Chapter 17

Little-Miss-Sunshine!

As Ye Wei looked at the name of this film project in the magazine, his eyes brightened, and he had a feeling. "Little Miss Sunshine," "Little Miss Sunshine"... He had a sense of the future with this name! It seemed like he had heard it somewhere, in that dream!

This meant that "Little Miss Sunshine" would be very famous in the future.

Whether it was good or bad, it would be very famous.

This was undoubtedly a penalty kick opportunity. Whether it was scored or missed, it was a penalty kick.

But why was it being considered for abandonment? What was Focus Features thinking?

Ye Wei read the limited information in the magazine. It said that Focus had doubts about the feasibility of the project, believing the script was not good enough and might abandon production.

He thought carefully but could not recall any information about it, unable to judge its quality. Only by reading the script of "Little Miss Sunshine" himself would he have an answer.

"Focus Features..." Ye Wei muttered, "You've always been smart, are you going to be a fool this time?"

This was a very successful company, and the magazine had an introduction about it.

In 2002, five production companies—American Film, Universal Focus, Good Machine, Gramercy Images, and October Films—merged into one, which is now Focus Features.

It is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, responsible for producing and distributing art house films, both domestic and imported. The films associated with it are all niche art house films. Currently, it is known for "Far from Heaven," "Lost in Translation," and last year, it distributed the Indian film "Monsoon Wedding," which sparked a trend in wedding films. Next year, it will release "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and other high-profile films...

In just under two years since its establishment, it has achieved remarkable success. "Lost in Translation" is already a favorite in this year's award season, with high expectations for the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

This is all thanks to its strong production, distribution, and operational capabilities. The media has called it the "new Miramax," and Focus indeed has that potential.

Its business strategy is really smart. In production, it aims for a hit, and in distribution, it follows market trends by importing good foreign films, making it easy to earn box office revenue and success in the DVD market.

It's clear that Focus has made some money in the past two years. It is involved in many projects, some as the main producer, some as an investor. Several projects have even had their budget estimates, including "Bad Santa," "Broken Flowers," "The Constant Gardener," and "13th Street," with budgets over ten million dollars. Among them is "Brokeback Mountain," another name that gives him a sense of the future. It's said that Focus is considering inviting Ang Lee to direct...

With so many production projects, all scheduled for release in 2005, with a combined budget of over fifty million dollars, why is Focus so unconfident about "Little Miss Sunshine"?

"Hmm... It seems it's not a conventional script, which is good, very good..."

Ye Wei mused, muttering to himself. Independent art house films should be unconventional. If he wanted a Hollywood-style commercial script or a Hollywood-style art house script, he could write it himself. He had taken many screenwriting classes, but what he wanted was a great script with the potential to dominate the award season!

As for what Focus was up to, making movies is like that. No one can guarantee they are always right. "Star Wars" and "Titanic" were once not favored by studios.

Thinking about this, Ye Wei took out his phone and called the contact number for Focus listed in the magazine. "Hello, is this Focus Features?"

The receptionist's sweet voice came from the other end: "Yes, sir, how can I assist you?"

"My name is Ye Wei. I am a producer from a small production company and would like to inquire about your project, 'Little Miss Sunshine.'"

Ye Wei flipped through the magazine, noting that although this was the latest issue, the publication date was some time ago, so anything could have changed, like the project being transferred or Focus deciding to produce it... He held his breath nervously and asked, "What's the status of this project now?"

"Is it 'Little Miss Sunshine'? Let me check..." The receptionist paused for a moment and replied, "Mr. Ye, it is currently on hold at our company."

So it was still there! Ye Wei breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in his chair. "Does your company plan to sell this project?"

"There is that intention, as we believe 'Little Miss Sunshine' does not fit Focus's style. We are actively looking for buyers. Are you interested, sir?"

"Yes, yes, I am very interested!" Ye Wei laughed heartily. I am extremely interested! "I would like to read the script. When can I do that? This afternoon?"

"Sure, any time before 18:00. We welcome your visit."

Ye Wei agreed and asked, "Can you tell me how the competition for this project is going? How many potential buyers are there?"

"Regarding that..." The receptionist laughed helplessly, "I'm not sure. Only the production department knows. However, sir, to my knowledge, we are still considering producing 'Little Miss Sunshine,' so even if there are offers, we might not sell it. I hope you understand."

"Sure, I understand." Ye Wei nodded. This kind of business secret couldn't be obtained from her. He thought for a moment and asked, "How long has your company been considering selling this project?"

"About half a month."

Ye Wei breathed another sigh of relief. OK, a "new Miramax" project that couldn't find a buyer in half a month meant there weren't many competitors.

"Alright, thank you. See you this afternoon." He hung up, tossed his phone, and caught it. If it really was a good script and everything was suitable, he would do his best to buy it!

Despite this prominent goal, he continued to flip through the magazine, looking for more opportunities.

After a while, his phone rang. Ye Wei picked it up and saw it was Lily Collins. His heart skipped a beat. Damn! Why did he feel so excited? Because she was beautiful? He scratched his head and answered, "Hi, Jane."

"...How did you know?" Lily Collins sounded surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"My middle name!"

"Isn't it clearly written on IMDb? Lily Jane Collins." Ye Wei smiled. "I also just found out that you made a guest appearance in 'Growing Pains' when you were two. How did I not recognize you?"

Lily was silent for a moment before saying, "That was a long time ago."

Ye Wei thought about it. When she was two, her parents hadn't divorced yet, so she didn't have any "growing pains" then. He decided not to bring it up and asked, "What's up? Are you telling me we weren't on a date? Really? That day doesn't count?"

"Can you not be such a jerk?" Lily was both amused and exasperated. "I wanted to say that I feel bad about the movie at your house... And I didn't mean to clear up our rumors at this time. If I had known your situation, I would have handled it better."

"OK." Ye Wei remembered what Lev and the others had said. It seemed they were all wrong except for Corwin.

One less mean girl in the world? He looked at the increasing number of students around him and laughed loudly, as if showing off: "It's fine, Lily. I don't care. 'Chief Bridesmaid' is a pretty cool nickname, isn't it?"

Did Lily notice he called her by her first name? She laughed, "I don't understand why Americans dislike football so much..."

"You mean soccer?" Ye Wei was a bit surprised. "Or maybe it's because there's no cheerleading for it, so it's a suck?"

"Ha ha! You really are a jerk." Lily laughed. The pronunciation of "soccer" and "suck" was similar, and the meaning... The school's cheerleaders only cheered for the football and basketball teams, so the soccer team had nothing, which was really a "suck."

So she was considering joining the cheerleading squad in high school. She wanted the experience but didn't have the enthusiasm for football and basketball, which was a contradiction.

"Everyone knows I'm a jerk." Ye Wei shrugged. "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up. I have things to do."

To his surprise, Lily called out, "Wait!"

"What?" He asked, puzzled, and heard her hesitantly say, "I don't know if this is the right time, and it's a selfish thought... First, I've been collecting Alexander dolls, and then, you have a Jane Eyre doll that I've been looking for a long time. I don't think you care much about it, right? Can you sell it to me?"

"Oh, really..." Ye Wei was completely caught off guard. So, humans spend their lives chasing their needs and desires.

"Can I? The Jane Eyre doll is from the 1930s, with a market value of around $500. I'll pay $1000 for it, okay?" Lily's tone was very sincere.

"I'll give it to you." Ye Wei suddenly said, making a quick decision. "No money."

"What...!?"

"A gift. Giving Jane to Jane, isn't that fitting?"

Ye Wei smiled. Anyway, the film he planned to produce wasn't a Super 8, DV, or even 16mm. The budget would be very high, and he didn't need to raise money here. Besides, the doll only cost him a hundred dollars at the time. Most importantly, he wanted to give it to her to make her happy.

"Thank you... I, ha ha, I was prepared for you to ask for a lot. Thank you..." After the shock, Lily's tone was for the first time as "gentle" as Bob described.

"I was planning to do that, but I was afraid Tarzan would suddenly appear, shouting, 'Jane, goodbye, Jane!' That would drive me crazy."

"Ha ha!"

Listening to the phone, Lily couldn't help but laugh again. Her laughter almost echoed down the tree-lined street, making Tris look puzzled. She smiled and tilted her head, really wanting to share the joke, "Jane-Buy-Jane" and "Jane, Bye, Jane!" That jerk was really quite funny...

She laughed, "Then I really should thank Tarzan."

"Whatever you like. It's settled, but not today. I have other things to do after school. Tomorrow is Veterans Day, so we don't have school. The day after, I don't want to bring it to school, or others might see it. You know what would happen. I can't let my friends down."

"Right, don't do that." Imagining the ridiculous scene, Lily laughed again. If he brought a doll to school, he wouldn't just be the "Chief Bridesmaid." She laughed, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

In the end, they agreed on a time. They would meet at 4 PM the next day at a stop on Sunset Boulevard in Brentwood. Their homes weren't far apart, about a thirty-minute walk or a ten-minute drive. The meeting place was in the middle.

After hanging up, Ye Wei felt great and continued reading the magazine. But he couldn't find another project as special as "Little Miss Sunshine."

When the afternoon bell rang, Ye Wei quickly packed up and left. The football team usually had practice after school, but he had canceled it, much to the coaches' dissatisfaction. He had already missed many practices and a game last week, and as the captain, it had a significant impact on the team.

But he couldn't afford to worry about it right now. After leaving school, he immediately took a taxi to Focus's headquarters at Universal Studios.

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