I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 999 994. The child whose dream never goes out

(Correction of a BUG. I mistook it before. Xu Xin’s contract with Volvo is for three advertisements and a two-year contract. The contract ends in October this year.)

"Just use this, Simon, what do you think?"

"..."

Xu Xin’s words did not receive a response from Simon Reyes.

The bearded guy is now wearing a turban and a jacket. It was clear that he had looked like a speedster just now, but now the expression of deep thinking on his face was a little more literary and artistic.

In fact, he always thought Xu's music taste was very good.

After all, during Volvo's advertising period, he truly felt the sublimation that "Nessun Dorma" brought to advertising.

It is no exaggeration to say that XC90’s advertising is indispensable for his company’s advancement in the advertising industry.

As for this advertisement... he actually felt that it was a little lacking.

He has no feelings for Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Although he also admitted that in Xu's design, the moment when the other party made a move, in that deliberately created scene, it was really beautiful.

But...it's not enough to shock this director of photography, who is not a little famous in the advertising industry.

He felt that this advertisement should not be able to surpass the stunning feeling brought by the XC90.

Of course, I would never say this in front of Xu Xin.

But that's what I really think.

Until...he heard this Enya song.

Trucks, which can almost be said to advance the process of human industrial civilization, play an important part in the blood of industry all the time.

Paired with Jean-Claude Van Damme’s powerful body.

OK, no problem.

complement each other.

But... it was suddenly sublimated by a soft and ethereal slow song.

The lyrics are particularly appropriate.

The melody is particularly suitable.

Even the scene taken with Xu at 8:03 is particularly harmonious... No, it should be said that it is a match made in heaven!

Even now I just use my mobile phone to play it.

But when the two are combined...

"May."

"how?"

"I...frankly, it reminds me of my childhood."

"?"

Under Xu Xin's puzzled gaze, the bearded man rubbed his arms covered with tattoos and goosebumps under his jacket, and said with a somewhat hollow look:

"It was my first time to go to a museum. Our school teacher took us to visit the Metropolitan Museum. There happened to be an exhibition of Greek sculptures held there. Our teacher especially liked a statue of Caligula, the first century Roman emperor. sculpture. Explain to us what kind of power it has, what kind of softness and kindness the artist gave it, and the supreme majesty..."

While speaking, the bearded man kept staring at the screen without even looking at Xu Xin.

"Personally, I didn't really understand it at the time. Even now, I don't quite understand why you would choose such a contrasting combination. But... the current music paired with the advertising images we shot makes it so I remembered the sentence that impressed me most when our teacher described the sculpture."

"Which sentence?"

Xu Xin asked with interest.

"At this point, it has become an art."

"..."

Xu Xin was stunned.

But the bearded man stretched out his palm directly to him while Enya was singing.

"Well done, Xu. You have completed a job that is worthy of being called art at least in the advertising world, or in my heart. And I was lucky enough to participate in its shooting."

"……Hahaha."

After hearing his comment, Xu Xin smiled and clapped his hand.

Clap your hands and hold on tight.

After a standard American greeting, he nodded:

"Thank you for the compliment, Simon. I hope we have created a piece of art as you said."

"Um!"

The bearded man nodded vigorously.

Of course he is confident.

I also firmly believe that my vision is not wrong.

This ad...

Better than the XC90 one!

It must be so!

…

At almost 7 o'clock, he walked out of the editing room and called Peter as he walked.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is coming to record tomorrow.

The copywriting was not designed by him, but provided by Volvo. From Jean-Claude Van Damme’s perspective, it seems to be telling about himself, but in fact it is about his own “hardened” body, but in fact it is a kind of flattery... In other words, it is a metaphor that embodies Volvo’s hard work.

He felt good.

After the recording is completed tomorrow, and Enya's agency has obtained the authorization to use the song, this commercial can be said to be completed.

"See you tomorrow, Peter. Trust me, you'll be blown away by this ad."

"OK, Xu, my dear director. I believe in your words without reservation! And I can't wait!"

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the children chasing and fighting around the business car and his wife standing under the soft sunset, and smiled unconsciously.

When she heard the footsteps, Yang Mi tilted her head slightly.

Today she had a single ponytail and wore ordinary loose clothes.

A breeze gently stirred the hair hanging down from her temples...

That was his muse.

Although she is a woman and a mother.

But what the years have added is only an increasingly soft and beautiful temperament.

The beauty that made his heart beat was the same as before.

Seeing her husband's bright eyes, she smiled gently.

"Is it over?"

"Well, I should be able to finish the last part tomorrow."

"Okay... let's go, let's find a place to eat. I'm hungry."

"Okay."

Xu Xin nodded:

"But you're not in a hurry, are you? Looking for a better restaurant?"

But this time Yang Mi refused his kind invitation:

"Goodbye, hurry up and eat. Once you've filled your stomach, you'll have something to eat in the evening."

"..."

In an instant, what a brave new world...

All broken.

The whole real world full of ferocity and ugliness revealed the tip of the iceberg to him.

The woman in front of him was no longer beautiful. In his eyes, she had become synonymous with cruelty and viciousness.

"I... woke up earlier today."

He tried to struggle, not wanting to meekly walk into the abyss.

pity……

The Abyss Demon Lord just glanced at him and nodded calmly:

"Well, then you can lie down in a while."

"..."

If you don’t behave like a good person, what about the dog?

Xu Xinxin said.

But Yang Mi, who was about to greet the children to get on the bus, suddenly stopped and turned to look at her husband's expression:

"Are you scolding me?"

"Huh?...No. Why am I scolding you? No, no, I was just thinking about what to eat at night."

"Aren't you going to eat me? I just said that."

...You should be more of a dog! ?

"You scolded me again?"

"No. You're overthinking."

"..."

Yang Mi looked him up and down and nodded with satisfaction:

"I'm sorry you don't dare!"

Pooh!

…

"Pacific Rim" will be released in the United States on July 12.

There are still 10 days left.

However, in the past two days, news about it has gradually begun to spread from Mexico and Argentina to North America.

Although Yang Mi wanted to wait until it was released in North America to see the audience's reaction, the noisy wind still blew from the state of Mexico.

It was around 3pm on July 3rd.

Xu Xin returned home.

Just now, he officially submitted the feature film for the Volvo FH series heavy truck advertisement.

Although this film has to be sent to the headquarters to let Volvo people decide when to go online, but... Peter and his entire advertising and marketing department, after watching the sample video just now, their reaction was... How do you say that?

No one said a word.

From the picture, to the copywriting, to the form of the advertisement, and the background music...

Speechless.

Very surprised.

Just looking at the director sitting next to him wearing a baseball cap, everyone has extremely exciting ideas in their minds.

But for Xu Xin, although he also admitted that he enjoyed filming this advertisement. But the moment the entire film was submitted, it was over.

Jean-Claude Van Damme's voice acting is great.

Enya's "ONLY TIME" copyright is very expensive.

Everyone was very satisfied with the entire finished film.

OK, that’s it.

See you again next time.

With a sense of relaxation, he walked into the house and saw Yang Mi leaning on the sofa, holding an IPAD in her hand and looking at it calmly.

After hearing the noise and seeing Xu Xin, she nodded slightly:

"You're back. Vanessa will be a guest tonight, and I will cook it myself. Is there anything you want to eat?"

"I want to eat fried noodles."

"Okay, then I'll give you the noodles now. I haven't decided on the staple food yet."

Yang Mi said, and after operating the screen for a while, she put down her iPad, got up and walked toward the kitchen.

But Xu Xin looked at her back and murmured in his heart.

Why does it feel like she's in a bad mood?

After thinking for a while, he picked up the iPad and wanted to see what his wife was watching just now.

The result is a clean background.

Obviously, what she did just now cleared the background.

However...she overlooked one detail.

That is the IPAD screen, still stuck on the third page with only a few icons.

Yang Mi’s habit of using iPad is different from Xu Xin’s.

Xu Xin likes to put all icons into folders, so that the entire page looks clean and refreshing. But she likes to be open-minded, and when she wants to order a certain program, she goes straight to it. She thinks her husband’s way of using WeChat, clicking on the “Chat” folder, and then opening the WeChat software is stupid.

On the third page, there are only three apps.

One is WHAT'S APP, one is Netflix, and the other is a small game.

Probably not Netflix, after all, he didn't hear the sound.

And...playing small games shouldn't put your wife in a bad mood.

So he clicked on WHAT'SAPP.

The most recent contact was a foreigner noted in the "media collection".

The two of them had just chatted five minutes ago.

So he clicked on the chat box and saw a message from his wife:

"Thanks, Elena."

The previous sentence was a message from this person named Elena:

"The director said not to worry, he thinks our movie is great. Please don't be affected, the people from Legendary Pictures will handle the news."

Xu Xin continued to look up.

The general chat before a few pictures was that Elena posted several articles about the opinions expressed by film critics from Mexico, Argentina, and Chile on the film.

Yang Mi asked Gilmore what he thought, and Gilmore told her not to worry.

So, he clicked on the picture directly.

The picture is a review of several hundred words, which has been changed to English.

What catches the eye is one sentence:

"Visual effects smashed by special effects, empty character plots, clichéd armored monster stories + crappy British and Chinese actors. Facts have proved that the arrogant Mexican thought he was filming Gundam, but in fact he didn't even know "Gundam" "I don't even understand the anti-war core..."

The corner of his mouth twitched...

Continuing reading, I found that this critic gave the movie a very low score.

The core point is: this is just a film with decent special effects, but poor plot and acting, and is not recommended.

So, he changed the picture.

The comments above are exactly the same, but not so absolute.

At least in his opinion, the tone was fair and there was no obvious attack intention.

But so does the other person’s evaluation.

The special effects are very good, and it can be seen that the director pays homage to some works. But aside from the special effects component, the human aspect simply doesn’t hold up. From the monsters that logically cannot be killed by nuclear bombs, to the fact that humans only rely on building high walls to defend themselves, to the ice-hiding mechas that are designed to kill donkeys, to the weak emotional lines between the male and female protagonists, etc...

This reviewer's assessment of the movie is - a very ordinary popcorn movie.

And he doesn't think the heroine is beautiful.

Too ordinary.

He didn't say anything and continued to look forward.

I found that except for the first picture I looked at, where the attack intention was very obvious, the other screenshots could barely be said to be objective.

And everyone's evaluation is surprisingly consistent.

The special effects are great, but the human line is a mess.

One of the reviews should be very familiar with Yang Mi. The definition is:

"I really can't believe that Berlin's new film queen would appear in such a film with no sincerity in the character."

But no matter what, from the comments of these film critics, Xu Xin has probably inferred the flaws of this film that he has not yet seen.

In fact, when he got the script in hand, he was already aware of the structural problems of the script.

Or definition.

Essentially, this is a sci-fi special effects popcorn movie.

The male and female protagonists are tools throughout the whole process, even if it is the monsters defeated by the mechas they control.

But the highlights are all there, whether it’s the emotional scenes between the male and female protagonists or the entire worldview, there’s no depth at all.

This is normal.

But... this shouldn't make my wife feel bad, right?

He put down his iPad and walked into the kitchen.

Looking at Yang Mi with her head lowered, he walked directly behind her and hugged her.

With the aroma filling his nose, he asked in a low voice:

"Bad mood?"

"Um."

Yang Mi did not hide it. After responding, she kneaded the dough and expressed her thoughts:

"Maybe it's been too smooth? If people in China criticize me like this, I actually don't care. Because the movies I act in are very careful. But here, I also know that the script has limited character creation, but After all, it is the first work, and I really hope to be able to show my face and be heard... quite contradictory."

Her willingness to say it actually proves that it's not a big deal.

Moreover, it sounded to Xu Xin that his wife actually knew the shortcomings of this movie in terms of characters.

Two tool men.

Still the most standard kind of tool man.

The kind that no one can refute even if they say it...

But you still need to be comforted.

"Commercial films, let alone mecha sci-fi commercial films. Unless it's a long-term plot like a TV series or animation, it's really difficult to have both ends of the spectrum for a single type of film."

"I know~ I understand the truth, but I just don't accept it when people say my acting is lame... forget it."

Skillfully kneading the noodles into dough, she shook her head and said:

"I've done all the acting. Isn't the most basic requirement of a commercial film just to entertain the audience... Just look at the box office. I won't read these reviews or anything like that. Save yourself the trouble~"

And when she said it, she did it.

When Vanessa brought her daughters as guests in the evening, her mood had returned to its original state.

Then...Xu Xin welcomed a friend he hadn't seen for a long time.

"YO! Kobe!"

Looking at his friend standing at the door with Vanessa and their three children, Xu Xin's face was filled with an expression of surprise and joy.

Is this... a complete reconciliation?

"Hey guy."

Kobe bared his white teeth and handed over the red wine in his hand:

"Burgundy."

"Haha~"

Xu Xin smiled and said hello to him.

"Wani, HEY~"

After hugging her, Xu Xin didn't ask anything embarrassing like "You two have completely reconciled", but just winked at her with a smile that could only be understood but not expressed.

Vanessa shrugged casually:

"Your eyes are very strange, Xu. If this continues, I will go home."

"Haha, please, please come in. Dear Ms. Yang, let us welcome Kobe and Vanessa!"

Yang Mi simply rolled her eyes.

The heart says what all the fuss is about.

I've told you many times that you can often see Kobe's car parked in front of his house...

It's just getting back together, nothing surprising.

But... it's good to get back together. Because some things can only be cherished when they are lost.

…

"Xu, I want to especially thank your wife, my good friend Yang."

When Xu Xin heard Vanessa's words, he picked up the cup and showed a listening expression.

My heart says what’s going on?

Just listen to Vanessa say:

"When Yang came to the United States in March, Kobe just sprained his ankle... You know his temper, he never cared much about such injuries. But when Yang and I were having dinner together, she chatted with me When she was learning kung fu, she heard something her teacher said about the hidden dangers of injury. It turned out that she was right. Kobe’s sprained ankle was not serious, but we went to Germany and found a very professional After a detailed examination, the doctor found that his Achilles tendon, foot muscles, etc. were very tired due to years of exercise. If this continues, there may be a risk of Achilles tendon tear... …”

Speaking of this, Vanessa glanced at Kobe who looked helpless before continuing to Xu Xin:

"Although he said he didn't have much time, and would often complain that I wasted this season. But as his wife, I feel that nothing is more important than my husband's health. Not to mention... this season's LeBron, dear, I know you are dissatisfied, but you have to admit that the Heat are performing better this season. So, Xu, I am grateful to know you, and I have eliminated a health risk for my husband..."

"You're welcome, Vaani."

Xu Xin smiled and shook his head and had a drink with her.

Then he turned to Kobe and asked:

"Then your Achilles tendon..."

"Slowly recover from fatigue and relax. I hope my hands will not be too rusty during this holiday. Steve (Nash) has always longed for a championship ring, and I hope to get him one..."

Kobe's tone could not be said to be particularly relaxed, but there was a sense of confidence in it.

However, he did not say much on this topic, but immediately asked:

"Speaking of vacation...Xu, the children are on vacation. Do you want to go to Italy with me? Let's go home."

He bit hard on the word "go home".

Obviously, Xu Xin's identity as an "Italian citizen" is already known to everyone.

But Xu Xin looked regretful:

"Sorry, Kobe. Yang has a new movie coming soon, and Paramount here is also looking for me to prepare a new movie. It will probably be released around September. I have to concentrate on this... But speaking of which, in a few days I will I really want to go to Italy, on the 23rd of this month. When do you plan to leave?"

"I'll take Vanessa with me next week, and we'll go together. Then you can come find me in Italy... By the way, what are you doing in Italy?"

"Participate in the David Awards."

Kobe was stunned for a moment, a little surprised...but he immediately reacted:

""perfect stranger"?"

"Yes, it was shortlisted for five David Awards: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and Actor, and Screenplay."

But Vanessa asked with some confusion:

"I remember, isn't the David Award at the end of May? It's not over yet?"

"No, this year's event has been postponed. Because of the strike in Italy that started last year, it was postponed to July."

"Then do you have high hopes?"

"I do not know."

Xu Xin spread his hands:

"Maybe only David knows."

He made a double-entendre joke.

Unfortunately, it's not very funny.

But anyway, Kobe raised his cup:

"Then we'll see you in Italy then...Yang, okay?"

"Sorry, Kobe, my new movie may have started shooting by then. So...promise me not to let my husband eat too much pizza. He should lose weight recently."

"..."

In Xu Xin's speechless gaze, Kobe bared his white teeth again:

"Then he can work out with me these two days."

"Don't think about it, honey. The doctor said the best thing for you is to rest, if you don't want to tear your Achilles tendon!"

Vanessa's warning eyes and words were met with Kobe's immediate fear.

"Relax, relax, girl. We're just going to play golf~"

"I'm actually not very good at golf. I don't really want to lose weight."

"May!"

"Hahahahaha..."

There were bursts of laughter at the dining table.

…

After dinner, Vanessa and Yang Mi made an appointment to watch "Game of Thrones". They each had a glass of wine and occupied the living room.

Xu Xin took Kobe to smoke cigars in the cigar bar.

He knew that Xu's cigars here were all obtained from Lang.

Lang is famous in Europe for receiving cigar gifts, so these are good goods, so he won't be polite.

As soon as he walked into the room, he saw several line drawings drawn by Xu Xin for "John Wick".

After picking it up and looking at it, he asked:

"Did you draw this?"

Although it is just a simple line drawing, Kobe has to say that the drawing is very good.

A man in a suit stood in what must have been a rainy environment, holding a pistol in one hand and walking staggeringly into the rain.

It feels quite vivid.

"Yes, the story of the new script. Do you want to read it?"

"Farewell, let me maintain some sense of mysterious anticipation, just like I have always planned to wait for "Perfect Strangers" to be released in North America before watching it."

Xu Xin handed over a cigar and said in confusion:

"'Perfect' is released on July 28th. You should be in Italy at that time, right?"

"..."

Under Xu Xin's dumbfounded gaze, Mr. Black Mamba muttered in a slightly drunken tone:

"DAMN~"

After fussing for a long time, he found that he had not made it to the cinema again, and that he had waited for so long in vain. He felt a little depressed.

But once the cigar is lit, it doesn't matter.

He smoked a cigar, and Xu Xin smoked a cigarette first to satisfy his cravings.

While lighting a cigarette, Xu Xin asked:

"Kobe, have you ever thought about your life after retirement?"

"Yes, I have."

Kobe nodded without any concealment:

"I thought about it many times. For example, when I first entered the league, I thought about retiring, wearing beautiful cars and living a life of a millionaire. After a while, I thought about maybe becoming a raper after retiring... Every time In a year, maybe some different ideas will come up. Hey, maybe I will make movies after I retire."

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

I said in my heart, brother, don’t be ridiculous.

When I was in high school, you were my idol. I watched your MV when you were a rapper... I felt embarrassed just watching the MV, let alone the actor.

But immediately he heard:

"Or the director?... I have actually always had a story that I wanted to film."

"oh?"

Xu Xin became interested:

"What kind of story? Tell me."

"Myself."

"Well……"

Looking at the puzzled Xu Xin, Kobe took a puff of his cigar.

In the puff of smoke, the unique accent and deep voice of black people filled the cigar bar:

“Dear Basketball, Ever since I rolled up my dad’s tube socks into the shape of a ball and started imagining myself in the Great Western Forum, knocking down that game-winning shot, I’ve known something. I Deeply in love with you.”

Xu Xin nodded slightly:

"Sounds pretty good... So, is it an autobiography? Did you write a preface to yourself?"

"That's right. What I want to shoot is actually this story. It tells the story of a little boy who fell in love with basketball and what he wanted to say along the way. You know, Xu, the young people in the league today... Ha, maybe I’m really old.”

He suddenly smiled helplessly:

"I can't stand how they treat basketball as a job that can make them rich, and they just mess around on and off the court...

Mamba Mentality!

May.

I want to use a very pure expression to convey this spirit to young people. I can play through injuries and people can say my desire to win is pathological.

But I want to tell them: The reason why I am so "sick" is not the honors, or the fact that I like the pain. It’s not about money, or how many fans I have. But it was very pure. When I picked up my father's rolled socks, I imagined myself standing in the arena, making a buzzer-beater and then watching helplessly as I used a standard shooting posture to throw the rolled socks into the one on the desk. The moment I saw the basket... I fell in love with it.

It's pure love. "

"..."

Xu Xin narrowed his eyes.

Recall what he expressed.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the line drawing of John Wick stumbling into the rainy night.

He directly picked up the pencil next to him, turned the line drawing over, and began to draw on it.

"Shashasha..."

Kobe heard the voice and didn't understand what Xu Xin was doing at first.

But after leaning over and taking a look, he looked at the rough outlines of the few strokes and guessed that the other person was painting the picture in his mind on the paper.

So he didn't bother, but got up, chose a bottle of wine on the wine cabinet of the cigar bar, and took two glasses.

After about five minutes, Xu Xin stopped painting:

"Like this?"

Kobe took it and looked at the kid on the paper holding up the basketball with a stubborn look on his face, his eyes lit up.

"That's right, Xu, it's like this... wow!"

The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. It was just a pencil drawing... it could even be said to be a rough drawing.

"Can you give it to me?"

"certainly."

Just a line drawing.

"Thanks, man...um, do you want to write something?"

Hearing this and seeing the love in his eyes that was so strong that he couldn't hide it, Xu Xin thought for a moment, took the drawing, and wrote a sentence on the white part next to it with a marker pen:

"To the child whose dream has never been extinguished" - Xu