Chapter 46: I Can Do Anything

Cao Yang asked the coordinator to double-check everything again, because the exceptional performances of Liu Ye and Yu Feihong had caused the later progress to speed up so much that the shooting schedule had to be adjusted several times.

It really lived up to the saying: plans can never keep up with changes.

After confirming there were no issues, Cao Yang picked up the megaphone, and everyone watched him quietly.

"I announce, '3-Iron' is officially wrapped!"

"Wow..."

"It's a wrap!"

"Haha..."

After the cast members finished their parts, aside from the students from the Beijing Film Academy, only the two leads, Liu Ye and Yu Feihong, remained; in fact, Yu Feihong’s scenes had finished yesterday, but she hadn't left.

Now, apart from the initial crew, the set was mainly composed of young people, with intern students from the Beijing Film Academy in every position, and the five actors from the Beijing Film Academy also stayed until the end.

Since there were mostly young people, it felt very lively.

After spending this time together, they no longer believed the so-called rumors; on set, as long as they were filming, even Tian Zhuangzhuang had to listen to Cao Yang.

Now, if anyone dared to call Cao Yang a figurehead director in front of them, they might just offer a contemptuous smile, not even bothering to engage.

But if anyone said Cao Yang just had dumb luck and only won the Silver Bear because he met Li Xiaoran, they would absolutely spit in that person's face.

This matter was too shocking.

They had seen with their own eyes the acting of Yu Feihong and Liu Ye, under Cao Yang’s guidance, go from frequent mistakes to god-tier performances.

Especially Yu Feihong; everyone knew what her acting was like, but under Cao Yang’s scolding and constant personal coaching, she was practically reborn—it was hard to believe if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes.

Cao Yang’s ability to coach actors’ images left an indelible mark in their hearts.

"Dinner tonight, on the company account."

Cao Yang added, holding the megaphone.

"Long live..."

"Director Cao is mighty."

"Director Cao, I love you."

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from the crowd.

The crew went quiet for a few seconds, then everyone burst into laughter.

Cao Yang then instructed the assistant director, Li Mingyi: "Let’s hold the wrap party when we get back to Jingcheng; let’s set it for the day after tomorrow. You discuss it with Mr. Cheng later; notify everyone who participated, and the scale can be a bit higher."

After thinking for a moment, he added: "Don't forget to notify Sony Pictures Classics and mk2, tell them I’ve finished shooting another film and might participate in the Venice Film Festival; if they are interested, they can come for a screening in about a month."

Participating in the Venice Film Festival this time, there certainly wouldn't be any true insiders on the jury like Xie Fei; relying solely on the school's influence might be enough, after all, the National Master had won the Golden Lion at Venice twice, and that network of connections was massive.

But why not add a double insurance? The glory and influence of art-house films would only last these few years; it was a wise move to hurry up and snag a few more awards.

Chen Kaige could live off a single Cannes Palme d'Or for a lifetime; who would dare say old Chen wasn't a top-tier director?

Why was the National Master the National Master? It was because he had a Berlin Golden Bear and two Venice Golden Lions in his hands.

Actually, the National Master had a great chance of sweeping the "Three Golds" of the three major European film festivals.

At the time, "Not One Less" was first submitted to the Cannes Film Festival; the film opened with a school flag-raising ceremony, and Cannes said it had too much political implication and asked the National Master to modify it.

Why did Cannes say that?

Because they wanted to give the Palme d'Or to the National Master, but were afraid of being attacked for promoting the Chinese government.

What they meant was that if you even blurred the flag-raising ceremony, as long as those five stars didn't appear in the shot, the Palme d'Or would be yours. Who knew the National Master was just that stubborn? You want me to blur the national flag? You bunch of idiots, you're fucking dreaming!

I'm not playing with you idiots anymore, withdrawing the film!

So, a few days before the main competition list was announced, the National Master directly announced the withdrawal of the film and issued an open letter to the Cannes International Film Festival to express his protest.

Afterwards, he turned around and sent the film to the Venice Film Festival.

And then, Venice gave the Golden Lion to the National Master for the second time.

Just like that, the National Master missed the "Three Golds" Grand Slam.

Otherwise, with a Grand Slam of the three major European festivals, the National Master's status in film history would have been elevated even further; there were only three people in history who had done it, and the National Master almost became the fourth.

But even so, the National Master still had a "Grand Slam" of the runner-up awards from the three major European festivals—the Jury Grand Prize!

1991, 48th Venice International Film Festival, Main Competition Jury Grand Prize—"Raise the Red Lantern."

1994, 47th Cannes International Film Festival, Main Competition Jury Grand Prize—"To Live."

!

2000, 50th Berlin International Film Festival, Main Competition Jury Grand Prize—"The Road Home."

One Berlin Golden Bear, two Venice Golden Lions, three Jury Grand Prizes from the big three—with this artistic achievement, how could domestic directors compare?

At the dinner that night, because there were mostly young people, they were a bit reserved at first.

Cao Yang took the lead and raised his glass, "Today isn't a wrap party, it's our internal dinner. Everyone here is from the Beijing Film Academy, and there are many seniors here; just treat me as an ordinary junior student, don't be constrained, eat and drink as you please."

Liu Ye curled his lip, *Should I leave then?*

Dong Xuan also curled her lip, *Treat you as an ordinary junior? Who would dare... eh? Holy crap, Che Xiao, what are you doing?*

She saw Che Xiao walk up to Cao Yang with a glass, looking straight at him, puffing out her... well, nothing to puff out, but her big, watery eyes seemed to speak, and her face was full of smiles.

"Thank you, senior, for giving me this rare opportunity, and thank you for taking care of me during this time. I hope you'll keep this junior in mind and give me more opportunities in the future. I can do anything. I'll finish this glass."

Pfft!

Dong Xuan let out a soft huff.

Che Xiao, oh Che Xiao, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. Don't think no one saw you intentionally hook your pinky against the back of his hand when you clinked glasses with Cao Yang; I saw it clearly!

Look at Wen Zhengrong... Wen Zhengrong, what are you doing?

As soon as Che Xiao left, Wen Zhengrong also walked over with a glass.

She looked at Cao Yang with an equally undisguised smile; her expression was exactly like a fan girl seeing her idol, her eyes rippling with water.

"Calling you Director Cao is a bit too formal. I'm Wen Zhengrong from the '97 class, one year older than you, junior, and I'm graduating soon. It's an honor to get to know you before graduation. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. If you have any orders in the future, just one phone call, and I'll be there."

She intentionally paused when she said "any."

Dong Xuan gritted her teeth; although she was only a freshman, she was already aware of the cruelty of the acting industry.

Everyone is equally young, and the acting skills are about the same; without any special advantages, why would they choose you?

So what talent are you relying on to get this role?

Even if you are prettier than others, between beauty you can't get and beauty that is decent enough and attainable, how would others choose?

So in the acting industry, no one who makes it to the top is a simple, innocent flower.

Without hesitating for long, Dong Xuan also took her wine glass to toast Cao Yang. She originally wanted to learn from Che Xiao and Wen Zhengrong, looking at Cao Yang with admiring, expressive eyes.

Unfortunately, she couldn't pull it off and could only force a smile.

She raised her glass, her mind went blank, and she downed it in one go, only then realizing she hadn't said anything. She simply gave up and said with a somewhat stiff smile, "Senior, I've finished mine, you drink at your leisure. I can do anything too."

Afterwards, she fled with somewhat stiff steps.

First, I want to thank my brothers for their monthly tickets and recommendation support, thank you all! Let me mention the updates: tentatively one chapter around 8:00 AM and one chapter around 12:00 PM. If you feel there's an issue with the update times, feel free to bring it up. Thanks again for the support, brothers!

(End of chapter)