Chapter 106: Special Appointment

The biographical film Cao Yang wants to shoot is called "Milk."

The prototype for the character is an American gay rights activist, and also the first openly gay person in American politics.

He had just barely been elected as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and not even a few months into his term, he was shot and killed along with the mayor.

Free America, where every laugh comes with a bang-bang.

As the first openly gay person in politics, as long as there is this "first," it has extremely high value for filming.

What kind of biographical film is easy to win awards with?

That would be filming controversial figures; the more controversial, the better, even if the controversy is only behind closed doors.

Past controversial figures, under the great halo of political correctness, might suddenly turn into pioneers, forerunners, and iconic figures.

At the same time, on the surface, this film is about a gay politician who runs around supporting gay rights bills, only to be unfortunately shot by a political rival.

It is a story about a marginalized group that is not treated fairly, achieving fair treatment through their own unremitting struggle.

The interpretation of its core is very conducive to winning awards.

What, no one interprets it this way?

Isn't that simple? Just find some film critics to "interpret" it and publish it.

For film critics, this is also a good thing that brings both fame and fortune.

What, the interpretation is a bit far-fetched, and the promotion of these things has no positive impact on humanity or society?

Haha, as long as this interpretation comes out, against the backdrop of dual political correctness, who the hell would dare to object?

"Belman, the character prototype I want to film is called Harvey Milk. Have you heard of him?"

Belman didn't really want to shoot a biographical film, but since Cao Yang brought it up, he considered it repeatedly and decided to support Cao Yang; even if it couldn't win an Oscar, it was still possible for such a film to win awards in Europe.

"Tell me which country he is from, and I will go collect some information."

Cao Yang also fell silent. Good grief, he thought he was someone famous; it turns out he's just like that, his popularity isn't even that high.

"Belman, do you know who the first openly gay person in American politics is?"

Belman's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately perked up. He heard several keywords: American politics, gay, first...

Every word here poked at the interests of the Oscars.

"My dear director, are you sure that this... this gentleman, whatever his name is, is the first openly gay political figure?"

Belman hadn't remembered the other person's name.

As soon as Cao Yang heard this, he knew Belman didn't know anything about it, so he simply told Belman everything he knew.

"His name is Harvey Milk, an American, who supported the gay rights movement and was the first openly gay person in American politics. It was a few decades ago; he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and then shot and killed a few months later."

Cao Yang didn't remember which year he was elected either, but as long as he told Belman the location, it would be very easy to look up.

"Shot and killed?"

Belman was so excited he could have slapped his thigh. Politics, gay, first, shot and killed—with these combined, as long as the quality of the filming is decent, and most importantly, the actor can play the character well, it would be very easy to win awards.

Every point here hit the mark of political correctness.

And this was without him knowing that Cao Yang intended to "interpret" the film further; if he had known, he would surely have been even more excited.

Belman couldn't guarantee what the film would turn out like, but in terms of coaching actors, Cao Yang had never disappointed anyone.

"Don't worry, leave it to me. I guarantee I will collect enough information in the shortest possible time. Let this biographical film be the beginning of our conquest of the Oscars."

Belman hung up the phone and couldn't wait to take action.

Cao Yang hung up the phone and began to think about how to shoot this kind of film.

Even without knowing the specific deeds of the prototype, the script was still very easy to construct.

The simplest framework is the gay identity; he must have a boyfriend, and usually, the character decides to enter politics because of a breakup.

To be more noble, it's because he couldn't stand injustice, such as unfair treatment of gay people, and decided to enter politics, preparing to change the status quo.

The campaign fails, start over, fail again, learn a lesson, try again, and finally succeed.

However, how could there not be a twist?

Career success, love must surely suffer setbacks; how can a person's life be all smooth sailing? So, have a boyfriend who can't stand him focusing on his career and ignoring his own feelings, leading to a breakup.

Finally, he is definitely recognized by the majority, gains support, prepares to show his talents, and then gets taken out...

Character biographies all have a similar template, just like writing a novel—introduction, development, transition, and conclusion.

Finally, just pick some from the collected deeds and fill them into the framework—life, after all, isn't it all like this, ups and downs and downs, mostly like that.

Cao Yang began to write and build the script framework; before the defense, he just needed to get this written.

At the same time, he also began to consider the candidates for the male lead; there had to be a general range. Because there was no specific information yet, Cao Yang didn't know how old Harvey Milk was when he died, but since it was played by Sean Penn in the original version, setting the age between forty and fifty should be no problem.

He could have Belman focus on releasing news to these groups to see if any big stars were interested.

Since they are interested, and this is an art-house film that is easy to win awards with, they would definitely take a pay cut to join.

With the addition of a big star, if there were an Oscar nomination later, Cao Yang wouldn't even need to worry; as long as their agency assessed a high probability of winning, the agency and the big star themselves would absolutely pay out of their own pockets to lobby.

Another ten days or so passed, and Cao Yang finally ushered in his graduation defense.

The school attached extraordinary importance to his graduation defense; they put a lot of thought into the selection of the defense committee members alone.

A big director who had won a Golden Lion was doing an undergraduate defense—wasn't this making things difficult for people? The school administration argued for a long time over this list, and finally managed to scrape together a... stability-seeking lineup.

Cao Yang's defense was not open to the public. The head of the defense committee was Xie Fei, who had won a Berlin Golden Bear; only he was qualified to be the head of this defense committee.

Otherwise, no one else sitting in this position would be convincing.

Committee member Xie Xiaojing, Dean of the Directing Department, graduate advisor, professor, and also a student of the '78 class taught by Old Situ.

!

Committee member Hou Ke, Vice President of the school, head of the Youth Film Studio, graduate advisor for the Directing Department, professor. This person had always been the one responsible for communicating with Cao Yang on behalf of the school.

Defense secretary Tian Zhuangzhuang, who is now also a master's advisor.

For the defense of an ordinary undergraduate, this lineup was a bit like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was very interested in Cao Yang's thesis, but as a defense secretary, he was only responsible for recording; how could he have a chance to interject?

Cao Yang's graduation defense was actually just a formality. With the doors closed, the few of them chatted about the content of Cao Yang's thesis. Xie Fei did ask a few more questions, mainly because he was also interested in Cao Yang's ability to coach actors.

If you groom one Best Actress, it could be called luck; if you groom two, it could barely be called a stroke of good fortune; then what about three?

No matter how stubborn someone is, they can at most say that Cao Yang only knows how to groom women.

The defense proceeded calmly; could they really ask tricky questions to prevent Cao Yang from graduating?

If a Golden Lion director couldn't graduate from an undergraduate program, wouldn't that become an international joke? It is estimated that the reputation of the Beijing Film Academy would suddenly be elevated to a height that didn't belong to it.

Cao Yang's four years of undergraduate studies were over, but there were still three years of graduate studies waiting; Old Situ was his graduate advisor.

When Cao Yang received his undergraduate diploma, the matter that Hou Ke had previously mentioned about arranging work for him was implemented.

Hou Ke transferred Cao Yang's personnel file to the Youth Film Studio, and immediately told Cao Yang that the school intended to appoint him as a distinguished professor; if he had no objections, they would start the process.

The system of distinguished professors began in China in 1998 to implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, to attract outstanding young and middle-aged talents from home and abroad to participate in the construction of key disciplines in our country's universities, and to accelerate the training of young and middle-aged academic leaders in universities.

Hearing Hou Ke's words, Cao Yang was truly shocked for a moment: I am a student who just graduated, and I can be a distinguished professor?

Hou Ke explained to him the original intention of the country in establishing this, and Cao Yang thought about it; as a Golden Lion director, he did meet the talent standards.

However, where would I have the time to teach?

"Dean Hou, I don't have the time. In a few days, I'm going to the United States; how would I have time to be a teacher?"

"You're going to the United States? Hollywood?"

Hou Ke was stunned, then reacted and couldn't help but ask.

Then, without waiting for Cao Yang to answer, he explained: "You don't need to participate in teaching. Either do as before, let students intern on the set when filming, and be a nominal instructor, or just hold a few lectures and teach a few major classes each semester."

Cao Yang nodded; this wasn't difficult.

"I'm going to the States to shoot a film and see how things go. As for the students interning on the set, I definitely won't be able to take that many students."

Cao Yang considered it and then said: "I'll take the initiative to give the school three internship spots, one young teacher and two students. The crew will reimburse the round-trip airfare and cover room and board; Dean Hou just needs to be responsible for the selection."

Originally, Cao Yang hadn't thought about limiting it to one teacher and two students, but considering that if he didn't limit it, the three internship spots might not fall to the students, or there might be a situation where two teachers bring one student.

Hou Ke didn't think that much; he only noticed that Cao Yang said he should be responsible for the selection, and he couldn't help but grin. No matter who ended up being responsible for this, at least with Cao Yang, he was the first one he thought of.

He thought about it for a moment and made a decision, saying: "Being able to intern on a Hollywood crew is a good thing for the school, and an even better thing for young teachers and students. The school will definitely promote and encourage it vigorously. The school will be responsible for the airfare to the United States."

Hou Ke could certainly make the call on a small matter like airfare.

I've been editing this chapter for a long time and hesitated for a long time. I don't know why, but now writing a novel is easily labeled. This is just a relaxing way of entertainment. The author declares that I will not use the novel to preach, and there are no viewpoints unfavorable to the motherland!

If you feel there is a problem anywhere, please be sure to point it out, and I will change it. Please don't label me, thank you.

Finally, this is the third update. It's another 10,000-word update today. It's not too much to ask for a monthly ticket, right? Go easy on the criticism.

(End of chapter)