Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 114 Taoism√Yu Taijiao×
September 2002, 9, Venice, Aman Canal Grand Hotel.

"Lu, this is Harvey."

"Harvey, this is the outstanding young director Lu Kuan."

Quentin was boasting about "Whiplash" with saliva flying all over his body, and his hands were moving involuntarily.

After all, he is of Italian descent and can't speak without moving his hands.

"You should have come with me to see that movie the other day. It's absolutely fantastic."

"Oh, haha, there was a screening of Luke in Venice yesterday, I saw it."

Lu Kuan and Quentin were still waiting for his next words, but they didn't expect that this fat pig with a face full of hair just picked up the whiskey, took a sip, and stopped talking.

Three days have passed since the premiere of "Whiplash." The film has received rave reviews and audiences have requested that Venice Film Festival hold several additional screenings.

"Your program rating doesn't seem to be very high?"

Boss Lu's heart sank.

He asked Quentin to introduce his close ally Harvey to discuss overseas copyrights, and before coming he had already expected that he would bring up the program review score.

The Venice Film Festival's program directory is published daily, recording the film viewing schedule, film introductions, interviews with filmmakers, and in-depth analysis of the films during the festival.

Why is Whiplash so popular with the audience, but its program book rating is so low?
Because the right to decide the program score is in the hands of senior Italian media and film critics.

Recently, Lu Kuan's statement that "Whiplash" is a fusion of art films and Hollywood spirit, which he made in an interview, has become very popular.

Although he has not received public praise from the conference president, DeHaden, film critics have launched a fierce attack on him.

"A weird musical"

"A fascist film that vilifies the image of teachers"

"A movie that is trash, without technique, without lens, and without substance"

How could it be possible that the senior film critics in Venice, who were holding up anti-Hollywood slogans, gave "The Drummer" a high score in the program notes?

The program brochure currently has a score of 5 on a 2.3-point scale.

Boss Lu certainly knew the character of this Jewish businessman and was not in a hurry to defend himself.

"You can wait a while. Perhaps the situation will become clearer after the awards ceremony."

Harvey said sarcastically, "You kid from the East, you're not naive enough to think your movie can win any big prize, are you?"

Boss Lu curled his lips at him, looking indifferent.

Harvey was secretly resentful. Of course, he had his eyes on Whiplash and even thought that the actor who played the fascist teacher had a chance to compete for an Oscar.

This is an absolute masterpiece!

He started out making art films, but they were the kind of European art films with soft pornography.

But in this musical art film, he even saw the shadow of commercial films and thrillers, which has box office value that ordinary art films do not have.

"Well, for $50, I can reluctantly take it to North America."

"Kid, let me give you a piece of advice. It's hard for new directors to get started, so don't overthink it."

Lu Kuan sneered disdainfully. He was not afraid of offending Harvey.

Jews are the most pragmatic. As long as you are valuable to them, they can tolerate your bad temper.

Boss Lu suddenly changed the subject: "Harvey, you are Jewish, so you should believe in Judaism, right?"

The white pig said sincerely, "Of course, we are all God's chosen people, and of course we believe in Yahweh, who has blessed us."

Yahweh is Jehovah, and Judaism and Christianity have different definitions of him.

Lu Kuan sneered, "The Ten Commandments include not committing adultery and not coveting what belongs to others. Has Mr. Harvey done that?"

The white pig threw the wine glass to the ground and angrily scolded this young Chinese director who had no sense of propriety.

"What do you mean?! Is this how you Chinese people behave?"

Quentin was a little stunned. He thought today would be a feast for both the host and the guests, Lu Kuan would be sold at a good price, and Harvey would buy a good movie.

this? this?
I can only say that Quentin, your heart is not dirty enough and you can't keep up with the thinking of these two bastards.

Boss Lu looked down at the outwardly powerful but inwardly weak Jewish old fox and said, "Harvey, let's be frank. You know the value of Whiplash better than I do. Are you insulting me by taking 50?"

Harvey refused to give in. "You're just an unknown little director. Miramax has already done you a great favor by making you famous in North America. Do you still want to take advantage of me?"

“We have a proverb in Judaism.”

"Contentment is innate wealth, and luxury is artificial poverty. Boy, I think you should apologize to me now."

Boss Lu laughed and said, "Judaism? Judaism only has a history of 3000 years. Do you know what I believe in?"

Harvey said disdainfully: "You Chinese, what else do you believe in besides Marx?"

Boss Lu sighed deeply. The charlatan business had not been online for a long time, and he was still a little rusty.

He dipped his index finger in some wine and quickly drew a talisman on the table.

"I believe in Taoism, the oldest religion in China. It existed before you Jews were even born."

This is just bragging. Proper Taoism was formed in the 2nd century AD and has a history of no more than 2000 years.

But if we trace back to the origin, it may be much more than that.

"Havi, this is a Taoist talisman. Before the water on this talisman dries, I can see through the little secrets in your heart. Do you believe it?"

"Hahahaha! Funny Oriental man, you make me laugh out loud!"

"The last time I met such an interesting Chinese person was Zhang, the investor of 'Hero'!"

Boss Lu's eyes lit up. "Okay! Since you mentioned Zhang Weiping, I'll tell you about you and Hero."

Harvey rolled his eyes and checked his watch.

If this guy doesn't give in, he thinks he can raise the price a little.

Quentin is an absolute fan of China and Kung Fu. He even wanted to play the role of the White-eyebrow Taoist Priest of Wudang Mountain in his own "Kill Bill".

At this moment, looking at the simple talismans that are mysterious, magnificent, and have a strong religious mysterious color, I feel awe.

"Lu! Please explain it to us, I'm really curious!"

He was afraid that the sea breeze would dry out the talisman, so he stood carefully to the side and surrounded the talisman with his broad palm.

Boss Lu chuckled in his heart, this guy is really a weirdo.

"Harvey, I think you've negotiated with New Picture for the overseas rights to Heroes, haven't you?"

The white pig responded noncommittally and motioned for him to continue.

"Wait a moment, I'll do something."

Harvey: ???
Quentin: !!!
I saw Master Lu's left hand outside and his right hand inside, with the palms of both hands facing inward. His left thumb pinched the Ziwen of his right hand, and his right thumb pinched the Wuwen of his right hand, embracing each other.

In an instant, he suddenly opened his eyes again.

"Harvey, your target price for 'Hero' should be around 2000 million, and you want to buy out their overseas distribution rights because you are very optimistic about the film's box office performance in North America!"

The previous life of "Hero" was invested with 3000 million US dollars, and the North American agency rights were bought out by Harvey for 2100 million US dollars. Later, the box office reached 1.3 million US dollars.

This deal made Harvey very rich, but Zhang Weiping regretted it so much.

Quentin exclaimed, "Lu, do it again, I didn't see clearly."

Xavi: ... Lukuan: ...

"You are the ancient serpent Satan!"

Harvey exclaimed and stood up, looking at the harmless young Chinese director in disbelief.

Or a Taoist priest.

Boss Lu stood up leisurely and lit a cigarette in a casual manner.

"Harvey, I won't discuss the overseas rights to Whiplash with you until the film festival is over."

"But I think you can prepare the money first. I have confidence in myself."

A faint wisp of smoke drifted by, as if heralding the mysterious religion of an ancient Eastern country, and disappeared before Harvey's eyes.

While Master Lu was using the profound religious heritage of ancient China to criticize the Jewish white pigs, Lu Taro was drinking with Wang Xiaolei in the room in boredom.

"Mr. Wang, I really don't understand."

Wang Xiaolei glanced at him silently.

A scholar is good for nothing. When something goes wrong or he suffers a setback, he just knows how to complain.

"Why are people like Gong Li and Kitano Takeshi able to support him? And that Quentin, the shameless Hollywood pervert!"

There was no way around it. "Looking for a Gun" was produced by Huayi. He himself didn't have such a strong dislike for Lu Kuan, but he had to target him for the sake of interests.

"Looking for the Gun" made a profit of 700 million in the mainland box office, which is very good for the investors, but the overseas copyright is also a fat piece of meat that has to be taken.

Some people may ask, "Looking for a Gun" is in the "Upstream" unit, and "The Drummer" is in the main competition unit, so is there a competitive relationship?
Of course it exists.

In 2002, especially when Chinese-language commercial films such as "Hero" had not yet made a name for themselves, it was very difficult to sell the copyrights of domestic films overseas.

After 1993, the state stipulated that each film studio could trade copyrights with overseas agents on its own.

Huo Jianqi's "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" was sold to Japanese agent Kazuo Fukazawa by Xiaoxiang Film Studio.

This movie was released for a long time during its run, and it earned 400 to 500 million yen at the box office, but it was originally sold for only 70,000 to 80,000 US dollars.

There are countless examples of such losses, so seeking to exhibit and sell films at overseas film festivals has become an important way for domestic art films.

However, for most foreign film buyers, the number of Asian and even Chinese-language film quotas they have is limited.

Now that Whiplash is gaining so much momentum, its popularity both at home and abroad is almost catching up with that of The Gun. This is certainly not good news for Huayi.

Wang Xiaolei said with a smile, "Don't worry, Lao Lu. He has some talent, but this is his first time participating in a foreign film festival. I don't think he knows a lot of things."

Lu Chuan seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw: "Mr. Wang, what do you mean?"

"His current rating in the program book is not high. I have asked several domestic media outlets to publicize this matter."

"Besides, there's something exciting happening in the square today. I think we can make something of it."

Lu Chuan's eyes lit up: "You mean 'give me back my money'?"

"Haha, that's right."

"This is Lu Kuan's first time at the film festival. He didn't realize his poster space was taken until later. I think he's probably not aware of this either."

The Venice Film Festival has an unwritten tradition: a spontaneous audience protest movement called "Give Me Back My Money," which is now in its fifth year.

It was originally ten large billboards set up by the well-known Italian film website Romaone.it outside the main venue of the film festival, the casino.

Audiences who feel they have been deceived are encouraged to write their thoughts on the film in the most vicious language, criticizing the movies they hate.

The website will select the three worst films of the day before the end of each day's screening and give the audience who submitted the film a bonus equivalent to 20 euros in ticket price.

Lu Chuan said shyly, "Boss Wang, isn't this a bad idea?"

"It's true that their program booklet had a low rating, but to blatantly write negative stories about them...this..."

Wang Xiaolei was speechless looking at the man with glasses who was taking advantage of the situation.

Who doesn’t know who? Why are you pretending in front of me?

"Director Lu! You come from a family of scholars and possess great literary talent. This task is undeniably yours! Write it and I'll have it translated and posted!"

Wang Xiaolei made the decision with a wave of his hand, and when he turned around, he saw Lu Chuan writing furiously.

This grandson.

Peking, Ruicheng Center, Zhang Jian’s House.

Ruicheng Center is now the Liangmaqiao Four Seasons Family. It cost more than 2002 yuan in 2, and 20 years later it cost more than 10 yuan.

After taking a shower, Zhang Ruoyun surfed the Internet in her bedroom, constantly switching between her blog, Tianya, and Maopu. She was so happy.

He is now Lu Kuan's strongest mouthpiece, specifically targeting haters and criticizing them.

Now, a Venice front-line report from the Tianya Entertainment section has come into his range again.

Title: "Whiplash" program booklet ratings fall far short of expectations, audience protests and demands refunds

Below is a concise caption about the gradually declining program book score of "The Drummer" and live photos of the "Give Me Back My Money" movement.

These days, having pictures and the truth is equivalent to solid evidence.

As soon as the post was released, it became a huge hit, with countless fans of Nicholas Tse and Edison Chen flocking to it. They were naturally Lu Kuan’s number one black fans.

[Only for Tingfeng]: This is what happens when you bring trouble upon yourself. Foreign audiences have sharp eyes and can see that this is a person who is only seeking fame and reputation.

[帅冠东]: I agree with the first post. I don't know where this guy got the confidence to embarrass himself abroad.

Zhang Ruoyun decisively started to criticize.

[Dream Chaser]: Are foreigners your fathers? Just because they say "The Drummer" is bad, it's bad? Your father's movie called "A Few Notes" didn't even get into Venice. How dare you mock Lu Kuan?

He really wanted to say that Lu Kuan's movies were the best, but at this time, facing the overwhelming pessimism on the Internet, he was a little hesitant.

After all, he is just a high school student and does not have enough vision and experience to strengthen his own cognition.

After all, that was Venice, and Lu Kuan was just a student a few years older than him who was about to enroll at the Beijing Film Academy.

[Unparalleled]: I am speechless. This Lu Kuan has embarrassed my brother Jay Chou. I really don’t know why I went to act in his movie.

Zhang Ruoyun was furious. Shouldn't these be friendly troops? Why did they turn against us at the critical moment? Did they want to use Lu Kuan to save Jie Lun?
He clicked on Blog.com again, and everything was still calm. Zhang Ruoyun keenly noticed that among all the websites, Blog.com was the only one with the least malice towards Lu Kuan.

Only a few so-called film critics have published articles criticizing "The Drummer", but in fact they may not even have seen the movie.

They are just paid film critics.

Sooner or later, these people will become big breeders like the public intellectuals, and they will listen to whoever pays them.

Only Mei Yanfang, Zhou Xun, Zhang Jizhong and others continued to express their support and wish "The Drummer" good results.

What really dealt a blow to the reputation and popularity of "Whiplash" in mainland China was a director face-to-face program on Xinlang Entertainment.

Well-known directors such as Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige gave their outlook on the eight participating films and directors from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong from the perspective of professional film directors.

When talking about Lu Kuan and "Whiplash," director Chen Kaige expressed his pessimism in a calm tone.

He believes that this is a film that is both literary and commercial, and a bit of a weirdo.

Young director Lu Kuan's creative ideas have serious flaws, and he is unable to perfectly integrate the plot between the two.

The little cannon on the side was stunned.

I took the money. How could you, Old Chen, a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes and a prominent family background, do this?
Oh no! This guy was just trying to make up for the fact that he was humiliated by the young Lu Kuan at the Beijing Film Studio.

He would never tolerate a "shameless person" like Lu Kuan!
(End of this chapter)