Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 24 Sword Pointing at Berlin

As soon as the National Day holiday ended, Beijing suddenly turned into autumn.

The film crew had a day off on October 5th.

Before the holiday, Wang Hai specially called everyone together and said that the filming progress had been ahead of schedule, and everyone had worked hard. He also said that everyone was free to do their own thing today.

The fat man cheered on the spot, then was called by Wang Hai to help organize the arrangements after the National Day holiday.

Lin Ruiyang didn't go anywhere. He stayed in his room and went through the scripts from the previous two weeks from beginning to end, making sure everything that needed to be saved was saved. He didn't want to call the crew back for reshoots.

The film market was very hot during the National Day holiday. Jackie Chan's "New Police Story" grossed over 40 million, setting a record for the highest box office for a Hong Kong co-production in the past ten years.

Wang Jiawei's "2046" followed closely behind, with its national box office approaching 30 million yuan. Media reviews were polarized, but its popularity remained high.

In addition, "Kekexili" had limited screenings, received positive reviews but performed poorly at the box office.

Lin Ruiyang had just hung up the phone when the fat man came over, holding up his phone, to let him know:

"Old Lin, look at the reviews for 'Kekexili'. I heard the director is an alumnus from the directing department."

Lin Ruiyang's face immediately darkened at the mention of Lu Taro.

The future films like "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," "Bureau 749," and the skewed "Nanjing" are enough to prove that this movie is plagiarized.

The thought that he used the site of Project 816 in his hometown to film the movie "The Golden Broom" in his previous life makes him feel unlucky.

"Fatty, I happened to have some time to watch it during my holiday, and it felt like a documentary."

"Really?!"

"When I got back, I dug out the documentary and found 21 identical places."

"Twenty-one places?" The fat man slammed his phone on the table.

"Old Lin, you're not seeing things, are you?"

"It's no mistake. The scene where the patrol team members take off their pants to cross the river is exactly the same as in the documentary. Even the angle of the composition and the position of the people in the frame match up."

The fat man was stunned for a full three seconds: "Can our school expel him? He's really lowering the school's standards and ruining its reputation."

"These aren't things we should be considering. Do you know anyone who can contribute articles to the entertainment section of a portal website?"

The fat man thought for a while and said, "It seems there really is one. He's a guy I met on the SMTH BBS before. He's written columns for several portal websites."

"Anonymously hand him this USB drive and let him focus on the fact that 'Me and the Tibetan Antelope' is the true creator of Hoh Xil. No commentary, no taking sides, just stating the facts."

"Old Lin, I didn't know you had this side to you."

Lin Ruiyang ignored him, but his brows relaxed.

After the break, the film crew resumed operations.

This afternoon's filming was the main scene of the couple arguing.

Guo Xiaodong and Hao Lei were separated by a coffee table, and every word they said was a barrage of insults.

On the monitor, Hao Lei's speech became faster and faster, and the emotions of the two people piled up layer by layer. Finally, Guo Xiaodong suddenly stood up, the coffee table was knocked and Hao Lei's body trembled, but she did not back down.

The scene took five takes to finish. At that moment, assistant director Zhou Song rushed in and whispered in Lin Ruiyang's ear:

"Director Lin, teachers Liu Yibing and Tian Zhuangzhuang have arrived."

Lin Ruiyang turned around and saw the two of them looking around at the film crew, one in front of the other.

"Teacher, Teacher Tian, ​​what brings you here?" Lin Ruiyang went over to greet them.

"We were just passing by and thought we'd drop by. How's the progress?"

"We're three days ahead of schedule, and there's still a third left to film."

"Don't rush it. If you rush it, you'll lose your rhythm, especially towards the end, you need to slow down."

Liu Yibing and Tian Zhuangzhuang then sat down behind the monitor, and Lin Ruiyang asked the fat man to pour them two cups of tea and bring them over.

"I took a look around when I came in, and your cast is pretty good."

Liu Yibing paused briefly, then turned to look at Tian Zhuangzhuang. Tian Zhuangzhuang, holding her teacup, twitched her lips slightly.

"Unlike some people, who rush to schools like the Central Academy of Drama as soon as they start making a film, without using any of the acting students from their alma mater. They've been told off by the acting department countless times."

Tian Zhuangzhuang didn't refute, but just continued to drink tea, sip after sip.

After a brief exchange of complaints, Liu Yibing changed the subject: "So, what are your plans after this movie is finished?"

"If possible, I would like to send it to Berlin."

"You have quite the ambition," Tian Zhuangzhuang chuckled.

Lin Ruiyang explained, "The subject matter felt suitable, and Berlin was also quite receptive to it."

"But don't make films just for film festivals. Your primary task is to make a good film; everything else is just a result."

The two teachers didn't stay long; they left after watching two plays.

In the following days, the crew entered a period of intensive filming.

The court mediation scene required several extras to sit in the audience. The production team went to the community a day in advance to coordinate, and finally mobilized seven or eight retired employees to make cameo appearances.

The old men were filming for the first time, and they sat in the audience with their backs straighter than anyone else. It was Zhou Song who went up to them and reminded them to relax a bit.

This scene had the most takes due to the large number of extras involved.

But something interesting happened. Perhaps because the older actors were excited about their first time on camera, they got more and more into it after many takes, which in turn motivated the other extras.

Yang Lixiao, who played the little girl, was an unstable factor in the crew, since children's emotions can change at any time.

Fortunately, in her last scene, the little girl sitting on the bench in the courthouse corridor was surprisingly steady, and she didn't make any mistakes even after several takes.

The later the stage, the faster time seems to pass.

Just then, reports of alleged plagiarism in "Kekexili" made headlines on the front page.

The fat man, holding his phone, found Lin Ruiyang: "Old Lin, look!"

"Many shots in the documentary 'Kekexili' are similar to each other, and the documentary director may have been infringed upon."

China News Service: Netizens point out 21 suspicious points, suggesting that Lu Taro's "Kekexili" is suspected of plagiarism.

Lin Ruiyang took the phone and read through the reports from beginning to end. None of the articles took sides; they simply listed the comparison screenshots, timelines, and background information on the documentary's creation.

The last paragraph reads: As of press time, the producers of the film "Kekexili" have not responded to this matter.

"This won't end here. The documentary director hasn't spoken out yet, and Huayi Brothers probably won't sit idly by. It'll be another public relations battle."

After returning the phone to the fat man, he remembered his past life. Liu Yujun had hired a lawyer to file a lawsuit in Taiwan, demanding that the Golden Horse Awards revoke his award. The lawsuit dragged on for a long time, but in the end, it came to nothing.

But this time, at least in terms of media opinion, the seed of doubt has already been planted, and the rest is beyond his control.