Every day, Han Zhiyan attended classes, and in his free time, he would refine the script for his first real movie.
In the evenings, he would call Liu Yifei and listen to her interesting stories from school.
This year, she was also going to high school, and she cried and insisted on coming to Los Angeles.
Han Zhiyan went to great lengths, agreeing to many unequal terms to appease the little girl, asking her to study peacefully in New York, and promising to visit her often.
From the beginning of the new millennium, when the Federal Reserve announced interest rate hikes, the stocks of major internet companies soared like a rocket, reaching their peak.
The Nasdaq index began to fall from its highest point of 5132 on March 10.
By October, the decline exceeded seventy-five percent, with many companies even reaching ninety percent.
Even Amazon, with its strong stock price, took a significant hit in this internet winter, with its market value halved.
Han Zhiyan, as usual, would appear punctually in the classrooms of the academy every day, listening attentively to the professors' lectures.
All matters unrelated to his studies were handed over to professional managers.
Filled with a thirst and love for knowledge, Han Zhiyan would sit quietly in the classroom during every class, listening intently, not missing a single point of knowledge.
But every evening was Han Zhiyan's happiest time, listening to the company's profit reports over the phone.
When he heard that the company's profits were constantly growing, a happy smile would appear on Han Zhiyan's face, and he would even unconsciously shed tears of joy.
Of course, these tears did not flow from his eyes, but rather slid from the corners of his mouth, as if squeezed out by his sheer delight.
"My Director Han, how is the preparation for your new movie coming along?" Mia's voice came from the kitchen.
Lately, she often saw Han Zhiyan smiling foolishly and was a bit worried.
He wouldn't say anything when asked, so she could only inquire about his movie to see if she could help.
"It's pretty much ready.
For the crew, we'll still use the seniors from last time, plus a few more, and that should be enough.
I've prepared the script and storyboards, and we're about to start casting soon," Han Zhiyan quickly said, swallowing the guobaorou he had secretly eaten.
"What about the investment?
Your father and I still have some savings to support you.
Or are you looking for a production company to raise funds?" Mia asked the most crucial question.
"I've budgeted the entire film, excluding actor salaries, at around 2.8 million US dollars.
This time, I can't let the seniors work for free again.
Also, I plan to find a few special actors who are deaf, and that will be a bother for you, Mom."
"Okay, send me their parts of the script and the casting requirements to my email, and I'll help you find them."
"I plan to invest in this film myself.
I've made a little bit of money with my savings in the stock market recently, which is enough to make this film," Han Zhiyan said with a smile.
It was already July, and Han Zhiyan, with his savings and by mortgaging the copyrights of several novels, had raised ten million US dollars and had already made over two hundred million US dollars in profit.
"Good, if it's not enough, tell Mom.
For now, you should finalize the actor auditions.
The nominations for the Venice Film Festival will be announced at the end of July," Mia said, coming out of the kitchen with the freshly made snow bean paste.
With Mia's help in finding three deaf actors from the actors' guild, all other actors were confirmed, but the roles of the female lead Ruby, her best friend, and the music teacher had not yet been finalized.
His idea was somewhat contradictory: he wanted to find an actress who was beautiful yet ordinary, but also had excellent acting skills and some singing ability.
Han Zhiyan, who was on the phone with Xiao Fei Bao while looking at actor resumes, saw a familiar face: America's sweetheart Anne Hathaway.
At this time, she was only eighteen years old, and she should have just finished filming "The Princess Diaries."
Playing a teenage high school student would be completely natural for her.
Looking at the photo in front of him, Han Zhiyan felt he had found the female lead for his movie, he just couldn't remember how well she sang.
Seeing that it was only a little past seven, he explained to Xiao Fei Bao, hung up the phone, and called the number on the resume.
"Hello, who is this, please?" A pleasant but somewhat childish voice came from the other end of the line.
"Hello, is this Anne?
I'm the director of "coda."
I saw the resume you sent.
Are you free tomorrow?
I'd like to invite you to audition for the role of the female lead, Ruby."
Yes, Director Han was preparing to film "coda," which was a remake of "La Famille Bélier" and won Best Picture at the 94th Oscar.
"It's me, Director.
I'm available.
Where is the audition?" The girl on the other end sounded delighted.
"Are you in Los Angeles?
If it's convenient, come to room 311 of the Spielberg Building at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
I'll be there all day, so you can come anytime."
To prepare for the film, Han Zhiyan, who relied heavily on his father, set up a studio at the school.
"Okay, Director, I'll book the earliest flight and be there first thing tomorrow."
Anne, after hanging up, quickly notified her agent to book the earliest ticket and then packed her luggage.
After settling on the female lead, Han Zhiyan remembered who should play her best friend—an actress mainly active in television, Jennifer Love Hewitt, who appeared in "Ghost Whisperer" and "9-1-1: Lone Star Season 2."
He also called a senior to get her number and invited her to audition.
After thinking for a moment, Han Zhiyan picked up the phone again and dialed a familiar number.
"Xixi, do you want to make a cameo appearance in my movie?"
Although Xixi didn't have acting skills now and couldn't play a lead role, there were so many students in the movie that Xixi could certainly play a cameo.
"Yes, yes!
Zhiyan, you're the best!
I'll tell Mom right away.
Do you need me to come to Los Angeles tomorrow to see you?" The little girl's cheerful voice rang out, interspersed with a few calls for "Mom."
"The movie hasn't started filming yet.
I'll contact you in advance before your scenes," Han Zhiyan said with a smile.
"Hello, is this Zhiyan?
This is Auntie." At this point, a voice not belonging to Xiao Fei Bao came from the other end of the phone.
"Hello, Auntie."
"Thank you, Zhiyan, for still thinking of Xixi.
It's just that she's still young and hasn't studied acting.
Will she delay your filming?"
"It's fine, Auntie.
It's just a supporting role; let Xixi act a bit to get a feel for it.
Didn't I hear her say before that you might want her to pursue acting in the future?
I thought I'd let her get used to it in advance."
Han Zhiyan thought about letting Xiao Fei Bao learn in advance so that she wouldn't be criticized for having no acting skills or overacting when she first debuted.
"Then, Zhiyan, since Xixi is on holiday, I'll bring her to Los Angeles the day after tomorrow.
Take some time to teach Xixi as well; she keeps saying she wants to see you," Liu Xiaoli said playfully.
Han Zhiyan said somewhat bashfully, "Then it's settled.
I'll tell Mom, and we'll pick you up then."
After returning the phone to Xiao Fei Bao, the two chatted animatedly for a long time, only reluctantly hanging up around ten o'clock at Liu Xiaoli's urging.
At the Spielberg Building of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, a radiant figure appeared on the third floor.
"Hello, Director, I'm Anne Hathaway, and this is my agent, Harley."
Han Zhiyan had her perform a few scenes and was very satisfied.
She sang a few lines, and he thought it was acceptable; after all, the singing could be edited later.
At this time, Anne Hathaway's performance was very spirited.
"Anne, you're very beautiful, and your acting is excellent.
However, you're too pale.
The female lead of this movie, Ruby, is a little girl who grew up in a fishing village, going out to sea since childhood.
You need to get a bit tanner and learn sign language.
Can you do all of this?"
"Yes, Director, an actor serves the role," Anne said very seriously.
Han Zhiyan stood up and extended his hand, "Pleasure working with you.
Your salary is five hundred thousand US dollars, and the filming period is one and a half months.
Is that acceptable?"
Anne looked at her agent, then nodded, "Yes, Director, it exceeds my expectations."
At this time, "The Princess Diaries" had not yet been released, and she had only earned four hundred thousand US dollars for filming it.
She felt that Han Zhiyan was very generous.
"Here's the script.
The movie officially starts filming on August 1st.
You have less than a month to learn sign language, and it's best to also understand the life of fishermen."
Anne was about to leave after signing the contract when Han Zhiyan said, "Oh, and practice these songs when you go back."
During the film's preparation, Han Zhiyan had already acquired the copyrights for several of the film's soundtracks.
Perhaps it was the golden finger of transmigration, as he learned things very quickly.
After a month of studying composition and arrangement, he collaborated with several senior students to write "Beyond the Shore" and sang a demo.