288: Chapter 288 Cover Selection

After the meal, Director Mu Sheng and Director Wang Jiahui went their separate ways to attend to their own business, while Director Du Qiyu took Lin Chuyan to the company.

Business is business; confidentiality agreements still had to be signed. Only after they were signed did he let Lin Chuyan and the other two into the small dark room to watch the final cut of "a moment of romance". Director Du Qiyu told them to find him once they were done, then turned and went off to attend to his own work.

Before watching, Lin Chuyan specifically checked the film's duration—very good, less than 90 minutes. This alone already surpassed many other films.

Nowadays, movies are always over two hours long; if the quality isn't up to par, it's simply torture for the audience.

He clicked play.

The plot opened with a car chase scene. He wondered if that was because of his racing results...

There was no harm in talking during a private screening. As the plot unfolded, the group began to discuss it freely.

The more Wu Yue watched, the more confident he became: "Xiao Yan, the director filmed you looking very handsome."

Xia Zhi clicked her tongue: "Zhou Shiyun is also so pitifully beautiful..."

Lin Chuyan: "I'll tell Wen Qi in a moment."

Wu Yue: "No wonder the Haters call you Lin the Dog; you really are a dog."

Xia Zhi: "Exactly, exactly."

As the plot progressed, the scenes that were most memorable from the filming process appeared one after another.

Smashing the bridal shop, driving to speed away with his girlfriend, the crazy nosebleeds, all set to various background music...

At this point, no one was talking anymore; it seemed they were all absorbed in the film.

When the film ended, the few of them looked at each other. Finally, Wu Yue was the first to speak: "Let's hear it, what do you think?"

Xia Zhi was still a bit uncertain: "Brother, I feel like it's actually quite good?"

Lin Chuyan didn't answer; he was already smiling: "Brother Yue, what do you say?"

Wu Yue couldn't help but laugh out loud. After thinking about this for so long, he could finally see it bearing fruit: "What else can I say? Is this a sign of fortune? Xiao Yan, this film is really good. That scene where you're speeding with Zhou Shiyun—I didn't feel much when you were filming it, but in the movie, combined with the context of the plot, how should I put it? It could be considered a classic scene in a romance film, right?"

Lin Chuyan nodded: "By the way, which scene did you like the most?"

Wu Yue naturally mentioned the driving scene, while Xia Zhi chose the scene where the bridal shop was smashed.

"Xiao Yan, how about you?"

"Me? All of Uncle Da's scenes, haha, especially the few minutes when he first appeared and the few minutes after he killed someone. He acted so well!"

"Sss..." At his words, Wu Yue recalled it too: "I always feel that in this film, you didn't act as well as he did, or perhaps he acted too well?"

Lin Chuyan was still smiling: "Probably both. Uncle Da is naturally a better actor than me. But there's another important reason: my character didn't have much room for development. Besides being loyal, the rest was just about being cool and affectionate."

Xia Zhi: "Zhou Shiyun also acted very well. Her temperament is truly excellent; she's so pure."

"You're acting suspicious, Xia Zhi."

"Pfft, I just have an eye for beauty, okay." Xia Zhi deflected: "Brother, you and Zhou Shiyun are a great match in this."

"Screen couple, screen couple." Lin Chuyan glared at her: "What does it have to do with me that Wah Dee and JOJO are a match? Don't talk nonsense in front of your boss's wife."

After watching the film, everyone was in high spirits, and their voices grew louder. They called Director Du Qiyu, and they met up ten minutes later.

"How was it, everyone?"

Lin Chuyan immediately buttered him up: "Director Du is awesome! It was good, so good. No wonder you were so confident, haha."

Director Du Qiyu had watched this film too many times himself. The first time, it was good. The second time, could it be better? The third time, he always felt something was wrong. The fourth time, he didn't know if young people would like it.

Seeing Lin Chuyan say this now, he felt very happy: "There's hope?"

"Definitely, really. To be honest, I didn't like watching movies before, let alone romance movies. But after watching this film, I finally know what a good romance film is. It turns out it's not that there are no good romance films, but that others just can't film romance well! Director Du, stop filming gangster movies and film more romance movies!"

Director Du Qiyu got goosebumps from his flattery and quickly waved his hand: "Director Mu Sheng is the director; I'm just the nominal producer. Go tell him that."

He couldn't help but laugh again: "But hearing you say that, I feel a bit more at ease. Your young people's opinions are very important to me, right Xia Zhi."

Lin Chuyan: "..."

After the small talk, Lin Chuyan hurried off to do the voice-over.

It's worth mentioning that apart from Zhou Shiyun, Uncle Da, and himself, all the other roles in the film were dubbed by voice actors... There was no other way; every single one of them had poor Mandarin.

Lin Chuyan didn't feel any pressure; for an actor like him, dubbing and recording were routine. Plus, he had reviewed the script on the way over and had just finished watching the film, so he was even more confident about the upcoming voice-over.

Director Du Qiyu came to check on him twice during the process, listened, felt there were no issues, and didn't bother him again after that.

Lin Chuyan didn't leave all day; he even ordered takeout for dinner. He took two breaks in between, and finally finished all the recording after 9 PM.

Before leaving for the magazine shoot the next day, Director Du Qiyu had indeed sent a boy to accompany him.

He looked about the same age as him. For some reason, when Lin Chuyan saw him, only six words popped into his head: a delicate, pampered boy.

His voice was a bit affected and a little excited.

"Teacher Lin Chuyan, Director Du asked me to follow you today. Please take care of me. By the way, if you have any needs during the shoot, tell me immediately, okay? Teacher, you can just call me Ah Kai."

"Hello Ah Kai, no problem. Shall we head out now?"

"Okay."

Affected as it was, to be fair, Teacher Kai was quite professional. All the way there, he was introducing the magazine "City Magazine" to him, as well as various things to pay attention to.

"If you could only choose one representative magazine for all of Hong Kong, it would undoubtedly be "City Magazine"."

""City Magazine" has been published for nearly 50 years. It talks about almost everything, with extensive and all-encompassing content, exploring everything in the city: fashion, dining, home, architecture, design, environmental protection, music, reading, culture, and art... everything you can think of, it has. Precisely because of this, it can be considered a record of the evolution of Hong Kong society, reflecting the lives and mental outlook of the people of Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong used to have a great influence on many surrounding areas, and "City Magazine" was no exception. It is well-known in Asia and even internationally, which is why Director Du attaches such importance to it."

"Of course, the public's deepest impression of it is still the cover. This has become an aesthetic in itself—the "City Magazine" aesthetic. Teacher Lin Chuyan, all the cultural figures, directors, superstars from across the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong that you can imagine, and even quite a few international superstars, have been on the cover, and each issue quickly becomes the center of discussion after publication. Teacher Lin Chuyan, you should be prepared."

Lin Chuyan nodded: "Thanks, Teacher Kai, what you said is very important to me."

"So... Teacher Lin Chuyan, what is your cover for this time?"

Wu Yue spoke: "They gave us a few options. Teacher Ah Kai, could you give us some advice?"

Ah Kai nodded: "I wouldn't dare give advice, but Teacher can take these as references."

Wu Yue immediately showed him a few photos: "These are the options. Which one do you think is more suitable?"

One was half-naked, lying on his side, with a dilapidated shack in the background.

One was overall black and white, smiling, holding a cigarette in his hand.

One had foam on his hands and head, as if he were taking a bath, but he was wearing clothes.

One was a completely close-up headshot, with his facial features filling the entire cover.

Ah Kai didn't look at them yet; he first asked, "Did Director Du say which one he likes?" After hearing Wu Yue say, "Director Du said any is fine," he began to look at them carefully.

Then he spoke: "I would first rule out the half-naked one..."

To tell the truth, Wu Yue thought the other person would like this one the most, so he couldn't help but ask: "Why?"

"If the artist has a choice, I wouldn't really recommend appearing naked; it makes it seem... like there's no choice. It's a bit convoluted, I don't know if Teacher understands?"

"Understood."

"Secondly, rule out the smoking one..."

Wu Yue was surprised again: "Why?"

"If it were someone with a goody-two-shoes image, I would recommend the smoking one, as it looks rebellious and has impact. But Teacher Lin Chuyan isn't that~ I remember the trailer for "in the name of the father" already had a smoking scene, so it doesn't seem very fresh."

"Got it, continue."

"The remaining two, although neither is naked, are actually quite sexy. The one with foam on the face has a lot of room for imagination; it makes people really want to know what Teacher Lin Chuyan looks like when he's taking a bath..."

Lin Chuyan: "..."

"But I still prefer the close-up headshot. The reason is simple: this is something others don't have. Not everyone can pull off this kind of photo; it requires exceptionally outstanding features and perfect proportions. I think this is the one that maximizes Teacher Lin Chuyan's advantages, and it also has visual impact. Another reason is that we're doing this to promote the movie, and I think Teacher Lin Chuyan has a cinematic face, so why not just maximize it? Also, "City Magazine" has never had a cover like this before; it's quite special. I can't help it; just talking about it makes me want to buy a copy to collect, hahahaha."

Ah Kai laughed until he was shaking.

But it seemed his analysis was quite professional?

Lin Chuyan and Wu Yue looked at each other; they had already made up their minds. This is the one!