the script, Cao Baoping didn't say much and started reading it on his own.

After about ten minutes or so, he looked up, feeling somewhat moved.

"The script is very good, combining both art and commerce; this is what our batch of directors should focus on, but it's a pity..."

Wei Jin nodded; it is actually not easy for art-house directors to transition, but if these art-house directors don't focus too excessively on marginal or traumatic events, they can actually achieve results.

For example, subjects like *Dearest*, *Dying to Survive*, and *Dwelling Narrowness* that focus on social phenomena such as child-seeking, drug prices, and housing prices.

"Then, Professor Cao, what is your intention?"

"I'll take it. As for the production crew, you should be the one to arrange it; it's more efficient."

"Alright, that's no problem. I will arrange for the Producer to coordinate with Teacher Cao."

Wei Jin agreed immediately. It was perfect; he could take this opportunity to slot Wen Muye into the crew for some training. His cheap junior brother was quite skilled when it came to realistic themes. Having only spent a little over half an hour with Teacher Cao, and since it was still early, Wei Jin took the chance to wander around the Director Department and visit the teachers.

Upon arriving, Wei Jin first went to see Teacher Jiang, who was in his office holding a thermos cup and taking large gulps of water.

"Teacher Jiang, drinking black goji berry tea again?"

Wei Jin teased with a smile. Old Jiang was getting on in years and had started focusing on health maintenance since last year; Teacher Zhang Jiandong had mocked him for it more than once.

"You brat, trying to annoy me the moment you arrive, aren't you?"

"How could I? Look, what is this?"

As he spoke, Wei Jin took a gift box in plastic-glass packaging out of his briefcase and handed it over.

"Teacher Jiang, this is authentic black goji berry from Xiyu. I guarantee you'll feel better after using it."

Wei Jin wasn't just blowing smoke; Nazha had brought this for him, saying it was for nourishing the kidneys and boosting Qi, but he didn't have any use for it. Wasn't this just perfect for giving Old Jiang a boost?

"I suppose you have a conscience, you brat."

Old Jiang beamed as he took the item. As for whether he would be mocked, once those people started having split urine streams, let's see if they could still laugh. Teacher Jiang then began chatting with Wei Jin; with the art exams happening, the topic was unavoidable.

The more Wei Jin listened, the more surprised he became. The competition at Beijing Film Academy this year was too intense. The number of applicants exceeded 25,000, but only 455 would eventually be admitted.

Because it was a major recruitment year for the Acting Department, the number of admissions had increased, nearly doubling from last year's 30 to reach 85.

Yet the competition was even fiercer, as over 8,000 candidates had applied to the Acting Department.

This acceptance rate was nearly one in a hundred; it was truly insane.

Wei Jin understood this, though. Over the past two years, with the influx of capital and hot money, the entertainment industry had become increasingly prosperous. Many artists became famous overnight, leading more people to dream of being stars.

To put it nicely, they liked being actors and liked the spotlight.

To put it bluntly, they just wanted to make a killing in this industry—who told them stars earned so much?

Back when Wei Jin first made it onto the Forbes Celebrity List, there weren't many stars or artists in the top ten.

But looking at last year's data, aside from Yao Ming, the rest of the top ten were all occupied by actors and Singers.

It was just hard to say how many of them would actually be able to stand out once they entered the industry. One had to know that top-tier resources were held in the hands of a few; every star's rise to the top was paved by stepping on countless competitors of the same level.

After chatting with Teacher Jiang for nearly an hour, Wei Jin went to Tian Zhuangzhuang's office.

Compared to Teacher Jiang, who liked to chat with Wei Jin about interesting anecdotes, Tian Zhuangzhuang was more concerned about Wei Jin's career.

"When do you plan to go to Venice again?"

"Teacher, I already have plans. Next year, I will launch another assault."

Speaking of this, Wei Jin suddenly remembered that there were some scripts in his mind that were actually quite suitable for Tian Zhuangzhuang.

If he could help Tian Zhuangzhuang earn some honors as well, that would surely be the best way to repay his mentor, right?

Furthermore, he could continue to expand his own influence and add fuel to the fire for establishing a new award later on!

Wei Jin then laid out his plans one by one. Unsurprisingly, Tian Zhuangzhuang expressed cautious support for Wei Jin's plan.

According to his own words, the old status quo was not so easily broken, and one still needed to wait for the right moment.

Wei Jin certainly agreed with this; he was still young and had enough patience.

After picking up Yifei to go home, the young girl spent the whole way chattering and complaining about today's art exam scene.

"Brother, you have no idea, I held it in so hard I almost died laughing. These art students have plenty of talent, but their general knowledge is just too poor—they couldn't even name all of the Four Great Inventions..."

Wei Jin wasn't surprised at all; there were so many fish that slipped through the net of nine-year compulsory education in the entertainment circle, it was perfectly normal.

Many stars in later generations marketed themselves as "straight-A students," but it was all nonsense.

Can scoring five hundred on the college entrance exam be called a "straight-A student"? That is an insult to the word!

"By the way, Brother, you were right. I really did scare quite a few students today, which made them a bit nervous during the interview. I plan to go without makeup tomorrow; that should be fine, right?"

"That's not necessarily true. If you don't change that face of yours, I'm afraid you'll still attract attention, haha."

"Brother, you only know how to say sweet things to coax—mmph."

Before the young girl could finish her sentence, Wei Jin kissed her, and it was another night of romance. Lin Yufen's speed was even faster than Wei Jin had imagined, though it was no wonder, as she was a veteran film and television professional with over twenty years of experience.

"Very good, Director Lin, this storyboard is well done. Let's proceed according to your ideas. Have you finished the budget?"

In the office, Wei Jin put down the materials in his hand and looked up to ask.

"President Wei, the film production department has already calculated it. If we control the actor costs, it's expected to be around 20 million."

Lin Yufen's tone was a bit hesitant, and she sighed inwardly, thinking that films and television dramas were different after all.

No matter who the director was, as long as a television drama was produced by Shanhe Media, there was no need to worry about not finding a TV station to pick it up.

But films were different. With a production cost of 20 million, including marketing and distribution, the film would need to gross over 100 million for the company to make a profit; the risk was indeed too great.

So Lin Yufen had even prepared herself to have the production budget cut, but to her surprise, Wei Jin's response was very straightforward.

"Director Lin, let's go with this budget. Do you have any thoughts regarding the actors?"

Lin Yufen was stunned upon hearing this, then immediately said, "President Wei, I haven't thought about that yet, but with so many artists in the company, I imagine we should be able to find a few suitable ones..."

Wei Jin laughed directly upon hearing this. Lin Yufen hadn't spent a short time at Tangren and had learned Miss Cai's style of only promoting her own people.

Moreover, as a television director, her previous way of working was for the company to consider the roles, so she hadn't adapted yet.

Or perhaps she was very observant and was waiting for the boss to make the final decision.

But honestly, for a youth film, as long as the image fits the character, there's no need for much acting skill, and this type of subject matter doesn't rely on actors as a selling point anyway.

"Alright, the company will submit the script for review. You go ahead and start the pre-production."

Speaking of this, Wei Jin paused; he had some thoughts regarding the roles.

"As for the roles, let me consider them first."

"Very well, President Wei."

Time had just entered late February when a piece of news from Berlin instantly ignited the entertainment circle.

Ning Hao had won the Best Director Silver Bear at this year's Berlin International Film Festival for "The Great Buddha"!

"Commercial blockbuster director Ning Hao, campaigning at the European Big Three for the first time, captures the Silver Bear!"

"Ning Hao delivers his acceptance speech, thanking Director Wei Jin for the script, and vows to continue chasing awards in the future!"

"Wei Jin's script aids in winning the Silver Bear; the golden screenwriter's reputation is well-deserved!"

Campaigning for the first time and directly winning the Best Director Silver Bear, with Chinese films having come up empty-handed this year, the entire film and television news landscape is filled with the news of Ning Hao capturing the bear.

The most critical point is that Ning Hao won the Silver Bear relying on Wei Jin's script; does this mean others can replicate this path?

It just so happens to be the Beijing Film Academy art examinations, so the school leadership is quite happy right now.

The bright red banners had long been prepared, and they were hung up as soon as the news came back, firmly maintaining tradition without wavering.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, you've achieved your wish, haha."

Wei Jin calculated the time and called Ning Hao, his tone also carrying joy.

"Hahaha, I had good luck this time. I originally thought getting an Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award would be enough; I didn't expect it to be Best Director, haha."

Ning Hao laughed somewhat exaggeratedly, and Wei Jin could even hear Xing Aina's voice reminding him over the phone.

"How is it? When do you plan to come back? I have a script waiting for you here."

"Wait until the copyright transactions are finished; you don't know these foreigners."

Across the phone, Ning Hao started grumbling again; in fact, Wei Jin already knew about these situations beforehand.

Because it was his first time participating in a film festival, despite the gimmick of Wei Jin's script, the copyright sales for The Great Buddha were not optimistic.

Even after receiving unanimous praise on-site following the premiere, the distributors' offers were only 1.4 million USD, and Wei Jin had advised waiting until after the closing ceremony at the time.

Regarding this, Ning Hao also held his breath and kept holding onto it without selling, even though he couldn't guarantee there would be an award.

Fortunately, all the persistence at this moment is worth it.

According to Ning Hao's complaints, the current offer has already reached 6.8 million, and it is estimated that with some haggling, it could reach 8 million.

The production cost of this film does not exceed 10 million, and although it will likely be unable to be screened in Mainland China, the copyright price alone has already achieved excess profit!

After chatting for a while, Wei Jin hung up the phone, his spirits somewhat uplifted.

Once Tian Zhuangzhuang picks a script and Zhang Yimou starts working, Shanhe Media might be even more dazzling next year; his own plans will be realized step by step!

(End of this chapter)