[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr":3,"chapter-the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-384":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Academic Director: Reborn in the Film Industry",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2297384,4493,"Chapter 384: I Can Do It Too","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-384",384,"\u003Cp>Two days later, \"Love in the Seaside City\" held a grand wrap-up banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wrap-up banquet is a celebration held to mark the completion of a TV series or film shoot, usually inviting all relevant personnel including crew members, actors, producers, directors, cinematographers, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many films or TV series, for the sake of promotion, will specifically invite media reporters to attend, allowing them to report or film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the media is present to film, the wrap-up banquet loses some of its flavor; everyone feels inhibited while eating and drinking, and it also affects the banter and chatting between crew members.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wrap-up banquets Cao Yang hosted in the past never invited the media, precisely so that everyone could eat and drink to their heart's content.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the situation was a bit special this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about half a month of screening, the box office for \"Pieta\" had just broken 20 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the film's word-of-mouth was good, if one watched the entire film from the perspective of the perverted male lead, it was different from traditional art films; the film was actually not depressing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But, after all, Old Tian was not Cao Yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His box office appeal couldn't compare to Cao Yang's, the film lacked big stars, and the version released domestically had many \"sensational\" scenes cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people only walked into the theater to achieve the current box office because they saw the name Cao Yang written in the screenwriter column.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the influence of the Golden Lion... it existed to some extent, but when there were choices in the market, many people nowadays didn't really like watching art films.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just look at Jia Zhangke's \"Still Life\" and you'll know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When \"Still Life\" was released last year, perhaps there was some deviation in the understanding of the market, or perhaps he felt that since Cao Yang's art films could sell well domestically, why couldn't his Golden Lion film?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Consequently, Jia Zhangke was stubborn for once and had \"Still Life\" released on the same day as Zhang Yimou's \"Curse of the Golden Flower,\" both choosing December 14th.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this, Old Jia even took a different path; he felt that contemporary college students, especially those at key universities, must all be \"literary youths\" and would definitely look at a Golden Lion film differently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chose to give speeches at universities in nine major cities across the country to build momentum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Jingcheng University, he played the victim, saying the market had left no room for \"good people,\" and that competing on the same stage as Zhang Yimou's \"Curse of the Golden Flower\" was like committing suicide for the sake of the box office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he said his \"Still Life\" was to meet people with sentiment, and he just wanted to see, in an era that worshiped \"gold,\" who was still concerned about \"good people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, Zhang Yimou's film was called \"Curse of the Golden Flower,\" and his film was called \"Still Life\"; the implication in his words was already very obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even though Old Jia had personally entered the fray and tied \"Still Life\" to \"Curse of the Golden Flower,\" he still overestimated his own influence and appeal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing \"Curse of the Golden Flower\" released on the same day, \"Still Life\" wasn't just powerless to fight back; it was completely ignored by the market—it didn't even count as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time \"Still Life\" was pulled from theaters, its total box office was 300,000 RMB.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first-day box office of \"Curse of the Golden Flower\" exceeded 15 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two were not comparable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Old Tian was satisfied with the current box office of \"Pieta,\" in order to steadily break 30 million by the time the film was pulled, he discussed it with Cao Yang, planning to use the wrap-up banquet of Cao Yang's new film to promote \"Pieta.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The method was to hold a larger-scale wrap-up banquet, invite media reporters, and let some reporters \"see\" Old Tian at the banquet and interview him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, it would let more people know that \"Pieta,\" this Golden Lion film, was produced and written by Cao Yang, hoping to attract more attention as a result.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang had no objections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The copyright of this film was his, and his fees for producing and the script were converted into a share, giving him 34%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A higher box office was also good for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Cao Yang's current status, even if media reporters were invited to the wrap-up banquet, they likely wouldn't report recklessly or snap photos of \"things\" meant to grab eyeballs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would only film and \"interview\" within permitted limits, and before such information was reported, they would check with Cao Yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director Cao, I'd like to propose a toast to you. Thank you for giving me such a great opportunity. I am certain this will be the most important turning point in my acting career.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Long stood up. As he said this, his face seemed to want to squeeze out a smile, but while the smile appeared, it gave people a sense of \"sorrow\"—a melancholy hidden deep in his bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his current state, with his attitude of seemingly not caring about anything, being able to remember to toast Cao Yang was already a remarkable thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was actually because the film had wrapped, and the influence of the immersive acting experience was gradually decreasing, making him \"better\" by just a little bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, under the influence of the double immersive experience, it would probably take more than half a year for Cheng Long to fully recover to his previous state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang clinked his glass with Cheng Long's. He wanted to say something, but looking at Cheng Long's current state, he still felt a little guilty for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since I chose you, it's because I felt you were suitable... Come, it's all in the wine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Long started it off, and next, anyone with the qualifications, such as the heads of various departments in the crew and the main actors, all came over to toast Cao Yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director Cao, should I also...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Changwei held his glass and asked with a chuckle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get lost, get lost, get lost!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang, chewing his food, said to Old Gu, \"Why are you joining in the fun?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Gu chuckled, tapped his glass against the one Cao Yang had placed on the table, took a sip, and sighed, \"Cao Yang, you know, the person I am most grateful for in my heart is you. It was you who, during my most difficult time...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, why say all that? It's all in the wine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang picked up his glass and also took a sip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as men drink a little, they become sentimental—like Old Gu, like Old Tian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tian patted Old Gu on the shoulder and said, \"Old Gu, saying all that is being too formal. Look, Cao Yang helped me get a Golden Lion, and I'm still not as long-winded as you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he said that, Old Tian moved his chair closer to Cao Yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cao Yang, that you, kid, have today's achievements is something neither I nor the teacher ever expected. Hey, don't look at that guy Old Situ acting all serious in front of you; let me tell you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ahem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang coughed and said pretentiously, \"You're wrong there. In my heart, the teacher has always been a very upright and serious person. Don't talk nonsense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Gu, sitting to the side, quietly moved his chair closer. He felt that next time, he could \"inadvertently\" pass on what Old Tian was about to say to Teacher Situ.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, give it a rest. Do you know him better, or do I?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tian retorted directly, \"He's full of himself. He often talks to a few old cronies, saying for no reason that his teaching achievements this life haven't been good, that there's no one to inherit the mantle of documentary filmmaking, and that the few 'wicked disciples' he taught don't follow his path at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Kun doesn't make documentaries with him, but instead runs off to shoot feature films, and even wins that Cannes Golden Palm—it's truly infuriating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, in his later years, he wanted to properly teach a disciple to make documentaries, but who knew that the kid Cao Yang he picked wouldn't learn the good stuff, but instead learned from Chen Kun and started making feature films too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he only wins awards that are useless for documentaries, like the Golden Lion, the Golden Palm, the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Winning some lousy awards is one thing, but he actually learned from commercial films and made nearly two billion US dollars at the global box office. It's simply too infuriating. What's the use of all that box office...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pfft...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pfft...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first one to laugh out loud was Old Gu. He didn't expect Old Tian to make up such things about Old Situ, and he even imitated him so vividly; it was truly a great harvest.\u003C\u002Fp>",1518,"2026-06-20T05:36:33.260Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","384698b1a7b757c6a0246710d968dd0e3760f8172087b533b608ca2b3cd36a94","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-385","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-383",411,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-cover.jpg"]