Chapter 46: I Can Do Anything

Cao Yang asked the production coordinator to double-check everything. Due to the exceptional, above-par performances of Liu Ye and Yu Feihong, the shooting schedule had accelerated dramatically, forcing them to adjust the filming plan multiple times.

It was a true testament to the old saying: man plans, changes overrule.

Confirming that there were no issues, Cao Yang picked up the megaphone. Everyone looked at him in silence.

"I hereby announce that *Bin-jip* has officially wrapped!"

"Whoa..."

"We've wrapped!"

"Haha..."

Once the other cast members had finished shooting their scenes, apart from the Beijing Film Academy students, only the two leads, Liu Ye and Yu Feihong, remained. In fact, Yu Feihong's scenes had been completed yesterday, but she had chosen to stay.

Aside from the core crew members from the beginning, the set was now dominated by young faces. Every department had intern students from the Beijing Film Academy, and the five student actors from the academy had also stayed until the very end.

With so many young people around, the atmosphere was naturally lively.

Through spending this period of time together, they no longer believed any of the rumors. On this set, whenever filming was underway, even Tian Zhuangzhuang had to listen to Cao Yang.

Now, if anyone dared call Cao Yang a nominal, titular director in front of them, they would likely respond with a look of disdain and utter contempt.

And if anyone dared claim that Cao Yang had merely lucked out and won the Silver Bear solely because he ran into Li Xiaoran, these students would undoubtedly spit right in their faces.

The whole experience had been nothing short of astonishing.

They had witnessed with their own eyes how the acting skills of Yu Feihong and Liu Ye, under Cao Yang's rigorous guidance, transformed from frequent mistakes to divine, transcendent performances.

Especially Yu Feihong—everyone knew what her acting baseline was, but under Cao Yang's relentless scolding and constant personalized coaching, she had experienced an absolute rebirth. They wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.

Cao Yang's ability to shape and polish actors' performances had left an indelible mark on their hearts.

"We'll have a dinner party tonight, put it on the company tab."

Cao Yang added through the megaphone.

"Long live..."

"Director Cao is mighty."

"Director Cao, I love you."

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from within the crowd.

The crew fell silent for a few seconds before everyone burst into roaring laughter.

***

Shortly after, Cao Yang instructed assistant director Li Mingyi, "Let's hold the wrap banquet back in Beijing. Let's set it for the day after tomorrow. Check with Teacher Cheng later and make sure everyone who participated in the cast is notified. We can keep the standards relatively high."

After a brief moment of thought, he added, "Don't forget to give a heads-up to Sony Pictures Classics and MK2. Tell them I've finished shooting another film, which might be submitted to the Venice Film Festival. If they're interested, they can come over in about a month for a private screening."

For this upcoming trip to the Venice Film Festival, the jury certainly wouldn't feature someone like Xie Fei who was truly on their side. Relying solely on the academy's influence might be enough—after all, the Director had won the Golden Lion in Venice twice, carrying immense clout and connections.

Still, why not secure a double insurance policy? The glory and influence of arthouse cinema would only last for these few years; grabbing as many awards as possible right now was the wisest course of action.

Chen Kaige could coast for a lifetime on a single Palme d'Or from Cannes—who would dare claim that Old Chen wasn't a top-tier director?

Why was the Director revered as the Director? Because he held one Golden Bear from Berlin and two Golden Lions from Venice.

In fact, the Director had come very close to completing the coveted Grand Slam of Europe's top three major film festivals.

At the time, *Not One Less* had initially been submitted to the Cannes Film Festival. The film opened with a school flag-raising ceremony, and Cannes officials deemed the political undertones too heavy, asking Old Zhang to modify it.

Why did Cannes make such a demand?

Because they wanted to award the Palme d'Or to Old Zhang, yet they were afraid of being accused of acting as propaganda for the Chinese government.

Their underlying message was: if you just blur the flag-raising ceremony a bit, as long as those five stars don't appear in the frame, the Palme d'Or is yours.

To everyone's surprise, Old Zhang was uncompromising. You want me to obscure the national flag? You bunch of idiots, keep dreaming!

I'm not playing with you fools anymore. Pull the film!

Thus, a few days before the official competition lineup was announced, the Director directly announced the withdrawal of the film and issued an open letter of protest to the Cannes International Film Festival.

Immediately afterward, he pivoted and sent the film straight to the Venice Film Festival.

And just like that, Venice awarded the Golden Lion to the Director for the second time.

And that was how the Director narrowly missed the Grand Slam of the "Big Three."

Otherwise, with the Grand Slam of Europe's top three festivals under his belt, the Director's status in film history would have skyrocketed to unimaginable heights. In history, only three people had ever achieved this feat, and the Director had nearly become the fourth.

Even so, the Director still possessed the runner-up Grand Slam of the European Big Three—the Silver Lion / Jury Grand Prizes!

In 1991, the Jury Grand Prize of the Main Competition at the 48th Venice International Film Festival—*Raise the Red Lantern*.

In 1994, the Grand Prix of the Main Competition at the 47th Cannes International Film Festival—*To Live*.

In 2000, the Jury Grand Prize of the Main Competition at the 50th Berlin International Film Festival—*The Road Home*.

With one Berlin Golden Bear, two Venice Golden Lions, and three Jury Grand Prizes across the Big Three, what artistic achievements could domestic directors possibly use to compare?

***

At the evening banquet, because the majority of attendees were young, things started off a bit restrained.

Cao Yang took the lead and raised his glass. "Tonight isn't just a wrap banquet; it's an internal gathering for our own people. We are all from the Beijing Film Academy, and many of you here are my senior schoolmates. Just treat me like an ordinary junior student—don't hold back, eat your fill and drink to your heart's content."

Liu Ye curled his lip: *Then should I leave?*

Dong Xuan also curled her lip: *Treat you like an ordinary junior? Who dares... Wait? Holy crap, Che Xiao, what are you trying to do?*

They saw Che Xiao walk up to Cao Yang with her glass in hand, gazing directly at him, puffing out her chest—well, not really managing much in that department—while her big, watery eyes seemed to speak for themselves, plastered with a radiant smile.

"Thank you, Senior, for giving me this rare opportunity, and thank you for looking after me during this period. I hope Senior will keep this junior in mind often and grant me more opportunities in the future. I can do anything. I'll toast this to you."

*Pfft!*

Dong Xuan let out a soft huff.

Che Xiao, oh Che Xiao, I never took you for that kind of person. Don't think nobody noticed when you clinked glasses with Cao Yang and intentionally hooked your pinky against the back of his hand—I saw it crystal clear!

Look at Wen Zhengrong... Wen Zhengrong, what are you up to?

No sooner had Che Xiao retreated than Wen Zhengrong also stepped forward with her glass.

With an equally unabashed smile, she looked at Cao Yang, her expression mirroring that of a starstruck fan gazing at her idol, her eyes shimmering with ripples of emotion.

"Calling you Director Cao feels a bit too formal. I'm Wen Zhengrong from the Class of '97, one year ahead of you, and I'm graduating soon. It's an absolute honor to get to know you before graduation, Junior. Thank you for giving your senior this opportunity. From now on, whatever orders you have, just a single phone call and I'll be at your beck and call."

She deliberately paused slightly on the word "whatever."

Dong Xuan clenched her teeth. Although she was only a freshman, she was already well aware of the cruelty inherent in the acting industry.

Everyone was young, and their acting skills were on a similar level. Without any special advantages, why would anyone pick you?

So what kind of capital did you rely on to get this role?

Even if you were prettier than others, between beauty that remained out of reach and beauty that was attainable and fairly decent-looking, how would people choose?

Therefore, in the acting profession, not a single one of those who managed to make a name for themselves was a naive, innocent little flower.

Without hesitating much longer, Dong Xuan grabbed her wine glass and walked over to toast Cao Yang as well. Originally, she wanted to imitate Che Xiao and Wen Zhengrong by gazing at Cao Yang with expressive, adoring eyes.

Helplessly failing to pull it off, she could only force a heavy, plastered smile.

Raising her wine glass, her mind went blank, and she tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp. Only afterward did she realize she hadn't said her lines yet. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she offered a somewhat stiff smile. "Senior, I've finished my drink, please feel free. I can do anything, too."

With that, she turned and fled like a routed soldier on stiff, awkward legs.