459: Chapter 459 Scouting

"Wen Qi, tell me, when you're out in the world, what's the most important thing?"

The leads of la la land, along with their assistants, were chatting on the plane to Los Angeles.

Since they had nothing better to do, Lin Chuyan couldn't help but tease little Wen Qi.

"Brother-in-law, I'm not out in the world, so I don't know about that." Wen Qi shook her head and hugged Ruan Xingyu's arm. "I'm just following my sister."

"...Fine." Lin Chuyan was speechless.

Xia Zhi, sitting nearby, couldn't help but ask, "So what is the most important thing?"

"When you're out in the world, the most important thing is just getting out there."

"That... that makes a lot of sense."

"Domestic films going overseas is a structural challenge, so Director Deng Yu never really cared about the North American box office. But who would have thought, we've already taken that step and started collaborating with film companies over there. However..."

"However what?"

"If one day we can break through Hollywood's high walls without needing to collaborate with them, just like Hollywood films do in the mainland and across the world... that would be truly awesome."

"Maybe it's still because of cultural differences."

Lin Chuyan shook his head. "Actually, cultural differences and all that are fake. Otherwise, why is it that when their stuff comes in, there are no cultural differences? Anyway, if that day truly comes, there will be scholars to debate the scriptures for me."

Yanzi was lost in thought, but a sentence from Wen Qi pulled him back to reality.

"Brother-in-law, has the fire over there been controlled?"

"...It's controlled, but they say with strong winds, there's a risk of it reigniting at any time, and Hollywood has also been significantly affected. It's tragic, truly tragic."

Lin Chuyan had originally considered changing shooting locations, but then news came back from Producer Zhang Man: the film studio they rented wasn't damaged, so they only needed to rebuild a portion of the set, which wasn't a big problem.

Producer Zhang Man had more than one piece of good news:

The Los Angeles fire had a huge impact on the Hollywood entertainment industry; some filming locations were destroyed, some production processes were disrupted, and many shows were forced to halt. In short, many film production and promotional projects were either delayed or canceled.

In this situation, many industry workers became unemployed. And unemployment increased their living burden—rent in the US is already expensive, and the rent here is 70% higher than the US average...

Then, just as many film projects were pulling out of California, during this "difficult time" for Hollywood, Lin Chuyan's project arrived.

For the industry workers involved in this project, calling it a lifeline might be an exaggeration, but the film's investment was significant, and for them, it was definitely a huge relief.

For the California government, they naturally welcomed it. The Executive Director of the California Film Commission, Colleen Bell, even met with Producer Zhang Man to express support for la la land.

This was having the right time, the right place, and the right people on his side. Lin Chuyan was ready to go all out.

But before that, he had one more thing to do—add points!

He had already figured out how to add them.

For basic attributes, he would add everything to "Director," at least up to 401 points. The improvement this level brought him was comprehensive, and Lin Chuyan spent some time on the plane digesting it.

As for specialized skills, he needed to add some points to "Piano" and "Dance"; this was required by the male lead's character setting and the film's genre. He decided to add each up to 201 points so it would be more convincing.

Only then would everything be ready.

Landing in Los Angeles.

Producer Zhang Man came to pick them up.

"Get in, Director Lin... Oh my! Teacher Ruan! Finally met! My god, you are so beautiful!"

Lin Chuyan: "Hey, hey, you can't discriminate like that..."

Ruan Xingyu smiled and greeted: "Sister Man, please take care of me."

After getting in the car, a few of them chatted in the back.

"Director Lin, how does it feel here?"

"It's just so-so. Honestly, it's more comfortable back home. But it's not without its benefits; nobody knows me here, so I don't need to wear a hat or sunglasses when I go out."

Producer Zhang Man disagreed with this: "You're overthinking it. There are Chinese people everywhere. With your fame, it's the same wherever you go."

"Alright, anyway, it doesn't matter. I have to stay on set." Lin Chuyan gave instructions: "Take us to the hotel first, then I want to scout locations. I want to go through all the locations today. Tomorrow at 8 AM, I want to meet the leader of every department. Sister Man, please arrange that for me."

"Sure, no problem. I'll take you later!"

Producer Zhang Man herself had a swift and decisive working style, so seeing him like this naturally put her in a better mood.

A brand new notebook. This was a notebook prepared specifically for la la land.

Lin Chuyan first went to the Griffith Observatory.

This was the classic scene where the male and female leads Dance together; the starry night sky created a romantic and dreamy atmosphere. No matter how many times you read the script and storyboard, it's not as good as seeing it in person. How should the venue, lighting, angles, and emotions be fused? And how should the artistic sense of the visuals be enhanced?

The second scene was the iconic Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

Lin Chuyan carefully observed the layout and lighting effects of the street, even the billboards, neon lights, and vehicle models.

The Sunset Boulevard scene was not only one of the climaxes of the film, but also an important part of showcasing the urban landscape of Los Angeles. It had to be shot strictly according to the lens language, so that the unique urban charm of Los Angeles could be captured during filming. Furthermore, this was where the character's inner loneliness and pursuit of dreams were to be shown through lens language.

The third scene was the jazz bar.

Lin Chuyan had the highest requirements for the details of this scene; from the vintage jazz posters to the wooden bar counter, every detail of the bar's interior decoration had to be perfect.

In addition to the physical objects, the bar's lighting effects and musical atmosphere were also one of the most important parts of the film; they had to be restored through precise lighting design and musical arrangement to capture the film's emotional tension.

Besides that, vintage neighborhoods, old theaters, coffee shops... as long as it was a place involved in the film, Lin Chuyan walked through it in person. That was how he spent the day scouting.

"How is it? Director Lin, I see you've written a lot of things."

"Want to see?"

Producer Zhang Man nodded: "Can I?"

"Why wouldn't you be able to?"

"There's plenty of reasons; I've seen many directors' quirks."

She took the notebook—goodness, it was densely packed.

"I can't understand it, it's too complicated." Producer Zhang Man glanced at it and handed the notebook back to Lin Chuyan. "But I have more confidence in you now."

"Don't worry, I have confidence and certainty in the project. Now that I'm here, the project is stable."

Lin Chuyan's identity as a director was right there, so what he said naturally carried weight—giving confidence to the people below was the most important thing.

Producer Zhang Man's eyes lit up.

She had spent a lot of funds during this time, and although she had confidence in the project, nothing was more inspiring than this sentence from Lin Chuyan in person.

"Get some rest, Director Lin, see you at 8 AM tomorrow!"