Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

He Yi'an didn't finish revising his script until late at night.

Only then did he pick up his phone and see a few unread text messages. He opened them and immediately broke into a doting smile.

"Want to know? Just wait and see!"

He Yi'an didn't reply. Was it too easy to manipulate a little girl?

However, upon seeing Liu Yifei's name, He Yi'an thought for a moment, put down the script he was revising, and instead took out another unpublished novel.

The Hunger Games

He has been writing this novel on and off for almost two years, and it has only recently been nearly finished.

This novel is a trilogy, with the first book originally published by Susan Collins in January 2010.

The publication and writing were certainly not at the same time; it could have been earlier, but it is now 2002, or even the latter half of 2000 when he wrote it.

Therefore, there is absolutely no possibility of them colliding.

In fact, since Clinton, America's "Zipper Emperor," took office, he was the first American president to explicitly support LGBT, even though various forms of LGBT protests are only just beginning to emerge.

The various forms of fanaticism are only just beginning to take hold, but after all, the United States was the first to adopt these ideas, and these things actually started very early on.

Therefore, even if He Yi'an's "The Hunger Games" doesn't perform as well as it will ten years later when it's published now, it will still have a market.

Through a long and slow fermentation process, it might even attract more fans than before.

Since He Yi'an hasn't decided to film it yet, he's releasing the novel first and waiting for it to gain traction.

Of course, as Chinese people, even if the original plot was not actively changed, some things were still modified.

The most significant change is that the female lead's character has been changed to Asian, and the appearances of other characters have also been subtly adjusted.

He Yi'an flipped through the novel, thought for a moment, and then began to write down the name of the female protagonist, Katniss, as Crystal…

The next day, he handed the revised novel to his mother.

"Mom, send this novel to Richard and ask him to publish it as a trilogy. The rest can follow the old rules."

Xu Wan certainly knew about this novel, after all, she had been writing it for several years.

However, she didn't like it; many of the juvenile and fantastical elements didn't align with her values.

But that's the good thing about their family, and maybe that's just the inherent character of people from Sichuan and Chongqing... I don't understand, but I respect them.

Just like the various methods that have appeared online to try to disrupt the eating habits of people in Sichuan and Chongqing by dipping their food in all sorts of inappropriate sauces.

But it's absolutely impossible to break the defenses of the people from Sichuan and Chongqing!

Why?

It's simply because that's the inherent character of people from Sichuan and Chongqing. We don't understand it, but since you did it, it means you have your reasons.

That's why many people think that people from Sichuan and Chongqing are amazing!

Xu Wan, the mother, was the same. Although she didn't like it, she understood her son. After taking the novel, she didn't even look at it and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll have Richard publish it. He's very good at this."

"Okay!" After finishing this matter, He Yi'an prepared to leave.

"Have you been free these past few days?"

"Something's up?" He Yi'an said without turning his head.

"What is it?"

"I need to lobby someone!"

"Who?"

……

Since the decision was made to make a name for themselves at the Venice Film Festival in 2002, there was one person they absolutely couldn't avoid: He Yi'an.

Gong Li!

Even if He Yi'an wanted to win the award, he had to win over Gong Li and get her to support him.

Why try to win over Gong Li?

Because she was the president of the jury at the 2002 Venice Film Festival!

As the Venice Film Festival Best Actress winner, she will be invited to serve as the president of the jury for this year's Venice Film Festival in July.

She is also the first mainland Chinese filmmaker to be invited to serve as the jury president of one of the three major European film festivals.

As of now, it seems that Scorpion Poop is unique in its venomousness!

This year marks the second time Gong Li has been invited to serve as the jury president at one of the three major European film festivals.

The first time was in 2000, when Gong Li served as the president of the jury for the main competition section of the 50th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese jury president.

Moreover, in 2000, Zhang Yimou also brought "My Father and Mother" to the main competition unit, and Zhang Yimou was awarded the Jury Prize.

What a coincidence!

He Yi'an simply doesn't believe that there wasn't a single deliberate design involved.

Foreigners are also spectators, and they enjoy watching former couples, especially the director and actress who helped launch their careers to Best Actress, and what happens when they meet again.

Older white people still really like this approach.

What's funny is that some interesting things happened at that year's Berlin Film Festival.

For example, when Zhang Ziyi wore a bellyband on the red carpet and when she accepted an award, she forcibly took Zhang Yimou's hand and went on stage together, making Zhang Yimou extremely embarrassed.

He immediately launched into a tirade!

I don't know why Zhang Ziyi did this, but the reporters certainly had their fun taking pictures.

According to He Yi'an's estimation, it was very likely because of Gong Li, since Gong Li was watching from the audience at that time!

This year, Gong Li will serve as the president of the jury for the main competition section of the 59th Venice International Film Festival.

He became the first Chinese person to serve as chairman of two of the three major film festivals.

This is why He Yi'an chose to submit his film to the Venice Film Festival this year.

Berlin, Venice, Cannes—each film festival has its own preferred style.

Venice, the water city, focuses on "local customs and family reconciliation".

Berlin, on the other hand, prefers political realism. In fact, if He Yi'an were to delve deeper into the details of the re-employment of laid-off workers, the dark and sharp depiction of the community, and even the anxiety of pension payment interruptions, it would be even better.

Only by adding these elements, showcasing the emptiness and helplessness of the new century, criticizing the system, and saying something like "What's wrong with this country?", can Berlin truly be won over.

However, if he did that, He Yi'an would have no choice but to film underground.

This was not what He Yi'an was looking for, so he chose Venice, not only because his adaptation did indeed fit the tone of Venice, but also because of Gong Li.

Her presence can be considered a major advantage for Chinese-language films at Venice, an advantage that eliminates the need to smear the country.

And this advantage is something only he himself knows about now.

Gong Li herself was unaware of this, which gave He Yi'an a lot of room to maneuver.

He Yi'an knew very well that with Zhang Yimou's recommendation and the quality of the film, his movie should have no problem being nominated, but whether it could win an award was questionable.

Aside from ideological issues, the more important point is that all awards worldwide are essentially a matter of cliques.

Since it's a circle, it's something you do behind closed doors.

For a newcomer like He Yi'an to make a name for himself, public relations are essential.

Those who simply make a movie and submit it without any public relations efforts, thinking they'll win an award...

Sorry, that only exists in fantasy; under normal circumstances, they can't even make the shortlist.

Why was He Yi'an so happy about Zhang Yimou's recommendation? Because it was a kind of letter of recommendation!

Moreover, it was a recognized letter of recommendation because he was from Venice and Berlin.

His letters of recommendation were very useful in the Western world, where recommendation was the mainstream system, especially in Venice and Berlin.

White people place more emphasis on personal relationships and the exchange of benefits!

However, at this point in time, the public intellectuals and their lackeys are all praising how foreign countries don't care about personal relationships, but only about ability.

These are just for fun.

But many people do believe this, thinking that even if they go abroad, as long as they study hard and get good grades, they will be respected!

How is that possible!

Good grades can actually make you more vulnerable to bullying, because it's like you're trying to take someone else's job.

They all get their businesses through referrals. You think you can run a business for generations just because you have good grades? Do you think you're in China?

Moreover, at Xida University, the better the academic performance of students from the bottom, the more they strive to get there from the bottom, and the greater the harm they pose to Xida University!

Why?

Because aside from those exceptionally gifted geniuses, it's impossible for them to study science and engineering; instead, they'll only study finance, law, medicine, and other money-making fields. It goes without saying what kind of jobs they'll end up with after that.

They will only hate their own background and those from the lower class even more, and Vance is a prime example of this!

Another type is those who learn from the bottom up, who are very likely supported and trained by gangs, and they learn in order to serve the gangs...

The topic has suddenly veered off course again, and we're back to public relations.

As a newcomer, if you want to make a name for yourself, public relations is a must, and there's nothing shameful about it.

These are the rules!

When He Yi'an decided to make the movie, he had already made public relations preparations.

That's why he was willing to go to the "Hero" film crew and endure a few months of hardship, all in order to build a good relationship with Zhang Yimou, and even take the initiative to learn from him, in order to gain the illusory title of a disciple.

Because this really comes down to connections!

At least at the beginning of the century, it could really bring him profits!

Don't say that He Yi'an is too realistic or too goal-oriented. Ideals and dreams can't put food on the table, but ambition can drive human progress!

On the other hand, he doesn't know Gong Li at all, so how can he win her over?

Actually, we still need Zhang Yimou as the bridge!

He Yi'an likes to think three steps ahead before taking action. He had laid so much groundwork beforehand, and a simple recommendation from Zhang Yimou was not enough to satisfy him!

He picked up his phone and dialed Zhang Yimou's number.

"Director Zhang, it's me, Xiao He, He Yi'an."

"Xiao He," Zhang Yimou's voice came from the other end of the phone, "What's up? Is it a problem with the movie? Or is there news from Venice?"

"There's nothing wrong with the film, and news from Venice doesn't come that quickly, Director Zhang," He Yi'an said with a smile, "I'm here to talk to you about something else."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I'd like to ask you to help me make a connection," He Yi'an paused, "to get in touch with Teacher Gong Li."

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P.S.: The data seems to have been refreshed on Monday, so I'll try updating it again at midnight.