Chapter 48

"La Dolce Vita." Ye Wei made another bold move, his strategy was simple, to start with the well-known classics first.

"Luci del Varietà." Darum didn’t need to think; this was Fellini’s directorial debut.

Ye Wei immediately followed, "I Vitelloni." Fellini’s international breakthrough.

Under Anna’s nervous gaze and the joyful smiles of the crowd, one movie title after another was called out. After eight rounds, the college students’ expressions began to change, while Anna became even more spirited, her face almost reaching the sky!

None of them had expected Ye Wei to last this long, and he didn’t even need to think before answering each time. Darum gradually started to stutter, a cold sweat forming on his back. Finally, at the eighteenth movie, he couldn’t come up with anything...

That guy’s unwavering smile now brought him immense pressure. Was he going to be the one to lose face? Darum couldn’t help but look at his companions...

"You can’t be serious?" "Please!" The crowd around them let out a mix of helpless and anxious cries. Their opponent was just a middle school student!

Darum cursed inwardly, if you guys are so capable, then you say it! What other damn movies did Fellini direct?

Pete and the others hadn’t planned to intervene, letting the two face off one-on-one, but now it was hard to help even if they wanted to, as they couldn’t think of anything either. Suddenly, they heard Ye Wei start counting down from ten, making everyone even more anxious. Perhaps it was the power of love, but Pareira thought of something and urgently said, "I Remember."

"Cool, you really remember, then how about 'City of Women,' that’s a great one." Ye Wei responded quickly, making them feel even more hopeless.

The next one would be the twentieth, and the crowd had long stopped laughing, frowning in deep thought. Darum took off his baseball cap and scratched his head. After all, Fellini was Italian, and they were naturally less familiar with him compared to the four major directors of Hollywood in the 1980s...

And twenty movies! Fellini only made about twenty movies, right? Could there really be more!?

"Done?" Darum exhaled heavily. Now, looking at this Asian teenager, his strange feeling had turned into fear. Was he some kind of T-800?

"You think it’s over?" Ye Wei scanned the crowd. He had prepared last night, but even without preparation, he could have won this round; his opponents were just too weak.

The countdown of ten ended, and the crowd fell into a dead silence. Anna held her breath, ready to cheer. Ye Wei, wide-eyed, said, "So, I win the first round. Guys, how could you forget 'City of Love'! For God’s sake, so many masterpieces, how could you forget!"

"Oh SHOOT!" Hearing the title, everyone went crazy, jumping, grabbing their heads, and waving their hands. "City of Love"! Damn, how could they forget that, heaven!

"Ha ha! We won, we won!" Anna cheered and jumped, though she didn’t understand, she knew, "We won! College students, what now?!"

"Sorry, for making you lose face in front of your girlfriend." Ye Wei shrugged, returning the words to Darus, except for the word "little."

"City of Love" (1953) was a collection of short films directed by Fellini, Antonioni, Zavattini, and others, many of whom were later revered as masters. The college students might have seen it, but this time they fell into a mental trap, thinking only of Fellini’s feature films and forgetting the anthology.

The first round was indeed lost... Darum and his four friends looked terrible, as it was a best-of-three series. If they lost another round, they didn’t know how to save face.

This kid, if he was a student at the school, must be from the film criticism department, analyzing films and writing reviews every day, then challenging them...!

Embarrassing, embarrassing! The other students, though not participating, felt embarrassed for their classmates. If UCLA found out, they might even make a comedy short film about it, titled "Nineteen and a Half" or "The Kid Takes on USC"?

Many thoughts swirled in their minds, feeling stifled and annoyed. No one dared to be overconfident anymore. Darum said in a low voice, "For the second round, I choose Spielberg."

"Spielberg? Guys, do you want to talk until tomorrow?"

Ye Wei laughed, his mind racing. Spielberg, a living American film master, was familiar to everyone here. With the numbers on their side, he would have no advantage, unless... He said, "OK, Spielberg, OK, I choose actors, ha ha!"

Actors!? Everyone was stunned. What a joke, Spielberg directed and produced, but acted? That old guy wasn’t an actor!

"Guy, this..." Darum found it hard to respond.

"What? I’m also going to say his acting roles."

"They’re really scared..." Anna whispered loudly to Ye Wei, feeling extremely excited. Ye Wei was even more impressive than she had imagined!

Under everyone’s gaze, Darum felt a bit embarrassed, but suddenly decided to go all in, "Actors, then! I’ll start, 'Austin Powers: Goldmember!'"

This was a film from last year, a classic parody, with many celebrity cameos, including Spielberg, who played himself, leaving a lasting impression.

"Very good." Ye Wei, calm and collected, had already thought of several. He responded, "How about 'The Blues Brothers'? Anyone remember? The government office clerk, 'Can I help you with anything?'"

Damn! Everyone exchanged glances, some knew, some didn’t, but after a quick discussion, they realized he wasn’t bluffing... He even quoted the line...

"Great!" Anna raised her small fist.

"I really like 'The Blues Brothers,' and 'The Blues Brothers 2000.'" Ye Wei laughed, "No one thought it was a 2000 film, right?"

If it was just embarrassing before, now it was outright humiliation. Darum’s face turned green, and Pete and Pareira were also very uncomfortable. Their opponent was just a middle school student!

It was their turn again, and the five exchanged opinions, almost asking the onlookers for help. They finally came up with something more certain, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."

"Typical Hollywood, safe with a sequel, but a bit annoying for the audience." Ye Wei joked, which was true, so he continued, "The Last Gun, a 9-minute short film he wrote, directed, and acted in at age 11, younger than I am now, I must say, impressive."

Oh God, why didn’t they say that first! Everyone almost fainted, and Darum was very anxious because they really couldn’t think of anything else, and they had already lost one round!

"I remember there was a cameo in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'" Pareira thought hard, which one of the three "Raiders" films?

Helly-King was unsure, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?" Pete quickly said, "I don’t remember, what about you guys?" Darum frowned so hard his eyes almost fell out, finally remembering a faint memory, "No, it’s 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!'"

"Wow, you’re pretty persistent." Ye Wei clicked his tongue, this time he had to think for a moment. The college students secretly rejoiced, thinking he was out of ideas, but he suddenly said, "I got it, 'Jaws,' he did the voice in it, your turn."

Powerless! Everyone felt completely drained. That was their limit, and now they couldn’t think of anything else. They looked at each other, speechless...

"All done?" someone asked, this was their last hope.

"There’s more."

But this merciless statement sent their hearts plummeting, "You’re kidding, right?" "How can there be more?" "Why is Spielberg so unprofessional!"

"What?" Darum’s voice sounded like a dying man.

Anna’s eyes widened in tension, and Ye Wei, looking incredulous, spread his hands and exclaimed, "I can’t believe you forgot Spielberg’s amazing performance in 'Vanilla Sky'! That party!"

"Oh SHOOT!!!" Everyone screamed again, as if they had accidentally torn a winning lottery ticket. That party! That guest!

"This is impossible!" Darum went crazy, spinning around, while Pete had to put the camera on the grass, panting heavily. The other three were also in a frenzy. It was over, the strange middle schooler had won...

"Looks like this poster is mine." Ye Wei rolled up the poster and put it back in his backpack, looking at the excited Anna and the stunned college students, he laughed wildly, "Ha ha ha, Sullivan’s Travels, ha ha ha!"

He took a few steps forward, leaning into the microphone held by Foling, pretending to be serious, "I want to thank my parents, my sister, my friends... I’m so happy! Wow!"

"Me too!" Anna jumped over, giving Ye Wei a high-five, wincing in pain but laughing, "Yeah!!"

"Oh oh!" "I don’t know what you guys are doing, embarrassing, bye." The onlookers threw in a few comments and quickly left, not wanting to get burned, that kid was a human IMDb, only a fool would play names with him.

Darum and the others also wanted to leave, but they couldn’t... What had they bet on just now?

"Ha ha ha." Ye Wei laughed enough, then smirked at them, "Guys, are you going to back out or what?"

The five sighed, one after another. Losing to a middle schooler?

"I don’t know about them." Darum pulled out a few strands of hair, gritting his teeth, "I admit defeat, three days, I’m in."

"Me too." Pete nodded helplessly. Pareira also said, "Me too." Helly-King hesitated but nodded, "In." Foling pointed the microphone at himself, "Count me in."

"Cool." Ye Wei smiled and winked at Anna, as if to say, "See, everything was in my plan." He then said to the five, "But I’m not sure I want you, I need talented people, you have to be excellent."

Damn! The five almost cursed. Who did he think he was, Spielberg or Fellini? Darum said angrily, "What do you want then?"

"Aren’t you going to do a short film project? Keep going, I’ll observe from the side, but where’s your dolly?" Ye Wei looked around curiously, weren’t they tired carrying the equipment?

"We’re just shooting a few scenes at the field." The five were almost used to Ye Wei’s familiarity with the school’s operations, even knowing about the dolly.

So, Darum’s team continued their planned shooting, heading to Howard Jones Field across the street. They first shot a "walk-and-talk" scene, then a few regular conversation scenes, with Darum and Pareira as the main actors, making the film criticism department’s reaction understandable.

Ye Wei and Anna watched the entire process. Grades weren’t everything, and he deeply felt that the eyes could see more.

Although the two’s performances were average, the "walk-and-talk" scene was a good test of scene direction and team coordination, and they did a decent job, with a good production level, keeping their promises, being cooperative, and having a balanced ethnic mix. With a more outstanding leader, they could perform even better.

After watching for an hour, Ye Wei made his decision, it was them!

Cinematographer: Pete Jones; Gaffer: Helly-King; Sound Recordist and Boom Operator: Foling Garnard; Art Director: Pareira Benelli; First Assistant Camera and First Assistant Director: Darum Jenkins.

They still needed a script supervisor, a makeup artist, and preferably a prop master.

"I need a few more people, do you have any friends to recommend?" Ye Wei asked them.

"Sure, of course... hehe..." Darum and the others had a bad idea, to drag more people into it!

So, they enthusiastically called three classmates: Job Chassak from a prop master family; two girls, Amy Kate, skilled in makeup and styling, and Susan Carnell, a very capable script supervisor, as excellent script supervisors were often female, and Susan was a master at it, noticing every detail.

The three arrived not knowing what had happened, and after finding out, they laughed, not believing it, and teamed up with Ye Wei for another game, a best-of-three, with Coppola’s directorial works and Monroe’s acting roles. The result... they joined the crew.

This really let Darum and the others vent their frustration. Those who had mocked them should see, it wasn’t their fault, this kid was just too strong in this area.

The short film script was also well-written, they had already read it, and it seemed to be a work to make Anna happy, truly a young but clever person, who knows.

Ye Wei knew the college students were still somewhat reluctant, and his abilities hadn’t been fully recognized by them, but he believed it would change soon.

Indeed, the eight were soon shocked again. Ye Wei had another plan for the equipment and actors, targeting USC once more!

USC’s equipment center used a "Production Number" system, where all courses were registered, and the amount and type of equipment each course could use at any time were strictly regulated. Each student in a course had a work number, and they borrowed equipment based on this.

When borrowing, the center’s staff would place the equipment on a dolly, attach a work number form, and the borrower could take the entire dolly.

There were two types of equipment: most could only be borrowed for a week, and some for a semester, usually for seniors making their graduation projects.

As juniors, Darum and the others were the former. They would reserve the equipment 24 hours in advance for the 10th of next month, pick it up on the afternoon of the 11th, use it over the weekend from the 12th to the 14th, and return it by noon on the 16th. "Dance of the Angels" would be fully shot, completely according to the rules, without anyone knowing, the equipment was used by a middle schooler.

"If you like, you can shoot your own projects on the 15th." Ye Wei said.

Combining the course assignments of the eight, they could borrow all the equipment he needed. He only had to provide memory cards and any additional equipment based on the production needs. This would save on equipment rental fees.

It was a feasible plan, as long as the equipment wasn’t damaged. Since the crew members were themselves, Darum and the others agreed... Ye Wei knew their situation well, leaving them no choice.

With the equipment settled, the next step was the actors: Anna’s father, Anna’s mother, Mrs. Mary, a truck driver, 8-10 neighbor extras, 5-8 medical staff extras, and hundreds of theater audience extras.

The main focus was on Anna’s parents, who should have a similar appearance and demeanor to David and Janet but be able to act. Mrs. Mary and the truck driver only had a few scenes, a kind-hearted, plump middle-aged woman, and a rough, middle-aged man who looked like he smoked, drank, and swore. The extras were easy to find, with members of the Dream Alliance interested in appearing.

Anna’s parents came by at noon, and Ye Wei clearly expressed his casting intentions to everyone. After lunch, they continued working.

With Darum’s help, Ye Wei went to the college building, logged into the actor database, and searched for a long time. For the four roles, he shortlisted five candidates each, all semi-professional and amateur actors. Those with B-level acting skills who trusted the director often performed better than those with A-level skills who didn’t.

He entrusted the specific contacts and first-round auditions to Darum and Pareira. After the first round, three actors for each role would move to the second round, from which he would select one lead and two backups. As for the neighbor extras, Darum and Pareira would handle everything.

These tasks needed to be completed within a week, including signing zero-pay contracts, and on the night before shooting, the 11th, the entire crew would have a buffet dinner to get to know each other and prepare for the three days of shooting.

For the locations, he decided to use real settings: Anna’s house (his own house), Anna’s neighborhood (Brentwood), the hospital (a disguised dental clinic corridor), and the theater (the Saperstein Theater at Harvard-Westlake Middle School). He had asked the old principal, and it was fine to shoot on Sunday, within three hours, with faculty supervision.

With the crew, equipment, and actors soon in place, for post-production effects, he would later have Darum and the others help contact friends from the "Animation and Digital Arts" department, and he would personally handle the editing and music, with Foling doing the final mix. Done!

The blueprint was drawn, now it was time to see how it would be implemented.

Around 5 PM, Ye Wei and Anna got into Anna’s parents’ car and left USC.

Anna was very satisfied with her first date, acting as if "today will be a sweet and innocent memory for the rest of my life," and asked Ye Wei several times, "When will we have our second date?"

Ye Wei was a bit afraid of her, even more so of David and Janet misunderstanding, but they just laughed, such open-minded parents...

However, he had a real date that evening. He received a call from Lily in the afternoon, she had returned from the UK and bought him a gift.