Huayu: I rely on hit-movie tactics to interweave...

Chapter 13: Project Finalization

Starting in October, Liu Yu focused his attention on a new script.

The title is "The Eraser in My Mind".

The inspiration came from a Korean movie he had seen in his previous life, released in 2004, starring Jung Woo-sung and Son Ye-jin, which tells the love story between a woman with Alzheimer's disease and her husband.

Liu Yu only watched that movie once, but it left a very deep impression on him; not because the plot was so complicated, but because it portrayed the theme of "forgetting" in a way that was both beautiful and painful.

China later remade it, but it received mediocre reviews and failed to pass the mark on Douban.

After watching the remake, Liu Yu was so angry that he cursed at the movie theater entrance: "Such a good script, and it's turned into this! What a waste!"

Now, he wants to do it himself.

It's not because he thinks he's better than those professional screenwriters, but because he has a different perspective.

The core of the original Korean version in his previous life was "torture," and the core of the Chinese remake is also "torture," but Liu Yu felt that this story should not only be "torture."

It should also contain something called "dignity".

As a person gradually loses their memory, their ability to take care of themselves, and their control over the world due to illness, the process is painful, but also powerful.

She wasn't passively crushed by fate, but rather, in every moment of lucidity, she forcefully grasped at the things she didn't want to lose.

This angle was missed in the previous remake.

Liu Yu wrote the script from October to December, a full two months, and revised it four times.

The first draft was too sentimental, so he deleted it. The second draft was too restrained, so he rewrote it. The third draft removed all the adjectives from the letter, leaving only actions and details.

After he finished writing it, he printed it out and went to find Professor Xue from the Literature Department.

Teacher Xue's full name is Xue Xiaolu. She is an associate professor in the Department of Literature at Beijing Film Academy. She later became famous for writing and directing the film "Finding Mr. Right".

It is now 2002. She is still teaching in the literature department, teaching a few screenwriting courses, and occasionally taking on some screenwriting work.

Liu Yu sought her out because he knew her name from his past life. Xue Xiaolu was a professionally trained screenwriter with solid skills, especially adept at emotional themes.

More importantly, she is a good person and is willing to spend time discussing scripts with students.

Professor Xue's office is on the third floor of the Literature Department building. It's not big, but it's piled high with books and scripts.

.....

Liu Yu knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Teacher Xue looked up at him, then pointed to the chair opposite him: "Sit down, Liu Yu, right? Teacher Yu mentioned you to me."

"Hello, Teacher Xue." Liu Yu handed over the script. "This is a script I wrote, and I would like to ask you to take a look."

"What genre?"

"A romance with a touch of medical elements. The female lead has Alzheimer's disease."

Teacher Xue took the script, flipped through the first page, then glanced at Liu Yu: "You're a first-year management student, writing a medical romance film?"

"There's nothing I can do, I'm not one to follow the rules."

Teacher Xue smiled, said nothing more, and lowered her head to start reading.

The office was quiet for more than ten minutes, with only the rustling sound of turning pages.

Liu Yu sat in the chair, his right hand unconsciously rubbing the seam of his trousers, a habitual action from his previous life.

Ms. Xue turned to the last page, presumably having finished reading the letter; she didn't say anything, but read the page again from beginning to end.

Then she put down the script, took off her glasses, leaned back in her chair, and looked at Liu Yu.

"Have you written screenplays before?"

No, this is the first time.

"This is the first time you've written anything like this?" Professor Xue's voice held a professional's disbelief. "Are you sure you're not an undercover agent from the Literature Department sent to the Management Department?"

Liu Yu smiled: "Teacher Xue, I'm serious."

"I know you're serious." Teacher Xue put her glasses back on, picked up a red pen, and began to write annotations on the script. "Your lines are very well written, and the characters' dialogue is very natural, unlike many novices who write pretentious and empty words just to show off their literary talent. The narrative pacing is also quite good; the core conflict is introduced in the first three pages without any dragging."

“But,” she turned to the third page, “there’s a problem with how you handled the opening. The scene where the female protagonist discovers she has amnesia was written too flatly. She should have gone through a psychological process from doubt to fear to denial, but you only wrote about fear.”

Liu Yu leaned over to take a look and nodded.

"Also," Teacher Xue continued flipping through the pages, "the male protagonist's personality is a bit one-dimensional. He's always giving, enduring, and protecting, so good it's unrealistic. Give him some flaws, let him make mistakes, let him yell when he breaks down under pressure. Real people aren't saints; real people get angry, they run away, they say hurtful things, and then they regret it."

Liu Yu picked up his pen and quickly scribbled in his notebook.

Teacher Xue spent forty minutes explaining to her, covering everything from character arcs to plot density, from emotional rhythm to dialogue design, in a systematic and detailed manner.

At first, Liu Yu thought his writing was pretty good, but after listening to it, he felt that what he had written was at best a qualified outline.

"Teacher Xue," Liu Yu closed his notebook, "do you take on apprentices?"

Teacher Xue chuckled: "My 'apprentices' are all literature majors, what are you doing here, a management major?"

"Interdisciplinary talents".

"Alright, alright, you can come to me anytime you write something. But let me make this clear beforehand, I don't write for others, I can only take a look at it for you."

That's enough.

When Liu Yu came out of the literature department building, his steps were much lighter.

It was already quite cold in BJ at the end of November; the wind felt like knives on his face, but he felt full of energy.

The feeling of being given a cold shower by professionals was better than he had imagined.

......

Liu Yu didn't rush to revise the script. He first copied every suggestion Teacher Xue made into his notebook, and then wrote down his own ideas for revision next to it.

Revising a script is not something that can be done overnight; he needs time to process it.

During this time, he went to see the department head, Yu Li.

Yu Li's office was much larger than Teacher Xue's. The bookshelves were filled with various trophies and certificates, and a photo of her with a famous director hung on the wall.

When Liu Yu entered, Yu Li was looking at documents. She looked up at him and said, "Liu Yu? Come in and sit down."

"Hello, Teacher Yu." Liu Yu placed the script and proposal on the table. "This is a movie script I wrote. Teacher Xue has reviewed it and said she could talk to you about the project."

Yu Li raised an eyebrow, picked up the script, and flipped through it.

She read the script faster than Teacher Xue, finishing the first reading in three minutes, then flipping back to read it again.

"What did Teacher Xue say?"

"She said the lines were good, the narrative pacing was good, but the characters lacked depth, and the male lead was too perfect."

Yu Li nodded and closed the script: "She's right. But for a beginner, this level of completion is already very high. What are you planning to do? Film it yourself?"

"I want to try to make this project happen, in the name of the school."

Yu Li leaned back in her chair and looked him up and down for a moment: "Do you know how much it costs to make a film project?"

"I did the math, it's about six to seven million."

"Six to seven million. How can you, a student, possibly afford that?"

"I want to find investment first. If the script is of good quality, the school has a good reputation, and the actors are suitable, then finding investment won't be difficult."

Yu Li was silent for a few seconds, then said something that surprised Liu Yu: "Submit the project proposal, and I'll take it to the department for discussion."

Liu Yu was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant: "Teacher Yu, you... you agree?"

"I didn't agree to anything." Yu Li waved her hand. "I just said we should discuss it. If what you wrote can actually be done, it would be a good thing for the management department; a film project by a freshman, which has never happened before in the history of Beijing Film Academy. But the premise is that you have to convince me that you have the ability to make it happen."

"Teacher Yu, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I have no idea."

Liu Yu smiled: "Then wait and I'll let you know what's going on."

He left the project proposal on Yu Li's desk, bowed, and left.

......

What happened next happened much faster than Liu Yu had expected.

After Yu Li brought the project to the department for discussion, the teachers in the management department had different reactions.

Some people think this is a good thing and encourage students to put their ideas into practice; others think it's too unreliable for a freshman to be involved in a film project, and that if it goes wrong, it will damage the school's reputation.

After two days of debate, Principal Zhang finally made the decision.

Principal Zhang's full name is Zhang Huijun. He is the president of Beijing Film Academy, a graduate of the photography department, and a pragmatist.

After reading Liu Yu's script and proposal, he said, "For a management student to write a script like this shows he hasn't wasted his time playing games. The school should support students with ideas, as long as they don't break the law or regulations."

Principal Zhang's meaning is: the school can provide some resources, but not money; you have to figure out the money yourself.

Ultimately, the school decided that the Youth Film Studio, a film production company under the Beijing Film Academy, would provide 100,000 yuan as start-up capital.

The amount of money wasn't much, but the significance was immense. With the endorsement of the Qingying Film Studio, when he went out to find investment, he was no longer "a student," but rather "a project recognized by the Beijing Film Academy."

When Liu Yu received the 100,000 yuan, his feelings were complicated.

Touched? A little.

The 100,000 yuan was the school's vote of confidence in him. If he messed it up, it wouldn't just be him who lost face, but the face of the management department and the face of Beijing Film Academy.

"A budget of seven million, plus one hundred thousand, leaves a shortfall of six million nine hundred thousand." Liu Yu counted on his fingers three times in his dorm room and came to the same conclusion: "The shortfall is huge enough to fit an elephant in."

Wang Chaowen, lying on the top bunk, poked his head out and asked, "Brother, did the school give you that 100,000 yuan?"

"right."

"What about the rest?"

"Looking for investment."

"Who should I look for?"

Liu Yu didn't speak, but he was already going through the list in his mind.

China Film Group, the largest state-owned film company in China, has a lot of funds and policy resources, but the threshold is high and the process is slow. If a freshman comes to the door with a script, he may not even get past the receptionist.

Huayi Brothers, a giant among private companies, has seen its founders, Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei, rise to prominence in recent years, having invested in several blockbuster films.

He picked up the phone and called China Film Group first.

"Hello, is this the Project Development Department? I'm a student from the Beijing Film Academy, and I'd like to discuss a film project with you..."

"Sorry, we are not accepting external submissions at the moment. You can send your project materials via email, and we will review them regularly."

hang up.

Liu Yu then called Huayi.

"Hello, is this the production department? I have a movie script here..."

What company do you work for?

"I am a student at Beijing Film Academy."

"Sorry, we only work with qualified production companies. You can find a production company to work with first, and then contact us."

hang up.

Liu Yu held his phone, looking at the few contacts in his address book, and fell into deep thought.

The film industry in 2002 was not yet in the era of hot money and nationwide investment that would later emerge.

The investment threshold for movies is very high nowadays, and there are only a handful of companies that can make movies.

Aside from a few state-owned film studios, there's only one privately owned studio, Huayi Brothers. Bona Film Group and Enlight Media haven't really made much of a splash in the last two years; the only truly active studios are China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Huayi Brothers.

However, neither of these two companies accepts "retail investors".

"No other way." Liu Yu tossed his phone onto the bed. "Then let's try a different approach."

What's the line of thinking?

First, assemble the production team, find actors, and get the project together. Once you have the project in place, take the actors' letters of intent to find investors, and that's another matter entirely.