Huayu Entertainment: Who let him be the director!

Chapter 136: Do your part for Chinese-language films and win a Cannes award
On May 5, the much-anticipated 11th Cannes Film Festival opened.

This made Cannes, a previously inconspicuous town, instantly become a gathering place for filmmakers from all over the world.

The world's attention is focused here.

One after another, big-name stars appeared, pushing the atmosphere on the scene to its climax.

This is definitely a carnival for filmmakers around the world and a feast of film art.

What is different from previous film festivals is that Cannes, which has always claimed to "promote art films", is clearly embracing Hollywood this year.

Of the 21 films shortlisted for the main competition unit, one-fifth are Hollywood films.

A purely commercial blockbuster like "Star Wars 3" was unexpectedly included in the non-competitive unit and was even selected as the opening film.

So who is on the cover of this year’s Cannes special issue?

It turned out to be Sharon Stone, the sexy goddess from Hollywood.

In addition, Hollywood celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Bruce Willis and others also showed up to support Cannes.

Many people mocked that this year's Cannes is "returning to the embrace of Hollywood."

It’s a bit awkward for Chinese filmmakers.

Although three films, "Underworld", "Tianjin: Blue and Red" and "The Best Time", were nominated, the media generally were not optimistic about them.

Many media outlets even openly claimed that "none of these three films has the potential to win a major award."

In particular, Wang Xiaoshuai, the director of "Qinghong", admitted in an interview that the nomination of "Qinghong" was just an accident and he did not have any hope of winning the award.

On the contrary, those films that do not participate in awards but are simply screened and sold are more impressive.

Whether it is Cheng Long's "The Myth", Liu Wei Qiang's "Initial D", or Xu Ke's "Seven Swords", they are more eye-catching than several shortlisted films.

Especially the poem "Wuji" by poet Chen, which can be described as menacing.

Of course, we can’t miss Stephen Chow’s "Kung Fu".

However, "Kung Fu" is not for selling movies, but for promotion.

Before this, "Kung Fu" had been bought by Columbia and had been released in the United States.

The box office and word of mouth were both pretty good.

This time, Columbia intends to make efforts in the European market, and Cannes is a good platform.

In a nutshell, everyone wants to gain something from this grand feast in Cannes, with each showing off their unique skills.

But these things have nothing to do with the judge Zhou Qing.

He came to Cannes with only one mission: to decide the fate of the shortlisted films together with other judges.

"Dear directors, actors, and outstanding filmmakers, you only have one identity today: the jury of this year's Cannes Film Festival."

“I am honored to be chosen by the organizing committee to serve as the chairman of this jury. I hope that in the coming time, I can lead everyone to find those truly meaningful films.”

Emile immediately gathered all the judges of the jury and began the formal selection work.

As the chairman of the jury, Emil began to speak in front of all the judges.

It went on for half an hour without stopping.

Zhou Qing even wondered if this guy had given a speech before, he was so eloquent.

It's nothing more than an award ceremony, but it has risen to the lofty topic of the mission and responsibility of filmmakers.

We also talked about the universal values ​​and charitable significance of movies, and let everyone find movies with these qualities among the nominated films.

After a long and rambling talk, the following is the specific process of watching films and selecting them.

As the youngest judge, Zhou Qing did not get much attention, but he was secretly thinking in his heart.

There are actually a lot of rumors flying around about the movie "Tianhong".

Some said that Da Meiyuan almost won the Best Actress award, just missing by one vote.

There were also reports that the male lead, Yao Anlian, almost won the Best Actor award, also just by one vote.

Zhou Qing didn't know whether the news was true or false.

As for himself, he actually has a lot of doubts.

When did Da Meiyuan’s acting become so good?

Yao Anlian is not good enough to win the Best Actor Award at Cannes, right?
But no matter what, if the rumors are true, Zhou Qing will definitely do his best to contribute to Chinese filmmakers.

If I could personally change the final outcome of this year's Cannes Film Festival and allow a Chinese-language filmmaker to win another Cannes Best Actress or Best Actor, that would definitely be a good thing.

"If Broken Flowers doesn't win the Palme d'Or, it will definitely be a major mistake made by our jury."

“No, I respect Jarmusch very much, but I couldn’t watch Broken Flowers at all.”

"Forget about Broken Flowers, Free Zone is what we really need to focus on."

Zhou Qing's plain and boring selection work began like this.

There is nothing else to do except watching movies, discussing and voting. It is really dull and boring.

In contrast, the film festival was much more lively.

The great poet Chen's work has always been amazing. He even rented a top-notch castle on the beach in Cannes and held a grand launch event for "The Promise".

258 top film producers from around the world received invitations.

The crew also airlifted 1000 kilograms of costumes and props from China, making the scene truly exquisite.

I don’t know if it’s because international audiences have a weaker tolerance for the film, or if the bloody scenes in “Underworld” were edited out in China.

This movie actually made people vomit when it was shown.

It's not an exaggeration, it really makes people vomit. It is said that people are scared.

The leading actor of "Qinghong" was unable to attend Cannes because the crew could not afford it and asked the actor to pay for it himself.

Master Xing led the main creators of "Kung Fu" and performed a Kung Fu show on the spot.

Overall, it was very, very lively.

The jury's selection has also reached its climax.

"What about Da Meiyuan winning Best Actress by one vote, or Yao Anlian winning Best Actor by one vote? That's all bullshit!"

Zhou Qing doesn't care about the results of other movies. What he cares most about is "Qinghong".

To be precise, it is the situation of the best male and female protagonists.

But I found that I had no place to use my energy.

Both Da Meiyuan and Yao Anlian received very low votes, much lower than other candidates.

Adding Zhou Qing's vote, there is no difference at all.

It is not unfair that this situation occurred. Zhou Qing specifically watched "Qinghong" and found that the acting skills of the male and female protagonists were indeed poor.

The kind that can't be lifted up even if you try hard.

So Zhou Qing mainly focused on other aspects.

"The movie Qinghong is definitely a good movie. If you know more about Chinese culture, you will appreciate this more deeply."

“I think Qinghong deserves a Grand Jury Award!”

In the original time and space, "Qinghong" won the Jury Prize, which was a consolation prize.

However, now that Zhou Qing has been elected as the judge, he wants to win a big prize for "Qing Hong".

There is no need to think about winning the Palme d'Or, it is definitely impossible.

"Qinghong" does have a certain gap in the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress awards, and it is very difficult to win them.

The only award that deserves careful consideration is the Grand Jury Prize.

How to attack?

Just quarrel! The whole selection process was like this.

Not only Zhou Qing was arguing, but the other judges were also arguing.

For example, the chairman of the jury, Emile, was only interested in giving "Broken Flowers" the Palme d'Or.

For example, Bernuk, I don’t know if he and Emir have a conflict of fate, but in any case, it’s right to support Emir.

He opposed what the Emir supported, and supported what the Emir opposed.

The other judges also have their own favorite movies, so it remains to be seen what the final outcome of the argument will be.

For this purpose, Zhou Qing even called Jiang Wen for advice.

Jiang Wen was a judge at the 03 Cannes Film Festival and is definitely experienced in this area.

“How do you get your favorite movie to win an award? This isn’t a simple thing. Two words: fight to the death!”

"Brother, I was more optimistic about Elephant, but the jury generally favored Dogville. Do you know what I did?"

"I will fight to the death, until I don't even have time to eat, until everyone agrees with me. Of course, it will be easier if you have an ally."

"It was me and that female judge from India who made Dogville lose all the awards."

"She even threatened the jury that if Dogville won the award, she would quit the jury."

"And the film Oldboy, which won an award at last year's Cannes Film Festival, wasn't it Quentin who made it?"

"In short, we have to fight to the death and not give an inch!"

Jiang Wen began to impart his experience to Zhou Qing, with a hint of complacency in his words.

Jiang Wen never shared this glorious history with anyone else.

But bragging in front of Zhou Qing really gave me a sense of accomplishment.

"Director Jiang, great!"

Zhou Qing gave Jiang Wen a thumbs up, feeling a little amused.

He really didn't expect that the method was so "simple".

But if that's the case, Zhou Qing has a direction to work hard and strive for, so just keep arguing.

Who is afraid of who?

On May 5, big news came from the popular drama "The Promise".

Westin Brothers purchased the copyright of "The Promise" in North America, England and Australia for a sky-high price of more than 2 million RMB.

Even the company's boss claimed that he would do his utmost to push "The Promise" to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

For a time, the great poet Chen was in the limelight and made a strong presence at the Cannes Film Festival.

Jackie Chan's "The Myth" also premiered on this day, and Jackie Chan and Bollywood actress Mallika appeared at the media meeting one after another.

Marika also kissed Cheng Long in public.

Brother Cheng Long’s eyes, which were not big to begin with, became invisible because of his laughter.

"Zhou, you win!"

"The Grand Jury Prize goes to "Qinghong"!"

Zhou Qing received the true teachings from Jiang Wen, and truly implemented the requirement of "knock", holding on tightly and refusing to let go.

After a fierce debate, they finally won the Jury Grand Prix for "Qinghong".

call!
Seeing this result, Zhou Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He and the jury chairman Emile looked at each other calmly, and everything was said without words.

He immediately voted for the Palme d'Or for "Broken Flowers".

In the original time and space, Bernouk and Emile were at odds with each other and deliberately voted for "The Child".

"Broken Flowers" missed the Palme d'Or.

But this time?
Thanks to Zhou Qing's crucial vote, "Broken Flowers" finally won the Palme d'Or.

On May 5, the 22th Cannes Film Festival held its closing ceremony and the award ceremony began under the attention of the public.

A group of filmmakers sat in the conference hall excitedly and nervously, including the crew of "Qinghong" led by Wang Xiaoshuai.

Especially Da Meiyuan, she subconsciously clenched her hands together and rubbed them together.

This is the Cannes Film Festival!
The organizing committee had called in advance to inform them that they would be attending the awards ceremony, which meant that there would definitely be a trophy!

How can the great US dollar remain calm?
On the contrary, Wang Xiaoshuai's performance was much calmer and more relaxed.

He had no hope for this movie at first.

Being nominated before was a surprise, and winning the award now is even more of a surprise.

No matter what kind of award it is, Wang Xiaoshuai will be satisfied.

After all, it was really a pleasant surprise.

And Wang Xiaoshuai also has that ratio. To be honest, his movie is still a little lacking in quality.

The chances of winning the grand prize are slim.

As for Zhou Qing who attended the award ceremony with him?

It can be said that there is nothing much going on. After all, the result is already known in advance, so all we have to do is just watch the show.

"The next award to be presented is for the Best Short Film Debut..."

First, some short film awards are presented, followed by the awards for the main competition unit.

Compared with the other three major film festivals, this year's Cannes Film Festival does not have as many "side dishes".

Except for one Best Screenplay Award and one Jury Award, all other awards are major prizes.

First of all, the Best Screenplay Award was won by Michael Haneke, which has nothing to do with "The Blue Sea".

The same went for Best Director and Best Actor and Actress, all of which were won by other people.

Wang Xiaoshuai knew what was going on.

It seems that the only thing that "Qinghong" can win is the consolation prize, the Jury Award.

But what he didn't expect was.

"The winner of the Jury Prize is... The Child, Jean-Pierre/Luc Dardenne!"

what's the situation?
The jury award was not for "Qinghong"?
After Wang Xiaoshuai was stunned for a moment, he couldn't help but become excited.

Now the only two awards left to be awarded are the Palme d'Or and the Jury Prize!

These are all very prestigious awards.

Wang Xiaoshuai never could have imagined that "Qinghong" would make it all the way to this point. It was like a dream.

But the Palme d'Or is obviously impossible.

Wang Xiaoshuai speculated that "Qinghong" has a high probability of winning the Jury Grand Prix.

This award is already very, very good.

"The winner of the Jury Grand Prize is... Wang Xiaoshuai, "Qinghong"!"

What the hell!

Even though he had expected it, when the award was announced, Wang Xiaoshuai slapped his thigh excitedly.

Da Meiyuan and others around him couldn't believe their ears and started clapping loudly.

I almost slapped my hands to pieces.

Didn’t the director originally say that “Qinghong” had little chance of winning a major award? Unexpectedly, it actually won the award in the end!
So excited!

(End of this chapter)