Chapter 37: Chocolate with a Nut

"Respected teachers, I am candidate number 7, Lu Kuan. I will now present my personal views."

This was the standard procedure for everyone's speech, intended to make it easier for the examiners to grade.

Liu Zeyu let out a quiet, mocking sound. *Who are you trying to impress?* he thought. *You don't have a shred of substance in your gut; otherwise, you would have grabbed the microphone to speak long ago.*

He Yanjiang, Xiao Xiao, and the others cast sympathetic glances his way. It wasn't his fault for performing poorly; the topic was truly beyond their level.

Aside from He Yanjiang, who had previously worked in a related industry, the others were just seventeen or eighteen-year-old high school students with only a slight foundation.

Expecting them to suddenly critique such a professional script while maintaining the right balance was truly not easy.

Sitting in the back row of the judges' panel was a freshman from the 2001 vocational class who had come to help collect scorecards and act as an assistant today.

He was a student named Ning Hao, whom the department head Xie Xiaojin admired greatly and had been trying to recruit from the cinematography department.

He had long been bored, waiting for the last person to finish speaking so he could hurry back to the residential complex in Jimen to have dinner with his girlfriend, Xing Aina. He looked at Lu Kuan, who had just finished his self-introduction, with a very unfriendly gaze.

*What were you doing earlier? If you really didn't understand, you should have just mumbled a few words like everyone else. Why did you have to wait until the very last one to make a fool of yourself?*

But soon, he was stunned by this young man, whose image was so good he should have applied to the acting department.

"I believe this script doesn't even qualify as a semi-finished product. If it were actually filmed, Zhang Dao's reputation would be ruined in an instant. It would definitely be a 'spectacle film'!"

What is a spectacle film? The kind that is hollow and tedious, relying only on grand scenes as a gimmick, where you can't remember a single thing after watching a segment—that is called a spectacle film.

It is just like an article desperately piling up flowery language; it looks magnificent, but it is actually complete nonsense.

Except for Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang, who had read the script, everyone else thought this candidate was talking big.

This was criticism for the sake of criticism, criticism for the sake of points, and criticism for the sake of grabbing attention.

But when they looked at Zhang Yimou, who was deep in thought, they saw no anger on that face that looked like a terracotta warrior; instead, he was nodding slightly.

Lu Kuan continued to explain.

"The reason I express this view is that I want to use the concept of a chocolate with a nut inside to explain it."

As the person involved, Zhang Yimou naturally had to show the demeanor of a great director. He took the microphone and smiled, "Little classmate, please enlighten me."

"Chocolate is, of course, sweet, but if you wrap a nut inside the chocolate, you can satisfy the taste requirements of different audiences."

"For those without teeth, they can taste the chocolate on the outside without being affected by the nut."

"For those with teeth, they can enjoy both the chocolate and the nut!"

"However, in literary works, or rather, film works, this kind of connotation can be extended."

"For audiences with lower cultural literacy, less viewing experience, or to put it bluntly, those who just go to watch special effects and martial arts, the chocolate is enough to satisfy them."

"But for those audiences who have a higher ability to appreciate works, who like to peel back the layers to savor the cultural connotations, and who see depth in simplicity, the current richness of the script is, in my opinion, insufficient."

"It is like a chocolate without a nut; it can only satisfy the most basic viewing needs!"

Once these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

The students, who did not yet have much ability to discern, all observed the reactions of the examiners and the principal; everyone was deep in thought.

Liu Zeyu also looked at the expressions of Zhang Huijun and Zhang Yimou with uncertainty; there was absolutely no sign of the impatience, disgust, or desire to interrupt that he had expected.

Ning Hao, who was determined to make his own films and had even shot countless music videos and commercials for that purpose, also sat up straight. He had been fiercely stung by Lu Kuan's words!

He thought of his own script adapted from *Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels*, and remembered his *Big Diamond*, which he still wasn't satisfied with after many revisions.

Lu Kuan delivered his final concluding statement.

"As for the finished film of this entire script, I can imagine it being just a few creative scenes glued together by a dull and untenable story, and as indicated by the lighting and camera angles in the script, using martial arts scenes to directly stimulate the audience's eyes."

"Such a narrative is pale and powerless, and it lacks logic! This path of 'aestheticism-only' makes people feel like they aren't watching a movie, but a commercial, and the creative team is reduced to mere technical craftsmen!"

No one dared to breathe deeply anymore. He Yanjiang stared blankly at Lu Kuan, who was speaking with such eloquence and passion, and felt extremely envious!

Zhang Yimou frowned and pondered for a while, then took the microphone and smiled candidly, "Very good, classmate Lu. I accept the criticism."

Zhang Huijun was the first to applaud. The camera was recording the whole thing; what great promotional material!

A candidate who respects neither authority nor books, only facts; a famous director who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, Zhang Yimou, is open-minded and humble enough to ask for advice from his juniors.

The entire art examination process for the Beijing Film Academy's directing department was compact, and the exam arrangements were professional and reasonable, becoming a grand lecture hall for artistic discussion and ideological liberation.

Simply perfect!

The examiner announced that today's fourth round was over, and everyone exited in an orderly fashion.

Before leaving, He Yanjiang asked Lu Kuan for his phone number, while Liu Zeyu flicked his sleeves and left, his face turning from blue to white; he had no intention of engaging in any more verbal sparring with Lu Kuan.

This was not his battlefield; he had plenty of ways to toy with these commoners.

Zhang Yimou signaled for the guests accompanying him to wait a moment, then smiled and called out to Lu Kuan.

"Little classmate, please leave me your contact information. I would like to hear more of your views and see if there are any ideas for revision."

The surrounding candidates and even the teachers of the Beijing Film Academy cast envious glances, wishing they could take his place.

Lu Kuan naturally did not decline; he also admired the cinematic artistic attainments of this future national master.

Of course, it would be even better if he could get rid of that bird-brained Zhang Weiping sooner; all the trash films came from his hands.

Not long after walking out of the main gate, a young man with a crew cut came running up behind him, panting, and stopped Lu Kuan, out of breath.

"Classmate... wait... wait a moment..."

Boss Lu took a closer look—another tool person had come online!

"You're the senior who was helping with the art exam earlier, right? What should I call you?"

The young man finally caught his breath: "Hello, classmate. My name is Ning Hao. Let me treat you to lunch!"

He immediately pointed to the three-story building behind him: "How about I take you to experience the Beijing Film Academy canteen in advance?"

"Let's go!"

When the two arrived in front of the canteen, before Ning Hao could introduce it, he heard Lu Kuan stroking his chin and talking to himself.

"Is the Star Food Street still called the Quack Quack Food Street? The catfish vermicelli on the third floor should still have people lining up every day, right?"

"The Tianchi Restaurant has too much oil; better not go there."

"The white-cut chicken rice and roast goose at the Garden Restaurant should still be pretty good..."

"Forget it, let's go to the Xinjiang Restaurant! Ning Hao, let's go eat pilaf and baked buns. I'll use your card."

The sophomore senior, who had wanted to show off, was left in the wind. Seeing Lu Kuan, who was more familiar with the canteen than he was, already walking into the semi-basement Xinjiang Restaurant, he hurriedly followed.

(End of chapter)