Under the leadership of that man, a group of people entered a room.
The room was equipped with a large mirror, various bottles and jars, and some slightly messy auxiliary tools, all indicating that it was a shared dressing room.
At that moment, the man shouted, "Charlotte! Charlotte!"
Immediately, a thin, tall woman came out from a nearby compartment in a hurry and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Charlotte, these are the guests for the upcoming recording. I'll leave the makeup to you." The man quickly gave instructions and then turned to the rest of the group, saying, "The program will start in 40 minutes. Remember to come on stage according to the prompts and be prepared." After speaking, the man quickly disappeared down the corridor like a gust of wind, leaving no time for anyone to react.
The woman named Charlotte patted a chair in front of the mirror and said directly, "Who wants to go first? Makeup is not troublesome. It just takes a little effort." Indeed, as the woman said, the makeup process was not complicated.
Lyman only felt something being applied to his face, making his skin look a bit more radiant, and then, there was nothing more. Meanwhile, backstage at the recording of the show, René, Thomas, and George sat on chairs in the rest area, waiting for their turn.
The sequence was that Lyman would go on stage first, followed by René and Thomas when it came to film production, and finally, George would be the last to appear when it came to the Sundance Film Festival.
"Oh God, I'm a little nervous..." Thomas sat seemingly calmly in his seat, but his legs kept trembling irregularly, occasionally pulling at his black suit.
Lyman looked at him and chuckled, "Hey, buddy, relax. We're here to record a show, not go into battle. Besides, I'm the first one on stage, so if anyone should be nervous, it should be me."
He was also wearing a black suit, after all. The Oprah Winfrey Show was not the type of program for pranks or jokes, so it was better to be a bit serious.
René, also dressed in a black suit, crossed his arms and propped up his legs, sitting on the chair with a relaxed smile. "You're such a coward. What's there to be nervous about? Learn from me." Thomas rolled his eyes and decided not to pay any attention to this show-off.
At the same time, outside the recording studio, Oprah Winfrey, wearing a light green sweater, sat on a dedicated sofa. Around 50 audience members had taken their seats as well.
With a signal from the cameraman, the program recording began.
Oprah Winfrey looked toward the camera and smiled, saying, "Welcome to The Oprah Winfrey Show. Today, I want to talk to you all about what goes through a young person's mind and how they deal with enormous success. How much does it impact their future? How do young people really achieve success?"
After introducing today's topic, she waved her hand and said, "Let's meet our guest for today, Lyman Lattes!"
The audience immediately erupted in polite applause, showcasing the hospitality of a well-established show. At the entrance of the studio, Lyman, who had received the notice, walked confidently, preparing to make his entrance.
At the same time, on the large screen displaying The Oprah Winfrey Show logo, some footage began playing. It showed scenes from a street in Cannes, France, and the lively atmosphere of the Sundance Film Festival. A voiceover followed, "A 27-year-old emerging French director who has already surpassed $100M in box office revenue with his second feature film..."
Oprah Winfrey stood up, gently shaking Lyman's extended right hand with a smile on her face, and said, "Welcome."
"It's my honor." After saying that, Lyman walked over to a nearby sofa and sat down.
Then Oprah Winfrey raised her hand, signaling the audience to quiet down.
"Well then, let's start with a greeting to everyone."
"Hello, everyone. I'm Lyman Lattes, a director."
Oprah Winfrey smoothly continued, "Don't let his simple introduction fool you. We all know that he just made a film with a budget of €6M that has already surpassed $100M at the box office, and the box office continues to grow. So, with that in mind, tell us, who exactly are you?"
It was a question with a distinct Oprah-style and a bit of a challenge. Clearly, Lyman's brief introduction didn't satisfy Oprah Winfrey, and for a talk show, lacking interest or a compelling topic would be a failure.
"A director who hopes that more audience members can seize this opportunity to step into the movie theater and watch his own work?" Lyman said with a questioning tone, but immediately refuted himself, "No, no, no, this introduction seems to make me appear too utilitarian. So, how about a filmmaker who wants to make good films?"
Lyman seemed serious as he spoke, then paused for a moment, as if contemplating whether such a statement was appropriate. He nodded and looked towards the audience, "Wouldn't such a self-introduction make me seem more modest?"
Applause, a mixture of applause and whistles, erupted in the audience. Oprah Winfrey's mouth curved upward, seemingly satisfied with this response.
"So, were all your success stories really smooth sailing? I mean, you seem to have achieved success without any surprises." She asked this question, intending to have Lyman share his directorial career and growth.
"Actually, at the beginning, when I gritted my teeth to finish my first film, I needed to find distribution for the movie. During that time, I encountered countless obstacles, and many people didn't believe that my film could achieve market success. Faced with repeated rejections, I felt discouraged and frustrated, and even thought about giving up. Just like those people said, why not just sell the rights and release it on videotape."
"So, what made you persevere?"
"Don't laugh at me, but at that time, I wasn't really keen on persevering because I felt like all the attempts were just a waste of time. If I sold the rights and released it on video, I could still make some money. Then, when I voiced this idea, my good friend René, who had been there with me through all the setbacks, woke me up. He said a lot, basically meaning, "What are you thinking? We've worked so hard. How can we give up so easily? There are still many methods we haven't tried. This is not a dead end, we still have choices, don't we?", yeah."
Lyman reminisced about that dull afternoon, his tone quite natural. "Then, a slight tremor appeared in my heart, truly, with the thought of giving it one last try, to make everyone finally lose hope. I agreed to René's suggestion to take the film to the Venice Film Festival."
"At that time, we missed the registration deadline and couldn't arrange a screening venue for our film. So, like others, we rented a makeshift projection setup and set it up in an open space. You know, it was like those outdoor movies, similar to the free movie screenings they used to do in public squares. And well, to be honest, the picture quality during the screening wasn't great, and the sound effects of the film weren't showcased well, there was noise. After all, the equipment was rudimentary, and there was no way to improve the quality."
"...Even now, whenever I think back, I feel like it was a dream."
"So, what do you think of your first success? Was it luck?"
"No, I don't deny that I was fortunate to achieve success, but if we had given up and not persevered, this so-called good luck wouldn't have come our way. It takes perseverance, effort, and also, I truly believe that my film is not bad."
Laughter filled the audience, and Oprah Winfrey looked at the confident Lyman, asking again, "So, what do you think your future holds? Although I don't have a deep understanding of the film industry, I do know that you will soon receive a substantial share of box office revenue. You will become very wealthy. This world has many temptations, especially for wealthy individuals. Can you maintain your professional attitude, just like the way you jokingly mentioned earlier, being a director who shoots films with dedication?"
This question was impromptu. Oprah Winfrey was very curious about what this young man sitting in front of her would say.
Lyman nodded and answered sincerely, "I have always felt that filmmaking is my everything. I will continue to move forward on this path, treating it with dedication and a good attitude. It is my pursuit, something I have firmly committed to for my entire life. I won't give it up."
Such was the case for both worlds in his heart.
The audience erupted in applause, as if offering an inexplicable encouragement.
The executive director on the side began to remind Oprah Winfrey that the scheduled 15-minute interview time was almost up, and it was time to move on to the next topic and invite a new guest.
Oprah Winfrey received the prompt and proactively changed the topic. She actually wanted to continue the conversation because she felt there was still much more to talk about. However, her long-standing professional habits restrained her from giving in to that impulse.
Then, one by one, René, Thomas, and George entered the stage in an orderly manner. They continued to chat about interesting incidents that happened at the Sundance Film Festival, the content of their films, and the support from film critics for "3 Idiots"... They talked about many things.
Finally, the recording was coming to an end.
Oprah Winfrey summarized briefly, then stood up again, giving the invited guests a big hug and saying, "I look forward to having you on my show again."
Lyman smiled at Oprah Winfrey, "I hope so too."