China Entertainment’s rescue plan is hard to come by

Chapter 948 Award Ceremony
Liu Yifei's "tree-planting theory" about Chinese cinema has indeed sparked reflection among many netizens, and even many well-known film critics have praised her.

Although the history of Chinese cinema is not short, its development has been relatively slow due to various reasons. After marketization, it has become more mature in recent years, but it is still not enough. What is needed is to improve step by step and in a down-to-earth manner.

However, while netizens were pondering the issue, another question suddenly arose.

This doesn't sound like something a fairy goddess would say!

It's clearly Sun Yi's doing; he must be using the fairy sister's words to retaliate against a certain big director.

Regardless of the truth, that's what netizens think.

When Liu Yifei, who was in Cannes, saw this, she was both amused and exasperated.

There's no way to explain this, otherwise it will only make things worse.

Am I just stuck with this "naive and innocent" persona all this time? Can't I at least have some common sense?!

Forget it, I'm not going to argue with you guys.
It's all Sun Yi's fault!
Someone has been unfairly blamed.

As for Director Chen, who first proposed the so-called "right of discourse" and the "chess player versus referee" theory, he was also quite angry.

Unexpectedly, Sun Yi hadn't even left the house when a young girl with blond hair managed to defeat him.

I was originally thinking of going back for another round of counterattacks, but after calming down, I realized that it would inevitably be seen as bullying the weak.

After all, a director is a director; why should he argue with an actor?

How embarrassing!

He wanted to see what the final outcome of Cannes would be.

He had seen all the films competing in this year's Cannes Film Festival, especially several of the most popular ones, through his own channels. Based on his years of experience at various film festivals, he believed that "Blue Is the Warmest Color" was a sure thing to win an award.

To be honest, this movie is practically tailor-made for awards. Even if the jury takes public opinion into account and tries to create a "favorite is bound to fail" scenario, it will only brush past the top prize, but it will definitely not go home empty-handed.

There are also "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Nebraska" after that, so it's never going to be "A Touch of Sin".

He wanted to see if Sun Yi was really Sun Wukong, that a mere judge could cause such a huge upheaval.

May 26, French time.

The Palais des Festivals in Cannes is like the most dazzling pearl on the Mediterranean coastline, brightly lit, with countless cameras and eyes focused on the red carpet leading to one of the world's highest cinematic halls, the air filled with anticipation and unseen tension.

The 66th Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony and closing ceremony are underway, with internationally renowned filmmakers walking the red carpet.

Meanwhile, the vast online world of China was also abuzz with excitement over this distant event.

Although there is a nearly 7-hour time difference between China and Cannes, and it was already close to midnight, countless film fans were still watching the awards ceremony via live stream.

The opening screen ads in the live stream were changed to a unified "Cannes Night" theme by major brands, and the bullet screen comments were constantly scrolling.

As the creative team of award favorite "Blue Is the Warmest Color" walked the red carpet, the media and fans present clearly erupted in excitement.

Seeing this, an overwhelming sense of pessimism filled the live stream room.

"Although I have high hopes for Jia Zhangke's 'A Touch of Sin,' objectively speaking, it is indeed difficult for it to break through."

"+1, the subject matter is too heavy, foreigners don't like to read it."

"Adele's program gets a perfect score, what can compare to that?" "Not only Adele, but also Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen brothers' brand is enough to give them a run for their money."

I bet five cents that I'll lose nothing on "A Touch of Sin" tonight.

Occasionally, faint voices would attempt to refute this:
"Isn't Sun Yi still sitting on the judging panel? Surely he can't be completely helpless?"

But this spark of hope was instantly extinguished by an even greater wave of noise:
"The judges aren't the chairperson! How much say can they really have?"

"Exactly! Can one judge really turn the tide?"

"Don't get your hopes up. But to be honest, just getting into the shortlist is already a victory! In Liu Tianxian's words, the seed has been planted."

The hope for a miracle, like a candle flickering in the wind, is weakly tied to Sun Yi's role as a judge, which is not exactly central to the decision. Rationality tells netizens that this hope is indeed very slim, but emotionally, no one really wants to extinguish it completely.

Backstage at the red carpet area, undercurrents were also swirling.

The Chinese contingent attended in full regalia, but could not hide the tension in their expressions, especially Jiang Wu, who rarely appeared on such an international stage.

While smoking, he was still asking his older brother, Jiang Wen, about the movie.

Jiang Wen took the cigarette, lit it, took a light drag, frowned slightly, and said in a low voice, "Old Jia's film is too harsh, too gritty. I'm worried it might offend the European judges."

His words represent a common concern among Chinese filmmakers attending Cannes this year—that overly localized films and sharp realist expressions may fail to resonate with the international jury.

In earlier years, it was possible that some judges might have deliberately awarded prizes to smear China, but now, with Sun Yi, one of their own, among the judges, it's practically impossible.

Sun Yi isn't stupid; there's no way he wouldn't see that.

"Brother, then tell me, Director Sun, him..."

Jiang Wu took a deep breath, but still didn't give up.

Jiang Wen smiled and shook his head. He understood his younger brother's feelings. After so many years in the industry, he had only gradually made a name for himself in the last two years and started playing some leading roles. Of course, he hoped that the movies he starred in would win awards.

But while we may have these thoughts, we must ultimately respect reality.

"Although I think highly of Sun Yi, this is his first time serving as a judge, and the chairman is that old guy Spielberg. It will be difficult to gain a voice in front of him."

Hearing his older brother's explanation, Jiang Wu took a deep drag and stubbed out his cigarette.

He was well aware that this year's Cannes main competition was a "group of death" with many strong contenders. Although Sun Yi was there, he was just one person. Even with one person, one vote, he would only have one-seventh of the vote. Moreover, the preferences of jury president Spielberg were unpredictable.

While A Touch of Sin is excellent, winning the Palme d'Or would be extremely difficult for any filmmaker, regardless of the circumstances.

At the corner of the smoking area, Liu Yifei, who was preparing to enter and take her seat early, was bending down to adjust the hem of her floor-length skirt.

As a judge, Sun Yi was scheduled to appear at the closing ceremony, so there was nothing for his wife to do. She could only enter the venue early to wait, but unexpectedly, she overheard the conversation between Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu.

Liu Yifei gently bit her lip, her knuckles tightening unconsciously as she lifted her skirt, but then immediately relaxed. She said nothing, just took a deep breath, straightened her back, and walked towards the entrance of the venue.

From any perspective, Director Jiang Wen is right, and she is not slandering anyone behind their back; this is simply the truth.

But no matter what, she always believed in her husband.

At the very least, they have done their best.

(End of this chapter)