Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 423 What I saw in Cannes
Guo Fan has had a very fulfilling life these past two days. There are often people around him, and the charm skill of Industrial Daji has been maxed out.

Many matters related to Pacific Rim are progressing in an orderly manner. Guo Fan is very busy, but he does not feel tired. He feels that he is getting closer to his dream every day.
At the end of May, Zhang Chen set off for France as the Cannes Film Festival was about to open.

At this year's Cannes, almost all domestic films were wiped out, with only Lou Ye's "Summer Palace" successfully entering the main competition unit. Yes, it was the one in which Deng Chao and Hao Lei broke up...

Logically speaking, the success of "Summer Palace" in the main competition unit should have been praised by the country a long time ago, but it was not, because the film was a banned film, and Lou Ye was banned from directing for five years because of "Summer Palace"...

Zhang Chen brought "A Quiet Place" this time, but it was not in the main competition unit, but in the screening unit, and he came to sell the film.

After a long flight of more than ten hours, Zhang Chen finally arrived at Nice Airport and met the people from New Line.

"A Quiet Place" is not a work in the main competition unit, so the organizer will not provide airport pick-up service. You need to rely on yourself for everything.

Fortunately, New Line had made arrangements in advance and booked a special car. After getting off the plane, Zhang Chen and his friends took the special car directly to the small town of Cannes.

The closer the car got to the town, the more pedestrians there were on the road.

Zhang Chen saw a lot of backpackers.

Fatty Fan next to him asked curiously, "What do these people do?"

The driver was from New Line, and he replied, "They are all fans and tourists who come to the film festival. Every year at this time, there are always a lot of people who like to join in the fun..."

"Then why do they carry sleeping bags?"

Fan Xiaopang noticed that many people were carrying bags, and they looked more like backpackers than tourists.

The people at New Line shrugged: "Because they don't want to spend money~"

After a pause, he explained, "During the annual film festival, prices in Cannes soar, and food and accommodation are very expensive. These people want to watch a movie but don't want to spend money, so they can only carry their own sleeping bags..."

Zhang Chen recalled that the same thing happened at the Venice Film Festival last year.

It is inevitable that prices will soar. The permanent population of Cannes is only about 7, and during the film festival, the influx of filmmakers, tourists, and other people will add up to no less than people...

The film festival is the only chance for the small city of Cannes to make a killing in a year. It is really like if you don’t open for a year, you can make a living by opening.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if you lock the toilet, you can make a lot of money.

Fan Binbin was shocked when he heard this. Jason next to him also interrupted and said, "Luckily we arranged accommodation in advance, otherwise it would be expensive or we might not be able to find a place to stay at all~"

Everyone agreed that what Jason said was really possible.

The car drove to the door of the hotel and stopped. As soon as everyone got out of the car, they saw two familiar figures walking out of the hotel. They were Liang Jiahui and Johnnie To.

"Director Du, Tony~"

"Director Zhang?"

Johnnie To's face was full of surprise: "What a coincidence, you are here to sell movies too?"

"What do you think?" Zhang Chen shrugged.

He is known for not being interested in film festivals, especially artistic ones like Cannes.

If it weren't for selling movies, who would come here?
"What about you? This time you brought 'Underworld 2'?"

"Hmm~"

Johnnie To nodded. He was also there to sell a movie - "Election 2: The Price of Peace".

This year is very different from last year. Last year's "Underworld" was a work in the main competition unit, but this year's sequel is only in the screening unit and was not shortlisted at all. The status is very different~
"Binbin, Jason~"

The others greeted each other. They were all acquaintances and had worked together before.

This time, there are four people in Zhang Chen's group, Zhang Chen, Fan Xiaopang, Jason Statham and someone from New Line, a minor character who doesn't even deserve a name.

I have to say that the timing of Cannes is really perfect. "A Quiet Place" is scheduled to be released simultaneously in China and the United States in July. Participating in Cannes at this time is both to sell the film and to promote it in advance.

"Brian, oh it's Brian~"

"Oh my god, it's really Brian~"

"Brian, can I take a picture with you?"

A lot of people know Liang Jiahui, and he was recognized by passers-by after a short while.

But most of them were named after characters from Taken.

As expected, he is the most popular movie character in 05, the most powerful dad in history~
Liang Jiahui greeted his fans with a smile. In real life, he is very approachable and doesn't put on airs.

On the contrary, it was his good attitude that made some female fans exclaim in joy. They probably didn’t expect that the strongest dad didn’t kill them, but greeted them instead. They were a little surprised...

"Sir, can you take a picture of me and Brian?"

Someone came up to Zhang Chen and asked him for help. It’s not that Zhang Chen was unwilling to help, but the main reason was that the other party didn’t recognize him.

When you like a movie, do you really only look at the actors and not ask about the director behind it?

Zhang Chen felt a little jealous, but he had to take the photo.

Some people also asked Johnnie To for help, but Johnnie To was in a very good mood when helping them, and his old face was full of smiles.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhang Chen couldn't help but ask.

"If Liang Jiahui becomes famous, then the overseas copyright of "Election 2" will definitely sell more and make more money. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

Zhang Chen was stunned. Yes, why wouldn’t he be happy if he could sell it for more money?

Johnnie To continued: "Speaking of which, I have to thank you. If you hadn't made Taken so popular, I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of this..."

Fan Xiaopang also helped others take photos, and his face was full of envy after taking them.

Zhang Chen leaned close to his ear and said, "Are you envious? Don't worry. After A Quiet Place is released, you will become well-known abroad..."

"Eden Lake" and "The Shallows", Fan Xiaopang actually already has two works, but the former is a niche, and although the latter sold well, it is a pure domestic film and is also considered a niche.

"A Quiet Place" is different. It is a co-production with Hollywood. Even if it is released in Hollywood, it is considered a mainstream work. The influence is completely different, so Zhang Chen dares to make this guarantee.

In fact, the real killer is "Pacific Rim", the leading role in a Class A blockbuster production. As long as the movie is released, Fan Xiaopang will become a star even if he was an amateur before.

After settling in, you must take a look around.

Walking down the street, you can see movie posters everywhere. These are all promotions by wealthy producers. The Cannes Film Festival is not only a film festival, but also a film trading market. Countless movies are sold at the festival every year.

"I heard that Zhang Ziyi is one of the judges this time, and the chairman of the jury is King of Sunglasses~"

Along the way, Fat Fan shared the news he knew, and Zhang Chen knew more than him.

The King of Sunglasses got carried away this time, and he got five Best Actor and Five Best Actress awards at once.

This is no longer just a water actor or actress, this is wholesale.

From then on, the Cannes Best Actor and Best Actress awards were worthless.

The King of Sunglasses achieved unprecedented and unparalleled achievements, and Cannes no longer dared to invite him.

If it happens again, Cannes will be removed from the top three.

As for Zhang Ziyi, she is really awesome.

The youngest judge in Cannes history is only 27 years old!
Although Jiuyijie has always wanted to replace her, she has to admit that Zhang Ziyi is indeed more popular than her at present.
Then when they were shopping, they unexpectedly met people from Huayi, to be exact, the crew of "Night Banquet".

"The Banquet" also came here to sell films.

"Mr. Wang, Director Feng..."

Fan Xiaopang greeted the other party very familiarly and naturally ignored Zhang Ziyi.

Zhang Ziyi was almost the same, and ran straight to Zhang Chen: "Director Zhang, long time no see~"

In the other person's eyes, it seemed as if Fat Fan didn't exist at all.

The men on both sides were similar. Zhang Chen acted as if he didn't see Wang Zhonglei and his group. He was only talking to Zhang Ziyi.

Zhang Ziyi obviously wanted to repair her relationship with Zhang Chen. Even though Zhang Chen had scolded her, she still chatted with Zhang Chen with a smile on her face.

Zhang Chen didn't want to make things too awkward, so he just said a few perfunctory words.

Wang Zhonglei on the other side is similar:
"Oh, Binbin, when did you arrive?"

"Just arrived today~"

After a few pleasantries, everyone separated. Before leaving, Wang Zhonghai deliberately boasted in front of Zhang Chen: "I will hold a cocktail party for "Night Banquet" the day after tomorrow. If Binbin has nothing to do, come along and make some friends..."

Zhang Chen also said to Zhang Ziyi: "Ms. Ziyi, let's talk later~"

The two groups of people smiled and left, and everyone was just pretending.

After the others walked away, Fatty Fan curled his lips and said, "Huayi really spent a lot of money this time to hold a cocktail party here. I heard that the price of holding a cocktail party here is sky-high~"

It’s really a sky-high price!
Last year, in order to promote "The Promise", poet Chen held a cocktail party in Cannes, spending 1200 million US dollars, equivalent to million RMB, which is luxurious.
However, the prices in Cannes are really expensive these days, even higher than in Venice.

The four of them just had a casual meal and spent 500 euros.

500 Euros, the current exchange rate is 1:11, that is more than 5000 RMB. What kind of meal can cost RMB?
The next day, Zhang Chen realized that his thinking was still too conservative.

He thought that Huayi was being extravagant by holding a cocktail party to sell films, but he didn't expect that they also bought a program brochure.

The so-called "programme" is a special issue of the film festival published by film magazines.

There are introductions to the movies, usually for the shortlisted films, but there are also films screened to advertise themselves. Huayi bought the cover.

Zhang Chen had inquired before and found out that buying the cover would cost about $50.

Is Huayi crazy?

If he dares to spend $50 to buy a cover for advertising, isn't he afraid that he won't make back the $50?
Then Zhang Chen knew where the other party's confidence came from.

In addition to the name of "Night Banquet" on the cover, there is also the cover girl Zhang Ziyi.

Zhang Ziyi already has a certain degree of fame among foreigners, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to become a film festival judge.

They came here to sell films. The New Line guy had already inquired about it and found out that there are several ways to sell films.

You can rent a booth in the underground film trading hall and introduce your own film.

You can also book a few rooms in a nearby hotel and hold a big cocktail party or something, which is also an option.

In short, anything is fine.

The film festival itself is a huge trading market. People who come here are more concerned about buying their favorite films or selling their films at a good price rather than who wins the awards.

Zhang Chen and his team rented a booth in the film trading hall and printed some posters to post.

The effect was almost non-existent because there were too many films at the festival.

No one pays attention at all.

Since Zhang Chen discovered the cause of the disease, he took immediate action.

He reprinted some posters. The posters were still the original ones, but there was one more sentence on them: New work by the director of "Taken"~
After the poster was posted again, it finally had an effect.

The number of customers near the booth increased visibly, and many of them came up to ask questions, and the first question they asked was: Is this the new work by the director of "Taken"?
There is no way. After all, directors are behind the scenes and not many people are willing to pay attention to them.

But it was a good start after all.

On the other hand, the scene of "Underworld 2" was really lively. Liang Jiahui was like a beacon in the dark night, attracting all the film buyers to come over.

Johnnie To was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

However, he is not in a hurry to sell it right away. Tomorrow is the Cannes premiere of "Underworld 2". After everyone has seen the film, the price should still be negotiable.

in the country, the relationship between people may be very ordinary.

But abroad, most Chinese people will support it.

Many people came to the premiere of "Underworld 2", and Zhang Chen met the crew of "The Banquet" again.

Zhang Chen's main focus was not on dating, but on watching the movie.

This version of "Underworld 2" is pretty much the same as the original, with that faint, inescapable sense of fatalism.

The protagonists of "Election 2" are Principal Gu and Simon Yam.

Simon Yam's acting is as good as ever. The roles he has played are very strange, there is no role that must be played by him, but his performances are all still quite wonderful.

As for Principal Gu’s acting skills, they can’t be said to be good or bad.

It's average, but compared with Simon Yam, it's a bit inferior.

After the movie was over, everyone rushed to congratulate.

Just as Zhang Chen was about to leave, a female voice speaking English sounded from behind him.

"Sorry, are you Director Zhang Chen?"

Zhang Chen turned around and saw a girl he didn't know. She had an Asian face and looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.

But there is some information: this is the first time he has been recognized since coming to Cannes.

"It's me, you are~"

Zhang Chen pretended to think, and the other party bowed respectfully: "Great, it's really Director Zhang Chen, I'm your fan, my name is Rinko Kikuchi, and I'm one of the actors in "Babel"~"

Little notebook?
"Tower of Babel"?
"Babel" is a film directed by Alejandro Gonzalez and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It tells a tragic story of four families in different countries in the world that happened within 11 days due to poor communication.

This year's Cannes hottest.

This movie is a bit boring. Zhang Chen only remembers the name and can't remember what the story is about at all.

After chatting for a few sentences, Zhang Chen suddenly thought of her.

I remembered her not because of "Tower of Babel" but because of "Pacific Rim".

If you think she looks familiar, she is one of the actors in the original "Pacific Rim".

After asking a few more questions, I found out that the girl had debuted as a model in 99.

Later, he hung around in Hollywood, playing some small roles. No wonder his spoken English was so good, but he was just unlucky and never got any major roles.

To put it bluntly, she's just a Hollywood actress.

"Babel" is the biggest project she has ever participated in.

"Are you a fan of director Johnnie To?"

"Yes, I like his works very much. I am also your fan. I have seen many of your movies. I also know that you are preparing an A-level production called Pacific Rim..."

Zhang Chen nodded. It was obvious that the other party had worked in Hollywood. Only Hollywood likes to talk about A-level and B-level.

Fat Fan had been chatting with Johnnie To, but when he noticed Rinko Kikuchi next to Zhang Chen, his bitch detection radar immediately started beeping.

The next moment, she appeared beside Zhang Chen: "Who is this?"

"Oh, a Japanese friend named Rinko Kikuchi, whom I just met~"

"Hello, Rinko, my name is Fan Binbin~"

Rinko Kikuchi bowed respectfully. She knew Fan. They were both Asian, but Fat Fan was much more famous than her in North America.

Although Fat Fan had a smile on his face, Rinko Kikuchi could hear the wariness in his tone.

"Nice to meet you two, but I have something else to do, so I have to leave first~" Rinko Kikuchi said goodbye.

Watching the other person leave, Fatty Fan said in a chastising tone, "You're not going to be mad at me for ruining your plans, are you?"

Zhang Chen rolled his eyes at her: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is the first time I've met her~"

Fatty Fan was smart enough not to go into the details of the topic and whispered, "Wang Zhonglei just invited me to attend the cocktail party tonight~"

"You can go if you want~"

Fatty Fan immediately hugged his arm and said, "I don't want to go, but I want to get some information and see what the quality of The Banquet is like. Aren't they both released during the summer vacation? "

"Okay, go ahead and get some information."

It's not bad for Fan Xiaopang to play the role of Infernal Affairs. To be honest, he had never seen the movie "Night Banquet" in his previous life, but he heard that it was very bad.

As evening approached, Fatty Fan went to the cocktail party. Jason suddenly approached him stealthily and said, "Listen, Zhang, I don't think you should tie yourself up here. Do you know how wonderful the night in Cannes is?"

Zhang Chen shrugged: "Oh, how wonderful that is, tell me~"

Jason looked around and began to describe with great excitement: "Do you know how many streetwalkers there are in Cannes now?
I can say without exaggeration that all the streetwalkers in Europe are in Cannes now, and they are the best quality ones~"

Jason obviously knew a lot about the female Bodhisattva and could explain it very clearly.

When he mentioned this, Zhang Chen also had an impression of it.

It seems that there have been media reports that during this period, high-quality street prostitutes from Europe have indeed come to Cannes, as it is easy to make money here.

The cost of living in Cannes is already high, and most of the people who make movies are rich and love to enjoy themselves.
Of course, not all candidates can enter. It is said that Cannes also has a strict set of entry standards, with requirements for height, appearance, temperament and dress...

However, Zhang Chen was not interested in these things, mainly because he was afraid of insecurity.

Jason was still lamenting: "Zhang, I know you like Chinese food, but you don't have to eat Chinese food every day. It's still good to change the taste occasionally..."

Zhang Chen knew what he meant by Chinese food, and joked, "Then tell me, which country's specialties have you eaten these past two days?"

Speaking of this, Jason immediately became interested: "Lithuania, France, Finland..."

"We haven't been here for long. The only thing I can do is to ask myself to keep trying new dishes..."

Zhang Chen thought to himself: "Is it a new dish or a new posture?"

(End of this chapter)