National Tide 1980.

The 1988 Cannes Film Festival was already the 41st.

The meeting dates are from May 5th to May 11rd.

For this purpose, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko flew to Paris as early as May 5.

They hope to have more time to get to know their counterparts in the European film industry and even do their best to communicate more in the promotion and acquisition of film copyrights.

So this time it wasn't just the two of them acting alone and coming here in a low-key manner.

In order to expand the influence of this trip, Ning Weimin specially chartered a medium-sized Air France aircraft and brought along almost all the important members of the "Crazy Rich Asians" crew.

Except for the male lead Zun Long who was in the United States and needed to fly over alone, all other crew members went on the same flight.

Ning Weimin even brought along the first batch of staff from "Fog PANCH" who were going to France, as well as some staff from friendly units Shochiku Films and MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group, to strengthen the team going to France.

With such a large army coming here, it was natural that the hospitality they received was extraordinary.

Although Ning Weimin only informed the Pierre Cardin France headquarters and his two good friends in the French film industry, Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve, according to official procedures during his trip to France, his assets and status are no longer unknown after all.

As the saying goes, even a rich man has distant relatives, and this also applies to the French.

Given Ning Weimin's current influence in the French fashion circle and what he had done in France before, there is no way he would be treated poorly.

Especially now, the French upper class is interested in Ning Weimin, the "Oriental rich man", just like the French celebrities in Alexandre Dumas' novels yearning for the "Count of Monte Cristo".

Which media outlet would not consider this oriental tycoon as the most newsworthy subject?

Who in which industry wouldn't want to establish a relationship with a generous person like him and do some business?

It is no exaggeration to say that, except for Bernard Arnault, who was targeted by him and hated him to the core, almost everyone in the French business community wanted to make friends with him.

In fact, Ning Weimin's whereabouts had long become important news that some interested people were paying attention to, and had also long become a widely discussed fact in some upper-class circles.

Therefore, when Ning Weimin's chartered plane arrived at the airport, not only the most luxurious rooms in the hotel and the reception banquet at Maxim's restaurant were already prepared, they were waiting for Ning Weimin and his entourage to arrive.

Many important figures and celebrities from the French financial, fashion, and film and television circles came to the airport spontaneously to greet him and had already gathered here.

Even many French media reporters, led by Le Figaro and Le Monde, received the news and came to join in the fun.

These people formed a rather grand welcoming ceremony at the airport, the standard of which was almost comparable to that of receiving the Prime Minister of Japan.

Among them, as financial institutions with which Ning Weimin has cooperated for a long time, Credit Agricole CIB and CLSA both sent representatives to welcome this VIP client to show their importance and respect.

In addition to Pierre Cardin's representative Takada Mei, fashion industry representatives also included LVMH, which has a close working relationship with Ning Weimin, and Yves Saint Laurent, which has a shareholding relationship with Matsumoto Keiko, who also sent people to pick up the guests at the airport.

In addition to Ning Weimin's good friend Alain Delon and his lawyer Henry who came to greet them in person, people from the film industry, such as France World Television Film Company, Ingolstadt Films, and three or five other local French film companies, which had copyright cooperation with them, also sent representatives to show their goodwill.

As a result, when the plane door opened and Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko appeared at the cabin door, they were caught off guard by a wave of flashes.

It was almost instantly captured by the cameras of many French media and became the focus of everyone's attention.

Fortunately, the person standing at the front of the welcoming team was Ning Weimin’s closest old friend - Alain Delon.

Seeing his presence, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko were caught off guard and a little panicked, but they were able to remain calm and the panic quickly dissipated.

However, it must be said that after seeing him again for half a year, in Ning Weimin's eyes, Alain Delon's appearance has changed a lot, which also surprised him a little.

The guy seemed bigger, kinder, more positive, more cheerful and happier.

He was wearing an Armani high-end grey satin suit and all sorts of coordinated accessories.

His hair was neatly cut, his face shone with the freshness of a careful shave, and his fingernails were freshly trimmed.

Alain Delon was a completely different person from the cynical playboy he had been when they broke up in Saint-Tropez.

He looks like a descendant of an old money family, a French gentleman who truly values ​​tradition.

To be honest, he looks a bit like the Wall Street tycoon played by Michael Douglas in "Wall Street" released in the United States last year.

As for why?

Needless to say, there is only one reason why a man can undergo such a huge change - wealth.

There is no doubt that the effect of Ning Weimin taking Alain Delon to take advantage of the capital market last year and handing over the French assets to him to manage has begun to show on him.

As Ning Weimin's partner, Alain Delon has begun to adapt to his new identity and regards himself as a businessman.

So no matter how enthusiastically he welcomes her, it is reasonable.

"Ning, I'm looking forward to your coming."

As expected, Alain Delon, who was in high spirits, hugged Ning Weimin warmly as soon as he saw him.

In addition, he leaned close to his ear and whispered in his ear to take credit.

"Don't worry, I have almost done everything you hoped to achieve. I will definitely satisfy you. And St. Tropez, our hotel, I have prepared many things for you to see. Let me make it clear first, if you don't stay in France for a few more days this time and take my yacht to St. Tropez, I will not agree."

There are so many hidden meanings behind these words.

Ning Weimin immediately understood what he meant, responded with a smile, and also patted Alain Delon on the back.

But that’s not all. In order to fully express his feelings, Alain Delon turned around and continued to express his welcome and concern to Keiko Matsumoto.

"Hey, Qingzi, I'm so glad to see you. Congratulations on becoming parents soon. I also heard from Ning that your morning sickness was a bit severe. I was worried that you might not be able to withstand the long-distance flight. But now I see that you look good. How are you, are you feeling okay?"

Keiko Matsumoto looked at Lan Delong.

Although she thought he was a bit of a big mouth and didn't like him rashly revealing the fact that she was pregnant in public.

But she also knew that Alain Delon and Ning Weimin had many collaborations, and that he was someone Ning Weimin relied on in France and their best friend, so it was not a good idea to blame him for this.

She smiled at him like Ning Weimin.

"Thank you. We are all looking forward to it. But I am fine now. I have gotten over the morning sickness. And the plane was flying very smoothly. There was no turbulence along the way..."

"Oh, that's great. Seeing your bright smile, I feel relieved. However, you still have to try to eat more. Of course, I know that although French cuisine is world-famous, it is not as good as the food in your hometown. So I hired a very skilled Japanese chef in Cannes to ensure that you can eat the best Japanese food at any time in France. When you get there, you don't have to worry about anything. There will be someone waiting for your orders 24 hours a day. As long as you need, everything will be prepared and waiting for you to come and eat..."

This was a pleasant surprise for Keiko Matsumoto, and it was really hard for Alain Delon to make such a thoughtful arrangement.

Although this guy is a bit rude, he is really nice to his friends and he really puts a lot of thought into it.

Therefore, both Matsumoto Keiko and Ning Weimin had to be grateful at this point.

One said a little embarrassedly, "You are so thoughtful. I am sorry for your trouble." The other said happily, "Thank you, you are such a good friend. I thank you on behalf of my wife and unborn child..."

In short, Alain Delon treated them like guests of honor.

Needless to say, the opening scene of this airport pick-up surprised many other onlookers at the scene.

For no other reason than that, first of all, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko did a good job of keeping the media confidential.

Whether it was the people who traveled with Ning Weimin, or the French reporters on the scene, most of the people who greeted them did not know that Keiko Matsumoto, who came to the film festival with the crew of "Crazy Rich Asians", was pregnant.

As a result, as soon as the plane landed, Alain Delon seemed to have revealed the secret without thinking, which caught everyone off guard.

Especially the media reporters, they immediately realized how valuable this action was, and they were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Secondly, Alain Delon is already considered a national treasure actor in the French film industry, and his arrogance and recklessness are well-known throughout the European film industry.

Both the French media and his colleagues in the film industry only know that he is a playboy and a scumbag, but they rarely see him appearing in public in formal attire like this.

And he is so warm to people, especially to his Asian friends.

This inevitably made them pay more attention to Ning Weimin's identity, and they wondered what factors made Alain Delon dare not be negligent and maintain etiquette seriously.

That’s not all. Let’s not forget that there are so many representatives from French film companies who came with Alain Delon today. Even people from the French financial and fashion circles have participated, and they are also very respectful to Ning Weimin.

Even the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa never enjoyed such a courtesy.

Therefore, almost all the French media at the scene re-examined the backgrounds of Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko because of the scale and significance of this welcoming ceremony, secretly weighing and speculating why this scene happened.

It even included some people Ning Weimin brought from Japan.

Take the staff of Shochiku Film, MISTRPANCH and MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group for example. These Japanese would never have imagined that Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko had such popularity and connections in France and were treated so well.

This scene naturally increased their expectations for this year's Cannes Film Festival and raised their work goals.

Of course, I am more confident.

The reporters of "Fog PANCH" now had a completely different mentality. They began to truly realize the power of their new employer, and everyone was gearing up to do something big.

Needless to say, under such circumstances, many people naturally become more curious and more eager to explore.

In fact, they just waited until Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko shook hands with the guests who welcomed them.

Before the welcome ceremony was even over, countless microphones and recording devices were impatiently handed to them.

No matter they were French or Japanese, all the reporters rushed to ask questions, and no one seemed to be able to hold back any longer.

"Excuse me, is Matsumoto-san pregnant? When did this happen? Do you know now whether it's a boy or a girl?"

"Ms. Matsumoto, Crazy Rich Asians has been nominated for several awards this time. As a producer who invested in this film and one of the actors, which awards do you most hope to win?"

“How many people are there from the Crazy Rich Asians crew? Are all the main actors here? Why don’t I see Mr. John Lone, who was nominated for a Golden Globe? Who is the female lead?”

"I heard that your team has received several nominations for this year's film festival. Is that why so many people came? What if this film fails to win the award? Will you question the fairness of the judges?"

"I heard that you spent 1 billion francs to purchase the copyrights of European films during the last Cannes Film Festival. Do you have similar plans this time?"…………

Frankly speaking, the attention given by these media reporters is really a double-edged sword.

It can not only bring glory to the "Crazy Rich Asians" crew and help Ning Weimin and others increase their exposure and fame in the French film industry, but it can also bring them an invisible pressure.

After all, the judges of the Cannes Film Festival are all Europeans, and there are natural cultural barriers, and perhaps even racial prejudices.

As a participating film, the entire "Crazy Rich Asians" crew was worried that they would end up winning nothing at the Cannes Film Festival and end up losing shamefully.

If that is the case, the more the newspapers hype them up now, the more they will look like fools who overestimate their own capabilities.

So even Matsumoto Keiko herself was somewhat nervous and spoke quite modestly.

But to be honest, each of their worries is unnecessary and simply groundless.

Because there are some actual information about this year's Cannes Film Festival that only Ning Weimin knows.

He deliberately concealed it from others, even from his wife Keiko Matsumoto.

That is, under his award-winning efforts, it was inevitable that "Crazy Rich Asians" would win an award at Cannes, and there was almost no possibility of failure.

In fact, the reason why this movie was nominated was largely because he commissioned Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve to operate the awards for the movie "Crazy Rich Asians" behind the scenes.

These two old friends of his have great influence in the European film industry.

The influence of the organizing committee of the Cannes Film Festival in France cannot be underestimated.

It can be said that with the efforts of these two people behind the scenes, even if it doesn't cost any money, a movie with no major quality flaws has a great chance of success in Cannes.

In addition, these days, many European and American filmmakers do not have a clear understanding of the commercial value of a film winning an international award.

Even Harvey Weinstein, who is good at winning awards, may not have realized the benefits of giving small gifts to the judges.

So what would be the effect if Ning Weimin, who had achieved success earlier than Harvey, took out several million francs in public relations fees to handle this matter?

It goes without saying that we are completely confident of victory and have it 100% in our hands.

The fact is, even though European filmmakers have always preferred art films with unique styles, the Cannes Film Festival jury this time also allowed "Crazy Rich Asians", which has somewhat routine commercial elements, to be shortlisted for several nominations including the Cannes Palme d'Or, Best Director, Best Actress, and Artistic Contribution Award.

Besides, the hint that Alain Delon had given during the meeting just now had made it clear enough - to ensure Ning Weimin's satisfaction.

So, Ning Weimin actually already knew the lottery results in advance, and he was not nervous at all.

The worst result this time is that there is still a prize to be won, it’s just a matter of whether it’s a big prize or a small prize.

He is just waiting to use the power of the Cannes award to sell the copyright of "Crazy Rich Asians" in the global market, and at the same time promote the first issue of his own magazine "FOG PANCH".

As for why he was unwilling to reveal the news of victory to his people in advance, or even to tell his wife, it is easy to understand.

Of course, the purpose is to give them a suspense, to create a surprise, and to let them show the most natural reaction when they "open the blind box" on the spot.

Otherwise, the sense of surprise will be lost, and the on-site performance will inevitably arouse suspicion. How can the award appear fair?

How can we make the public believe that this is an unexpected but reasonable result?

So there is no other way. Of course he has to be like Alan Tam in "The King's Avatar" and even lie to his own wife in order to make it perfect.

Isn't it? (End of this chapter)