Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 457 The Birth of a Classic

Robert De Niro made his debut in the 60s, but he really became famous internationally in the 70s.

1974年《教父2》、1976年《出租车司机》、1977年《纽约，纽约》、1978年《猎鹿人》、1980年《愤怒的公牛》、1984年《美国往事》……

Since the 1970s, many of the films he starred in have achieved great success, and he has been a regular winner of the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, winning numerous awards.

Such high-quality output has also earned him huge international reputation and made him an international superstar with strong appeal.

Robert De Niro attended this year's Cannes Film Festival with his film "Life and Death", and naturally he was aiming for the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.

From this perspective, he can be considered as Xu Guanwen's competitor, and a very strong competitor at that.

"Alright, stop looking! You're a candidate for Best Actor after all, isn't it embarrassing to go ask for someone's autograph?"

After Robert De Niro had his meal, many people on the terrace wanted to take photos with him, and he graciously agreed to all of them.

Seeing this, Xu Guanwen looked in the direction of Robert De Niro eagerly, and Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark to him.

Xu Guanwen looked embarrassed, and in order to ease his embarrassment, he pretended to glance around the terrace.

It was dinner time and there were quite a few diners in the terrace restaurant, most of them were foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes. The two of them, with their yellow skin and black eyes, were an eye-catcher sitting here.

Then he glanced in the direction of Robert De Niro and said enviously: "Hollywood's influence is still strong!"

In the 1980s, although special effects blockbusters had not yet conquered the world, the economic and military strength of the United States since World War II had swept the world, and its cultural exports were still unmatched.

Xu Guanwen is considered a movie star in Hong Kong and even in Southeast Asia, but when he arrived at Cannes, he was just an unknown figure compared to Robert De Niro.

If there is a BGM at this time, it must be "When I was eighteen, I attended my alma mater dance and stood like a minion."

"Don't be envious. After the screening of "The Truman Show", you will have the same treatment in Cannes!" Lin Chaoyang said to Xu Guanwen.

Xu Guanwen looked at Lin Chaoyang with a strange look, wondering where his overflowing confidence came from.

"Have some confidence in yourself!" Lin Chaoyang said again with a firm look in his eyes.

Xu Guanwen took a deep breath. He felt that Chaoyang was right. No matter whether he could win the award or receive such a warm welcome, the first thing was not to lose the momentum and to show confidence.

"What are we going to do now?" he asked confidently.

"Go back to the house and sleep!"

Xu Guanwen: ...

It was impossible for him to sleep. Zou Wenhuai disappeared after landing. He actually went to contact the media for the crew.

As the film festival was about to open, the small town of Cannes was filled with all kinds of noise since early morning, and the media was even more active.

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Lin Chaoyang and his group rushed to the Masu restaurant in the old town of Cannes, where Zou Wenhuai arranged an interview for the crew. The interview media was from France's "Television Overview".

Before and after the film festival, reporters from major media outlets are often invited by film crews because they need the hype from these media outlets.

"Television Overview" is a well-known French magazine. As its name suggests, its original focus was to introduce television programs.

This magazine was founded in 1947. After nearly 40 years of development, it has gradually developed into a comprehensive cultural magazine integrating literature, film, drama, television and other artistic content.

In terms of professionalism in the field of film and film reviews, it certainly cannot be compared with magazines such as "Cahiers du Cinema", "French Film", and "French Cinema", and its influence at the Cannes Film Festival is also a little lacking.

But there is no way around it. Reporters from these well-known film and film review magazines are only willing to interview crews with famous directors and international superstars.

The cast of Golden Harvest and "The Truman Show" is very attractive in Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia, but it has no reputation at the European Film Festival in Cannes.

The reporter of "Television Overview" is called Aurelien. Unlike those professional film magazines whose interviews mainly focus on professional fields, his interview questions are more like those of entertainment reporters.

Aurelien didn't know much about "The Truman Show" at first, and only talked about some interesting things on and off the stage and the opportunity to participate in the exhibition.

Until he asked the director Ann Hui, "What do you think the chances of this film winning an award are?"

Ann Hui said calmly: "Whether a film wins an award depends on the judges' taste, but I think our film deserves a prestigious award!"

Aurelien was a little surprised to hear this. Whether it was the previous interview or his previous experience of interviewing Asian filmmakers, these people have always been very humble. He did not expect Ann Hui to say this so confidently.

"Can you tell me why you think it deserves a prestigious award?" Aurelion asked with interest.

Ann Hui calmly replied: "Because this is France, the birthplace of absurdist drama. If you have seen The Truman Show, you will know that it is an outstanding work of absurdist art."

As a Frenchman, Aurelien was naturally impressed by Ann Hui's compliments and also took the movie "The Truman Show" more seriously.

"If it's true, then it deserves a big prize," Aurelian said with a smile.

Ann Hui's words sparked his interest in "The Truman Show". In the following interview, he asked many questions about the plot and characters of the movie. The more he listened, the more interesting and fascinated he found it.

At the end of the interview, he couldn't help but say: "I am getting more and more curious about this movie now. I really hope to see it soon!"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said to him, "You will see it soon."

The interview lasted for nearly two hours. It was already past 11 o'clock in the evening when Lin Chaoyang and his team said goodbye to Aurelien and returned to the hotel.

A few people were about to go upstairs when they were suddenly stopped by two people with Hong Kong accents.

This time, "The Truman Show" was shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival, and the Hong Kong press attached great importance to it. Several media outlets even sent reporters specially.

The two reporters who stopped Lin Chaoyang and his group were from Ming Pao and Ta Kung Pao, one of whom was Shen Xicheng, who had interviewed Lin Chaoyang before.

Shen Xicheng and his companion were not media reporters invited by the film festival. They came to Cannes at their own expense. There are many reporters like them in Cannes.

Most of the selected films from small countries and regions will attract some journalists from their own country or region to follow up on the reports.

Lin Chaoyang and his companions stood in the night and chatted casually with Shen Xicheng and the others for a while. The film festival had not yet opened and there was not much content for the interview. Xu Guanwen agreed with them to wait until after the screening of "The Truman Show" before accepting a formal interview.

Then they returned to the hotel to rest.

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang and his group gathered together again.

Today is the opening day of the film festival. They all took a bus to the Festival Palace where the main venue of the film festival is located.

At 9:30 in the morning in Cannes, the sun was already shining brightly. Rehearsals for the opening ceremony were being prepared at the Palais des Festivals, and media reporters from all over the world gathered together.

Some reporters thought that the organizing committee had neglected them in their arrangements and had been negotiating with the staff of the organizing committee; some reporters kept their eyes open and looked for stars and famous directors in the crowded streets of Cannes.

Hundreds of reporters and fans gathered in front of the Festival Palace, and the film festival was already bustling and lively before it even opened.

Before 1982, the Cannes Film Festival was held at the Croisette Palace, and only in recent years has it moved to the newly built Palais des Festivals.

Although it does not have the simplicity and elegance of the Palais des Croisette, the hardware facilities of the Palais des Festivals are much better than those of the Palais des Croisette.

Lin Chaoyang and others successfully entered the Festival Palace after showing their invitation to the film festival.

A total of 22 films from all over the world have been shortlisted for this year's Cannes Film Festival, which means that 22 crews will appear.

Together with the invited guests, journalists and film critics, nearly a thousand people suddenly poured into the festival palace.

Throughout the morning, all the crews and stars participating in the film festival gathered together to meet with reporters, and the crew gathered on the stairs for the media to take pictures.

When famous directors, actors and singers such as Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Tom Waits appeared on the stage, the photographers' flashes formed a dazzling light curtain, so bright that people could not open their eyes, and the audience welcomed them enthusiastically with screams and applause.

When it was the turn of the crew of "The Truman Show" to appear on stage, the light curtain and applause became completely formalities, and screams were even less likely.

Feeling this huge gap, Xu Guanwen, Cherie Chung and Maggie Cheung kept chirping after they got down the stairs. The theme was naturally the snobbery of the reporters and audiences in Cannes.

After lunch, there was another lengthy procedure, with the judges appearing and giving speeches... It was no different from activities held in domestic schools. Lin Chaoyang could not wait and ran outside the Festival Palace to get some fresh air.

In the evening, the opening red carpet of the film festival officially began.

There was a huge crowd in front of the Palais des Festivals, with audiences, tourists and fans of the film gathering on the Croisette and the square.

The female stars competed with each other in beauty, causing screams and shouts.

The crew of "The Truman Show" was arranged to walk the red carpet in front, but they were still unknown at the film festival.

At around seven o'clock in the evening, the opening ceremony reached its climax, with judges meeting, stars taking the stage and performances. The cameras of France 4 TV recorded these scenes in real time.

The crew of "The Truman Show" only got a few live shots when the selected films were introduced.

After the intermission, there was a welcome banquet. The banquet was like a train station hall during rush hour. The guests spent more time socializing than eating.

Hugs, exchanging business cards, going out for a smoke, during the entire banquet, not a single table was full of guests.

During most of the banquet, Lin Chaoyang stood on the hotel balcony smoking, occasionally chatting with the crew members who came to him.

With an East Asian face, almost no one came to talk to him, except for a little old man with the same skin and hair color.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Lin?"

English with a strong accent sounded in his ears. Lin Chaoyang turned around and saw the face of Oshima Nagisa.

"Hello, Director Oshima."

Nagisa Oshima came to the Cannes Film Festival this year with his new work "Max, My Love". He is a frequent visitor to the Cannes Film Festival and has won the Best Director Award at the festival.

Compared with Lin Chaoyang and his group who had just arrived, they were treated with much greater courtesy.

Lin Chaoyang didn't know why Oshima Nagisa suddenly ran over to greet him, but since she greeted him with a smile, he couldn't just turn her away.

The two had a conversation in English. It turned out that Nagisa Oshima and Kenzaburo Oe were very good friends. In February, Kenzaburo Oe recommended him to read the book "Crossing the Guandong".

I attended a day-long film festival today and found out that Lin Chaoyang is the author of "Crossing the Guandong", so I took the opportunity to come and say hello during the dinner.

“Such a grand work is really an eye-opener!
After reading it, I finally understood why Kenzaburo respected Lin-san so much. "

Oshima Nagisa expressed his appreciation for "Crossing the Guandong" generously, so Lin Chaoyang naturally had to be polite.

Then the two talked about "The Truman Show". Oshima Nagisa had read the manual distributed to everyone at the film festival and had a general understanding of the story of "The Truman Show". He was very interested in this absurd story with a curious color.

Almost every one of Nagisa Oshima's representative works, such as "In the Realm of the Senses", "The Dead of Love", and "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", is very bold in style. This year's film festival brought "Max, My Love", which is based on the taboo of human-animal love.

Lin Chaoyang thought that the stories told in his novels were relatively orthodox, and he did not expect that they would be highly appreciated by Oshima Nagisa. He was more or less not used to it.

The two chatted for a while, and then the opening film began to show, so they followed the crowd to the Lumiere Theater.

This year's opening film is "The Sacrifice" by Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky.

The seating arrangements for the opening film were very particular. The crew of "The Truman Show" was arranged on the left side of the Lumiere Theater, while the front row in the center was reserved for several crews that were more valued by the organizing committee.

For example, the crew of Andrei Tarkovsky's "The Sacrifice", the crew of Martin Scorsese's "After Hours", and the crew of Roland Joffe's "Life in War".

There are also many famous European and American movie stars sitting there. The Cannes Film Festival is not only a film festival, but also the world's largest international advertising festival.

During this period, many celebrities will be invited by advertisers to attend the film festival even if they do not have films exhibited.

There is also a special position in the theater, which is the booth farthest from the projector. It is the symbol of the highest position in the Cannes ecological chain and the seat for the judges.

The movie began to show. "Sacrifice" tells the story of the protagonist Alexander who prevents the nuclear explosion by offering sacrifice to God against the backdrop of nuclear destruction.

As the Chernobyl nuclear accident just happened last month, using this movie as the opening film is full of political implications.

The tone of the entire movie is similar to the story in the Bible where Abraham built an altar to sacrifice Isaac to Jehovah.

Due to the religious connotations and the influence of the political environment, Lin Chaoyang was certain that this film would win an award.

His remarks made Ann Hui and others a little uneasy. Although they knew something about the Cannes Film Festival, as Hong Kong people, they were not sensitive to things like politics and beliefs.

Hearing Lin Chaoyang's confident tone, Xu Guanwen couldn't help but ask, "Can it win the Palme d'Or?"

"It's hard to say. There are more than one important award at the film festival. Besides, there are politically correct films like this at the film festival every year. It's not certain that they will all win awards, but the probability is definitely higher than that of ordinary works."

Xu Guanwen felt a little relieved.

The two also talked about the treatment of "The Truman Show" today, and agreed that Golden Harvest had a deep misunderstanding of the organizing committee.

Is this what he calls “valuing”?
After the opening film, there was a large open-air party on Majestic Beach, which was still packed at midnight.

Several actors in the crew love to join in the fun and would go to participate even if they don't sleep.

It was already late at night when the movie ended. Lin Chaoyang didn't feel like it, so he went back to his hotel room to rest.

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang was in good spirits. Compared to him, the people in the crew were much more listless. They did not return to their room to rest until after three o'clock last night and only slept for about four hours.

At 8:30 this morning, the first film of the film festival, "After get off work", will be screened in the Lumiere Theater for media from all over the world, various participating crews and some industry insiders.

The crew of "The Truman Show" didn't have to go, but this movie was Martin Scorsese's new work and one of the most promising award-winning films by the media before the film festival, so everyone wanted to go and see its quality.

After all, only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle.

After the movie, when several people came out of the theater, Ann Hui looked worried.

Compared with Martin Scorsese's previous works, the style of "After Hours" is not heavy, but tends to be black humor, but the technique is so sophisticated that it has a style of making light of heavy tasks and being skillful and ingenious.

Ann Hui thinks that she is probably a level behind Martin Scorsese in terms of shooting skills, which is not a good thing for "The Truman Show".

Seeing that she was in a low mood, Lin Chaoyang shook his head helplessly.

Less than two days after arriving in Cannes, Ann Hui and Xu Guanwen were often hit hard, with their emotions up and down. Lin Chaoyang was too lazy to comfort them.

On the other hand, Cherie Chung and Maggie Cheung know that they are not capable enough and have no desire for any awards. Their mentality is very stable.

Besides taking beautiful photos, I also study food.

In the afternoon and evening, Ann Hui and Xu Guanwen continued to go to various cinemas and theaters to spy on the enemy like crazy, while Lin Chaoyang wandered freely on the streets of Cannes.

The premiere of "The Truman Show" in Cannes was scheduled for the morning of the third day of the film festival at the Debussy Theater.

Although it is not the most prestigious Lumiere Theater in the film festival, it is not too bad.

"The Truman Show" did not receive the opening film treatment of "The Sacrifice" nor did it have the grand red carpet ceremony and enthusiastic audience of the premiere of "After Hours".

The people who came were mainly media people and film critics, and there were almost no free audiences. The cinema, which could accommodate nearly a thousand spectators, had an occupancy rate of less than 20% at this time.

This is also the harsh reality that most obscure films that participate in film festivals must face.

People say that the film and television industry is the most realistic industry, and the audience is the same.

There are so many films made by famous filmmakers at the film festival, so of course the audience has to watch those star-studded films first.

Fortunately, the jury was somewhat respectful and at the press conference before the screening, the jury chairman of this year's film festival, Sidney Pollack, appeared on the scene with three judges and selection director Giles Jacob.

When answering reporters' questions, several people expressed great appreciation for "The Truman Show".

Lin Chaoyang and others watched the performance of these judges at the screening press conference two days ago. Their words were almost the same in almost every press conference, and they just praised them.

So many of the films screened were carefully selected by the film festival. It is impossible for them to make negative comments in front of so many reporters.

In addition to the jury members, a group of guests came uninvited before the screening of "The Truman Show".

Nagisa Oshima brought the male and female leading actors of "Max, My Love" Charlotte Rampling and Anthony Higgins to support "The Truman Show".

Nagisa Oshima has a high reputation in the international film industry. His arrival attracted a lot of film from reporters, and they were also bound to make a few remarks.

"...I really like Lin Sang's novel "Crossing Guandong". "The Truman Show" is his new work. He talked to me about this work before. I think his idea is very genius. I am also looking forward to watching this excellent film."

The reporters and film critics present thought that Nagisa Oshima was invited by the film company or the director or leading actor, but they didn't expect that he came because he was the screenwriter of "The Truman Show".

It seems that they came here on their own initiative because of Lin Chaoyang's reputation as a screenwriter. This made these reporters and film critics cast curious glances at Lin Chaoyang, the screenwriter who has always been silent.

At the same time, they also had higher expectations for "The Truman Show". When the movie started, the Debussy Theater became quiet.

The beam of light from the projector hit the screen, and Bao Fang's face, full of stories, appeared on it first.

Films participating in the Cannes Film Festival are required to use the original voices of the actors. In order for the audience to understand the content of the film, these films are supplemented with English subtitles.

At this time, Bao Fang's excellent vocal conditions and line delivery skills became a plus, and immediately attracted the attention of many people present.

Truman has lived in a small town called Utopia since he was a child. He is a broker of an insurance company in this small town.

He seems to be living exactly the same life as ordinary people, but he doesn't know that there are thousands of cameras facing him every second of his life.

The whole world is watching him every moment, and he doesn't know that everyone around him, including his wife and friends, are actors in a reality show...

The story of "The Truman Show" is set in the present day in 1986, which is absolutely creative, and can even be called bizarre and absurd.

But it is precisely because of its bizarreness and absurdity that the audience quickly became addicted to it after learning about the story setting through interviews with the director and actors at the very beginning of the film.

When everything is preset for a person from birth, when a person is destined to spend his whole life in falsehood from birth, when a person steps into a cage from birth that cannot be escaped.

Such a strong plot setting keeps the audience's eyes firmly fixed on the screen. They feel sorry for Truman's situation and worry about him.

They hope that Truman can discover the illusion of life, hope that Truman can bravely resist the established fate, and hope that Truman can escape from the cage.

But when Truman finally stood in front of the door to freedom, when the director's voice sounded.

"They are all fake, but you are real. Truman, you are real.

The world outside is just as fake as this, with the same lies and the same deception.

But in this world, you don’t have to be afraid of anything, and no one will hurt you.”

Bao Fang's voice passed through the loudspeakers in the movie and the theater's sound equipment, causing severe distortion, but it carried a sense of compassion and kindness.

On the screen, Truman, played by Xu Guanwen, had flickering eyes and a furrowed brow, and every breath he took seemed so rapid and heavy.

Every beat of his heart seemed to be beating against his chest, as if there were two sharply opposing voices in his mind.

After a long time, his expression gradually calmed down, he felt relieved, and revealed a relaxed and unrestrained smile.

"If I never see you again, I wish you good morning, good afternoon and good night!"

He bowed slightly, put one hand behind his back and the other on his chest, and bowed gracefully.

The screening of "The Truman Show" ended, and the end credits were rolling, but the Debussy Theater was completely silent.

Xu Guanwen sat next to Lin Chaoyang. He looked at the situation with trepidation and nervousness, and asked in a low voice: "Chaoyang, what's going on? Did we screw up?"

Not only him, but several other members of the crew also thought so.

They went to other film screenings these days, and every movie was met with applause. Even if the quality of the work was not satisfactory, the audience would not be stingy with their encouraging applause.

But the current situation of "The Truman Show" has left everyone confused. Even if people think it is not good, they should at least give some symbolic applause, right?
They don't believe that the movie they worked so hard to make is so bad that it doesn't even deserve a little compliment!

"Don't be impatient!"

There was a calmness in Lin Chaoyang's voice. Through the dim light in the Debussy Cinema, Xu Guanwen saw the calmness and confidence on his face.

Suddenly, an abrupt applause rang out, as if sending some kind of signal. A few seconds later, thunderous applause broke out in the Debussy Theater.

Although the audience consisted mainly of one or two hundred journalists and film critics, they still exuded a momentum as overwhelming as mountains and seas.

"Bravo!"

"Amazing!"

At this moment, there are no reporters or film critics in the Debussy Theater, they are all audiences.

Everyone stood up spontaneously and shouted loudly to express their incomparable love for the movie.

Everyone had a hunch that they seemed to have witnessed the birth of a classic film!

(End of this chapter)