Chapter 112: Premiere Explosion

This is a corridor shot under a panoramic lens; Xu Huan, played by Zhou Jielun, is playing the drums but is suddenly interrupted by the entering Zhuang Zhong.

Zhou Jielun stammers as he stands up; he naturally recognizes this famous school band teacher.

"I'm sorry, I was just..."

Feng Yuanzheng walks out from the shadows; the skull light is slightly weak, and he quickly enters a close-up shot: "It's fine, sit down."

"What's your name?"

"Xu Huan."

"Do you know me?"

"Of course!"

"Then you should also know I'm looking for a drummer; give me a segment!"

Feng Yuanzheng speaks extremely fast, as if not wanting to give Zhou Jielun time to think; the latter is forced to sit back down in front of the jazz drums, adjusts his breathing, and begins his performance.

This kind of performance is not like practicing alone; Feng Yuanzheng's presence is a form of pressure because he carries the intent of selecting an actor, while Xu Huan carries the hope of joining the school band, and this hope brings pressure.

"A nice opening; Feng Yuanzheng's top lighting shifts from bright to dark and back to bright, changing constantly with the character's tone—interesting."

Kitano Takeshi smiles and whispers to Quentin.

Tian Zhuangzhuang, on the side, also hears their conversation and laughs to himself, thinking they don't yet understand this kid; the surprises are still to come.

Zhou Jielun seems still immersed in his performance when he is suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door slamming shut; he looks up blankly, but Feng Yuanzheng is already gone.

A sense of disappointment spreads across his face; some Asian audience members are surprised that the little heavenly king has such acting skills, not knowing it is the result of Lu Kuan's devilish training.

Liu Yifei sits beside Lu Kuan today, listening with a sense of shared honor to the surrounding audience's exclamations and the applause during the film's highlights.

She steals a glance at Master Lu Kuan's resolute profile and continues watching the finished film with peace of mind.

A few days later, relying on his brilliant double-stroke technique, Zhou Jielun wins in a competition against the band's lead and successfully replaces him.

Excited, he goes to a coffee shop and shows off nonchalantly to the girl he likes; this is a product placement for Starbucks.

Ding! Your Alipay has received an advertising fee of 800,000!

This figure is not high, but to receive this 800,000 fee for just a few minutes of screen time without affecting the plot of the entire film is already quite difficult.

This all comes from the drawing power of the lead, Zhou Jielun; Lu Kuan, who has yet to have a representative work, could not have achieved this alone.

Liu Yifei's appearance is still breathtaking; she can make the ordinary uniform of a coffee shop girl look like a high-end brand.

Every gesture is filled with the familiarity of a waitress; it is not hard to imagine that the young girl experienced and carefully pondered the character's identity in advance.

Zhou Jielun, who seems to have gained both love and career success, enters the fast lane of life, but this journey does not last long before being ruthlessly interrupted by reality.

Feng Yuanzheng shows his "explosive" side in front of him for the first time.

He first throws a chair at Zhou Jielun without a second thought; this scene shocks the audience and the director present, as they did not expect the character's reversal to be so rapid.

"Tell me, was it fast, or was it slow?"

Feng Yuanzheng's face is almost pressed against Zhou Jielun's nose; his ferocious expression causes him immense psychological pressure.

After several more trials and adjustments, Zhou Jielun's psychological defense is completely broken: "I don't know! I don't know!"

Feng Yuanzheng does not hesitate to slap him twice across the face, the red marks clearly visible.

The audience below all gasp, empathizing with Zhou Jielun's predicament and breakdown; if this were their own teacher, how terrifying that would be.

Zhou Jielun's nightmare has completely begun.

He is unwilling to give up his desire and covetousness for the lead drummer position, so he must constantly practice, practice, and constantly accept Feng Yuanzheng's torture.

In one attempt after another, he tears the skin between his thumb and index finger, and blood stains the drumhead.

In one performance, Zhou Jielun successfully rises to the top because he memorized the score well, finally obtaining the position of band lead temporarily.

But he hasn't been happy for long before the fascist teacher Feng Yuanzheng, who excels at "raising poisonous insects," brings him a new surprise.

He calls the original lead back and, after a competition, orders Zhou Jielun to surrender the lead position.

A disheartened Zhou Jielun walks on the way to a date with his girlfriend; his body and mind have been battered, and he stupidly makes a move to vent his anger on others: breaking up with Liu Yifei.

This is that classic breakup scene; under Lu Kuan's repeated reprimands and retakes, Liu Yifei finally delivers a performance with distinct emotional layers.

Gong Li, in the audience, nods slightly, thinking to herself that this young girl's acting skills have finally begun to show promise.

This performance is clearly a step up from the immaturity of Bai Xiuzhu in "The Story of a Noble Family"; at the very least, she is already top-tier among the female students of the same grade at the Beijing Film Academy.

This is the improvement and transformation a director who knows how to explain and teach acting can bring to an actor.

Liu Yifei looks at Lu Kuan beside her with a proud and spoiled expression, originally expecting a word or two of praise; seeing Lu Kuan remain unmoved, she huffs indignantly and continues to focus on the plot on the screen.

The film enters the second half, and both the rhythm and plot accelerate significantly; important plot points arrive quickly.

Zhou Jielun regains the lead position but encounters a car accident during an important performance.

Unable to force himself to pick up the drumsticks, he is harshly insulted by Feng Yuanzheng; he cannot control the anger in his heart and rushes forward to punch and kick him...

The teachers and students in the screening room breathe a sigh of relief; their emotions were pulled by Zhou Jielun's encounters and state of mind, and at this moment, they find release and relaxation—it is truly the "no-bathroom-break" film Lu Kuan spoke of at the press conference; it is too exciting!

Zhou Jielun experiences the school department's investigation into Feng Yuanzheng and also begins the first conversation between the two after their conflict during a chance encounter.

Feng Yuanzheng explains his thoughts to Zhou Jielun, saying that everything from beginning to end was just to make him the next Charlie Parker.

He says to Zhou Jielun, "If you're not obsessed, you won't succeed," and expresses his expectations for him.

You can absolutely become the next jazz drum master!

Kitano Takeshi and Quentin look at each other, both seeing disappointment in the other's eyes.

The narrative structure is mediocre, the lens language is passable, and the devil teacher's acting is on point.

But to say this level can enter the main competition unit of Venice—could it be Gong Li's unilateral support?

"Xiao Lu, do you think their jaws will drop when they see the end?"

Liu Yifei looks proudly at the audience falling into the trap under the director's deliberate guidance, looking forward to the final reversal.

The plot is about to reach its climax; under Feng Yuanzheng's deception, Zhou Jielun walks into a performance venue filled with celebrities, only to find that his sheet music does not match the repertoire.

This is Feng Yuanzheng's painstaking conspiracy; he wants to use this method to destroy this drummer, to destroy this student who reported him and caused him to lose his position as the school band teacher!

Everyone at the scene, including Quentin and Kitano Takeshi, gasps.

Is this still a musical art film?

Quentin opens his bull-like eyes wide, smelling a very strong Hollywood flavor from the movie.

This three-act structure? This plot point? This big reversal?

Just when everyone thinks the movie will end with Feng Yuanzheng's villainous turn, Zhou Jielun, who returns from backstage, sits back in front of the drums as if reborn.

Feng Yuanzheng watches all this in a daze, watching the drumsticks flying in Zhou Jielun's hands, watching the work he wanted to destroy but failed to ruin.

Undeniably, Zhou Jielun's perfect performance conquers him.

"If you're not obsessed, you won't succeed"—this is the portrayal of Cheng Dieyi in "Farewell My Concubine."

"If you don't enter the role, you won't become the prophecy"—this is the best footnote for Zhou Jielun's perfect performance at this moment.

Feng Yuanzheng realizes that this is the Charlie Parker he has dreamed of; he did it!

He really found and unearthed such a genius student! Even in this situation, beyond his control.

The master and apprentice cooperate tacitly; as Zhou Jielun's terrifyingly dense drumbeats strike the heart of every audience member, the film ends before the climax is reached, the screen turns black, and the credits roll.

As the credits finish and the sound gradually dies away, there is a deathly silence in the screening room.

After a long, long time, it is unclear who offers the first round of applause, which then acts like a fuse igniting dynamite, setting off a heated atmosphere in the screening room!

Lu Chuan watches all this with a pained expression; he does not understand, he does not accept, he is not reconciled!

Wang Xiaolei, however, re-evaluates Lu Kuan's ability and finds that it would be best for such talent to be used by Huayi.

That way, he won't be held back by Feng Xiaogang alone.

But for this Venice trip, the targeting should still continue; after all, there are only so many Chinese films, and if you steal the spotlight, what am I supposed to do?

Although they are not on the same track, in order to sell overseas copyrights, no one can turn a deaf ear to a competitor's success.

Quentin and Kitano Takeshi laugh one after another and shake hands with Lu Kuan to show their respect.

They are foreign directors who have had relatively more exchanges with Chinese cinema, and it has been a long time since they have seen such a talented Asian and Chinese director.

Since Zhang Yimou.

Zhou Jielun, Lu Kuan, Feng Yuanzheng, and Liu Yifei all excitedly hug each other; they succeeded!

Even with such picky audiences in Venice and international master directors like Quentin and Kitano Takeshi, they all recognize this work so highly.

Then, whether from the ratings in the festival daily or the preference of the jury committee, there will be great benefits.

Kitano Takeshi's "Dolls" received three minutes of applause, but "Whiplash" clearly exceeded three minutes.

Lu Kuan leads Feng Yuanzheng, Liu Yifei, Zhou Jielun, and others onto the stage to pay tribute, and also pulls up Tian Zhuangzhuang, who had declined.

The audience originally came for big names like Kitano Takeshi, Quentin, and Gong Li, not expecting to have such a good meal!

Reporters from home also share in the honor; Han Lu and Xie Xiao squeeze to the front, constantly asking the four members of the crew to pose for photos.

Their Asian faces have suffered discrimination and unfair treatment here; European white people hold their heads high, thinking that Chinese directors cannot have any excellent works.

And now? The Kitano Takeshi you worship, the Quentin you worship, all want to pull Director Lu Kuan aside to exchange insights and share information.

It's so uplifting!

The happiest one is Liu Xiaoli, watching her daughter stand on the international stage, blooming elegantly, and accepting the audience's greetings and applause.

Even if she is not the main lead, such a start is not low at all.

Liu Yifei on stage excitedly pulls Boss Lu: "Lu Kuan, let's take a photo together; Sister Han Lu, please."

Han Lu from Sina is more than happy to do so; it's an exclusive scoop.

The handsome man and beautiful woman maintain a social distance; the young girl gently holds the man's arm, not forgetting her mother's instruction to smile without showing her teeth.

No matter how harsh the gaze, one cannot help but say this is a perfect match.

Liu Xiaoli looks at her daughter, who is full of spirit, with a complex expression, and lets out an imperceptible sigh.

This child Lu Kuan is good at everything, it's just...

Truly not a good match!

(End of chapter)