Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 543: rave reviews (6k)

Zhang Weiping followed the crowd and clapped his hands twice, then stopped. He grabbed Zhang Yimou's arm, moved closer and asked.

"Yimou, do you think this film has a chance of winning an award?"

He was eager to hear a negative answer from the other party.

However, Zhang Yimou nodded confidently, "I have a great hope, and the most likely winner is the Golden Bear Award."

"Why?" Zhang Weiping said, "This is a superhero movie, so it should have inherent disadvantages, right?"

"I won't talk about the audio-visual language and aesthetic style. All you need to know is that Chen has made another breakthrough in Joker and he is gradually forming his own style."

Zhang Weiping asked in confusion, "What does this mean?"

“I can’t say what it represents, but judges or professionals are generally optimistic and appreciative of films that represent personal breakthroughs of the creators.”

Zhang Yimou paused, and then continued, "As for the superhero movie you mentioned, if the movie is shocking enough, the unfavorable conditions will turn into advantages. You should understand this."

"I see?"

Zhang Weiping frowned and thought for a while, then understood.
"Yes, it's a big gimmick to give an award to a superhero movie that is good enough and exceeds expectations."

"Yes, film festivals also need publicity. A fair and impressive awards ceremony can greatly enhance the value of the festival."

Zhang Yimou was somewhat amazed and said, "Xiao Chen's progress is so fast. The use of light and shadow in this film is, to some extent, no less than the level of me and Brother Kai."

It’s definitely not the case that we can surpass it.

The level of color and lighting during their peak period, especially in the past era, took a very long time to carefully craft and cannot be surpassed easily.

In the era when natural light was mostly used, it would sometimes take ten days or half a month to wait for sufficiently exciting light and shadow conditions.

This is far from what it is now.

But when it comes to depicting things like city alleys, stairs, and subways, Xiao Chen is still better now.

Just watching this film, the scenes of the shooting in the subway and the solo dance on the stairs are so full of artistic beauty.

"When I was watching it just now, I kept thinking of Wang Jiawei. They are different types, but both have distinct and outstanding styles."

Zhang Weiping was somewhat helpless. Zhang Yimou really didn't care that his unique triple gold grand slam was also won by others.

He rolled his eyes and thought of many ideas, but in the end he had to give up.

The cost of offending Xiao Chen is a bit high. Even if Zhang Weiping has Zhang Yimou's support, he dare not be too casual.

"Well, we can only hope that the jury and the organizing committee have some backbone and don't let Xiao Chen's reputation affect them."

"It's up to you to stop Xiao Chen from winning the Grand Slam, Berlin Organizing Committee, please give some help."

Zhang Weiping shouted in his heart.

……

Amid the applauding crowd, Emma Watson was also quietly asking Martin Freeman.

I just finished watching the movie, and I felt like I had an emotion that I couldn’t describe, but I was eager to express.

This made her want to communicate with people around her.

"what?"

The noise around him was too loud and Martin couldn't hear clearly.

Emma Watson raised her voice a little, "What do you think of this movie?"

I heard it clearly this time.

"It can be seen that Leonardo's acting skills have made a great breakthrough, which is very unexpected."

As an actor, this is what Martin focuses on first.

"Indeed..." Emma Watson recalled that Leonardo's Joker was simply amazing.

She never thought that after Heath Ledger, there would be someone who could portray the Joker in a completely different but equally wonderful way.

"What about the story rhythm and plot?" Emma Watson asked again.

Martin hesitated for a moment and saw that the director was exploring social issues, but he had a slightly different opinion on it.

But before Martin could reply, Samuel Jackson, who heard the two voices, interrupted.

"Emma, ​​I have to say, this is the most shocking movie I have ever seen. The moment Arthur becomes the Joker, the movie is enough to be enshrined in history!"

There was obvious excitement in his words.

As a black person, I can really relate to some of the situations faced by the protagonist in the film.

He even felt that Arthur was, in some ways, a miniature of himself when he was young.

This makes him extremely engaged when watching movies, and he can best understand the changes in the protagonist's mood.

Emma Watson looked at Martin, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Martin shrugged and said, "I agree with Samuel. Chen has mastered the art of light and shadow to perfection, and Leonardo's performance is like a devil. These two people complement each other very well."

"Artistic lighting, devilish acting, and a stunning plot," Emma Watson clapped her hands, "Chen has created another classic."

"Well, in a way, you're right."

"Yes, Joker is an absolute masterpiece."

The three reached an agreement.

Discussions among industry insiders were relatively more cautious, while ordinary audiences who got premiere tickets were more excited.

The applause lasted for nearly 5 minutes.

It was not until the main creators of the film came on stage and bowed several times to express their gratitude that the applause from the audience gradually dissipated.

During the question-and-answer session, the atmosphere was very lively and everyone wanted to ask questions.

Sina reporter Xu Tao raised his hand and observed the situation of other people at the scene.

There were so many people raising their hands that he didn't think he would be chosen immediately.

Sure enough, the host on the stage chose a white reporter.

He knew this man, Tom, a reporter from Global Screen.

"May I ask what was the director's purpose in making such a film?"

Xu Tao felt that he had some bad intentions, but Director Chen's answer later cleverly avoided the bad points in the question.

Tom didn't make any more trouble.

"It seems that Director Chen's international status has reached a certain level," he thought.

Foreigners also treat people differently based on their situation. Xu Tao has experienced this too many times.

Chen Linfeng answered questions one after another rigorously and sincerely, and sometimes with humor.

"Okay, next one, um, let's go to the gentleman with the glasses over there."

At this moment, people around him suddenly looked at him, and Xu Tao quickly realized that he was chosen.

Xu Tao suddenly tensed up and asked the questions he had prepared.

Fortunately, no one asked this question just now, so he paid extra attention to it.

"Director Chen, Leonardo's acting style and acting skills in this film are completely different from before. How did you do that?"

"Oh? You're still a domestic reporter. It would be better for Leo to answer this question."

Chen Linfeng on the stage whispered a few words to Leonardo in English, then handed the microphone to him.

"For this role, I started preparing very early, but when it came time to shoot, Chen gave me a new script.

Then he told me that my previous preparations were wrong and I needed to change my thinking.

I had to change my approach and act in a completely different way than I had prepared before, which largely avoided being the same as in the past."

Leonardo talked endlessly about his acting experience, emphasizing the role of the director.

Including the performance demonstration given to him by Chen Linfeng during the filming of the crew.

Xu Tao took notes excitedly.

Director Chen gives Leonardo a demonstration!

If Leonardo DiCaprio wins an award for the role of the Joker in the future.

Director Chen deserves one third of the military medal.

Or to put it another way, Director Chen is Leonardo's mentor.

The film festival schedule is quite tight, and there are subsequent screening plans after "Joker".

Therefore, the question-and-answer session did not last particularly long.

After returning to the hotel, Xu Tao turned on his computer and started editing today's report.

Internet media is all about speed.

《The much anticipated premiere of Director Chen’s new film》

"Director Chen's new film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was well received"

This type of headline plus a brief news commentary is issued when the movie starts.

What he has to do now is to post a long review.

Xu Tao did not focus on stating whether the movie was good or bad.

There must be a lot of film review-style reports like this, and it would be difficult for him to come up with something original even if he wrote one.

Xu Tao focused on the reactions of the surrounding audience and the stars in the front row during the movie screening.

There was also a 5-minute applause after the screening.

Since the media was not allowed to take photos in the theater, Xu Tao could only describe it in words as best as possible.

His writing style is quite good, and he described the scene in which the audience was excited and even shocked very well.

He also included some excerpts from the questions and answers from many reporters and audience members.

Especially the respect that Western reporters showed to Director Chen. After the Q&A session, European and American stars came forward to greet him, and then tried their best to greet him.

He used this as the focus of the second half of the article.

The entire article does not describe how good the movie is, but if you read the report carefully, you can feel the recognition of the movie by the audience, celebrity guests, and the author himself.

After the report is written, it is quickly reviewed and then sent out.

It is early morning in Berlin, while it is morning in China.

Many netizens who wake up early keep checking news from the Berlin Film Festival.

Among them, the premiere of Chen Linfeng’s new film occupied the headlines of most news reports.

"Chen Linfeng's new film premiered?"

Many people were shocked at first, wondering if they had missed watching the news for several days. His movie is about to be released and should not be unknown.

Then I noticed that it premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

Domestic netizens still don’t pay enough attention to the three major European film festivals.

Often we only pay attention to it after the results come out.

Nowadays, when you see the news, you naturally click to read it.

Then I saw a lot of rainbow farts.

The most outstanding report here is a report from Sina.

It gives a good description of Chen Linfeng's success at the Berlin Film Festival and the respect and admiration he received from all over the world.

Reading this report is like reading a cool article, which makes people unable to stop.

Before I knew it, I had clicked on the collection and forwarding button.

After watching it, combined with the film reviews from other media reporters, it feels different.

Another thing is that some reporters reprinted foreign media's reviews of the new film, most of which were positive and much more exaggerated than those in China.

The more I read this news, the more interesting it becomes.

On Weibo, discussions about this year's Berlin Film Festival are gradually increasing.

Many people join in the discussion just because they are not satisfied after reading the news.

Some people just forwarded the news they saw on Weibo. In fact, at the beginning, many fans who have been following Chen Linfeng for a long time, or senior fans who pay more attention to film festivals, came to the forum to share their thoughts.

No one had much hope of Chen Linfeng winning the Golden Bear.

Especially what Chen Linfeng said at the airport before he left.

Someone compiled the media reports and posted them online, clearly expressing their disapproval of Chen Linfeng winning the award.

too young.

And as a matter of common sense, the three major European countries certainly don't want to be looked down upon.

If you ask Director Chen a little, everyone will understand.

Even Chen Linfeng's core fans think that this will be blocked once, and the most likely possibility is that he will be awarded a jury grand prize or something.

But now that a lot of reports about the premiere have come out, all of them are crazy hype, which makes people a little uncertain.

At least netizens can perceive one thing, that is, director Chen’s new movie "Joker" seems to be of really good quality.

In the following days, more and more reports appeared, especially from domestic netizens and media, who frantically reposted foreign reports and comments from external websites.

Everyone is praising it, and this is making it a bit difficult for domestic netizens to handle.

"Director Chen's new film seems to be getting a lot of hype. Is it really going to win the Golden Bear?"

"The favorite must die, the favorite must die, don't pop the champagne at halftime."

"Indeed, the favorite will definitely fail. Let's just firmly believe that Director Chen's chances of winning the Golden Bear are not high."

"It's really not high. Just think about it and you will know that Berlin will definitely be blocked. If Berlin doesn't do it, Cannes and Venice will be unhappy."

"Director Chen has no chance, don't hold out hope."

"..."

Having said that, in fact, everyone's expectations are rising little by little.

More and more people are paying attention to it.

Originally, the Triple Gold Grand Slam was a huge gimmick. Many people felt that there was little hope at first, and Chen Linfeng’s cold water poured down on them enough to put them off.

Therefore, the public, including the media, did not initially pay much attention to this year's Berlin Film Festival.

The media is also afraid of the embarrassing situation of crazy publicity but not winning the award.

The entertainment media still cherishes Chen Linfeng, an international director and star who is hard to come by.

If it is really ruined, there won’t be so many hot reports in the future.

Even other companies don't really want to do anything shady.

Chen Linfeng and Liu Qianqian are both developing their careers abroad and hardly take up any domestic resources, so there is really no need to target them specifically.

It's not like they have no foundation.

This trend was originally maintained well, but the various reports from Berlin were too tempting.

With so many heavyweight media outlets and such high reviews, the chances of winning the Golden Bear Award must be greater.

At this point, no one was worried that he would not win the award, it was just a question of what award he would win.

Berlin.

Chen Linfeng's hotel room.

Han Shanping and Sister Mei were both in Chen Linfeng's room.

Zhang Yimou only came to attend the premiere and went back the next day.

Sister Mei spread out the news reports she had collected and showed them to Chen Linfeng.

Han Shanping didn't quite understand the reports from Europe, so he asked directly,

"I heard people discussing it these past two days, and they all said that Xiao Chen's films received very good reviews. How is he doing now?"

Sister Mei picked out a few newspapers from major media outlets and said, "The reviews have been good so far, like these ones."

"Film Art" gave it a high evaluation and published large stills from the film.

[…Leonardo redefined method acting with every twitch of his muscles! The solo dance on the steps is a classic in contemporary film history:
The blood-stained white shirt, distorted body language and eerie soundtrack blend together to interpret "pain is art" to the extreme. 】

The editor-in-chief of The Guardian is a very sarcastic person.

However, when writing the report this time, he was a little more restrained and focused on criticizing the phenomena alluded to in the film.

[…Arthur’s uncontrollable laughter hit the audience’s heart like a sledgehammer.

Isn’t this mentally ill patient who has been abandoned by the welfare system a vivid example of the failure of the U.S. medical system?
When he said, 'The therapist never listened to me,' at least three people in the audience around me sobbed in the dark. 】

The film reviews in The Hollywood Reporter are more immersive.

[…We have all been collectively diagnosed with social mental illness…Arthur’s laughter was like a rusty saw tearing through the hypocritical order.

As he danced on the stairs, blood all over his face, and the raging flames behind him engulfed Gotham City, I suddenly realized:
We are all playing the role of normal people, and the clown just rips off that mask.

This movie does not whitewash the villains, but forces the audience to look directly at the conspiracy in the mirror - when the lower class is crushed by the system, isn't madness the most sober form of resistance?
Warning: After watching this, you will be asking yourself at 3 a.m. who the clown in the circus is. 】

……

In addition, media such as Variety, Screen, European Times, and IndieWire also gave good reviews.

Han Shanping listened to several film reviews and clearly felt the media's appreciation for the film.

"These media outlets actually like Joker."

"Yeah," Sister Mei nodded. "The media is still relatively restrained. Some of the comments online are even more positive. It seems like they are crazy about it."

“But there are also negative reviews.”

Sister Mei continued to read.

"The film places too much emphasis on class narratives. This may be due to the director's background. He only attributes social conflicts to the oppression of the poor by the rich..."

and also.

“The delicate social criticism in the first half degenerates into a violent spectacle in the second half, and it fails to delve into the root causes of the systemic contradictions, which is a bit of a pity.”

Han Shanping nodded, this was much more normal.

After hearing this, Chen Linfeng couldn't help but complain, "Do you really think Emily can write and publish anything? If I describe it in depth, what will I do if I get restricted and my microphone is muted?"

As a Chinese, how could he just stay on the surface of this kind of class narrative?

In fact, he had originally written a plot that explored the issue in greater depth, and then showed it to Alex.

Alex pointed this out very "tactfully" and then "strongly" suggested that he change it.

Chen Linfeng was not a stubborn person, so he changed the story back to a plot similar to his previous life.

I guess this is what the original screenwriter, as a beautiful Chinese, feels about American censorship.

Han Shanping agreed, "Indeed, everyone says that our country has strict censorship, but Hollywood also has its own censorship system."

“It’s not that you can’t release the film, but the screening schedule has been reduced due to market behavior, and the media doesn’t report it, so you can’t say anything.

It sounds like market behavior, but in reality, those who understand will understand. "

Chen Linfeng strongly agreed. Later, "Nezha 2" earned tens of billions in China, but when it came to North America, it could only be opened in 300 theaters.

Is this the attention and release a movie of this level deserves?

Forget it, it’s useless to think too much, Chen Linfeng turned back to focus on his own movie.

He is now more concerned about the Berlin Film Festival program scores.

As the closing ceremony approached, the program ratings given by the media gradually became finalized.

The score of "Joker" is almost stable at 3.3 points.

This score is obviously a high score sequence.

You need to know that the highest score for the Berlin program guide is 4 points, and 3.3 is indeed very high.

Several of the movies that Chen Linfeng focuses on are also award-winning movies from his previous life.

"Baby Style" scored 2.8 points, which is a normal score.

The Guardian described it as a "cold and precise social scalpel."

"A Page of Life" scored 3.0 points, the second highest score in the program book.

The Hollywood Reporter praised it as "breathtakingly real."

After that, "The Promised Land" scored 2.5 points and "Closing" scored 2.2 points, both of which were considered to be quite polarized in ratings.

Chen Linfeng has also watched these movies these days.

The ratings given by the media are also more in line with his views.

In fact, after reading the whole thing, Chen Linfeng's experience is very obvious.

Unlike Cannes and Venice, one focuses on emotion and art, and the other cares about avant-garde films, the Berlin Film Festival does pay more attention to political issues.

Fortunately, "Joker" is a typical more political movie.

It is precisely because of this that the media has praised "Joker" too much.

This made Chen Linfeng a little worried, wondering if it would trigger a rebellious mentality among the judges and cause them to deliberately not give the grand prize.

There is actually some truth in the saying that the hottest ones must die.

Chen Linfeng has served as a judge at the Venice Film Festival and has some understanding of the judges' mentality.

You have received such high ratings from outside reporters.

If I, as a professional, gave the award according to your opinions.

Doesn't that mean you know more about movies than I do?

That definitely won’t work. I’ll have to find out if there’s anything wrong with this highly rated movie.

This emotion is subtle.

But it's also human nature.

Moreover, there is indeed a difference in the focus of professionals, media reporters, and senior film critics.

This also led to different evaluations between the two sides.

There is no point in being anxious. In the remaining two days, Chen Linfeng tried not to think about the final outcome.

He began to frequent various film salons and movie theaters.

See what other movies are like.

Sissi has gone back, and now he is alone, which makes him feel more free and at ease (very realistic).

Every film festival will have a large number of films by newcomers. These films are often immature and rough, but they may contain new ideas and wild interpretations.

Chen Linfeng was unwilling to miss such an opportunity.

Learning from masters is one thing, but learning new ideas and new thoughts is another method.

At the salon, he interacted with famous filmmakers.

With Chen Linfeng's current reserves and level, he is not afraid at all.

Many filmmakers are increasingly recognizing him, and he is indeed a world-renowned director.

Although she is young, she has a lot of talent.

This kind of communication and learning continued until the afternoon of the 16th.

Chen Linfeng and Leonardo undoubtedly received invitations to attend the closing ceremony.

The two had never doubted about winning the prize; they were only worried about what kind of prize they would win.

Chen Linfeng, who has always been confident, was rarely a little worried.

If we don’t win the Berlin Golden Bear this time, we’ll have to wait for many more years.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy.

It was in this mood.

On February 2, the closing ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival, which was also the awards ceremony, began.

(End of this chapter)