Chapter 112

This is a corridor under a panoramic shot; Xu Huan, played by Zhou Jielun, is playing the drums, but is suddenly interrupted by the solemnity that enters.

Zhou Jielun stammers as he stands up; of course, he knows this famous school band teacher.

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

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

"What's your name?"

"Xu Huan."

"Do you know me?"

"Of course!"

"Then you should also know that I'm looking for a drummer; give it a try!"

Feng Yuanzheng speaks extremely fast, as if he doesn't want to give Zhou Jielun time to think; the latter is forced to sit back in front of the jazz drums, adjusts his breathing, and starts his performance.

This kind of performance is not like practicing by himself; Feng Yuanzheng's presence is a kind of pressure, because he carries the purpose of selecting actors, and Xu Huan carries the hope of entering the school band; this hope brings pressure.

"A good opening; Feng Yuanzheng's top light goes from bright to dark and then to bright, constantly changing with the character's tone; interesting."

Takeshi Kitano laughed and whispered to Quentin.

Tian Zhuangzhuang on the side also heard their conversation, laughing secretly in his heart that you don't know this kid very well yet, the surprises are still to come.

Zhou Jielun seems to be still immersed in his performance, suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door slamming shut; he raises his head blankly, and Feng Yuanzheng is already gone.

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

Liu Yifei is sitting beside Lu Kuan today, listening to the praise of the surrounding audience and the applause at the wonderful parts of the film with a sense of honor.

She steals a glance at the firm side profile of her master Lu Kuan, and continues to watch the finished film with peace of mind.

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

Excited, he comes to a coffee shop to show off to the girl he likes without changing his expression; this is Starbucks' product placement.

Ding! Your Alipay account has received 800,000 in advertising fees!

This number is not high, but just a few minutes of appearance in the play can receive this 800,000 fee without affecting the plot of the whole play, which is already quite difficult.

This is all thanks to the appeal of the protagonist Zhou Jielun; Lu Kuan, who has no representative work yet, cannot do this.

Liu Yifei's appearance is still beautiful; the ordinary coffee shop girl's clothing can be worn to achieve the effect of a big brand on her.

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

Zhou Jielun, who seems to have both love and career, has entered the fast lane of life, but this journey is ruthlessly interrupted by reality before it lasts too long.

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

He first throws a chair at Zhou Jielun without hesitation; this scene shocks the audience and directors present; they didn't expect the character's reversal to be so fast.

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

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

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

Feng Yuanzheng greets his face with two slaps without hesitation; the red marks are clearly visible.

The audience off-stage all gasp, empathizing with Zhou Jielun's predicament and collapse; if this were their own teacher, how terrible it would be.

Zhou Jielun's nightmare has completely begun.

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

He breaks his tiger's mouth in one attempt after another, and blood stains the drum surface.

In one performance, Zhou Jielun successfully moves up because he is familiar with the score, and finally temporarily obtains the position of the band's lead.

It's just that he hasn't been happy for too long before the fascist teacher Feng Yuanzheng, who is good at raising Gu, brings him a new surprise.

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

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

This is that classic breakup scene; Liu Yifei finally fluently offers a performance with distinct emotional levels under Lu Kuan's repeated scolding and NG.

Gong Li off-stage nods slightly, thinking to herself that this young girl's acting skills are just beginning to be glimpsed.

This performance is obviously a level higher than the immaturity of Bai Xiuzhu in *The Story of a Noble Family*, at least it is already top-notch among the girls of the same level in the Beidian acting class.

This is the improvement and transformation of actors by a director who can tell a play and teach a play.

Liu Yifei looks at Lu Kuan beside her proudly; she originally expected a word or two of praise from him, but seeing Lu Kuan motionless, she hums lightly and continues to pay attention to the plot on the screen.

The film enters the second half, the rhythm and plot have obvious acceleration, and important plot points arrive quickly.

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

Unable to hold the drumsticks, he is severely insulted by Feng Yuanzheng; he cannot control the anger in his heart, rushes forward and punches and kicks him...

The teachers and students in the cinema hall all breathe a sigh of relief; their emotions are pulled by Zhou Jielun's encounter and mentality, and at this moment there is a release and relaxation; it is really the "no urine point" that Lu Kuan said at the opening press conference; it is too wonderful!

Zhou Jielun experiences the investigation of Feng Yuanzheng by the relevant departments of the school, and also begins the first conversation between the two after the conflict in a chance encounter.

Feng Yuanzheng explains his thoughts to Zhou Jielun; all the things before and after are just to make him become the next Charlie Parker.

He said "no madness, no life" to Zhou Jielun, and expressed his expectations for him to Zhou Jielun.

You can completely become the next jazz drum master!

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

The narrative structure is mediocre, the lens language is okay, and the acting of that devil teacher is online.

But to say that this level can enter the main competition unit of Venice, is it Gong Li's unilateral support?

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

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

The plot is about to enter the climax; Zhou Jielun walks into the performance scene where celebrities gather under Feng Yuanzheng's deception, but finds that his score and repertoire do not match.

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

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

Is this still a music art film?

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

This three-stage style? This plot point? This big reversal?

When everyone thinks the film is going to end with Feng Yuanzheng's blackening, Zhou Jielun, who returns from the backstage, sits in front of the drums again as if reborn.

Feng Yuanzheng watches all this dumbfounded, watching the drumsticks flying in Zhou Jielun's hands, watching the work he wants to destroy but fails.

Undeniably, Zhou Jielun's perfect performance conquers him.

No madness, no life; this is the portrayal of Cheng Dieyi in *Farewell My Concubine*.

No entry into the play, no prophecy; this is the best footnote for Zhou Jielun's perfect performance at the moment.

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

He really found and discovered such a genius student! Even in such a situation out of his control.

The master and apprentice cooperate tacitly; as Zhou Jielun's dense drum beats hit every audience's heart, the film ends when the climax has not yet arrived, the screen turns black, and the subtitles roll out.

As the subtitles finish, the sound gradually subsides, and there is a deathly silence in the cinema hall.

For a long, long time, I don't know who sent the first applause, and then it is like a fuse that detonates explosives, setting off a warm atmosphere in the cinema hall!

Lu Chuan watches all this with a painful face; he doesn't understand, he doesn't accept, he is not reconciled!

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

This way, he won't be pinched by Feng Xiaogang alone.

But this time in Venice, he still has to target what should be targeted; after all, there are only so many Chinese films; you grabbed the eyeballs, what should I do?

Although it is not the same track, in order to sell overseas copyright, no one can turn a deaf ear to the success of competitors.

Quentin and Takeshi Kitano laugh one after another and shake hands with Lu Kuan to greet him.

They are foreign directors who have had more exchanges with Chinese films, 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 hug each other excitedly; they succeeded!

Even such picky audiences in Venice, and international big directors like Quentin and Takeshi Kitano, recognize this work so much.

Then there will be great benefits from both the rating of the catalog and the preference of the jury.

Takeshi Kitano's *Dolls* received three minutes of applause, but *Whiplash* obviously exceeded three minutes.

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

The audience originally came for big names like Takeshi Kitano, Quentin, and Gong Li, but didn't expect to have a good meal!

Reporters from the country also feel honored; Han Lu and Xie Xiao squeeze to the front of the stage, constantly asking the four members of the crew to pose for photos.

Their Asian faces have suffered enough discrimination and unfair treatment here; European white people think highly of themselves and think that Chinese directors will not have any excellent works.

Now? The Takeshi Kitano you worship, the Quentin you worship, all want to pull Director Lu Kuan to exchange insights and communicate with each other.

Too uplifting!

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

Even if she is not the main character, such a start is not low.

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

Sina's Han Lu is eager to do so; it's an exclusive news.

The handsome man and beautiful woman maintain the distance of social etiquette; the young girl gently holds the man, not forgetting the smile without showing teeth that her mother told her.

Even the most critical eyes cannot say that this is not a pair of beautiful people.

Liu Xiaoli looks at her daughter who is looking around with a complex expression, a sigh that is almost imperceptible.

Lu Kuan is good at everything, but...

He is really not a good match!

(End of chapter)