Cross-Industry Director: Big Bro, You're Too Good at Filmmaking

[A director story, stories within stories, a long novel, the road to becoming a top director. I'm not great at blurbs, but if you're interested, take a look.]

There's a baozi shop behind a drama academy in the capital, Beijing. A new chef has arrived, named Yu Xunguang. Chef Yu is handsome and makes excellent baozi, so the students call him "Pan An of Chinese pastry." Nobody knows this "Pan An" used to be an award-winning actor with the three major film and television awards in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Huh?

You think it's a dream?

No, no. He's been reborn.

Maybe the System wanted to raise the difficulty of his life. Yu Xunguang had just completed his master's degree at a film academy and was ready to make a big splash with his brand-new director System when he was reborn in a different world.

His old connections were gone.

His old fame was gone, too.

Now he was just a skilled chef, with no family or friends and nowhere to go, taken in out of kindness by the owner of a baozi shop.

Starting over didn't matter. His cooking skills were his own, and so was everything he'd learned and committed to memory.

As for how to begin, he'd have to take things one step at a time.

Jiao Yulai was an outstanding graduate of Beiying's cinematography department. He was preparing to shoot his first film with a friend from the directing department.

But less than a month before filming was set to begin, they still hadn't found a leading man.

He was at his wit's end. Then, while wandering around, he noticed someone. Hey, since when had a chef with such a great look and presence set up shop behind the drama academy?

Jiao Yulai: Big brother, want to be in a movie?

Yu Xunguang: ?

His old line of work had come looking for him? Not a bad idea.

Though he'd entered a new phase of life, earning a living through "traditional skills" wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

Besides, he needed an opportunity to "cross over" from the food industry to the performing arts.

If he was going to act, he would act.

Not only did Yu Xunguang act, he gave a brilliant performance and even won the gold prize at an international Class A festival.

Now things were getting interesting.

Actors his age braced themselves for battle, afraid a "monster" had arrived to take their livelihoods right out from under them.

That year, Beiping Film Academy made an exception to admit an acclaimed industry veteran, a freshly crowned international Best Actor.

What? You say the Best Actor is switching majors to directing?

What? You say this Best Actor studying directing hasn't even graduated, yet he's already working on a documentary, and CCTV bought it once it was finished?

Wait, you're saying that the newcomer director, who made a name for himself with a documentary, has launched a new project, and he's tackling realist subject matter?

The directors who'd been ready to sneer: Wait, he's actually good?

The actors in the industry looked at one another, all a little unsure of what to do.

They'd thought a genius had joined their ranks, but then the genius changed paths.

Is directing really that much fun?

Yu Xunguang: Once I got past the early stage of using acting fees to buy equipment, it was pretty fun.

I've seen scenery you haven't seen, and met people you've never met.

Want to win Best Actor?

Want to win Best Supporting Actor?

Come act in Director Yu's films.

Everything you want is here.

Reading Guide:

1. This is a director story about Yu Xunguang, a fresh start in a new world setting. The actor version is Role Experience System, which you can find in my works.

2. There will be almost no supporting characters from the previous story, and you can enjoy this one even if you haven't read the actor version.

3. There is a System, but it's just a stats interface with no extra scenes, and only exists to strengthen the protagonist.

4. Before the VIP chapters, there will be an acting storyline. Later, there will also be parts where he directs and acts in his own films.

More details to come.

Theme: Make films with care