Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 24: The worldviews of the Beijing Film Academy students have collapsed.

"Director Zhang, this is my good friend and classmate, Huang Xiaoming," Chen Kun introduced Zhang Jun and Huang Xiaoming.

"Director Zhang... hello, hello!"

Looking at the incredibly young Zhang Jun in front of him, Huang Xiaoming suddenly felt as if his worldview was collapsing.

He had been somewhat skeptical when Chen Kun first mentioned Zhang Jun's situation.

But after some investigation out of curiosity, I found that what he said was true.

So when Chen Kun dragged him back to the Beijing Film Academy to watch the preview screening together, he agreed without hesitation.

Zhang Jun shook hands with Huang Xiaoming politely: "Just call me Zhang Jun. My sister especially likes your 'The Emperor of Han Dynasty'."

She also complimented you, saying you're as handsome as me.

"Uh! Zhang... Jun, your way of praising people is really unique."

"Thank you, that's what everyone says."

Zhang Jun greeted the two men and exchanged contact information, thus making connections within the entertainment industry.

The presence of Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming today was a pleasant surprise. Although they came out of curiosity, these two currently popular young actors still brought a certain amount of media attention.

This preview screening was the first time the media had been allowed to attend, thanks to the relationship between the two.

"Do you think we're going to interview the film crew later?" A reporter who had just entered took a few photos with his camera and then asked his colleague next to him.

The colleague retorted, "What film crew are you interviewing? You're interviewing Huang Xiaoming and Chen Kun! If it weren't for them, who would bother paying attention to this film crew?"

"But I heard that this movie has received very good reviews online, and many college students have seen it," the reporter said.

"Go ahead and do your interview. I've seen plenty of well-received movies, but only a small fraction of them actually become hits," the colleague said with an air of arrogance.

It seems that Zhang Junhua's story of graduating from Tsinghua University, switching careers to directing, and becoming famous online is not attractive enough to real entertainment reporters.

Of course, there are different kinds of reporters.

Peng Shen, who had come along, listened to the conversation between his two colleagues and shook his head speechlessly. These two colleagues didn't even know what big news was.

Why did Huang Xiaoming and Chen Kun come back? It wasn't because they missed their alma mater; they were clearly there for that ridiculously young and inexperienced director.

Peng Shen decided that after the movie screening ended, he would interview Zhang Jun.

The people who looked down on him the most at that moment weren't actually Peng Shen's colleagues, but rather the students in the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy. It's common knowledge that getting a director's opportunity is incredibly difficult.

For a directing student, the process from graduation to becoming an independent director usually takes ten or even twenty years, unless they have a family background or investors are optimistic about their career.

Students from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy believe that even if Zhang Jun makes a short film like "The Tuner," he certainly cannot make a feature film.

As for the film's reputation, although the directing students had heard about it, most of them thought it was just hype.

Zhang Jun's audacity in holding a preview screening at the Beijing Film Academy was seen by the directing students as a provocation and an act of disrupting the event.

Many directing students secretly think, "Watch how I expose your true colors, you amateur!"

They absolutely refused to admit that it was out of jealousy, because Zhang Jun, an outsider, had gotten the opportunity to direct independently that they had always dreamed of, so they wanted to expose Zhang Jun's true colors.

The other students at the Beijing Film Academy were much calmer. They were surprised by Zhang Jun's handsomeness and youth, and felt that he was more suited to be a star.

Out of curiosity, I also had high expectations for the movie "Little Miss Sunshine".

The movie screening started soon, and Jiang Yiyan kept a close eye on things, observing the reactions of the people around her while watching the movie.

She quickly realized that everyone was engrossed in the movie. No one was whispering or chatting, and no one was daydreaming.

She quickly stopped paying attention to other people and focused on watching the movie.

As for Luo Jin and Zhu Yawen, those two big idiots, they were completely absorbed in watching the movie from the very first second, and were constantly laughing at the film's humorous scenes.

The directing students awkwardly followed the plot of the movie, even suppressing their laughter when the film made them laugh, trying their best to act like the movie was terrible.

Even the most discerning directing students had to admit, after watching the film, that Zhang Jun's skillful use of cinematic language and mature filming techniques were far beyond what one would expect from someone who hadn't studied directing.

No, even directing students can't do that; it takes a veteran who's been in the industry for over a decade.

Is it possible that geniuses really exist in this world?

Many directing students felt like their worldview had collapsed, and suddenly felt that their years of studying directing had been worthless and their lives were meaningless.

As Huang Xiaoming watched, he muttered in admiration, "This movie is pretty good, it exceeded my expectations."

Chen Kun, with a hint of smugness, whispered, "So I was right to bring you here, wasn't I? Knowing a director like you is a good thing for us."

"really!"

As Huang Xiaoming watched Ji Chen playing the older brother on the screen, he couldn't help but put himself in the role and imagine what it would be like if he played the part.

Every actor longs for the big screen.

Unfortunately, the reality is that actors are given very few opportunities, and these mainland actors cannot compete with actors from Hong Kong.

Therefore, having one more Zhang Jun means having one more opportunity. Huang Xiaoming is no longer a naive child; he knows how to use his popularity to build connections.

So during the Q&A session after the movie, Huang Xiaoming took the initiative to speak and lavishly praised "Little Miss Sunshine".

"I was deeply moved after watching the movie, truly moved. Thank you to director Zhang Jun for bringing us such a wonderful story. I look forward to seeing this movie in theaters."

When interviewed by reporters who accompanied him, Huang Xiaoming expressed his disbelief.

"It's hard to believe that this was directed by someone even younger than me. It's truly amazing."

I laughed many times during the movie, and I was also deeply moved by the love between Xiaoguo's family.

Chen Kun was equally impressive: "I met director Zhang Jun back at the College Student Film Festival. When I heard that his new film was coming to Beijing Film Academy for a preview screening, I came with Xiaoming."

The entire viewing experience was quite enjoyable. This film is highly recommended, and I hope everyone will go and support it.

After the interview, the two chatted with Zhang Jun, and the three of them took a group photo together, marking their advancement to the stage of becoming acquaintances.

Don't underestimate this change. When Zhang Jun makes a movie in the future and there are suitable roles, the first people he will think of are the two of them.

This is the purpose of building connections.

Acting skills are only one aspect; connections are the key.

Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming understand this, but the other students who haven't yet made it might not, though there are some smart ones among them.

Jiang Yiyan actively raised her hand during the interactive session, but unfortunately she wasn't called on.

However, after the interaction ended, she immediately pulled Zhou Yang, and called Luo Jin and Zhu Yawen to greet Zhang Jun together.

Zhang Jun was very polite to these four students. These kids were all going to be celebrities, so it wouldn't hurt to get to know them.

Jiang Yiyan was slightly excited to have become a familiar face to Zhang Jun.

She told the other three, "As long as we leave this good impression, we can try to get opportunities when Director Zhang has another project in the future."

Zhu Yawen watched with envy as Ji Chen accepted the congratulations and compliments from his classmates, secretly encouraging himself: One day I will be famous too.

If the acting students were curious about Zhang Jun, then the directing students were in a bit of an awkward situation.

Previously, they had looked down on Zhang Jun, thinking he was an amateur. But after watching the movie, they found that it was not like that at all.

During the interactive session, several directing students asked challenging questions about various aspects of filmmaking.

They believed that Zhang Jun had an experienced person helping him, and all they had to do was expose Zhang Jun's true colors in public.

But the results showed that Zhang Junquan answered all the questions fluently and could even apply his knowledge to other situations. His profound theoretical knowledge was not like that of a student who had not studied directing.

The last directing student to speak asked, "Director Zhang, are you sure you didn't study directing? Judging from your background, it doesn't seem like it at all!"

Zhang Jun replied confidently, "Huaqing University doesn't have a directing department. I just love movies and read books on the subject, so I've accumulated some knowledge."

Following Huang Xiaoming, the worldviews of directing students have also collapsed. If this is what you call accumulation, what have we been learning these past few years?

Looking at the students who were dumbfounded, Zhang Jun was very satisfied with the result and felt a sense of accomplishment.

There's a lot you don't know, kid, you should learn something!