Full-time actor

Chapter 523 [88] "Departures", world premiere!

August 2005, 8, the 31nd Venice International Film Festival opened.

At the same time, the evening also saw the premiere of "Departures".

In addition to the opening film "Seven Swords", "Departures" is the third blockbuster to be released in Venice. The second is the Hollywood movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" which will be released in the afternoon. It is directed and starred by George Clooney. Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. has the honor of starring in the film, and he also came to the opening ceremony.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" was also shortlisted for this year's Venice main competition unit.

"Brother Yu, I will definitely come to support you later!"

Xu Laoguai was dressed very formally, with a beard and distinctive white hair. He and his wife Shi Nansheng came to Chen Yu and Liu Yifei who were waiting for the opening.

Shi Nansheng is a woman with high emotional intelligence and strong ability. She was chatting with Liu Yifei. Xu Ke's current achievements are closely related to his wife. She has taken care of all the follow-up of the movie.

All Xu Kai only needs to do is make movies, and everything else is basically handled by Shi Nansheng, including distribution, release, connections, etc.

After the red carpet ceremony is over, the opening film will be the commercial blockbuster "Seven Swords" produced by the two of them. This is also the second time that Xu Ke has collaborated with the mainland on a film. The first one was "The Legend of Zu", which was a terrible flop.

Then he went to Hollywood and filmed "Black Mask 2", which also failed, so this time, he was obviously a little nervous.

If "Seven Swords" fails, all the profits from "Black Mask", which was directed by Jet Li and became a hit in Hollywood, will no longer exist.

“I will definitely attend!”

"I have a new movie tonight, and Director Xu, please make sure to come!"

The two men seemed very polite, mainly because last year at Cannes, Xu Ke, as a member of the jury, cast a crucial vote for Chen Yu for the Best Actor.

In the past two years, Chen Yu has also clearly felt the strength of Chinese-language films in the international arena.

Although there are not many films participating in the main competition, the opening film is "Seven Swords" and the closing film is Chen Kexin's "If Love", both of which are Chinese films, which shows that the influence of Chinese language in Venice is becoming more and more important.

In addition, Sina has invited many filmmakers from the Chinese-speaking circle, as well as some well-known Hollywood international movie stars to the Sina Night to be held on the 7th of next month. It is said that the chairman of the jury, Dante Ferretti, will also attend.

The power of China Fortune Capital has begun to gradually exert its influence in the three major film festivals.

Chen Yu is actually happy to see this kind of thing, as it shows the gradual rise of Chinese films.

This time, quite a few people from China came to Venice, obviously much more than the previous sessions that Chen Yu participated in.

Li An, Wu Yusen, including Xu Ke and Chen Kexin in front of us, Guan Jingpeng, the director of "The Song of Everlasting Regret"... there are more than a dozen well-known directors here, not to mention the cast.

After chatting with Xu Ke, the opening ceremony officially began soon.

As an important guest of the film festival, Chen Yu will appear with the entire crew of "Departures" after the jury and several Hollywood crews, followed by many Chinese filmmakers and film crews from other countries.

The further back in time goes, the lower the popularity obviously is.

The closer to the opening ceremony, the more news coverage there will be.

Click! Click!
As the ceremony officially got underway, the jury chairman Dante Ferretti, who was dressed extremely fashionably, appeared one by one with the six members of the jury, including the famous Chinese screenwriter Acheng.

Then, there were Hollywood superstars, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Heath Ledger... French actresses Charlotte and Renée Zellweger...

The fans on both sides were extremely enthusiastic and cheered louder than any previous one.

It is said that the number of tourists attending the film festival this year has set a new record; although it cannot be compared with Berlin, it exceeds any previous Venice film festival.

"Chen Yu!!!"

"Heal chan!"

"Wow, is that his girlfriend?"

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Oh, God, what a beautiful girl!"

"..."

Countless people looked at Chen Yu and Liu Yifei who came on stage hand in hand, creating another climax on the stage.

Who says Chinese stars are not as popular as those in Hollywood?

Chen Yu at the moment has definitely broken this statement.

Gossip and eating melons are indeed human nature. Not only in China, but also people abroad who saw Chen Yu’s girlfriend were excited and screaming.

You know, this was the first time that Chen Yu appeared in such a public occasion with Liu Yifei, and the sensation it caused was obviously very intense; countless reporters were also taking pictures frantically.

At first, many fans on the sidelines thought it was a co-actor, but after looking at Hirosue Ryoko and listening to the stories of people around them, they realized that Chen Yu actually brought his girlfriend with him this time.

Chen Yu wore a casual white suit with some unique embroidery on it; underneath was a pure white T-shirt, which matched his neat short hair and looked very clean and textured; but Liu Yifei had definitely prepared carefully for this red carpet walk.

On her chest hung a custom-made Cartier diamond-carved platinum necklace, which sparkled brightly in the early morning sun. She and Chen Yu were obviously wearing a couple's outfit, and she was wearing an elegant white floor-length dress with large plain mandarin duck flowers embroidered on it, which was unique to China and added a different color to the dress.

Pure and elegant, coupled with her pleasant smile, she is a completely different kind of oriental beauty on the red carpet ceremony.

Careful people have obviously noticed at this time that the embroidery on Chen Yu's suit and Liu Yifei's evening gown are exactly the same.

They are couple outfits, and they are couple evening dresses, designed by the same designer.

At this moment, the fan passages on both sides were obviously even more lively.

And the fans in China are even more discerning; these are mandarin ducks, which symbolize love... so romantic.

Countless Chinese fans have some wild thoughts in their hearts.

"Hey, who is this oriental girl?"

“So pretty and elegant!”

"Should it be a Chinese actor?"

"..."

Countless people were discussing the topic, and Liu Yifei's name was mentioned by many people; and countless overseas media were also asking for information about Liu Yifei; this red carpet appearance was clearly a sign of Liu Yifei's international advancement.

The name of the leading actress in Jackie Chan's new film spread quickly; everyone, especially the reporters, sensed something unusual.

Back then, Zhang Ziyi's role in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" did not attract much attention from Hollywood, but it was her role as the leading actress in "Rush Hour" that brought her into the vision of Westerners. Now, it is obvious that this actress with extraordinary temperament is also following Zhang Ziyi's old path.

But she seems to be more successful; because she has a label that Zhang Ziyi does not have - Chen Yu's girlfriend.

After finally walking down the red carpet, Chen Yu and Liu Yifei were stopped by the Sixth Princess' reporters.

……

Perhaps because of the large number of Chinese filmmakers participating this time, not only was this film festival event broadcast in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but Six Princesses also broadcast it live on TV. Several domestic portals such as Sina and NetEase even used real-time text and picture interaction to report on this Venice Film Festival special.

"Hello Chen Yu, is this your first time to make a public appearance with your girlfriend Liu Yifei?"

The Sixth Princess's foreign correspondents are good at talking. Chen Yu smiled and said, "This is the first time for a formal public appearance. There have already been informal ones in China!"

"What about Liu Yifei, is she happy?"

"I'm very happy to come to Venice and attend such a grand event!" "..."

This girl was still pretending and was speaking politely in a very formal manner.

"Then I wish you two a happy time. Chen Yu, your new film "Departures" is a big hit and won the Best Actor and Golden Lion Awards!"

"Thank you!"

The two greeted the audience in front of the camera, accepted interviews from several domestic media, and then walked into the Venice Film Palace hand in hand.

Later, the opening ceremony and global premiere of "Seven Swords" will be held at the largest Olvera Cinema there.

At this time in China, Liu Xiaoli was also watching the red carpet ceremony of this year's Venice opening ceremony; looking at her daughter and Chen Yu entering the venue in couple outfits, Liu Xiaoli still showed a smile on her face.

They look like a perfect match, a perfect match indeed.

The mother-in-law became more and more satisfied with her son-in-law. In her opinion, Chen Yu on TV was very handsome and cool, and his simple clothes showed a different taste.

Watching Liu Yifei walking, Liu Xiaoli felt relieved. The two of them were interviewed by the Sixth Princess, and Liu Xiaoli showed an aunt-like smile throughout the whole process.

very nice.

Without me, Sissi has a new support.

"I hope you two will be fine forever!"

This is Liu Xiaoli’s biggest wish.

Ding Dong!Ding Dong!
The doorbell rang at the door. Liu Xiaoli quickly put away her thoughts, got up and opened the door.

Chen Yu's mother, Shen Xiaoqin, was standing at the door with a watermelon and peaches in her hand. When she saw Liu Xiaoli opening the door, she smiled and said, "Mother Xixi, come and have some fruit. It was just sent from home!"

"Oh, Xiaoqin, you are so polite!"

"Come in, come in!"

The two families are now very familiar with each other and are neighbors. Ever since Liu Yifei took them on a trip to Europe, Chen Yu's parents have been 360 degrees satisfied with Liu Yifei. This daughter-in-law is better than they had imagined!
Liu Xiaoli is also very familiar with Chen Yu's parents.

"Don't cook if you're alone at night, we've already prepared it!"

"After we finish eating, we'll play mahjong. We're short one, so you should enjoy life!"

Shen Xiaoqin was laughing, and Liu Xiaoli didn't know whether to laugh or cry. However, it was indeed boring to be alone at home. It was indeed lively when the two families got together. This was mainly because Chen Yu had a large family, including aunts, uncles, etc., who often came over.

There was no moment of loneliness at all. Unlike her, she had always been with Liu Yifei and was not used to being alone all of a sudden.

To be honest, looking at Chen Yu's parents, Liu Xiaoli was actually quite reassured about the relationship between Chen Yu and Liu Yifei.

Sometimes, upbringing and family can really reveal a person’s true nature.

The two mothers were chatting there, but in faraway Venice, Chen Yu and Liu Yifei were not so happy.

The two of them seemed to be sitting on wax, sitting in the second row, watching Xu Ke's new movie - "Seven Swords".

Liu Yifei was okay, but for Chen Yu, who had seen bad movies like "Seven Swords", it was a double torture both mentally and spiritually.

It is said that this drama cost 1.4 million Hong Kong dollars to invest, with Oriental Film Company under Li Huanggua as the main investor, and it took almost 3 years to shoot.

In order to facilitate the many large-scale action and martial arts scenes in the film, the entire film used more than 500 extras, 300 horses and over a thousand weapons.

During the filming, Xu Ke led a group of actors and a filming crew of over 300 people to the Tianshan Mountains, which is 3000 kilometers above sea level, with extremely cold temperatures and a harsh environment, for real-life shooting... But even so, it was still a shabby movie.

Many people only remember that in 05 there were Zhang Yimou's "Full Throttle", Kaizi's "The Promise" and Feng Kuzi's "The Banquet", commonly known as the three bad movies in mainland China. But in fact, the so-called big directors in those years were all making all kinds of bad movies.

What is meant by "trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog"? This is exactly what these directors are talking about.

These people are used to making ordinary movies, and when they make commercial films that are a little bit more intense and aim to hit box office heights, they don't even know the story at all. All they talk about all day long is the investment, the cast, how awesome the filming is, how great the post-production special effects are, and how much money they spend on marketing.

The same is true for "Seven Swords".

Not to mention the cast of leading actors, which has gathered traffic from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, the most amazing thing is the production team.

The visual effects of "Batman" and "House of Flying Daggers", the special effects of "The Lord of the Rings", the martial arts director Liu Jialiang... the costumes of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the Japanese music master... the editor also came from "House of Flying Daggers" and "Kung Fu Hustle"!
It seems that everyone feels that this movie will definitely be amazing.

But Chen Yu felt really uncomfortable sitting there. It was also a torture for him to find out that being invited to attend the premiere for the first time.

The entire theater with more than 3000 seats was already packed. For this premiere, Venice also gave Xu Ke enough face. The red carpet was lined with posters of "Seven Swords". "Departures" and "Lust, Caution" did not receive such treatment.

Although it was indeed the producers of "Seven Swords" who spent the money, the current grandeur of Venice is still worth the price.

Almost all the stars on the red carpet sat here. Chen Yu glanced at the many foreigners and found that some of them were also shaking their heads, while others looked confused. Not to mention the terrible plot of this movie, the key point was that the foreigners couldn't understand it.

Apart from the fighting scenes, which had a lot of people cheering, the plot was really ugly.

It was not easy to get through the three-hour version. It was said that Xu Ke originally wanted to play his four-hour version... Old Xu stood in front of the stage in high spirits, and it was obvious that he was very excited, because there was a continuous applause from the audience.

Foreigners also understand the ways of the world!

Chen Yu finally understood that the applause at the premiere was normal, regardless of whether the movie was good or not.

"It is such an honor for my martial arts film to be the opening film in Venice; I think this is the pinnacle of my career."

Old Monster Xu was speaking passionately at the scene. All the main creators, especially the three female protagonists, stood there vying for beauty. They had been competing with each other on the red carpet for several minutes. Zhen Zidan and Sun Honglei were participating in Venice for the first time.

"Martial arts culture is rich in connotation. It can make people stronger and more romantic..."

"..."

Xu Ke kept talking about his martial arts culture, but Liu Yifei came close to Chen Yu and asked, "Do you think it looks good?"

If it were an ordinary girl, Chen Yu would feel that she had no say at all.

But Liu Yifei is really different. Ever since she starred in several costume dramas, she has become quite fascinated by martial arts films.

"What do you think?"

Chen Yu couldn't help but want to tease her.

"I……"

She looked around and whispered in Chen Yu's ear, "It's really ugly!"

"Hahaha!"

"I just like your genuine personality!"

"That's it. You're worthy of being called a martial artist?"

Chen Yu is really too lazy to complain. It seems that these directors should be shown what real Chinese martial arts are!
"Let's go, we have to get ready for the premiere tonight!"

Chen Yu greeted Xu Ke and the other leading actors.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the world premiere of "Departures" will be held in this theater!

(End of this chapter)