Chapter 13: Rainy Conversations in the Minibus

Zhang Yi smiled, "You guys just love to tease me. Yang Zi, you're the art director, what exactly have you directed?"

"Hey, Director Zhang, that's not fair. Didn't I go pick out the hoe the mute character used? Didn't everyone say it was a great choice when I brought it back, with its unique shape? And that little doll Nini held, wasn't it good-looking? Didn't I go borrow it from that young wife? If I hadn't directed that, would she have agreed?"

"Little Yang Zi, if you put it that way, then I, A-Mei, am the script supervisor, the hair and makeup artist, and the tea server."

"Then I am too: producer, production manager, assistant director, executive director, and lighting technician," Li Xiaotian added with a laugh, joining in the fun.

With the heavy rain sealing off the mountains, the dozen or so people trapped in the minibus had nowhere to go, so they started chatting away lively.

"Director Zhang, I heard that you and Brother Li funded this film yourselves. Is that true or false?" Someone suddenly asked a sensitive question. The bus, which had been buzzing with activity, suddenly went quiet, and everyone looked at Zhang Yi and Li Xiaotian.

Zhang Yi glanced at the expressionless Li Xiaotian, smiled, and said, "True."

For a moment, everyone looked at each other, no one saying a word, until the cinematographer Xu Jun squeezed out two words: "Badass."

Zhang Yi chuckled and said, "Badass my foot."

Chen Nuo felt like laughing; the Sichuan dialect Zhang Yi used was something he had taught him, but it carried a unique Beijing flavor.

"We're all in the film business; only a fool would bet their entire net worth on one movie. Film is inherently high-risk. You think it's good, I think it's bad. A hundred people have a hundred pairs of ears and a hundred mouths, but how many viewers does a film have? A hundred thousand? A million? Who dares to pat their chest and say, 'My film will definitely be acclaimed by all and sell like crazy'? And who dares to bet their life and livelihood on it?"

Zhang Yi began a long-winded speech: "But you guys don't know how miserable we film directing students have it. Just take our film academy—out of twenty-some students in a grade studying directing, how many actually end up directing?"

"Everyone says that the generation of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are the Fifth Generation directors, the backbone of Chinese cinema, but they've been carrying the load for so many years now. Where is the Sixth Generation? What about seniors like Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye, or Lu Xue? Can anyone see their films in theaters?"

"After them, when it's our turn, it's even more miserable. To say nothing else, just look at my undergraduate classmates: those who shoot music videos shoot music videos, those who shoot commercials shoot commercials. Even wanting to be an assistant director means being picked over, and trying to independently shoot a short film is difficult. Many have changed careers; I know one who is selling insurance now."

"And me? My heart is higher than the heavens, but my life is thinner than paper. I previously begged and pleaded to scrape together some money and shot two films, but one was thrown into a film festival and didn't even make a splash, and the other wasn't even finished before the boss said they wouldn't invest anymore."

"Actually, for the second film, we were at fault too," Li Xiaotian interjected.

Zhang Yi said, "Tian'er, it wasn't 'we,' it was actually me. But it wasn't entirely my fault. With a few hundred thousand yuan, you can't hire good actors, so you have to find them yourself. My luck was a bit bad back then; I found someone unreliable, and no matter how we shot it, it felt wrong. In the end, the investor had complaints, and honestly, I couldn't keep shooting either."

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Nuo and suddenly smiled, "You guys say our film is blessed by the heavens, and honestly, I think so too. The plan was for two months of shooting, and we wrapped in just over a month. The schedule was constantly moved forward, which really wore Tian'er and the others out. But I dare to pat my chest and say that the final film will definitely have a great effect."

Xu Jun said, "It's mainly Little Chen. I've been in the circle for a long time, and I really haven't seen many actors like Little Chen. He really acts well."

"Hey, Little Chen, you must be quite young. When did you start acting?" asked He Yang, who was doing both lighting and art direction.

Chen Nuo opened his mouth, but felt like a stone was stuck in his throat, and no sound came out.

Zhang Yi said, "He's still in character, leave him be. I know his situation; this is his first film. He originally came to Jingcheng to attend some shady training class, wanting to get into the film academy, but ended up being tricked by me."

At this, Zhang Yi chuckled, "I told him I'd hired some veteran actors for this film who could teach him how to act, and he came. Haha." Everyone laughed upon hearing this.

"Little Chen, listen to me, with your level, you don't need to study anymore. Who could teach you?" someone said.

"You can't say that," Zhang Yi shook his head and said, "He's currently completely self-taught; he still needs to study systematically, even delve into it. Throughout history, which master of performance didn't understand theory? Not a single one. A purely self-taught or naturally gifted actor can't reach the peak. But then again, without talent, no matter how hard you work, it won't work. Having a good appearance and looking the part—at most, you're just a tool."

"...Director, do you think Chen Nuo's looks only 'pass'?" someone asked softly.

"Hahahaha..."

This remark suddenly triggered a burst of laughter from everyone.

"Little Li, are you jealous?" someone shouted loudly.

"Brother Li, I think you're not bad either, it's just that you have a few more wrinkles on your face, your eyes are a bit smaller, and your nose is a bit flatter. Go to Hancheng for a facelift and some plastic surgery, and when you come back, you could compete with Chen Nuo, really."

Hearing the makeup artist's teasing, everyone's laughter grew even louder.

Zhang Yi laughed along for a while and said, "This is why I say Chen Nuo's future is limitless. You watch him act and you think he'll definitely become an excellent, powerful actor, but you look at his face and you'd think it's a waste of heaven's gift if he doesn't go shoot 'Meteor Garden.' An actor like him really can't be found anywhere else in the world. That's why I say if the film academy doesn't take him, it's truly against the laws of nature. But don't praise him too much; in this circle, whether you make it or not depends on fate."

"Just like this film of ours, everyone said it was good while we were shooting, but... who knows what the final result will be? Maybe it won't even sell, and we'll just have to burn it."

Zhang Yi forced a smile.

Everyone in the bus stopped talking. That's right. A film with an investment of only a few hundred thousand—everyone talked about it so excitedly, as if there were some real hope. But in reality? In the end, it would probably just gather dust in some distributor's warehouse. Never seeing the light of day for the rest of its life.

That is reality.

The dream awakened, and the rain gradually lightened, the once-fierce raindrops turning into gentle, fine threads, softly caressing the texture and skin of this world.

The bus could finally get back on the road.

The group first returned to the county seat to check out of their hotel, and then headed back to Jingcheng.

After entering the city, people kept getting off the bus along the way. Everyone left quite casually, waving their hands and saying "bye-bye," and that was the farewell.

Everyone seemed very nonchalant, because this is the norm in this circle—everyone is constantly rushing from one journey to another, from one destination to another starting point.

Chen Nuo didn't stay with Zhang Yi until the end either; he got off at a subway station halfway.

(End of chapter)