Good friend René

People always like to chase poetry and the distance, chasing elusive dreams. But before taking action, it's best to fill one's own stomach first. If one can't even achieve basic survival, everything else is just empty talk.

It had been two days since he arrived in this unfamiliar country. Lyman had only walked around the vicinity, getting familiar with the environment, without going anywhere or doing anything. Before his film dream could come true, he first needed a movie opportunity to participate in or a job related to it. After all, besides his property, he only had ₣356 in total assets. Today, he spent ₣30 at the bakery, leaving him with only ₣326. If he couldn't find a source of income soon, he might really starve to death in a foreign land in France. Lyman definitely didn't want that.

The sky quickly began to darken again, and Lyman didn't know whether the security conditions in France were good or not. He didn't dare to go out wandering alone late at night. Dinner was a French baguette bought in the morning, accompanied by some pre-cooked cold water. He chewed it hastily and swallowed it down. In total, it probably cost him €5. Lyman didn't have any income yet and dared not spend a single cent recklessly. He absolutely had to be frugal.

Lyman lay on the bed in the bedroom early, turning his thoughts, contemplating how he could earn money next. Writing a script? Not possible. Not to mention his poor creative ability, even if he managed to come up with a decent script, who would buy it? The world is not lacking good stories; what is lacking is people who can bring those stories to life. As a former insider, Lyman knew that countless script libraries of film companies were filled with scripts that no one appreciated. It was an infinitely unlikely path.

Acting? It didn't seem feasible either. He looked at his own face, a supporting actor's appearance. He lacked charm and distinctiveness. How could an ordinary face like his make a living in the fiercely competitive entertainment industry?

As for copying songs and the like, that was even more unrealistic. He had listened to many songs, including English ones, but listening to them and writing them were completely different. He, who had never received professional training, couldn't do it even if you killed him.

Thinking about this, a frustrated Lyman stood up and walked to the window, his gaze penetrating through the window, looking at the star-filled sky in the distance. He needed to calm down.

After a long time, he sighed and cast aside those unrealistic thoughts from his mind. His thinking returned to the most practical matter at hand, which was to find a job with income to solve his future survival problem.

Everyone wants to get rich overnight, but it's just wishful thinking. Where was this place? Cannes, a small town with the most intense film atmosphere in France. The international film festival, held for two weeks in mid-May every year, takes place here. Presumably, there was no shortage of jobs in the film industry here, Lyman thought to himself.

As the night grew deeper, Lyman no longer contemplated how to navigate the path of tomorrow. Physical and mental exhaustion urged him to rest.

After a good night's sleep, Lyman was awakened by a knocking sound at the door. As soon as he opened the door, a shadow pounced on him. The person embraced Lyman and gently patted his back with their palm.

"René Garcia." Lyman finally recognized the person in front of him and immediately shouted, "René!"

The man known as René released his arms and stood in front of Lyman with a smile on his face. "Oh, my dear friend, you seem unhappy."

The man standing in front of Lyman had chestnut-colored long hair casually draped over his shoulders. Under his prominent nose and rugged eyebrows, there were a pair of slightly deep blue eyes. The rough and messy stubble on his chin complemented his round face, which was paired with a tall and slender figure. A wild temperament emanated from him. He was Lyman's good friend from college, René. He was one of the foolish friends who, in their ignorance, wanted to make money by making films.

Lyman pursed his lips, worried that René had come to collect a debt. However, he maintained a calm expression and asked, "What are you here for?"

"It's already June, and we had an agreement to go to the beach to pick up girls. Have you forgotten?" René looked at Lyman strangely, hoping to see some panic on his calm face, but to no avail.

Of course, Lyman had no idea about what René was talking about. This might have been something agreed upon by the original owner of his body. Although he inherited some memories, he had no recollection of this matter, "But I need to find a job."

"Didn't you say you won't work? My friend, are you already willing to abandon a leisurely life and be exploited by others?" René looked at Lyman carefully, somewhat uncertain, and said, "Is it because of the failure of the film? I used my money to fund it. I still have some decent savings. Take it and use it first."

"It's just a loss, what's the big deal? My family runs a slaughterhouse. This amount of money means nothing to me. I can handle it." René's confident gaze made it seem like he was telling the truth.

But Lyman knew it wasn't the same. René's family was indeed wealthy, but that was his father's assets, and he had two older brothers above him. That money was the initial capital his father supported him with for his entrepreneurial endeavors. Now that it was gone, he would probably have to return home and inherit the family business after hanging around for a while.

Of course, it wasn't a slaughterhouse business. That was just a product of his father's early career success. He had long since stopped working in that industry and transitioned to a clothing agency and manufacturing. He owned several stores and factories and could be considered well-off.

After René finished speaking, he actually took out a handful of banknotes from his pocket and said, "I only have this much on me. I thought I would need it when picking up girls, but now..." He looked around the room, which was somewhat tidy but still a bit messy, and continued, "You need this money more. Take it for now. If you have any problems, let me know. We've known each other for so long, so don't hesitate to ask, my friend."

"Oh, I just suddenly felt discouraged and stayed home to heal by sleeping. I forgot to contact you. I'm sorry, René, for making you worry," Lyman said apologetically.

René's mood noticeably improved. He thought his friend would be gloomy due to the setback, but now that he could still crack jokes, it meant that Lyman had truly moved on.

"As I see it, the problem was that the film's genre wasn't appealing enough. If they played it safe, we should have played it safe too. There wasn't much innovation, and that's why it failed, right?" René analyzed the reasons for the film's failure with a serious expression. He still didn't know that they had been deceived by Miramax, believing it was due to a lack of audience and market recognition that led to a complete loss of production costs.

Lyman nodded, expressing agreement with René's viewpoint. His analysis had some truth to it. A film with a plain style and not taking the festival route to expand its reputation was unlikely to gain audience recognition. Viewers wouldn't pay attention to every film release; they needed some triggering factors to choose which movies they wanted to watch. If no one knew about it, how could there be a market?

Although Europe has produced many artistic films, it was only possible because they had suitable theaters for screenings and an existing reputation for quality, allowing them to achieve some success at the box office. Moreover, those well-known art films didn't have to worry about copyright operations; there would always be other distributors willing to pay high prices to purchase them and subsidize production costs. In contrast, Lyman and René, one made a wrong genre choice, and the other believed the lies of Miramax. That led to a heavy loss with no conditions for any return on investment.

"Yeah, René, so I plan to find a job in the film industry to gain more experience."

Lyman accepted the money. In the past, he would never have taken it, but considering that he hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days and had no prospects for future work, he didn't have many choices in the face of the heavy reality. He hesitated slightly but accepted the money from René's hand.

"You majored in philosophy and studied directorial theory and on-set control. Are you really willing to do odd jobs on a film set?"

Even René knew that having credentials in the film industry was a hurdle. A newcomer like Lyman would probably only be able to do menial tasks.

René also said with a touch of self-deprecation, "Is the first failure considered a learning experience? Let me ask my father for some money again, and we'll make a grand film. I believe in you, Lyman. You're a talented director, and you will surely succeed."

During their time in college, Lyman had been praised by many professors for his directorial talent. Even René, who was academically mediocre, admired Lyman's skills. Lyman's dedication to film, his efforts to analyze the underlying ideas and language conveyed by each shot, his meticulous storyboarding, and attention to script details—all of these indicated his love for this profession.

In René's eyes, it was impossible for someone like Lyman not to succeed in the film industry.

"That's why I've succeeded," Lyman's response caught René off guard, and before he could finish speaking, Lyman's next words had an even more powerful impact. "But for now, I think I'll pass on directing again. Finding a job suits me better at the moment."

Now, René was even more puzzled. "Lyman, are you really going to do that? You have less faith in yourself than I do."

Three years of struggling in the previous life made Lyman more aware of the harshness of the industry. Indeed, he had insights into filmmaking, and his accumulated experience in various roles on set gave him a good understanding of how things worked. But so what? Where would the money come from? Should he rely on René's support again? He didn't want to do that.

Filmmaking had its risks, and he couldn't keep doing uncertain projects while leaving René to bear the consequences. It wasn't something friends should do to each other. Although they had only known each other for a short time, René felt the friendship from Lyman.

It was precisely because of this that Lyman couldn't easily venture into film production. That would be disrespectful to this kind of relationship.