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Chapter 93 Praise
I was unsure when I went in, and then I came out, so the approval of "In the Mood for Love" was passed.

At this time, Huang Ze had no idea that there would be such twists and turns, and he was still studying at his alma mater, the Beijing Film Academy.

Huang Ze has now gotten rid of the stage of being just a personal name and has become a celebrity.

All the teachers who had taught him before or those he didn’t know were chatting with Huang Ze.

It feels like a famous alumnus returning to campus.

No! Exactly!

I don’t know how long they chatted, but when the time came, Huang Ze and the teachers came to the small theater.

There were already quite a few people in the small theater at this time.

All the old classmates I met last time are here.

Brother Chen Kai seemed a little silent, and no one knew what was going on.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was joking as usual, "Wow, you've already screened here twice in just a few years since graduation. I heard you're shooting a film that will be screened in Venice. Will you come to our alma mater to screen it again?"

"That depends on the situation." Huang Ze said truthfully, "If I don't win the grand prize, I won't come. If I win..."

"I won't come, and the teachers won't let me!"

"I can't help it."

After greeting each other, Huang Ze walked onto the stage.

"There's not much to say actually. Why don't you all watch the movie first, and then ask questions afterward, and I'll explain it to you all!"

"Okay, I won't waste your time anymore."

Huang Ze was also a student and he knows very well what students think.

No matter who you are, if it's not a class or a crosstalk or a skit, then there's no desire to listen.

I decided not to waste that time and walked down to sit in my seat.

At the same time, he looked back.

Oh, these are Lu Bu, Chu Yunfei, and Zhang Guangbei.

Sitting next to him were his classmate He Zhengjun, who played Zhao Gang in "Drawing Sword", and Ni Dahong, who drank hand-ground coffee and was criticized for having an expressionless face no matter what role he played.

People from the Central Academy of Drama are here too.

That’s right, it seems that the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy has not recruited any students in recent years.

Wang Zhiwen and his classmates are almost juniors, but they still don’t have any direct junior students.

On the other hand, the Central Academy of Drama has a constant stream of actors.

Huang Ze recalled a lot of things.

The three just now were from level 82. The others at level 84 include Zhang Hanyu, Wu Xiubo, "Green Vine Gao Mingyuan" Shang Yang and Wang Zhifei, and Fu Biao who died of illness early.

Level 85 is a name that overshadowed other actors in later generations, Gong Huang.

Thinking about so many people, Huang Ze felt that he really couldn't blame the directors of Beijing Film Academy. If you were them, you wouldn't be able to help but use the actors from next door.

The lights went out.

The old buildings of Hong Kong Island appeared on the screen.

Gong Xing, dressed in a cheongsam, appeared on the screen, talking to the landlord in Shanghai dialect.

This conversation quickly brought everyone in the theater into another world.

Different light and shadow, different picture aesthetics.

It brought a whole new feeling to everyone in the theater.

For female students, there is only one thought that occupies most of their minds.

"Wow! Gong Xing is so beautiful in the film!"

“It’s a very good performance too.”

“No wonder she became the first Asian actress to win the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.”

“I wish I could play Su Lizhen and be photographed so beautifully.” Gong Li, who was born in Fengtian and spent most of her life in Quancheng, took the exam three times and was 11 points short of the mark. Finally, the teacher from the admissions team of the Central Academy of Drama submitted her score to the competent department and she was specially approved to enter the Central Academy of Drama. She couldn’t help but sigh.

"Won't you look bulky in that cheongsam?" Shi Ke, a young girl with a big mouth, thick lips and a wild beauty, teased.

"There are ways to dress for a strong person." Gong Li stiffened her neck. "Who says that a strong person won't look good in a cheongsam?"

"Ah, it's good, it's good!" Shi Ke smiled and changed the topic to movies. "That depends on Director Huang's willingness to film you. Don't you realize that this movie is different from the movies we've seen before?"

"Whether it is foreign or domestic, this movie is special enough."

"Yes!" Gong Li nodded. "Beauty is important, but you also need eyes that can discover beauty, and a talented director who can capture it."

"Hey, where is our Director Huang?"

"If there is someone who can make me as famous as Gong Xing and win the Best Actress award, I think I will marry her."

"If you are willing to marry, will they be willing to marry you?" Shi Ke said venomously, "Besides, if the other person is more than ten years older than you, would you still be willing to marry him?"

"No, she's more than a dozen years older than you. She might even be a stepmother now!"

"Go to hell." Gong Li smiled and pushed Shi Ke. "I just said that, but you took it too far. Do I have to be so unlucky?"

Unlike the others, Huang Ze's old classmates were in shock. "I was wondering why people were praising In the Mood for Love so much. I saw a foreign review reprinted in a newspaper and mentioned Fellini and Godard. I wondered who these people were. They all opened up a new path in film language. How could they be compared?"

“But now I see that the technique is really amazing!”

Tian Zhuangzhuang murmured and shook his head, "I have never seen this kind of picture aesthetics before."

“He may actually be breaking new ground.”

"It doesn't feel like a director's work at all. Rather than a director's work, this film is more like an artist's work," said Hu Mei.

"We have to catch up! Otherwise, the photography department will just outshine them." Li Shaohong joked, "Other departments might get interested when they see how good the photography department is at directing. If people from the literature department or the acting department come and challenge us, it will be embarrassing for us."

"Humph, do they know what filmmaking is?" Brother Chen Kai was indignant. "Those in the photography department are somewhat related. They need to pay attention to the lens and the picture. They need to learn more about coordination. The literature department and the acting department are far from that."

"If you don't work hard for decades, it will be difficult."

After saying this, Brother Chen Kai's gaze fell on the movie screen again.

At this moment, the scene was being played where Su Lizhen and Chow Mo-wan were having their first meal in a restaurant. There was a car in the lower left corner, and the two of them were walking on a dimly lit street.

See this picture.

Brother Chen Kai just felt that it was difficult to breathe.

Can I take a picture like this? Yes.

But before seeing this film, could I have shot it myself?

It's quite bad.

“I feel that this film could only be made by someone who was born in Shanghai. Although it is Hong Kong Island, the strong feeling of old Shanghai is everywhere.”

……

The film ended with thunderous applause.

After the applause ended, Huang Ze walked onto the stage and said, "Okay, everyone, please ask any questions you have."

"Director Huang, can I act in your movie?" Someone shouted in a low voice, and the whole audience burst into laughter.

"Who?" Huang Ze was also amused. "My classmate, if you don't let me know who you are, how can I let you act in my movie?"

“No one admits it.”

"Then this opportunity has been missed!"

Huang Ze smiled and said, "As long as the role is suitable, I will definitely find some of you to act. This is inevitable. However, whether I can find the classmate I just called is another matter."

"Director Huang, how did you come up with such a story?"

"It's a cheating story." Huang Ze said, "In fact, everyone may have heard of this kind of story. I thought of focusing on the two people who were cheated on, and then added some artistic techniques to create a connection between them."

"Why does the heroine need to change so many cheongsams?"

"Are you from the acting department or the directing department?"

"Acting Department."

"That's because the time of the play develops in leaps and bounds. Changing cheongsams lets the audience know that time has passed and it's not the same day anymore." Huang Ze said, "If it's from the directing department or the photography department, they might have to go into more depth. I don't have enough time tonight to talk about it."

"Director Huang, this film has won so many awards. Do you have the confidence to win one of the three highest awards in Europe?"

"I have this pursuit and confidence. I don't know how to put it. If I can't do it, do you have confidence?"

After communicating with his classmates for half an hour, Huang Ze left his alma mater.

After staying in Beijing for two days and attending several meetings, Huang Ze learned from China Film that In the Mood for Love had passed the review and would be released first in Beijing and Shanghai in half a month. He then returned to his loyal Shanghai.

It's time to see the family too.

I also have no idea what the post-production of my latest work, “The Taste of Cherry”, will look like. I will always feel uneasy if I don’t personally monitor it!
This is a work that I have high hopes for, and I plan to use it to make the final leap toward the three highest awards.

If you can't make the jump, you'll have to wait two years before trying again.

It’s not that I don’t make movies anymore.

The main reason is that I have already made quite a few art films, and they are too depressing. The actors are depressed, and I am depressed too. It's time to change my mind.

Huang Ze wanted to make a lighter commercial film in Hong Kong Island, and try to see if he could open up a little market in the United States.

It doesn't take too much. Huang Ze is a realistic person. If he can get a box office of 10 or 20 million US dollars in the United States, it will be considered a success.

After all, the protagonists of this film are definitely all yellow people.

Even Jackie Chan has no box office appeal in the North American market right now.

After several attempts, he finally made it into the box office in 1995 with "Rumble in the Bronx", which grossed million U.S. dollars.

Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" in 73 grossed $ million in the United States.

Besides, it's only 86, and the North American box office is different from what it will be in the future. With more than million, it can be in the top five of the year, and more than million is likely to be in the top ten. Fifteen years later, if it's the same ranking, you can multiply it by three and then think about it.

It's a pure Chinese-language film without a star with box office appeal. Even if the star shows his face, it is likely to not adapt well in the United States.

I am confident that I can get a box office of three to five million in North America.

But a few million and 20 million are no longer on the same level.

Huang Ze could only try his best and give it a try.

(End of this chapter)