Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 311 322 [Successfully won the Silver Lion Award! I will just watch you show off]

Du Kefeng arrived quickly and reached Los Angeles in the early morning of the same day.

Originally, he wanted to join the crew work the next day, but Li Yishu asked him to take a day off and tell him about the photography style he wanted.

Everything, including colors and lighting, had to be explained again to Du Kefeng in detail.

Although we now have camera surveillance, which allows us to see real-time images captured by the camera during the filming process, the resolution of the surveillance is not high and we can only see the general situation. For some details, the photographer still needs to control it personally.

So the photographer is actually the second director in a real sense. They can capture the actors' expressions, movements and scenes through the lens at the first time. So it is often the photographer who shouts "cut". If he thinks there is a problem with the lens, he has to shout "cut" and then report to the director.

For such an important position, Li Yishu had to communicate clearly in advance with Du Kefeng who came to help temporarily, so as to avoid problems in the subsequent filming.

The next day, after Li Yishu communicated with Du Kefeng, the crew restarted the filming. Through the monitoring footage, he made sure that Du Kefeng understood and grasped the scene he wanted, and then continued filming.

Perhaps because of Dion's example, Lee Yi-su was pleasantly surprised to find that the crew members were almost all working very hard, and their condition was better than during the filming in the previous few days.

It seems that the Americans also understand the principle of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys!
The filming continued until August 8, when the seven-day Venice International Film Festival ended.

After receiving a cross-border call from Monica and confirming that "The Reader" had received an invitation call from the organizer, Li Yishu also arranged to buy plane tickets and prepared to rush to Venice that evening to attend the closing ceremony of the film festival.

The "Chicago" crew can only take one more day off.

Venice International Film Festival.

Li Yishu arrived in Venice at noon on the day of the closing ceremony.

Just when he arrived at the hotel and was about to change into the suit that had been with him for several years, he was surprised to find that Gong Li was there.

He was surprised and asked: "Sister Gong Li, why are you here?!"

This year, Gong Li has no films shortlisted for Venice.

"Of course I'm here to cheer you on."

Gong Li smiled and raised her hand to gesture on her body: "See? This is a set of cheongsam that I specially asked someone to make for you, just to make you a successful start!"

This is a dark blue cheongsam dotted with crystal clear crystals. Under the sunlight outside the window, it looks like the deep sea, mysterious and solemn.

Hearing this, Li Yishu felt warm in her heart. She walked forward, hugged the other person and kissed him directly.

Gong Li was stunned at first, and then immersed in it.

After a while, Gong Li finally pushed Li Yishu away, touched the light lipstick on the corner of her mouth, and said unhappily: "You have ruined my makeup. Hurry up and change your clothes, because we have to attend the closing ceremony of the film festival soon."

Li Yishu smiled and agreed: "Haha, okay!"

"Virtue!" Gong Li turned around proudly, left the room, and prepared to go back to her room to touch up her makeup again.

As soon as she left, Monica brought a familiar yet unfamiliar face - Piero!

"Hi! Li, long time no see."

As soon as Piero entered the room, he saw Li Yishu as if he had seen his benefactor.

Not only do you see it, you are also a benefactor!

Piero has run his handmade suit shop for more than ten years. Although he is somewhat famous in Milan, his name has not even spread beyond Italy, let alone the world stage.

However, Li Yishu's sudden appearance made Piero completely famous. He won three awards wearing the suits made by Piero, which had the other party's unique brand logo on them.

This also made Piero famous. Some time ago, he reached a cooperation with Li Yishu and a famous Italian luxury goods company to jointly invest in the establishment of Piero Menswear Company.

Currently we only make men's clothing, that is, suits.

"Yes, Piero, long time no see. I heard that your company is doing well now. Many people asked you to customize products for this year's Venice Film Festival?"

Li Yishu was very happy about Piero's arrival. He invested 1000 million US dollars and, along with his personal endorsement for three years, obtained % of the shares of the Piero brand.

He had heard from Monica before that with the establishment of Piero Company, a large number of stars and celebrities from all over the world flocked to it just to get a little bit of luck.

"This is all thanks to you, Li! After today, our Piero company will become the new generation of men's luxury clothing!"

Piero was very excited. There were a total of 17 crews at this year's Venice Film Festival, but the directors and actors of 8 crews asked him to customize suits.

Including Lee Yi-su, there are a total of 9 people, which directly exceeds half of the people nominated for the film.

When he thought of the reporters from all over the world on the red carpet of the closing ceremony tonight, Piero was so excited that he couldn't express it in words.

Hearing this, Li Yishu was also dumbfounded. She didn't expect that Piero could do business with 8 directors and actors of the crew.

It's not a matter of money. A suit costs at most several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars. Including the director and the actor, it's only a few hundred thousand or two hundred thousand.

But what is important is the influence. Once the male creators of the nine crews all wear Piero suits at night, the reporters will go crazy and it will be reported all over the world tomorrow.

Li Yishu felt that this was an opportunity and quickly asked, "Piero, have you communicated with the reporters?"

"The company has already informed the reporters who will be attending the closing ceremony. When reporting on the Venice Film Festival tomorrow, our Piero Men's Wear will be the second biggest news!"

Piero looked proud.

The last time there was such a large-scale coverage was when Lee Yi-su appeared on Time magazine. Three award-winning photos were cut together, highlighting the style of the handmade Piero suit he was wearing.

“This time, Piero Men’s Wear will definitely shine not only in Venice, but also be famous all over the world!”

Li Yishu smiled. The other party was making money for her, so of course she had to compliment him.

"That's right!"

Piero agreed deeply. Suddenly he remembered the purpose of his visit and took out a suit from his suitcase. "Lee, this is a suit I customized for you. I asked Miss Bellucci and she gave me the detailed size."

Hearing this, Li Yishu looked at Monica, and remembered the last time Monica suddenly came to the bed with a tape measure. She thought she was playing some kind of fun, but she didn't expect she was measuring her body.

Monica smiled slightly and said nothing.

"Then I'll change into this new suit." Li Yishu thought about it and decided that if there really was such a thing as luck, the luck of his old suit might have reached its peak, so he might as well change into a new one.

at dusk.

The entrance to Venice Cinema Palace.

The red carpet was very long. Movie stars were showing off their charm on the red carpet. Fans on both sides were cheering excitedly. Reporters from all over the world recorded this scene with their cameras.

Soon it was the turn of "The Reader" crew. Li Yishu took the lead and walked in front, followed by Zhang Aijia, Lai Shengchuan and other main creative team members, with Monica and Gong Li mixed in.

"Lee! Lee!"

"Look here, Gong, Gong!"

"..."

There was a lot of noise at the scene, and Li Yishu did not stay on the red carpet for long. She just stood in the center area with the crew for more than ten seconds as usual, waved to the reporters on both sides, and then led people to the interview area.

Unlike the first time he came, Li Yishu has now been successful in the awards field, so the host naturally spoke kindly to him and congratulated him on his continued success and winning his second Golden Lion Award.

Li Yishu just smiled at this. He had a hunch that he would not win the Golden Lion Award this year.

The best result is most likely to be the Silver Lion Award for Best Film. The group entered the Venice Film Palace and came to their seat under the guidance of the staff.

Many guests had already arrived, and Li Yishu also met several acquaintances and chatted with them.

Time passes little by little.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the closing ceremony of the 1994st Venice International Film Festival in 51 officially began.

Li Yishu didn't care about the previous small awards and kept chatting with Monica and Gong Li.

"Best Cinematography Award…"Ashes of Time" Christopher Doyle, Andrew Lau, and Chan Yuen-chia…"

As the presenter on the stage announced that the Best Photography Award went to the crew of Ashes of Time, Li Yishu subconsciously looked at Wang Jiawei and his group who were sitting diagonally across the table about ten meters away.

There was cheering over there, and the two men stood up and hugged Wang Jiawei.

“I didn’t expect Christopher Doyle to win another photography award.”

Li Yishu clapped and sighed.

He really didn't expect that Christopher Doyle, who is in the United States, could win an award in Venice, but what he didn't expect even more was that the crew of "Ashes of Time" actually had three photographers.

Considering that "Ashes of Time" was filmed over a period of two to three years, one photographer probably couldn't handle it, after all, he didn't know when the filming would start, and others had to take on extra work.

"Best Actress..."

Watching the Best Actress award being presented on stage, Lee Yi-su started to get nervous. He was still hoping to win a Best Actress award.

After all these years, he still hasn't produced a best actress!
"Maria de Medeiros, The Three Brothers!"

Alas! Hearing that it was not Qingxia, Li Yishu sighed. It was a pity that Qingxia could not win the Best Actress award.

Gong Li suddenly asked curiously, "Yishu, there are only a few major awards left. Do you think you will win the Best Actor award?"

"impossible."

Li Yishu shook her head and chuckled, "If it's not the top three in Europe, maybe there is still a chance."

His main job is a director. If he wins the Best Actor award just for acting in a movie, it would mean that the Venice Film Festival has lost its "fairness".

Therefore, even if Lee Ye-seok's acting skills are explosive, it is impossible for him to win the Best Actor award unless he is an actor first and then switches careers to become a director. Otherwise, there is no chance of winning.

The outside world will not think that Venice is fair. They will only think that an actor who crosses over can actually win the Best Actor Award. Isn't that a slap in the face of all the nominated male actors?

When Gong Li heard this, she nodded in understanding. She was dazzled by Lee Yi-su's win for Best Actor at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Looking back now, it was probably the result of Lee Yi-su's public relations.

"The winner of the Best Actor Award is... Xia Yu for "Sunny Days"!"

"Hahaha--"

Suddenly, I heard Jiang Wen's familiar laughter.

Li Yishu looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jiang Wen in the lower right corner excitedly hugging Xia Yu and shaking him up and down.

When the best actor was announced on stage, Gong Li was shocked. "That Xia Yu seems to be still a child, right?"

"Child? He's eighteen years old too."

Li Yishu smiled. It seemed that history had not changed. Xia Yu still won the Best Actor award and became the youngest Venice Film Festival winner in the country.

"That's too young, even younger than when you won the Golden Lion Award."

Gong Li looked at Xia Yu walking onto the stage. Seeing his shy look, she couldn't help but sigh that the new generation pushes the old generation forward.

It is probably hard to find a few 18-year-old movie emperors in the world.

"Becoming famous at a young age may not necessarily be a good thing."

Li Yishu looked at Xia Yu holding the gold award, with tears in her eyes due to excitement, and also thought of Xia Yu's future acting career, which didn't seem to be very successful.

After decades of twists and turns, there are only a few characters that are truly familiar to the audience, such as Ma Xiaojun in The Sunshine, Da Jin Ya in The Lost Tomb, Shen Gongbao in The Investiture of the Gods, and after that... there are really no more.

"Didn't you also become famous at a young age?" Gong Li said with a smile.

"Yes, I also became famous at a young age."

Li Yishu's eyes flickered. He saw himself a few years ago in Xia Yu.

Monica asked curiously, "Gong, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking to Director Li..."

The two girls chatted in English.

Seeing the two chatting, Li Yishu ignored them and looked at the stage. There were only three awards left.

The Silver Lion for Best Director, the Silver Lion for Best Film and the Silver Lion for Special Jury Award.

The award presenter read from the envelope: "The winner of the Special Jury Award is... The Reader. Congratulations, Li!"

"Crash-"

There was applause at the scene. Li Yishu hugged and shook hands with Gong Li, Monica, Zhang Aijia, Lai Shengchuan and others around her with a smile on her face, and then strode towards the stage.

"I am very grateful to the jury for awarding me the special prize..."

Lee Yi-su, who has participated in several European Film Festivals, has long lost her initial immaturity and nervousness. After taking the stage, she thanked everyone profusely.

But deep down I still feel lost.

In his understanding, the Special Jury Award is ostensibly second only to the highest award, the Golden Lion Award.

But to put it bluntly, it's just the third prize.

There's a feeling that the movie isn't the best, but it's not that bad either.

Lee Yi-su doesn't think that he made a bad movie. He can only lament that he was too popular this year, winning three major awards and the Best Director award at Cannes.

It seems that we have to focus on supporting the actors. How can a director succeed without producing a few best actor and actresses?

Lee Yi-su finally gave a speech: "I have won different honors and awards in Berlin and Cannes this year, but now standing on the stage of Venice, it feels different. Venice is where my dream began."

After bowing and expressing her gratitude, Lee Yi-su walked off the stage.

After he came back, Gong Li asked with a smile: "Why didn't you say a few poems just now?"

"Maybe... I want to return to normal life." Li Yishu said mysteriously.

"Return to normal? What do you mean?"

"I have crossed mountains and seas, and walked through crowds of people. I once had everything, until I saw that ordinary is the only answer!"

Gong Li narrowed her eyes slightly, with a playful look on her face, as if to say: I will just watch you show off quietly.

(End of this chapter)