1979 Golden Age

The main venue of the Berlin Film Festival is called the Animal Palace.

The main venue of Cannes in later generations is called the Conference Palace, which has 24 steps. Each group of guests who have walked the red carpet will climb to the top of the steps. The chairman of the film festival will greet them here and personally escort them into the venue.

This has become a ritual.

The craze for walking the red carpet in Cannes was brought up by Fan Xiaopang. Fan Xiaopang has no works, but she has fashion endorsements and was invited by the brand. Those who imitated her don’t understand, so they can only walk awkwardly, dawdle on the red carpet, and are chased away by security guards in various ways...

Now, the 24 steps have not been built yet, and there is no sense of ceremony, but there is a red carpet.

On the opening day, Cannes was full of stars.

Mainly European stars, who appeared on the red carpet in groups.

In the waiting area, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, wearing suits and dresses, talked with Chen Qi with interest. They didn’t expect that a small Hong Kong film they shot casually would have the opportunity to walk the red carpet in Cannes.

Qiu Shuzhen was trembling with nervousness. She had walked past the Academy Awards, but this was nothing. She looked around and stretched out a small hand to Chen Qi: "Master, I'm a little scared!"

"..."

The other party was chatting and ignored her, but he used a little force to wrap her small hand in it, and suddenly a sense of security surged through her body.

After an unknown period of time, she suddenly heard a voice: "Follow me, don't rush!"

Qiu Shuzhen felt that she was being driven forward and subconsciously took a step forward.

The red under her feet seemed to be the brightest bright color, soft and tough to step on. On both sides were flash lights and reporters that were several times crazier than the Academy Awards, paying special attention to this group of guests.

Fu Qi, Chen Qi, Liu Xuehua, Qiu Shuzhen and two foreigners, a total of six people.

It's a pity that Tsui Hark refused to leave, and the director was not there, which was also unique.

"Stop!"

"Smile and wave!"

Chen Qi guided Qiu Shuzhen in a low voice, stopped in the middle of the red carpet, and waved to a bunch of flash lights. He looked around and found many oriental faces, probably reporters from South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Forget about mainland reporters, it is impossible to go abroad to interview such things.

If there is really news worth reporting, it can only be written by the overseas branch of Xinhua News Agency, or directly translated from foreign manuscripts.

The red carpet is not long, and it soon reached the end. Although there are no 24 steps now, there is a guy waiting there. Giles Jacob, the director of Cannes selection, later served as chairman.

He favors Chinese films. "The King of Children", "Ju Dou", "Farewell My Concubine", "To Live", "Happy Together", etc., as well as those art films in Taiwan, have all received his help.

"Welcome to Cannes! Your "Orphan" is a very distinctive work. Who is the director?" Jacob asked.

"The director is busy and may be absent."

"That's a pity! Good luck to you..."

Jacob greeted Chen Qi and his party in a formal way, and Chen Qi and his party entered the venue.

…………

Chen Qi was indeed very busy.

After attending the opening ceremony, he immediately set up exhibitions and sold films, mainly "Tai Chi 2" and "Orphan", and also "Wrong Turn" and "The Dark Invasion" sequels. These two small productions have been bought by Hollywood for remake rights, and the money is not much, only hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At the same time, he also visited everywhere and made connections.

Steven Roberts of 20th Century Fox, who I met in Berlin, also came, but he was not eager for "Tai Chi 2".

Last time, he bought the copyright of "Tai Chi 1". Although he made money, the profit was mediocre, and it was more troublesome to distribute it.

Only "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero" can be distributed on a large scale among Chinese costume kung fu films, because the scenes are large and the shots are beautiful. The former incorporates the Western-style growth core, and the latter is straightforward and simple, which foreigners can understand.

Tai Chi is a film that accumulates little by little. It only makes a profit if it sells a little in the US and the UK, plus the revenue from the videotapes.

"Chen, don't try to use the same trick this time!"

Roberts said, "I already know the audience market of this type of film. I won't be fooled by you. If you want to sell it to me, at least reduce the price by half, and you have to ensure the quality."

"Let's not talk about Tai Chi 2 in a hurry. Let's take a look at our new film!"

Chen Qi recommended with a smile and handed over a brochure.

"Orphan?"

Roberts frowned, and saw a frontal photo of Qiu Shuzhen printed on the poster. The background was blood red, and her eyebrows and eyes were sinister. She looked scary, but that was all.

"Horror movie? Is this little girl a demon?"

"No, no, she is human. It will be screened on the 18th. You are welcome to come."

"Okay, but I don't think you can make horror movies. Your action movies still have some market, but almost no one watches Eastern horror movies."

Roberts expressed his thoughts, took the brochure and left. He flipped through it and read the synopsis: "An American couple in Hong Kong adopted a Chinese child..."

"Oh?"

Roberts was stunned, and then reacted: "Want to use American actors to open up the American market? Too naive. If this method is effective, Hollywood would have been conquered long ago, not to mention that they are not big stars."

He lowered his expectations again.

…………

For several days, Chen Qi was selling movies at the booth.

He also saw Weinstein, who had made an enemy in Berlin last time. This fat guy seemed to have gained some weight. He also saw him and snorted from a distance. The Jews are narrow-minded. If you help them, they may not thank you, let alone if you have offended them.

I have already written him down in my notebook.

Chen Qi also snorted, saying that he must do it once he goes to Hollywood.

In the blink of an eye, on the 17th, "The True Story of Ah Q" was first released. Naturally, the group went to support it and unexpectedly bumped into Tsui Hark. Tsui Hark brought an assistant with him, and he acted like a tourist, extremely happy, and even pretended not to recognize him.

"The True Story of Ah Q" is a production of Shanghai Film Studio.

It is filled with a lot of elements of the Chinese era, but the core of the characters can be understood by foreigners. Ah Q's method of spiritual victory is self-deprecation, self-explanation, and self-intoxication. These aspects of human nature are interoperable.

After the show, it’s an interactive session.

The main creators have no experience at all. A foreign reporter asked: "It is said in the film that Ah Q did not annihilate his descendants. Does that mean there are still many such people in China?"

Director Cen Fan was visibly panicked, but he was still smart and replied: "Yes, Ah Q has not exterminated his descendants, but it is not only the case in China, it may be the case in many countries in the world. I guess there are people like Ah Q in your country as well." Human?"

"Whoosh!"

Many people clapped their hands.

Qiu Shuzhen was drowsy after watching the movie, but now she became energetic and whispered: "Master, that director is obviously mocking people, why are you applauding him?"

"Foreigners don't talk about benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and trust. We have a pirate civilization, where the weak eat the strong. The more you please, the more they will look down on you, and they will have to fight... well, I mean you have to be tough, and they will be convinced."

"Is that so?"

Qiu Shuzhen seems to understand but not understand.

Chen Qi has never seen this film in his previous life, and it seems very dull. From the perspective of adapting a famous novel, it is well done. From the perspective of a movie, it is all right.

When leaving.

He looked for an opportunity to get close to Tsui Hark and said quickly like an underground party contact: "Hey, tomorrow's premiere, are you going to be on stage?"

"It depends! It depends!"

Tsui Hark lowered his head and waved his hands away.

Chen Qi rolled his eyes and was still coy about it, but he thought about it and let it go. Anyway, we will see the real chapter tomorrow.

(No more...)