Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 407 Impressions of Venice [Part 1]

Five days later.

Zhang Yan arrived at the Capital International Airport alone and embarked on his journey to Venice.

Yes, his trip to France did not materialize.

To be precise, everyone else went, but Zhang Yan was forced to stay in the capital and served as an advisor to the "Culture" and "Broadcasting" systems for a few days with Han Sanping.

The main issue was that his plan to "mix sand" (inject sand into the negotiations) was approved by higher authorities, and they were preparing to package it as a "concession" and include it in the negotiations.

That is, at an appropriate time, in addition to purchasing films recommended by the US side, the relevant departments of Dongda University will also take the initiative to purchase no less than three American films and release them on a large scale in domestic cinemas.

Then, based on this condition, we will try to further compress the revenue sharing ratio.

Of course, this was just a feint, intended to make the Americans believe that it was a compromise by the University of Tokyo, rather than a scheme.

For this reason, the twenty works proposed by Zhang Yan were changed to a minimum of three works, which is more deceptive.

However, the higher-ups haven't fully decided how to proceed after the contract is signed.

The main concern is that some people are worried that friendly nations might be alarmed, and that it could affect bilateral trade. They think that in the first few years, they should import some serious films, and then gradually increase the number later.

The more radical local faction believes that it is essential to set a good example and not give the public the misconception that American movies are superior, otherwise it will be difficult to reverse the public's impression later.

In addition, theater representatives are unwilling to take on these bad films, fearing they will lose money while gaining publicity—to get them to cooperate with the policy of mixing in bad films, the higher authorities would have to be willing to subsidize these bad films.

But if the government were to subsidize bad foreign films, wouldn't local filmmakers be in an uproar?

In short, although a general outline has been set, the specific implementation will depend on the outcome of the negotiations among the parties and the subsequent market feedback.

However, these things are not relevant to Zhang Yan for the time being. His most important task right now is to rush to Venice and join the crew of "Sunshine".

…………

5:00 AM on July 28th.

"You silly donkey, Bongiorno~"

Just as Zhang Yangang passed through customs, Jiang Wen, dressed in a floral shirt, baggy shorts, and sunglasses pushed up to her hairline, came up to him with an air of arrogance.

"Get out of here."

Zhang Yan swung his suitcase with a sweeping motion, forcing Jiang Wen, who was about to hug him, back away. He said disdainfully, "Mixing French and Italian greetings only makes you look like a country bumpkin."

"Hey~"

Jiang Wen raised her hand and adjusted her sunglasses back to the correct position, exclaiming exaggeratedly, "Wow, Mr. Zhang, you even know that these are French and Italian."

"Nonsense, who doesn't do their homework before going abroad these days?" Zhang Yan said, glancing behind him suspiciously. "Did you come alone?"

“Besides me, there’s also a tour guide. The taxis in Venice are smaller than a Xiali, so it’s too crowded if there are more than four people.” Jiang Wen said, leading Zhang Yan out with the flow of people, while reminding Zhang Yan: “Remember to keep a close eye on your wallet. I heard that Italian thieves come to Venice to do business every year during the film festival.”

Zhang Yan said calmly, "I understand. If they don't steal, they're not Italy; if they don't rob, they're not France; if they steal and rob, they're England; and if they finish off the robbed, they're the United States."

"Hahaha……"

Jiang Wen burst into laughter, giving Zhang Yan a thumbs-up.

The taxis in Venice are indeed small. Zhang Yan and Jiang Wen, both tall, felt cramped in the back.

However, only this type of vehicle can handle the rugged and narrow alleyways of the small town.

While admiring the old European-style buildings under the hazy night sky, Zhang Yan asked Jiang Wen about her experiences in Europe over the past few days.

"It's fine as long as there are no group activities—putting aside what people say behind my back, the foreigners are all very enthusiastic to my face, and I've been smelling like cologne these past few days."

Jiang Wen sniffed herself, then remembered something and said, "Oh right, I also know an American director who really likes kung fu movies. We got along really well, and I even taught him a few Chinese phrases."

Zhang Yan said confidently, "The words you taught me probably aren't anything good, are they?" "I don't like hearing you say that."

Jiang Wen retorted, sticking out her neck in displeasure: "We men are always open and honest with our friends, so we'll definitely teach you the best Chinese!"

"Haha~"

Although Venice is full of old-world charm, the place where the "Sunshine" group stayed was quite new. I heard it was a place designated by the organizing committee, and most of the participating groups would stay here.

When Zhang Yan got out of the car, he noticed several simple curtains hanging in the shadowy areas around the hotel.

According to Jiang Wen, many of the personal films that cannot be shown in cinemas are screened outdoors in this area in hopes of attracting buyers.

People often guard these curtains all night long, just to secure the best spots.

Of course, besides the backdrop, various posters are also a feature of the hotel, with posters covering the exterior walls and the lobby.

The poster for "Sunshine" was also among them, and it was placed in a very conspicuous position.

Zhang Yan pointed to the poster and asked, "Did we put this up ourselves, or did the organizers do it?"

"We put them up ourselves, but those niche films that want to occupy the most prominent positions are stopped by the hotel staff."

In other words, this can be considered a semi-official, unspoken rule.

Zhang Yan carefully examined the posters nearby. With his limited foreign language skills, he could only roughly deduce that one of them was a war film, another was a children's science/fantasy film, and the third was a love story film reflecting the emotional state of marginalized urban people, titled "Long Live Love".

If you're wondering why there's so much to see in this last one, it's because it's a Taiwanese film.

Seeing Zhang Yan stop and examine the film, Jiang Wen said, "Fortunately, we put a lot of effort into the translation this time, otherwise we would have been at a disadvantage against 'Vive L'Amore,' because I heard that this film mainly uses body language and camera language, with very little dialogue."

"Maybe they came here with the intention of winning an award from the beginning."

Zhang Yan started walking again and, led by Jiang Wen, went up to the sixth floor.

Because rooms were in short supply, Zhang Yan and Dong Ping were arranged to be together. Dong Ping had also gotten up early, but he seemed to have not yet adjusted to the time difference and looked listless.

"You're finally here."

Dong Ping rubbed his eyes and laughed, "When Jiang Wen first heard that you had been detained by the General Administration, he thought our trip to participate in the exhibition abroad was going to fall through, and he was so scared that he almost peed his pants."

"It's all Han Sanping's fault."

While taking daily necessities out of his suitcase, Zhang Yan mumbled, "He asked me for advice, but then he sold me to his superiors. They thought I was a potential candidate, so they called me in too."

Then he changed the subject and asked, "What interesting things happened while I was away?"

“EMMM…”

Dong Ping thought for a moment and said, "Is it unusual for Ning Jing to ask Liu Xiaoqing for help in order to beat up Jiang Wen?"

really!

Jiang Wen had been talking about things outside the group the whole way, and hadn't mentioned anything about the internal affairs of the "Sunshine" group, so Zhang Yan guessed that he must be hiding something.

"It would be quite surprising if Liu Xiaoqing agreed."

"Then it wouldn't be fresh,"

Dong Ping spread his hands and said, "Liu Xiaoqing seems to still have feelings for Ning Jing. He didn't agree to join forces with Ning Jing, and Ning Jing, being alone, couldn't make a scene."

Haha~
Liu Xiaoqing wasn't still hung up on the relationship; she had simply already taken revenge elsewhere.

Zhang Yan subconsciously rubbed his lower back, feeling very fortunate that he and Dong Ping were assigned to the same room; otherwise, he feared he would have had a hard time enduring the next ten days or so.

(End of this chapter)