[{"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-75":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},2297075,4493,"Chapter 75: Hurry and Decide","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-75",75,"\u003Cp>Gu Changwei, who was at home taking care of his child, received a call from Cheng Jianye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Jianye’s meaning was simple: Director Cao was starting a new film and was still missing a cinematographer; would you, Old Gu, like to come?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would you, Old Gu, like to come? This sentence was truly familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Changwei couldn't help but sigh. Three years ago, when he was still struggling in Hollywood, Jiang Wen had been just like this, with a simple sentence: \"I have a badass idea, would you, Old Gu, like to come?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come, of course he would come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That muddy pit of Hollywood was truly not a place for a human to stay; whoever wanted to stay could stay, whoever wanted to go could go, but he would never go again—whoever went was a grandson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, he returned to the country to lens Jiang Wen’s *Devils on the Doorstep*. Filming started in October 1998 and wrapped in January 1999. There were no waves during the shoot; it could be considered one of the faster films Jiang Wen had shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what followed was endless trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the original author sued for copyright infringement, mainly on two points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was that the author had only authorized Jiang Wen’s Sunshine Brilliant Co., Ltd., but now it was a joint production of four companies, and the other three had not been authorized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two was that without the author’s permission, the creative themes, story details, and character personalities of the original novel had been distorted and altered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story of the Jiaodong anti-Japanese military and civilians bravely resisting aggression was changed into a tragic story of ignorant villagers in northern Hebei spontaneously resisting the Japanese.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, before the lawsuit was settled, Jiang Wen took the film directly to the Cannes Film Festival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Film Bureau was very angry: you have a lawsuit hanging over you, how dare you go to a foreign film festival? More importantly, have you passed censorship? Thus, they ordered the film to be withdrawn from Cannes within a time limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since it had already been selected for the main competition section at Cannes, how could that iron-headed Jiang Wen withdraw it? He directly took his whole family to attend the film’s premiere in Cannes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He completely ignored the Film Bureau’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the film lived up to expectations and won the Jury Grand Prize, Jiang Wen also \"happily received\" a ban on directing, only this time there was no formal document.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Changwei was \"unemployed\" once again. Without a great director he could cooperate with long-term, this return to the country for development felt like a blow to the head. Added to his experiences in Hollywood, he felt quite disheartened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he simply gave up and let things slide. Since his career wasn't going smoothly and there were no great directors he was willing to work with, he would just go home and have children with his wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having been idle at home for over two years, Gu Changwei had also rejected many very sincere directors. Some, in order to get him to come out of retirement, had even come to invite him in person time and time again; there was more than one such director.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Changwei hadn't agreed to any of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was still the same reason: directors with a bit of fame all had their own fixed production teams. Those who came were either not famous or lacked strength. He was, after all, called the country's number one cinematographer; he had to look after his reputation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was probably what was called being burdened by fame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Receiving Cheng Jianye’s call, Gu Changwei was still very tempted and wanted to agree on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But considering he had rejected invitations from quite a few directors over these two years, and his wife had just given birth not long ago, he couldn't just go wagging his tail the moment a Golden Lion-winning director invited him, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had to... give himself half a day to consider, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Cheng, it’s like this: I have to go to the hospital for an eye check-up this afternoon. I’ll ask the doctor if there’s any impact, and I’ll definitely give you a call back before dinner.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Gu Changwei finished saying this, he felt it was a bit improper, so he added, \"Brother, thank you for thinking of me. I’ll definitely treat you to a meal another day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few years ago, if Cheng Jianye had met him and called him \"Teacher Gu,\" Gu Changwei would have at most nodded, or perhaps not even known who this person was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was a production manager who had followed a Golden Lion winner and was a deputy director of the production department at the Youth Film Studio; calling him \"brother\" was not a loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whose call was that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenli had just given birth to a son this year; her figure hadn't recovered yet, and she walked out wearing a loose pajama set to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cheng Jianye from the Youth Film Studio.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cheng Jianye? Don't know him. The Youth Film Studio is inviting you? Strange, how many films can they shoot in a year? Aren't there plenty of cinematographers at the Beijing Film Academy? With the meager salary they offer, can they afford you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cheng Jianye is Cao Yang’s go-to producer.\" \"Oh, hmm? Who? Cao Yang? The one who just won the Golden Lion? You refused?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenli didn't react at first, but once she did, she immediately fired off a barrage of questions. Her tone was quite urgent, and her pitch couldn't help but get higher and higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was just thinking that you had just given birth and I wanted to spend more time with you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You refused?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenli asked again, this time seeming a bit angry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, I didn't refuse. I, I said I had to go to the hospital to check my eyes this afternoon and would give an answer before dinner,\" Gu Changwei replied stammeringly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was normal for a woman to have a bit of a temper after giving birth; one had to be more understanding of the hardships of childbirth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't wait until before dinner. In another two... one hour, you should hurry up and call him back. Don't keep people waiting anxiously.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Jiang Wenli said this, she suddenly remembered that Cao Yang could groom actresses into winners of the three major European international film festivals; did she have a chance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lose weight, hurry up and recover her figure. Once Old Gu stood firm in Cao Yang’s crew, would she still have to worry about not having a chance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Old Gu, you must remember: hurry up and call him back later to agree. Be crisp and decisive, don't be all wishy-washy like a woman.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the afternoon, Cheng Jianye came to find Cao Yang in person and said there was no problem on Gu Changwei’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Cheng Jianye had come, Cao Yang instructed him to first set up the framework for the crew, using the same staff as last time, and let Cheng Jianye give them a heads-up in advance to set aside time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Cheng Jianye left, Cao Yang took out his phone and called Gu Changwei. Cheng Jianye’s invitation served as a buffer; once there was an agreement on that side, he still had to make a personal call to discuss the matter, which also counted as communicating in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cinematographer was secured, and the crew’s framework was roughly assembled; next, he had to find the actors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days later, Cao Yang called Cheng Jianye and assistant directors Li Mingyi and Liu Shan to discuss the candidates for the actors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, so-called \"discussion\" meant Cao Yang ordered what to do and they discussed it; that was the discussion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are there any actresses recently who are under thirty-five and over twenty-five, and are not having a smooth time? For example, suffering in love or suffering in their career is fine. It’s best if there are media reports that they are very sad,\" Cao Yang asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three didn't care why Cao Yang asked this. Li Mingyi spoke first: \"Little Swallow should be very sad. In the September issue of *Fashion* magazine, she wore a Japanese military flag dress and was scolded miserably. She even went on TV to apologize.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She deserves it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang commented, then continued: \"Forget about her. This kind of person isn't worth wasting breath on. Does anyone else have any others?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Qu Ying should count. It’s spread like crazy in the circle that her boyfriend Li Yapeng and Xun Ge fell in love during filming and got together. She knows it clearly now and is just waiting for the day to go to the set and bring it out into the open.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time it was Liu Shan who answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Qu Ying...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Yang didn't express an opinion and asked again: \"Any others?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lv Liping got divorced last month; she should be sad, right?\" Li Mingyi added another one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lv Liping, let Old Tian go comfort her; let’s not get involved.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know one, but she’s not yet twenty-five,\" Cheng Jianye said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s hear it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does Director Cao remember Gao Yuanyuan from Director Wang Sheng’s crew when we were at the Berlin Film Festival? She should be quite sad recently. Her boyfriend is openly seen in public with Xu Jinglei; they’ve been photographed several times, and everyone in the circle knows about their affair.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You say my plot progression is slow, then I’ll add this update! Thanks to \"Busy Day\" and \"Book Friend 110519144527980\" for the tips, thanks to the brothers for the monthly tickets and recommendation support, thank you everyone. I’m considering whether to set up a group, but I’m afraid I won't be able to resist spamming the group...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1643,"2026-06-20T05:36:32.009Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","23e129c90bc8c6f8e9d3e06c6cb1c33b20f58af2cc7e71ae8ba868ae2c319a03","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-76","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-74",411,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-cover.jpg"]