Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

Although Link also wants to become an actor soon, he has no chance this time.

"Midnight in Paris" was invited by the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival because of its subject matter. As the opening film, it was not director Woody Allen's initiative to participate in the Cannes Film Festival Awards.

For a director, being invited by the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival to screen his work at the opening ceremony of the film festival is a kind of recognition and honor. It is no worse than winning the Palme d'Or, and there is no need to continue to participate in subsequent awards. .

For Link, there is one less chance to win awards.

Of course, he also asked Director Allen why he didn't sign up for the Cannes Film Festival, where he could win a few trophies and help promote the film.

Director Allen said in a disdainful tone that he had won awards from major European and American film festivals, but now that he is older, he has little interest in winning awards for his films.

I don’t want to compete with a group of young people.

In the end, he said loftily, "I want to leave opportunities to young people."

Link felt that he said it a bit forcefully.

Director Allen said that because of his age, he has little interest in film awards, but he still participates in the selection of the Golden Globe Awards, Academy Awards, and British Academy Film Awards.

This shows that it’s not that he doesn’t want to win an award at Cannes, but that he can’t win it.

This has to do with the selection system of the Cannes Film Festival Awards. The Cannes Film Festival can be regarded as the "youngest", "most open" and "most inclusive" film festival.

Most of the directors participating in the Cannes Film Festival every year are young and emerging directors from all over the world.

The Cannes Film Festival jury is not fixed. Every year, nine famous filmmakers from all over the world are invited to form the jury. There are people of all ages, and the gender is evenly divided.

For example, the nine jury members of this year’s film festival are Robert De Niro, Jude Law, Johnnie To, Olivier Assayas, Uma Thurman, Shi Nansheng, Lyn Ullman, Mohammed Saleh Harun, Martina Guzman.

Except for the chairman, Robert De Niro, who is over 60 years old, these nine judges are all under 60 years old. Their qualifications in the film industry are also much lower than that of director Woody Allen. Some of them are even less qualified than Allen. Have cooperated.

Let these people judge Allen's director's work. They would be embarrassed, and Woody Allen would be embarrassed too. It would be fine if it won the Palme d'Or, but it would be too shameful if it didn't.

Therefore, in the film industry, many veteran filmmakers will not participate in the award competition in the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival once they reach a certain age or seniority.

"Link, you are still young. Don't always worry about a few awards. What you should consider is how to improve your acting skills. As long as your acting skills are good enough, the film festival judges will take the initiative to award awards to you. In addition to the Oscar."

Director Woody Allen said.

Link nodded. Before his net worth reached one billion, the main purpose of becoming an actor was to become famous and get more pay. But now it is more about interest. Winning awards is the icing on the cake, so he is really not in a hurry.

"Good morning, Mr. Baker, Director Allen, nice to meet you here."

While the two were talking, a girl wearing a light green gauze skirt came to where they were and said hello.

He was young, in his early twenties, with blond hair, fair skin, tall figure, and dressed beautifully. But when he looked at Link, his face was slightly red, showing a kind of uncontrollable excitement.

"Hello, Miss Olson, are you going to Paris too?"

"Mr. Baker, do you know me?"

The girl looked at him in surprise.

"I've seen your movie, and his acting skills are very good."

"Thank you Mr. Baker for the compliment."

Elizabeth Olsen laughed excitedly.

Link shook hands with her and invited her to sit down and chat.

He just said that he had seen the other party's movies, not from the present, but from the future. Elizabeth Olsen became famous for her role as the Scarlet Witch in "Avengers 2" and also appeared in "Captain America 2".

There are also the more popular 'Olson sisters', her two twin sisters. They are famous in the film and television circles and music circles due to the popularity of the TV series "All in the Family". They are worth hundreds of millions. They were also on the list of celebrities in 2004. Listed on Forbes' list of the "100 Richest Women in the World".

In comparison, Elizabeth Olsen, the younger sister, is much less famous and is still a new actress who has just debuted.

After O'Mei sat down, she told him and director Woody Allen that she was also going to attend the Cannes Film Festival. The literary film "Martha" she starred in was shortlisted for the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival.

Link congratulated her.

Omei also excitedly told him that she was a sophomore at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, an alumnus of the same class as him, and saw him at this year's intramural sports event and cheered for him.

Link smiled softly and greeted her again in a classmate manner.

O'Mei covered her mouth and laughed, and asked him when he would return to school. He was the most famous student at NYU, and many classmates wanted to know him.

Link said that after finishing the work at hand, he would go back to school to take the exam, and then they would go to the library to read together.

Aomei nodded excitedly and left with satisfaction after getting his contact information.

"It's better to be young. When I was your age, girls often came over to me and wanted to date me. Unfortunately, at that time, I only wanted to read and write and become a writer, and I missed many opportunities to experience love."

Director Woody Allen lamented.

Link glanced at him. The old man was not tall. When he was young, he was probably less than 170 cm. He was thin and unremarkable. At that time, World War II had just ended and the whole world was in a period of advocating bravery. Would a man like him be actively pursued by many girls?

Director Allen was a director with sharp eyes. He immediately understood his micro-expression and said unhappily: "I am a talent, talent, you know? I published many articles in newspapers when I was in college. Those girls were attracted by my talent.

Unlike some people, who only rely on their faces and bodies to pick up girls, and brag about how strong their bodies are in the media. What about a few hours? If it were me, I would not be able to say it."

Link shrugged his shoulders and did not refute, because the sour taste in the old man's words was too strong, like a jar of pickled cabbage that had been stored for seventy or eighty years.

——

It was more than six o'clock in the afternoon when the plane landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport, and the sky was gradually dusking.

Because of the basin terrain, Paris is hotter than the surrounding areas in summer, like a small furnace. When he and director Woody Allen walked out of the airport, they immediately felt waves of heat coming towards them, which felt a little hotter than Los Angeles.

To get from Paris to Cannes, you have to fly to Nice, a coastal city in southern France, and then take a car from Nice to Cannes. Woody Allen is old and can't stand the back and forth, so he decided to rest in Paris for a night and take the train to Cannes tomorrow.

Link didn't object. After sending director Woody Allen back to the hotel, he changed his clothes, got in the car rented by Bob, and came to Marion Cotillard's villa near the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th district.

Outside the villa, there is a plane tree avenue, a rose garden, a fountain, and many statues of ancient celebrities. The environment is very good.

When Link got off the car, the sky was already dim, the lights on both sides of the plane tree avenue were dim, the lights of the mermaid fountain flickered, and the surroundings were quiet.

He put on his hat, said a few words to Bob and Wallace, walked to the door of the villa, and rang the doorbell.

The servant who had been waiting at the door in advance opened the door for him and politely called out "Good evening, Mr. Baker."

Link had been here once in March, so it was no stranger to come here again.

He followed the maid to the door of the bedroom on the second floor, thanked the maid, and then pushed open the bedroom door.

There was a table lamp on in the room. Marion Cotillard was leaning against the head of the bed, with her long golden brown hair, holding a book in her hand, and a glass of red wine on the bedside.

Her face was a little rounder than the last time they met, with a more gentle and soft taste, blending with her unique elegance and sexiness, and seemed to become more charming.

"I just watched the video of you playing the piano at the Los Angeles airport. When you were singing "All Of Me", were you thinking of me in your heart?"

Marion Cotillard put down the book and smiled.

"Yes, you are a woman who fascinates me deeply. Every time I come to see you, I always feel impatient. When I sing, I am also looking forward to the flight arriving earlier so that I can hug you tightly."

Link looked into her eyes affectionately.

"Dear, what are you waiting for?"

Marion stretched out her arms and smiled.

Link leaned down and hugged her tightly, smelling the perfume on her body and the faint smell of disinfectant between her hair.

Marion asked him for a kiss passionately, and he responded passionately, kissing her moist and soft lips with a faint smell of red wine.

After kissing for a long time, Marion leaned in his arms and said that she could feel his love from his kiss, and he had not changed his heart.

Link asked her curiously why she felt that she would change her heart?

Marion said that she had a worry that a woman's charm would be reduced by half after giving birth, and she was worried that she would not be able to attract him again.

Link stroked her hair and said that she thought too much, and he would only love her more after she gave birth.

Marion asked him what he would think if the child was not his?

Link said that he would be jealous of Guillaume, the idiot, but he would still love her and the child.

Marion hugged his neck with both hands and gave him another hot and fragrant kiss.

Link saw that Marion was a little tired, so he didn't ask to see the baby right away. He took a bath, put on the pajamas he had prepared earlier, hugged Marion and chatted with her before falling asleep.

The next morning, he saw the little guy who was only two days old in the baby room.

Curled up in the crib, a small ball, the little guy was still sleeping when he went there, with his eyes closed, breathing gently, and his little hands sometimes moving around a few times, like a little monkey.

Link stayed in the baby room for a while until Guillaume called him out with a dark face, not to disturb Cassel's sleep.

Cassel was the name Guillaume gave the child. It seemed that he was worried that Link would snatch the child away, so he registered the child as soon as he was born.

Link went out to chat with Guillaume and asked him how his current work was.

Guillaume was originally a first-line French movie star. He starred in "The Beach" with Leo DiCaprio, "One Night in the City" with Sophie Marceau, and "Little Brothers" with Marion Cotillard. He has worked with Emmanuelle Béart, Audrey Tautou, Keira Knightley and other movie stars, and is well-known in the international film industry.

In recent years, he has switched to being a director and producer, with average performance, and is barely considered a second-tier director in the French film industry.

Link asked him if he could take good care of Cassel. If not, he would take the little guy to the United States to take care of him.

Guillaume said unhappily that he could, and he didn't need to worry about it.

Link asked about his film company. Guillaume and Marion also had shares in the Artist Films he invested in France, and the three of them were also in a cooperative relationship.

Guillaume reluctantly talked about the company's situation.

Since last year, it has invested in two movies, one of which is "New Button War" starring him. It has been completed and is expected to be released in September.

Another one is "Intouchables" which Link specifically invested in. It is currently being filmed and the release date is unknown. There is also "Rust and Bone" which is in preparation and needs to wait until Marion recovers before filming.

Link asked how much money was left in the company's account. If it was not enough, he could make additional investments. If there was a surplus, he could invest in more low-cost movies.

This kind of question could have been asked to the company's finance department. Asking Guillaume was just to find out whether he cared about the company's affairs.

Guillaume said that there were more than 6 million euros, which was enough to invest in a low-cost movie.

Link asked him to discuss with the company's producer and invest in projects with box office potential first, and then consider the artistry after making money.

Guillaume was very disdainful and said that he was a Jew who only knew how to make money and was vulgar. He didn't deserve Marion's love at all.

Link didn't argue with him. In the film industry, whether art is more important or making money is more important is like the difference between the two sects of Huashan Sect, the debate can last for days and nights.

Link just reminded him that now that he had Cassel, he should find a way to make more money to give his children a richer life. If he continued to make money without saving money like before, he would bring his children to the United States to live and not let them suffer with him in France.

Guillaume retorted with a dark face that there was nothing wrong with having less money. Being too rich would make people's souls degenerate, just like him. If Cassel grew up to be like him, talking about money all the time, it would be a pity. He asked him to touch the children less to prevent the children from getting the vulgar smell of him.

Link shook his head and went back to the bedroom to have breakfast with Marion.

It was almost noon when he was urged by director Woody Allen to take the TGV high-speed train to Cannes. Originally, he wanted director Woody Allen and the crew members to leave first, and he would come later and arrive before the opening ceremony.

Director Allen said that there were interviews and promotional activities before the opening ceremony, so he needed to go earlier.

Link had no choice but to put down the little guy and accompany the old man to set off early.

"Marion is already married and has a child. You should pay attention to it."

Director Woody Allen said while flipping through the newspaper.

"It's an engagement! And Marion Guillaume and I are friends. We co-founded a film company. I went to them to talk about the company and to see Marion by the way."

"Just that?"

Director Woody Allen held his glasses and stared at him with a gossipy look, trying to find the answer from his micro-expressions.

"Of course!"

Link shrugged his shoulders and turned his head to look at the continuous Alps again. There was snow on the top of the mountain, the sky was clear, the air was very fresh, and it seemed that he could still smell the fragrance of Provence lavender not far away.

Crossing this mountainous area to the west, he arrived in Switzerland. He planned to go to Switzerland after the Cannes Film Festival to see where the cold-blooded woman put the child.

Woohoo!

The train blew its whistle and rushed into the deep tunnel with a series of clanging sounds.

——

The Cannes International Film Festival was founded in 1946 and is held in mid-to-late May every year for two weeks.

It is the most influential and top international film festival in the world today, and is known as the world's three major international film festivals along with the Berlin International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival.

There are award units such as the "Main Competition", "Directors' Fortnight", "A Certain Gaze", and "Critics' Week", and the highest award is the Palme d'Or.

The organizing committee of this year's film festival received a total of 3,304 films from more than 100 countries, including 1,715 feature films and 1,589 short films.

In the end, 49 films from 33 countries were shortlisted for various award units. Only two Japanese films and one Israeli film were selected in Asia this year.

Because there are many films, and some films with great commercial potential are exhibited here, it has also become a trading platform for film producers from various countries.

Not only the Cannes Film Festival, but also the Sundance Film Festival, Toronto, Venice, Berlin, Rotterdam and other film festivals are also the most active places for international film producers, hoping to find films with commercial potential among the many exhibited works.

For example, Blood Simple by the Coen brothers, Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino, Sex, Lies and Videotape by Soderbergh, Devils on Doorstep by Jiang Wen, Farewell My Concubine by Chen Kaige, and the 2007 dark horse film Little Miss Sunshine are all films that have come out of major film festivals.

This film festival, Lionsgate also has two films participating in the exhibition, The Devil's Double and The Fighter, and also arranged for people to come and watch the films, led by Andrew Kramer, the international business operations officer.

Link is also ready to see if there are any films worth salvaging.