Los Angeles, USA, 1991.
The University of Southern California, also known as USC, is the most famous school of motion picture arts in the United States. This school has sent a series of film industry talents such as directors, editors, and photographers to Hollywood.
...The look on her face was grim. Looking at John's handsome face, she felt a little regret in her heart.
John William—orphan, genius director. His short films had been praised by countless professors in the school. Such a genius, in a sense, is promising. Such a potential man, she should not have given up on, no matter what.
Sara glanced at the man who had gathered around the crowd and cast adoring glances at her, and she smiled sweetly in return.
At Southern California University, there are many directors labeled "genius" every year, but 95% of them end up failing. The reason for all of this is simple: Hollywood does not accept losers. They have only one chance. And as a new director, if you want to succeed in the first step of film, this difficulty is just too big.
If John were not an orphan and had money in his family, then even if he failed, his family could still give him more opportunities. But as an orphan, it was very difficult for him to raise funds even for the first step of the film, let alone handle other issues.
And that man—the own son of a Hollywood Fox executive—can be by her side, and the success rate of her desire to become a big star has greatly increased. Especially since the man promised her not long ago that as long as she is with him, she would be able to get the position of the heroine in a small-budget movie.
Thinking of that, Sara's heart became even more determined.
Looking at the woman in front of him suddenly saying they broke up, John looked confused. In his mind, a memory suddenly appeared at this moment.
His name is Alex, and he is a small-time director from 2025. In his memory, in order to get money for new movies, he accompanied investors to drink a lot of alcohol in a pub and finally fell down drunk. How could he suddenly come to this college?
Confused about all this, Alex—who was anxious to get rid of his current situation—nodded and said, "Good!"
...
Three days later, in the dormitory.
John William finally straightened out what happened and where he was now. He, Alex, was a third-rate director in his previous life. He, John William, is a genius in the eyes of professors at the University of Southern California. The two are entangled and make him... of course, although he had two memories, he is mainly Alex.
However, he certainly cannot use the name Alex. Therefore, in the future, his name will be John William.
"John, are you alright?"
The two-meter-tall man on the side asked with concern. Since John had broken up with Sara three days ago, he became dumbfounded. He didn't like to talk, so he lay quietly in bed for three days. It was hard not to worry about him.
"Thanks, I'm okay. I just figured something out."
"By the way, Kevin, do you want to finish our graduation project with me?"
A smile appeared on the strong man's face. "Of course, we are the best partners!"
Kevin's face also had a smile. In the past three days, John did not say a word. In addition to combing through the two memories, he was thinking more about the future path. He has been a director in his past life and present life, and the path he chose in this life is also a director.
What he wants to do is become a big director like Steven Spielberg. That means that he must continue to succeed in the film industry. For directors, real success doesn't lie in awards. It's the box office.
No matter how many art film awards there are, if he fails three films in a row, no one will dare to invest more money in him. But as long as the box office has been successful, through his position, he can expand his network step by step, earn money, and gain status.
The first step is to complete a perfect graduation project. That is: A Movie.
That's right, John's goal is directly a movie. The normal growth of a director is from editing, photography, and other work, and then to assistant director, and finally director, growing up step by step. Such a path normally takes five to ten years to come out.
He didn't have time to wait for the bitter end. The memories in his mind were only available for 34 years, and if he could not achieve high enough status and money in this time, that means all his memories of the future in his mind would be ineffective. Such an opportunity was in front of him, and how stupid he would be if he missed it.
After agreeing with his roommate to complete the graduation project together, John immediately began the retreat. Picking up pen and paper, and recalling in his mind which movie he should choose.
As a student who has not yet graduated, even if he has a certain reputation in school, no one knows him outside the school. That means that it is difficult to pull big investments. Among the small-cost, easy-to-pop movie genres... John instantly thought of horror movies.
Blood and sex are the two things that are the basic set to attract people's attention, and horror movies are undoubtedly a more perfect theme for integrating the two.
But today, what John wants to choose is not a tertiary film with a horror film shell, but a real classic horror movie. As a classic horror movie produced by Lionsgate [in his future memory], he is familiar with all the plots, layouts, and shooting techniques of the movie. This is also the method many directors learn—that is, the step-by-step analysis of shooting techniques for certain films, analyzing the picture frame by frame.
And in his previous life, Saw (chainsaw horror) was one of his key analyses. But before anything can begin, all he needs to do is produce a detailed project plan.
A Hollywood movie has never been an art, but a film industry. This means that if he wants to attract investments, a project plan that looks feasible is essential.