Chapter 446: Chen Nuo's Ideal

The episodic director system is actually very common in Hollywood series.

For a Hollywood series with an investment of over 100 million, there are many benefits to the episodic director system, the most critical of which are two points.

First, as Chen Nuo just said, it can improve production efficiency. When one director shoots the first episode and another director begins preparing the third, working in parallel can advance the shooting schedule faster and shorten the production cycle.

Second, with many directors participating together, under the control of the executive producer or head director, episodic directors can boldly attempt different styles in specific plot points, injecting a sense of freshness for the audience.

Current and future hit series like *House of Cards*, *Game of Thrones*, *Stranger Things*, *The Mandalorian*, and *Chernobyl* all adopt this model.

*House of Cards*, which is currently in a state of suspension, only had its first two episodes directed by David Fincher himself. After he established the style and tone of the entire series, the remaining episodes were handed over to be taken up in turns by directors such as James Foley, Carl Franklin, and Robin Wright.

In other words, as long as the core creative team is strong enough and there is an executive producer or head director who can oversee the overall situation and ensure stylistic unity, the episodic director system can not only accelerate the shooting schedule but also enhance the diversity and appeal of the series, avoiding aesthetic fatigue for the audience.

Domestically, for some large-scale productions, such as *The Return of the Condor Heroes* that Chen Nuo filmed back then, Zhang Jizhong adopted this model. It is commonly known as the "Producer-Centric System."

Zhang Jizhong, as the producer, controlled the overall style from the center, while Yu Min and a certain Mr. Huang were responsible for filming different chapters respectively.

Later, for the 2015 series *Nirvana in Fire*, directors Kong Sheng and Li Xue also did something similar.

And the final attempt that truly approached the Hollywood model would have to wait until the 2018 series *Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace*.

The mainland is like this, but what about Hong Kong?

To put it bluntly, with limited funds and limited resources, crews like TVB's are basically still stuck in the "handicraft workshop" stage. In this year of 2011, the production process is no different from the 90s.

When Chen Nuo proposed adopting the episodic director system, the entire conference room suddenly became lively.

There is no need to go into detail about the discussion process, because there really wasn't much room for discussion. Regardless of anything else, in the situation of building the sets himself, the episodic director system was almost the only way to improve progress.

As for which directors to invite, that wasn't something Chen Nuo decided on a whim.

Not long after, once Chen Nuo had arranged the tasks, he announced the end of the meeting.

The employees below had excited expressions on their faces, whispering to each other as they filed out of the conference room one by one.

However, Du Qifeng, Peng Haoxiang, and Wei Jiahui—the executive producer, director, and lead screenwriter—as well as Luo Rui, all stayed behind.

Facing this group of core members, Chen Nuo began speaking in Chinese to express his meaning more precisely.

"What I just said is actually just a prototype of what I have in mind right now. Next, I'll have to trouble you, Director Du, to take Haozai, Brother Hui, and Brother Hai to determine the ideal directors in your minds based on the script content of each episode. It's best to have two for each, a first choice and a backup. Once we finalize the series schedule, we'll go and coordinate with their availability."

"But the budget..." Du Qifeng glanced at Luo Rui.

"Don't worry about that."

Du Qifeng's expression was somewhat complex; he pondered for a moment and nodded: "Alright."

"Director Du, relax, you'll have no problem," Chen Nuo comforted him.

Du Qifeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He knew the other party must have seen through it.

What he was actually worried about wasn't the budget at all. If some minor directors came, or directors like Chen Kexin who have strong directing skills but no obvious personal style, he would also believe he would have no problem.

But what if Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, or Wong Kar-wai came... directors whose personal styles are so strong that one could feel them even with eyes closed just by hearing the voice—what would he do then?

Damn.

Du Qifeng truly felt that the 1 million per episode producer fee he was receiving was a bit of a hot potato; one careless move and he might ruin his 30-year reputation as a director!

Chen Nuo turned his head to look at Peng Haoxiang again: "Xiangzai, don't blame me either."

Peng Haoxiang pushed up his glasses and asked: "Boss, I don't. As a company lackey, whoever you want me to cut, I'll cut... but are you sure the head director is me?"

"Of course."

"Even if Zhang Yimou or Jiang Wen come, they have to listen to me?"

"It's not listening to you," Chen Nuo said with a serious face, "but accepting the coordination and scheduling of you and Director Du as the two executive producers."

"After all, we are filming a television series."

"For example, Director Zhang, I think he might be very suitable to film the third episode. As for Jiang Wen, maybe the fifth episode would be quite good. Although I hope to let each director play to their strengths based on the content of the episodes, the overall tone must be unified."

Peng Haoxiang grinned: "OK, I understand. I have no problem."

Not knowing what he was thinking of, he had a mischievous smile on his face. Chen Nuo couldn't be bothered to ask further. Seeing that the two key figures, Du Qifeng and Peng Haoxiang, understood his meaning, and since he had other things to do tonight, he announced that they were officially finished for the day.

Behind Chen Nuo, Gulinazha followed the man's hurried footsteps, watching him talk to the blonde foreign girl while walking toward the parking lot, feeling truly confused and puzzled in her heart.

The point of her confusion was not the content of what Chen Nuo said, but his attitude.

The last time Gulinazha saw Chen Nuo this serious was at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Since then, no matter what happened, he didn't easily express his opinions; the feeling was just, whatever happens, happens.

Like the paparazzi ambush incident at his birthday party a few days ago.

If any other star in China encountered this situation, they would just put on a mask or use a bag to cover their face and get past it.

But he insisted on not doing that.

When she saw that photo on Weibo, if it weren't for the clothes, she really wouldn't have recognized who that person was.

Pulling the brim of his hat down to the tip of his nose, wrapping his entire face tightly with his jacket, head down, acting all sneaky—he looked just like someone stealing an electric scooter. It made her feel just as speechless and amused as the netizens who left comments in the media section saying, "Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter."

Gulinazha really racked her brains and couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

Is there any other star in China who would do such a "self-destructive" thing?

Fortunately, after that photo exploded online, it didn't cause any negative consequences; instead, it triggered a wave of imitation. In the past few days, Weibo, Hupu, Tianya, and Tieba have all been full of netizens cosplaying his look, learning his mannerisms, and having a blast playing with the meme.

She saw a report in the *Southern Weekly* yesterday that did a deep analysis of the matter.

It wrote quite a lot, and one point Gulinazha remembered was that the reporter said Chen Nuo "hasn't lived the way the public wanted him to since the first time he officially announced a relationship. But now, regarding the big and small things that happen to him, the public, who are usually extremely harsh on other stars, appears infinitely tolerant toward him..."

That reporter felt "this has to do with the 'don't care' temperament he carries."

It said, "This temperament has followed him like a shadow since he first appeared in the public eye. Years later, as his trophies, titles, and influence have grown, it has become even more apparent."

"Therefore..."

Gulinazha really felt that was spot on.

Having been the other party's assistant for almost a year, she discovered that there aren't many things left in this world that her boss values.

To put it bluntly, besides sleeping and sleeping with people, there doesn't seem to be much else.

Therefore, she felt it was particularly strange at this moment.

It's just a TV series, is it necessary to be like this? The company hasn't even invested money into it yet.

If it's filmed well, earn a bit more. If it's filmed poorly, earn a bit less. Is it worth being so concerned? When promoting *Inception*, she didn't see that kind of expression on Chen Nuo's face.

Serious, solemn, one could even say there was a sense of tension.

Others might not be able to tell, but she spends 16 hours a day with him, and she could really tell.

She couldn't understand it.

He was clearly so relaxed and at ease on the plane, yet one day later... After getting into the car, with no outsiders around, Gulinazha finally couldn't help but ask this question.

After listening, Chen Nuo couldn't help but laugh.

He opened his mouth, originally wanting to say, don't listen to the nonsense in the magazines about not caring; on the contrary, he just cares about too many things and his desires are too strong.

This series is also no small case.

If it could really be as popular as *Squid Game* in his previous life, the money he would earn could circle the Earth. Who wouldn't be serious?

Don't look at how Du Qifeng was haggling over director fees and set construction fees at the meeting just now; that's because many people don't believe that a TV series produced by China can achieve great success in the Western world and earn so much money.

If they knew... then it would be different...

Chen Nuo's train of thought stopped right there.

The answer he had prepared didn't even make it out of his mouth.

When the meeting ended, Chen Nuo had switched cars with a newly hired Hong Kong employee.

There was no help for it; he had been wandering around Hong Kong today, the news had already been released, and now there were probably over eight hundred pairs of eyes in Hong Kong staring at him. They wanted to see if he would go to meet someone. That person had even said when contacting him that there were many reporters ambushed at her door, and she had only managed to slip out under the cover of her parents and sister. In the end, she still had a friend help her book a room online.

This forced Chen Nuo to be doubly careful.

Facts proved that his caution was necessary.

When the car drove out of the parking lot and onto the road from the back, he immediately saw that the rear windows of several cars on the side of the road were open, revealing a few gaps, and black, hollow lenses were aimed at the exit.

"Get down."

He said this and immediately lay down on the back seat, and Gulinazha also buried herself down. The space in the back seat of the Corolla was very small, and the consequence of both of them burying themselves down was that their heads were very close together.

The faint perfume on Gulinazha's body kept rushing into his nose; it was actually a scent he was quite familiar with.

"Did you change brands?"

"What?"

"Perfume."

"Oh, oh... yes, I changed it." Gulinazha's heartbeat accelerated a little.

Chen Nuo didn't guess the girl's little thoughts.

As a normal person, who the hell would think that someone would put effort into a scent to increase the immersion of role-playing during certain fantasies?

He just thought that Gulinazha felt the South African beauty was a nice person after coming into contact with Theron, so she switched to Dior J'adore, and he didn't say anything.

Successfully evading the paparazzi at the hotel entrance, Linghu drove this ordinary Toyota Corolla through the cross-harbor tunnel, drove to an intersection on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, and stopped. For the sake of caution, he got out of the car to look around in all directions before climbing back into the car and confirming: "Mr. Chen, there is no problem."

Chen Nuo was still quite confident in Linghu's reconnaissance skills. Ever since there was a small slip-up in Canada, this person's self-esteem seemed to have been hurt, and since then, there hadn't been any leaks in finding paparazzi.

He immediately put on a mask and sunglasses and said to Linghu and Gulinazha: "You guys go back and rest, come pick me up at 6:30 tomorrow morning."

"Boss, I'd better stay with you, let Xiao Gu drive the car back," Linghu said.

What Xiao Gu, you're the one who's Xiao Ling... Gulinazha slandered in her heart. But she immediately spoke up: "Boss, let Brother Linghu drive the car back, I'll stay with you. In case something happens, I, I can also help you handle it."

Chen Nuo pondered for a moment and nodded: "Alright then, Nazha come with me. Linghu, drive the car back."

Wen Yongshan was very smart; she knew that the more high-end the hotel, the more dangerous it was at this time, so the hotel she booked was only a three-star one, right on the side of the road, ordinary and quite inconspicuous. When Chen Nuo and Gulinazha walked in together, they looked like a couple returning to their room. The receptionist on duty just looked up once, didn't pay any attention, and continued to bury their head.

"Boss, I... I... where... am I staying tonight?"

Once inside the elevator, Chen Nuo was just letting out a sigh of relief when he heard Gulinazha stammering in a low voice. He turned his head and said, "What did you say?"

"I mean..." Gulinazha felt her face burning, and she stuttered, "Don't I need to book another room?"

Chen Nuo understood and said, "She booked two rooms."

"Ah, oh, okay."

It wasn't just two rooms; to avoid gossip, they were even on different floors, which left Gulinazha feeling vaguely disappointed.

Especially since the soundproofing in this crappy hotel was terrible. After showering and getting ready for bed, the couple next door kept making all sorts of noises, which was incredibly annoying. Pouting, she shoved in her earphones and started playing a CD.

It sounded so good. Sister Yang Mi was truly a good person; she acted well and was a kind person too, gifting not just the CD but the CD player as well. What a pity. If she had known, she would have gone back there to sleep. The Ritz-Carlton cost thousands a night; it was such a waste. What is the boss doing right now? I really want to see... and hear it.

Thinking and thinking, Gulinazha, who had been busy all day, drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

……

……

"You have something on your mind? What are you thinking about?"

In this world, if one were to talk about the person who understands Chen Nuo best, besides Gulinazha, Wen Yongshan could definitely be counted as one of them.

Having lived together for quite some time, the woman would discover it the very first moment he acted out of the ordinary.

Chen Nuo was a bit speechless, "What's wrong?"

Wen Yongshan looked at him, blinked her eyes, and said, "What do you think?"

"I am thinking about some things."

"Like what?"

Chen Nuo looked back and saw the girl turn her head away, pretending not to care. Under the room's lights, a thin layer of golden dust seemed to fall upon her face, but her eyelashes were fluttering, revealing the unrest in her heart.

"It's not what you're thinking," Chen Nuo explained, "It's about work."

Wen Yongshan let out a sigh of relief, immediately lifted her head, and said, "Is it the TV series you are currently preparing?"

"More or less."

"Ah? Why?" Wen Yongshan showed a surprised expression and used her hand to tuck her hair, "It's just a show."

Chen Nuo was silent for a while and did not answer immediately.

He rested his hands behind his head, looked up at the ceiling, and became somewhat distracted.

Why?

That was truly a long story.

Actually, it was an offhand remark by Gulinazha that reminded him, and he suddenly realized that a seed had long been buried in his heart.

And the moment that seed truly broke through the soil was on the plane, after he finished watching the video that Luo Rui had played for him.

That video—he had seen it on YouTube in his past life.

Except for the parts related to himself, the rest of the content was almost exactly the same.

That's right, perhaps many Chinese people don't realize it, but Donald actually began spouting his rhetoric as early as 2011. At that time, the media still just regarded him as a businessman who loved to show off.

On the plane, when he saw that blond fatty talking glibly in front of the camera again from his laptop, a feeling that was hard to describe suddenly surged in Chen Nuo's heart—

A sense of reality that the future was about to arrive,

A sense of urgency that a crisis was quietly approaching.

He was, in fact, an eyewitness.

That feeling was unforgettable for a lifetime.

Therefore, he suddenly wanted to do something.

This was the reason why he had made Gulinazha feel like he had become a different person.

Not just for himself, but also for the world ten years later, he had a very bold, perhaps even somewhat naive, idea—

What if he could use his own influence, use film and television works, to tell China's stories well, so that "Made in China" was no longer a synonym for cheap, and let "Chinese culture" truly receive more respect, understanding, and appreciation from the world?

Not that kind of loud, propagandistic promotional film,

But using the methods Hollywood was best at—using entertainment, using imagery, using the language of pop culture—to let people all over the world first fall in love with a character or a story, and then go on to understand a nation and a culture.

Perhaps it would be the struggle of a lone hero,

Perhaps an epic spanning a thousand years,

Perhaps just the relatable, trivial life of an ordinary person.

If one day, in a North American theater, there were white audiences who, just like going to see a Blackpink concert, excitedly walked into an AMC to watch a Chinese movie.

Then, perhaps, many things in the future would be different.

This sounded indeed very idealistic, even somewhat childish.

But if "culture" is the world's last bit of gentleness and understanding—then, since he was already standing in this position,

Why not try to push it forward, just a little bit more, and a little bit more?

"Darling? What's wrong with you? Why aren't you saying anything?" Wen Yongshan's voice came from beside his ear.

Chen Nuo knew that he was indeed acting abnormally right now, and it was no wonder the woman was so nervous. So he turned over, looked at Wen Yongshan who was within arm's reach, and said softly, "I have an ideal now."

……

……

"Hahahahaha."

This was December 13, 2011, on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, inside the ABC studio.

The audience of the late-night talk show—*Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, jokingly referred to in China as the "Jimmy Chicken Feather Show"—suddenly erupted into a burst of laughter.

Two years later, this program would be involved in a rather large racial discrimination controversy; almost all Chinese people in America felt angry at the remarks made by a child on the show, and tens of thousands of people went to the White House website to sign a petition protesting and demanding an apology from ABC.

But now, that hadn't happened yet. On the guest sofa, the young and handsome Chinese vampire made an apologetic gesture and continued, "I'm just using an analogy. If it were really like what Jimmy said, you guys owed us so much money and kept not paying it back. As the creditor, I would definitely provide you with door-to-door debt collection services. Jimmy, how many trillions did you say it was? Is that for real?"

Jimmy Kimmel let out a laugh that sounded like a rooster crowing and said, "It's real, 1.1 trillion dollars in national debt; China is currently America's largest overseas creditor."

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "So when I really become a vampire... hey, is there anyone among you willing to be a hostage? I can represent China and agree that Obama pays us back our money and we split it 80-20 with you. Of course, we get eighty, you get twenty."

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Accompanied by a burst of laughter even more intense than the previous wave, many people in the audience, regardless of whether they were Black, White, or Asian, all raised their hands.

(End of chapter)