Chapter 20: New Script

"Forget it, reporting me? When is your new movie coming out?"

"After the film festival, during National Day."

Huang Lei nodded, "You really know how to pick your time. Remember to look for me if you have any roles in the future."

"Teacher Huang, how can you have the nerve to ask a student for a role?"

Lin Nan teased him with a devil-may-care attitude.

"Go to hell, I'm asking for those students of mine who have already graduated."

Lin Nan understood instantly. There aren't many actors who can make it in the film circle; for most academy graduates, it's already good enough if they can secure a firm footing in the television circle.

"Which ones? Tell me, I'll keep an eye out." Lin Nan spoke up, which was rare.

"Hai Qing, Hai Bo, Miao Pu..."

"Stop, stop, stop. You're just going on and on."

Lin Nan quickly cut him off. He was already reciting a menu, rolling his eyes while memorizing names.

"If there's an opportunity later, I'll look for them."

After chatting for a bit, Lin Nan went to the cafeteria. Although it was summer break, it didn't close, and he was too lazy to go outside like he did last summer.

He shoveled some rice into his mouth while still complaining to himself about Huang Lei. That was really something, reciting a list of names?

"Hai Qing, Hai Bo..."

Lin Nan imitated Huang Lei's tone, "Hai Qing?"

At that moment, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Lin Nan's mind: "Return to Dust!"

He had watched this film while he was in the hospital, the kind of resource he found online; it was pulled from theaters not long after it was released.

The film was very realistic. Even his old man, who was taking care of him at the time, watched it and cried, saying that this was exactly how things were in that era.

It was probably impossible for it to win any awards, but Hai Qing deserved a Best Actress title for this film, and she had even performed in it for free.

Netizens all said that capital couldn't tolerate that film. That was one reason, but there were many other reasons that were hard to talk about.

An idea sprouted in Lin Nan's mind, and it grew increasingly intense. Before he had even finished his meal, he hurriedly packed up his utensils and turned to leave the cafeteria.

He returned to the dormitory, opened his computer, and created a new document.

Script: "Return to Dust."

For the whole afternoon, Lin Nan sat alone in front of the computer, sometimes tapping the keyboard, sometimes holding his head in thought. He was doing his best to reconstruct the plot from his memory and make it even more delicate and profound.

Analyzing the characters' inner worlds, interpreting the social background and environment, humility, suffering, reliance, fate...

This story was unfortunate, the characters were suffering, and the ending was tragic; this was reality.

Lin Nan typed away at the script. Unlike the previous three times, this time he was filled with intense, sincere emotion; he was immersing himself in it.

His stomach let out a growl. He typed the final period, and it was already dark outside.

His back ached, his legs were a bit numb; he really hadn't moved once after sitting there for the whole afternoon.

Even though he was desperate to use the bathroom, he had to click save first. This was his hard-earned effort.

He rushed to relieve himself, then came back to look over the results of his afternoon's work. Only one word could describe his feelings: satisfied.

"This script has the potential to win awards!"

Lin Nan said excitedly after finishing the script he had written. At this moment, he just wished someone was there to share his joy.

"The script is done, I'll draw the storyboards later, but what about the actors?"

This was another problem. He couldn't just find any random actors for this script; he had to be cautious.

If one were to talk about a choice for the female lead, the undisputed first choice at this time would be Gong Li, but in reality, he couldn't afford her, nor could he get her. This role was very close to the roles Gong Li had played in the past, and the film genre was similar; she wouldn't even consider it.

Lin Nan dismissed the ridiculous thought from his mind.

He would deal with the actor issue later; he had to go fill his stomach first.

"Lao Zhu, let's go get barbecue, my treat."

Zhu Yawen, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, ran out while putting on his shoes, "What's the occasion today? Why so generous?"

"You make it sound like I'm stingy." Lin Nan retorted.

Everyone knew that Lin Nan and Zhu Yawen had a good relationship. A few who were still in school and hadn't gone out yet were just a bit envious; Zhu Yawen had already participated in two of Lin Nan's films, and he heard this latest one was planned for a National Day release.

Lin Nan didn't say anything, and Zhu Yawen didn't ask. Barbecue and beer were enough to keep his mouth shut.

But Lin Nan couldn't help himself, "I wrote a script this afternoon, it feels damn good."

His pride was written all over his face.

Zhu Yawen hurriedly swallowed the meat in his mouth, "What kind of script? Is there a role suitable for me?"

Lin Nan looked at Zhu Yawen, "No, you're too handsome, and most importantly, you're too young."

"Huh? That's a reason too?"

Zhu Yawen had never thought that being good-looking could be a disadvantage.

Eating meat and drinking beer, the two chatted for a while and returned to the dormitory at eleven o'clock.

There was one problem Lin Nan had to take seriously. The script should have no problem passing censorship, but it was definitely possible for someone to block his script. He had to be careful about this. It would be best to find an old veteran to help out. Didn't Director Tian Zhuangzhuang come back to teach?

Lin Nan immediately thought of Director Tian, who had returned last year to lead graduate students. This old veteran lacked neither qualifications, background, nor connections. The key was that he loved the film industry and was willing to mentor newcomers.

After sleeping for a night, Lin Nan was dumbfounded the next day. He went to look for Director Tian and missed him, only realizing afterward that during the summer break, many teachers, especially directors with such seniority, were not at school; they were everywhere attending conferences.

Lin Nan guessed that it mostly had to do with the film festival. The most important thing for the organization during this period was the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, and this year was the last time they would be held together.

Since he couldn't find Director Tian at school, he would just wait until the semester started.

Putting the "Return to Dust" matter aside, Lin Nan continued to bury himself in writing scripts.

As two of the three major art universities, the Film Academy and the Drama Academy had many teachers who opened training classes outside, and the tuition wasn't low.

Students who aspired to get into these two schools, if their family conditions were decent, would choose to find a training class, especially those run by teachers from these two schools.

Lin Nan knew of several teachers doing this. Sometimes they would even invite teachers from other majors to teach body movement classes, theory classes, or what to pay attention to at the art exam site.

This summer, Lin Nan was invited. He wasn't a teacher, but he was a film director, and a director who already had some fame.

Zhu Yawen and some classmates who had filmed movies or TV shows felt embarrassed to refuse and were called over to show their faces a few times; the effect was surprisingly good.

That was why they set their sights on Lin Nan again, after hearing that he hadn't left the school.

"I'm not going. Even if you pay me a fee, I'm not going. I'm not short of that little bit of money; I'm short of much more."

Lin Nan refused decisively. With the time spent fooling the parents and students who signed up, he might as well copy a few more scripts and send them to Tang Mu. Wouldn't that earn more than this in the future?

"Teacher Zhou is just passing on a message for someone else." Zhu Yawen lay half-reclined on the opposite bed, chattering non-stop.

Lin Nan typed away on his keyboard, "Don't bother me with this kind of thing in the future. I'm not interested."

"Fine, you're high and mighty, okay? But their tuition is really expensive." Zhu Yawen was quite sour.

"Several thousand per student, and it's only a two-month course. Tsk tsk, it's incredible." The more Zhu Yawen talked, the sourer he became.

Lin Nan stopped, "You went once, how much did you earn?"

"Thanks to you, this much," Lao Zhu made a gesture.

"Pretty good, your treat today."

"Sigh, you really are something. Alright, alright."

Zhu Yawen got up and walked over, "You're clacking away all day, and it's all in English. Are you planning to submit to foreign countries?"

Lin Nan saved the document and stretched, "Let's go, let's go out for a stroll."

The June weather was just starting to get hot, but the girls at the art academy had already started saving on fabric.

The two walked out of the school gate, their eyes turning with their heads from time to time.

"These legs are really fair."

"Yeah, that camisole is nice."

"Hahaha, you're a creep."

"Right back at you."

"Linzi, is your company really not signing anyone?"

"I never intended to sign actors. I opened this company only to serve myself. Maybe I'll change my mind later, but I don't think so within a few years."

After Lin Nan finished speaking, he glanced at Zhu Yawen, guessing something, "Which company came to you again?"

It was certain that Lin Nan would guess it, so Zhu Yawen didn't hide it, "Huayi, Rongsinda..."

"What do you think?"

Lin Nan asked back. He couldn't take Zhu Yawen very far; these days, actors still had to rely on talent agencies or an agent with strength and connections to get roles.

"The one who contacted me from Huayi was Wang Jinghua, who came to the school. Rongsinda was contacted by a person in charge, and there's also Chang Jihong..."

"Damn, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were the main character." Lin Nan cursed in a low voice.

"What did you say?" Zhu Yawen asked.

"Nothing, just pick one between Wang Jinghua and Chang Jihong. If it's Huayi, just sign the contract directly into Wang Jinghua's hands. If it's Chang Jihong, it's the same. Forget about Rongsinda; that's my advice."

Lin Nan could tell that Zhu Yawen was leaning towards these three. Wang Jinghua would jump ship next year, but it wouldn't affect anything. Both she and Chang Jihong belonged to the type of agents who worked hard without complaint. Rongsinda could be skipped.

"Hmm, I'll consider it. After all, I'm going to be a junior."

For students at the Film Academy, being a junior was no different from graduating; the sooner they made a name for themselves, the better.

Zhu Yawen paid for the meal; the roast duck was good, and its reputation hadn't been ruined yet.

Recently, Dao Lang started showing signs of becoming a massive hit; that raspy voice could be heard in small street shops.

Zhang Dahu recently started playing with the media. One moment he said the actors were confirmed, the next he said they weren't. Many media people started cursing him for having no bottom line, but that was exactly the effect he wanted.

"Where to next?" Lin Nan had eaten quite a bit, and Zhu Yawen asked.

"Do you have something to do?"

"It's nothing."

"Then let's go take a look at the Drama Academy."

"What are we going there for?" Zhu Yawen asked, feeling curious.

"Business."

Lin Nan and Zhu Yawen first returned to school, grabbed a bag, and headed out again.

"You're even carrying a bag, what are you going to do?"

"Just follow along. I have business to attend to; you can wander around the school there, you might just run into true love."

"Forget it."

Zhu Yawen didn't continue asking; he was idle anyway, so going there would just be for fun.

Director Zhang had nearly finished selecting the Olympic Babies, and these people were just waiting for the program to be confirmed to start rehearsals.

Lin Nan had made time yesterday to specifically chat with Tang Yan, who was also one of the Olympic Babies; she hadn't gone home for the holidays and was waiting to rehearse at any time.

Lin Nan didn't look for her for any other reason than to have her help inquire if a certain teacher at the Drama Academy was in today, so he wouldn't make a wasted trip.

The result was good; this senior teacher lived on campus in the faculty area and happened to be there today.

There were many tourists, and the taxis were quite stuck in traffic; by the time they reached the Drama Academy, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of the Drama Academy, and through the car window, Lin Nan saw a graceful figure waiting there.