1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 41 $60? (Seeking monthly votes!)
David is a small business owner in Italy who runs a milk business. Hearing that the Venice International Film Festival had reinstated its awards system this year, he boldly predicted that many celebrities would attend. He wanted to relax, so he took a few days off and, during the festival, took his family to Lido Island.

David's wife is named Mary, and they have a very lovely 7-year-old daughter named Lisa.

The family of three had just finished breakfast at the hotel and were heading to the screening area to see if there were any movies they wanted to see that day, or maybe they'd bump into some celebrities and even get autographs and photos.

"Dad, look! There's a cow on that movie poster, but it looks so dirty."

Even his daughter noticed the movie poster, so how could David, who was in the milk business, not have seen it?
He led his wife and daughter toward the movie poster. Although he didn't recognize the two Chinese titles of the movie, "Bullfighting," he recognized the English name, "Cow."

At the same time, Chen Fusheng, who was soliciting customers at the entrance of the screening room, also noticed the family of three who were interested in his movie poster. Although they were obviously not his target customers and seemed more like tourists, Chen Fusheng looked back at the screening room, which could accommodate 80 people, and saw that it was less than a third full. After hesitating for a moment, he still greeted the family of three with a smile.

"A beautiful day starts with watching a movie. Pretty little friend, may I invite you and your mom and dad to watch a movie?"

Perhaps because he also has a daughter, Chen Fusheng was very patient and gentle when facing this foreign little girl.

Lisa was somewhat tempted, but she didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned to look at her parents.

David and his wife were indeed interested in Chen Fusheng's film, but they wanted to do some research before watching it.

After all, they had children with them, so if the movie was too bloody or too scary, or if it was titled "cow" but actually depicted a slaughterhouse, then it wouldn't be suitable for them to go in.

“David Smith, this is my wife Mary, and our daughter Lisa.”

"Chen Fusheng!" Chen Fusheng introduced himself and shook hands with David.

“Chen, Hu, Shui?” David repeated Chen Fusheng’s name, though his pronunciation wasn’t quite accurate.

But he recognized it as a Chinese name.

"You are chinese?"

"Yes, Mr. David, how did you know?"

"Because I'm in the milk business, I've done business with a Chinese boss before, and I've heard him speak Chinese. I can even say 'hello,' 'have you eaten?' and 'thank you.'"

"Good! Well said." Chen Fusheng was generous with his praise, but he thought that the Chinese boss David mentioned must just be an overseas Chinese, since there weren't many Chinese businessmen at that time.

Next, David briefly inquired about the film from Chen Fusheng and learned that it was not unsuitable for children. He then took his wife and daughter and followed Chen Fusheng into the screening room.

As soon as the family of three came in and found a seat, Chen Fusheng saw Han Sanping give him a look.

'Time's up, shall we begin?'

Chen Fusheng simply nodded in response.

Then he walked to the front row and reminded the film distributors and the family of three present, "Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet. Our movie is about to start. Thank you for waiting."

After saying that, he walked to the side and turned off the lights in the screening room.

But he didn't close the screening room door, nor did he take down the movie posters at the door.

This is so that film distributors or tourists who happen to be passing by can come in and watch whenever they are interested.

It's worth mentioning that this was also the first time Chen Fusheng had seen him act, so he also sat in the audience.

Moreover, to thank him for inviting the three of them to the movie earlier, 7-year-old Lisa invited Chen Fusheng to sit next to them.

Chen Fusheng naturally couldn't bear to refuse.

This marks the second public screening of "Cow," the first being at the Beijing Film Academy.

The movie's opening sequence, which was only a little over ten seconds long, captivated the attention of the entire school's teachers and students.

The present is no exception. When this ten-second shot came out, the screening room, which was originally chattering, instantly fell silent.

For some film companies that originally planned to run away at any time if the film was too boring, just seeing the beginning made them forget about running away.

"interesting."

"The opening ten seconds or so of shots are really high-quality."

"This actor's acting skills are quite good. No wonder he was shortlisted for the Venice International Film Festival. It's something to look forward to."

Chen Fusheng sat on the field, listening to the praise coming from all around him, and felt a little proud.

Next, Chen Fusheng watched the movie he acted in and became completely absorbed in it.

As a result, before he could even react, the movie had already ended.

When someone turns the lights back on in the room.

Chen Fusheng snapped out of his daze amidst the applause and was surprised to find that the number of people in the screening room had not decreased, but had even increased.

Chen Fusheng had no idea when all these people came in.

"Uncle, you acted so well!"

Chen Fusheng looked at Lisa, who was clapping for him, smiled, patted her head, and said, "Thank you, Lisa." David looked at Chen Fusheng, hesitant to speak, but just as he was about to speak, the Chinese actor who had given him such a pleasant surprise had already walked to the front of the stage.

Chen Fusheng and the other two main creators of the film went on stage to greet everyone. Since Han Sanping and Siqin Gaowa do not understand English, Chen Fusheng answered some questions from the film distributors after watching the film.

This segment was short because most of the people present were film distributors, not journalists or film critics.

"If there are no further questions, then gentlemen or ladies who are interested in the overseas rights to our film 'Cow' can come to the next room to discuss this further with us."

After speaking, Chen Fusheng, Deputy Director Shi, and Wang Tao, the representative of China Film Group, all went to the next room.

Because Lao Han doesn't understand English, he wasn't even allowed to sit in on the class.

All she could do was stay in the screening room with Siqin Gaowa, guarding the film reels.

However, looking at that small door, he secretly made up his mind that he must pick up foreign languages ​​again after returning this time.

Next, film distributors entered the next room one after another.

The offers Chen Fusheng and his team received ranged from a few thousand dollars, but these usually only covered the film rights to one country.

The highest bid was $60, for the global overseas rights to "Cow".

The other party is Miramax Films, a Hollywood film company founded by brothers Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein, specializing in art films or niche films.

People like them belong to independent film studios in Hollywood.

Bob Weinstein, one of the owners, is also attending the Venice International Film Festival this time.

Bob believed that "Cow" had a certain chance of winning an award at this film festival, so he quoted a price that was a little higher than his expected price, just to take a gamble.

If he wins the bet, he can still make a profit even if he immediately sells the overseas rights to "Cow".

Even if you lose the bet, it's just that you paid a high price for an art film, and you can still bring it back and release it. You probably won't lose money; at most, you'll just earn a little less.

Without a doubt, Bob Weinstein presented Chen Fusheng and his two companions with a difficult problem.

Bob had already left the small room, leaving only Chen Fusheng, Deputy Director Shi, and Wang Tao.

Deputy Director Shi did not express his opinion, but Chen Fusheng and Wang Tao's opinions clashed again.

“I still stand by my opinion that we should wait and see. After all, ‘Cow’ has a chance to win an award. If we do, I think our film’s overseas box office might break seven figures.” The seven figures Chen Fusheng mentioned were, of course, not RMB, but USD.

Wang Tao disagreed with him: "You proposed this screening event, and now someone has offered a high price, but you disagree. What is the point of you demanding that this screening be held?"

"Now I know roughly how much our movie is worth in the copyright trading market, isn't that significant?" Chen Fusheng retorted directly, while feeling that this guy didn't know anything.

"Now that you know the market price, and someone has offered a higher price, why are you still trying to stop them?"

"Didn't I say that if our film wins an award, the overseas rights to 'Cow' could sell for more than six hundred thousand dollars?"

"What if the film doesn't win any awards in the end?"

"If there are no awards, then we'll sell it at market price. I think some studios would be willing to pay around $500,000."

"Comrade Fusheng, you are gambling with state assets."

"You fart..."

Seeing that the two had gradually escalated from disagreement to personal attacks, Deputy Director Shi finally spoke up and reprimanded them, saying, "That's enough, you're going too far. What kind of talk is this?"

In fact, Deputy Director Shi was still inclined to Chen Fusheng's point of view. The reason was simple: if they gambled... ah, I mean, if they won a prize, then according to Chen Fusheng, they could earn several hundred thousand more. As for not winning the prize, although they wouldn't get six hundred thousand, they would still have five hundred thousand US dollars, which would be enough to report back.

However, as a leader, he couldn't directly express his opinion on this matter, so he could only resort to delaying tactics.

When the leader resorted to delaying tactics, Chen Fusheng and Wang Tao, being no novice, naturally knew who would win and who would lose.

Although they didn't get along before, they still maintained a facade of civility. But after Wang Tao said something so serious about Chen Fusheng gambling with state assets, they've become too lazy to even bother with appearances anymore.

Chen Fusheng simply greeted Deputy Director Shi, completely ignoring the representative from China Film Group, and left the small room.

But to his surprise, he actually saw that family of three again when he came out.

"David, you're still here? Is something the matter?"

"Chen, I'd like to invite you for a coffee, is that convenient for you?"

To be honest, it's a bit inconvenient.

Because of disciplinary regulations, they are not allowed to go out alone.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Fusheng saw Han Sanping walking towards them and came up with a plan...

(End of this chapter)