Chapter 337: The Embryonic Form of Academic Factions and Financial Factions

At the end of August, the crew gave the actors a few days off.

Liu Yifei is going to North America to run the roadshow for "The Foreign Land 2" for a few days; the main thing is that Director Lu Kuan has to return to Beijing for two days to attend the final interview and opening ceremony of the Pan-Asian Film Academy.

The crew only has Zhao Fei leading the extras to shoot some war scenes, waiting for him to return to check them.

2005 Cannes Film Festival, Boss Lu, then chairman of the film festival jury, announced the establishment of the Pan-Asian Film Academy under the eyes of the world's media.

Information including school rules, training plans, school background, and mentor lineup was rampant for a time.

For a year, not only from Asia, but also young directors and film industry practitioners from New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and other countries sent registration emails.

More than two hundred applicants worldwide submitted resumes and short films to the academy's official website; the school filtered them layer by layer, only to find that the phenomenon of no successors for Asian film directors is indeed very serious.

If you only filter from within Asia, perhaps you can't even find five qualified young director talents.

Having no choice, Lu Kuan, Zhang Huijun, and Tokyo University of the Arts President Hirayama Ikuo, Korea Central University President Jung Un-chan, and others communicated;

Also under the notification of Toho Co., Ltd. and CJ Entertainment, the academy relaxed the restrictions.

It is no longer limited to Asia, and there are no hard requirements for age.

Expanding the selection standards, Boss Lu then discovered many "good seedlings" of later generations.

In the Beijing Film Academy office, the three participating school presidents and Lu Kuan are looking through the list of students for the first Pan-Asian Film Academy together.

In the young director's hand, the first page is Na Hong-jin.

This 32-year-old Korean director rose to prominence last year with a black comedy, "The Perfect Red Snapper Cuisine".

His first feature film in 2008, "The Chaser," allowed Kim Yoon-seok to win the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Actor, and newcomer Ha Jung-woo became an overnight sensation.

Even more famous are "The Yellow Sea," known as the pinnacle of Korean crime films, and the magical realist suspense film "The Wailing".

Flipping further, Korea actually only selected this one student.

"President Jung, it seems that the young director talent in Korea also has the meaning of a break in succession?"

Before President Jung could answer, the gray-haired Hirayama Ikuo spoke in a strange Japanese-English: "Now China, Japan, and Korea, the situation is similar; China is only because of young talents like Lu-san, otherwise the whole of Asia would be a bit faceless."

In the present of 2006, the film markets of East Asian countries are all experiencing the impact of Hollywood, but they show different industrial situations.

Korea was the first to lean toward Hollywood and began the exploration of genre films in crime themes.

In the early 2000s, they rose to prominence internationally with works such as "Oldboy" and "Memories of Murder," but these successes were mainly attributed to middle-aged directors such as Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho.

Park and Bong are equivalent to the Fifth Generation directors represented by Zhang Yimou in the mainland; their previous generation, Im Kwon-taek, is equivalent to the Fourth Generation like Xie Fei and Wu Tianming in the mainland.

Although Korean young directors have some experimental works, they lack successful cases of commercial films as a whole and are lackluster.

Japanese film is still strong in the field of art films; directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda and Shunji Iwai are highly acclaimed internationally, but there are no successors in the field of commercial films.

The Japanese film market is occupied by animated films and Hollywood blockbusters, and live-action commercial films are almost ignored.

In contrast, China is actually slightly better.

In 2006 of the original world line, the mainland is in the early stage of commercial transformation; "Hero" opened the era of blockbusters, but most of the new generation of directors are still in the exploration stage.

Ning Hao rose to prominence with "Crazy Stone," but as a whole, young directors lack international influence.

The break in succession and decline of young directors in the three East Asian countries have their own reasons, and also common reasons.

For example, in terms of market orientation, the entire Asian film market is overly dependent on commercial blockbusters, making it difficult for young directors to obtain resources and support.

There is also educational lag; the film education system is not yet perfect, and many young directors lack systematic training and international vision.

Coupled with cultural disconnection, the younger generation of directors find it difficult to find a balance between traditional culture and modern commerce, and their works often lack depth.

These factors are exactly the significance of the Pan-Asian Film Academy project proposed by Lu Kuan in this life.

It is also the deep-seated reason why he can unite the three schools in academics and dance with CJ and Toho in capital.

Because he can bring benefits to everyone.

For the three East Asian schools, the presidents do not expect to cultivate geniuses like Boss Lu, who is hailed as the next Akira Kurosawa of Asia.

But cultivating some qualified genre and commercial film directors is not a delusion, right?

The Film Academy is also a link in this industrial chain; they have no reason not to support it.

And for Toho and CJ, being able to hold a genre film director is also the biggest profit guarantee in an extremely unstable industry like film investment.

Just like Bong Joon-ho, who was bet on by CJ Entertainment in later generations.

Everyone continues to flip through the list in their hands; there is only one Japanese director, Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Currently 28 years old, graduated from the University of Tokyo with a major in literature, and once studied under the well-known director Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

This director's most prominent advantage is his strong screenwriting ability; most of his films are written and directed by himself.

In later generations, he also participated in the screenwriting of the well-known director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Wife of a Spy," showing his familiarity with historical themes and film image definition; later, he won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film with "Drive My Car".

There are two Chinese students, Lu Yang, a directing graduate who just graduated from Beijing Film Academy this year, who signed up with a fifteen-minute martial arts silent film he wrote and directed, and also invited his senior Xu Haofeng from Beijing Film Academy to participate.

Lu Yang is also the director of the "Brotherhood of Blades" film series in later generations.

It is very clear that the reason Boss Lu chose him is to let him pick up the gradually declining Chinese martial arts film business card.

As he stated in the debate between the Seven Gentlemen at Beijing Film Academy before—in the way of film, genre film is the best tool for cultural output.

Another one can be considered to have walked through the back door: Guo Fan, the deputy director of the production department of the "Sky of History" crew.

The reason is self-evident and needs no further explanation.

Among the direct-line directors of the Inquiry Realm, Ning Hao is rushing on the road of comedy and series films;

Xue Xiaolu creates youth romance movies with the delicate perspective of a female director;

Lu Yang and Guo Fan are the two other genre film big hands he cultivated for himself and the Inquiry Realm, and also talent reserves based on future cultural output.

At 10:00 a. m. on August 30th, the Beijing Film Academy school affairs conference room, the first Pan-Asian Film Academy interview for four Asian students and two European and American students began.

The so-called interview is just going through the motions.

Because the early recruitment and application were in the form of resumes plus short films.

To prevent someone from "ghostwriting," an interview group composed of six mentors including Lu Kuan, Zhou Xingchi, Nolan, Park Chan-wook, Lu Lu Kebei, and Hirokazu Kore-eda;

And three university presidents including Zhang Huijun, conducted an investigation on the final finalists.

In front of professional directors, those who ghostwrite cannot hide their horse feet.

It is very simple to ask some questions about the narrative logic and the deep meaning of the lens language in the short films they submitted themselves; those who don't understand will know at a test.

The first interviewee is Gareth Edwards, a documentary photographer from the BBC, currently 31 years old.

In later generations, he amazed the film industry with the low-cost "Monsters," specializing in immersive blockbusters combining real scenes and special effects, and has works such as "Godzilla" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story".

"Hello, directors!" Gareth's gentle temperament and the ruggedness of his full beard form a sharp contrast.

Looking up, the famous mentors present made him feel a little lost.

Boss Lu saves time and asks directly: "Hello Gareth, please confirm that the registration short film 'Conspiracy' was shot by yourself."

"Yes, Director Lu Kuan."

"Good, talk about the idea of circular narrative in the short film, and the intention of the cross-cutting montage of the male and female protagonists in the twelfth minute."

"Yes, director."

Gareth, who came from a documentary director background, has a concise language style and a steady narrative speed, passing the test smoothly as expected.

The second student is named Neill Blomkamp, who in 2009 in later generations amazed the world with the mockumentary-style "District 9," nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, and established an international reputation with low-cost science fiction films.

Nolan is very interested in him: "Neill, you are currently engaged in visual effects work in Vancouver, making short films for Peter Jackson's team?"

"Yes."

"There are many opportunities in Hollywood, how did you think of coming to our Eastern Film Academy?"

Neill spreads his hands: "The potential of the Asian film market has always been the consensus of the Big Six; Warner Bros. built cinemas in China, and News Corp's joint venture invested in Chinese film companies."

"Of course, there is also the director I like, Lu. His cooperation with Disney and Miramax."

"To tell you the truth, I originally planned that if I wasn't admitted, I would go to his Butian Yinghua to find a job..."

Laughter of goodwill rings out in the conference room.

Boss Lu nods in greeting: "I regret admitting you a bit now; the company lost a top special effects talent in North America."

Neill waves his hand incessantly: "No, no, I can work for you for free, but please allow me to pursue my film dream; I like your science fiction film 'The Foreign Land,' but I also want to shoot my own science fiction film."

It's not strange for someone who does special effects for Peter Jackson to like science fiction and fantasy themes.

This person can be cultivated toward the mockumentary science fiction style in the future, accelerating his transition from a special effects artist to a director.

The interviews for the two European and American students are over, and the four Asian students follow the routine.

It's called selection, but isn't it actually dividing the cake?

It is obvious that Ryusuke Hamaguchi is Toho's bet, and Lee Mi-kyung of CJ Entertainment is optimistic about Na Hong-jin.

However, when the student volunteer from Beijing Film Academy called Guo Fan's name, there was a small situation at the scene.

He is not there!

Boss Lu frowns and waits for two minutes: "Let Na Hong-jin come in first."

Where did this kid run to?

In front of the Jimen Bridge, Guo Fan is rushing through the crowded crowd of the school opening season, gray-faced and dirty.

He overslept!

Working in the "Sky of History" crew is the most arduous work he has done since graduation.

Exhausted in body and mind.

From updating the notice board as soon as he opens his eyes at 7:30, to all the fine and large matters before and after filming.

Things like physical special effects not having holes for falling rocks, the fan being too big causing the smoke to blow down the green cloth making post-production troublesome, needing light substitutes to solve the lighting problem when soldiers have helmets...

Everything opened his eyes, but he also hated his parents for not giving him three heads and six arms.

The "sacrifice-type" science fiction big hand of later generations felt for the first time that making movies is not easy; he still has a lot to learn.

"Guo Fan! Here!"

He just wanted to enter the administrative building when he was suddenly called by another director of the company.

Ning Hao and Xu Zheng are waving at him at the bottom of the building.

Guo Fan is anxious, but facing his seniors, it is not easy to be too arrogant, so he squeezes out a smile and walks over.

Attitude is respectful.

"Director Ning, Director Xu, you two are..."

Ning Hao smiles: "We have something to do with the boss, just waiting for you to finish the interview; why did you just come?"

Guo Fan slaps his thigh: "Sigh! I haven't slept a whole night in a month; I was reckless yesterday, and I was blocked at Jimen Bridge for twenty minutes; I was anxious to death."

"Two big bosses, I'm really sorry, I'll apologize to you after I come out!" Guo Fan puts his hands together; his respectful attitude makes people unable to pick any faults.

Xu "Baldy" has something to say but stops, pondering for two seconds before signaling to him with a depressed face: "Hurry, hurry, being scolded for being late is a small matter; don't let your qualifications be canceled, then it's over!"

"Yes, yes, see you two later!"

Watching the twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old boy take steps forward in two or three steps, Xu Zheng shakes his head and sighs for a long time: "Inviting heaven's luck, inviting heaven's luck."

He also signed up.

And he brought the successful background of "Crazy Supermarket" (Night Shop), a small-cost movie that exploded, and the experience he accumulated in the Inquiry Realm for two years.

And what he considers to be his close relationship with the boss.

It's all his own people; when it comes to hiring people regardless of one pattern, can't he still fish for a handful?

Didn't expect that he really fell out of the list.

Actually, it doesn't matter; Boss Lu's authority has always been something no one dares to question.

If you don't think highly of me, it only shows that I still have a road to go, mistakes to correct, and bitterness to eat.

Just keep plowing and you will have a harvest.

Aren't the artists and directors of the Inquiry Realm all like this?

But since he learned from Ning Hao last night that Guo Fan, a young man he had never heard of, also entered the interview list, the "Baldy" instantly lost his psychological balance!

Why him!?

Xu "Baldy" is smooth in dealing with people and sophisticated; since he became associated with the Inquiry Realm because of "Crazy Stone," he has made many friends within the Inquiry Realm in the past two years.

After asking, he found out that Guo Fan is not a leader's child or a famous descendant at all; he is just an ordinary graduate of Qiong Province University.

Perhaps it was because his editing level in a certain program of "Travel Satellite TV" attracted attention, he was transferred to Jiang Wei's TV crew, and was personally called by the boss after "Sky of History" started filming.

From this perspective, it is not too much for Xu "Baldy" to have a gray face and sourly say "inviting heaven's luck."

His friend Ning Hao comforts him: "Don't think too much; Lu Zong will definitely stay for two days to handle company affairs while he is back in Beijing these two days; I will take you to chat with him."

"Sigh, it's necessary to chat." Xu Zheng sighs: "Since 'Crazy Supermarket,' I thought I was in his eyes, but this..."

The "Baldy's" face is dark and unclear; he suddenly looks around vigilantly and says something to his companion in a low voice.

Ning Hao is terrified!

——

In the teaching conference room, Boss Lu slaps the table angrily: "Guo Fan! You dare to be late for any occasion!?"

This is "weeping and beheading Ma Su"; you can raise it high and put it down lightly, not giving others a chance to speak.

Guo Fan runs out in a sweat, the pure cotton white T-shirt on his body still has the words "Sky of History" crew; facing the nine interviewers at the scene, he bows to the end.

"Teachers! Sorry!"

He raises his head with stubble, sees that there are Korean and Japanese friends present, and uses the foreign language he learned in the crew to conduct a joint language self-examination like "Sumimasen," "Mianhamida," and "Sorry," making everyone laugh.

"You are prominent?" Boss Lu's expression is still "angry": "Director Lu Lu Kebei is also here; why don't you speak French?"

Guo Fan has a constipated face, embarrassed: "Director Lu, this... the crew doesn't have a French translator, I haven't learned it yet..."

"OK, OK, I can understand Chinese now." Lu Lu Kebei is so shrewd; how could he not see whose person this is.

Another burst of laughter in the conference room; it is a simple check that is going through the motions, and everyone has a good impression of this humorous and thin young man.

No other reason; his personality is suitable for being a director.

In the eyes of the academic school, a director is a high-ranking artistic master, full of the refinement and elegance of a scholar.

But only Lu Kuan, Zhou Xingchi, Nolan, and others who have fought in the market environment of "knowing that this matter must be done by practice" know that a director is a relatively complex profession with high requirements for comprehensive ability.

In other words, a director is not only an artistic creator, but also a project manager, resource integrator, and team leader.

In the film industry that is highly dependent on collaboration, a sociable personality is often more decisive than pure talent.

Guo Fan is such a talent.

Boss Lu makes a slight move to resolve the embarrassment of his lateness and cuts straight to the point: "Guo Fan, to tell you the truth, your submitted short film is still relatively immature in technique and lens."

"Yes, Director Lu, the short film is adapted from my own 'Flower Bloom, That Year'; I also recognize many shortcomings myself."

"This time being able to be shortlisted is indeed flattered, but I will definitely seize this opportunity; please rest assured, teachers!"

This is well said, and all the meanings that should be expressed are clearly stated.

Guo Fan knows the real reason why he was able to "walk through the back door," but now he is just expressing his stance to his face.

Zhou Xingchi speaks in not-so-proficient Mandarin: "Director Lu said, the reason he thinks highly of you and decided to promote you to be shortlisted is because of some insights in the questions of the registration form."

He flips through the materials: "The last question in the registration form is: summarize your cognition of the role of film director in one sentence."

Zhou Xingchi reads it again and sighs in admiration: "Everyone can also take a look; I personally think it's very interesting."

Everyone bows their heads; Guo Fan wrote behind this question:

"The bottom line for pulling investment can be low, but the bottom line for making movies must be high." "Treat yourself as a project manager to operate the crew, and then treat yourself as a mad poet to treat art."

Zhang Huijun praises: "A very pragmatic summary, a person who does things."

Nolan smiles: "In 1998, I met producer Emma Thomas through the short film 'Following'; later she became my wife and used her interpersonal network to help me enter Hollywood."

"Guo, your narrative might be talking about me; I traded a man's freedom for the opportunity to make a film; it should be considered that the bottom line is not high, right?"

Everyone laughs; Guo Fan puts his hands together to indicate no offense: "Actually, I am also inspired by Director Lu; I am his loyal fan."

The science fiction "Daji" of the future outputs stably, and the flattery is like a rainbow: "I know Lu Zong's movies by heart, and I have repeatedly studied and watched every one of them, but what I love most is watching the behind-the-scenes!"

"In 'Whiplash,' his earnest teachings to Zhou Jielun and Liu Yifei rawly trained two newcomers into qualified role players; this is very difficult."

"And his portrayal of human nature at the bottom of society in 'The Thief,' and the interweaving of light and shadow of historical trends and small-person love in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'."

Guo Fan has a bit of ups and downs: "Of course, what I love most are the two 'Tangshan' and 'The Foreign Land' that use a lot of special effects, especially 'The Foreign Land,' which is the fuse that made me decide to enter the film industry..."

"Stop, stop..." Boss Lu finally couldn't listen to this rainbow-like flattery anymore: "What fuse, are you going to blow up the Beijing Film Academy?"

"Hahahaha!"

Park Chan-wook, Lu Lu Kebei, and others all laugh; this young man is quite interesting.

Only Boss Lu knows that this is the talent skill of the "Cyber Daji".

In 2019 in later generations, the "Little Broken Ball" was born, and the mainland audience also recognized this science fiction director; some interesting behind-the-scenes stories also emerged.

For example, how eloquent and sincere this Director Guo is, so that he can complete the filming of the movie when the funds are extremely tight.

Among them, XCMG Machinery sponsored equipment and personnel support such as cranes;

Aosheng Company sponsored exoskeleton robots;

Liu Cixin, who visited the set, saw that the crew was too poor and paid 200,000 out of his own pocket to sponsor the improvement of the food.

And Gong Ge'er, Liu Dehua, Wu Mengda...

Even the "Wolf Warrior" Wu Jing was deeply bound unknowingly, starring for zero salary!

This Director Guo is extremely good at bewitching people with words; those who are bewitched will hand over money and resources with both hands.

Seeing him, even the dog passing by has to give a gift of 200 yuan!

Thus he got the nicknames "Science Fiction Daji" and "Cyber Daji".

But in all fairness, this is the normal development route for grassroots directors.

Just like Boss Lu in this life, his first movie was also 3 million "sponsored" by Mei Yanfang, plus the multiplier of the Korea-Japan World Cup to make up enough funds.

And every movie he made from "Whiplash" was absolutely perfect.

Whether it is the script, actors, costumes, props, or special effects, he has never discounted or opened a small difference.

In this sense, this sentence of Guo Fan is also a true portrayal of his idol Lu Kuan.

Guo Fan was interrupted by his idol, and his expression became serious instead: "Last week, our 'Sky of History' crew opened for media interviews; I led the team to organize it; to tell you the truth, I was deeply touched."

"Not to mention all aspects, just a uniform button, a brick, and a newspaper from the era of our crew are no different from the real historical scenes."

"Whether it is domestic media or foreign media, they are truly convinced."

"I think this is the cognition of self-motivation I wrote for myself—the bottom line for making movies must be high, otherwise the market and the audience will also teach you a lesson."

"In this regard, this is also my original intention for longing to enter the academy; I want to be like what Director Lu mentioned before, truly invest in the wave of China's film industrialization, realize my personal ideal value, and also make some positive contributions to the industry, thank you!"

Zhang Huijun applauds first: "Good, it's an ambitious one; it's worthy of the talent your Dean Lu took a fancy to."

"If there is a chance, you are also welcome to come to Beijing Film Academy for further study in the future."

Guo Fan bows to thank: "Thank you, President Zhang."

In fact, Guo Fan in later generations is a powerful supporter and practitioner of film industrialization.

When he was filming the "Little Broken Ball" in later generations, he found more than twenty students from Beijing Film Academy to rotate in different departments, recording the mistakes in daily filming and management, in order to establish standards and take them as a warning.

Guo Fan's interview time was the longest, because everyone was curious about this student who was defaulted to be specially recruited by Boss Lu.

What kind of qualifications are worthy of being valued so much by this genius director and big hand of film industry operation?

It is very clear that Guo Fan seems to be the same kind of person as him.

Flexible with a bottom line in being a person, and serious and not sloppy in doing things.

Boss Lu made the final summary and encouragement: "Guo Fan, you have a law background and have worked as a program editor, operation, and media publicity at 'Travel Satellite TV' after graduation."

"Legal thinking makes you rigorous in logic, and operation and publicity work are also indispensable abilities and experiences in the film industry."

"I hope you will catch up with your weak professional ability as soon as possible; let's stop here today."

The "Cyber Daji" then bowed and exited the field with an excited face.

A scholar dies for his confidant; looking at him like that, even walking has to bring wind.

On September 1, 2006, the opening ceremony of the first Pan-Asian Film Academy was officially opened at Beijing Film Academy.

This may be the most impressive school opening season for Beijing Film Academy students.

Many traffic police stood around Jimen Bridge early to direct traffic; local vehicles had to give way to the reported event vehicles.

Some reporters who did not receive the Inquiry Realm interview permit used various tricks, even offering a price of 1,000 yuan to buy the meal cards and student IDs of Beijing Film Academy students to deceive the security guards and enter the school.

Reporters like Ju Wenpei of "China Film Report" and Han Lu of "Sina Entertainment," who entered in compliance, had long been looking forward to it on the campus of Beijing Film Academy.

I heard that many Hollywood stars and directors will come to support today.

At 9:00 a. m. sharp, the first black Audi drove to the red carpet laid out in advance; Zhang Yimou, Gong Li, and Spielberg arrived together.

Gong Li is the actor of Cheng Ruifang in "Sky of History," and the other two directors are creative personnel of the Olympic team; coming to support is a matter of course.

The freshmen of the 2006 class of Beijing Film Academy are the happiest people today; just after entering school, they can see so many big names who have been famous for a long time.

There are even many who made a fortune by selling meal cards and student IDs to cover living expenses, which is ridiculous.

Among them is Ruan Jingtian.

Times have changed; she entered school a year earlier than later generations and became a freshman in the 2006 class of Beijing Film Academy.

She is naturally not interested in these stars and big names; the main thing is to report and see the style of Teacher Lu by the way!

Senior Sister Liu Yifei is now far away in North America running the roadshow; no one can hear her even if she screams!

Da Tiantian wants to shout enough at once! Cool to explode!

The red carpet and the standard screening auditorium were soon full of guests—

The artists of the Inquiry Realm don't need to mention it.

Powerful actors like Li Xuejian, Feng Yuanzheng, and Tony Leung, as well as actors and directors of the Emperor system, entered the venue.

The four big flower girls, Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, Yan Zi, and Xu Jinglei, all arrived; the last one also wanted to sell well and apologize, after all, she also participated in the forwarding in the last "Joint Letter".

Although she deleted it quickly, there were people who took screenshots!

Even the two Wangs of Yanda Huayi and Feng Xiaogang arrived!

This is a rare guest!

They all arrived; the two Bingbings and the little flower Yang Mi, and Yanda Huayi's first brother Huang Xiaoming naturally wouldn't be absent.

The melon-eating masses in the inner entertainment industry looked sideways; from this scene, it can also be seen that the relationship between the two sides has indeed normalized on the surface.

However, thinking that the Yanda Huayi side did not participate in the last joint letter event at all, and even contributed to the Lu Chuan incident, it is not strange.

Among the directors, there are the Sixth Generation's Jia Kezhang, Lou Ye, and Jiang Wen, who is filming "The Sun Also Rises" invested by Emperor; Jiang Zhiqiang brought Ang Lee, and the old friend from Wan Province, Hou Hsiao-hsien.

Soon, more Hollywood stars and directors arrived.

Best Actor Tom Hanks and Best Actress Moore led the way, followed by Gary Oldman and Scarlett Johansson;

"Film Sociologist" Martin Scorsese and Quentin, Harvey, and others naturally wouldn't be absent.

Leonardo and Liu Yifei are running the roadshow for "The Foreign Land 2" in North America and can't come.

In the standard screening auditorium, Zhang Huijun and Tian Zhuangzhuang smiled: "Some people can't be invited even by A-class film festivals! Lu Kuan's face is big enough."

"This kid, he is best at winning people's hearts; it's not strange."

Zhang Huijun smiled: "It's not strange; aren't you the first one he fooled! The Youth Film Studio was used by him for free for half a year before giving money!"

In later generations, Wanda invested in the

This time, Lu Kuan did not go all out; he simply invited some prominent figures based on the principles of proximity and convenience.

After all, it was not a commercial event, so there was no need to waste too many favors.

It was not until Han Shanping, Director Tong, and relevant leaders from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education arrived that today's opening ceremony officially began.

At the Beijing Film Academy standard screening room, the Dean of the Directing Department, Tian Zhuangzhuang, presided over the event in person, representing the academy in greeting the guests who had traveled from afar.

Immediately following this, short clips of the works of the six students admitted this year were played, finally elevating the theme to heighten the atmosphere at the venue.

After the conventional speeches by the leaders, the presidents of the three joint-venture film academies from China, Japan, and South Korea delivered their respective addresses, and Li Meijing delivered a speech on behalf of the academy's investors.

Representatives from the film academic and capital circles of the three East Asian countries endorsed the event on the spot, painting a picture for everyone of the most advanced talent cultivation path in the current era, which drew bursts of cheers from the audience.

It was not until Tian Zhuangzhuang loudly announced: "Next, we invite the President of the Pan-Asia Film Academy, Mr. Lu Kuan, to take the stage and deliver an address!"

The venue instantly erupted with a tidal wave of thunderous applause!

Whether it was domestic entertainment and film reporters, Beijing Film Academy students, industry stars, directors, academic and business figures from Japan and South Korea, or official personnel from the domestic film and cultural industries—

All of them turned their gazes toward the stage in unison, looking at this young director who, from the day he debuted, had held high the banner of commercial films and called for the industrialization of cinema.

On stage, Boss Lu was dressed in a high-end custom suit suitable for a formal occasion, standing tall and upright, as steady as a deep pool and as imposing as a mountain.

"Hello, friends. Skipping the tedious pleasantries, today I would like to talk to you about the original intention behind founding this film academy."

"Previously, on different occasions, I have expounded my views on commercial films and film industrialization."

"For example, the exchange at the Beijing Film Academy after *The Drummer* won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2002, the dialogue with domestic sixth-generation directors on behalf of officialdom, my speech as the jury president at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005, and so on."

"Why have I been committed to pushing all of this forward? Frankly speaking, it is because I have seen a crisis."

"Today, those present are all industry colleagues from our three East Asian countries. We coexist within the Confucian cultural sphere that originated in China, sharing similar artistic imprints and aesthetic sensibilities."

"But let us look at the film markets of our three countries."

"I will not repeat the relevant data today, but almost all of them are suffering from the 'invasion' of the Western film industry from Hollywood; this is the truth."

"It is true that Hollywood is a competitor and a commercial enemy, but I believe they are even more so an anatomical specimen. The strength of Hollywood lies in their professional division of labor."

"Today, behind closed doors, let us expose our own shortcomings. Compared to the 150 film industrialization job categories currently in Hollywood, this number is 46 in China; this is official data from the Film Bureau."

"From the perspective of the production system, Hollywood is producer-centered, while we are director-centered."

"From a single production process, such as color grading, Hollywood has the ASC-CDL color decision list, while our crews mostly rely on experience."

"And there are also things like talent cultivation, risk management, completion guarantees, box office forecasting, and so on..."

Boss Lu paused: "Pouring this bucket of cold water might make everyone present feel chilled to the bone, but it is truly necessary to splash it; one must break before one can build."

This statement exposed his own shortcomings, but the industry insiders present deeply agreed.

There are many non-standard practices in mainland film crews, and all lines of the industrial chain are deeply harmed by them.

Investors' funds being misappropriated under false pretenses, production managers deducting commissions from extras and meal budgets, and location managers lining their pockets from film site fees are all the norm.

The students in the Beijing Film Academy standard screening hall listened with heavy hearts, and one directing student could not help but stand up and shout: "Director Lu, then what should we do?"

Boss Lu smiled and said: "Film industrialization is a broad concept that requires the coordination of officialdom, film companies, directors, financial institutions, and other parties to be realized."

"This process cannot be achieved overnight, but it needs to be launched as soon as possible."

"For example, the internal decision-making of our Inquiry Realm crews and film marketing has, to a considerable extent, undergone a Sinicization transformation of Hollywood's industrialization system to assist our commercial and artistic decisions."

"Of course, this student's question also points to our theme today—"

The young director reached out and pointed to the banner above his head: "The establishment of the Pan-Asia Film Academy is an effort to promote film industrialization from the director's link."

The audience discussed it in whispers, but soon returned to calm.

When it comes to artistic attainment, there is no first place in literature; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is no unified standard.

But when it comes to the understanding of the film industry and a global perspective, perhaps this mainland's richest man is qualified to be a teacher to everyone from officialdom to the halls of power.

"Yesterday in the conference room, I communicated with President Zhang, President Ikuo Hirayama of Tokyo University of the Arts, and President Chung Un-chan of Chung-Ang University in South Korea, and it was very sad to discover that there is a gap in directing talent."

"In Japan, the gap exists because of the collective aphasia under the shadow of masters. Seniors like Director Hayao Miyazaki and Director Takeshi Kitano are too excellent, leaving no successors. In the top ten domestic Japanese film box office from 2003 to 2006, new directors occupied only one spot, which was the then 46-year-old Mr. Takashi Miike; looking further down, one cannot see anyone else."

"In South Korea, the gap exists because of the existence of the Chungmuro bloodline theory. The ecological construction and talent cultivation of the film industry cannot be fully developed. Data from the Korean Film Council in 2006 shows that films produced by directors under 35 that entered theaters accounted for less than 5%."

"And in China, the gap is because the evaluation standards have long been held in the hands of a few film academic cliques, demonizing normal film commodities—genre films and commercial films—making our excellent directors, who originally had the ability to tell good stories, terrified!"

"Of course, since Director Zhang Yimou's *Hero* in 2002, I am very glad that more and more directors have realized this and refused to be drowned in the tide of commercial films."

Hearing this, the audience was already silent.

Every family has its own difficult scriptures to recite; some things are unpleasant to say, but senior practitioners know them in their hearts.

In Japan, masters like 65-year-old Hayao Miyazaki and 59-year-old Takeshi Kitano monopolize absolute industry resources, and major studios like Shochiku and Toho pursue safe strategies, not giving young directors many opportunities.

And the Chungmuro he mentioned is the central area of the South Korean film industry, gathering numerous film companies, equipment stores, cinemas, and theaters.

Without the Chungmuro bloodline, it is difficult to obtain opportunities in the South Korean film industry, where seniority is also strictly observed.

As for the Southeast Asian countries that Boss Lu ignored, there is no need to mention them; there are almost no famous directors, and their local production systems were destroyed by the aftermath of the 1998 financial crisis.

Artistically, they are also a generation torn by colonial narratives.

Boss Lu said earnestly: "Therefore, the Pan-Asia Film Academy was founded with this original intention."

"According to strict selection procedures, we only recruited six students for the first class."

"I hope you work hard! Forge ahead! Achieve results, become role models, and I hope this number can be 10 or 20 next year!"

The young director gave his final concluding remarks: "Alright, friends."

"Industrialization is not a multiple-choice question, but a life-or-death order."

"The backbone of industrialization is standardization, and the soul is creativity."

"I hope every one of our students can become a demolition expert of the old order and a surveyor of the new blueprint."

"Finally!"

"I would like to offer a prospect, an expectation, and a blessing to our young Beijing Film Academy students in the audience and to all film industry practitioners in the country!"

All the industry stars, directors, film companies, and powerful figures in the audience, including Fan Bingbing and Ruan Jingtian, could not help but sit up straight and listen attentively.

"I hope that with the efforts of our generation, Chinese culture will sweep the globe on the artistic carrier of film, and let our Dragon Seal become the universal currency of the film world!"

"In the near future, in IMAX theaters in Shanghai and Beijing, children will be able to cheer for our superheroes Wukong and Nezha!"

"On the world's largest video website, a series tagged 'Chinese Sci-Fi' and 'Huaxia Culture' will have the highest number of views!"

"At the Oscar awards ceremony, a designer wearing Hanfu will hold up the Best Visual Effects trophy and thank the Lin'an algorithm team for their contribution!"

"Friends! Colleagues! This is not a fantasy! This is the future that our generation must weld with our own hands!"

"When future generations write the film history of the 21st century, I hope they record it this way: In 2006, a group of Chinese filmmakers put down the pens of literary mutual contempt, grasped the wrench of industrial film civilization, and forged..."

The air in the grand auditorium stifled for a moment; Boss Lu paused, looking at the audience with a smile.

"The glory of Chinese cinema!"

As soon as the words fell, official guests such as Director Cai of the General Administration, Director Tong of the Film Bureau, leaders of the Ministry of Culture, and Han Shanping stood up first.

The whole audience was inspired, and the applause was like a tide, lasting for a long time.

From the halls of power to the grassroots, all the industry insiders standing at the top of the industry pyramid could not help but feel moved—

Carrying this banner of film industrialization, after today, perhaps a future financial and academic clique of the Chinese film industry is about to be born.

(End of this chapter)