Ye Zhou did not intend to hide the commotion he caused on set from Director Sang. He expected his bold, act-first-ask-later approach to anger the director. When Ye Zhou told Director Sang, he was prepared to be scolded and even kicked out of the crew.
But even if he was kicked out of the crew, Ye Zhou couldn’t stand idly by while the elderly, recently recovered Director Sang endured such humiliation.
Therefore, even at the risk of being kicked out of the crew by Director Sang, Ye Zhou still did what he did.
To Ye Zhou’s surprise, Director Sang fell silent upon learning what happened. Far from angry, he simply clasped Ye Zhou’s shoulder and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
Ye Zhou wasn’t an emotional person. His carefree nature meant little affected him deeply. But hearing those words from Director Sang brought unexpected tears to his eyes.
The feeling was indescribable. Had the director berated him, Ye Zhou likely wouldn’t have reacted. But the gravity in Director Sang’s tone as he acknowledged Ye Zhou’s efforts struck a chord. His nose stung fiercely – not from hurt or anything else, but simply because… being understood and trusted felt incredibly good.
Huangtian’s withdrawal from “The Most Beautiful” sent shockwaves through the industry. Media swarmed the set, hoping to uncover inside information about the funding loss.
Most productions would crumble under such scrutiny, either holding press conferences or lashing out in frustration. Either misstep could escalate tensions.
Yet “The Most Beautiful” remained remarkably calm. From the director down to the crew, everyone carried on as usual – filming when scheduled, wrapping up on time, completely ignoring the reporters as if they didn’t exist.
When approached, the team responded politely – greeting journalists and smiling, but never answering questions.
The production even occasionally sent water to the patient reporters camped outside. This gracious attitude left the media feeling rather embarrassed.
After staking out for over two weeks with no leads, most outlets gave up. Only a handful persisted.
Regardless of the outside attention, filming proceeded uninterrupted.
As Ye Zhou predicted, despite the cast and crew’s best efforts, results fell short of expectations.
While static CGI images looked lifelike and even motion seemed passable, close-up details and facial expressions – especially microexpressions – revealed glaring flaws.
Ye Zhou stood behind the big screen and watched the high-priced VFX consultant explain the on-screen imagery. He wanted to convince himself that achieving this level in just over two months was commendable.
But as a director, Ye Zhou knew the truth – it was very bad.
Director Sang was in poor health. A few days ago, he was hospitalized again for a cold. All the crew matters fell on Ye Zhou’s shoulders, and his pressure was immense, both physically and mentally.
“Hold on,” Ye Zhou finally called out after much internal debate.
Rubbing his face with his hand, he forced a smile, unable to hide his exhaustion in his voice. “I feel like this version is not much different from the previous one. The expressions are still not lively enough, especially the eyes. I’m sure you’ve noticed too, so… what exactly was optimized?”
“The Most Beautiful’s” VFX consultant Marlin Albert was a renowned German special effects artist. He and his team had worked on numerous blockbusters, sweeping nearly every effects award at the annual SO Film Festival1斯奥电影 – 斯 could mean Slovakia or this, 奥 could mean Austria, Olympics or obscure. I’m not sure how to translate that so I am going for SO, which also sounds like sī‘ào which is the pinyin for 斯奥. I tried Baidu and Google but all I got are Ultraman movies lol.
Hearing Ye Zhou’s words, Albert’s expression turned helpless. He explained, “Ye, you must understand—no film crew before you has ever attempted to shoot an entire movie using virtual effects.”
“That’s why this technology is still at the level of over a decade ago. It’s sufficient for specific scenes in ordinary films, but for your high-precision movie, trying to replicate someone like Lin, it clearly doesn’t even meet the bare minimum.”
“This is a technological limitation. Even we are at a loss.”
Ye Zhou understood this was the truth, which made it all the more disheartening.
Since Director Sang’s hospitalization, Ye Zhou had barely visited him. This was not due to busyness but because he felt too ashamed to face the director.
“Hey, don’t be like that,” Albert sighed, noticing Ye Zhou’s dejection. He patted his shoulder gently and said slowly, “Achieving your expectations isn’t entirely impossible.”
Ye Zhou perked up at this, his gaze intense. “How?”
Albert pulled out his phone, scrolled for a while, and finally found a number. As he dialed, he turned to Ye Zhou. “Perhaps he could help.”
Before Ye Zhou could wonder who ‘he’ was, Albert sheepishly lowered the phone, looking embarrassed.
Albert scratched his head and explained, “Uh… this friend of mine has quite an eccentric temperament.”
He tried calling again, but like before, it was promptly hung up. Undeterred, Albert called twenty or thirty times until his thumb ached. Finally, the call connected.
“Listen, Albert! If this isn’t earth-shatteringly important, you might not see tomorrow’s sunrise!”
The fierce, menacing roar that erupted as soon as the call connected startled not only Albert but Ye Zhou as well.
Looking utterly resigned, Albert spoke rapidly into the phone for a few seconds. Before Ye Zhou could react, Albert abruptly ended the call.
Ye Zhou: ???
Did you struggle to make that call just to hang up, brother?
Albert patted his chest, exhaled deeply, and told Ye Zhou, “I’ve arranged to meet him at his studio tomorrow at 3 PM. We’ll take the earliest flight to Country F today.”
Ye Zhou: “…Are you sure?”
Given their brutal, nonsensical exchange, was Albert certain they wouldn’t be torn apart upon arrival?
Zhou Zhou didn’t know. Zhou Zhou felt uneasy. Zhou Zhou was a bit scared.
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