Started as an independent producer in 1988

Chapter 44 If there is no gimmick, create a gimmick! (Seeking for further reading)

On the way from Paris to Cannes, Chen Shiping kept looking at the scenery outside the car window.

Paris is beautiful, and you will encounter different scenery wherever you turn on the street.

In the eyes of Parisians, these landscapes are unremarkable and even dull, and they have not changed at all in decades.

But Chen Shiping, who came to Paris for the first time, was full of surprises. Maybe these Parisians will have the same feeling when they go to the capital.

This is the freshness brought by different regions and cultures.

Chen Shiping liked this sense of strangeness very much, which fascinated him.

Suddenly I wanted to write a book about Paris, but unfortunately I didn’t have an affair to provide me with material.

Life without an affair is incomplete. I hope I will have the opportunity to make up for this shortcoming in the future.

At this time, Cannes has gathered a lot of tourists and hundreds of media, all of which are media partners of the film festival.

After Chen Shiping led the team to contact the film festival, the other party gave him a media list.

The above are full of contact information for the film festival’s partner media, which is one of the exposures provided by the film festival.

The main job of the film festival is to help the film gain maximum exposure.

It’s just that there are many media outlets, and the festival will not directly help you contact the media for interviews. It will only provide you with a list of names for the film team to handle public relations on their own.

Rich film crews will have professional public relations teams, just like those movie teams in Hollywood will have professional public relations teams.

However, most film teams are similar to Chen Shiping. They need money but no money and no one. They either rely on God or acquaintances.

Chen Shiping is relatively good, and the Commercial Press helps promote the novel. The exposure of the film is already far ahead among the films in the main competition.

However, the most discussed movie in Cannes right now is not Chen Shiping's movie, but another movie with a very gimmicky title.

Sex, lies and videotape.

Listen to this name, how exciting it is for the audience, it is simply a natural exposure tool.

It's like Xu Sanguan's "Blood Seller" transliterated into English as "Blood Dealer". It really doesn't have any gimmicks at all.

Blood Dealer is the title of the novel translated by the Commercial Printing House. Chen Shiping wondered whether the translation by the Commercial Printing House was completely careless.

However, he still used this name as the name to participate in the film festival, otherwise how would he get publicity?

If you are poor, you can only mess around. If you are rich, you don't need to mess around. People will do it on their own.

Chen Shiping had a headache looking at the long list in his hand. He was the only one in the group of four who spoke English reasonably well, and Liu Xiaoqing didn't speak English at all.

Chen Shiping read a piece of news about her, saying that she studied English hard during the years she entered, whether it was for marketing inspirational characters or something else, but she doesn't know English now.

Jiang Wen is okay, but he's not very fluent either. He probably won't be good until he marries a foreign girl and learns a foreign language.

Tian Cangchang's English is not bad, but his personality is too boring. He is obviously not good at public relations.

"Shi Ping, do you want to find a translator?" Liu Xiaoqing felt that he could not help, and felt very sorry.

Chen Shiping smiled and shook his head and said, "No need to waste money on finding a translator. I have other uses for your money."

"So what do we do now?"

"Go out to play wherever there are many people. It's best to go to a bar to experience the romance of France." Chen Shiping turned to look at Jiang Wen and added: "Take care of Sister Qing, foreign men are very direct."

Jiang Wen frowned and always felt that Chen Shiping had other meanings when he said this. He was calling him a soft-hearted person who couldn't help him in any way?

Liu Xiaoqing also felt this way, and immediately said with a smile: "If you still want to go out and play, let's stay and help."

How could you stay!

Chen Shiping immediately said: "No, you go out more and let everyone see the faces of the East. This is also a kind of actor promotion. I will arrange for the media to interview you later."

Liu Xiaoqing nodded in understanding, feeling that what Chen Shiping said made sense. There were not many Asians in Cannes. Going out more often would indeed attract a lot of people's attention. “What about me?” Tian Cangcang asked proactively.

Chen Shiping turned to look at him and said, "We cooperated with the film festival staff to distribute movie viewing manuals in the exhibition area, and by the way, we also distributed these boxes of books."

Chen Shiping took hundreds of novels from publishers and used them as film promotion materials. He had no money to make gifts.

Tian Chongbang opened his mouth and felt that he was a bit overqualified to put up posters, but he was indeed not a public relations material, so he could only let Chen Shiping arrange it.

Liu Xiaoqing and Jiang Wen went shopping, Tian Cangbang went to hand out flyers, and Chen Shiping took Liu Xiaoqing's money to find out the favorite bars of these media and film critics, and then went to drink.

Chen Shiping sat around in the bar, just like those young girls who used cards in nightclubs.

However, Chen Shiping will not drink alcohol, but will invite everyone to have a drink together, so that he can integrate into it faster.

After the conversation became familiar, Chen Shiping would change the topic to movies and novels, and by the way, add a few small notes with Franklin's face in his book and give them to them.

The small note in the book was just accidentally forgotten, and it is not a bribe. It is not normal for an educated person to give a few books.

From early evening to late night, there are more and more people in the bar. Many people come to the bar to relax after a busy day.

There are too many film practitioners and media people here, but not many real tourists.

Chen Shiping was also a little drunk at this time, but his public relations work was not over yet. Sending books and money would at most make these people write a few good words, but it was not interesting at all.

Now we need to add a little news story to them.

Chen Shiping first went to the bar to chat with the bartender, and then came to the bar band to conspire with them for a while and gave them a tip of one hundred dollars.

Before they sang, Chen Shiping shouted to everyone with a microphone in one hand and another: "Cheers to Cannes! Cheers to the movie!"

As soon as these words came out, the bar instantly became lively and most people shouted "Cheers to Cannes" and "Cheers to the movie".

Chen Shiping raised his head and drank the beer in the cup, then raised the cup and threw it on the ground and shouted: "Long live the movie!"

The musicians in the band were also inspired by Chen Shiping and immediately followed an exciting accompaniment.

Stimulated by Chen Shiping's passionate and heroic throwing of glasses and alcohol, the atmosphere in the bar instantly reached its peak.

Immediately, someone started yelling and throwing cups.

“Finally, I’ll buy everyone a drink!”

After Chen Shiping finished shouting, he stepped off the stage amidst everyone's cheers. The lead singer of the band also took the microphone and said with a smile: "Thank you Chen Shiping from China for inviting us to drink. I wish his movie Blood Dealer will win the Palme d'Or!"

"Get the Palme d'Or!"

The people above immediately started shouting, not knowing whether they were shouting for Chen Shiping or for their own movie dreams.

Artists like this kind of atmosphere. Chen Shiping's "public relations" tonight only cost a few thousand dollars, but it made many people remember him.

If there are no gimmicks, then create gimmicks. The public relations of the film festival are not just about the quality of the films!

When Chen Shiping woke up the next day and went out, he heard many people discussing his name.

Cannes is not a big place, and interesting people and things will spread quickly.

In the next few days, Chen Shiping would still go to bars and meet with different media every day. Reports about Chen Shiping and Xu Sanguan selling blood began to appear frequently in newspapers and magazines.

Before the opening of the film festival, Chen Shiping and Xu Sanguan's Blood Seller has become one of the hot topics in Cannes.

Many film producers have even begun to contact Chen Shiping, hoping to buy the overseas rights to the film.

Chen Shiping accepts all comers and the price is negotiable, but there is only one condition: he will sell to anyone who can help him promote the movie!

What he wants is fame, it doesn't matter whether it's money or not. Anyway, there will be bonuses if you win the award. No matter how low the price is when selling to the film studio, he can still recover all the costs.

Chen Shiping is bound to win the Palme d'Or!

(End of this chapter)