Generation Z Artists

Chapter 297 The Dog Feeding Stage

At 4 p.m. on the 15th, the famous 24 steps in front of the Palais des Festivals, a landmark building in Cannes, were covered with a bright red carpet, with neat photographers' areas and cheering audiences on both sides.

The entire scene is set against the backdrop of the azure Mediterranean Sea, creating a visually striking effect.

Media from all over the world had set up their forces early on, with their cameras and microphones firmly covering the red carpet area.

This is probably the most serious red carpet in the world. Men are required to wear black or white bow ties and tuxedos, while there are no specific restrictions on women's evening gowns, but they can't be as flamboyant and extravagant as at the Oscars.

Before the influx of Chinese celebrities to the Cannes red carpet, its solemnity had never been challenged.

Today, all the media outlets are speculating about what kind of fashion look Star River will bring.

"He will never follow the rules, absolutely not!"

The New York journalists' confident assertions drew widespread agreement from the French media.

"Yes, he already shocked the fashion world yesterday, and today he may be even more outrageous."

"My camera is itching to get started!"

But Fang Xinghe disappointed them; he was indeed wearing a formal black tuxedo.

Because... this is the opening ceremony.

In this era, the Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony is far more serious than entertaining, and the information provided describes the personality of this year's jury president, Patrice Chérault, as follows:

An adventurer in art and a conservative in life.

This highly respected elder placed great importance on aesthetic innovation and the depth of film itself, but in life he strongly resisted unnecessary exposure and disliked sensationalism.

Therefore, the moment Fang Xinghe saw the personality analysis data, he decided on today's opening strategy.

It is divided into three levels.

Media appearances were characterized by a low-key and serious approach.

The main cast members took the stage and started by playing the victim.

Show confidence and high spirits when you meet at the dinner party.

The goal is to fully evoke the favor of the jury chairperson—or at least avoid causing dislike on a personal level.

It would be best to get the chairman's vote, but if not, we should at least ensure that the chairman remains impartial and neutral.

Therefore, Fang Xinghe, who stepped out of the limousine, was dressed in a formal and traditional tailcoat, with a white shirt collar and a black bow tie, standing upright and without any ostentation.

The media was stunned.

"Fcuk! Why isn't he playing by the rules?"

"But he's still handsome, isn't he?"

"Yes."

The reporters were criticizing and filming at the same time, but as they filmed, they realized that it wasn't so bad after all.

This was the first time Fang Xinghe had dressed so formally. His perfect figure and naturally noble face made him shine like a true prince.

"Seriously, does their family really have no noble blood?"

"Probably not, but he certainly looks more like royalty than Charles."

"Hahaha, Charles, I suspect you're trying to humiliate Star River!"

"No, we are the ones who are humiliating Britain together."

“I think the real humiliation would be to find a way to put these photos in The Times, alongside the British Royal Family. What do you think?”

"Great idea, let's do it!"

In France, insulting the British is a common pastime.

Of course, Wang Zifang did indeed shine when he appeared before the world for the first time, showing a different kind of charm than usual.

The fans from all over Europe cheered enthusiastically as they saw the prince off up the 24 steps.

Fang Xinghe wasted no time, walked the red carpet properly, and then accepted a live interview with French television in the waiting area.

The first question is very standard.

"Star River, how's your first time in France?"

Fang Ge is not just a hothead who only knows how to unleash aggression; he is always full of official jargon and platitudes. However, this time there is one thing that is particularly different—when answering questions, he opened his mouth and uttered a fluent and authentic French.

What could be accomplished with a mere 1 million Starlight was nothing to him.

But among the French public watching the program, Fang Xinghe won over the audience in just 10 seconds.

“La France est un pays au passé historique…”

(France is a country with a long history, beautiful and charming scenery, and romance. I saw the grandeur of the Eiffel Tower and smelled the fragrance of the Champs-Élysées. This trip to France touched me with the perfect fusion of artistic atmosphere and artistic style...)
Upon hearing Fang Xinghe's rigorous grammar and elegant wording, the beautiful host immediately covered her mouth.

"Oh my god! Oh my goodness! Unbelievable!"

She was so excited that she abandoned her original question and asked excitedly, "Star River, when did you learn French? Your pronunciation and word choice are absolutely perfect!"

Fang smiled broadly, emboldened by his good looks, and then replied in a refined manner, "France is not only a holy land of art but also a source of fashion. The French language itself is both beautiful and dramatic. I really like your country, so I take time out to learn French. And it seems to be working well?"

"Absolutely fantastic!"

The host used three exclamations, then glanced at the stunned "Better Days" crew, and on a whim, turned to interview Gong Li, who was working with him.

"It seems, Ms. Gong Li, you were unaware that Director Fang taught himself to speak such fluent French?"

Gong Li spread her hands: "I have never seen him read a French book. During filming, he was the busiest of all. Before that, I never knew that he had taught himself French."

The host was even more surprised.

"My goodness! So, you mastered French to this level in such a short time?"

"uh-huh."

Fang Xinghe spread his hands, looking completely at ease and natural.

"French is more difficult than English, but frankly, for me, the difference is not significant."

Foreigners don't buy into modesty; when it's time to show confidence, you still have to be confident.

Upon hearing this, the host became even more impressed.

"You are a true genius, without a doubt! As far as I know, you are already proficient in four foreign languages: English, French, Japanese, and Korean?"

"Language is just a tool," Fang Biwang said casually, waving his hand. "Let's get back to the topic of movies."

There's no more movie talk.

Because of the host's delay, the celebrities on the red carpet were almost there, and she had to regretfully end this unprofessional interview.

"Okay, I wish you all the best and hope you win all the awards you want."

"grateful."

Fang Xinghe glanced at his team on the red carpet behind him, waved to the media area, and walked into the door without hesitation.

The cast and crew of "Less You" entered the Lumière Hall under the guidance of staff and took their seats in the front row.

To facilitate exposure, Xiao Mi was arranged to Fang Xinghe's left, while Nen Xian and Ms. Liu were to Fang Xinghe's right, with the remaining staff lined up in a row. Nen Xian was fine, but Xiao Mi trembled with excitement as soon as she sat down, her face filled with nervousness, excitement, and secret joy.

She was already imagining how envious the fans in the school's official online cafe would be once the photos from the scene were sent back to China.

My idol! My god Fang! You're sitting right next to me, behaving yourself!
A perfect couple, aren't they?!
Fang Xinghe glanced at Yang Xiaomi beside him, whose breathing was unsteady and whose red light was flashing wildly. He could roughly guess what the child was imagining.

But on the other side, the sudden stiffening and contraction of the tender fairy puzzled him.

What are you doing?
Even though so much time has passed, why do you still summon Chen Nian at the slightest provocation?
You're not exactly a natural at experiential learning...

After muttering a few words to himself, Fang Xinghe still took the initiative to comfort her: "Relax, you are Liu Yifei now, not Chen Nian. Today is the best opportunity for you to re-examine your actual performance with theoretical knowledge, and this is also the last lesson of your apprenticeship stage."

"Huh? Hmm!"

Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment, then instinctively followed the order and perked up.

As the last batch of top global celebrities and international figures invited by the brand entered the venue, the atmosphere gradually became noisy, chaotic, and relaxed.

What's interesting this year is that several top European actresses made an appearance at the same time: Isabelle Adjani, Sophie Marceau, Monica Bellucci, and the up-and-coming Kate Beckinsale... Actually, none of their films were nominated this year, but none of them missed the opening ceremony.

Fang Xinghe didn't know why, but it couldn't be because he wanted to see himself with his own eyes, could it?

The host soon took the stage, and coincidentally, it was none other than Monica Bellucci, the "flower of the earth."

She told a very Italian joke, and Fang Xinghe clapped lightly in response. Then the actress smiled and pointed at him, an ambiguous interaction that elicited knowing laughter from the audience. It's unclear what kind of nonsense they were laughing at.

Shortly after the Marseille Ballet finished their performance, the opening ceremony officially began.

The first core procedure: Jury Chairman Patrice Scherough delivers a speech.

"Thank you to the film for bringing us together..."

The core and most important content of his speech was his expectations and vision for this year's Cannes Film Festival, which also signifies his core ideas on film censorship.

Fang Xinghe extracted two key phrases from this: the creator's exploratory consciousness and the resonance between film language and themes.

Next, Triss Sherlow invited all the judges to the stage one by one to introduce them to the audience and guests.

Meanwhile, Gong Li was also explaining the film judging rules to Ms. Liu, who was completely unfamiliar with them.

"When Cannes jury members decide to participate in this year's jury work, they sign very strict confidentiality agreements and then enter a semi-isolated state."

Although we knew in advance that Jiang Wen was a member of the judging panel, we did not visit him or cause him any trouble.

During the film festival, the jury is under a rule of 'explicitly prohibiting communication', which means that we can exchange pleasantries at official banquets or public screenings, but not have any substantive communication.

The core strategy of the Cannes jury is to mandate collective screenings – the jury members must watch all the films in the main competition section together in the Palais des Festivals, at the same time and in the same theater as the general public and the media.

Ensuring that all judges' experiences with the film were conducted under equal conditions provided a common basis for subsequent discussions.

Then they ate and lived together, and after watching all the competition videos, they held closed-door, confidential discussions.

They might argue fiercely over an award, repeatedly trying to persuade each other, or seeking support from neutral parties, but we will never know how or even if any of this happened.

Because confidentiality agreements are usually permanent…

"That strict?"

Ms. Liu was astonished upon hearing this, and then, with her innate keenness, she realized the biggest problem.

"Does that mean that if one of the judges strongly and persistently supports a particular film or actor, their strong inclination will give them greater influence over the neutral judges?"

"what?"

Fang Xinghe turned his head and expressed his approval to Ms. Liu.

"Aunt Liu, your judgment is very accurate. This is indeed the case in small-scale reviews. The extremely firm will of a certain judge will definitely carry more weight than the neutral party who tries to smooth things over."

This has nothing to do with his personal influence or weight, but only with his will.

Therefore, we often say that quality is only a prerequisite for winning awards; sometimes, luck plays a more important role.

What is luck here?
It's a perfectly timed film. Perhaps it just so happens to have one or more well-chosen judges who championed it, defended it, and ensured it wasn't discriminated against or overlooked.

This kind of behavior has a professional term in the industry: "tearing up the award".

Look how beautiful the Chinese characters are!
The word "tear" perfectly encapsulates this meaning.

Ms. Liu nodded thoughtfully, then asked curiously, "So, does Director Jiang have such a strong desire to help us win the award?"

“I have never had any contact with him.”

Fang Xinghe first shook his head, then nodded.

"However, I believe he will have an opinion after watching our movie."

Jiang Wen is the judge that Fang Xinghe is least worried about.

Strictly speaking, this guy comes from the Beijing circle, but he has a generous and righteous personality—not the fake righteousness that Wang Shuogangzi always talks about, but a kind of public-spiritedness and righteousness from ancient times.

Provided there is no direct conflict of interest, Lao Jiang should be very willing to do something for Chinese films.

In fact, these big names from mainland China who have served as judges, including Gong Li, Jiang Wen, and Zhang Yimou, have all fought for awards for Chinese films, unlike An Zi and Kai Zi, who were just there to coast along.

Therefore, as long as the quality of the movie is up to par, Jiang's vote is guaranteed, and given his personality, he will definitely argue his case.

"Old Jiang is a very reliable person. Of course..."

Gong Li added, "In every round of judging, the most important opinions always come from the chairman."

“I understand.” Ms. Liu nodded, clenching her fist with deep empathy. “So, the most important thing is whether our film can move Triss Sherlow and get his full support!”

"No, not him."

Fang Xinghe unexpectedly rejected Ms. Liu's opinion, and amidst everyone's astonished gazes, he slowly stated his own judgment.

"What Triss Sherroe wanted most was aesthetic innovation and thematic breakthrough, but our film has a traditional narrative structure and is conventional in terms of aesthetic innovation. Only the theme can be considered to fall into the category of profound social issues."

If any work in the same cohort has a more profound theme, a more groundbreaking narrative, a bolder use of aesthetics, or a more auteur-driven cinematic language, then we will certainly rank behind them—in the mind of Chairman Triss Scherro.

Therefore, rather than hoping to win his support, I prefer to believe that we can win the approval of the other judges.

Sisi…

Fang Xinghe turned to look at the young fairy beside him, his eyes filled with encouragement and a hidden smile.

"The speech I reminded you to prepare before is very, very important. Are you ready?"

Ms. Liu was stunned.

Her mind raced, her heart pounded, but she couldn't remember—when and what you two discussed?!

It was right under my nose, so why didn't I notice it again?!
However, before she could even understand the situation, the little girl nodded firmly.

"Don't worry, director, I have a lot to say. I... have been preparing for this for so long!"

Ms. Liu looked at her daughter, who was both familiar and unfamiliar, her shoulders tensed up, then suddenly slumped down.

The child has grown up and reached an age where they are difficult to manage, and that's when...

It's time to feed the dog...

(End of this chapter)