Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 728: Not cooperating because he is afraid of usurping the throne
After chatting with Jiang Wen for a few words, Jiang Wen reminded Li Chen and Liu Yifei and his wife that they must come to his film exhibition the day after tomorrow.

Twenty years ago, Jiang Wen’s first film, “Sunny Days,” premiered in Shanghai.

For this purpose, Jiang Wen specially chose the restored version of "Sunny Days" as the opening film of his personal film exhibition.

"You're holding a film festival after only shooting four movies, so shouldn't I also hold one since I've shot eight?" Li Chen joked.

Jiang Wen laughed loudly: "I can't compare with you. Your efficiency is not like that of a normal person. Don't you think so, Yifei?"

"Your Li Chen has only been in the industry for ten years, but he has already achieved what I have achieved in twenty years. I even doubt whether he is from Earth!"

Liu Yifei smiled and said, "Director Jiang, you can't hold others to your own standards. If everyone were like you and Director Zhou Xingchi, we actors would all be out of work."

Jiang Wen laughed: "That makes sense! Chenglong is here, you guys chat."

Jiang Wen glanced sideways and saw Cheng Long and his two companions coming from behind Li Chen and his wife, so he took the initiative to socialize with other filmmakers.

Cheng Long is not willing to admit his age. He just completed the post-production of "Chinese Police 2" and held a press conference for the launch of "Lion Falls from the Sky" during the Shanghai Film Festival.

He doesn't look like a sixty-year-old man with this kind of energy.

Wherever there is Chenglong, there are beauties, and most of the scenes related to Chenglong are erotic.

"Brother is so lucky, with beauties everywhere." Li Chen sighed.

Liu Yifei immediately asked back: "Are you envious?"

Li Chen laughed but did not answer. The couple took two quick steps towards Chenglong.

On the left is Dragon Girl Lin Peng, and on the right is Huayi's contracted artist Wang Ruoxin. The two beauties sandwiched Chenglong in the middle, holding Chenglong's arms with their left and right hands, which attracted many people's attention.

"Brother, I haven't seen you for a long time. You look younger now." Li Chen took the initiative to speak with a smile.

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at her husband.

Chenglong laughed loudly, as if he didn't hear the joking in Li Chen's words.

"I like what Li Chen said. Yifei is getting prettier and prettier, or Li Chen is good at taking care of people, haha."

The Dragon Girl and Wang Ruoxin from Huayi kept smiling but could not get a word in.

"Brother, what are you talking about? I don't understand. What does my natural beauty have to do with him? I even think I became uglier after marrying him!" Liu Yifei said with a smile.

Cheng Long still smiled and turned sideways: "Lin Peng, you two have met each other. This is Wang Ruoxin, who graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy."

Chenglong deliberately didn't mention Huayi, he knew that Li Chen must know the girl's background.

Lin Peng had already taken the initiative to pull Liu Yifei to start a conversation.

Wang Ruoxin on the side was not stupid either. She extended her hands warmly and respectfully: "Hello, Director Li. I'm glad to meet you. I'm Wang Ruoxin. Please give me your guidance."

Li Chen stretched out his right hand and shook the other person gently, saying with a smile: "Not everyone can play the role of big brother, so perform well."

Wang Ruoxin's heart skipped a beat, but when she saw that there was nothing unusual in the other person's eyes, she wondered if she had misunderstood.

When filming with Chenglong, Mr. Wang said that it was normal to be taken advantage of.

Chenglong retorted, "You speak as if anyone can act in your Li Chen's play."

Liu Yifei said, "That's right. He has always been strict with others and tolerant with himself! Until now, I have never been in any of his plays."

Chenglong pointed at Li Chen and laughed: "See? The backyard is on fire!"

Li Chen smiled bitterly and did not argue with his wife: "Brother, excuse me for a moment. I'll take Xixi to say hello to some seniors. Sorry."

"Go quickly, it's your duty." Chenglong nodded. There was also a 90-year-old artist in the field.

Even Chenglong had to bow down, not to mention Li Chen's capital at this age.

As soon as Li Chen entered the theater, he became the focus of the theater.

So many people are watching. If Li Chen acts like a big shot and targets these veteran artists, it will probably become a hot topic on the Internet that night.

On the contrary, Li Chen took Liu Yifei to meet these veteran artists one by one, but no one said that Li Chen did not have the aura of a big boss.

No matter how big a boss is, he still has to respect his teachers.

Gongli also glanced over several times and smiled back with her signature Qiuxiang style.

But Li Chen didn't even see her, the chairperson of the jury.

Or maybe Liu Yifei's wife couldn't stand it anymore, so she took the initiative to call her "Sister Gongli" when she sat down.

Li Chen had no choice but to put on a mask-like smile and nodded to Gong Li.

The organizer seemed to know everything and knew that he and Gongli were only superficial friends, so Jiang Wen was in between.

Jiang Wen was also puzzled. After thinking carefully, it seemed that Rong Chen had never asked Gong Li to act in any of his plays.

If Gong Li hadn't been sitting nearby, Jiang Wen would have asked Li Chen directly.

In fact, Liu Yifei knew very well why her husband was not interested in Gong Li.

The husband once said: If he had to choose between Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, he would choose Zhang Ziyi, perhaps because Zhang Ziyi's acting skills are not as good as Gong Li's.

Even without looking, Li Chen could feel several unfriendly glances from his left, right and behind.

Not to mention Wu Yusen who was sitting in the first row. It was impossible for the organizing committee to arrange the two of them together as there were Song Hye Kyo and Yu Dong and others in between.

Lu Chuan, Guo Xiaosi and others in the rear are probably in the same situation.

Yang Mi sat next to Deng Chao, and Guo Xiaosi and others sat behind them. Yang Mi was like an ant on hot pot.

As soon as Li Chen and Liu Yifei came in, they were surrounded by big names and it was not her turn at all.

Finally there was no one around and the ceremony began again.

"When can I sit in the first row?" Yang Mi sighed.

Deng Chao smiled and said, "Two roads, sweet."

"Which two?"

"One, find a big director to marry, like Yifei, this is called a wife is honored by her husband."

Yang Mi pouted: "What about the second one!"

"Second, you can have one of the three major European film actress titles or win the three domestic awards like Zhang Ziyi and Xun Ge."

Yang Mi thought, this is more difficult than the first one, but even if she can reach Gongli's level, she still won't be able to catch the senior's eye.

Yang Mi curled her lips and said nothing. Deng Chao continued to joke, "If these two options don't work, there is another shortcut!"

Yang Mi frowned and said, "What shortcut?"

Deng Chao smiled and said, "When you live to be ninety, that will be enough."

Yang Mi was speechless. This was to allow her to gain experience. If she could really live to be 90 years old, more than 90% of these big shots present would probably be gone.

Yang Mi turned her gaze towards the stage, where the host Yang Lan had already begun to introduce Jiang Wen's thirty years of film career.

It was a long and eloquent article, and just like the year Li Chen won the award, it sounded like an obituary and was scary.

"Please invite last year's Outstanding Contribution Award winner, Mr. Li Chen, Chairman of Rongchen Pictures, to present the award to Director Jiang Wen!"

There was applause from the audience. Li Chen and Jiang Wen politely gave way to each other and then walked onto the stage together.

Li Chen took the crystal trophy from the etiquette, Jiang Wen raised an eyebrow, and the two of them looked at each other in a subtle confrontation under the spotlight. The scene was quiet, and Liu Yifei sat in the audience and talked and laughed with Chenglong.

"Brother, don't you think that even if Li Chen doesn't become a director, he is still a qualified actor?"

Chenglong nodded heavily: "Of course, these big directors in the mainland don't need acting skills, they can win awards just by their fame."

Liu Yifei smiled mischievously: "It seems to make sense."

On the stage, Li Chen handed the trophy to Jiang Wen: "Director Jiang, when I received this award that year, the organizing committee said 'to commend the courage of young directors'. Did you change it to 'to commend the stubbornness of old comrades'?"

Jiang Wen took the trophy and said with a smile: "Boss Li, was the panda in your Vientiane Island based on my pockmarked face in Let the Bullets Fly?"

The stars in the audience burst into laughter, and Li Chen also laughed. He didn't expect that Jiang Wen could talk more than him.

Li Chen straightened his face, turned to the audience, and suddenly became serious: "In fact, Director Jiang and I have one thing in common. We both like to let the audience 'earn money while standing'."

"But your award is three pounds heavier than mine that year. It seems that the organizing committee thinks you are more 'heavier'."

Jiang Wen weighed the trophy and laughed: "It's better if it's heavier. Since we can't match you in quantity, we can surpass you in weight."

Li Chen smiled and said, "That year, the organizing committee specially invited Brother Xun and Sister Yu, two Venice Film Festival winners. Today, I am the only one here. Do you feel left out?"

The stars in the audience all smiled as they watched the two most talented directors in the industry set traps for each other.

Jiang Wen laughed and said, "Indifferent, how can you say that? Compared with the two Venice Film Festival winners, who is more important, the Palme d'Or director and the Lion de la Ligue director? Just ask, there happens to be a Venice Film Festival winner in the audience."

The live camera was focused on Gongli, the only Venice Film Festival winner present, who clapped and laughed.

Liu Dehua in the audience laughed exaggeratedly. He felt that Li Chen and Jiang Wen on the stage were even more powerful than Huang Bo at last year's Golden Horse Awards.

Li Chen nodded: "In order not to favor one over the other, the organizing committee still found a helper for me. Guess who it is."

Jiang Wen adjusted his glasses and glanced at the smiling Liu Yifei in the audience: "She's not your wife, is she?"

"You wish!" Li Chen replied with a smile.

Jiang Wen laughed out loud, and the whole place burst into laughter. Liu Yifei's cheeks turned red from laughing.

Ren Zhonglun and others also had smiles on their faces, but they were thinking in their hearts that the Shanghai Film Festival still needed big directors like Li Chen and Jiang Wen to show its presence.

Otherwise, there is no way to talk about being the best in Asia.

Li Chen continued: "The Venice Film Festival Organizing Committee has invited you the youngest Venice Film Festival Best Actor in history!"

"Please welcome actor Xia Yu!"

The surprise on Jiang Wen’s face should not be fake. After all, it was a surprise, just like the year Li Chen won the award.

He also didn't know that Zhang Manyu and Zhou Xun would show up.

Xia Yu came on stage and hugged Jiang Wen. Li Chen asked, "Xia Yu."

"Hey, Director Li." Xia Yu agreed with a smile.

"Is there anything you want to say to your mentor?"

Xia Yu quickly said: "Just one sentence, without him there would be no me!"

Jiang Wen added, "Without Xia Yu, there would be no "Sunny Days", and there would be no Jiang Wen."

Li Chen took the lead in applauding, but thought in his heart that although Xia Yu, the Venice Film Festival Best Actor, is the youngest in history, he is probably the worst performer in history.

A typical example of reaching the peak as soon as debuting.

After getting off the stage and sitting down, Jiang Wen still had a lot to say to Li Chen: "You're amazing, brother. I almost couldn't catch it."

Li Chen smiled and said, "I should be the one saying this! Don't mention my wife next time, or I'll get angry!"

Jiang Wen laughed, he didn't believe it.

The transcript of their high-energy conversation was soon posted online.

Netizens are talking about it with great relish, saying that the clash between the two most talented directors in the country is equally matched, with neither gaining an advantage.

Scenes like this are rare.

After the opening ceremony, several leaders of Shanghai Film Studio got together and were very satisfied with the powerful combination of Li Chen and Jiang Wen tonight.

One person asked, "Mr. Ren, can the South Korean director Kang Je-kyu attend the forum tomorrow?"

Ren Zhonglun said, "He can't come because he was delayed by something, but I have already asked Jiang Wen to come to the rescue."

Another person added: "It's not enough for him alone."

Ren Zhonglun knew what he meant: "Let me try."

"No need to try. Tomorrow morning, you can call him directly and ask him to come to the rescue. He should feel our sincerity in participating in the film festival this time. I'm sure he won't refuse this favor. This is called forcing someone to do something!"

Li Chen still doesn't know that he is being plotted against.

The next morning, just after exercising, Li Chen received a call from Ren Zhonglun.

"Today's forum on 'Growth Paths for the New Generation of Filmmakers' was originally scheduled to attend, but the South Korean director Kang Je-kyu couldn't come for some reason. Please help and come to save the day!"

Li Chen didn't know that Ren Zhonglun had already found Jiang Wen, and after thinking about it, he saw no reason to refuse.

When they arrived at the scene and saw Jiang Wen, they were both surprised.

However, the matter has been done, and even if he realizes that Ren Zhonglun has been plotting against him, he can only accept the situation as it is.

The scene was filled with jubilation.

As soon as the two sat down, Jiang Wen casually mentioned Jiang Dae-gyu's absence: "I was woken up from bed by a phone call to "save the situation". We can't let people think that there is no one in our Jiang family."

Li Chen also took a small revenge on Ren Zhonglun: "I was tricked into coming here. If I knew Director Jiang was here, I definitely wouldn't have come. I just met him last night, how could I be so impatient!"

There was a burst of laughter.

The two talked about how they entered this industry and how to support newcomers, and both had their own experiences.

Li Chen has been doing this over the years, and Jiang Wen has also expressed his willingness to learn from Li Chen and to produce five or ten works by new directors every year in the future.

But as they were chatting, this guy started to fire his cannon, and even Li Chen got involved.

When talking about his own producer experience, many audience members thought that Jiang Wen’s earliest producer experience was Lu Chuan’s "Looking for the Gun"!
Actually, it is not, but Zhao Baogang’s "Northern Stories".

But as soon as "Looking for the Gun" was mentioned, Jiang Wen became angry.

"After 'Looking for the Gun', some people said that I bullied the director. I helped him find money, acted as an actor for him, and was also the producer. Is this bullying? If this is considered bullying, I guess everyone would be willing to be bullied by me. Do you think it's Director Li?"

Li Chen would not fall for his trick: "I don't need your bullying! Forget it."

Jiang Wen laughed and gave Li Chen a thumbs up.

The audience in the audience was also very happy.

Li Chen added: "Now you understand why I have never dared to cooperate with Director Jiang, right?"

"It's not because he wastes film, but because we're afraid he'll usurp the throne!"

The scene was filled with laughter again, and the topic of this forum topped the hot search list.

(End of this chapter)