Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 429: He Should Really Be Locked Up in a Small Dark Room
The Palme d'Or is the highest honor at the Cannes International Film Festival in France, one of the three major film festivals in Europe.

The Cannes International Film Festival has been held since 1946 and has a history of nearly 40 years. It is famous worldwide, and its highest honor, the Palme d'Or, has naturally become one of the most important awards in the film industry.

Whether it is the Golden Horse Awards or the Golden Image Awards, their influence is limited to the tiny island. With the continuous development of the mainland market, these two awards have gradually expanded their reputation in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

But even so, it is far from the Cannes Film Festival, and the selection is simply not on the same level.

Li Hanxiang has won the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, but he has never won the Palme d'Or. Therefore, he was caught off guard by Lin Chaoyang's question and stood there in a daze.

Then he realized that he had never won the Palme d'Or, but he had been nominated!
The films he shot in the 1960s, such as "A Chinese Ghost Story", "Yang Guifei" and "Empress Wu Zetian", were all nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

But Li Hanxiang thought about it and didn't say it. Given Lin Chaoyang's personality, if he mentioned the nomination, he would probably laugh at him again. People always show lack of confidence when they are laughed at.

The astonishment on Li Hanxiang's face gradually disappeared, and he asked Lin Chaoyang with uncertainty, "Is this movie going to win the Palme d'Or?"

"Yes!" Lin Chaoyang answered very happily.

Li Hanxiang opened his mouth. He wanted to laugh at Lin Chaoyang for being ignorant of the world. It was a world-class film festival. You said you could win an award? And it was the highest award?
I, Old Li, have been around for my whole life but have never won a single award!

"The script hasn't even come out, the director hasn't even been decided, and you dare talk about winning the Palme d'Or?" Li Hanxiang hesitated, his tone slightly euphemistic.

Lin Chaoyang said calmly: "Michael has made such a great determination to transform, is it just to fail? If you aim for the best, you will get something in the middle; if you aim for the middle, you will get something below; if you aim for the worst, you will get nothing."

At this time, Xu Guanwen finally came back to his senses from the shock of the "Golden Palm". Listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, he felt that there was some truth in them, but he still thought they were a bit exaggerated.

After all, it’s the Palme d’Or. Which winning film and filmmaker doesn’t gain world-class fame?

"Mr. Lin, it's not that easy to attend the Cannes Film Festival, right?"

Cannes is translated as "Cancheng" in Hong Kong, and the Cannes Film Festival here is the Cannes Film Festival.

Whether it is now or in the future, film festivals have always had their own set of processes for selecting films. The same is true for the Cannes Film Festival. All works need to be selected by the selection working group before entering the film festival's selection stage.

It is said to be open to the whole world, and theoretically films from all over the world can be registered, but the film festival selection staff is limited, and their time is also limited.

These film selection staff are equivalent to the secondary judges of the film festival and have the power of life and death over whether a film can be selected for the main competition unit of the film festival.

In this case, whoever can win the film selection staff will have a high probability of being selected into the main competition unit and thus join the competition for the Palme d'Or.

What Xu Guanwen meant by “not that easy” does not just mean winning an award. Just getting selected for the main competition unit may require a lot of hard work.

Lin Chaoyang could understand Xu Guanwen's psychology, but what he just said was not groundless.

"Now that you've listened to the content of the script, how do you think it compares to the scripts of those award-winning films?"

Xu Guanwen said without hesitation: "It couldn't be more wonderful. As long as it is filmed neatly, it will be a best film of the year. If it is handed over to a talented director, I can't imagine what will happen."

Lin Chaoyang looked at Li Hanxiang again, asking him what he thought with his eyes.

Li Hanxiang pondered and said, "Of course the script is a good one among a hundred."

"Better than the scripts you entered at the film festival?"

These words were so heartbreaking that Li Hanxiang's face turned red with anger. He was originally dark-skinned, and when he was angry, his face turned red with a hint of black, like a branding iron.

Before the iron could be pressed against Lin Chaoyang's body to burn him, Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "It's just a joke."

Li Hanxiang glared at him fiercely, looking ferocious, but Lin Chaoyang ignored him and continued:

“My script can almost be said to be a one-man show for the male lead. Michael has a lot of room to play, and it is not difficult for you to support this role with your acting skills.

With these two factors, the probability of success is not low.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Guanwen couldn't help but nod slightly, agreeing with Lin Chaoyang's statement.

“The Cannes Film Festival is held in May every year, and if our film starts shooting in the second half of the year, we will be able to attend it in time.

Lao Li happens to have a connection with the Cannes Film Festival, so I'll ask him to contact me and make recommendations when the time comes.

Oh, and Director Hu, with two famous directors recommending it, it would be inappropriate for the director of film selection not to take a look at it.”

As Xu Guanwen listened to Lin Chaoyang's words, a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

Li Hanxiang's eyes widened in dissatisfaction. He helped Xu Guanwen and Lin Chaoyang to set up a relationship, but he was ridiculed and mocked at every turn. Now they wanted him to help again?

"No matter what!" Li Hanxiang flatly rejected Lin Chaoyang's proposal.

Xu Guanwen looked surprised, but immediately understood what was going on. He was just about to persuade Li Hanxiang.

At this time, Lin Chaoyang spoke up, "You really don't care?"

Faced with Li Hanxiang's rejection, Lin Chaoyang did not show any anxiety. Instead, he asked with a joking look on his face.

"No matter what!" Li Hanxiang refused firmly again.

"Please think about it carefully~"

There was a hint of teasing in Lin Chaoyang's tone, which made Li Hanxiang's initial determination waver.

He couldn't help but ask: "What do you want to think about?"

Lin Chaoyang said with a smile: "Michael will definitely not let you do this for nothing, you can invest in this movie together."

When Li Hanxiang heard this, his eyes flickered. He looked at Xu Guanwen, as if trying to find out Xu Guanwen's inner thoughts.

Xu Guanwen didn't expect Lin Chaoyang to say such a thing. When he was hesitating, he suddenly realized that he and Li Hanxiang had been led by Lin Chaoyang, and felt that Lin Chaoyang was the leader of this movie.

But at the moment he had no time to think about it carefully, because Li Hanxiang was looking at him.

The cooperation with Lin Chaoyang was actually arranged by Li Hanxiang. If things really develop as Lin Chaoyang said, we will have to ask him for help, and maybe we will really have to give him some investment share.

Moreover, it seems that there is nothing wrong with more people investing in movies. The more people he brought in for his first transformation, the less risk he had to bear personally.

As for the success of the movie, he must be the one who benefits the most. Of course, this "benefit" does not only refer to profit, but also fame.

Thinking of this, Xu Guanwen nodded.

"That's right. If Lao Li were to be the producer of this film, the chances of success would definitely be higher. How about you invest a little bit as well?"

His words just hit the spot for Li Hanxiang. The huge success of "The Last Emperor" and "The Chess Master" made Li Hanxiang reap the sweetness.

Xu Guanwen's transitional work will definitely have greater risks, but with Lin Chaoyang's script, his supervision, and Xu Guanwen's audience appeal and acting skills, the probability of success is still very high.

No one can guarantee winning the Palme d'Or, but as long as a film can be successfully shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival, it would probably be a victory.

"It's certainly a good thing to be able to invest in Michael's new movie. As for the share..."

Li Hanxiang's words made Xu Guanwen hesitate. He came to talk to Lin Chaoyang about the script today, but he didn't expect that during the conversation they even agreed on participating in the film festival and investing.

Lin Chaoyang took 10% of the profits from a script, and Li Hanxiang wanted to participate in the investment. How much share should he give? Should he give it to the box office or the overall profits?

Xu Guanwen was very conflicted. The investors, the director, himself... everyone wanted a piece of the pie. It was not easy!
Why does the progress bar move so fast?

"We talked too fast today. I haven't yet secured investment and a director. How about this? Chaoyang should write the script as soon as possible, and I will go and get investment and contact the director first. What do you think?"

Li Hanxiang thought about it and felt that it made sense. "That's good. When will Chaoyang's script be released?"

Lin Chaoyang said easily: "One month."

Xu Guanwen was not surprised to hear the time he reported. He just thought that his script was almost finished. However, Li Hanxiang had seen Lin Chaoyang's efficiency in writing scripts, and the time he reported was already quite conservative.

"Okay, I will take care of the investors and production team within a month." Xu Guanwen said confidently.

The three of them agreed, picked up the coffee cups on the table and clinked them together.

The next day, Lin Chaoyang was writing at home with full concentration when someone suddenly came to visit him.

He had moved to Hong Kong for more than half a month and didn't have many acquaintances here. Apart from Li Hanxiang and his wife, this was the first time someone came to visit him.

"Old Li, why did you come to Hong Kong?"

When Lin Chaoyang saw the dusty Li Shifei, he could hardly hide his surprise.

When Li Shifei saw Lin Chaoyang, he didn't bother to exchange pleasantries. "What exactly is going on in your letter? What conditions did the Yanjing Publishing House give you?"

Listening to Li Shifei's anxious questions, Lin Chaoyang finally understood why he appeared in Hong Kong.

"Go in and have a cup of tea first."

Lin Chaoyang did not answer Li Shifei's question. He first pulled him to sit down, poured him tea, and let him rest for a while before telling him the conditions proposed by Yenching Publishing House.

After hearing the whole story, Li Shifei frowned and spoke with contempt.

"They are really interesting. It's not like you haven't talked to them before. They were reluctant to give you royalties at first, but now that they see you're making money, they're coming back to you."

Colleagues are enemies, and intellectuals are even more ruthless when it comes to scolding their colleagues.

But if you put yourself in the shoes of Li Shifei and Huacheng Publishing House, his anger is understandable.

How much determination and risk did Huacheng Publishing House take to agree to Lin Chaoyang's request for royalties!
As a result, within less than a year, those colleagues who had been pretending to be silent saw that there was something sweet to be gained and immediately surrounded Lin Chaoyang.

he~tui, despicable!
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "They put forward their conditions. If the conditions are the same, I will definitely give priority to you."

Lin Chaoyang's words comforted Li Shifei a little, but the sense of urgency in his heart did not diminish at all.

An "equal condition" is like a tight hoop on Sun Wukong's head, which makes him dare not slack off in the slightest.

"Chaoyang, tell me the truth, what conditions do you want? You can't just let our two families take turns raising the price like an auction, right?"

Two dogs fight, play off.

If Yenching Publishing House and Huacheng Publishing House really continue to compete like this, it will certainly be beneficial to Lin Chaoyang.

But he also understands that everything should be done in moderation.

If it really turns out to be what Li Shifei said, it would be extremely damaging to one's character.

“It would be too damaging to the relationship if it were to be auctioned, so we should do it within our means.

You asked me what conditions I want? Of course I want as much royalties as possible, but the prerequisite is that your publishing house is willing to do so. "

Lin Chaoyang spoke frankly about his thoughts, and Li Shifei sighed thoughtfully.

What Lin Chaoyang said is true. Who doesn’t want to make more money?

He struggled for a while, his mind in a mess, and asked Lin Chaoyang casually, "How is the new work going?"

“Almost finished.”

Almost finished?

Li Shifei suddenly became excited. "Didn't you say you would start writing after the New Year? So soon?"

"I moved to Hong Kong and had nothing to do all day, so my writing efficiency has improved a lot."

When Li Shifei heard Lin Chaoyang's words, an evil thought came to his mind.

It seems that Chaoyang still has too many mundane things to do. He really should be locked up in a small dark room!

(End of this chapter)