Chapter 2: Prestige is Very Important

Rebirth, what a high-sounding term.

In his past life, Cao Yang was also a graduate of the directing program at an arts academy, having spent over thirty years drifting through the industry; his greatest achievement was acting as an executive director or assistant director, overseeing the big picture and doing the actual work for those directors who were just there for the name or had switched careers—and this wasn't just a one-time occurrence.

And miraculously, every time, it would still manage to achieve decent box office results.

Thus, he finally obtained an opportunity to direct a low-budget film.

However, this film flopped miserably.

Cao Yang was furious; why was it that when he was the one pulling the strings, films where others were credited as directors could sell well, but when he was credited, it flopped so hard it didn't even make a splash?

Was it just because others had more fame and higher prestige?

Was it just because the acting of the actors shoved into the crew through various connections was too poor?

Was it just because the script was hacked and slashed at random?

Perhaps his obsession was too strong; he was reborn, and actually brought a prestige system with him.

This piece of junk didn't have any messy abilities; it had only one function: it could consume existing prestige and convert it into an "immersion experience."

As for whether an "immersion experience" was as literal as it sounded—allowing an actor to experience the life of the character in the story—Cao Yang didn't know; this broken system provided no explanation whatsoever.

Cao Yang checked: current prestige: 10,627; available prestige: 10,627; immersion experience +1.

Why was there one immersion experience? Cao Yang still didn't know; perhaps it was a gift?

Currently, prestige could not be converted into an immersion experience; as soon as he tried to convert it, it would display -89,373, meaning it required 100,000 prestige points to exchange for one immersion experience.

Fortunately, the system gifted one immersion experience, which could be used on the lead actor to improve their acting skills. But since he didn't know the effect of a single immersion experience, he still had to try his best to find an actor with good acting skills.

The top priority was to increase prestige and exchange for more immersion experiences.

Although the broken system didn't give any hints on how to increase prestige, one could figure it out: it was nothing more than through box office and awards.

It was only the year 2000, and the domestic film industry was still struggling to survive.

The number of screens counted domestically was less than two thousand.

Twenty years later, this number would be over eighty thousand!

The difference was so stark.

The commercial film market wasn't good, so he shouldn't even think about box office for the time being.

But fortunately, there were still art-house films.

Whether the market was good or not didn't matter at all for art-house films.

Go to the three major European film festivals to win awards, then sell the international rights, gain both fame and fortune, and watch his prestige soar—wouldn't that be wonderful?

This was the correct way to approach art-house films.

The key was how to win an award.

How could a domestic director more easily win awards abroad?

Backwardness, criticism, the dark side of society, the evil of human nature... arrange these in random combinations, and there would be a chance to be selected for the main competition section.

Of course, to win an award in the main competition section, these alone were not enough.

The three major film festivals had different focuses, the preferences of the jury members—who changed every year—were different, and the themes of the film festivals changed every year as well...

It was very difficult to win an award; there were too many factors influencing it.

It was also very easy to win an award; as long as a few jurors liked your film, or the jury president strongly supported you, you could at least snag one of the awards.

In this era, the awards from the three major European film festivals still carried a lot of prestige and were recognized worldwide.

Cao Yang didn't want to film domestic ignorance, backwardness, or scars and trauma to please those foreigners; he was, however, quite interested in the "foreign scar" series and very much wanted to film one.

But it wasn't realistic to film that now; he had neither the capital nor the fame.

Then he would take a different path and film an auteur film with a strong personal style.

There was a very interesting director in South Korea who filmed only one type of movie, but was a professional at winning awards and very much to the taste of those people in Europe and America.

He didn't film sex or violence, nor the evil of human nature, nor the dark side of society; the films he won awards for were focused entirely on filming women.

He captured and distilled a series of words and deeds from daily life that everyone was accustomed to but which held deeper meaning, imbuing trivial daily matters and romantic affairs with philosophical significance, thereby excavating the complexity and fickleness of human nature.

"On the Beach at Night Alone" was just such a film.

For Cao Yang, this film was the best choice at the moment. The scenes were simple, no special effects were needed, there were few actors, the filming wasn't complicated, and most importantly, it saved money.

This was also an auteur film with a very strong personal style. The entire film heavily utilized fixed long takes and simple, slow tracking shots—traditional big directors like Tian Zhuangzhuang would disdain using them.

It was too simple and too straightforward.

When the film was made, surely no one would think it was a film by Tian Zhuangzhuang; the style was clearly different.

If Tian Zhuangzhuang were to film this, with his style focused on humanistic concern, he might just end up making an alternative "Spring in a Small Town."

The plot of the film was very simple: the female lead was a famous actress who fell in love with a married big-name director and had an extramarital affair; this was the backstory.

The film began with the female lead unable to bear the pressure of public opinion, fleeing abroad to clear her head, eating, walking, and talking with friends.

Next, the female lead returned home to have dinner and talk with friends.

Finally, in a state between dream and reality, she met the married director to eat and talk.

It looked plain, boring, and dull.

In reality, it was dull, boring, and plain.

Especially for audiences seeking sensory stimulation, this film was simply torture.

!

No dark side of society, no violence, no sex; just two words: bland.

The version over in Europe hadn't evolved yet; more attention was still focused on women. This included works by female directors, the portrayal of female characters, and the exploration of female themes.

As long as it involved these, it was very easy to get a nomination for the main competition section.

If there were few such films in the nominations, nine times out of ten, you could snag a major award; political correctness was still very powerful.

This film was developed from a female perspective, with almost all shots focused on the female lead. By exploring female themes, it reflected social issues and gender equality. It not only showcased women's growth and changes but also criticized gender discrimination and gender stereotypes.

It was exactly to the taste of the three major European film festivals.

It was the next day when Cao Yang saw Tian Zhuangzhuang again.

In the hotel conference room rented in the name of the crew, Old Tian was listless and yawning repeatedly; it was unclear what the situation was last night.

Tian Zhuangzhuang glanced at Cao Yang without saying anything, and after exchanging greetings, the two quickly entered work mode.

Old Tian didn't quit, which was good.

Today was the last day for interviewing the female lead.

Calling it an interview was actually a euphemism; the invitations sent out earlier to several preferred candidates had either been rejected or met with silence.

There was no help for it; prior to this, the films by Lu Xuezhang and Wang Sheng, which Tian Zhuangzhuang had produced, had been stuck in censorship for a long time, so this time he wasn't allowed to hold a position in the crew.

On the surface, Tian Zhuangzhuang was just an actor in the crew.

So, in the eyes of outsiders, a small investment and a director in his twenties—wasn't this just messing around?

Therefore, the female lead was very difficult to cast.

In fact, Cao Yang's most preferred candidate for the female lead was Gong Li.

Back then, the National Master hadn't divorced yet, and Gong Li and the National Master had fallen in love because of their work and gotten together. A female actress falling in love with a married big-name director and having an extramarital affair...

Does that sound familiar?

This was exactly the same as the film's setup; with such a similar experience, plus Gong Li's acting skills, wouldn't she be able to handle it with ease?

Unfortunately, she was too expensive; he couldn't afford her, and the entire film's budget wasn't enough for her salary.

Although coal bosses were quick to pay, they weren't fools; spending a few hundred thousand to let their little mistresses play an important role was about the "cultivation" and the sense of achievement.

Spending more? That would be a different way of playing.

Cao Yang had once thought about inviting the National Master to play the role of the director in the film.

As long as the National Master came, once Gong Li read the script, especially that final part where the big-name director having an affair with the female lead tearfully expressed to her that he never regretted falling in love with her, only that he was too cowardly and cared too much about the eyes of the world...

Just for this scene, Gong Li would pay to join.

If she could wait to hear those words from the National Master, even if it was just in a movie, she would surely feel her life was complete.

What a gimmick!

If this were filmed, it would be shocking and blow up the entire Chinese-speaking world.

But later, he thought that if the National Master knew the content of the script and he still dared to invite him, he and the National Master would definitely have to lose one person, so he extinguished this crazy yet brilliant idea.

He could only make Old Tian suffer and play this role.

(End of chapter)