Chapter 11

Who is the hottest event in April, and who is the hottest person in April? A letter from Hollywood DreamWorks, the entertainment capital on the other side of the world, sparked heated discussions among the students of the Central Academy of Drama.

"Who is Chen Tiandu?"

"He's a senior in the directing department, about to graduate. He shot two commercials recently and reportedly made over a million yuan." "No way, shooting commercials is that profitable? I've never heard of it." "Have you seen the touching Rejoice commercial? He shot that, and it even became popular in Hong Kong."

"How did he get involved with Hollywood? Does DreamWorks also shoot commercials, and did they reach out to China across the ocean?" "You don't know, do you? He wrote an English script and submitted it to DreamWorks. It was picked up by Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, who wants to direct it himself."

"He can write English scripts? Amazing, I haven't even written a Chinese script!"

"You can't compare. His education is different. He's a mixed-race handsome guy, with a French grandmother and a Korean mother. He's been fluent in English, French, and Korean since he was young. I heard he's also a Christian, which is different from us." "Are you kidding? A Korean mixed-race guy can be handsome? Koreans are so ugly, with small noses and eyes, and they're short. I think he's diluting the bloodline." "That's true, his mother isn't pure Korean; she's a Korean-American mix." "…"

It has long been acknowledged that graduates from the directing department of the Central Academy of Drama find it hard to become famous. The most famous director to date, Jiang Wen, is from the acting department. Bao Guoan and Li Baotian are from the 1970s, and not many people know them.

Even with a good script, it takes years to build up the credentials to direct a film in China. You have to wait until you look experienced enough to get investment. Those who do well, like Jiang Wen, can achieve box office success of tens of millions. Compared to Hong Kong, let alone Hollywood, it's a different world. Which director doesn't dream of a bigger stage? But without the conditions, even Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige wouldn't be so eager to go to Europe.

While the European arts scene has been somewhat penetrated, Hollywood and the mainland film industry are truly "isolated worlds." Now, a student from the directing department, who hasn't even graduated, has broken into Hollywood.

What kind of person is Steven Spielberg? The highest-grossing director globally, his eye for talent can't be wrong.

He immediately recognized Chen Tiandu's script and decided to direct it himself, inviting a Central Academy of Drama student to join the production in the U.S.

At first, some thought it was a rumor, too exaggerated and unreliable.

Although mainland China in 1997 wasn't developed, it had entered the internet age. Within days, the news was confirmed. DreamWorks officially announced Spielberg's new film project, a big-budget war movie, with the screenwriter named Christmas Chen.

This was an unfamiliar name, but it sounded appealing to Westerners—after all, who doesn't like Christmas? A search on Google revealed the person, though the information was sparse. The nationality listed was... China.

Note, China, not the U.S. or any other country, meaning he's not a Chinese-American.

This news not only shocked the media but also caught the attention of big directors like Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Xiao Gang, and Jiang Wen. The heads of Huayi Brothers and China Film Group also took notice, waiting to see how things would develop.

Journalists rushed to the Central Academy of Drama for interviews but couldn't find anyone. They learned that the guy had taken a beautiful acting student to Europe while shooting commercials.

Indeed, Chen Tiandu was in Europe with Kong Yiji, Huang Bo, and Yuan Quan.

No extras were brought; there was no producer, no actors, no director. During shooting, the director was also the cameraman. During breaks and travel, the lead actors were the baggage carriers. Huang Bo and Yuan Quan, who had expected a romantic European work trip, were exhausted. Not knowing English, they could only watch as Chen Tiandu communicated smoothly with foreigners. They wouldn't even know if they were being sold.

At a street corner, Huang Bo, wearing a white shirt, gestured to a white-haired European elder with his Motorola phone, asking for help to take a photo. The elder, gentlemanly, shrugged and took the phone, snapping a picture of Huang Bo, who was happily pointing at the "WILL" letters on a sign.

At the train station, they captured the word "YOU" on a sign. Outside the "ROSE&MARRY" café, they took a photo with half a face and the word "MARRY." At a public restroom, they blocked the "MAN" part of the "MAN|WOMEN" sign, leaving only "ME."

Individually, these photos might seem strange, but together, they spelled out "WILL-YOU-MARRY-ME," a proposal that would be eye-opening. The simple shooting process took a week, but fortunately, the female lead's part was relatively simple.

This ad was based on what would later be known as "the world's most classic cell phone proposal" ad.

"Lost, lost!"

Chen Tiandu and his team had returned to China, and he was slamming the table in frustration. "We need to raise the price; I even contributed a song."

He had already downloaded the ad video, thinking it wouldn't use much more data. But he was wrong; the song alone cost him an additional 25MB, which was painful.

"Kong, have you heard back from the people you contacted?"

This was his last task before going to the U.S., and he needed to see it through.

The phone proposal ad was a great idea, but without a beautiful ad song, it would only be considered good. The best match was Shakira's classic "Underneath Your Clothes," but that song wouldn't be released until 2003. Shakira hadn't won a Grammy yet and was just a famous Latin singer, not a superstar. He thought she might be more approachable. He easily found her and her agent's email and even her private phone number and contacted her. But he was too optimistic; she might have just ignored it. A few days later, she saw the email from China and deleted it as spam.

Kong Yiji, annoyed, said, "Please, that's a Western singer. Do you think they'll just take any song you send? Do you think you're a god of music?"

Huang Bo added, "I think it's a long shot. Your rock songs are good, but that doesn't mean they'll accept an English song. Western music is a different system, with a gap as deep as the Mariana Trench. The aesthetic differences are huge."

Chen Tiandu slammed his hand in frustration. "I was too naive. Reality isn't a fairy tale. I need to learn from this. Call them and tell them if we don't get a response within 24 hours, we'll find another singer."

"Alright."

Kong Yiji, though reluctant to pay the expensive international call fees, had no choice. Otherwise, the ad would be stuck, and they wouldn't get paid.

...

After a busy week, they returned to school. Although exhausted, Yuan Quan had gained a lot of experience.

As soon as she entered the classroom, she was bombarded with questions from her classmates.

Zhang Ziyi, a bit jealous, asked, "You really went to Europe to shoot ads? Must have been a lot of money. I heard it was a cell phone ad. What did you shoot? When you left, Chen Tiandu was already quite famous in school."

"Confess everything, or you'll be punished. Be honest, and you'll be treated leniently," Hu Jing threatened, grabbing her neck.

Yuan Quan was helpless. "You win. It was a cell phone proposal ad. My part could have been shot in China, but the senior insisted on going to Europe to capture the atmosphere. I ended up working as a crew member for a week, running around with them. But I did see a lot of scenic spots and ate a lot of delicious food. Unfortunately, I had no money, so I could only look at the foreign crafts and couldn't afford them."

"What about the ad's creativity? Did you just shoot some scenery and send a text saying 'Marry me'?" Liu Ye asked, feigning expertise. Men are always competitive, and the girls in the class were all talking about a handsome guy from another department, so he naturally felt a bit jealous.

Yuan Quan thought for a moment. "It seems like that, Liu Ye. You're really good; you guessed 90% of it."

"See, I told you," Liu Ye said happily. "What a big talker. He's just boasting. How can an ad compare to a movie? I think he wasted four years in the directing department. If he's so capable, let him make a movie and see."

"Hey," Zhang Ziyi hushed him. "Liu Ye, you're just jealous. What's wrong with ads? Aren't ad directors directors too? If it's good, even the teachers will praise it, and everyone will recognize it."

Yuan Quan also felt uncomfortable, as she had put a lot of effort into the ad. "I believe this ad will be unique and a classic. Just wait and see."

They waited a month.

...