The literary era since 1979

Yanjing, Capital International Airport.

Fang Yan, Gong Xing, Jiang Wen, Zhang Yimou, Gong Li and other main creators of "Farewell My Concubine" gathered on a plane.

The internal preview of "Farewell My Concubine" was very successful and received rave reviews, but of course it inevitably also attracted some controversy.

The main reason lies in the last short plot of "Farewell My Concubine", which is why it may not be successfully released in domestic theaters.

But no matter what, it does not prevent "Farewell My Concubine" from participating in the Cannes Film Festival. After all, the Film Bureau has already filed it.

After a long voyage, everyone was filled with excitement and anxiety, and finally arrived at the seaside town of Cannes.

Compared to the Berlin Film Festival in the freezing cold of February, the fact that it is held in the summer alone makes it an advantage.

Fangyan arranged the crew to stay at the Martinez Hotel on Croisette in Cannes in the name of Mingtianxia Film Company.

Standing on the balcony of the suite at this time, you can have a complete panoramic view of the sea view, islands and mountains of Cannes Bay.

"Wouldn't this be too wasteful?"

Gong Xing looked around the spacious and beautifully decorated room and was amazed.

"How can this be called a waste? This is called 'romance'."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "We came to Cannes not only to participate in the competition, but also to take a vacation."

"But……"

Gong Xing opened his mouth.

"Don't worry about spending money, the wool comes from the sheep."

Fang Yan said, "Believe it or not, someone will naturally pay for the rent for all of us when the time comes."

Gong Xing was very surprised. "Who is it?"

"It could be Fox, it could be Universal, it could be MGM..."

Fangyan explained that the Cannes Film Festival is not only a venue for screening global films, but also an important market for European and American films.

Gong Xing suddenly realized, "But an art film like Farewell My Concubine shouldn't be more expensive than commercial and entertainment films like The Ring, Die Hard, and Baby Smart, right?"

"Strictly speaking, Farewell My Concubine cannot be considered an art film."

Fang Yan said seriously: "In the foreign film industry, there is no such thing as 'art film'. The term 'art film' was coined by Hong Kong and Taiwan filmmakers in the 1950s. They call all emotional, realistic, and even ideological films art films."

"That's right..."

Gong Xing couldn't help but sigh.

"In foreign countries, this kind of film is called 'art film', and Cannes is the paradise of art films."

Fang Yan said: "But Farewell My Concubine is different from ordinary art films. It is a film that perfectly combines commerce and art!"

"You are just like Wang Po selling melons, boasting about yourself."

Although Gong Xing said this, the corners of his mouth kept rising.

"Hey, that's true. Even if you look down on us, you can't look down on us."

Fang Yan laughed and said, "Besides, does Farewell My Concubine need us to brag about ourselves? Just wait, there will be plenty of people praising it on the day it is released."

Gong Xing couldn't help but understand, "Are you referring to that Francis Coppola?"

"He's just one of them."

Fangyan smacked his lips and said, "I should have asked Francis for his contact information. I don't know if he has arrived in Cannes yet."

He didn't know whether Francis Coppola had arrived in Cannes, but he knew exactly when Zhang Guorong arrived at the hotel.

As evening approached, Zhang Guorong, along with his agent, assistant and others, arrived at the hotel where the crew was staying.

"Clap clap clap."

Gong Xing, Gong Li and others stayed in the lobby to welcome their arrival.

“This is my first time in Cannes. It’s really a beautiful city.”

Zhang Guorong sighed, "If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely come here more often."

"It's easy. If we make a movie every year and enter it at a film festival, then we can come to Cannes every year."

Fangyan joked.

"I can't compare with you, Fang Sheng." Zhang Guorong said, "I can come to Cannes this time because of you. Whether it's the Hong Kong media, or Qingxia, Xiaoxian, Afa, Long Ge, they all said that they are really lucky to be able to star in your "Farewell My Concubine"."

"This is not luck, it's what you deserve. Just based on your performance and hard work both on and off the screen, you deserve to come to Cannes."

Fangyan waved his hand.

Everyone came to the hotel's cafe, sat together in a circle, and chatted and laughed.

When Gong Xing heard that Zhang Guorong had held his "Sleepless America and Canada" North American Tour in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other places in the first half of the year, and would hold more than 20 concerts in Hong Kong Coliseum in the second half of the year, he was amazed, "Why do I feel that singing is more difficult than filming?"

"If you work hard now, you may never have to work hard again in the future."

Zhang Guorong said with a sad face.

"Why did you say that, brother?"

Gong Li was very curious.

Zhang Guorong did not hide it and announced at this year's 10th Chinese Golden Melody Awards that he would withdraw from all competitive award ceremonies. He also had the idea of ​​retiring from the music industry. If nothing unexpected happens, he will hold a farewell concert in the next two years.

"what?!"

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

Gong Xing frowned and said, "Why are you going to quit the music industry out of the blue?"

"To be honest, I had this plan a few years ago."

Zhang Guorong sighed and said that the "Alan Tam and Cheung dispute" has been going on for so many years, and the fans of both sides are not in harmony, which has put him under a lot of pressure and he can no longer sit idly by.

"You really think about it?"

Seeing him nod, Fang Yan did not dissuade him, "Just think it over. In fact, if you think about it from another angle, it might not be a bad thing for you. You can devote more time and energy to your film career, and you may be able to achieve as much as you have in the music industry."

"Yes, it is precisely because filming gave me the confidence and courage that I made the decision to quit the music industry."

Zhang Guorong smiled faintly.

Just as everyone was drinking coffee and chatting, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kai came running over and brought a piece of news.

Staff from the Cannes Film Festival organizing committee came to give them tickets for the red carpet show of the opening ceremony the day after tomorrow.

"Red carpet tickets!?"

Gong Xing, Gong Li, Zhang Guorong and others had never heard of it before and were very surprised.

At the red carpet show of the Cannes opening ceremony, the judges and those shortlisted for the competition unit are all first-class VIPs, followed by brand sponsor spokespersons or Cannes regulars, and also distributors and film companies that come specifically to the Cannes Film Festival, a film market, to buy and sell batches of films and copyrights.

Of course, there are also some unnamed red carpet tickets, which the organizer will distribute to advertising sponsors, and the sponsors will distribute them on their own.

But to everyone's surprise, the people who came to deliver tickets to the crew of Farewell My Concubine were Thierry Frémaux and Gilles Jacob. "This is the artistic director and selection chairman of the Cannes Film Festival, and that is the vice chairman of the selection committee..."

After being introduced by the staff, Fangyan shook hands with the two people and greeted each other.

“I never thought they would come and deliver the tickets to us personally.”

Gong Xing expressed the thoughts of most people present, and everyone felt proud.

Fangyan disagreed, thinking that they invited him to come just to give him face.

But I am a world-renowned writer and Oscar-winning screenwriter, and I am giving them enough face by allowing them to come to the Cannes Film Festival!
Not to mention that he also helped Gilles Jacob to seduce Francis Coppola to come to this year's Cannes Film Festival!
………………

With the arrival of Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux, one coffee table became two coffee tables.

Fang Yan and Gong Xing sat face to face with them, and gradually narrowed the distance between them during some polite exchanges.

"When I saw the application materials for Farewell My Concubine, my first reaction was that I might have read it wrong."

Thierry Frémaux livens up the conversation by making fun of himself.

"But the fact is that you read it right. My novel was indeed made into a movie, and I wrote the script myself."

Fangyan shrugged.

Giles Jacob praised the novel "Don't Worry, Overlord" repeatedly, saying that it was well-written and the movie was also very well-made.

"We thought so after watching the internal preview."

Fangyan said: "So when choosing which film festival to attend, I have been wavering. Is it Cannes or Venice?"

Then, with a barely perceptible smirk on his face, he said, "In the end, it was the director who made the final decision and chose to come to the Cannes Film Festival."

Gong Xing looked confused. When did I ever say such a thing?
However, these words really pleased Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux, who all had big smiles on their faces.

"I'm very glad you chose the Cannes Film Festival. I guarantee you won't regret making this decision!"

"yes……"

Gong Xing was at a loss for words and winked at Fang Yan.

"I don't think she regretted it. She often mentioned Pierre Risian to us."

Fang Dialect: "Pierre said, 'The most important film festival in the world is always Cannes. It can even be said that it is more important than all the film festivals in the world combined.' This is also an important reason why she likes the Cannes Film Festival so much!"

When did I say "often"?
Gong Xing was shocked, but luckily her acting skills were good. She tried her best to control her facial expressions and cooperate with her man's sweet words.

But after all, it was a sedan chair carried by people, and when a world-class writer praised the Cannes Film Festival so highly, Gilles Jacob felt elated. He liked Farewell My Concubine and the entire crew more and more, and his attitude became more and more enthusiastic.

"We are here not only to deliver the tickets to you, but also to inform you of something more important."

Thierry Frémaux smiled: "It's about the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival."

"Please say."

Fangyan raised his hand.

"After unanimous discussion and decision by the organizing committee, we are going to make Farewell My Concubine the opening film of the film festival."

Giles Jacob said in a serious tone.

Gong Xing's eyes widened with surprise and joy. He glanced at Fang Yan from the corner of his eye and saw that he looked as if it was a matter of course:
"We are very pleased that you have made such a wise decision."

"Haha."

They looked at each other and smiled.

Gong Xing was somewhat confused, not understanding the value of the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival.

Fangyan lowered his voice and explained that a work appearing at the Cannes Film Festival is indeed a symbol of a good film and a guarantee of quality.

But that's not entirely true. The award selection of the Cannes Film Festival is divided into two parts, one is the main competition unit, the other is the non-competition unit. The main competition unit truly represents the level of the Cannes Film Festival, while the non-main competition unit represents the business of the Cannes Film Festival. Simply put, the former is invited to participate, while the latter can be joined entirely by spending money or even through the back door.

Many participating films are unable to enter the main competition unit, and will consider "gilding" themselves by entering the Directors' Fortnight, Un Certain Regard and other units.

For example, many Hollywood blockbusters will choose this unit to get the gimmick of a world premiere, which is conducive to building momentum for overseas distribution.

So, if there is a movie marketing promotion that uses the gimmick of being shortlisted for the non-main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival, it is actually just that.

If it is the opening or closing film of a film festival, it will have a good chance of being shortlisted for the main competition unit and competing for the Palme d'Or.

Of course, this kind of treatment is generally given to Cannes' direct directors, or world-renowned filmmakers, or films of exceptionally good quality.

Upon hearing this, Gong Xing immediately had an epiphany. Farewell My Concubine possessed both of these characteristics, but he also felt a sense of pressure at the same time.

Dialect: Look left, look right:
"In my opinion, whether Farewell My Concubine is the opening or closing film, it is reasonable."

“We thought the same thing after watching Farewell My Concubine.”

Giles Jacob smiled and said, "The audience and media attending this year are very lucky to be able to see such an excellent oriental film."

“It’s not just this year. Maybe there will be more works like Farewell My Concubine in the future.”

Fangyan cast an intriguing look.

"We welcome it very much and look forward to more and more Chinese films being able to appear at the Cannes Film Festival."

Giles Jacob smiled knowingly and added silently in his heart, stay away from the damn Berlin Film Festival and Venice Film Festival!
"Hahaha!"

Everyone laughed heartily, and the coffee table was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

After seeing Gilles Jacob, Thierry Frémaux and others out of the hotel, Gong Xing stopped smiling and his face began to visibly become nervous.

"How to do how to do……"

"What do you mean?"

Dialects are confusing.

Gong Xing felt nervous when he thought that "Farewell My Concubine" would become the opening film of the film festival and would undoubtedly attract everyone's attention.

Fang Yan comforted her, "Don't be so nervous. Think positively."

"How can I not be nervous?"

Gong Xing pursed his lips and said, "I'm not like you. I've participated in international award ceremonies like the Oscars and Nebula Awards countless times."

"I seem to smell a faint sour smell."

Fangyan teased in a joking tone.

Gong Xing said nothing, but stared at him with resentful eyes all the way back to the room.

"Okay, okay, how about I help you relieve some pressure?"

Fangyan raised his left hand first, then his right hand. Since he was in France, he naturally followed the local customs and saluted with a standard French military salute.

"OK!"

As soon as the door was closed, Gong Xing was picked up and then thrown heavily onto the bed with a bang. (End of this chapter)