I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 560 558 Banquet in the Cage

Chapter 560 558. Banquet in the Cage

The old man's evaluation of "Sword Rain" is similar to Xu Xin's.

After understanding the core of Buddhism contained in it, after peeling off the martial arts coat of the entire film, and seeing the complete "skeleton", although there are some flaws in some places, the overall evaluation given is that the flaws are not concealed.

This movie is good.

After coming out of the cinema and on the way back to the hotel in the car, Xu Xin heard the old man yawning.

So he said:

"What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I'll take you to meet some old friends. The film festival will end the day after tomorrow, and the selection results will come out at this time, so it's not a foul to meet friends. You follow me, I will take you through the relationship, and we will get to know each other. After that, just get along slowly in the future.”

“People from the Venice Film Festival?”

"Um."

Zhang Yimou, who was leaning on the chair and looking slightly tired, looked at the night road in front of him and said:

"Bringing you to meet these people is, on the one hand, business. You need to increase your influence. The thing that can help you most in these three major film festivals is actually your status as a judge. With my recommendation, you can be included in the evaluation of judge members. Among them. Their judging panel is different every year, and they are all selected from internal members.

You also have the opportunity to be a judge...this qualification is real. For movie fans or viewers, this qualification is sometimes equivalent to authority. Especially don’t you want to stay in school and teach? Having this qualification will be beneficial to you in the future. "

"On the other hand..."

"Each of them has a lot of resources in their hands, whether it's film producers, distributors, or some scripts from their own countries. Whether it's Hollywood or Europe, sometimes the director chooses the script, and sometimes the script chooses the director. Got it. These people may not be of much help to the future of your Chinese-language films, but their road to international success will be much wider."

"Understood."

Xu Xin nodded and sighed in his heart:

"I really don't know what the old man's international status is unless he goes abroad..."

Tsk.

"Oh, by the way, have you received the Jaguar?"

He suddenly remembered something and asked.

Zhang Yimou nodded:

"Received... I usually don't have many opportunities to drive. This time I left home and drove around... The interior is too eye-catching. I'm old enough to drive a car in a color used by young people... I just drove it. It’s been a circle.”

Although he said this, the joy in his eyes could not be hidden.

No matter how eye-catching the orange color of Hermès is, the friendship between close friends is not as important.

So, following this mood, he said:

"I'm leaving home...wait...for everything to be over. I'll bring it to Yanjing."

Because there were other people around, the old man spoke very cryptically.

But he didn't hide it in the end, and finally said:

"Don't tell me, a well-run-in car is really fun to drive."

"..."

Xu Xin didn't answer.

I just started thinking about it...

He also wanted to get a Hermès car that had been carefully prepared by someone.

But... how should I bring it up with the three big grievances so that each of them can give me a car?

…

"Hey, you're not asleep yet?"

After Yang Mi answered the phone, she was surprised at first, and then scolded her face-to-face:

"Xu Sanjin! Are you feeling dizzy! What time is it? Is it 1 o'clock over there?! You're still not sleeping? Your body doesn't want it anymore?!"

"I miss you……"

"Haha, thank you. If you miss me, go to bed quickly. We will see you in our dreams."

Yang Mi couldn’t laugh or cry:

"Brother, it's already 1 o'clock. You're going to walk on the red carpet the day after tomorrow. Do you have to have dark circles under your eyes to look good?"

"I'm getting ready to sleep now. I just finished taking a shower... Director Zhang is here, isn't he? We watched a movie."

"Oh, it's so romantic. Sister, you are so happy, do you know? After my dog man went abroad, he stopped playing with women and went on dates with men to watch movies. What do you think I should do?"

"..."

There were so many flaws in this statement that Xu Xin didn't know how to answer it for a while.

Is it wrong to play with women? Or is it not right to go to the movies with a man on a date?

Or...that's the right thing to do when you play with girls, but it's wrong to date men?

After thinking for a while, he finally didn't answer and said directly:

"I just wanted to report to you. Tomorrow the old man said he would take me to meet my friends here, and then recommend me to join the Jury Member Club in Venice."

"Go ahead... I'm more concerned about whether you can win the prize the day after tomorrow than these..."

"let it go."

He spoke his truest thoughts.

Anyway, I have gained enough from this trip to Venice.

…

On the 13th, for a whole day, Xu Xin followed the old man to leave the main island where Venice is located and went directly to Lido Island, the second largest island in Venice Province.

Strictly speaking, this is actually the venue for the serious Venice Film Festival. Tomorrow night, the Venice Film Festival's awards ceremony will be held at the Festival Summer Palace on Lido Island.

This is the second time Xu Xin has come to Lidu Island. The first time was brought here by Ai Qing.

This area belongs to the wealthy area of Venice. Sunshine, beaches, seafood, luxury houses, and the filming location of "Death in Venice" have all made Lido Island attract the attention of many wealthy people.

It was also here that Ai Qing saw Xu Xin's lack of interest in some so-called mansions and beautiful scenery, and then she became convinced that Director Xu liked the more traditional and authentic Venice.

So I came here once and never again.

Instead, he used these ten days to take Xu Xin around the main island of Venice.

But Zhang Yimou didn't need a translator at all.

When we got to the island, two special cars came to pick us up.

We took the two of them to the golf course of the Oriel Villa Hotel, the largest and most luxurious hotel on the island.

There is nothing much to say about socializing. Xu Xin's identity is his disciple. Most of the time, Zhang Yimou is chatting with these foreigners.

It seems that the old man has known them for a long time. Although the language still needs translation, the relaxed atmosphere of talking and laughing cannot be faked.

As for golf skills…

To be honest, the old man and Xu Xin are about the same level.

They are all at a pulpy level.

There were seven or eight people in total. After everyone played golf all morning, Xu Xin finally got letters of recommendation from three people.

This means that Xu Xin is qualified to become a judge of the Venice Film Festival after being recommended by three members.

But it is uncertain when he will be invited to participate in the review.

In China, there are currently only three people who have controlled the Venice Film Festival and served as jury presidents.

One is the old man, one is Li Yu, and the other is Gong Li.

Only members who have served as the head of the jury are qualified to recommend.

Otherwise, filmmakers will have to wait for someone from the Venice Film Festival to come over and actively invite you to become a member.

To receive their invitation, the director didn't mention it, but just said that the actor must have at least two gold credits to start with.

As of now, there are only seven Chinese judges including Guan Jinpeng in this year’s Horizon category.

And according to the old man, there are currently no less than 40 domestic filmmakers, including directors and actors, in the Venice Jury Club.

At first glance, it may not seem like much, but think about it from another perspective. If one person takes one year's turn, it will take 40 years for one's turn...

Xu Xin didn't care.

Come if you invite yourself, it doesn't matter if you don't.

Then, the two of them went to another villa on Lido Island and met a middle-aged man named Adam Hoffman.

Adam Hoffman has a very close relationship with the old man. Whether "The Golden Jacket" or "Heroes" can be released in North American theaters, it was all through his hands.

According to the old man, he is very popular in the European and American film studios and theater circles and has a deep network of relationships.

Introducing Xu Xin to him can pave the way for the European and American markets in the future.

Although he could also tell that Xu Xin didn't seem to be interested in Hollywood or the European and American markets.

But there are many relationships and many paths.

Eat normally and chat.

Although I dare not mention the deep friendship, at least we have met, had dinner, and got to know each other. As for how it will develop in the future, let’s wait and see.

In short, for a whole day, he followed the old man and basically saw all the relationships and contacts he had accumulated for ten or twenty years.

He was tired, the old man was tired, and the most tired was Pang Liwei, who had been in charge of real-time translation for a day.

Seeing that Sister Pang's eye sockets were sunken, today's trip was finally over.

And when we returned to Venice in the evening, everyone, including West Film Studio, Liu Yifei, and Lin Gou, finally gathered together for a "reunion dinner."

After nearly half a month of busy work, tomorrow finally comes the last carnival.

Everyone felt a little uneasy in their hearts, but no one was too embarrassed to show it.

In the end, it was all in the silent drink, drank down in one gulp.

Then they disbanded.

Not long after Xu Xin returned to the room, Pang Liwei knocked on his door.

After staying for about half an hour, he left again.

No one knows what the two communicated.

But after Pang Liwei left, Xu Xin fell into a kind of puzzled thinking.

Looking at the night view outside the balcony, he muttered to himself:

"Did I misjudge you?...Are you still a person who keeps your promises?...The filming is about to start and we haven't mentioned the matter of changing the script and adding a sex scene to add a box office gimmick...shouldn't..."

There is no one around, talking to the wind.

…

Early morning on the 14th.

The entire resort hotel suddenly became busy.

Countless people carrying suitcases poured into the hotel and entered one room after another.

They are all makeup artists.

The awards ceremony in Venice is actually very simple, and can even be said to be in the same vein as the Nobel Prize.

They don't need to be so fancy. Just like the American Oscars, once the awards are announced, the camera will be directly on the faces of the nominated crew or actors. Everyone tries their best to maintain their own attitude of neither winning nor losing. A discouraged expression...

No need for that.

Previous Venice Film Festival award ceremonies have been very simple, with just a big screen. After each awarding guest comes on stage, the names of the awards will appear on the big screen.

Then after the guest reads out the award, the name of the movie will appear in the middle of the screen.

It's that simple.

It looks exactly like the Nobel announcement scene.

You can call it old-fashioned and stale, or you can praise it as having a strong artistic atmosphere and not being so commercialized.

But no matter what, the fact is that its award ceremony scene was not exciting.

Therefore, the red carpet of the film festival is a top priority every year.

Who has good looks and whose clothes are good-looking all depends on the few dozen meters of road.

Xu Xin's clothes are relatively simple, and her makeup is actually easy to apply. It just reduces the shadows on her face. Moreover, Yang Mi helped him make his suit. He didn't even know the brand or size of the clothes he was wearing now.

He wears whatever his sister brings him.

Pure iron waste.

And others may not believe it when told that the makeup artist who did his makeup was just an apprentice of makeup artist Liu Yifei...

No one else has this kind of treatment.

But Lin Gou and Liu Yifei are different.

From hair styling to face makeup...the two of them have been busy since noon.

Not even lunch.

Afraid of showing belly.

Fortunately for Lin Gou, after putting on a handsome make-up, he could still drink some water and eat some cakes.

But Liu Yifei didn't even dare to drink water.

Although she was getting more and more beautiful, Xu Xin couldn't bear to look at her pitiful appearance.

There's nothing I can do about it, this girl has a body that puts on weight easily.

It's really pitiful.

Soon, the time came to 4 p.m.

Liu Yifei, who was wearing an off-white dress embroidered with gold roses, had Xu Xin on the left and Lin Gou on the right. According to the photographer's request, she grabbed their ties and looked like they were running.

To be honest, it really looked like a breeder holding two dogs...

After taking photos, everyone started heading towards Lido Island.

And before departure...

"Xiao Xu looks really handsome."

Hearing Liu Xiaoli's compliment with a smile, Xu Xin laughed:

"Haha, Aunt Liu, please don't praise me, otherwise I will fly away if a gust of wind blows over me."

"I'm telling the truth."

Looking at the young man with perfect height, long legs and perfect body proportions, Liu Xiaoli expressed her praise sincerely:

"The clothes Mimi matched for you also look good. You are very handsome~"

"hey-hey……"

Amid laughter, Liu Yifei walked over holding the skirt of the white dress embroidered with gold roses:

"Let me help you take off your tie."

After hearing what the fairy sister said, Xu Xin was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and said:

"It's okay, I can just do it myself."

His and Lingo's ties are styled.

This kind of occasion is not suitable for ties, but more suitable for bow ties, so after taking the photo, I took off the tie and changed to a bow tie.

There were many reporters at the moment, and he didn't want any scandal.

After refusing with a smile, Liu Yifei didn't say anything, just turned to look at Lin Xingxin:

"Can you help me?"

"No, I won't tie it yet, I'll panic."

While the three of them were chatting, Zhong Changyou walked out of the hotel:

"Director Xu, it's time for us to set off."

When he said this, the expectation in his eyes was as real as reality.

As if to say:

"Director Xu, let's go get the prize!"

Xu Xin smiled and nodded, pretending not to notice his fiery gaze, and pouted at Su Meng:

"Let's go."

…

Traffic throughout Venice has begun to become congested.

Xu Xin sat in the car, loosened his tie, looked at the crowd outside, and said to the old man in a Chinese tunic suit next to him:

"Are you nervous?"

Zhang Yimou asked rhetorically.

"Well……"

Xu Xin opened his mouth and laughed innocently:

"Hehe, it's okay."

"Just relax and let nature take its course."

Zhang Yimou seemed to see something and comforted:

"If it works, it will work. If it doesn't work, your film will be recognized by the film festival audience. Just be normal~"

"Um……"

Although she knew what he said was reasonable, Xu Xin couldn't help but say:

"I have never been so nervous in Cannes..."

"nonsense."

Zhang Yimou rolled his eyes directly:

"You didn't go to Cannes. You were squatting in Shenmu at that time."

"……hey-hey."

Apart from laughing awkwardly, Xu Xin really didn't know what to say.

That familiar feeling of “test results” came back.

It's just that... if the first night in Venice was just a junior high school entrance examination, then he is now taking the college entrance examination.

The pressure is brewing in my heart, and there is nowhere to vent it.

He felt that he had not mastered the skills of cultivating Qi... He had told himself countless times before that that it didn't matter whether he won a prize or not during this trip to Venice.

Because the trip was already worthwhile.

But things are coming...

He is still unable to escape the vulgarity.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the car except the driver, Pang Liwei sitting in the passenger seat, and Su Meng in the back seat.

There can't be too many people in the business car. If it weren't for the worry about the language barrier, Su Meng and Pang Liwei and Xu Xin wouldn't have planned to take them.

Because if the ironed trouser lines of suits and dresses sit for a long time, they will easily be pushed up at the knees.

That affects the look.

Yang Mi specifically told him to find a spacious place to sit and to try to straighten his legs when sitting.

It was precisely this convenience that allowed no one except the old man to see his uneasy look.

Otherwise, he would be embarrassed to say this in front of Liu Yifei and Lin Gou.

He is the director.

He is the backbone and backbone of the crew.

Anyone can bend, but he cannot.

As a result, the carriage fell into silence.

Take the car all the way, get off the car, and board the luxury yacht...

In about half an hour, they arrived at the main island of Lido, and then, being received by the organizers of Venice, they boarded the car again and rushed to the Festival Summer Palace.

When we arrived at the Summer Palace, there were already many people in the red carpet waiting hall.

Everyone was chatting and chatting among themselves.

When they saw that the people who came in were Xu Xin and the others, even though many people recognized that this was... the crew of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" that was almost the most popular in Venice this year, no one came to talk to them.

Before the awards ceremony, the tradition of trying not to have contact with people outside the crew unless facing the media obviously applies here.

In the red carpet waiting hall, the only person who came in was Zhong Changyou, who had been accompanying him on the red carpet for a while.

Including people like Liu Xiaoli, Su Meng, and Wu Qiqi can't get in here.

A few people got together... maybe because everyone was a little nervous, the content of the chat was dry.

For example, when they saw a familiar face, three young people, Xu Xin, discussed what works each other had acted in.

The old man was chatting with Zhong Changyou about the release of "Hawthorn Tree".

The three of them were trying their best to hide their increasingly nervous mood, but there were more and more people in the hall.

Then, after Xu Xin greeted Li Pingdong, who had just walked in, the door was pushed open again.

A very familiar face walked in first.

Natalie Portman.

Wearing a black... somewhat velvet-like dress, with a bulging belly that was not particularly big, she walked in.

"Fuck..."

Lin Gou subconsciously cursed:

"She is pregnant?"

"you do not know?"

Liu Yifei was a little surprised:

"The person supporting her is her husband... Oh no, they are not married yet. Her boyfriend is also the choreographer of "Black Swan" and is said to be an internationally famous ballet dancer. The two fell in love because of the show. Together."

As the only one among the three people who has watched the version of "Black Swan" without Chinese subtitles, she obviously knows the gossip about this big star.

Following her words, Natalie Portman, her boyfriend, and others from the "Black Swan" crew walked through the crowd.

As the person who currently has the highest reputation for best actress, she is really like the legendary swan. The aura she carries when she appears on the stage is a bit like "looking down on all living beings".

pity……

Xu Xin doesn't like this.

He just looked at the other party's figure swaying on high heels and muttered:

"Look at that belly...if it's not twins, it's only two or three months old. She's quite pregnant~"

"..."

The words touched on the knowledge blind spots of Lin Gou and Liu Yifei. The two of them did not answer the conversation, and just listened to Xu Xin continue to talk:

"You have to pay attention to the position of the fetus when you are so pregnant. How dare you wear high heels at this time? This butt doesn't seem to be the type that is easy to give birth to... Tsk, you are so brave. If it doesn't come down... what do you think I will do?"

Feeling the strange looks from the two people, Xu Xin was a little puzzled.

Lin Xingxin said somewhat speechlessly:

"Old Xu...you understand very well."

"Yes, you are observing so carefully... Be careful I tell Mimi!"

Facing the threat from the fairy sister, Xu Xin sneered:

"If she were here, I'd bet she could even tell you what extra size of pants this girl has to wear this month. Do you believe it? She's more of a gangster than you think."

Under Liu Yifei's dumbfounded gaze, Xu Xin's eyes fell on Matilda again.

He can feel it.

Her pride.

And that confidence.

Then……

The anxiety in his eyes and heart began to fade away.

I was nervous, but the space in front of me was like a large colosseum.

The crew of every movie is a beast.

We are not friends, but competitors.

They are here to fight.

In front of me, even a foreign girl who is pregnant and has a swollen belly can show off that confident aura...

How can we, Lao Xu, be compared to a big foreign horse?