"I also want to thank, a special person, he is Ye Wei, viy. ”

On July 14, 2004, the annual ESPY Sports Awards ceremony was held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, and 14-year-old Bethany Hamilton won the "Best Comeback Award", and in October '03 she lost her entire left hand in a shark attack, but she was not knocked down, and she finished fifth in the NSSA National Championship at the beginning of this year.

On the ESPN channel on the TV screen, Bethany, dressed in an off-the-shoulder dress with a rose pattern, stood in the middle of the stage, holding the trophy in her right hand, grinning toothily with braces, and said to the audience of more than 3,000 guests:

"He's one of my idols, I've watched his short film 'Dance of the Angels' many times, and every time I get strength from it, God has encouraged me in a special way, and all the people who are going through it, thank you! Thank you!"

Suddenly, enthusiastic applause resounded through the Kodak Theater, and everyone stood up one after another to pay tribute and wish the resolute girl.

Who is Ye Wei? Most people still know that genius boy, movie prodigy, this summer's "Wedding is Coming" is creating a zào miracle, and he is the limelight in the United States.

Not many people know what "Dance of the Angels" is, but thanks to Bethany, this miracle short film is once again on the screen, and ESPN used clips in Bethany's feature report. And this short film has long been donated by Ye Wei to CDF (Children's Protection Foundation), and all the proceeds generated by it will always be donated to CDF.

Few people knew that Bethany was actually disappointed that day because of Ye Wei, he would have attended the dinner after the awards ceremony, and he had arranged to meet her, but he suddenly canceled the trip for personal reasons. I really don't know what happened, his relationship with Kristen Stewart was exposed a few days ago, maybe it has something to do with it.

But she believed that she would see him soon! But she didn't expect that the viy image suddenly changed a lot, and the meeting with her was repeatedly postponed, and it was the second year that she really met.

In January 2005, at the NSSA National Competition, Bethany Hamilton won the championship of the short board event, and the legend was born!

During the Chinese New Year in February, Viy returned to Los Angeles from Toronto, and Bethany was about to arrive in Los Angeles, and this time she finally met in the living room of the Brentwood Hotel.

"Viy, it's nice to meet you, it means a lot to me. ”

In the spacious and elegant living room, although accompanied by his family and agent, Bethany couldn't help but be excited when he saw his idol, he was standing there!

A black and gray sweater and jeans, lined with a tall and sturdy figure, a handsome smile on his face, and the look of those black eyes made her heart like a deer, what kind of eyes are they? Mature, confident, profound, penetrating, like he is very close to you, understands your qiē, very gentle, and like he is far away from you, doesn't care about your qiē, very cool.

Being looked at by him a few more times, Bethany was too nervous, she was still so nervous after so much, and her voice was a little messy: "I love your movies...... "Dance of Angels", "The Wedding is Coming", "Little Sunshine Beauty", I have seen them all, no, no, "Little Sunshine Beauty" has not been ......" She suddenly blushed a little.

Everyone laughed, but Ye Wei didn't laugh, he was just cooler! Seeing him open his hand and hug him lightly, Bethany's heart jumped out of his chest, and he hugged him in the blink of an eye.

"Beth, you're a true hero. I'm sorry I didn't meet you until now, I had some problems before, you're my idol and I don't think I can face you, I've been getting better lately, so I can't wait to see you. We're all like that, aren't we, our pain is not light, and when we stand up, we're ready. ”

Viy hugging me! Bethany's previous little breath is gone, Beth! He calls me Beth!

Then Bethany was a little dizzy, as if he didn't know what he was talking about, and then watched Ye Wei get to know his family, and talked to his agent about the possibility of making her deeds into a movie, he said that he was very interested, this is an inspirational story that touches the soul, but he will only consider new projects when he completes "Little Sunshine Beauty" first.

After that, Bethany wanted to give him a gift that had been prepared for a long time, a blue and white surfing board, and she handed it to him with her own hands, full of anticipation: "This is my favorite shortboard for training, I want to give it to you, I hope you will like it." ”

"Isn't it a shortcoming for winning the championship?" Ye Wei asked, smiling playfully.

At this moment, she felt that he was not a movie genius, he was a rock star like John Lennon, it was so cool! She hurriedly said: "Champion shortboard, I gave it to Lana, Alanna Blanchard, she is my best friend, she is also a surfer, she also likes your movie ......"

"I'm just joking. He smiled and picked up the surfboard, "I got better than her, because this is a board that witnesses why you can overcome fate and become a champion. ”

Bethany was speechless, and those training sessions came to her heart, and she suddenly wanted to cry, "Thank you......"

"Yes, I want to thank you. Maybe someone has told you that you are really beautiful, like the goddess Venus with a broken arm, and in my eyes, you are like the sea, the sea that nothing can beat. Beth, keep the faith, keep going, and bring more strength to the world. I'm proud of you. ”

"Thank you, you too!" Bethany wiped tears from her eyes, "I've been looking forward to "Little Sunshine Beauty" for a long time, and I'm sure it's going to be a good movie." ”

"I'll try to get it done, and then you'll have to attend our premiere. ”

"What? Of course!!!

※※

Soul Surfing: A True Story of Faith, Family, and the Struggle to Get Back on the Surfboard, published in 2004, is a biography by Bethany Hamilton, Sheilel Burke, and Rick Budshu, chronicling Bethany's growth, upheavals, life changes, journey, return to the sea, and return to surfing.

Her biographical films got their heads off long after her story spread and received widespread media attention and became a hero across the United States.

At that time, Bethany's good friend Chantilly's father, Decch Hofstedtle, was the family's media manager, and then he was in charge of the production of the film project, and there was some progress that did not work out, and it is still raising investment.

The reason why it didn't go well was because of two main problems, first, that biography was badly written.

"A simple journal", this is one of the reviews it gets, and it is quite right. Bethany's story is so inspiring, but it doesn't turn into beautiful words, you ask a 14-year-old athletic girl to write a book? Ye Wei asked Nina if she was interested in writing an autobiography, and she shouted, "Kill me!"

A large part of "Soul Surfing" is about the youthful feelings of young girls, and the rest is a record of the beginning and end of things, and there is no real feeling, because their family is devout Christians, and they try to say that their hearts are very simple: give yourself to Jesus Christ, He gave us faith and courage to continue to pursue our faith, and He saved us.

Write a true story as if it were a false missionary story. Such a biography can neither arouse interest nor be adapted into a good movie script.

Ye Wei felt that the real situation was definitely not like this, this was not in line with the mentality of ordinary people at all, what about struggling?

Recently, he conducted a private interview with the Bethany family, and frankly said that it would directly affect whether he would take over the project, and they were embarrassed to reveal more. It turned out that during those difficult days, their family had doubts about their Christian faith and thought that God was very unfair, and when the media paid attention, they didn't know how to deal with it, and they were very troubled for a while......

And Bethany finally confessed that when she was most depressed, she felt so ugly, and what would the boys think of her without a hand?

"Viy, do you really think I'm beautiful?" she asked, apprehensively.

"If I hadn't had a girlfriend, I would have pursued you a long time ago. You have to understand that people who love you will see your left hand and will be willing to be your left hand. ”

This is right! This is a normal person! After Ye Wei obtained these materials, he became really interested in this story and the character of "Bethany".

The other major problem was that the production team led by Hofstedtle was too unprofessional, including Bethany and others, but they had to be involved.

Ye Wei understands them very well, these people are like his father, a group of people with movie dreams, and they want to make their own movies?

But because of this, things can easily be messed up by them, and even Chantilly excitedly tells him some of her film ideas, and she is a theater actor active in France, and her father is also a theater actor, neither of them is famous, they don't know how to make a movie.

With a producer like Hofstedtle, how dare the filmmakers invest lightly, and the budget is still tens of millions, while the bad luck of independent filmmaking to raise funds will take years.

Now they want Ye Wei to join, his meaning is very clear, if he joins, he will be the first producer, the first screenwriter and director, they can participate, but professional things are done for professional people, as for the theme of the film they expect "God tested us and redeemed us", yes, because the story is like this, but the previous struggles have to be expressed.

They were thinking about it, and they didn't want to offend God in the slightest.

Ye Wei is also thinking about it, first, these people are not very cooperative, this is very bad, he needs more real and moving materials to adapt, but they always like to give some Christian fake materials that are easy to say and attributed to God; second, he told Roberts about this project, and her first sentence was "not good!"

A young and sweet little girl, a strong and unyielding athletic girl, first of all, these are two different things.

And then, as touching and inspirational as it was, to make Emma's first classic on-screen image of a one-armed girl would have a bad effect, and it wasn't the best thing to do.

"Stray Dog House", changing "Bruce" from older brother to younger brother, and letting Emma be a sweet little sister, and then a sweet big sister, this is the right direction.

That's Roberts' opinion. Ye Wei didn't fight with her for the time being, and the problem on Bethany's team was solved, and "Soul Rusher" had to be done.

If all the problems can be solved, then he is happy to make it, it is a good story, and it is like making "Dance of Angels" into a feature film. Bethany still wants Anna to play her, but Anna is not yet 12 years old, even if filming starts next year, she will be 12 years old, how can she play a 14-year-old girl? Bethany herself can when she is 12 years old, Ana?

That's it, "Soul Rusher" became one of the candidates, and Bethany was looking forward to the good news.

Do the math, Ye Wei has been exposed to six projects, but there is one, "Flipped".

This is a young adult romance novel published in 2001 by the female writer Wendeline Van de la Annan (1965-01-06), the story is set in 1994-2000, and it uses a penmanship to alternate the statements of the male and female protagonists, telling a love story of a common collection of events, interesting, warm and beautiful.

"I have only one wish, that Juliana Baker don't bother me. Get me out of here!—I just want her to stay away from me. ”

"From the first day I met Bryce Rosky, I was hooked on him. Uh, well, actually I fell in love with him at all first sight. ”

During the summer vacation of the first grade, the male protagonist Bryce's family moved and became neighbors with the female protagonist Juliana's family. The main story takes place in the eighth grade, and it is easy to say, Julie has been obsessed with Bryce since she was a child, but Bryce thinks she hates this weird girl, the boy's temper, love face, and mother's treasure...... Julie swears to protect the fig tree that will be cut down, and he does not support her. Julie gave his hens eggs because his mother was afraid of germs and threw them in the trash......

There were misunderstandings, there were mistakes, and the results broke her heart again and again, and he himself was uncomfortable. And after Julie was sad again and again, she felt that he was just a coward who liked the wrong person for many years and no longer cared about him. But at this time, Bryce recognized his heart, and he liked Julie as a unique girl. At the end of the story, he plucked up the courage to go to her lawn and plant a small fig tree as a token of his gratitude. Julie watched at home, and she was moved again.

"Maybe I should go over and thank him for planting the tree. Maybe we can sit on the porch and talk. It occurred to me that we had known each other for so long and had never done this before. Never really sat down and had a good talk. Maybe Mom was right, maybe I didn't know Bly-Sroskey well enough.

Maybe it's time now. ”

Finale.

Ye Wei first read this book a few years ago, at that time I didn't understand, I was naïve, I laughed at Bryce for not knowing how to coax girls, and laughed at Julie for having nothing to do, but no matter what, she was a girl who sent it up! Now it's different, he loves Julie, he loves her fig tree, he loves her hen flock, he loves her.

He now knows that Bryce and Julie represent too many, that each couple has their own problems, and that men and women are mutually provocative, sweet, painful, misunderstanding, wrong, understanding, inexplicable, different, reckless, familial, and circumstantial...... This horse is youth, and this horse is love.

Since he became friends with Lily last month, he has reread "Heartbeat" several times, and the more he reads, the more rewarding he becomes, and the more he reads, the more he loves the story and wants to make it.

The good news is that this is a project initiated by him, and there are no competitors, as long as you get the adaptation rights, you can call the shots, and it is not difficult to be faithful to the original adaptation.

Because although it is a statement from a first-person point of view, it is completely different from "Lovely Bones", the scene is full of sense, and it is all carried out with Bryce and Julie, the plot time is in an orderly order, and the inner drama can be completed with narration, which is easy to adapt and film.

The bad news is that the project lacks commerciality, the average teenage audience doesn't know how to appreciate it, and the adult audience doesn't like to watch teen romance movies.

And its style of events is destined to be gentle and gentle throughout the story, and the way in which men and women alternately present it is even more important, which is the essence of the novel and the charming flavor of the story. It can be said that this style is most suitable for watching DVDs at home, rather than watching the screen in the cinema.

The lack of commerciality will make many people unhappy, Roberts is certainly one of them, the box office does not sell, how did Emma become famous?

In any case, "Heartbeat" is his guarantee to himself, and it is the kind of project that he still wants to shoot after many years.

Actually, Ye Wei thinks that Emma is too beautiful to play "Julie", Julie is not a blonde sweetie, but the kind of temperament that has a unique temperament, like Kirsten Dunst when she was young.

In fact, he thinks that Emma is not very suitable for "Susie", her temperament is not ethereal and pure enough; Emma can't play "Rui", he thinks about whether there is any way, but he understands more and more that she can't play Rui, Bethany, maybe, it's okay, Carrie, it's very average, speaking of which, the most suitable for her are still two Liz......

He made a list of seven items:

Personal Preference Ranking - Item - Remarks

First place: "Winter's Bones" - a pure literary theme, not very commercial, Emma can't play Rui

Second place: "Lovely Bones" - Roberts admires, DreamWorks loves, the difficulty of adaptation explodes, to convince the original author, to compete with Peter Jackson!

Third place: "Soul Surfer" - Roberts didn't like it, the Bethany family didn't cooperate, and the original team was unprofessional

Fourth place: "Heartbeat" - pure literary theme, lack of commerciality, and his own guarantee, Emma is not suitable for Julie

Fifth place: "Other Realms" - Emma's favorite, difficult to adapt, commercial and literary are average

Sixth place: "Stray Dog House" - a guarantee prepared by DreamWorks and Roberts, a purely commercial theme, Hollywood, not interesting

Seventh place: "Carrie the Witch" - Lionsgate, Stephen King's sincere invitation, but there is no creative momentum for horror films for the time being, Emma is impossible to play, Nina is considering

Looking at this list, Ye Wei exclaimed! There are really a lot of challenges, and there is too much work to be done!

And the official trailer of "Little Sunshine Beauty" is about to be released, and the MPAA rating results are also coming out.