Chapter 68

"Kid, I've been watching, and there's something I want to say! You're incredible! I've never understood people like you, but I know you're an incredible guy!"

Willis laughed heartily, very pleased, and looked at the TV screen again, "I like this short film, it's really well made, I like it..."

YES! YES! Ye Wei finally couldn't contain his joy, his face showing it, and his voice was excited, "Thank you, Mr. Willis, thank you for your appreciation!"

"Ha!" Lamo also laughed, it was really rare to see the old man praise someone so much, especially a teenager. Incredible, right? It's fitting.

This time, it was Laru and Bely who whistled, "Can you please be quiet!" "Shh! The short film isn't over yet." Demi Moore could only sigh at the scene, even Bely was so focused, this short film must have some kind of magic.

The images on the screen continued, after a montage, the music paused, and the scene returned to Anna's living room. Anna and Bella received another invitation to perform on stage, but her attitude had changed. When Anna's parents said she would become a star and needed to buy new clothes to dress her up,

Anna smiled sweetly at Bella, as if whispering, "That doesn't matter, it never has, right, Bella?"

Close-up shot, Bella's mouth curled up slightly, as if she was smiling! The audience was both surprised and amused, Bella was so cute, and so was Anna.

At this moment, the singing continued, and the scene shifted to the theater. First, a wide shot showed the spacious theater packed with hundreds of audience members, all looking at the stage, their smiling faces too numerous to count.

"Yes, that's me!"

"Ha ha ha, did you see that, I'm there, the black dot in the upper right corner! Yes, that one!"

"This was filmed at our school, that day was amazing, VIY even gave an incredible speech! Just as good as the short film! I'm a real person!!"

"Wow, I saw the old principal, that old man is really everywhere!"

"Did you see that pretty girl? She's called Lily, Ye Wei's girl! Cool, right!"

All over the world, excited cheers echoed, whether in malls or at home with family, the Dream Chasers members were celebrating, proud, and cool!

While other middle schoolers still thought throwing a water balloon at a teacher or dyeing their hair ten different colors was cool, they had participated in making a professional short film, how lucky! This is the kind of cool that deserves to be remembered for a lifetime.

Thank you, VIY, for your guidance! It was him who made these bookworms extraordinary! The old principal was right, he's a hero!

"Ha ha, I saw my daughter!" Willis also shouted, Lamo was sitting in the front row of the audience, this shot clearly showed him.

"Old man, are you thinking about who used your daughter again?" Lamo teased. Willis laughed, "Even if this kid used you, he did a good job this time!"

Wow! If he really used her, would you start breaking things and hitting people, Sheriff? Ye Wei didn't dare to answer casually, he just kept smiling.

"Why didn't you call me to make a cameo that day? Lamo, you're so bad!" "Yeah, so much fun and you didn't call me!" Laru and Bely said in succession, clearly unhappy.

In New York, there was also laughter from seeing his daughter make a cameo, Phil Collins was quite happy because Lily looked very happy in the footage.

The others were also laughing, Simon asked curiously, "Which one is Ye Wei? Did he appear? I want to see him!"

"He didn't appear, he was filming on stage at that time." Lily's tears of emotion hadn't dried, a strong impulse welled up in her heart, she suddenly wanted to see him so much!

On the screen, the camera focused on the stage, Anna and Bella danced joyfully, though not as bouncy as in the first scene, it was slow, elegant, and full of spirit, with perfect chemistry!

During this time, several close-up shots of the audience were quickly cut, including Anna's parents, Mrs. Mary, and other neighbors, their love for Anna was evident in their radiant smiles.

"Believe me, you're in my heart, I'm there, from today on, until forever, you're in my heart..."

The song accompanied the angelic dance, touching every audience member's heart!

The world echoed with excited cheers and applause, people were crazy for Anna and Bella, enchanted by the beauty, and delighted by their own unextinguished childlike hearts!

This world is imperfect, everyone is imperfect, even angels have broken wings, but as long as you are willing, as long as you try, as long as you persist...

Even if you fall into the depths of darkness, you must look up at the sky!

Even if everyone abandons you, you must not abandon yourself!

Even if the whole world is falling, you must fly!

Because, only then will your soul truly feel peace, your heart truly feel joy, and you will truly be yourself!

As long as you persist, you will grow a pair of wings called awakening, and fly to heaven, fly to the light!

"Bella, fly!!"

Anna's pure and beautiful off-screen laughter sounded, Bella leaped high in response, the scene faded out, and a warm song continued. A black background with white text appeared:

Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Editor, Composer: Ye Wei

Lead Actors: "Anna" - AnnaSophia Rob, "Bella" - Bella Rob

At this moment, countless hands clapped, big and small, audiences all over the world applauded without end, this short film was amazing! So good!

In bustling malls and shops, people were boiling with excitement, especially in several open-air squares, the applause and cheers of thousands of audience members formed a torrent! This was truly an excellent Christmas gift, the creators of the short film deserved all the praise!

"Ah ah! VIY succeeded! We succeeded!!" The Dream Chasers members shouted in various places, declaring their invincible youth!

In Denver, even though this was the fifth or sixth time watching, Anna was still moved, feeling new insights, she smiled at her parents, "My acting has really improved a lot, all thanks to Wei's guidance, I think this will benefit me for life! When I win an Oscar in the future, the first person I'll thank on stage will be Wei!"

David and Janet laughed heartily, amused by their daughter's words.

"What? Do you think I won't win an Oscar?"

"No, dear, it's just... you're thinking about it too early."

"That's true, I haven't even gotten my first film role yet, I wonder how it's going with Wyn-Daisy..."

In Los Angeles, Wang Ying was deeply moved, the final scene was still so well shot, with clear positioning, smooth camera transitions, and just the right lighting, whether it was a wide shot or a close-up, the depth of field, the director's confident control!

He suddenly thought that Ye Wei seemed to be intentionally showing off his skills, long shots, montages, small scenes, large scenes... using all the techniques, shouting to the world, "Hey, I'm here, I understand film!"

Yes, Ye Wei understood, absolutely understood, not just a single shot or a montage, but the overall story creation, rhythm, atmosphere, psychological control, deep meaning... he understood it all, where to be light, where to be heavy, he knew it all.

In just 10 minutes, he told a complete three-act story and expressed some life reflections, so inspiring, so moving, this was no small feat!

Although it couldn't be said that he could definitely make a good feature film, he had largely proven himself, worthy of trust, worthy of a chance.

Wang Ying thought, a chance, that's what young people want.

But it was unknown who would give him one, after all, this was unprecedented in the history of world cinema: a high school student could make such a perfect short film.

How old was he, 17? Or 18? In any case, a young genius had finally emerged among Chinese filmmakers, how exciting!

And AnnaSophia Rob's performance was equally stunning!

She was absolutely the right choice for "Opal," no need to shoot a test reel, she had already shown acting skills on par with Ronan, or even more refined; and her appearance had many advantages, plus the perfect chemistry between her and the dog, it was her!

If she could continue to perform at the level shown in the short film, she could take "Because of Winn-Dixie" to a new height!

"The film industry is full of unknowns," Wang Ying and his wife sighed again.

At the same time, on the screen, the complete credits rolled:

Cinematography: Pete Jones

First Assistant Director, First Camera Assistant: Darum Jenkins

Lighting: Harry King

Sound: Flint Garnard

Art Direction: Parela Benelli

Props: Job Chazak

Costume Design: Amy Kate

Script Supervisor: Susan Cannel

In the USC dormitory, a loud cheer erupted, Darum and the others held their heads high, enjoying this moment of glory, looking at the complex expressions of others, they felt satisfied!

At first, they thought they had some bad luck, but it turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of good fortune. Ye Wei was younger than them, but more capable, no doubt! Maybe that joke from the other day would come true, he would lead them "Gone with the Wind in the morning, a wild run in the afternoon" again.

"How about it, my friends, tell me your answers, can you make a short film of this level? This type, this structure?"

"Oh, come on, Darum, are you trying to kill me... Fine, I admit, this kid is better than me!"

"Is this just a fluke? Okay, this short film is great, I was wrong before."

"Damn, is he some kind of alien kid?"

"Not impossible, Wei said he's from a planet called Cool."

The credits continued to roll to the end, after the main cast and crew, a long list of extras and cameo actors followed.

Since they worked for free, the credits were their only reward, so no one could be left out, but their names were quite small, you had to squint to see them clearly, but it was equally exciting!

In different places, the same cheers echoed, young men and women tasted the sweetness of their dreams coming true!

"Do you believe it!? Do you hear it!?" Lev shouted wildly to the audience next to him, "This is Brother Wei's work, our work!! Dream Chasers—"

"VIY is a genius! VIY is a genius!! VIY is a genius!!!"

"Brother Wei, I love you!!!" Bud howled to the sky.

"Let Focus Features go to hell, Brother Wei made a professional short film, super good!!"

"If BOSS doesn't produce and direct 'Little Miss Sunshine,' I, Li Ming, will be the first to disagree!"

"Oh! I envy Lily... I want to go on a date with Wei, what should I do?" Connie's face was full of fantasy, suddenly she laughed, as if VIY had kissed her.

When the credits were all over, a series of special thanks followed, "Thank you to Harvard-Westlake Middle School for providing the location support, and to the teachers for their great help."

The old principal, Mr. Capson, Ms. Esi... all smiled, proud of the once troublesome VIY.

"Thank you to Dr. Ye Haogen's dental clinic for providing the location support, (Dad, Mom, Dodo, Toto, I love you!)"

Ye Haogen and Gu Qiao laughed, not knowing about this surprise in advance, "Dodo, look there, Wei says he loves us." "Where, where?"

"