A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 91: Confrontation!
It's no secret that Chen Kaige is arrogant and loves to show off.

Lin Jianlu had connections with the film and television industry in the capital, and even went so far as to ask Gu Changwei to film a music video for her before the Spring Festival. Especially after the Spring Festival, she met more and more people, so she naturally had heard about him beforehand.

Born into a distinguished family, he is indeed talented. From "Yellow Earth" to "King of the Children," his directorial talent is widely recognized both domestically and internationally. When he came to "Farewell My Concubine," a banned film, it was considered on par with Zhang Yimou's "To Live," representing the pinnacle of the fifth generation of Chinese directors.

As for whether it is or not... well, it's a European award!

This is highly valued in China right now!
Even now, in the eyes of those in the industry, Zhang Yimou is half a head shorter than Chen Kaige—this has nothing to do with artistic achievements. When it comes to art, there is no first place in literature. The key point is that Zhang Yimou was a complete peasant from the beginning. He worked alongside Chen Kaige as his cinematographer and only then did he gain the opportunity to direct independently.

Simply put, Chen Kaige can be considered half a benefactor of Zhang Yimou.

In a semi-closed circle like the film industry, this is highly valued: you were promoted by someone!
In addition, Chen Kaige is a man of great style and loves to show off. To put it more nicely, he has the air of a great director or artist, and he has indeed achieved great success. Therefore, he is basically respected and flattered within the industry.

Feng Xiaogang has made a name for himself, having directed popular TV dramas and movies with decent reputations. However, compared to Chen Kaige, he's just a mere shoe-shiner—Feng Xiaogang respectfully addresses Chen Kaige as "Master Kai" in public and private!
People in the capital city love to address someone as "Master," but not just anyone can call someone "Master."

In the current domestic film and television industry, there are two generally recognized masters. One is called Master Shuo, Wang Shuo, who leads his own circle and is proficient in both film and television. He has an extremely high status in the industry. The other is Master Kai, the leader of the art film circle and the fifth generation of directors.

But in terms of sophistication, Wang Shuo still falls short of Chen Kaige.

There's no other reason than that Wang Shuo deals with trivial matters of the common people, entertaining domestic audiences, while Chen Kaige deals with national history, love and hate, and high-end art that is unanimously recognized by foreigners—whether you personally agree or not is meaningless; these days, it's only good if foreigners think it's good.

However... what does this have to do with me, Lin Jianlu?

Not only do I not associate with art film circles, I don't even associate with the film industry at all.

At most, I'll find a pretty girl in the film industry... Don't try to act all high and mighty with me!
Lin Jianlu is a kind and gentle person. He believes that being kind brings wealth, so he speaks to everyone, no matter who you are, even if you are just an ordinary fan. In any social situation, whether in the capital, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, as long as people treat him politely, he will always show them respect.

However, if anyone tries to put on airs, act arrogantly, or show off, he will not hesitate to be ruthless and will not give them face on the spot. For example, when he sang at the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony, Sylvia Chang brought Sammo Hung along. Sammo Hung acted arrogantly, like a big shot, and invited Lam Kin-lu to act in his movies, wanting to "cultivate" Lam Kin-lu. Lam Kin-lu had only recently become famous and wasn't very confident, but he didn't care and directly refused to give him face, at most speaking more tactfully. Sylvia Chang, on the other hand, almost without hesitation sided with Lam Kin-lu.

Later, Lin Jianlu went to Hong Kong many times and attended numerous drinking parties, but he never had any further contact with Hong Jinbao.

Yuan Biao, who had arranged to meet Lin Jianlu for drinks at the time, later came to the mainland as a martial arts choreographer, but it is unknown whether he did. In any case, nothing more was said about him.

There are many examples.

In a recent example, when they first met, Jiang Wen immediately called Lin Jianlu "this kid" – Jiang Wen is one of the top actors in China, having worked with the biggest directors since his debut, winning the most prestigious awards and earning the best reputation. Later, he became a director himself, and is a director who is qualified to stand on equal footing with Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. In the domestic film and television industry, he can be considered one of the top people. He probably thought that Lin Jianlu was young and that he had the right to call him that, joke about him, and tease him, but Lin Jianlu still did not give him any face on the spot.

I've made enough money, so I can quit anytime. I'm not afraid of offending anyone, and nobody can look down on me!
Fortunately, there was no real conflict. Jiang Wen is a person with high emotional intelligence, and she quickly realized the situation and immediately turned around to make amends. Lin Jianlu is by no means the stubborn type, so they buried the hatchet over a drink, and their relationship is actually quite good now.

But "Master Kai" is clearly not Jiang Wen.

He has a much more fiery temper than people like Sammo Hung, who also believe in "harmony brings wealth"!
Once everyone arrived, the dishes were served, and people ate, drank, and chatted.

Lin Jianlu quickly realized that the Beijing Film Studio was setting up a project because Chen Kaige was going to start a new film, which was about to shoot a story about Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin in the late Warring States period. The Beijing Film Studio originally had no intention of involving Lin Jianlu in the project, but Xu Qing's sudden dragging of him was an unexpected turn of events.

Chen Kaige's previous film, "Temptress Moon," was just released this year. Of course, it was banned in mainland China and couldn't be shown at all. However, since the director used foreign capital to make the film, it could still be shown in Hong Kong. Even in Hong Kong, "Farewell My Concubine," which won a Cannes award, had a good reputation. Moreover, "Temptress Moon" stars Leslie Cheung, who is very popular in Hong Kong, alongside international film queen Gong Li—it has selling points.

As a result, despite high hopes of winning Cannes again, the film suffered a box office blow after its release, received a barrage of negative reviews, and was even criticized by the media as "a work created when the Palme d'Or winner was delirious and his mind was clouded."

The box office failure and the lack of success at European film festivals can be considered a major setback.

But it doesn't matter, it doesn't affect Kai's lofty status as a great director.

He announced that he was going to start a new film, and this time he wouldn't be messing around anymore. He would be doing a serious historical drama, Jing Ke assassinating the King of Qin. This time, it would definitely be released in China, and winning awards in Europe would be a piece of cake. Han Shanping, the director of Beijing Film Studio, was even overjoyed and offered to invest.

That's how this situation came about.

Zhang Fengyi will likely play the male lead, Jing Ke, while Li Xuejian might play the King of Qin. I've also heard they're planning to cast Xu Qing's ex-boyfriend, Wang Zhiwen, as Lao Ai.

In short, the current mainland film industry is characterized by big-budget productions, top-notch teams, and a star-studded cast.

Chen Kaige was the guest of honor today, and everyone fawned over him. So he was the one who did most of the bragging. Lin Jianlu listened and watched, feeling annoyed, but not quite ready to completely break off relations. He wasn't one to want to ruin things completely—he figured he'd just avoid other people's events after dinner.

As they talked, "Brother Kai" probably got carried away and started discussing freedom and art in Europe. Suddenly, he changed the subject and directly attacked Lin Jianlu, saying, "You musicians in China are pretty much the same. You're confined to your own little circles. Selling records isn't that meaningful. You need to go out and listen to the Grammys in America. You have to admit that you're not as good as them. You have to bend down and learn from them!"

Lin Jianlu was completely dumbfounded. In fact, in the six months since he debuted, most of the people he had met in the industry were shrewd and capable. This was the first time he had ever encountered someone with such low emotional intelligence. Or rather, it wasn't necessarily that they had low emotional intelligence; they simply looked down on him and therefore showed him absolutely no respect.
In Hong Kong, there were quite a few directors who handed scripts to Ge Fuhong, hoping to invite Lin Jianlu to play the second male lead in a movie as a decorative character, or to make a romance film. However, as Lin Jianlu declined time and time again, those who had once sat at the same table drinking and chatting basically stopped seeing each other.

Huang Baiming, Derek Yee, and even Johnnie To are probably among them. There are many more junior directors as well.

That is, Wang Jing. Although there was no further cooperation or profit sharing between them, he was a seasoned veteran, and they formed a genuine friendship based on mutual respect.

As for the others—they see you're famous and handsome, and if they want you to act in movies, your popularity can help them make money. Plus, with Ge Fuhong's connections, of course everyone's on good terms! But once you gradually show that you don't want them to use your fame and popularity to make money, of course they'll stop supporting you. Everyone goes their separate ways!

Furthermore, at the height of Hong Kong's entertainment industry, Hong Kong people were very arrogant, and the Hong Kong film industry was also very arrogant. It was common for them to look down on so-called "Northern girls" and "Northern men"—Lin Jianlu had this mentality. He might have said a lot to people over drinks, but behind their backs, he might contemptuously call himself a "Northern man"!

But that doesn't matter. We're all in the same boat, and we all believe in making money through harmony. Lin Jianlu is incredibly popular and holds the only diamond album in the entire Chinese music scene. Even if we don't collaborate, no one would want to cause trouble. We just don't usually meet. If we happen to bump into each other, we'll just exchange a few polite words. How difficult is that?
However, Director Chen was clearly not that kind of person; he wasn't even willing to end the situation amicably!

Fuck you!

"what……"

Lin Jianlu immediately stood up, ignoring the strange looks from the table, picked up the half-full glass of baijiu in front of him, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. Then he showed the bottom of his glass to Han Shanping, the host, and said, "Brother Han, sorry to bother you!"

With a snap, I slammed the cup down on the table, signaling that the game was over.

Then, looking at Chen Kaige, she went all out—

"I've sold over ten million records across Asia, I'm a sensation! I'm on the cover of Time magazine, and I'm the only Chinese-language artist on the World's Top 100 Records. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to tell me how to make music?"

"You damn traitorous bastard, making films about national suffering and the dark side of human nature, then going to Europe to suck up to their boots and get a few bucks in return. Do you really think you're something special?"

"I'll fuck you!"

Chen Kaige was completely stunned by the direct rebuke and didn't react at all.

Lin Jianlu waited a few seconds, thinking that since he had cursed so harshly, as "Master Kai," he should at least stand up and fight him—perfect timing, it was time to put his Bajiquan skills learned in the army to the test!
The other person was completely stunned. Perhaps they had never been confronted like this before. After being scolded, they just stared blankly at Lin Jianlu with wide eyes.

Not interesting.

After waiting a few seconds without any response, Lin Jianlu felt a little disappointed. She clasped her hands in a fist salute to the others at the table, turned around and left—everyone at the table was stunned, looking dumbfounded.

Xu Qing was the first to come to her senses. Without even hesitating, she got up and chased after him.

Han Shanping was the second to come to his senses. He subconsciously stood up, seemingly wanting to say something, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't say anything. When Chen Kaige was almost pointing at Lin Jianlu's nose to comment, he had a rough understanding of Lin Jianlu's temper and already had a premonition that things were going to go wrong. But he still didn't expect that Lin Jianlu would be so fierce, directly throwing such a brutal attack at his face!
However, the more this is the case, the less likely it is to be reconciled—this situation is unlikely to end anytime soon!

So, look at Lin Jianlu opening the door, look at Xu Qing's retreating figure, then look back at Chen Kaige's face gradually turning red, and Ni Ping grabbing his arm...

After hesitating for a few moments, he sighed inwardly and sat down again.

***
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(End of this chapter)