Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 31 [They really dare to sacrifice themselves for art, notice before the closing ceremony] Please read
"Sir, would you like to buy a ticket?"

Monica Bellucci tilted her head and looked at the other person. Could it be that she didn't understand English?

"Okay, give me one."

Li Yishu came to his senses and paid for a movie ticket.

Monica Bellucci took the money with a smile, tore off a movie ticket and handed it to the other party, "The show will start in about ten minutes, sir, you can go in and find a better seat."

"Thank you."

Li Yishu nodded, then pointed to the poster next to her and asked knowingly, "Is this the movie you starred in?"

"Yes, it's me."

Monica Bellucci held out her hand and said, "My name is Monica Bellucci."

"Yishu Lee."

Li Yishu shook hands with him.

Looking at Monica Bellucci from such a close distance, I have to admit that she was really beautiful and had a great figure when she was young. No wonder she was nicknamed the Flower of the Earth among so many beauties in the world.

Seeing that the other party did not look like an ordinary tourist, Monica Bellucci could not help but ask: "Are you a film producer from Asia?"

This movie "Love Affair" is Monica's second work, and she is also the leading actor in it. However, after it was released in Italy, the box office was not very ideal.

In order to reduce losses, the producer took advantage of the Venice Film Festival and brought the main creative team here to rent an exhibition hall to see if they can sell overseas copyrights to recoup some of the costs or even make a profit.

Even though Monica Bellucci is the lead actress and has received her pay, she can choose to participate or not in this matter.

But not only did she come, she also personally stood on the stage as a ticket seller, hoping to use her image to attract overseas film distributors and sell the film rights for a good price.

This will not only allow the producers to make money and recoup their investment, but will also enhance her acting career.

Otherwise, if the first feature film he starred in had a dismal box office performance and failed to sell the overseas copyright, he would probably have difficulty getting another chance to star in the film in the future.

“No, I’m a director.”

"director?"

"Yes, these are the tickets for the movie I took. If you are interested, you can go to No. 13 in Area A in front to have a look."

Li Yishu casually took out her movie ticket from her pocket and handed it to the other party.

"Zone A? Your work was shortlisted for the Venice Film Festival?"

Monica Bellucci took the movie ticket and took a look at it, a look of surprise appeared on her face.

She had been here for many days, so she knew that Area A was the exhibition hall for works shortlisted for the film festival, and Areas B and C were paid exhibition halls for trading film copyrights.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "Yes, I was lucky enough to be shortlisted."

Monica Bellucci is Italian, so she naturally knows how strict the entry criteria of the Venice Film Festival are. Their film was also registered for the film festival before, but it was not shortlisted.

Seeing that the other person looked only about 20 years old and was nominated for the Venice Film Festival at such a young age, Monica Bellucci could not help but admire, "Li, you are too modest. You can't be nominated just by luck."

The two chatted for a while, and as Monica saw that the movie was about to start, she asked Li Yishu to go in and watch the movie first.

Li Yishu had never seen the movie "Love Affair" in his previous life. His impression of Monica Bellucci is still limited to "Monica Bellucci", and then "Irreversible", the movie he had been looking for on the Internet for a long time.

Curious about the works of the young Italian flower, Li Yishu entered the exhibition hall and the movie began to show soon after.

More than an hour later, Li Yishu walked out in silence.

The plot of the movie is not complicated. It tells the story of a woman whose husband died in a car accident, leaving behind a daughter and a large debt. In order to make money, the woman began to use all means to seduce men and become a mistress.

The plot is not interesting, but Monica has a great figure. When Italians make movies, the actresses really dare to sacrifice themselves for art. No wonder Italian movies are known as the most explicit in the world.

But think about it, it seems that in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, this kind of works dedicated to art were not uncommon. There were many in Europe and North America. Even those underground films in China mostly followed suit.

When Li Yishu came out of the exhibition hall, Monica was gone. Instead, there was a bald middle-aged man who was communicating with a few people. He leaned over to listen and found out that they were film producers from North America, and they seemed to be discussing copyright issues.

Li Yishu has no interest in the copyright of this movie, mainly because it is not allowed to be released in China, and the purchasing rights of foreign language films are all in the hands of China Electronics Corporation.

If it were "Beautiful Sicily" a few years later, Li Yishu might find a way to acquire the domestic film copyright at the cheapest price, and then when the Internet era arrives, he could authorize those video websites, which would also bring him long-term returns.

For two consecutive days, Li Yishu worked as a ticket seller and did not see Monica Bellucci coming, and she felt a little disappointed.

As a man, who doesn’t want to have a romantic encounter in a foreign country?

What's more, the other party is Monica Bellucci, the future flower of the earth.

Just as Li Yishu was cheering herself up and preparing for tomorrow's closing ceremony.

At the last screening of the night, he finally waited for Monica Bellucci to show up.

Unfortunately, he was not alone, Gong Li was still beside him. "How do you know her?"

As a woman, Gong Li is naturally aware of how strong the temptation is for men from a foreign girl like Monica.

So just now when I saw Li Yishu sending the other party away, they seemed to be chatting happily, with a playful look in their eyes.

"I met her when I went to see a movie a few days ago. Monica was the heroine of the movie..."

Li Yishu's heart skipped a beat, and she inexplicably felt like she was being caught.

Gong Li looked at him meaningfully, "Monica~~I met her while watching a movie~~"

"Ahem, well, Sister Gong Li, it's almost time. Let's pack up and go back early to wait for the notice tonight."

The three major European film festivals all have an unwritten rule, which is that if a film wins, the organizers will notify the creative team to attend the next day on the night before the closing ceremony.

In this way, although who will win the award is revealed in advance, it is better than announcing it directly on the day and disappointing those filmmakers who are full of expectations.

With one night's buffer, those crews that had not received any notification from the organizers probably had some expectations in mind, so most of them attended the closing ceremony the next day with an indifferent attitude.

Those who received the notification, although they didn't know what the award was, were definitely in high spirits. After all, at a film festival, winning an award is always a good thing.

Around eight o'clock at night.

Inside the hotel room.

Li Yishu, Gong Li, Zhang Yimou, Hou Xiaoxian, Qiu Fusheng and others gathered together.

Chatting while waiting for notification from the organizer.

"Jingle Bell--"

The phone in the room rang, and everyone's eyes lit up, especially Li Yishu, whose heart was in his throat, just because this was his room.

Everyone came here specially to take care of him, the newcomer, and of course someone had been arranged to guard their rooms.

Li Yishu walked over and answered the phone. The organizer’s voice came from the other end: "Li, we are the organizers of the film festival. We invite you to attend the closing ceremony tomorrow night..."

Seeing Gong Li's expectant eyes, Li Yishu breathed a sigh of relief and held the microphone tightly: "Thank you, I will attend as promised."

"Congratulations!" The person on the other end hung up the phone with a smile.

"how is it going?"

"I'm invited."

"Great!"

Hearing this, Gong Li's face showed joy.

Qiu Fusheng was the first to stand up and congratulate: "Congratulations on your Yishu!"

"Thank you, Mr. Qiu."

The joy on Li Yishu's face was hard to conceal.

dong dong——

There was a knock on the door, and Qiu Fusheng reacted quickly and went to open it immediately.

The person who came in was the assistant who stayed in Zhang Yimou's room. He shouted with joy on his face: "Director Zhang, the organizer invited us."

Zhang Yimou, who had been sitting upright with a calm expression, relaxed after hearing the news. He breathed a sigh of relief and a simple smile appeared on his face.

Although he had already become famous in Berlin and Cannes, Zhang Yimou was not 100% sure.

Now that he had received definite confirmation, Zhang Yimou could finally feel at ease.

Li Yishu was the first to congratulate him: "Congratulations to Director Zhang, Raise the Red Lantern will definitely win a big award this time."

"It's hard to say whether I can win a big prize, but it would be great if I can get a prize."

Zhang Yimou waved his hand modestly, looked at Li Yishu, and said with a smile: "Director Li, you are going to be in the limelight this time."

Being nominated for a film festival is certainly something to celebrate, but it is certainly not as good as winning an award.

Now, no matter what award she wins, Li Yishu has truly entered the vision of the domestic film bureau and cultural departments.

Winning an award abroad these days means bringing glory to the country.

The story of "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is very positive and uplifting. It would be even more glorious if such a film won an award overseas.

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(End of this chapter)