Chapter 87

In recent days, Ye Wei's life has been very peaceful. The rumor on IMDb was deleted, and as expected, Lowitt, Rifkin, and others did not continue to cause him trouble. The mysterious person did not appear either.

He went to school, worked on financing and production proposals, and remade "The Wedding Is Coming." Because he had not completed the remake during winter break, and with the new situation now, he decided to take his time and improve the script, adding more low-quality yet interesting details, making the "God of Weddings" even more mischievous, funny, and lovable.

January 22nd was Chinese New Year. This year, the Ye family had a simple celebration, and the New Year's money for Ye Wei and Duo Duo was significantly reduced. It wasn't until they visited Ye Wei's mother's family in San Francisco over the weekend that the amount became more presentable. Toto was even worse off; in previous years, he would get a new dog outfit, but this year, he still had to wear the "I Only Want to Be a Director" one.

From time to time, he went out on dates with Lily, played with his friends, and worked hard for the soccer team's league championship, enjoying his youth. He was very happy.

On the other side, "It's All Daisy's Fault" started filming. AnnaSophia Robb made her official debut in the media, and her cute makeup photos immediately won people's favor. The media listed her as one of the "most anticipated child stars," marking the first step toward becoming a national darling.

There was another surprise: she got another role! She successfully auditioned for the lead role of "Samantha" in the TV movie "Samantha: An American Girl's Holiday," which she would star in alongside the famous actress Mia Farrow. The film, set in the early 20th century, would be filmed from April to June of this year, right after "It's All Daisy's Fault."

Then, a few days later, she got another role! It was terrifying: "Violet Beauregarde, the gum-chewing champion" in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," a Warner Bros. fantasy blockbuster directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, a golden duo known for creating classics, with a budget of $150 million!

The film would start shooting in late June, right after "Samantha."

As the lead in a small film and a supporting role in a big film, Anna, after her performance cooled down, burst with tremendous energy. Even for a minor role as a "number one fan" in the TV series "Drake & Josh," she won the audition... scaring Janet and Ms. June so much that they didn't dare to arrange more auditions for her. This year was enough; after finishing these roles and their releases, Anna would...

Soar to new heights! The era of AnnaSophia Robb seemed to be approaching.

Anna almost called Ye Wei every day to talk about the interesting things that happened, ask for his advice on problems, and share her joys and sorrows.

"Wei, today is the first day of filming, and the first shot shocked everyone, including Director Wang Ying and the crew, because my performance was so good, hahaha! I told them Wei taught me!"

"Today, I had to reshoot a scene many times because Winn-Daisy wasn't very cooperative, but she's so cute, I couldn't get mad at her, and she and Bella are good friends now."

"Hehe, Wei, I won another audition! I got the lead role!"

"Another one, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' a big production! ... Do you want me to get Johnny Depp's autograph for you? Wei, I'm thinking that once I become a star, I'll invest in your film project and act in it, so you won't have to worry about money anymore."

"Wei, I really miss you today. It's more fun to act with you. After we wrap up, I'll go to Los Angeles for a date with you! If you don't agree, I'll cry! Do you dare not to agree?"

At school, the Dream Chasers Alliance had recently "cooled down" a bit, with no particularly impressive events, so the arrogance of John Williams and others grew day by day. Ye Wei's "loser" label seemed to stick more firmly, but everyone still had hope, waiting for VIY's counterattack. He would definitely counterattack!

As the month came to an end and February approached, on the 28th, a Wednesday, Ye Wei had to attend an event: Lily's speech.

A required course for Harvard-Westlake eighth graders is public speaking or public debate, and she chose the former.

More people usually choose debate because it can be done in teams, making it less likely to be awkward, and the presence of family and friends makes it more lively. In contrast, a speech is a solo performance, and sometimes only family and the advisor show up, which can be awkward.

But after school that day, over 200 people flooded into the Saperstein Theater, filling the front rows. Most of them were members of the Dream Chasers Alliance, as Lily was now the "queen" of the club, and they couldn't miss it just for Ye Wei's sake.

Many others came specifically for Lily, the beautiful daughter of a rock star! Just to hear what she had to say, "Let's rock together"?

Others were Lily's sister friends, faculty members, and her mother, Tawberman, who also came.

"Wow!" Ye Wei exclaimed, looking back at the increasingly crowded theater, "Guys, in our speeches, who has this many audience members?" Everyone shook their heads, except for Ye Wei's, whose combined with everyone else's was about the same.

"Bro, Lily's mom is right there, don't you want to chat with her a bit?" Lev, standing nearby, pointed to Lily's mother sitting in the middle of the first row diagonally across.

"I already greeted her earlier." Ye Wei shrugged. Lily's mother didn't seem to like him, but he hadn't done anything wrong...

As he was thinking, his phone vibrated with an incoming call. He took it out and his eyes widened: Tom Hanks!!!

"I'll take this call!" He quickly got up and moved to the side of the theater, putting the phone to his ear, "Hi, Tom, good afternoon, is there any news?"

"Wei, good afternoon." Hanks' voice was as deep as ever, "You're out of school at this time, right? Can we talk on the phone? Good, recently, we've done a lot of research on the 'Little Miss Sunshine' project. It's good, but you're too young, and 'Dance of the Angels' was also well-made, so it's hard for us to make a decision."

"OK..." Ye Wei moved to the side of the theater, where the noise was quieter. Listening to this, he couldn't help but feel nervous, "So?"

"Then I asked someone, Steven Spielberg. I trust his judgment more than my own."

Spielberg!!! Ye Wei's heart raced, unable to describe his excitement. His matter had caught the attention of a giant! He quickly asked, "What did Mr. Spielberg say?"

"I told him about your achievements, and he was very interested. Today, I gave him the DVD and original documents of 'Dance of the Angels' to watch. After he finished, he said..." Hanks laughed, his mood high, "He said, 'This kid is not an ordinary human, maybe he's an alien.'"

This was praise! This was recognition! Ye Wei was almost cheering, "Wow, thank you!" So he said!?

"I asked him, 'Does this kid have the ability to direct a feature film?' If he says yes, I'll have the confidence to do something. If he says no, I'll introduce you to others, and you can create more opportunities for yourself."

But Steven didn't answer immediately. He said he needed to see you in person to know. In the end, we agreed that on the 30th, you'll be Steven's assistant for a day. In the morning, you'll visit the set of 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events,' in the afternoon, you'll work on the post-production of 'The Terminal,' and in the evening, there's a salon gathering.

If you can get Steven's approval by the end of the day, I'll invest in you." Hanks' tone was very serious.

Wow! Ye Wei's heart calmed down a bit, and he nodded, "No problem, I'll do my best."

"Good, show your talent. If Steven approves you, even if I don't invest, you'll find investors. Seize this opportunity."

Hanks then gave him the contact number of Spielberg's long-term personal assistant, who would handle the arrangements.

After ending the call, Ye Wei clenched his fist, 30th, the decisive battle! Impress Spielberg, turn the tide!

When he returned to his seat in the theater, everyone was still chatting and laughing, unaware that he had just had a phone call with "Forrest Gump."

"Lily's coming out, Lily's on stage!" "Lily, Lily!"

Soon, the entire audience was buzzing. Lily, holding a speech manuscript, walked from the left side of the stage to the center, where the microphone stood. Applause broke out, and over 200 pairs of eyes focused on her, creating a warm atmosphere.

Lily took a deep breath. Despite being used to the limelight from a young age, having attended countless parties and banquets with her parents, she still felt a bit nervous. The feeling on stage was very different from being in the audience... Stay calm! Don't embarrass yourself, or he'll tease you.

You want to become the youngest talk show host, so this is nothing! She quietly adjusted her mood, and the pressure gradually disappeared.

"Thank you, thank you."

Her clear voice spread through the speakers, and the applause stopped. Lily was prepared to speak without the manuscript, holding it behind her back with her right hand. She looked at the front row, her bright eyes pausing on a face for a moment before moving forward, smiling as she began:

"Hello everyone, I'm glad to be here to share some of my thoughts about the power of dreams."

The members of the Dream Chasers Alliance immediately cheered silently. This was a great topic! No wonder she was VIY's girl, no wonder she was their queen, she was talking about this!

Ye Wei's face was full of anticipation. Her manuscript had been kept secret; when he asked, she just said, "You'll know when the time comes." The beginning was good, no stammering.

"At the beginning of this school year, I was living a normal life, with no particular thoughts, day after day. Last November, something happened, and everything changed. As everyone knows, Ye Wei did something remarkable. He initiated a crowdfunding campaign for a film, and I joined in."

Lily paused, scanning the faces, her voice becoming softer: "Then, we had successes and failures, joys and sorrows."

The members' faces were calm, and Ye Wei listened quietly, feeling her sincerity, her eyes meeting his.

"I like pole vaulting. It's a very interesting sport. For a goal, you run and jump high with the pole. Sometimes, you don't make it and fall, but even if you do make it, you still fall. No matter if you succeed or fail, you always return to the ground.

I want to say that chasing dreams is like this. We leap high for our goals, knowing that we will fall back