“Teacher, doesn’t our academy have some creation funds? And the Ministry of Culture also has those art funds…”
“You’re a freshman, but you know quite a lot!” Mu Deyuan looked at Wu Chen meaningfully, “You’ve been planning this for quite some time, haven’t you? You even found out about the Ministry of Culture’s affairs?”
Wu Chen chuckled, not saying anything more.
“Then have you inquired about the conditions required for these?”
Seeing this, Mu Deyuan said grumpily, “Is the Ministry of Culture’s art fund something a freshman like you can covet? Who do you think I am? Do you think I can pull strings everywhere?”
“And the academy’s internal practical project creation funds are generally used to support outstanding graduates. People from the Director Department in the academy are still queuing up!”
Upon hearing this, Wu Chen pulled his chair closer to Mu Deyuan and then whispered, “Teacher, you know about the Director Department. They’re all second-generation, few of them have real talent. It’s such a waste to give it to them.
Everyone outside says that our Photography Department is the best!”
“The best what?”
“The one in charge!”
“Yes, I heard that too.” Although Wu Chen’s voice became softer, Pu Songri, who was beside him, heard it clearly and immediately echoed.
“Which scoundrels are spreading these rumors.” Mu Deyuan covered his forehead, “You two should be more careful, don’t let these words reach the Director Department next door.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I definitely won’t spread it!” Wu Chen patted his chest and guaranteed, “It’s just that I don’t know where these words came from; I just heard them!”
“You all have a lot of gossip.”
Mu Deyuan said grumpily. Although he somewhat agreed with these words, he couldn’t say them out loud.
“Hehe, so, Teacher, then…” Wu Chen rubbed his hands awkwardly.
There was nothing he could do; making a movie was indeed not a simple matter.
The money-making methods in his mind were either something he didn’t know how to do, or they couldn’t be used now.
For things like football, as someone who didn’t watch games, he only remembered that one year in the World Cup semi-finals when Germany defeated Brazil 7-1. As for which year it was, he had forgotten.
As for Bitcoin, stocks, and lotteries, there was even less to say.
One hadn’t even been born yet.
One, with the money he had in his pocket now, could at most invest in nothing.
As for the last one, it was just issued this year. Not to mention whether he remembered the numbers, even if he did, winning depended on the Director’s mood…
The only thing he could use now that could still earn some money would probably depend on writing, but that was a time-consuming job.
Writing screenplays and drawing storyboards were also time-consuming tasks.
If he did the former, he couldn’t do the latter. Now, he could only set his sights on the academy and Teacher Mu.
Now, the school and the teachers were the real big legs; if he didn’t use them for four years, it would be too late.
“What’s the rush? I’ll go back later and read your script carefully.”
“By the way, Teacher, I also drew storyboards. Should I show them to you later?”
The entire file was too large, so Wu Chen only brought the script first; the storyboards were still in the dorm.
“You even did that?” Mu Deyuan was a bit surprised and hadn’t expected Wu Chen to be so well-prepared.
However, the more prepared he was, the more it proved that Wu Chen had been planning this for a long time.
“You didn’t waste these past few months.”
“Teacher, you don’t even know, Chen Ge often stayed up until one or two in the morning for this project!” Seeing this, Pu Songri quickly added.
“Young people, staying up late is nothing.” Wu Chen waved his hand, looking nonchalant.
“Alright, bring it all later.” Mu Deyuan nodded.
Upon hearing this, Wu Chen felt that there was a chance, and suddenly the mutton tasted incredibly delicious.
Just then, a shouting sound came from outside the door.
“Brother Ma, Brother Han, Brother Xu… This time, thanks to all of you, without you, there would be no “incense.” I, Ning, thank you all!”
“Oh, oh, oh, Director Ning, no need, no need. You are the backbone. We all got paid to work. You did all the directing, screenwriting, and photography yourself. You deserve the primary credit. We should be thanking you.”
“That’s right, Director Ning, without you as the screenwriter, photographer, and Director, this movie wouldn’t have won the Best Picture Award at the Tokyo Ginza Film Festival!”
“……”
“Teacher, is that Senior Brother Ning Hao from the Photography Department outside?”
Wu Chen didn’t even need to guess, as the words of the two groups of people were already obvious enough.
“Yes, he should be here to celebrate. At the end of last month, just a few days ago, his graduation project won an award at the Tokyo Ginza Film Festival!”
Mu Deyuan had a smile on his face at this moment because he was familiar with Ning Hao’s mentor. He then stood up:
“They should be done. I’ll call them over. We’re all from the same school. Get to know each other. If you encounter problems outside, help each other out.”
He also wanted to take this opportunity to make things clear in front of the two of them.
The film industry is a circle that places particular emphasis on mentorship and peer relationships.
While such relationships are important in many industries, in the film industry, especially for creative professions like Directors, cinematographers, and screenwriters, the connections between mentors and students can sometimes be even closer than in other industries.
Wu Chen was also very aware of this and felt immense gratitude.
Compared to his previous life, where he struggled and worked his way up in the industry for most of his life before finally making a name for himself, the treatment he received now was something he wouldn’t have dared to dream of in his past life.
……
Outside the door, Ning Hao had just seen off some of the crew members of “incense” and was about to leave with Xing Ai'na when he heard Mu Deyuan’s call after only two steps.
“Teacher Mu!”
Ning Hao was a bit surprised and quickly led Xing Ai'na over, “Are you having dinner with friends?”
“With two freshman Photography Department students!” Mu Deyuan smiled.
This answer instantly made Ning Hao a bit stunned.
Teacher Mu could be said to be the pillar of the Photography Department. He himself was somewhat unlucky back then, so he couldn’t become his disciple, which was a bit regrettable.
However, he also met another mentor, who, although not from the Photography Department, provided a lot of help and even helped him build confidence when he began preparing his first film, “incense.”
“Come over and have some more to eat?”
Ning Hao clearly understood what Teacher Mu meant: to come over and chat.
“Sure, I also want to see which two junior brothers are so outstanding. It seems the Photography Department has produced another talent.” Ning Hao chuckled, leading Xing Ai'na into the private room.
At this time, Ning Hao’s hairline hadn’t yet become M-shaped, and his face wasn’t as round as it would be in later years. Combined with the popular punk-style short hair of the time, he had a somewhat roguish charm.
However, compared to Xing Ai'na, who was in her prime and had a slight literary air, he still fell short by a bit.
“Senior Brother Ning Hao!”
Pu Songri stood up, his eyes gleaming, like a primary school student seeing a high-achieving classmate, with a strange sense of admiration.
“Senior Brother Ning Hao, Senior Sister Xing!”
Ning Hao and Xing Ai'na both looked at Wu Chen in unison as they responded.
“You know me?” Xing Ai'na asked curiously.