Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 381 Olympic Games Director

This can be considered a reminder from Wu Yuchen to little Annie. The reason why "The Devil Wears Prada" became a hit is that the movie attracted a large number of women. On the one hand, they are interested in the growth of female protagonists in the workplace. On the other hand, it is about a fashion magazine, and the movie shows a lot of things in the fashion industry. The dazzling array of luxury goods and models will naturally dazzle girls.

Meryl Streep's portrayal of the queen-like editor-in-chief, while an annoying character, is admired by many independent women for her strong, assertive aura.

Indeed, these women both resent their bosses being sharp-tongued, shrewd, and unpredictable workaholics who are intimidating, yet simultaneously fantasize about becoming such powerful women themselves. Therefore, this film truly captures the psychology of many working women.

Wu Yuchen smiled. He had already fed her the pancake; let's see how much she can eat. But it doesn't matter. After all, Annie has the most screen time in this movie and is undoubtedly the female lead. If the movie is a box office hit, the credit will still go to her.

As for her wanting to act in arthouse films and pursue fame, let her be. Anne is no small figure now; she can easily pick and choose the most opportunities in arthouse films.

……

A week later, Wu Yuchen returned to China with the "Departures" team. He received many interview requests, wanting him to talk about "Departures" and the Oscars, but Wu Yuchen turned them all down. His current focus was on the Olympics.

Not long after he returned, the Organizing Committee notified him and Zhang Yimou to attend the results announcement meeting.

Besides Wu Yuchen and his team, representatives from several other teams were also present. Although it was called a press conference, it was actually more of an internal one, as only the five bidding groups were notified initially. There were no media or reporters present; a real press conference would have been much more formal.

"I apologize for keeping you all waiting. Your proposals are all excellent, but the Olympics are of paramount importance. Therefore, we spent two months conducting comprehensive discussions, listening to and considering opinions from all sides, before arriving at the current result. I won't waste any more words; please see for yourselves!"

After the leader finished speaking, a form was distributed, containing 22 clearly marked scores for each team's proposal. A master table was then displayed on the large screen, showing the scores of all five teams and providing a comparison.

For example, in the category of traditional Chinese cultural elements, Wu Yuchen's team, Zhang Yimou's team, and Li An's Gehua team tied for first place; in the category of contemporary style, the joint team scored the highest; in the category of world culture representation, Wu Yuchen's team scored the highest; in the category of team influence, Wu Yuchen's team also scored the highest; and in the category of technical implementation, the People's Liberation Army team scored the highest.

Just by looking at the sub-categories, it's clear that Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou's team won many first places, and the result is naturally beyond doubt: Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou's team won first place overall!

Seeing this result, even though Wu Yuchen had anticipated it, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed, and he and Zhang Yimou high-fived in celebration. After all, this was the Beijing Olympics! China's first ever Olympics!

The other teams also sighed after seeing it. Although rumors had circulated after the first round that Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou's team had produced an outstanding proposal that was far ahead and had won the approval of their superiors, they had not given up. They had worked hard for several months and wanted to try again, but in the end, they could not beat their opponents.

However, they quickly came to terms with it, after all, it was a collaboration between Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou, two internationally renowned Chinese directors, so it was only natural that they lost.

After the other teams left, the Organizing Committee kept Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou behind. The leader came over and said to the two with a smile, "Director Wu, Director Zhang, congratulations! Your winning proposal this time is well-deserved! However, you two will have a lot of responsibilities in the next few years! You are entrusted with the mission of 13 billion people!"

"Leadership, since the country and the people are willing to trust us, we will do our best to present a wonderful Olympic opening ceremony!" Wu Yuchen assured.

"We will definitely not let the organization down!" Zhang Yimou echoed.

"Good, good! I have great confidence in Director Wu and Director Zhang's abilities! But as the saying goes, a hero needs two helpers. This Olympics is of great importance, and it's definitely not enough to rely on just the two of you. In the next month, you need to build up the main creative team. You can suggest candidates."

The leader added, "The other rejected proposals, although not selected, all had their merits, and many of their designers wanted to contribute to our Olympics."

Wu Yuchen naturally understood the meaning behind the leader's words. Some of the bigwigs here were going to participate in this Olympics. He smiled and replied, "Leader, we understand that. We will definitely unite all the forces we can to create a great Olympic event!"

Upon hearing this, the leader nodded and smiled, "With Director Wu's words, I can rest assured!"

At this point, all the other eliminated proposals were made available to Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou. They could view them and extract the ideas they wanted, which also served as a reference for selecting team members.

For the next two weeks, Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou reviewed these proposals and then selected talent to join the core creative team. To be honest, those who could participate in these teams were all quite capable, and the selection process involved more than just ability; it also naturally took into account various opinions and interests.

On March 29, at the press conference and appointment ceremony, big names gathered, and the event was of a very high level. Media from both China and abroad were present. Amidst the flashing lights and cameras, the big names handed the appointment letters to Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou.

"We hereby appoint Mr. Wu Yuchen and Mr. Zhang Yimou as the chief directors of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games!"

When it came to the interview segment, the reporter naturally asked: "Director Wu, could you share your thoughts at this moment?"

Holding the letter of appointment, Wu Yuchen said, "Today can be said to be the most unforgettable day of my life. Being appointed as the chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games is the highest honor a cultural worker can receive in a lifetime."

A century-long Olympic dream fulfilled for China. The 13 billion people of China eagerly anticipate the Olympics, while billions of viewers worldwide follow its every move. This is both pressure and motivation!

"Director Wu, you have made many successful films. What are the differences between directing the Olympics and making a movie?"

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and said, "Making movies is a lifelong career, but directing the Olympic opening ceremony is a heavy responsibility. I can make many movies in my life, but the opportunity to direct the Beijing Olympics may only come once in my life, so this is a tough battle where success is not an option. I will do my best to deliver a satisfactory result!"

"Wu Yuchen's team wins the bid for the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony!"

"The directing team for the Beijing Olympics has been confirmed: Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou will jointly serve as chief directors!"

"Wu Yuchen leads the Beijing Olympics directing team!" "Wu Yuchen appointed as chief director of the Beijing Olympics!"

Shortly after the press conference ended, the news spread like wildfire across China, especially online, where it sparked heated discussions.

"Haha, just as I predicted!"

"As expected of Director Wu! I knew Director Wu was the only one suitable for any aspect!"

"It has to be Wu Yuchen! If the top Chinese director isn't chosen, the judging panel will be torn to shreds!"

"Is there even a need to predict this? This is a collaboration between Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou. It would be a conspiracy if they didn't get selected!"

"Wu Yuchen's selection as the chief director is well-deserved! But I have reservations about Zhang Yimou's extra-birth child!"

"Zhang Yimou really has to bow down to Director Wu. With the 'black 8 minutes' and the issue of having more children than allowed, there was no hope at all. If it weren't for Director Wu's intervention, how could he have possibly become the chief director of this Olympics!"

"Let alone the chief director of the Olympics, he broke the law and violated regulations. I would have criticized him to death, but I will not criticize him because Director Wu helped him out."

"Stop talking. Give Wu Yuchen some face and let Lao Zhangzi work peacefully as Wu's assistant. If the Olympics are a success, he will also deserve some credit."

"Yes, yes, yes, although Zhang Yimou has violated the one-child policy, he still has some talent. He's better than a rich kid and can lend a hand to Director Wu!"

"Although I knew this would be the result, I'm still happy! I wish Director Wu all the best and the Beijing Olympics a smooth and successful conclusion!"

"With Director Wu around, the Olympics will definitely be a great success!"

While netizens are buzzing with discussion, Wu Yuchen has quite a lot on his plate.

In fact, this appointment included not only him and Zhang Yimou, but also other members of the creative team, such as Zhang Jigang, head of the People's Army Song and Dance Troupe, Chen Weiya, artistic director of the National Song and Dance Troupe, and Yu Jianping, president of the Engineering Design Institute.

After the appointment ceremony, the first thing to do is to gather the selected creative team together for a meeting.

Wu Yuchen sat at the head of the table and addressed the people seated in the conference room:

"You are all outstanding talents from all walks of life in China, the best in your respective fields. We are all gathered here today with the same goal: to successfully host the Beijing Olympics!"

Wu Yuchen glanced around, and everyone present nodded in agreement before continuing:
"There are still two and a half years left, which is a long time, but also a short time for such a big event as the Olympics. The Organizing Committee has set a deadline for us: in September this year, we will finalize the creative plan and submit it to the Organizing Committee for review."

Although Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou's proposal won, this does not mean that it is the final version. Now that the creative team has expanded considerably, the first thing to do is for Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou to lead a renewed discussion of the proposal, reviewing each segment. If any problems are found, improvements or replacements will be necessary.

"We have five months. In the first month, we will discuss and finalize the general plan and identify programs that have problems or controversies. In the middle two months, we will conduct preliminary practical trials on these programs that are still pending and have problems. In the last two months, we will finalize the plan. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Director Wu, you're the chief director, so we'll do as you say!"

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. This meeting was more than just a simple meeting. Although many people had verbally agreed and expressed their obedience to Wu Yuchen and the chief director Zhang Yimou, they would definitely face various criticisms during the program's discussion later.

This new creative team includes many members from teams that failed to win the election before. To be honest, those plans were also the result of their hard work, and naturally they have their merits and highlights. They are all confident in their programs.

Now that the overall plan needs to be renegotiation, this is their opportunity. Although Wu Yuchen's plan is the main one, as long as some programs can be found to have problems, they can be replaced with their programs!
In his previous life, although Zhang Yimou was selected as the chief director, he couldn't have absolute authority, especially after the harsh criticism he received for his "dark eight minutes" segment. This made it difficult for him to gain widespread acceptance and he faced considerable difficulties. Where there are people, there are conflicts, and it took Zhang Yimou a considerable amount of time to truly unite the team.

However, now that Wu Yuchen has taken over as the chief director, his achievements and accolades surpass those of Zhang Yimou, making him more capable of maintaining order. Wu Yuchen understands that the first hurdle is the most difficult to overcome. Once the final plan is finalized, the overall direction is unlikely to change, and during the execution phase, no one will voice any objections, naturally leading to everyone working diligently.

However, now that we've reached the stage of discussing the plan, there will be no shortage of people looking for faults, and this very first program has already received a lot of criticism.

"Director Wu, the 'Singing While Striking the Drum' program seems interesting and quite creative at first glance, but there are many problems in its execution!"

First, I'd like to point out that, as far as I know, the fou (缶) is a musical instrument that has been lost for a long time, existing only in ancient texts. Nowadays, we not only don't know what a fou looks like, but we also struggle to find out how to play it, and we don't even know what sound it makes. How can we solve this problem?

Once one person speaks, then the next two, three, four, and five all follow:
"Director Wu, if 2008 people are playing the drums together, let's not talk about the sound of the drums for now. Your plan describes the sound of drums as similar to drums, so let's assume it's drumming. This is not 28 people, nor 208 people, but 2008 people. If even one person makes a mistake, you can hear it. 2008 people playing the drums in unison, that's quite risky!"

In the past, we could use lip-syncing to reduce the risk of vocal performances, but we can't exactly play pre-recorded recordings for drumming too, can we?

Everyone chimed in, pointing out the flaws of the "singing while striking the earthen jar" performance.

(End of this chapter)