Ancient castle

Nestled upon a half-hill slope was Annecy's ancient castle. It bore the name Château d'Annecy.

Such castles were not a common sight. According to rough estimates, there were over ten thousand assorted castles of all sizes across the expanse of France. Among these, several dozen stood out as well-preserved ancient castles of worldwide renown.

As for castles, they could be broadly categorized by their historical formation and purpose: military fortresses, wineries, noble residences, and royal palaces.

At that time, all of Europe was in turmoil, and France was no exception; it was politically fragmented.

Feudal lords of various ranks and members of the royal family with territorial fiefs were scattered throughout the French realm. The boundaries between them were indistinct, and their relationships were intricate and convoluted.

The history of medieval castle construction thus mirrored the long-standing conflicts and decentralization of France. These structures bore witness to the river of time.

The nobles, both high and low, driven by power struggles, dynastic ambitions, and mutual suspicions, found themselves in a cycle of warfare and strife. To ensure personal security or consolidate their territories, they turned to the construction of fortresses.

Hence, the nobles eagerly quarried stone from the mountains, working tirelessly day and night to erect these castles. This endeavor consumed countless human resources, finances, materials, and time, with countless farmers losing their lives in the process.

Today, the once-mighty feudal lords and their swords and steeds were relegated to history, while the castles that had withstood the ravages of wind, frost, rain, and snow remained, narrating their former glory to passing travelers.

"So, what kind of person was the Duke?" Lyman asked curiously.

"Simply put, he was a loser in the struggle for power," George replied.

He had done his research before coming, after all.

"He was originally a member of the main branch of his family, but he was ousted in the power struggle and thus came here."

As previously mentioned, Annasie lay on the southeastern border of France, near the Alps. It was truly a remote area at the time, a region that had suffered a grim fate due to the territorial divisions.

Any aspirations for royal power and ambition were essentially nullified.

And just like that, after all the previous exposition, it suddenly hit a dead end.

"Also because of this, the construction of this castle was remarkably splendid, and its preservation has been excellent. There are springs in the mountains nearby; you can give them a try. By the way, there aren't any hotels in the vicinity, and the castle itself isn't open for lodgers. So, we've rented a local house, which might not offer the best conditions."

"No worries, I'm not concerned about that."

Lyman waved his hand dismissively, brushing aside the topic. He hadn't come here for luxury.

At the foot of the mountain, this area had been designated as a scenic spot.

The personnel sent by the town's government recognized George, and they quickly lowered the barrier pole and granted passage.

Now, their "Effevescent" production crew was a group to be pleased throughout the entire town.

For one reason—its substantial economic benefits.

Putting aside the expenses of renting the castle, the accommodation, meals, transportation, and other expenses for the numerous crew members were all spent here. And who profited from all this? The residents of the small town, of course.

Progressing further inside, the landscape grew increasingly lush with a profusion of trees. The narrow path that wound through the woods was carpeted with fallen leaves. On either side, there were cobblestone steps, leading upwards step by step, towards the summit.

Gazing upwards, the white clouds appeared to be taking residence on the mountaintop. And halfway up the mountainside, nestled within, lay a grand estate, a castle in the ancient style.

"In fact, there's one advantage to filming here—the scenery is magnificent," George said, rubbing his tired waist.

Damn it, this road was practically impassable.

Back when they transported the filming equipment up here, he had no idea how much effort it took.

And now, with the power outage and the ferocious mountain mosquitoes...

Enough said, it was all just a tearful tale.

...

No matter how beautiful a place was, after staring at it for too long, one would become weary of it. Not to mention the fact that the conditions in these mountains weren't exactly top-notch. Just three or four days in, Lyman had already lost interest in these aspects.

The production crew continued their hectic preparations, with Ryan frequently going to George to discuss matters such as budget control and negotiations with third-party guarantee agencies. Occasionally, they would also bring Lyman along to purchase filming props.

Sometimes, he would need to communicate with Heath Ledger about scheduling, especially since Heath's scenes in "Brokeback Mountain" weren't yet settled. Speaking candidly, Ang Lee was a real drag when it came to filming. It's not that he was slow, but he kept coming up with novel ideas and wanted to experiment with them. This meant the entire crew ended up playing along with his whims. However, Focus Features, the production company, understood him well. They never restricted him in this aspect, and they allocated a generous budget for the film's production. Their goal was the Oscars next year.

Of course, if possible, Lyman naturally hoped to secure the role of the male lead for himself. But looking at the situation now, it seemed somewhat discouraging.

However, this wasn't the most pressing matter. They would address it once the production crew's preparations were complete.

Lyman once again entered the state of ceaseless busyness. This was the nature of a director's work—during busy periods, one wished they could split themselves in half to cope, while during idle times, they were perpetually at a loss.

Even amidst the hustle and bustle for the production, Lyman hadn't forgotten to stay in touch with people from EuropaCorp and urge them on.

Just two days ago, after nearly two months of screening, "Miscreant" had finally left theaters in most overseas regions.

The final box office tally stood at over $723M.

To be honest, this achievement was somewhat unexpected. Generally speaking, overseas box office earnings were usually only slightly higher than those in North America. And the profit margins earned might not even surpass those in North America, due to the complexities of distribution in overseas territories, which often involved local distributors and theater chains taking a significant share.

But who could have predicted the explosive popularity in France? Relying on Lyman's charisma and the film's word of mouth, the French audience's support had been considerable. Grossing over $90M directly from France wasn't a trivial achievement by any means. Keep in mind, "Miscreant" had only made a little over $30M in the UK. Comparing these numbers, one could clearly see how much the French audience loved him. There was no choice—supporting their own director was a catchphrase that EuropaCorp frequently used in their promotions.

There was also the matter of discussing with Thomas to determine the film's shooting style and visual aesthetics. After all, this was a love story—a pure love story and also a love story.

Different from the films they had previously worked on, this time, he hoped the visuals could convey a warm tone, be beautiful, and the lighting could delicately enhance the characters' features, making them more vibrant and three-dimensional...