Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 159: Half the sky is red
At 2003 a.m. local time on May 5, 18, the new film "Shoplifters" by the newly crowned Golden Lion Award winner, Chinese director Lu Kuan, premiered in Cannes.

The main venue in Cannes is called the Palais des Festivals, which has a total of four halls.

The largest one is called the Lumiere Hall, where films from the main competition unit are usually screened.

This is also the screening room for "Shoplifters" today, which shows the importance the organizing committee attaches to this film and Lu Kuan himself.

Film festivals are always closely associated with the topic of red carpets, but in fact, the red carpets at film festivals are quite varied.

In addition to the most important red carpets for the opening and closing ceremonies, there are also premiere red carpets and various dinner red carpets.

There are even red carpet parties held by well-known film and television companies to promote and sell their films.

Bingbing, who was later teased as a red carpet star, finally walked on the red carpet today as one of the leading actors in the films in the main competition unit of the Palme d'Or.

The crew was delayed due to the boiling point immigration inspection and missed the red carpet for the opening ceremony.

Therefore, her first red carpet was the premiere of "Shoplifters", which was not very impressive.

Reporters and audiences flocked to the scene. Boss Lu had limited fans in France, and that was because Europa Films bought the European rights to his film "Whiplash."

Today, Europa Films boss Luc Besson was also invited, accompanied by a middle-aged man named Lu Kuan who looked unfamiliar.

"Hello, Lou! Your Whiplash made us a killing!"

Lu Kuan smiled and shook hands with him: "Win-win, win-win."

Fan Bingbing stood next to Lu Kuan, who was helping her welcome guests today. Of course, she had heard of this man's name, but she didn't expect that Lu Kuan seemed to be very familiar with him.

In fact, I just did a business deal with the introduction of Takeshi Kitano.

Luc Besson is a famous French director. His films "The Fifth Element" and "Léon: The Professional" are well-known in China.

However, his reputation in the French film industry is average, for the same reason as Lu Kuan's current reputation in the domestic literary and art circles.

Too Hollywood.

France is the birthplace of film and the New Wave, and it has countless great directors. Godard, Bresson, and Jean Reno are all masters who have reached the pinnacle of cinema.

How could the French, who pursue romantic and freehand style, look down upon this money-hungry director?

Just like Zhu Dake, Huang Shixian and others’ criticism of Lu Kuan.

The biggest mistake you make is not being artistic!
Although Luc Besson did not follow the literary and artistic style of French directors in his films, he is quite romantic in his personal life.

"Lu, your companion today is so beautiful. Can I know her name?"

The dress Fan Bingbing wore today was custom-made for her by Guo Pei of Peking Rose House. It can’t be called haute couture, but she is the only one in China who can show off her style.

Fan Bingbing stepped forward generously to shake hands and say hello. Her demeanor and bearing were nothing like that of a Chinese actress walking the red carpet for the first time.

A big-name actress is a big-name actress.

"Mr. Luc Besson, who is this person next to you?"

Luc Besson suddenly slapped his forehead apologetically and introduced the middle-aged man to Lu Kuan.

"This is Mr. Lauren, the president of Paris MK2. He's heard a lot about you, and I invited him to come and support you."

Lu Kuan was stunned for a few seconds. MK2?
This is the largest art film company in France!

In his previous life, Lu Kuan was familiar with the Hollywood model, but he didn't know much about the European art film field.

Before going to Cannes, he spoke with Hou Xiaoxian on the phone, who mentioned the name of MK2 to him.

This is an art film company headquartered in Paris. It has a very close relationship with the Cannes Organizing Committee. There was even a scandal in which the president of MK2 directly interfered with the members of the Cannes jury.

Lu Kuan holds high the banner of commercial films, but the two films he made are both the type that strikes a balance between art and commerce, so I didn’t pay much attention to MK2 before.

But Chinese-language film directors such as Jia Kechang, Hou Xiaoxian, and Wang Jiawei are very familiar with them.

Especially Wang Jiawei, his early films such as "Chungking Express" and "Ashes of Time" were also of high quality, but they were always unable to make it into the top three European films.

It wasn't until MK2 became his agent that "Happy Together" immediately made it into the main competition unit and won the Best Director Award.

It was the time when Gong Huang and Ajani had a fight as mentioned above.

As I said, as long as it is the entertainment circle or the entertainment industry, whether domestic or foreign, there will always be transactions under the table.

Those who fail to understand this rule will find that they have given everything but received no reward, which means they have taken the wrong path.

Boss Lu, of course, was very understanding and immediately shook Lauren’s hand cordially.

"Mr. Lauren, nice to meet you! Please give me some comments on my film later. I really want to hear the voices of artists from the birthplace of film."

Flattering, very flattering!

"Guide, here I come!"

As the saying goes, "The voice has arrived before the person arrives", Jiang Wen is a perfect example.

Everyone exchanged greetings on the red carpet and in front of the autograph wall, and then the domestic Purple Butterfly crew came to show their support.

Zhang Ziyi, Lou Ye and Liu Ye came together, and Lu Kuan expressed his gratitude politely.

Luc Besson quietly gestured to Lu Kuan to move aside.

"Lu, I heard from my friends on the jury that your film is excellent. Are you interested in trying for the Palme d'Or?"

Boss Lu was a little stunned and almost thought that the person standing in front of him was the Jewish An Lushan, Harvey.

Luc Besson, how come you, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, are doing pimping?
No wonder French movie fans call him a slave of Hollywood, he has even won the Palme d'Or.

Do you think you can improve film art this way? You're just like Lu Kuan, thinking about these crooked ways every day.

"Mr. Luc Besson, please speak frankly. We are friends and should talk about everything!"

"Haha, Lu is really a smart guy."

"Mr. Lauren, who just came in, has spoken to me privately. He's very interested in your film. MK2 wants to acquire the European copyright."

Lauren is the vice president of MK2 and has extensive authority over film purchases.

Boss Lu understood. Does this mean that he can exchange copyright for votes?

But this business is risky. It's quite different from what happened in Venice last year.

In Venice, he gave "The Drummer" the right time, place and people, and did his job well.

But there was no under-the-table dealings, including with Gong Li.

The night Tian Zhuangzhuang brought him and Gong Li to meet for the first time, he didn't even say a word of "please take care of me."

But these French white pigs are blatantly manipulating the vote. If a scandal breaks out...

Lu Kuan tried a delaying tactic: "I'm very happy that my film has won your recognition. Let me put it this way, Mr. Luc Besson, I will visit you in a couple of days and we will discuss it in detail."

Whether to sell or how to sell are issues that need to be considered.

In order to broaden his horizon, he must go through several days of publicity and operation, and give intensive interviews to build up more momentum for himself.

This way, even if I sell it, I can get a good price, right?
In addition, he also needs to inquire from various sources whether this matter is reliable, so as not to be sold and then count money for others.

Seeing his caution, Luc Besson also entered with a smile, sat down and whispered to Lauren.

"Lu! See you again!"

Lu Kuan turned around and saw Quentin and Harvey coming together.

Cannes has the largest trading market among the three major European film festivals, and the Jewish An Lushan will definitely not miss the opportunity to make a profit.

As for Quentin, he participated in the competition with his "Kill Bill", which was the cool movie that was "inspired" by Boss Lu.

Don't hit a smiling person, but Harvey's face looked a little unfriendly today.

"Lu, you've really screwed me over. Your Whiplash almost made me lose money!" Boss Lu smirked. He had already heard about this from Emil.

"Whiplash" won the Best Editing Award at the Sundance Awards and the Oscars in its original version, but it only grossed 1400 million in North America, and that was in 2014.

On the contrary, the box office performance in East Asia and Europe was quite good, especially in Japan and South Korea.

Of course, there are deeper reasons behind this.

"Whiplash" talks about fascist education, which shows that strict teachers produce excellent students.

Such ideas are more easily accepted in East Asia, which is influenced by the Confucian concept of respecting teachers, and the audience also feels the same.

Especially in Japan and South Korea, where the hierarchy is strict, students are always respectful when they see their teachers.

Soon the screening room was packed with people. Lu Kuan led the creative team to the stage to greet and be interviewed, and then the screening began.

After the dragon mark, Feng Yuanzheng took Zhang Yishan into the supermarket. The "father and son" looked at each other and took action as usual.

It started with a blurry background, then gradually came into focus, locking onto Zhang Yishan and his son.

An unremarkable opening.

Then the music starts, and a long follow-up shot locks the audience's perspective on the two people.

Lu Kuan uses a technique of changing scenes with interlaced foregrounds here, and the short picture contains a large number of narrative elements.

The audience at Cannes was somewhat disappointed, as the film seemed to be of a different quality than what they had expected from a film like Whiplash.

But knowledgeable directors such as Jiang Wen, Lou Ye and Quentin have all nodded secretly.

The panoramic shots are efficient and effective, alternating between shallow focus and depth of field without a hint of showmanship.

Instead, it gives people a feeling of rich meaning that lingers in the ears.

If we say that Lu Kuan in Whiplash was "cheating" by using a lot of eye-catching beats, swear words, skull lights and close-ups to market the atmosphere.

In this film "Shoplifters", this narrative technique, which is as profound as the plain cabbage, is even more sophisticated.

This is a reflection of the richness of the techniques mastered by a director.

Although the script was copied, the use of camera and lighting, and the control of narrative rhythm were his own.

The experts were fascinated by the techniques, but the average audience only noticed the slightest hint of the plot twist at the crucial point.

And the director's ambition.

The familiar rhythm is just like the first reversal in "The Drummer":
The disappearance of the girl Xiaotong was reported in the news, and the whole family was panicked and discussed countermeasures.

Zhou Xun decided to let her stay in this house, and cut off her long hair and burned her old clothes for disguise.

At this time, an emotional close-up was given to Zhou Xun, focusing on her and Xiaotong's tight hug.

Zhou Xun stroked the scars on Xiaotong's body, which were the persecution from her original family.

"They say they beat you because you did something wrong or because they love you, but that's a lie."

"If I love you, I will hold you tightly like I do."

In the close-up shot, Zhou Xun's acting skills are amazing. As Xiaotong stretched out her finger, a tear just happened to slide down and was captured by the focused camera.

The big screen requires extremely high control of actors' facial expressions, and this shot was NGed more than a dozen times.

Faint crying sounds could be heard from the scene.

Family and love are the common language of all mankind, regardless of race or skin color.

Everyone followed the director's narrative and entered into the character's emotions, tasting the bitterness of despair in hope.

The family is taken to the police station for questioning, and the climax of the film arrives.

The sobbing became louder, the female fans leaned on the shoulders of the male fans, and the parents hugged their children who came with them.

The ones who didn't cry were the directors and people in the photography and lighting industries.

They are focusing on the perfect coordination of the long, fixed shot and the mise-en-scène in the scene at the seaside;

Pay attention to the techniques of picture-in-picture and narrative blank space that appear several times;
Focus on the warm tones of the interior and the harsh and cold high-contrast images of the exterior.

This is to highlight the warmth of the "thief family" and the vicissitudes of the world.

The 116-minute film ended, the subtitles finished, and applause broke out!
This is a different kind of noisy and exciting film from "Whiplash", and it is a silent and subtle one unique to "Shoplifters".

The same emotional resonance, one is like the sound of a huge bell echoing in the ears, the other is like the sound of flowing water under a small bridge quietly seeping into the heart.

Is there anything this director can't do?
It's so surprising, a sense of division where different film styles and techniques appear simultaneously in one person.

Every director has his own temperament, but judging from the two works that Lu Kuan has released so far.

It seems that neither ordinary audiences nor experienced practitioners can easily label him.

It is not purely commercial, nor is it niche literature and art.

If I have to give two words to describe it, I can only say one: beautiful.

The applause lasted for almost ten minutes before the audience gradually dispersed.

Putting aside the box office expectations, it can be foreseen that this will be another work with explosive word-of-mouth.

The award-winning mass base is there, so let's see how the program reviews are given by professional film critics and journalists.

Jiang Wen shook his hand firmly. "I was originally upset about losing the bet, but now I'm really looking forward to it. I hope we can reach a cooperation soon!"

"Thank you, Director Jiang."

Quentin was still dancing with joy: "Lu! You always surprise me. Although this movie is not to my taste, I really appreciate your cooking method!"

Harvey also said with a fat face: "Lu, let's talk about the North American distribution rights when we have time!"

Boss Lu laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that I'll cheat you again?"

The Jewish An Lushan looked helpless and glanced at Quentin beside him.

"I can't help it. I always have extra patience for geniuses. Unfortunately, you two are both!"

Only Laurent and Luc Besson from MK2 exchanged a few words and then left, otherwise they would have been squeezed by fans and unable to move.

The two sides agreed to discuss copyright issues in Europe in detail in a few days.

Fan Bingbing helped to see off the guests, and Zhang Ziyi even came over to shake Fan Bingbing's hand.

"Bingbing, your performance was great. I hope you can achieve something!"

This year, there are only two mainland films in the main competition unit, "Purple Butterfly" and "Shoplifters".

This statement is both hypocritical and sincere.

Fan Bingbing smiled and hugged her. Both actresses had their own thoughts.

It would be a lie for Zhang Ziyi to say how much she envied Fan Bingbing. She had indeed heard rumors about Fan Bingbing and Lu Kuan, but there were many actresses who had rumors about Fan Bingbing and Lu Kuan.

She didn't think there was anything special about the newcomer in the film industry.

But it’s always right to say hello and make friends.

Fan Bingbing recalled the day when they first arrived in Cannes and how arrogant Zhang Ziyi and her brother Zhang Zinan looked.

Lu Kuan is right, the actress’s works are 1, and the rest are the 0s behind them.

The future big star secretly cheered herself up in her heart.

I, Fan Bingbing, will become famous all over the world soon!

(End of this chapter)