Chapter 27: Western Film

Almost the entire village was taken to have their blood tested, and only Ma Youtie had the precious panda blood.

Zhang Yongfu still owed the village money for grain, and the son of Zhang Yongfu, played by Li Yu, used this to threaten the villagers.

The human heart is malicious, especially when dealing with the weak.

Ma Youtie was once again bound and kidnapped by morality, beginning to donate blood without compensation time and time again.

Li Yu is a hardworking actor; although he did not have many shots, he nailed them in one take every time. Lin Nan knew he practiced countless times off-camera, and Li Baotian would also give him pointers.

"Cut." That’s it for today, we’ll continue tomorrow.

Up until now, Lin Nan had very few "no-good" takes.

Li Baotian and Jiang Wenli were particularly invested; they both thought highly of this script, especially the tragic ending.

After clearly learning that Lin Nan would take it abroad to compete for awards, they became even more diligent.

Over seventy years old, Gao Cangjian handed his final film to Zhang Yimou; this was the hottest news in the industry recently, and Lin Nan heard everyone discussing it on set.

"Teacher Li, you have collaborated with Director Zhang Yimou on three films. What is your take on his film, *Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles*?" Lin Nan asked during a break.

Li Baotian smiled, "Watching from under the awards stage."

"That certain?"

"This subject matter is his specialty."

Lin Nan nodded. After two consecutive commercial blockbusters, he was now making a film about spiritual redemption.

The crew continued to work, and filming had already reached the latter half.

Ma Youtie had to draw blood and return to labor in the fields, making life even harder. The vacant house they were borrowing was also going to be demolished by the village for compensation, and the owner told them to pack up and leave quickly.

Ma Youtie, played by Li Baotian, was determined to build a house himself. Brick by brick, he slowly built a bungalow for himself and Cao Guiying, pasting up the "double happiness" characters from their wedding, hoping that life would get better.

Every bit of Ma Youtie’s effort was seen by Cao Guiying, and her attachment and trust grew deeper. Although she was frail and sickly, she also tried her best to help. This was perhaps the warmest period of her life.

The scene where Jiang Wenli delivers food and falls into the river due to dizziness foreshadows that the story is coming to an end; suffering still chose the suffering soul.

The river was not deep; the crew specifically chose a shallower section, about a meter deep, with two or three people standing nearby ready to help at any moment.

"Cut, that’s a wrap."

Jiang Wenli was very dedicated and chose a close-up shot. Several people rushed to pull her out, and towels and blankets were brought over. It was November, and in the Northwest, it had already turned cold.

"Director Lin, was my performance in that scene okay?" Jiang Wenli still had the heart to joke.

"Of course it was good, you gave us all a scare."

Lin Nan wasn't lying. If Jiang Wenli hadn't said beforehand that she could hold her breath, Lin Nan would have really called for people to fish her out; she really looked like she had passed out from drowning.

"Get ready, we’re starting the final shot."

How can a person calmly face death?

Being in despair and seeing a glimmer of light, only for that light to be extinguished in the end.

In the final shot, Ma Youtie calmly drinks the pesticide...

Lin Nan watched Li Baotian’s performance and was deeply moved.

That was the final choice of a suffering soul. They had lived through thick and thin together, working from sunrise to sunset, using every ounce of strength, supporting and relying on each other. Fate did not favor them...

"Cut."

Lin Nan called cut, but Li Baotian sat there for a while to recover before getting up.

"It’s been a long time since I filmed like this; it’s a bit hard to come out of character," Li Baotian said with a smile after standing up.

After a month of meticulous work, the time for wrapping up had arrived.

Everyone ate happily at the wrap party that had been prepared.

"If there’s a suitable script in the future, come find me, as long as it’s no worse than this one," Jiang Wenli said jokingly. She had to rush back, as she had other scripts waiting.

"Will do, Sister Wenli."

Jiang Wenli had a strong personality but was very magnanimous and had extensive connections in the industry. After this, the two could be considered to have a friendship, especially since Lin Nan was now rising in fame, making him even more worth befriending.

"I should head back too; after all, I am still a teacher at the school." Li Baotian also said goodbye to Lin Nan, with Li Yu by his side.

Lin Nan exchanged a few polite words and saw them off.

Because of the filming location, the equipment and everything else were rented from the Western Film Studio.

At the wrap party, the head of the production department from the other side came, and Lin Nan knew he wasn't just there for a meal.

Lin Nan’s company had sent a finance person specifically to handle the equipment handover with them, while Lin Nan chatted with the director.

Investment—it was nothing more than a matter of investment.

Lin Nan’s *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* was co-invested by Shanghai Film; *Return to Youth* added China Film and Enlight Media.

Since Enlight could invest, why couldn't Western Film? You are a hometown boy, after all—that was Western Film’s perspective.

"I don't have any new film plans at the moment. I just wrapped one, and I can't compare to Director Zhang Yimou’s high output," Lin Nan said truthfully.

"If I plan to make the next film, I will consider it then, but if the cost isn't high, I might do it myself." Lin Nan didn't shut the door, but he didn't give a promise either.

The people from Western Film weren't giving up and brought up actors. On this, Lin Nan loosened up: if he started a new film, they could send people to audition.

The forty-year-old production director hadn't expected Lin Nan to be so slick; he didn't seem like a twenty-year-old young man at all.

By the end, they started talking about hometown sentiments again.

Policies were becoming clearer, encouraging the film market to flourish. Everyone knew that commercial films would be the mainstream, and box office was king.

But traditional film studios were slow to transform, mainly because their foundation was there and their thinking was deep-rooted. The old directors couldn't play the commercial film game—not everyone was Zhang Yimou—and they couldn't cultivate new talent. In this regard, they were not even as good as private enterprises.

Competing while being responsible for their own profits and losses, Western Film showed signs of falling behind.

The reasons were complex. The industry’s talent was all in the capital and Shanghai, as were the most famous art academies, and the economy couldn't compare either. The result was predictable.

Lin Nan visited Western Film; the heavy historical atmosphere and the museum all spoke of the outstanding contributions it had once made.

Lin Nan boarded the plane back to school. The post-production for *Return to Dust* would be done at a company under China Film.

He received an invitation—an invitation to the premiere of *A World Without Thieves*, delivered to Lin Nan’s company by someone from Huayi in person.

"How realistic."

After a brief grumble, he put on his eye mask to take a nap; he would be there when he woke up.

A few hours later, Lin Nan landed at the capital airport.

After the *Return to Youth* celebration party, many people still looked for him, but by then, Lin Nan had already left the capital.

During this month on the set of *Return to Dust*, Lin Nan continued to receive congratulatory calls, many from companies or industry insiders he had never dealt with before.

He went back to the company first. The adaptation rights for *Return to Youth* had already been settled by the Korean side, and China Film had also transferred the funds to Lin Nan’s company according to the ratio. The finance department reported it to Lin Nan immediately.

"Hello, Director Lin."

"Director Lin."

The company didn't have many employees, and Lin Nan liked them calling him Director.

On the desk was the invitation from Huayi; it was handwritten and quite exquisite.

"Director Lin, quite a few people have come by recently, all asking if the company is signing actors, and they left some resumes."

"Post an announcement later; the company has no plans to do artist management in the short term."

"Understood."

When Lin Nan was on set, some teachers from the school had called to ask him about this, likely wanting to push people in, but he had refused.

*Return to Youth* would be released in Korea in a while, and Lin Nan estimated the box office wouldn't be bad. China Film was also working on expanding to more Southeast Asian countries.

December 3rd, Monday.

Lin Nan arrived at school on time. The Film Academy was the same as ever, with many handsome men and beautiful women. If you saw someone who looked strange, they definitely weren't from the Acting Department.

Walking through the school, Lin Nan was noticed by many new faces—students from their freshman and sophomore years—and some even came up to actively ask for his contact information, very good at seizing opportunities.

"Oh my, our great director has returned to attend class." Zhou Yang’s sarcastic voice could be heard from far away.

Lin Nan greeted other juniors and ignored Zhou Yang.

After the crowd dispersed, Zhou Yang came over, "Now that you’re a big director, the old classmates don't catch your eye anymore, right?"

"Do you have something to say or not? If you do, say it; if not, I’m going back to the Directing Department."

"Yes, yes, yes. The classmates in the class just asked me to ask you: is your company really not signing anyone?"

"I already had the company post an announcement—we aren't signing. I didn't even sign Zhu Yawen, so tell them to stop asking."

How many actors signed with New Pictures chasing Zhang Yimou’s reputation?

Huayi also fooled many artists into signing by relying on Feng Xiaogang’s brand, but Lin Nan found it troublesome.

Zhou Yang went back to pass on the message.

Lin Nan went to the Directing Department to cancel his long leave and was kept for a while.

As an outstanding student representative, the list for recommendation for postgraduate studies had been submitted, and the first name was Lin Nan.

"Did the department not ask for my opinion?"

Lin Nan reacted strongly; he wasn't very willing to continue his postgraduate studies. In terms of exam scores, he was at most slightly above average.

The teacher said it well: exam scores are just parameters to test the mastery of theoretical knowledge, and the results of actual practice are the final outcome.

Unfortunately, Lin Nan just had a film cross the 100 million mark—the second person after Zhang Yimou.

"Then what is the second thing?"

"The Acting Department wants you to be a judge for the art entrance exams. You are now a calling card for the school, especially since you transferred from the Acting Department."

Lin Nan couldn't believe his ears, "Teacher, what kind of joke is this? Can I handle that?"

"Why not? Just use your director’s eye to choose students with talent."

"Doesn't our school’s Acting Department just look at faces?" Lin Nan whispered a rebuttal.

"You—it’s one thing for outsiders to say that, but why would you say it out loud?"

"I'm afraid there won't be enough time," Lin Nan said.

"How could there not be enough time? Are you joining another production? Didn't you just finish a film?"

Lin Nan sighed, "Teacher, I wouldn't lie to you. *Return to Dust* is a realist rural-themed film, and I plan to take it to a film festival. The timing might conflict with the art school entrance exams."

The instructor from the 2002 Directing Department looked at Lin Nan, processing this for a moment, "Berlin?"

Lin Nan nodded.

Upon confirming this guess, Teacher Zhang's expression changed, and he suddenly laughed, "The entrance exams are a small matter. I'll help you decline the Acting Department. It's ridiculous for them to bother our Directing Department with their affairs."

"Are you confident?"

When Teacher Zhang asked this, he wanted to slap himself; just getting in would be good enough, yet he was already thinking about bringing something back.

Lin Nan shook his head, "I don't know, but at the very least, I have to try."

"As long as you have that heart, then put everything else aside."