I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 1069 1064. The Godfather

"Black Coal, Thin Ice" won the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, which drew thunderous applause from the audience.

The photo of the two Berlin Film Queens is destined to be one of the most beautiful in the history of Chinese films.

In the last session, Chinese-language films dominated the market.

I thought it would be the same this time.

From the Golden Rooster, to the Golden Horse, to the Golden Bear...

Yang Mi and Liang Bingning seem to have a special fate, always standing together in the place that represents the highest achievement of actresses.

It feels a bit like fate.

But no one cares at this moment, because these two people are really good-looking.

Standing together... How can they be so good-looking?

Not to mention others, even Xu Xin thinks so.

Of course, after he waited for Sister Bingbing to take the trophy, he also observed the reactions of the audience from the gap in the stage curtain.

It's okay, I didn't see any... "OMG, this is ridiculous" expressions.

Just as Zhong Changyou said, the films competing in this Berlin Film Festival are actually very average. Everyone has a chance, and no one is surprised to win the award.

However, perhaps because he was only a judge this time, at this moment, looking at Sister Bingbing who was giving her acceptance speech, his heart was calm, and he inexplicably had a strange feeling of "it's none of my business".

Perhaps... it was because he was one of the people who participated in the selection of the award winners.

Finally, amid applause, the newly crowned Berlin Film Queen raised the trophy high, imitated Liao Fan's affectionate kiss, left a little lip gloss, and walked off the stage step by step in the starlight, holding up the hem of her skirt.

The award ceremony continued.

And Yang Mi also walked towards the actor's channel.

Looking at her lover standing here waiting for the "Best Film" award, her eyes curved into a crescent:

"The rest is up to you."

"Yeah."

The two passed by each other.

Then, while Xu Xin was waiting, the two awards for the jury and director were presented.

After greeting the winners and award presenters of the previous session, he straightened his clothes at the invitation of the host and walked to the podium step by step.

He did not prepare too many lengthy award speeches.

After all, this thing... the filling is not in the folds.

With a decent smile, he approached the microphone, took out the envelope directly from his chest pocket, and said in English:

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Next, I will present this honorary Golden Bear Award belonging to the Berlin International Film Festival. As the winner of the Golden Bear Award for Best Film last year and one of the judges of this year, I am very happy to see so many excellent films gathered together, but... unfortunately, there is only one place for this award. So let's see who it is next..."

The exciting drum sounded.

Xu Xin opened the envelope and took out a letter from it.

Although he already knew the content, he still pretended to take a look, then stood in front of the spotlight, looked in one direction and said word by word:

"Black Coal, Thin Ice, Black Coal, Daytime Black Coal, Director Diao Yinan, congratulations! Congratulations!"

"Ah!!!"

A scream suddenly rang out.

Liang Bingning and Liao Fan, who had just returned to their seats, stood up at the same time and raised their hands high.

Diao Yinan, who was sitting next to them, looked confused.

Xu Xin was certainly not unfamiliar with this expression.

On the contrary, he was too familiar with it.

Because he had been like this before.

So, amid the belated applause, he smiled and waved:

"Congratulations, Director Diao. Come on~"

"Hua La La La La..."

...

"Oh my god!"

"!!!!"

"Fireworks in the Daytime!?"

"Fireworks in the Daytime! Best Film!!!"

When Xu Xin read out the name, the Chinese media that followed in Berlin, the netizens who paid attention to the news of the film festival awards, and the countless people in the industry who were concerned about who won the award all burst into surprise.

This time the winner is a Chinese film again! ?

It's us again! ?

It was outrageous enough that "The Burning Sun" firmly occupied half of Berlin last year.

This year it was given to a Chinese film again?

It's us again?

We are the champion again! ?

As Xu Xin read out the name, countless surprises have already rippled in their hearts.

It was a huge surprise without any exaggeration.

Everyone looked at Diao Yinan who took the trophy from Xu Xin, and there was no other emotion in their hearts for a while.

Only surprise remained.

The first reaction was... Isn't Xu Xin's eating too bad?

Even if you are a judge, you can't do this!

Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress... all given to one movie?

"Xu Xin has played the jury through?"

"If you don't understand, just ask... Is this movie really that good, or is it a shady operation?"

"We have won for two consecutive years? Why do I feel guilty?"

"Ahhhh! We won! We won!!!!"

"Last year's "The Burning Sun", this year's "Black Coal, Thin Ice"! I declare! The door for the Chinese film industry to conquer the world is now open!"

"Xi'an Film Studio is awesome!"

On Weibo, countless messages accompanied by the fastest information announced that "Black Coal, Thin Ice" won the Golden Bear, and the news spread on the Internet.

Indeed, it is a bit too unreal.

Because in many people's impressions, whether it is the Golden Bear, the Golden Lion, or the Golden Palm... it is the world of European and American films.

Never mind Europe or the United States... In the Chinese concept of "Europe and America", these awards may occasionally fall to other families, but generally speaking, they are all "European and American" people who win the awards.

Never mind France or Britain, anyway, they are all "their own people".

But now that the Golden Bear Award for two consecutive sessions has been given to Chinese films, this kind of thing... is indeed a bit counterintuitive.

Not normal.

Especially since Xu Xin is still a judge in this session, it is hard for people not to associate it in some directions.

But soon someone stood up:

"If you want to talk about shady dealings, please understand the judging rules of the Berlin Film Festival before you speak. Xu Xin is just one of the judges, and there are 8 judges this year, of which the chairman of the jury has 1.5 votes. If any award does not receive more than 3 votes, the award will be reviewed again. Unless "Fireworks in the Daytime" can win over more than 3 judges, don't talk about shady dealings."

This netizen's words are actually like the voice of many people in the industry.

Maybe outsiders don't know these judging rules, but they know.

And, what's even clearer is...no one will gamble their career because of the shady dealings of a movie.

Just like Quentin.

Everyone says he is shady, and gave the Cannes Best Film to his ex-girlfriend Coppola. But he only has 1.5 votes to return the votes. If there is really a shady deal, he has to convince other judges to join him.

And is there a shady deal in "Fireworks in the Daytime"?

Maybe.

But...who cares?

It is almost foreseeable that after a few hours, when the sun rises, the news that "Black Coal, Thin Ice" is the biggest winner in Berlin will surely enter the vision of thousands of households.

And the Xi'an Film Studio will definitely start a publicity offensive directly... Perhaps, as early as next month, it will be able to meet everyone.

This heat is a box office harvester.

Regardless of the quality of "Black Coal, Thin Ice", its box office is bound to be indispensable.

It's just the beginning of the year...

The Xi'an Film Studio has made such a big move...

In addition, they will have a Silk Road Film Festival in the middle of this year. That is one of the leading propaganda vanguards...

So it seems... the wind in the film and television industry this year is still blowing towards them?

This...

Alas...

It's really windy.

And...

This wind, I'm afraid it has completely changed direction.

...

Xu Xin doesn't know whether it's windy outside.

For him, the Berlin Film Festival has not ended yet.

Because there is still a jury press conference for him to attend.

So he didn't leave when he came backstage. After the guests left one after another, he followed the judges who came over and walked towards the interview seat.

When they arrived, the interview seat was already crowded.

Seeing the judges coming over, the reporters immediately locked their cameras on these people.

When everyone just sat down, the hands over there were already raised.

After getting James's nod, the staff here signaled that the interview could begin.

So, under the crazy flashing of the flash, the first reporter asked a question:

"Mr. Sams, what do you think of the various awards of this Berlin Film Festival?"

"They deserve it."

James is obviously not surprised by this question that the Berlin Film Festival judges are asked almost every year.

And his answer is actually the attitude of this jury.

All the awards here, at least on the judges' side, have no controversy.

As for whether there is controversy in the outside world... the answer is actually yes.

After all, no art form can please and satisfy everyone. Controversy must exist, and when controversy exists, it is either firm in self-confidence or in line with the cognition of most people.

The film's judges were obviously the former.

So, he continued to say into the microphone:

"I can tell you responsibly that we only voted once in this review. There was no phenomenon of multiple rounds of voting. It can be said that all the awards did not receive much controversy from the judges, and the votes for each award exceeded half, and there was no phenomenon of 3 votes advancing. Therefore, there is no controversy for all the awards in the jury. Thank you everyone."

Since he is the boss of the jury, he naturally has to shoulder the responsibility while exercising power.

For example, if he doesn't say this, others will definitely not say it. Then the outside world will question the judging ability of the entire team.

Whether it should be said or not, General James is responsible.

Well-deserved GOAT!

The first reporter sat down, and the second one immediately stood up:

"What is your evaluation of the best film "Fireworks in the Daytime"? How is "The Grand Budapest Hotel" worse than it?"

"My friend, "Fireworks in the Day" won the best picture, which does not mean that "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is worse than it. This view is wrong. In fact, winning the Jury Prize also proves that "Budapest" Excellent. But the difference between the two lies in a very subtle area, which is also an artistic contradiction. We believe that "Fireworks in the Day" is more unique in its handling of the entire story. sex."

"Then for actors..."

"I think I don’t need to explain too much about the performances of these two actors, LIAO and ICE..."

Three or four questions were thrown in General James' face.

The other party responded fluently with his rich experience.

The other judges' reaction was just an occasional slight nod to express their approval of the general.

The same is true for Xu Xin.

Until, a Chinese reporter finally got an interview opportunity, stood up and asked:

"Director Xu, we have won gold in Berlin two times in a row. Do you think this is a sign of the overall rise of Chinese-language films? Do you think Chinese-language films have begun to lead the direction of world cinema?"

Xu Xin was stunned.

After looking at him, I thought for a moment and asked in English under the doubtful eyes of other judges:

"Do you understand English?"

Then when the reporter nodded, he repeated the question the reporter had just asked to others.

Then I heard several bursts of laughter from the reporters.

Not loud.

But... the meaning is actually quite clear.

Seeing this, Xu Xin pulled the microphone in front of him and said:

"I heard a few journalist friends laughing just now... I actually understand why they are laughing, but I don't care. The reason why I don't care is not that I don't care about their attitude, or that I accept their laughter calmly. Sound. None, but I feel that the art of film should not be limited to language, national boundaries, or a single group.

Their laughter, in my opinion, is actually a kind of disapproval. But I think this kind of disapproval is quite normal. It is precisely because there are people who disagree that there are arguments. The collision of ideas in these debates will make us burst out with more inspiration and want to use our own things to "conquer" the other party. In this "conquest", it is actually a collision of cultures. It often There will be wonderful fireworks. "

Xu Xin continued to say:

"As for what my compatriot said about whether our movies have risen, or whether they have begun to lead the direction of movies. My answer is undoubtedly no. First of all, I think that for the rise of movies in a certain culture, the first thing filmmakers need to understand is , what we need is to start from ourselves, rather than eagerly seeking the approval of others.

We must first agree with it ourselves. Any idea that deviates from this original intention is, in my opinion, a little off track.

As for leading...it's actually not the case either. What we need to do is to add bricks and tiles to the palace of movies, make the soil of art more fertile, and bloom more beautiful flowers, instead of letting it become a monotonous one.

This is not my film philosophy.

Of course, I am very happy that Chinese-language films can shine brightly at the Berlin Film Festival, which is recognized as one of the three major international film festivals in the world. But what I hope even more is that more and more films can shine in this fertile area of ​​Berlin. The soil reveals its own beauty.

Please believe me, fellow journalists. The next Berlin Film Festival will also have many excellent works coming in. It will still be a feast of film art. When the time comes, please just have an appreciative and tolerant attitude and appreciate the works brought by those outstanding filmmakers. "

After speaking, he nodded politely and smiled at the reporters present, then pushed away the microphone and expressed that he had finished his answer.

Unexpectedly...

As soon as he pushed away the microphone, James over there took the lead in applauding.

Several judges applauded first, followed by reporters.

more and more.

more and more.

Finally, amidst the applause, James smiled and nodded:

"Excellent answer, excellent expression, and excellent understanding. Ladies and gentlemen, next question..."

…

The judging press conference lasted an hour.

Everyone stood up and answered three or four questions, big and small, before it was completely over.

At the end of the interview, the entire interview hall was deserted.

This time, General James did not propose any dinner party.

After all, everyone was very tired, and they just agreed that if they go to their respective countries, they must contact each other and go out for a drink together.

At this point, the 64th Berlin Film Festival has come to an end.

And Xu Xin finally got on the Bentley waiting at the concierge desk.

Rushed to the dinner party that belonged to the victory of the Chinese people.

The place I chose was a pub with a very German flavor.

When Xu Xin arrived, a group of people, including Liang Binning, were already drunk.

Judging from the situation, I really drank a lot.

"Hey, hey, Director Xu is here, hurry up, Director Xu, you have to punish yourself for being late!"

Guess who said this?

Yang Mi.

Hearing the title "Director Xu", Xu Xin's eyes felt strange.

But...she can only say this, and no one else dares to say it.

Xu Xin was not vague. After sitting next to her, he looked at the "huge" cup of draft beer brought by his wife with a smile and said speechlessly:

"I didn't drink too much after drinking this cup, but my stomach burst."

"Hehe, who told you to come late... Let's drink half first. Come on, let's raise the cup together! Celebrate! Cheers!!!"

It seems that Yang Mi really drank a lot and was quite happy.

Seeing this, Xu Xin knew that he had to drink moderately tonight.

If the couple drank too much, who would take care of each other?

After tilting his head back to take a big sip of beer, he forked a sausage and cut it, and heard Sister Bingbing next to him say:

"You have been hiding it from us so hard."

Xu Xin smiled slightly.

At this time, Diao Yinan, who was already drunk and flushed, asked:

"Director Xu, what was it like during the voting? How did I... get elected?"

He was actually a little floating at the moment.

Xu Xin understood this state.

He understood it too well.

So I didn't hide anything and roughly recounted the whole story of the first round of elections.

Finally, I gave a summary:

"In fact, you and "Budapest" are the most direct opponents for the best film this time. But the director of Budapest made a mistake... No, it should be said that it was a style. Have you all seen that movie?"

"I have. I think there is a sense of symmetrical beauty."

This is what Liao Fan said.

Xu Xin nodded slightly:

"That's right, but putting these aside, the core idea of ​​the whole story is that he gave too much. He didn't give anyone any room for imagination. All the judges, including me, could only follow his ideas. This is actually a deduction. He gave too much... And in your film, Lao Diao, to be honest, you have to thank these two actors."

This time, Xu Xin used a "two-handed lifting" action to hold Liang Bingning and Liao Fan, whose face was flushed.

Liao Fan quickly shook his head:

"No, no, no, Director Xu, I don't deserve it..."

But Liang Bingning smiled.

Xu Xin didn't respond and continued:

"You found the right people. They nailed the core theme of the script. Without their excellent interpretation, the best film this time might be "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

After he explained it clearly, Diao Yinan nodded vigorously and picked up the wine glass directly:

"Thank you, both of you!"

As he said that, while waiting for the two to raise their glasses, he continued;

"Thank you to the factory, thank you to Captain Zhong, thank you to everyone present for your hard work these days... Finally, thank you to Director Xu, thank you all! I'll drink this glass of wine!"

The draft beer glass he had just been filled with wine.

But after he finished speaking, before anyone could stop him...

"Gulp gulp..."

The golden wine flowed down the corners of his mouth and stained the white shirt...

"Oh, Director Diao, slow down."

Yang Mi was a little speechless.

But she still picked up the glass.

Isn't it just drinking?

Who's afraid of who!

The biggest winner tonight spoke, and naturally the others had to obey.

However, compared to their heroic drinking, Xu Xin only took a big gulp.

He couldn't drink too much.

Yang Mi looked like she was going to get drunk.

He had to cover the cost.

But... no matter what, this drinking party was fun.

But it was still not as good as last year.

He really enjoyed the drinking party last year.

The kind of enjoyment that was so great.

But this year, he had a more relaxed smile when drinking.

Maybe... because he was one year older.

...

Xu Xin didn't know when this pub would close.

But today it should be reserved by the factory.

From the beginning to now, no one else has been seen.

There were only a few tables of people from the factory sitting here eating, drinking and having fun.

After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere became more intense.

In the middle, people from "Dog Thirteen" and "Tuina" also came.

Xu Xin asked Lou Ye and found out that these two movies were contacted with the film distributors.

Lou Ye's films are indeed popular in Europe, and Cao Baoping and Lou Ye are familiar with each other. They are both thorns in the eyes of the censorship system. They are brothers in distress. Now they just use the award to give the film company a break.

When there are more people, it will be more noisy.

Fortunately, Xu Xin can keep calm.

He drank less than three glasses of draft beer tonight, and now he doesn't feel anything other than full.

The people at the party are already "chaotic".

They are running around and chatting.

Xu Xin just finished talking to Lou Ye about the release of "Tuina"... Lou Ye wanted to rely on the influence of the studio to release this movie in the first half of the year.

He didn't dare to agree.

After all... although this subject matter is not a problem at the Berlin Film Festival. But although the domestic censorship gave it a dragon mark, his movie still needs to modify some shots.

We have to wait and see.

Lou Ye also knew that this matter could not be rushed, so he planned to go back to the studio to work on it and try to release it as soon as possible.

After the other party left, Xu Xin took out a cigarette.

He was actually sitting at the edge of the bar.

With the arrival of the other two crews, the thirty or so people in the bar seemed a bit noisy.

He was afraid that others would persuade him to drink, after all, Yang Mi had already started to "let loose".

Naturally, he had to hold back.

Unexpectedly, just as Lou Ye left, Liao Fan suddenly came over.

"Director Xu."

The Berlin Film Emperor, with a red face and a vulgar aura for some reason, sat opposite Xu Xin.

He was still a little reserved.

Seeing this, Xu Xin smiled and threw a cigarette over:

"Teacher Liao, what's wrong?"

"I..."

Liao Fan first picked up the cigarette, then stood up, bent over to light it for Xu Xin, and then lit it for himself, and then said:

"I heard... Teacher Yang Mi said that you are planning to start a new work? It is directed and written by Xu Haofeng."

"Yes."

Seeing that his wife had already said it, Xu Xin nodded:

"Master, have you seen it?"

Liao Fan, with a red face, nodded vigorously:

"I have seen it! I like it very much!"

"..."

...

"Hey, look at Sanjin."

Yang Mi, who was hugged by Liang Bingning's shoulders, heard the name, and the corner of her mouth twitched subconsciously, but she still looked over.

She saw Xu Xin sitting at the edge of the pub.

Xu Xin was the only one sitting in that row of booths, and at this moment, he was holding a cigarette and chatting with Liao Fan.

As she looked over, the two seemed to have reached some agreement. After Liao Fan stood up, he shook hands with Xu Xin who was sitting, and then left.

As soon as he left, Cao Baoping walked over and sat opposite Xu Xin.

Seeing this, Yang Mi said:

"He didn't drink much... Others should have talked to him about something. Sister, what's the matter?"

The woman with flushed cheeks and watery eyes suddenly chuckled:

"Hehe..."

She exhaled like orchid.

In Yang Mi's eyes, it seemed like a large ripe peach.

She exuded a kind of...innate charm everywhere.

Not to mention men, even she was moved.

I thought my aunt is awesome...

"Have you ever seen that kind of Sicilian-style movie?"

After Liang Bingning finished speaking, Yang Mi blinked...

"The kind with gangster themes? The Godfather?"

"Yeah, something similar. Isn't there a scene like this in Once Upon a Time in America? In the boss's nightclub, the boss always sits in the booth, the younger brothers dance and party, and other people who have something to do with the boss will visit him one by one... Do you think it's the same as him?"

"Uh..."

If she hadn't mentioned it, Yang Mi wouldn't have thought much about it.

But after being brought into it like this...

I have to say, it really has that flavor.

Just nodding, suddenly Liang Bingning said again:

"Let's go, let's go and pay our respects to GODFATHER."

Yang Mi's face immediately turned green.

I thought, no...

The Godfather is indeed powerful, but my father's Seven Wolves are more powerful!

That's my dear husband.

My father beat my dear husband...his body was beaten, but my heart was hurt!

So he shook his head quickly:

"I have nothing to do with him."

"You don't have it... I have it, I'll go."

"Ah?"

Looking at the staggering Sister Bingbing, Yang Mi quickly got up and followed.

Xu Xin, who was whispering with Cao Baoping, saw this and thought that the two of them had something to do with him, so he nodded to Cao Baoping:

"I'll ask the factory to find out the truth when I get back, and then we can contact Director Cao, how about that?"

"Okay."

Cao Baoping nodded, smiled and stood up, and shook hands with Xu Xin:

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Xu."

"You're welcome."

After that, Cao Baoping nodded to the two women and left.

Liang Bingning sat down opposite Xu Xin and pulled Yang Mi:

"Director Xu, we're here!"

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

He glanced at his wife who kept shaking her head at him with an expression of "I am innocent" in her eyes, and then glanced at Aunt Liang who was smiling like a big peach...

"Sister, do you have any instructions?"

"Happy wedding, Gadefar!"

"...???"

Under Xu Xin's face full of black question marks, the big peach laughed:

"Hahahahahaha..."

Seeing this, Xu Xin glanced at his wife who had an expression of "she drank too much" in her eyes, and nodded in understanding:

"Yeah, congratulations."