PNB Chapter 287 Xin Zhilei
Chapter 287 Xin Zhilei
Chapter 286 Xin Zhilei (Happy New Year, please vote!)
"May I take a look at the script?"
Yang Chao picked up a stack of papers from the table and handed them to him.
"This is the final version after seven years of refinement!"
Chen Xun took it and turned to the first page.
The first line of text catches the eye:
[Yangtze River Map - Preface]
I despise all people, I despise all books, I despise all falsehood and affectation expressed in writing; I just want to stand at the bow of the boat and watch the river carry everything away.
He flipped down.
Gao Chun's lines, Gao Chun's actions, Gao Chun's inner monologue.
The office was silent for a few seconds.
Chen Xun turned the last page and closed the script.
He looked up at Yang Chao.
"$100."
Yang Chao was stunned for a moment.
"What?"
"I heard you're short one last bit of funding. Is $100 million enough?"
Yang Chao opened his mouth.
He stood there, his eyes wide open behind his glasses, as if frozen in place.
"You—you mean—"
"I'll invest!"
Chen Xun placed the script on the coffee table: "The total cost is 3500 million RMB, which is roughly 500 million USD. You've already raised 400 million, so you still need 10 million."
0, right?
He looked into Yang Chao's eyes.
"I'll cover the million!"
Yang Chao stood still, motionless.
Something seemed to explode in his mind, making a buzzing sound.
$100 million!
More than 700 million RMB!
That's enough for them to complete the entire shoot, buy enough film, rent enough boats, and stay on the Yangtze River for another two months to capture all the scenes they want.
From being shortlisted for the Cannes Studios program in 2005, to winning the Golden Tiger Award in Rotterdam in 2006, to receiving funding from the French South Fund in 2009, to winning the Best Produced Film Award at the Golden Horse Film Project Market in 2011.
Then the script went unnoticed and no one invested in it.
He has persisted for ten years!
He visited countless investors, met with countless producers, told the story of the Yangtze River countless times, and was rejected countless times.
I don't have a good opinion of art films.
The Yangtze River is too difficult to photograph.
Who are you, Yang Chao? Never heard of you.
He had heard far too many reasons for rejection.
He has finally raised some of the funds, but the last 700 million is like an immovable stone weighing on his heart.
Now, someone sits in front of him and casually says, "I'll cover the million!"
Yang Chao didn't say anything.
He slowly walked to the window, turned his back to Chen Xun, and looked out at the gray and gloomy cultural and creative park.
Chen Xun sat on the sofa.
He noticed that Yang Chao's shoulders trembled slightly.
It took Yang Chao a long time to turn around.
His eyes were a little red: "Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead and ask."
Why?
Yang Chao walked back and sat down in the chair opposite Chen Xun, staring into his eyes.
"You flew in from the United States, came to our door, read the script, and said you wanted to invest 100 million."
Do you know what $100 million means for independent films in China?
"We're all running ourselves ragged for a few hundred thousand RMB!"
Yang Chaoyue spoke faster and faster.
It seemed that his words calmed his inner turmoil.
All those years of being turned away, the exhaustion of my words, and the scrutinizing gazes that treated me like a fraud all came rushing back.
He pointed to the Yangtze River map on the wall: "Do you know how many times I've traveled to get this map? From Shanghai to Yibin, a distance of 2,800 kilometers, I've walked that route more than a dozen times."
.
He then pointed to the stack of scripts on the table: "Do you know how many drafts this script went through? More than twenty."
"I thought every draft was ready to be filmed, but every draft was rejected."
His voice began to tremble: "Do you know how many investors I've met?"
-
"They sat in those big offices, drinking tea, listening to me talk about the Yangtze River, poetry, and film, and then they smiled and said to me, 'Director Yang, the idea is good, but the market won't accept it.'"
He stopped and took a deep breath.
"You're sitting right in front of me now, saying you're going to invest a million dollars—it's unbelievable!"
The office fell silent.
The wind blew in through the window, causing the map of the Yangtze River on the wall to rustle softly.
Chen Xun looked at him without saying a word.
Yang Chao stood up and paced back and forth in the office a few times.
"I'm not saying you're lying to me."
He stopped and turned around.
"I just—I just can't understand it."
"Your salary in Hollywood must be at least several million dollars, right?"
Why did you choose to act in my film?
"A Chinese independent film has a long production cycle, harsh conditions, and it's still uncertain whether it will pass censorship or be released."
"Our kind of film might not even get released in theaters after we finish making it."
"What are you after?"
Chen Xun sat on the sofa, looking at the man with messy hair and red eyes.
He recalled his early days in Hollywood.
"Director Yang."
Chen Xun spoke.
"Please sit down."
Yang Chao hesitated for a moment, but still sat down.
Chen Xun looked at him.
"You just asked me what my motive was?"
He pointed to the stack of scripts on the table.
"That's why I wanted to join."
"I worked in Hollywood for several years, climbing from extra to Oscar winner, doing all sorts of movies, from commercials to superhero films."
"But I have never made a Chinese film."
He looked into Yang Chao's eyes.
"You just said that Gaochun is going against the current."
"Me too."
"I went abroad from China, made it in the United States, and now I'm back to make a movie about the Yangtze River."
"This movie marked the beginning of my journey in China!"
Yang Chao opened his mouth.
"And I really like your script."
He pointed to the line on the first page: "I just want to stand at the bow of the boat and watch how the river carries everything away. This sentence reminds me of someone."
"Who?"
"1900".
Yang Chao was stunned for a moment.
"The Legend of 1900?"
Chen Xun nodded.
"1900 never disembarked from the ship his whole life, Gao Chun never left the Yangtze River his whole life; one was at sea, the other on the river. One used the piano to fight against the world, the other used poetry to fight against reality."
"Don't you think this is quite a coincidence?"
Yang Chao remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he slowly began to speak.
"You should know that Yi Jiu Dai ultimately died on that ship."
Chen Xun nodded.
Yang Chao stared at him: "Gao Chun also died in the Yangtze River in the end."
Chen Xun remained silent.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
Yang Chao suddenly smiled.
After a while, he spoke again: "There's another reason why I said I couldn't believe it."
"What's the reason?"
"You're a star, a big star!"
He turned to look at Chen Xun, his tone hesitant: "What are we independent films most afraid of?"
"What I fear most is celebrities showing up to boost their resumes!"
"They filmed for two days and then left, using stunt doubles for the rest of the time, then adding a green screen in post-production. After filming, he got an award nomination, and our film was ruined."
He looked at Chen Xun.
"I'm not talking about you, I've just seen too much of this."
Chen Xun wasn't angry.
He understands.
Which independent film director hasn't been taken advantage of by capital and celebrities?
"But I believe you are not!"
Yang Chao seemed to have made up his mind and extended his hand: "Chen Xun, welcome to 'Crosscurrent'."
Chen Xun grasped his hand.
Yang Chao's hands were cold and trembling slightly.
A coffee shop in the Dongcheng District Cultural and Creative Park.
When Chen arrived, Yang Chao was already sitting by the window with two Americanos in front of him, one untouched and the other half-drunk.
He saw Chen Xun come in and waved.
"She hasn't arrived yet. She came from Tongzhou, and there's some traffic on the way."
Chen Xun sat down and glanced at the untouched cup of coffee.
"For me?"
Yang Chao nodded.
"I didn't know what you wanted to drink, so I just ordered whatever came to mind."
Chen Xun picked up the cup and took a sip.
-
It tastes like instant coffee.
The beans are terrible!
"What was her name again?"
Xin Zhilei.
When Yang Chao said this name.
Have you seen her?
'
Chen Xun shook his head.
Chen Xun was actually taken aback.
Unexpectedly, the female lead is Xin Zhilei.
This person had just won the Best Actress award in his previous life before he transmigrated.
"I don't remember."
Chen Xun shook his head.
In this life, he had never heard of Xin Zhilei's name.
Yang Chao smiled.
"That's normal, she hasn't played any decent roles yet."
He paused, looking out the window.
"I finalized her contract last winter. At that time, she had just finished filming a movie and was renting a small apartment in Tongzhou. Every day she was running around to different production teams, auditioning, getting rejected, and then moving on to the next one."
"Where did you find her?"
"A friend from the Central Academy of Drama recommended her, saying that she has good qualifications but just bad luck and hasn't been able to get a suitable role."
Yang Chao took a sip of coffee.
"I asked her to audition, and she came. In the dead of winter, she was wearing a thin down jacket, and her face was red from the cold. But as soon as she entered the room, she took off the down jacket, revealing the skirt underneath."
"What skirt?"
"A floral summer dress, the neckline is all faded from washing."
Yang Chao's voice slowed down.
"I asked her why she didn't wear something warmer, and she said that she had to dress well for the audition to leave a good impression on the director."
Chen Xun remained silent.
"The scene she auditioned was the first meeting between Gao Chun and An Lu by the river. She stood there, reciting her lines, and her eyes welled up with tears as she recited them."
"I didn't tell her to stop, she just kept reciting, her eyes were red, and finally tears fell."
As Yang Chao spoke, he seemed to recall the scene from his audition.
"I decided on her on the spot!"
He pointed to the stack of scripts on the table.
Who is Anlu? She is a woman who wanders along the riverbank, a woman who seeks answers in poetry, a woman whose life is intertwined with the Yangtze River.
"She has to be poor, miserable, and have a stubbornness that comes from her very bones."
Chen Xun recalled the time when he first came to Hollywood.
They were also stubbornly convinced that they would eventually rise to prominence.
He spends every day lying on set playing corpses and background figures.
"And there's another reason."
"What?"
"She's cheap."
Chen Xun paused for a moment, then smiled.
Yang Chao smiled too.
His smile carried a hint of bitterness.
"You know, our films have a very limited budget."
"We can't afford big stars, and we can't afford experienced actresses. She only gets a few thousand dollars for playing a male lead. When I told her that the pay might not be high, she said she was happy as long as she had a role to play."
Chen Xun nodded.
How old is she?
"Twenty-six or twenty-seven, I didn't ask for the exact number."
Yang Chao thought for a moment.
"Age is not important, what's important is that she has that drive."
The door opened.
A gust of cold wind blew in.
Chen Xun turned his head to look over.
A girl in a black coat stood at the door, clutching her phone and looking around.
She was not tall, her face was a little red from the wind, her hair was casually tied back, and a few strands of hair fell across her forehead.
The coat was very ordinary, about knee-length, with the zipper pulled up to the neck, and the cuffs were a bit worn.
Yang Chao stood up and waved to her.
"here!"
Xin Zhilei was stunned when she saw them.
She walked with a slightly restrained gait, her steps very light, as if afraid of disturbing something.
She walked to the table, glanced at Yang Chao first, and then looked at Chen Xun.
The moment their eyes met, she froze.
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