460: Chapter 460: Standing Power

To the Hollywood team, the la la land project was quite strange.

A Chinese team wrote a Hollywood script and came all the way here to shoot... Aside from the lead actor and actress, everyone else, from the cast to the crew, was hired locally. If you told people it was a Hollywood film, they would believe you.

And, can you believe the director is a newcomer who is also starring in it? Is this reliable? Could he be some second-generation heir just dabbling for fun? Did he really write the script himself? The storyboards too? Could he have hired a ghostwriter?

But after getting involved with the project, they discovered that things were more complicated than they had imagined.

China's most famous Singer, actor, rising director, and top Asian celebrity—even many people here in America had heard of him—high-end brand marketing campaigns, a unique lipstick advertisement, the face model for black myth: wukong... all of these had brought Lin Chuyan fame.

Of course, to a team far across the ocean, none of this mattered.

These things had absolutely nothing to do with whether you could film a movie well.

Look, they were working their butts off here, and they hadn't even seen a shadow of the director!

Fortunately, Producer Zhang Man was professional enough and kept relaying the so-called requirements from the director, and honestly, they actually made sense.

Also, one piece of news finally put them completely at ease—this film really was a co-production, and there was investment from a Hollywood film company.

And then, until today, finally, Producer Zhang Man announced that the director had finally arrived! The film was about to start shooting!

Early the next morning, the leaders of each team gathered together.

Meeting the director, everyone didn't have any strange thoughts, it was nothing more than curiosity.

Also, they didn't know if he was professional or not...

You know, professional work has its own way of being done, and unprofessional work is a whole different story.

Lin Chuyan was not late; he arrived right on time.

As soon as he pushed the door open, everyone's eyes turned toward him—

As he looked up, he was met with many pairs of eyes.

In the large conference room, the heads of the cinematography, art, props, set construction, lighting, costume and makeup, sound, and production teams sat on both sides. Looking around, there were men and women, Black people and white people.

This group was also scrutinizing him—good grief, the director really is that young, and...

"Director, you are the most handsome Chinese man I have ever seen, bar none."

The white woman from the costume and makeup team spoke her mind directly.

"You're too kind." Lin Chuyan wasn't intimidated; he had seen all sorts of situations over the past two years.

He glanced at Producer Zhang Man: "Is everyone here?"

"We were just waiting for you." Producer Zhang Man introduced everyone present to Lin Chuyan.

"Thank you all for your hard work." Lin Chuyan looked around the room, "Would you like an iced Americano?"

"Huh?"

"I mean it literally." Lin Chuyan smiled, "Don't you drink coffee in the morning?"

"We do!"

Lin Chuyan nodded and instructed Xia Zhi to have someone go buy it.

The pleasantries ended there, and it was time to get to work.

"I know you must have many questions, and I can answer them. Who wants to go first?"

"Can we ask anything?" the woman from the costume and makeup team asked again.

"Go ahead."

"Director, do you have a girlfriend?"

"...Yes, I do. She is the lead actress of this film. Alright, let's ask some questions related to work." This foreign woman really didn't know when to filter herself.

"Director Lin, why did you choose to come to Hollywood to shoot a film like this?"

"I want to earn US dollars."

The foreigner who asked the question was a white man from the props team, and he couldn't help but laugh when he heard that.

"Rest assured, I wrote the script, I did the storyboards, the music is ready, I brought in the investment, and I even went location scouting yesterday... How about this, I happen to have some questions too, so I'll ask."

Since you said it like that, and you're the director, you're the boss. Everyone present nodded one after another.

Lin Chuyan took out his phone and showed the person in charge of set construction the photos he took yesterday.

"The opening 5-minute Long take... the turning radius at the A2 entrance is 4 meters less than expected. The crane shot later will definitely catch the convenience store sign. It'll ruin the shot."

"Yes, but removing the sign might violate fire safety regulations."

"Apply for the permit, pay the compensation, there's always a way. Don't let it delay the work."

"Understood."

He continued, turning to the art and cinematography teams.

"At the observatory, the position of the galaxy and the installation are quite off. It will affect the spatial logic of the Long take."

"This..." the man from the art team was in a bit of a bind, "If we adjust it according to the scouting data, do we have to redo the ceiling?"

"No need, I'll show you." Lin Chuyan had many photos saved on his phone, and he continued to show them, "We don't need the three sets of chandelier pillars on the west side. That way, your Long take can pass through directly."

"That's true..."

Then he turned to the production team.

"Here." Lin Chuyan circled a photo of the bathroom mirror, "A close-up shot will reveal the hallway clock. The script says it's Saturday afternoon. That's a continuity error."

"Received, taking it down immediately."

He turned to the guy from the props team again.

"Is Los Angeles this humid? The gaps in this floor are too big! There's a Dance scene here in the script. It will definitely ruin the rhythm of the steps. How do we handle this?"

"Understood, I'll find someone to fill and secure it."

"OK."

Next was the lighting team.

"There's an argument scene in the apartment in the script. The light coming through the single window overlaps with the indoor light. The shadows on the faces are too heavy in the backlight, and the characters completely lose their sense of vulnerability. How do we solve this?"

"This... we could set up a honeycomb grid outside the window to see if we can filter out the stray light?"

"That works. Take some people to try it out in a bit. Don't delay, give me feedback immediately."

Xia Zhi came in with the coffee.

Lin Chuyan sat up straight: "Everyone, let's drink and talk."

Wow, this is how we're talking.

This is establishing authority.

Everyone present had initially looked down on him a bit; after all, this so-called director in front of them was way too young.

But after this whole performance... wait, man, do you actually know your stuff?

From camera blocking, art and cinematography, to production and props—he even considered the impact of light and shadow on the characters.

Detailed, too detailed.

The key is that when he said he went location scouting, he actually did. He's definitely a man of action; he brought back so many questions as soon as he returned. Impressive.

"Director, I have a question." The guy from the props team had something to say again.

"Speak."

"Are you really a first-time director?"

"Second time. But the first one was just an animated short film."

Okay, so it's still the first time.

Is he this strong on his first try?

But everyone thought about it again: That's right, without this ability, how would he dare to come to Hollywood all by himself?

Reasonable, very reasonable.

Everyone was convinced.

Not to mention, once these foreigners see that you have ability and are assertive, they quickly get used to your assertiveness...

That morning, the meeting lasted for three hours.

Lin Chuyan brought up all the issues he encountered during location scouting, and most of them had solutions found.

He also meticulously went over the work progress of each team over the past few days, and he had a good grasp of everything.

Producer Zhang Man nodded repeatedly as she watched from the side.

If Lin Chuyan gave her confidence yesterday, then today he gave her pressure.

In a word: Lin Chuyan was even more impressive than she had imagined.

Also, Director Deng Yu, oh Director Deng Yu, aren't you just asking for death?

Lin Chuyan was the first to stand up: "Meeting adjourned. Each team, go get busy. Tomorrow morning, we officially start shooting!"