He was indeed a bit emotional, and Samuel Wright needed to calm himself down. However, his answer was not finished yet.

“Teachers, I actually really admire director Zhang Yimou. At my age, you could say I grew up watching his films. The old film ‘Red Sorghum’—that story made my blood boil, the use of color showed me the ultimate beauty of the world, and the rural backdrop contained a kind of grandeur. That feeling of roaring out in the face of national peril is something I will never forget! It made me... it even made me long to become a filmmaker.”

At this point, Samuel Wright paused. He glanced at the interviewers and found that they were all listening intently, which filled Samuel Wright with confidence. He continued, “The reason I mention this film is that I think it was handled extremely well. The people in that film, although from a different era, can still represent us. Even though their appearance, to put it bluntly, was rustic—very much so—and they were quite ignorant, in the end, they blew themselves up because they overloaded the cannon with gunpowder. But their spirit, their refusal to submit! That shook me, made me feel deep respect! So, I long to make films like that. Of course, it’s not easy, it’s very difficult, but I want to strive for it. Teachers, that’s all I have to say.”

There was dead silence. After Samuel Wright finished, all the interviewers seemed stunned, looking at this skinny, tall candidate as if they were observing an alien.

Faced with this situation, Samuel Wright felt a bit uneasy: “Did I say something too extreme?”

“Well then, Samuel Wright, let’s get back to the main topic. I’d like to ask, if you were to make a film about rural life, like ‘The Story of Qiu Ju,’ depicting a very poor countryside, how would you approach it?”

Finally, a question. After a period of silence, the interviewers finally returned to normal. They had truly been shocked just now—this young man was so full of ideas that they almost forgot the exam procedure.

Samuel Wright thought for a moment and immediately replied, “If possible, I wouldn’t want to make such a film.”

This answer surprised the interviewers again. This candidate was really slippery.

Immediately, one of the teachers smiled and asked, “I don’t want to force you, but I’d like to know why.”

Samuel Wright also replied with a smile, “It’s simple—because I have no experience. I was born and raised in a big city as an only child. I have no experience of rural life at all. To make such a film rashly would be very irresponsible, wouldn’t it?”

Upon hearing this, the teacher immediately asked again, “So if you become a screenwriter or director, are you saying you’ll never care about rural social realities in your whole life?”

“No.” Samuel Wright still smiled. “I think rural issues are actually just one issue. Social development is unbalanced; that’s how it is now. To put it plainly, it’s poverty, a lack of money. If we solve this problem, that’s enough. If I had the chance, I wouldn’t make a film, but I have other ways.”

“Oh? What would you do?” Samuel Wright’s answer caught the teachers’ attention. It seemed this candidate was truly different and had brought them many surprises.

Chapter 003 Inspiration

“It’s simple: teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish. Helping them escape poverty is the best way. For example, many poor mountain villages are in remote areas. Although remote, many of these places are beautiful, with pristine nature. If I were already a famous director, I’d rather shoot on location in such areas, or even build various facilities to create a film and television base. If my film became a big hit, not only could this base operate, but it could also boost the local tourism industry. In that case...”

Before Samuel Wright could finish, a teacher immediately interrupted him.

“Genius! That’s a genius idea! Although it might be difficult to realize, it’s definitely a path worth trying for development.”

“Yes, yes! This idea is really great. It seems no one has thought of it before.”

“Hmm, I really didn’t expect a kid like you to think this far ahead. It makes us feel old.”

In this era, the idea Samuel Wright proposed—using a film and television city to drive the local economy—was absolutely novel. At this time, Hengdian had only just started, and no one could see this trend yet. But Samuel Wright was different. He had been reborn from the future, so this concept was simple for him. Many regions developed this way; although some lost money, quite a few helped boost the local economy.

Of course, if this were to be done for real, it would be very difficult—transportation alone would be a major problem. But just having this idea was already impressive.

At this point in the exam, Samuel Wright was basically certain in his heart. Although he didn’t know these teachers yet, he could predict that he would soon get to know them.