This trip to the U.S. for study, although hosted by China Film, had originally been proposed and suggested by Big Scissors internally.
Therefore, when these twenty-nine people arrived in Los Angeles, it was only natural that staff from the local consulate would be responsible for receiving them and coordinating with the crew.
Counselor Wu Zanming of the consulate had been happily chatting outside the set with a Disney executive, not worried in the slightest that anything could possibly go wrong.
But when he turned around, his colleague from the consulate, Liu Guang, came running and said, "Old Wu, something's wrong."
Wu Zanming was startled, almost losing his footing.
After regaining his balance, he first glanced at the Disney executive beside him, then pulled Liu Guang aside and asked hurriedly, "What happened?"
Liu Guang quickly explained the situation: "Our batch of trainees' roster is fake. The crew discovered it, and now it's causing a commotion inside!"
"Fake roster of trainees?" Wu Zanming was dumbfounded after hearing this: "What do you mean? Didn't the roster already get checked? These are the same people who came from home!"
It turned out that before these trainees had arrived, China had indeed sent the consulate a list of names. Since the group would eventually return home, the consulate needed to keep an eye on them.
That was standard procedure, and Wu Zanming didn't understand what could possibly be faked about it.
But Liu Guang shook his head and said, "No, it's not that list. The people who came are not the same as those on the selection list."
"What do you mean, the selection list doesn't match the people who came?" Wu Zanming was confused.
Liu Guang explained: "Back in early June at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Director Gilbert conducted an assessment and selected twenty-nine people.
But the twenty-nine who came this time—most of them don't match the names on that list. They're impostors."
Wu Zanming's heart skipped a beat. He glanced guiltily at the nearby Disney executive, who fortunately didn't understand Chinese. Otherwise, if he had overheard, wouldn't it have become a laughingstock?
Then again, Wu realized, once this matter spread, it would already be a laughingstock. The immediate priority was to handle the situation properly.
Wu quickly said, "You communicate with the crew. I'll call the ambassador."
"Alright," Liu Guang hurried inside to talk with the crew, while Wu called the ambassador to report the matter.
Inside the set, Steven Schmidt, producer of The Adventures of Jackie Chan, was speaking with the China Film team leader: "These people don't match the list from June's assessment. The crew will not accept them. Please ask them to leave!"
The team leader from China Film was named Gong Ruichi. He panicked: "Mr. Schmidt, shouldn't we perhaps discuss this further?"
"Discuss?" Steven Schmidt made it clear he had no interest in discussion: "For a dishonest partner, we see no reason to talk.
Other than the five who match the list, the rest must leave!"
Gong Ruichi felt helpless. This was their turf, not his back home where he could throw his weight around. These foreigners didn't care about his authority.
What's more, he was aware of the impostor trainees. It was common in their circles and he hadn't thought much of it.
But he hadn't expected the foreigners to take it seriously. Now the impostors were exposed, and it was game over.
Even then, Gong still thought it wasn't a big deal. Impostors? Just discuss it and add some money. That should fix it.
After all, foreigners only cared about money. With enough of it, nothing was unsolvable.
At worst, send this batch of impostors back and bring the real ones over. Surely the foreigners would be satisfied.
But Gong didn't know—this wasn't about money at all.
Gilbert himself had the attitude of hating iron for not becoming steel, and even real foreigners couldn't tolerate such dishonesty.
True, many foreigners also often failed others, but they never tolerated others failing them.
Besides, The Adventures of Jackie Chan parts two and three were being filmed back-to-back, with a total investment of 260 million USD. They had no need for the peanuts China Film had put in as training fees.
Just one sponsorship from Raptor Glasses alone was three times the training fee.
Steven Schmidt didn't even bother with the impostors. With a wave, he ordered them out, then personally led Guo Fan and the other four genuine trainees into the set.
Seeing Guo Fan and the others admitted, Zhang Chuan, who was posing as Zhao Peng, grew anxious and quickly asked Gong Ruichi, "Director Gong, what's going on here?"
Gong sighed: "First find a place to stay. I'll communicate with the higher-ups about this matter."
Just then, Liu Guang from the consulate arrived, and Gong explained to him what had just been handled.
Liu Guang rubbed his forehead: "Director Gong, this is no small matter. Mishandled, it could become a diplomatic incident. My God, how could you dare to do something so reckless?"
Seeing Liu Guang's expression was genuine, Gong began to panic too: "Counselor Liu, this won't be too bad, right? It's just impostors. The crew hasn't really lost anything!"
"No loss?" Liu Guang pointed to his own face: "This is about face. What you've done has slapped Gilbert's face, Hollywood's face, and even our own face."
No matter the circle, face was always of utmost importance.
In June, Gilbert had personally overseen the assessments, checked the lists, and picked out the trainees. And you turned around and swapped them with a different batch? Wasn't that treating Gilbert like a fool?
No wonder the crew reacted so strongly.
You don't make it in Hollywood and become a world-class director just by luck.
Without brains, how could Gilbert have risen in Hollywood's cutthroat competition?
Understanding this, Gong Ruichi, Zhang Chuan, and the other impostors realized their "gold-plating" dream was likely finished.
Worse, the crew might pursue accountability.
"So what do we do now?" Gong asked.
Liu Guang shrugged like Ajian and said: "I don't know. The consulate has nothing to do with this. We just found out now."
His meaning was clear: the consulate wasn't taking the blame.
And in truth, the consulate had no way of knowing the trainee roster would be faked. They hadn't even received the true list of selected trainees, so they couldn't possibly verify their identities.
Now Gong was truly panicked. He had to quickly report to his superiors.
At that moment, someone from the crew came over and said to Gong and Liu: "The paperwork for these five has all been completed. For the next three months, they will work and study with our crew. We just wanted to notify you.
During this period, their lodging, meals, and safety will all be handled by us. If anything comes up, we'll communicate with the consulate."
Liu Guang quickly expressed thanks: "Thank you, we appreciate it."
"You're welcome." The staffer glanced briefly at the impostors, not bothering to say another word, then returned to the set.
During this busy preparation period, who had time to deal with irrelevant people?
Since the names didn't match, the crew had no obligation to care for them. Let the Chinese handle their own problem.
After discussing it, Gong and Liu decided to take the impostors away, find them lodging, and wait for the higher-ups to decide what came next.
This matter was now far beyond their ability to resolve.
Inside the set, Gilbert was on the phone with Old Tian.
Daytime in Los Angeles was the middle of the night in Beijing. Old Tian had already been asleep for hours, but the transpacific call had found him.
Hearing it was Gilbert calling, Old Tian was puzzled. To be called at this hour, it had to be something major.
Sure enough, it was. When he heard the situation, Old Tian was stunned.
Over the years, Old Tian had risen quickly, now a leader in the cultural sector.
As the reformer of the film market, a staunch supporter of importing Hollywood films, and a key promoter of China's entry into the WTO, Old Tian was a grandmaster-level figure in the film world.
Gilbert knew very clearly that going to China Film or Big Scissors would be useless. In the end, things would just get brushed aside. It had to be someone higher up to handle this matter.
So he directly called his old friend Old Tian, hoping he would deal with it.
Old Tian was furious. He knew about the plan of sending trainees to Hollywood—back when he was still in Big Scissors, he had been the one to plan this initiative.
So many Chinese staff members on The Lord of the Rings crew had been his accomplishment.
Now this time, it wasn't just in China—it was a direct trip to Los Angeles for study. Old Tian had worried the trainees might cause trouble, and he had repeatedly emphasized to his subordinates to be careful.
But despite countless warnings, a problem had still occurred and such a disgraceful one at that: impostor trainees.
And not only impostors, but caught on the spot.
Handled poorly, this would be an international embarrassment. Never mind the entertainment circle—even he, a deputy minister, could be dragged down with it.
"Don't worry," Old Tian quickly assured Gilbert: "I will deal with this matter seriously and give you a satisfactory answer."
Gilbert gave a cold snort: "It had better be so. Old Tian, I am very disappointed. So this is the level of your Chinese colleagues—cheating and falsification.
And to think I once had expectations for Chinese-language cinema. Now, it seems, I don't anymore."
Old Tian felt utterly embarrassed. To hear a foreigner say he was disappointed in Chinese cinema—how could he show his face?
He tried asking: "Then should I send over the trainees from the original list?"
"No need," Gilbert rejected flatly: "Since they were able to sell their spots to others, whether sincerely or not, it's worse than these impostors.
I do not need such people polluting my crew.
These five will stay. No others. The crew will not recognize them."
With that, Gilbert hung up, leaving Old Tian on the other end sighing. But it was no time for sighs—this had to be handled immediately.
Old Tian stayed awake and immediately called his secretary: "Bring Sanping, Old Zheng, and all the top leaders of Big Scissors and China Film.
Also prepare a conference room. We're having a meeting…"
The secretary didn't understand why, but he knew something major had happened, and quickly went to summon everyone.
On Gilbert's side, after the call, Steven Schmidt came to report the results: "That batch of impostor trainees—I've already had them taken away.
Only these five remain. What do you think?"
"I'll go take a look…" Gilbert walked out and saw the five trainees standing uncertainly at the edge of the set.
What had happened today was beyond anything they could have imagined. The five were uneasy, unsure how the crew would treat them.
"Relax, all of you relax," Gilbert walked over and reassured them in Chinese.
"You are all excellent. While the others faked their way in, you remained true, not deceiving the crew. I am pleased."
One trainee, Sun Yunlong, raised his hand and said: "Director Gilbert, we knew about the roster switch…"
Gilbert gently waved his hand, cutting him off: "You all knew, but you were powerless to change it—that is normal.
To stand up and stop such deceit—that would be courageous.
But since you didn't yet have the standing to stop them, staying silent was also wise. I understand."
His tone then grew serious: "But what I want to speak about is the future.
You've seen it, haven't you? What kind of people are they? Just looking for gold plating, muddling through, going home only to keep strutting around. Such people cannot lead the future of Chinese-language cinema.
I hope one day, when you reach a certain position, you will change this unhealthy trend.
In film, in the end, it must be the work that speaks, not shortcuts or trickery…"
Seeing the trainees deep in thought, Gilbert said no more: "Alright, the rest is for you to ponder yourselves. I wish you a fruitful three months of learning here."
The five straightened their backs, feeling a surge of determination, as though they represented the future of Chinese cinema itself, brimming with energy.
Gilbert had succeeded in easing their nerves. Otherwise, after today's events, they might not have lasted in the crew.
The crew of The Adventures of Jackie Chan was actually relatively welcoming, with Chinese actors among the leads, and the atmosphere somewhat more harmonious. Hopefully, these five would study well.
Producer Steven Schmidt then asked Gilbert: "Shall we give these five some special treatment?"
"No need," Gilbert shook his head: "Just treat them like ordinary crew members. No need for special attention."
Without trials, how can one see the rainbow?
A flower raised in a greenhouse withers once outside. Without hardship, no great deeds can be achieved. These five still needed sharpening.
Meanwhile, over at Disney and Warner, the higher-ups were already aware of the impostor trainees situation.
The executives weren't angry—they didn't care much about the Chinese themselves.
But these Chinese had provoked Gilbert. Disney and Warner naturally had to step in and get revenge for him.
This was their ace director, deceived and humiliated? Intolerable.
So Disney and Warner senior executives convened an emergency joint meeting, with Gilbert also attending.
At the meeting, Disney Vice President Solomon said: "I propose we lodge a formal protest with the Los Angeles consulate, and also have the ambassador issue a démarche, making our position clear."
This would kill two birds with one stone: avenging Gilbert, and also sending a message to certain forces in North America.
Everyone turned to look at Gilbert at the far end of the table, awaiting his stance.
Gilbert replied: "I have no objection. Handle it as you see fit."
Although this might embarrass the other side, there was no helping it. After all, he wore a white skin—at such a table, he could not speak kindly or take the opposing stance.
And indeed, some people had gone too far. For years, their side had focused solely on economic growth, willfully neglecting cultural and entertainment development, leaving the industry a cesspool.
Gilbert was also seizing this chance to force the big boss there to act and clean up the cultural and entertainment circle.
If not to restore clear skies entirely, at least to curb this worsening trend.
.....
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