Chapter 34: Zhang Songwen Wang Baoqiang

Influenced by his mother since childhood, Zhang Songwen took refuge in the Nanhua Zen Temple in his hometown, practicing in the world.

But at the age of 23, he changed his indifferent personality, gave up a job with a monthly income of 20,000, and rushed to the Beijing Film Academy to chase his dreams.

The Beijing Film Academy's higher vocational class in 2000 hadn't yet opened a directing department, so he had no choice but to sign up for the acting department, walking down that path to the end, and after graduation, he stayed at the school to become a teaching assistant for the higher vocational class.

Life wasn't easy; his chance encounter with Lu Kuan at the Fan Bingbing Film and Television School was when he was working part-time as an acting teacher.

Sitting in a private room at the Jimen Hotel near the Beijing Film Academy at this moment, Zhang Songwen felt somewhat of the same anxiety he had before applying for the higher vocational class.

A text message from last night had received a response; perhaps this was the biggest harvest of this winter vacation, otherwise, he would still have to do part-time jobs like washing dishes to save up for rent.

The door was suddenly pushed open by a man in his forties with short hair, wearing a shabby, unkempt cotton jacket, with very dark circles under his eyes.

Li Yang, who pushed the door and entered, froze, then stepped out of the private room to scan the area—that was right, it was 007, so why wasn't Lu Kuan inside?

"Director, what's wrong?" A young man with a dull look followed him in, grinning broadly and looking very happy.

Having been successfully selected by the crew, and with an investor treating them to a meal today and specifically asking to see him, the "Shagen" who was the same age as Lu Kuan this year couldn't be happier.

He hadn't been home for two years; the salary for this movie was a full 2,000 yuan, and he was already looking forward to the day of the wrap-up...

By the time Lu Kuan arrived, the room was already chatting; besides the three from before, there were also *Blind Shaft*'s cinematographer Liu Yonghong and lead actor Li Yixiang.

"Boss Lu!"

Li Yang was the first to greet him; only he and Lu Kuan were somewhat familiar here, and the others hurriedly stood up to greet him as well.

Zhang Songwen had traveled far and wide and was much more sophisticated in human affairs; seeing Wang Baoqiang still cracking melon seeds on the side, he hurriedly gave him a tug.

In this society, or the entertainment industry, a small detail could offend someone and subsequently bury one's career.

"Everyone, please sit."

Lu Kuan took off the scarf around his neck with composure and first conveyed an exciting piece of news to Li Yang.

"Li Dao, besides the initial 1 million, I will remit the remaining 1 million in batches according to your filming progress; you don't need to worry about the money."

Li Yang graduated from the Cologne Film Academy in 1994 and had just returned to China last year.

When he was in Germany, he made a four-year plan to save money, doing whatever made money.

He had been a painter, a mason, worked in restaurants, been a driver, and worked as a cameraman at a TV station.

The documentary director, who had less than a million in initial investment in his hands, let out a long sigh of relief at this moment; poverty is hard to cure, and underground films were too difficult these days.

Li Yang didn't feel he had lost much face, and in front of his cinematographer and lead actor, he stated: "Boss Lu, rest assured, I will definitely complete this film with quality and quantity; even if it can't be shown in theaters domestically, I will never let your money go down the drain."

Lu Kuan chuckled to himself; it was only because he was kind-hearted that he left Li Yang some shares, otherwise, he would have plenty to regret when selling the copyright at the film festival.

Zhang Songwen had a good eye and left the private room to call the waiter to serve the dishes, and everyone ate and chatted.

"Li Dao, has the crew insurance been bought?"

Li Yang stammered for a long time: "The lead actors and main creators have all bought it, the others..."

The *Blind Shaft* of his past life had people die due to a landslide accident, which scared the lead actress away.

"Buy the top-tier accident insurance for everyone; I'll cover this budget, outside of the 2 million investment."

The others were surprised, but didn't say anything on the surface; at this time, the boss of the crew was Li Yang, and everything had to be based on his stance.

Even with such a good thing, who could guess the director's true thoughts? Maybe he felt Lu Kuan was buying people's hearts, and was feeling seven parts dissatisfied and eight parts resentful.

Shagen was someone who couldn't hold back his thoughts; he raised his wine glass excitedly and said: "Thank you, Boss Lu! You are the best investor I have ever met!"

This kid had also learned to flatter; he had been a background actor for two years and had seen what kind of investors there were.

Zhang Songwen knew that good words are hard to persuade a damn ghost, so he stopped tugging at his clothes; the words were already out, whether it was appropriate or not, we'd see!

Li Yang let out a long sigh, stood up solemnly with a full glass, and toasted Lu Kuan: "Boss Lu, thank you so much, I won't say anything else, it's all in the wine!"

An investor who didn't interfere in the crew's chores, an investor who could give constructive advice on script structure and cinematography.

And an investor who was people-oriented and treated the underground film creators, who were like mice, as human beings—there were too many people talking about interests these days, and too few talking about conscience.

The lead actors and cinematographers also followed the trend, whether out of physical and mental need or following the market, and expressed their gratitude respectfully.

Lu Kuan toasted them back one by one, then pointed at Zhang Songwen and introduced him: "This is Zhang, a student from the Beijing Film Academy, my alumnus; I would like Li Dao to see if he can handle the role of Tang Zhaoxia."

Li Yixiang asked curiously: "Is Boss Lu also from the Beijing Film Academy?"

He was from the 92nd class of the Beijing Film Academy's acting department; eating this meal until now, he still thought Lu Kuan was a coal-rich second generation playing around, not expecting him to be an insider.

"Oh, I'm preparing to take the art exam after the festival, directing department, haha."

Boss Lu didn't notice he had let it slip; the last time he stepped into the Beijing Film Academy campus was decades ago when he traveled through time.

Li Yang was grateful to Lu Kuan, but he wouldn't remove a role that had already been decided just because of a simple recommendation; he immediately made an appointment with Zhang Songwen for a trial performance, and they didn't talk deeply during the meal.

At the wine table, cups were exchanged, and a group of filmmakers talked about the land, looking forward to starting the creation of this crime film earlier.

Cinematographer Liu Yonghong had previously worked as a TV station reporter and had even spent a year doing wedding photography to make a living.

He was very curious about the 16mm handheld photography and shoulder-mounted photography that Lu Kuan had proposed earlier, and at this moment, he took the opportunity to ask for advice.

"Boss Lu, I'm still worried about the exposure issue in cinematography..."

Besides Li Yang, the other three had question marks on their faces; how could this investor know even cinematography?

Lu Kuan smiled: "Kodak 16mm film, the maximum sensitivity is only ASA 500; although it can't compare to the current baseline sensitivity starting at 800, what we want is this oppressive atmosphere of insufficient lighting."

Friends with cinematography common sense all know that this kind of T1.3 Zeiss lens has a very low reflectivity in deep pit scenes like mines, and the resulting underexposure is consistent with the scenes shown in the original *Blind Shaft* film.

And this is exactly the effect Lu Kuan is pursuing, and it is also the point that the Berlin Film Festival values most: authenticity!

It is precisely the darkness and pseudo-documentary effect brought about by such underexposure that intensifies this authenticity, just like a documentary describing criminal activities.

Of course, such authenticity also doomed *Blind Shaft* to the fate of being banned from broadcasting in China; it is one body with two sides, which is unavoidable.

After the meal, everyone dispersed.

Wang Baoqiang and his background actor friends rented low-rent housing near the Beijing Film Academy; the Beijing Film Studio and the Beijing Film Academy were separated by a wall, making it convenient for them to find work.

Zhang Songwen would graduate in the summer, so naturally, he was living in the school dormitory at this time.

Lu Kuan walked with them for a while, took out a business card, and gave it to Baoqiang; he didn't have a mobile phone, so if something happened, he could only contact him one-way.

Immediately after, he patted the shoulders of the two future powerful actors and left.

"Act well, sign with my company later!"

Shagen was somewhat flattered; now, if he could be a small or medium special actor, he could laugh until his mouth crooked, let alone signing with an entertainment company.

"Brother Wen, does Boss Lu also have an agency?"

Zhang Songwen shook his head silently, inexplicably recalling a Buddhist verse from the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, whom he believed in:

A single lamp can dispel a thousand years of darkness, a single wisdom can extinguish ten thousand years of ignorance.

Could this Boss Lu be this thousand-year bright lamp for him?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 35 =====