Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 382 I can’t hide it anymore
Wu Yuchen had naturally anticipated that this month-long seminar would be subject to various criticisms, and he maintained a calm demeanor throughout.

After watching them raise their questions one by one, Wu Yuchen smiled and asked, "Have you all finished? If so, then I'll share my thoughts."

His expression then turned serious: "First of all, let me state one point: releasing the recording is absolutely impossible! Don't even think about it! China can't afford to lose face like that!"

Everyone knows about lip-syncing. In fact, many grand events use lip-syncing to prevent accidents. Take the Spring Festival Gala as an example; lip-syncing is an open secret. Even the Olympic theme song has been lip-synced before, but the "singing while striking the drums" segment absolutely cannot use a pre-recorded recording. Otherwise, no matter how well the performance is coordinated, it will be ridiculed.

"It's only natural that we'll encounter difficulties when hosting the Olympics; it would be unreasonable if we didn't! If we try to find shortcuts or change programs when we encounter difficulties, what's the point of hosting the Olympics? If we have the resources, we should go for it; if we don't, we should create them!"

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, the scene fell silent. Zhang Jigang, the deputy chief director who came from the People's Army, chimed in, "Director Wu is right. This is the attitude we should have when hosting the Olympics!"

However, he then changed the subject: "But Director Wu, we are at a certain stage now, and the questions raised by everyone are reasonable."

Wu Yuchen's expression relaxed, and he smiled again: "Of course, we still need to solve the problems one by one. I will answer each of the problems you just mentioned."

"First of all, what is a 'fou'? According to ancient records, a 'fou' is an earthenware vessel, used to hold wine and other liquids. The Qin people used it to accompany their songs. Thousands of years ago, humans first covered jars and pots used for holding things with leather and beat them to add to the festivities. Thus, in addition to being a container, the 'fou' gradually acquired the function of a musical instrument."

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, people often used these bronze wine vessels to drink at grand banquets. When they were in high spirits, they would tap the wine cups filled with wine and sing loudly, especially when entertaining distinguished guests, to express their joy at having friends coming from afar.

This is also why Director Zhang and I decided to make this program the first one!

Those with some education present should understand this to some extent, but Wu Yuchen still wanted to make it clear that the important part was coming up next:

"We conducted research during the planning stage of the project, and it's true that the art of making the 'fou' (a type of ancient Chinese vessel) has been lost. So what if it's lost? Does that mean we can't recreate it?"

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Rebuild? Then what standards will we use to build it?"

At this moment, the old strategist next to Wu Yuchen spoke up: "This is a bronze ice vessel from the Warring States period, unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in 1977."

As he spoke, he also brought up a photo on the big screen. When everyone looked at it, they saw that the bronze artifact was symmetrical and regular, square in shape, with eight small dragons struggling to look out from the four corners and the center of the four sides. Each dragon's head was supported by eight eave-like bronze ornaments, and its legs were composed of four monsters with dragon heads and animal bodies. The dragon heads stretched outwards, and the hind legs of the beasts were crouching and pushing off the ground.

The bronze ice vessel is decorated with a variety of intersecting patterns. The lid is almost openwork, and the body of the lid is cast with a full range of relief interlocking patterns and coiled dragon patterns. Whether it is the overall symmetrical and grand shape, the paired numbers, or the intricate and exquisite patterns, it is full of beauty!
With everyone's eyes fixed on him, Zhang Yimou said, "Our plan is to use the Warring States period bronze ice vessel as a model, and then replace the lid of the vessel with a drum skin to create the vessel we want."

Someone immediately asked, "Is this still a 'fou' (a type of ancient Chinese vessel)?"

Wu Yuchen said directly, "Don't be rigid in your thinking. Improve, process, and innovate to create the new era jars we need. Why can't we do that? History is created by people!"

Many people present whispered among themselves. This Warring States period bronze ice vessel looked quite impressive and was certainly presentable. But what kind of sound would this vessel make?

Wu Yuchen, knowing what everyone was thinking, continued, "I'll also set a standard: the sound we want from the jar should be seven parts like a drum, with three parts of a metallic tone."
The sound of striking it is like thunder, which can reflect the depth and weight of Chinese culture and bring a sense of shock to the audience!
As for how to do it, that's not my concern, that's yours. I don't care if you choose special materials, add a metal resonator inside, or design a special structure—that's your business. I only want results! You must produce a finished product within six months!

Hearing Wu Yuchen's words, no one dared to object anymore. Wu Yuchen had already made it very clear at the beginning: if there are difficulties, overcome them; if you can't do it, you might as well pack your bags and leave!
In the previous life, the making of this jar was not easy. It involved 26 large-scale experiments, each time making at least 4 different jars, constantly adjusting the sound and shape, and making a total of 2200 finished products, semi-finished products, and scrap products before finally making a jar that satisfied Zhang Yimou, achieving a perfect combination of drum sound and the sound of metal and stone.

"Performing with 2008 musicians together is a bit challenging, but not impossible. We don't need a professional drummer."

Wu Yuchen then looked at Zhang Jigang from the People's Army and said, "Director Zhang, I'll leave this matter to you. I believe that our most beloved people can definitely do this well!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jigang laughed and said, "Director Wu, don't worry. Our People's Army may not have much artistic talent, but we can endure hardship! If practicing a hundred times isn't enough, we'll practice ten thousand times! We can definitely achieve synchronized steps and uniform movements, guaranteeing the completion of the mission!"

Those who had previously raised questions have now fallen silent. There is absolutely no doubt that the People's Army is top-notch in this regard; their performance is impeccable!
Wu Yuchen smiled and nodded, then continued to talk about various issues such as the striking action of "singing while striking the earthen jar", elegant chanting, and production costs.

In fact, he had a general impression of the action of striking the earthen jar and singing. It was a kind of action that was created after countless rejections and was jokingly called "knife-cut noodle striking method". However, Wu Yuchen would not go up and give instructions to him personally now.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen has already saved the Olympics a lot of effort. For example, the program of "Singing with the Drum" was a great success. In the previous life, from the initial discussion of the plan, the design of the drum and other aspects could not be finalized. It wasn't until 2008 that the actual Olympic drum was manufactured.

With him around, we'll definitely avoid a lot of detours in the preparations for this Olympics. However, he won't do everything himself. He needs to increase everyone's sense of participation. Otherwise, if he does everything by himself, he'll be exhausted, and it will make his subordinates seem incompetent. Letting others do things themselves will give them a greater sense of accomplishment.

That's how leaders are; they need to unleash the initiative of their subordinates. His role as the overall director is to oversee the general direction, offer reminders on difficult issues at crucial moments, and that's usually enough.

Not to mention the production cost, that's not even a consideration. The Olympic budget is ample, and while these bronze artifacts may look complex, with modern automated manufacturing processes, the cost of mass production using molds is actually quite low, only a few thousand yuan per piece.

In my previous life, each of these Olympic jars cost 4000. A year after the Olympics, 1500 of them were put up for auction and sold for 1.2 million, which is equivalent to each one selling for 8, a 20-fold increase.

And so, the discussion meetings on the plan lasted for a month, essentially meaning the new team went through the entire plan from beginning to end again, and this time the discussions were much more detailed. Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou were also dealing with various issues. With Wu Yuchen involved, the current situation was much better than the situation Zhang Yimou faced in his previous life. On one hand, Wu Yuchen could keep everyone in check, reducing the amount of criticism; on the other hand, he knew what the final product would look like, knew the correct direction, and could naturally provide answers and make reasonable and effective commands.

A month passed slowly. After the discussion, Wu Yuchen pulled Zhang Yimou aside:
"Senior Brother Zhang, we've almost finished the first round of discussions on this plan. Next month I have to go do promotions for 'Batman,' so I'll be relying on you to oversee things regarding the Olympics for the foreseeable future. Call me if anything comes up."

"No problem!" Zhang Yimou readily agreed. With Wu Yuchen around, things went relatively smoothly, but Zhang Yimou unconsciously became much more low-key. This time, with Wu Yuchen away, he himself would have more room to showcase his abilities.

Wu Yuchen also trusts Zhang Yimou very much. The two of them can complement each other and discuss things together. When Zhang Yimou wants to go and shoot a movie, he will come back to take charge.

He'd also heard from Zhang Yimou that he wanted to make a period drama film and cast Gong Li as an empress. Haha, isn't that just like "Curse of the Golden Flower"?

Thinking about this movie, the first thing that comes to mind is the line, "Chrysanthemums wither, wounds cover the ground..." and the melody is already playing in my head. I just wonder if Zhang Yimou will cast Jay Chou again this time.

In their past life, before Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou broke up, Zhang Weiping insisted on casting Jay Chou in Zhang Yimou's film for the sake of box office success. The script was already written, and there was no role for Jay Chou at the time. They frantically rewrote the script for him, even replacing Huang Xuan in the process.

Anyone who has seen "Thunderstorm" knows that "Curse of the Golden Flower" is essentially an ancient court version of "Thunderstorm." From a dramatic standpoint, Cao Yu's original "Thunderstorm" is already brilliant enough: vivid characters, intense dramatic conflict, a thirty-year-long love-hate relationship between two families, and two morally questionable stories. It's safe to say that any adaptation would be difficult, and coupled with Zhou's acting skills being simply not up to par for the role, the film was heavily criticized after its release.

So much so that when people talked about this movie afterward, all they could remember were "withered chrysanthemums" and "big steamed buns"...

There's also the movie "A Simple Noodle Story". Zhang Weiping insisted on casting Xiao Shenyang as the lead actor. At that time, Zhang Yimou was already very resistant, but Zhang Weiping relentlessly pressured Zhang Yimou, saying that he was able to become the chief director of the Olympics because he used his connections and resources to select him. Otherwise, why would he have been selected for those eight terrible minutes?

And then Zhang Yimou actually believed it, and out of consideration for the two years of not working on films for the Olympics, he reluctantly let Xiao Shenyang play the lead role. As a result, it's an indelible stain on his reputation! Zhang Yimou had just become a national director and ascended to god-like status because of the Olympics, and then he made "A Simple Noodle Story," a terrible film that shocked everyone.

Some might find it strange that Xiao Shenyang had such a big impact. Well, that's because Zhang Weiping was involved. Xiao Shenyang's arrival instantly turned the show into a comedy, as his comedic style was what everyone loved at the time. So, the entire production team became primarily composed of writers from Zhao Benshan's troupe. There was no other way; since Xiao Shenyang was the lead actor, they had to write the script according to his style, and thus, "Three Guns" became a farce.

Whether Zhang Yimou will make another film like "A Simple Noodle Story" with Wu Yuchen is unknown, but he certainly won't cast Xiao Shenyang as the male lead; it's not worth it. However, "Curse of the Golden Flower" did indeed see a significant increase in box office revenue thanks to Zhou Xun. If Zhang Yimou doesn't want to cast Zhou Xun, then Miracle Pictures, the film's investor, needs to be more cautious and seek more capital to mitigate the risk.

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head. These are all things for the future. Right now, he has roughly arranged things for the Olympics and can leave with peace of mind.

Just as Wu Yuchen was thinking this, he received a call from Li Xiaoran and rushed over.

Upon entering, Wu Yuchen saw Li Xiaoran sitting cross-legged on the sofa and couldn't help but ask, "Sister Ranran, what's the urgent matter?"

Li Xiaoran turned to look at him: "It can't be hidden anymore!"

"What can't be hidden anymore?" Wu Yuchen asked, puzzled.

"I have it."

"Got it?" Wu Yuchen was taken aback when he heard this, and then immediately realized what Li Xiaoran meant.

Li Xiaoran pointed to the medical report on the table: "Take a look for yourself."

Wu Yuchen picked up the report, glanced at it, and after confirming the results, immediately stepped forward and hugged Li Xiaoran, his face beaming with excitement. "Sis! You're really pregnant! When did you find out? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Just a few days ago, I felt a bit nauseous, and I only found out today after I went to get checked. Why are you so happy?"

"Of course I'm happy! How could I not be happy if I'm going to have a child? Don't you want one?" Wu Yuchen asked immediately.

Li Xiaoran snorted twice, crossed her arms, and said, "I thought you didn't want it. With so many women outside, how are you going to explain this?"

Wu Yuchen quickly hugged him and said, "Hehe, don't worry about what I'll say, just give birth first~"

At the same time, he did some mental calculations. She was only three months pregnant. He figured it was after they watched "Fearless" together during the Chinese New Year. He was so engrossed in eating steamed buns that he didn't take any precautions.

Li Xiaoran was quite pleased to hear this. She had been a little worried before, wondering what would happen if Wu Yuchen didn't want her anymore. Hearing his attitude put her at ease. However, she said with a touch of arrogance:

"You make it sound so easy. It's not like you're the one giving birth, feeling nauseous, and having a big belly. You don't even know what your figure will look like after giving birth, and you'll be in so much pain. It's me who will suffer!"

Wu Yuchen immediately hugged Li Xiaoran and coaxed and kissed her.

(End of this chapter)