novellhall Chapter 310: Which powerful figure did they actually seek out?
Chapter 310: Which powerful figure did they actually seek out?
Chapter 309: Which powerful figure did they actually seek out? (Seeking monthly votes)
The phone hangs up.
Yang Chao sat in his chair, holding his phone, stunned and unable to come to his senses for a long time.
Everyone in the room held their breath, their hearts pounding in their throats as they watched his distraught appearance.
The production manager asked cautiously, "Director Yang—what's wrong? Is it—?"
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Chao suddenly stood up, overturned the ashtray in front of him, and shouted like a madman, "It's approved! It's approved! The entire film is uncut! Not a single shot needs to be cut! The film's approval document has been issued! The Berlin Film Festival's recommendation letter is also in hand!"
The entire editing room fell silent for a second, then erupted in deafening cheers and cries.
The editor, who had been working tirelessly for hundreds of days and nights, squatted on the ground and burst into tears. The production manager hugged the script supervisor next to him, tears streaming down his face. Several young staff members hugged each other, jumping and shouting like crazy.
ten years!
Ten years of hard work have finally been completed and can now stand fully in front of the audience and on the stage of an international film festival.
Yang Chao was crying and laughing at the same time, with only one name in his mind.
Chen Xun.
He hung up on Chen Xun, and less than two hours have passed since then.
He ran around for many days, begging everyone he could, but to no avail.
Chen Xun resolved the issue within two hours of hanging up the phone.
The entire film passed censorship without any cuts, and even the film festival's recommendation letter was obtained.
What kind of energy is this?
Yang Chao only knew that Chen Xun was an Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor and was doing very well in Hollywood.
But he never expected that Chen Xun's influence in China would be so great!
They even bypassed the censorship red lines of the State Administration of Radio and Television, allowing an art film with three nude scenes to pass the censorship completely!
This is simply unheard of in the domestic film industry!
His hands trembled as he immediately dialed Chen Xun's number. The moment the call connected, he burst into tears, his voice filled with gratitude: "Chen Xun! It's approved! The entire film, uncut, has passed censorship! The film's approval document has been issued! We've even received the recommendation letter from Berlin!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I, Yang Chao, owe you two lives in this life! One is for helping me make the film, and the other is for helping me preserve the soul of the film!"
"What kind of incredible connections did you manage to pull? Two hours! Just two hours! And you solved it all for me! You're amazing!"
Chen Xun, on the other end of the phone, couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to Yang Chao's incoherent ramblings.
Of course, he couldn't mention the system props, so he calmly reassured him, "Director Yang, don't say that. This film is a good work. I just explained the film's artistic value and creative intentions in detail to the teachers in the relevant departments, and they approved of it."
"Being able to have the film released in its entirety and participate in the Berlin Film Festival is better than anything else."
These words, in Yang Chao's ears, further confirmed the fact that Chen Xun's background was unfathomable.
What does it mean to have explained it to the teacher?
He wrote an 8,000-word explanation of his work and spent several days running around trying to persuade people, but no one listened.
Chen Xun's single sentence was enough to get the review department to approve it directly.
They even got the film festival recommendation letter sorted out!
This isn't just an explanation; it's clearly an act of having connections to the highest levels!
The news that "Crosscurrent" had passed full censorship spread instantly throughout the domestic film industry.
Everyone in the industry was in an uproar.
Everyone knew that "Crosscurrent" was blocked from review because three explicit scenes crossed the line. Everyone thought that the film would either be cut beyond recognition or be canceled altogether.
A group of people were waiting to see what would happen.
There are even some people secretly sabotaging us.
But the result?
Not only did it pass censorship, but it was also the complete, uncut film, and it even received a recommendation from the Berlin Film Festival!
Those in the industry who had previously mocked Chen Xun in private were now completely dumbfounded.
They finally realized that the other party wasn't struggling to make a living; they simply didn't care about Hollywood's resources.
The power to get an art film that crosses the line approved by a single sentence is something that's unparalleled in China.
Very few people in the entire Chinese-language film industry can do that!
As soon as the news spread, Yang Chao's phone started ringing incessantly.
The calls kept coming in, one after another, without stopping.
The first call came from Lao Zhou, who was in charge of submitting films for review at China Film Group.
Back then, Yang Chao spent every day waiting in the China Film Group office building to get "Crosscurrent" approved, offering cigarettes and smiling obsequiously to Lao Zhou, begging him to help him get things done.
But each time, Old Zhou could only shake his head with a bitter face, patting him on the shoulder: "Brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, but these few shots are a red line. No one can change that; if you don't delete them, it definitely won't pass!"
They even privately advised him to quickly cut a censored version, otherwise he would miss the Berlin window.
The call connected, and Lao Zhou's voice was filled with disbelief, even trembling slightly: "Yang Chao, tell me honestly, is what's circulating online true or false?"
"Did the entire film 'Crosscurrent' really pass censorship without any cuts?"
"The original cut, not a single shot was changed?"
Yang Chao sat down on the chair and crossed his legs high.
His previous humility and panic vanished completely, replaced by an undisguised smugness. He deliberately raised his voice so everyone in the room could hear: "Of course it's true!"
"Teacher Li from the Film Bureau's censorship department just called me personally. The film's approval number has been issued, and the official recommendation letter from the Berlin Film Festival was sent to my email before I left work."
"The original cut, not a single shot was cut, not a single word was changed!"
"Oh My God!"
Old Zhou on the other end of the phone gasped, exclaiming, "This is outrageous! What incredible luck did you have?"
"In my more than ten years in this industry, I've never seen an art film with such explicit scenes pass censorship uncut!"
"Tell me the truth, which powerful figure did you actually contact?"
Yang Chao laughed heartily, slapped the table, and said, "I didn't find any big shots. It's just that my film has a good investor and a good lead actor."
"They explained the film's artistic value to the reviewers in just one sentence. Once the reviewers approved it, it was naturally approved."
Upon hearing this, the staff in the editing room burst into laughter, their eyes filled with triumphant satisfaction.
Back then, they followed Yang Chao, running themselves ragged and begging, but no one was willing to lend a hand.
Now it's all good; the entire film has passed censorship without any cuts.
Everyone who had previously laughed at them is now dumbfounded.
No sooner had Lao Zhou hung up than a second call came in, this time from Li Ruijun, a well-known art-house film director in China.
He and Yang Chao are both sixth-generation directors who have focused on art films.
My new film is also stuck in the censorship process, and I'm rushing to submit it to the Berlin Film Festival's screening section. I'm so anxious that my mouth is covered in blisters.
As soon as the call connected, Li Ruijun's tone was filled with eager anticipation: "Old Yang, has your film 'Crosscurrent' passed censorship?"
"My film has been stuck for almost a month. The review comments came down and they want to cut eight scenes. Once those are cut, the film will be ruined!"
""
"How exactly did you do that? Give me a hint, bro, please!"
Yang Chao toned down his joking tone, but still couldn't hide his pride: "Brother, it's not that I don't want to teach you, but you just can't learn this. Let me tell you from the bottom of my heart, the fact that my film got approved is all thanks to my lead actor, Teacher Chen Xun."
"I ran around for several days, begging everyone I could, but it was no use. They hung up the phone for two hours and got my entire film approved, and even got the recommendation letter from Berlin."
"Chen Xun?"
Li Ruijun immediately realized: "You mean Chen Xun, the one who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor?"
"Who else could it be besides him?"
Yang Chao's tone was full of pride: "Let me tell you, when the investors withdrew from my film and it was about to be abandoned, it was Teacher Chen Xun who invested money and accompanied me on the Yangtze River for more than three months."
"Now that my film is stuck in the censorship process, it was someone else's words that saved my ten years of hard work."
"It's incredibly lucky that I, Yang Chao, met Teacher Chen Xun in my lifetime."
After hanging up with Li Ruijun, Yang Chao's phone just wouldn't stop ringing.
In the art-house film industry, which director hasn't been blocked by censorship?
Who hasn't had the experience of cutting their work into pieces just to get it approved by censors?
The news that the uncut version of "Crosscurrent" passed censorship was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, causing an uproar throughout the industry.
The phone kept ringing.
There were familiar directors, unfamiliar producers, independent filmmakers, and even many directors and distribution managers of commercial films.
A director who makes crime films was stuck on set for almost two months due to violent scenes and came to Yang Chao for help.
An independent director who makes films about realistic themes almost didn't even get the chance to submit his film for review because of its sensitive content. He asked if he could ask Mr. Chen Xun to put in a good word for him.
There was also an old friend who had previously worked with Yang Chao at film festivals. His film was also aiming for Cannes, but it was stuck in the approval process and he was so anxious that he couldn't sleep. He almost cried on the phone and begged Yang Chao to help him get a connection.
Yang Chao's voice became hoarse from answering so many phone calls.
I didn't feel tired at all; instead, I felt a sense of exhilaration throughout my body.
Over the past decade, he endured countless scornful looks and ridicule while filming "Crosscurrent," and was told by many that his ideas were out of the ordinary and that the film would not pass censorship.
Even when the investors withdrew their investment, they made some harsh statements.
"Even if you manage to make this film, you'll never get the film's production license!"
What now?
Not only did he film it, but he also got the entire film approved without any cuts, and it's about to go to the main competition section of the Berlin Film Festival.
Those who used to laugh at him are now turning around and begging him for help.
What was most satisfying was that the owner of the first investor who withdrew his investment also called.
Back then, this boss mocked Yang Chao's script, saying it was unrealistic and that his film had no commercial value and would have difficulty passing censorship.
The withdrawal of funding just before filming was scheduled to almost cause "Crosscurrent" to be canceled before it even began.
Now, on the phone, the boss's tone is incredibly obsequious.
He kept referring to Director Yang.
He apologized and made amends.
He said that he was blind to talent back then, and wanted to make up for the publicity and distribution costs of "Crosscurrent". He also wanted Yang Chao to help him get in touch with Teacher Chen Xun.
Yang Chao smiled and declined.
He knew better than anyone else that his triumphant moment today was all thanks to Chen Xun.
Without Chen Xun, his films would never have been made.
Even if it were filmed, it would only be edited beyond recognition, and would never be able to stand in its entirety before the audience.
From afternoon until late at night, Yang Chao's phone received more than seventy calls before it ran out of battery and shut down automatically.
The moment I turned on the phone while it was charging, dozens of missed call notifications and WeChat messages appeared, all asking for connections, introductions, and collaborations.
He held his phone, scrolling through the screen full of messages, and couldn't help but send Chen Xun a WeChat message: "Teacher Chen Xun, you've really put me through a lot. My phone hasn't stopped ringing since this afternoon. It's all people asking about connections, and a bunch of people are asking me to introduce them to you."
"My phone's been ringing off the hook!"
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