After the two left, Shang Yechu asked, "What did you want to see me about?"
Upon learning that the other party was a new director, Shang Yechu lost some of her interest. However, the name Luo Yao sounded vaguely familiar, and Shang Yechu wasn't sure if the other party was some rising star.
Contrary to his serious appearance, Luo Yao spoke very gently: "Well, I have a script with two main characters. One of the main characters has already been cast, but I've been looking for the other one for a long time and haven't found the right person. I heard that Ms. Ye's work was nominated for the Golden Dome Award, and it's her film debut! That's amazing~ So I thought I'd try my luck here. Is there a chance we could talk?"
Dual protagonist setting?
Shang Yechu understood: "It's a gay-themed story, isn't it?"
"You guessed right," Luo Yao laughed. "But these days, to get it approved by censors, they all call it 'dual protagonist' or 'dual female lead.' Miss Ye, are you interested?"
LGBTQ+ themes have fallen out of favor in recent years, both at the box office and in terms of awards. The arts and entertainment industry seems to have increasingly favored political themes and dark satire, relegating LGBTQ+ content to a mere condiment.
Furthermore, Shang Yechu herself is heterosexual, and she is surrounded by a group of heterosexuals. For example, Ji Juntao changes male bed partners faster than he changes his pants; Su Ge is obsessed with Qin Tianye, and Shang Yechu is constantly annoyed by her harassment; in addition, from the assistant and driver to the neighbors in the commercial street, they are all heterosexual.
Shang Yechu knew very little about the homosexual community and lacked empathy for them. Knowing it's best to be cautious about things one doesn't understand, Shang Yechu immediately wanted to refuse: "This... I'm not, that kind of person."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Shang Yechu felt somewhat embarrassed, even regretful. She wondered if Luo Yao was right. If he was, wouldn't such a blatant denial seem discriminatory?
"Oh my, who says you can't film if you're not gay?" Luo Yao covered his mouth and laughed. "I've seen all of Miss Ye's works. You're not even the emperor, and you played the empress very well, didn't you?"
How could these two things be the same? Shang Yechu opened her mouth: "I haven't learned about this group either. If I—uh, if they ask me to film this, won't it cause—"
After hesitating for a long time, Shang Yechu finally managed to utter seven words: "The discontent of a special group?"
“There are also many gay films starring straight men,” Luo Yao said seriously. “Aren’t ‘Farewell My Concubine’ and ‘Someone Likes Blue’ examples? I haven’t seen anyone complain. ‘Straight’ and ‘art’ are not antonyms.”
Shang Yechu has always struggled to handle overly enthusiastic people. Furthermore, she had already assumed Luo Yao was a lesbian. She also made a common mistake: assuming that since Luo Yao was from a "special group," she must be sensitive and delicate, and she was afraid that saying something rashly might hurt her self-esteem.
After much deliberation, Shang Yechu made up her mind to decline the new director's invitation, citing scheduling conflicts.
Perhaps sensing Shang Yechu's hesitation, Luo Yao's expression darkened slightly, then brightened again: "Miss Ye, don't worry about me. I really am. I know this type of subject matter might be a bit sensitive... but I really hope you can take a look at the script first."
As he spoke, Luo Yao took out a small notebook, about the size of a palm, from his pocket (Shang Yechu then noticed that her dress had a hidden pocket) and handed it to Shang Yechu.
Shang Yechu had no choice but to accept it.
The cover of the notebook was white, without a single word. Opening the title page, Shang Yechu saw the title of the script:
Anna Doria.
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