I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 786: 783 Meeting

Chapter 786 783. Meeting "The Master" in the Octagonal Cage

After sitting at the bar for about ten minutes, Su Meng and Ai Qing finally rushed over.

Not bad, not blushing or out of breath.

After seeing Liu Yifei, they all said hello.

Xu Xin didn't say anything, but Liu Yifei asked curiously about the two of them:

"How about the movie?"

Because this was said to Su Meng.

Mengmeng took a sneak peek at Brother Xu and found that he was holding a wine glass and looking into the distance, and then she said:

"I don't quite understand..."

She definitely couldn't understand.

Because her English is only as good as Xu Xin's a year ago, Xu Xin was able to watch the movie thoroughly thanks to the English subtitles this time.

After she finished speaking, Liu Yifei said in a somewhat teasing tone:

"It's okay. Some of the plots can be understood without reading the plot."

"..."

Su Meng's face immediately turned red and warm.

o(*////▽////*)q

"No...no, Sister Yifei, that's not what I meant. Oops!!!"

"Hahahahaha..."

Obviously she is also a good talker, but Liu Yifei's laughter now is like that of an experienced driver.

That is something that can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words.

In the end, Xu Xin couldn't stand listening any more, and turned around and glared at her angrily, asking her to restrain herself.

Have no idea.

Someone over there has been taking pictures.

I think they must be tourists.

When the fairy sister smiles, it's a bit like a fairy showing up.

He didn't want to wake up tomorrow morning and Weibo would be filled with her baring her teeth and smiling exaggeratedly.

On the other hand, Ai Qing... take a look at her.

People are much calmer.

Seeing the indifferent look on Dayang Niu's face, Xu Xin couldn't help but glare at Su Meng again.

Useless stuff!

I'll deduct another five hundred from you!

…

The five people sat around a small stage until the light faded.

Then I decided to go for dinner.

There’s no need for a car to pick you up, since it’s close to the hotel anyway. The restaurant we went to was the workers' pub that Liu Yifei liked very much last time.

It's the equivalent of a fly tavern in Venice.

The environment was average, but the various seafood made her memory fresh.

When everyone was preparing to leave, a few domestic tourists finally came over and asked for autographs and photos.

After Xu Xin and Liu Yifei took a few group photos together, they left happily.

After walking for a distance along the road along the coastline, we arrived at the hotel. As soon as we sat down, Xu Xin received a message on his mobile phone.

The people from the embassy asked Xu Xin how many people were here. The quota reserved for China for cultural performance activities is very generous, so there is no problem.

After Xu Xin communicated with him, Liu Yifei's name was naturally filled in.

He and Liu Yifei talked, and the fairy sister who was spreading butter and garlic sauce on a piece of toast immediately nodded and said:

"Then... on the day I go to Rome, I have to buy a dress quickly."

"good."

Xu Xin responded, looked at her bread smeared with butter and garlic sauce, and muttered in her heart:

"Good guy, I don't know what the taste is in my mouth."

Talking through the belly, the fairy sister cannot hear.

She just opened her mouth greedily and said "Ah woo", which was a big mouthful of bread.

Then he smiled happily.

It smells so good.

…

"You also have a good capacity for drinking."

Xu Xin looked at her with a slightly red face and complained.

There's something very interesting about the taverns in Italy...or maybe it's just the rules of this tavern.

They serve red wine and drinking water in glass bottles.

Red wine is also available in bulk and is very cheap.

Like drinking this tonight, a glass bottle costs 12.5 euros.

And their glass bottles are very thick bottles with a capacity of about one liter.

It is completely transparent and has no label. The only embellishment is a rubber band on the bottle.

According to Ai Qing, this is a rule left over from the old Venice.

At that time, there were frequent power outages and the lights were dark. In order to prevent drinkers from mistaking the water-filled bottles for wine, they would put a rubber band on the mouth of the bottle. This way, even if there was a power outage, you could touch the mouth of the bottle to know what is wine and what is water. .

As for this one-liter glass bottle, five people drank two bottles tonight.

There was still a little bit left in the second bottle, but when Xu Xin asked to leave, the fairy sister directly poured the last bit of "Fugen" into the cup, and it came out like a ton.

After hearing this, the drunken fairy sister smiled coquettishly:

"Hehe~ You're going abroad. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Let's indulge."

Xu Xinxin said that you really used the bean buns as dry food.

Waiting.

When I get back in the evening, I will read a copy of your book with Your Majesty.

You are guilty of dereliction of duty and gross disrespect.

"Hey, what does your dress look like?"

"The suit, dark blue, what?"

"I'm not talking about this, I'm talking about another."

"...I just brought one set, why?"

"You also brought a set? Mimi didn't...oh yes, she is in the United States."

Liu Yifei thought about it while talking, and then said:

"Then why don't you go shopping with me? You can't wear your dress from Cannes to a performance, right?"

"Why not?"

Xu Xin looked indifferent:

"I brought two ties. It's much more convenient for men to get in and out of this kind of situation than it is for you. The clothes are all dark blue or black. You can't tell the difference unless you look carefully. I just need to change the tie."

"Brother, can we not be embarrassed? Hiccup~"

"..."

Under Xu Xin's speechless gaze, the fairy sister who had enjoyed her drink today covered her mouth and laughed sheepishly:

"Hey~"

Then he continued:

"I'm still an American, but you are an "only child" and the biological son of Italian grandmothers. This kind of occasion must be more solemn, right? It would be really embarrassing for the media to find you wearing the same suit for two days. "

"Well……"

After being reminded by her, Xu Xin found that this seemed to be the case.

The actual situation is that his wife had prepared his suit in advance.

It’s just for him to wear when he comes to Venice in September.

And it’s still a summer dress.

Not thick.

Yang Mi thought that after September, it would be time to wear autumn clothes. If my husband attends another occasion, I can just send it to him from Yanjing.

So I brought this set.

Originally, one set was enough, but Xu Xin only received the invitation to perform at the cultural festival before leaving.

Even if he wanted to bring an extra set, there wasn't any readily available around him.

Now that she was reminded like this, Xu Xin found that this was true.

So he nodded:

"That's fine, let's buy it together when the time comes. Anyway, my clothes are easy to buy, and my brother is just a clothes shower~"

The fairy sister smiled happily again:

"Um."

Obviously, she also acknowledged Xu Xin's statement.

You look good no matter what you wear.

"What did you say about your nationality?"

"I have submitted the information. Didn't I tell you last time that my nationality was changed based on the unilateral wishes of my parents when I was young. I asked this time and found that the chance is quite high, but the review process is very slow. I estimate... it will take at least two or three years. And I am now in the inspection period. Firstly, I must not do anything degrading, and secondly, I must maintain good moral character... Anyway, there are many inspection rules. Take your time~"

While walking towards the hotel, taking a walk to eat, the two of them picked up some sesame seeds and millet and chatted.

The fairy sister was inexplicably happy.

Xu Xin didn't think much about it.

After walking to the hotel, he checked the time.

It's 3 minutes past 10 o'clock.

Calculated based on the time difference, it was equivalent to him staying up all night until 4 o'clock in the morning.

After entering the hotel lobby, it was like being debuffed, yawns followed one after another.

"Ha... um."

"Ha~~~~~~Hmm..."

Yawning twice in a row, he took the lead and walked into the elevator:

"Go to bed, do you have anything else to do?"

"That's not the case...but I do want to have a fight with landlords..."

"Fight a hammer landlord."

Xu Xin rolled his eyes.

"Go and have fun playing Landlords yourself. I can't stand it any longer~"

Leaning against the car, he yawned again, and then said to Su Meng:

"Don't worry about me tomorrow morning, just sleep until you wake up naturally."

"Why are you going tomorrow?"

Liu Yifei asked.

"See Lao Xu tomorrow morning... Oh, yes, you haven't seen him, Xu Haofeng, the screenwriter of "The Grandmaster" and the director of "Traces of the Japanese Pirates". His film was directed by Yang Mi. Meet him tomorrow."

Hearing this, Liu Yifei was stunned...

After his brain circuit slowed down for a cycle, he seemed to have thought of something.

At this moment, Xu Xin had arrived on the floor where he and Su Meng lived.

As soon as he took Mengmeng out, he heard Liu Yifei ask:

"Then introduce me. Why don't you introduce such a good resource to me?"

Xu Xinxin asked when did Lao Xu become a hot cake...

Just a "newcomer".

But on the one hand, he was sleepy at the moment, and on the other hand, he couldn't tell her clearly about his relationship with Lao Xu for a while.

So he responded casually:

"See you tomorrow morning then."

"Well, good night~"

The fairy sister smiled happily.

The elevator door slowly closed.

It wasn't until Xu Xin was out of sight that she glanced at herself in the mirror of the elevator door.

The smile still lingers in the corner of his eyes.

But her expression became somewhat resentful.

Ignoring Ai Qing and Wu Qiqi next to her, she sighed silently.

What kind of director or screenwriter...

She actually doesn't care.

I just want to stay with you for a while.

That's all.

Love but not getting, asking for but not getting...

I'll satisfy myself in my own way, okay?

…

This night, Xu Xin slept in darkness.

He was so sleepy that he didn't even take a shower. He just felt like he fell into bed and didn't know anything anymore.

Even the doorbell woke him up the next day.

He opened his eyes drowsily and heard a knock on the door. His first reaction was not to get up, but to grab his phone and take a look.

8:52.

He slept for nearly 11 hours.

"coming."

After shouting, the doorbell disappeared.

He put on a vest and large pants, and opened the door sleepily.

Su Meng, Liu Yifei, and Wu Qiqi were standing at the door.

"..."

Eight eyes facing each other.

Xu Xin scratched his head:

"What's the matter?"

"Tell me, take me to see the director!"

Liu Yifei said while lifting the plastic bag in her hand:

"It's a bribe."

"..."

Xu Xin knew it was breakfast without even looking at it, just by smelling it.

The smell is like the fried seafood pancakes that are a specialty of Venice in the morning.

"You are so impatient. When did you change your character? A salty fish becomes a model worker?"

While complaining, he made way for three people to come in.

Then he said:

"I'm going to take a shower. You guys wait for me."

He said and walked directly into the back room.

Take a shower, brush your teeth, and take care of your personal hygiene.

One set takes just over 20 minutes.

After he walked out of the bedroom, when he looked at Liu Yifei, he was suddenly stunned:

"Are you wearing makeup?"

"looks good?"

Liu Yifei asked back.

Xu Xin nodded:

"That will definitely look good."

No joke, as long as she doesn't smile, her face is enough to slap her anywhere.

"As long as it's good-looking... Hey, I checked last night. Is this director Xu's first time directing a movie? He went straight to Cannes. It's really amazing."

The implication is that this makeup must have been done just to meet people.

Xu Xin was speechless.

"It's not the same as whoever said it..."

Lao Xu has entered, so our Lao Xu is not bad either.

"Yes, yes, Director Xu, please eat quickly. It will be cold soon."

"Um...have you all eaten?"

While asking polite words, he sat down at the table and started eating breakfast.

Soon, after finishing breakfast, he wiped his mouth and took out the phone.

"Dudu... hello?"

"Old Xu, where are you?"

"The hotel is waiting for you. Which floor are you on?"

"I'll go find you. Send me your room number."

"Haha, okay~"

Xu Haofeng responded cheerfully.

Putting down the phone, Xu Xin stood up and said:

"Let's go?"

"Let's go."

Liu Yifei stood up after him.

Su Meng asked at this time:

"Brother Xu, shall we follow? If we can't sit apart..."

"You and Qiqi don't need to follow me. I'll tell you later if I go somewhere else."

Xu Xin waved his hand and walked out with Liu Yifei.

While waiting for the elevator, the two of them were still chatting about the ins and outs of "Trace of the Japanese Pirates".

However, because Liu Yifei has never seen this movie, she doesn't quite understand what Xu Xin means by "very average".

But what she is more concerned about is...

"This 4 million won't be a loss, right?"

"Well……"

After hearing this, Xu Xin thought for a while and said:

"It's really possible. But in the long run, it should be worth it."

"...?"

Looking at her confused look, Xu Xin didn't explain much.

The elevator came and he walked in directly.

…

"Old Xu."

"Hey, Xiao Xu...yo, this..."

"Let me introduce, Liu Yifei. Yifei, this is Director Xu, Xu Haofeng."

Xu Xin, as the middleman, introduced the two of them separately and walked directly into the room.

Xu Haofeng's room is indeed not big.

After all, it is a horizon unit, so it is normal.

After getting to know Liu Yifei for a while, Xu Haofeng greeted the two of them to sit down.

But because the room was not big, after Xu Xin and Liu Yifei sat on the only two reception chairs, Xu Haofeng could only sit on the bed.

Seeing this, he took the initiative and said:

"How about we find a coffee shop..."

"Wait a while, let's chat first, and then we go down to the cafe at the door to wait for Director Cheng. I made an appointment with him to have dinner with him at noon."

Cheng Xiaodong's "The Legend of White Snake" was shortlisted for the non-competition section this time and will not participate in the awards competition, but it can be screened in Venice.

We all went through the Olympics together. Although we haven’t had much contact with each other for so many years, now that we are all here, we must meet each other.

Xu Haofeng nodded and heard Xu Xin say:

"I went to see the movie as soon as I came yesterday. There happened to be a movie at around 3pm~"

When mentioning this, Xu Haofeng's face showed no particularly happy emotion, nor was he very depressed.

Just nodded slightly:

"How do you feel about it? Average?"

Xu Xin glanced at him and nodded slightly:

"Yeah. I can understand the martial arts aspect. But the literary aspect of the script..."

"Too full."

As Xu Haofeng spoke, he wiped his long hair that could be described as flowing and tangible.

"I was drinking with Jia Zhangke last night..."

"oh?"

Xu Xin said with some surprise:

"He is the chairman of the Horizon Unit review this time, right?"

"Um."

Xu Haofeng responded.

"We are classmates, but from different departments. He is in the Literature Department, and we are in the Directing Department... We are not very familiar with each other, but we have been in contact several times over the years. This time he happened to be the chairman and I was the finalist. This time entire……"

While drawing a circle to express the entire film festival, he touched the cigarette case on the bedside table.

"During this period, we both talked a lot. He is a judge and a member of the jury who strongly recommended me to be shortlisted. We talked about my movie, so we talked a lot during this period. Uh..."

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette and handed it to Xu Xin.

But I immediately realized that there was Liu Yifei next to me, and I felt a little embarrassed...

But Liu Yifei smiled slightly:

"It's okay, you can just smoke, it won't be a problem."

While talking, she took the initiative to walk to the window and opened it a crack to ventilate, just like she did at the Tokyo Film Festival.

Xu Haofeng smiled and nodded. After giving the cigarette to Xu Xin, he added:

"Anyway, I don't have any awards from Horizon... I really didn't handle the drama of "Japanese Pirates" well."

Hearing this, Xu Xin said directly:

"But...at least you let us see a real martial arts world."

Everyone knows that his movies are not good, so he must look for good ones at this time.

"The kind of three-two-one that you and Yang Mi used to talk about, bang! The person fell to the ground... I actually don't quite understand this description. I thought it was like the old Shaw Brothers who were hard on the bridge and hard on the horse. It feels almost the same... But after watching your movie, I finally understand a little bit about what it means to have a master's fight. As far as this is concerned... Oh, yes, it also includes the set of Xingyi that Mr. Yu played in the wheat field when he went down the mountain. Boxing... that kind of powerful feeling, even ten Yang Mi can't match it. I've really learned a lot... By the way, where is Mr. Yu?"

"He also came back at noon. In the morning, he was invited to go to the local Chinese association in Venice to attend a meeting. After all, it was the Sword Master who came in person. During this period, the old man was much busier than me~"

After Xu Haofeng finished speaking, he took the initiative to change the topic:

"But I still feel quite uncomfortable..."

"Why?"

Looking at Xu Xin's confused look, Xu Haofeng held a cigarette in his mouth and said in an awkward tone:

"This movie...the market reception is not good either."

Xu Xin's expression remained unchanged and he asked:

"How many people came to ask?"

But this question seemed to be difficult for Old Xu to discuss.

The lips holding the cigarette moved a few times before he said:

"There are three or five companies in total. And they are not theater chains. They are one-time buyouts...I rejected them all. I thought I would contact them after the film is released in China."

Hearing this, Liu Yifei pursed her lips slightly.

In fact, if it was some other commercial activity related to the film festival, she might not know yet.

But if it's a matter of "selling movies," she thinks she has a certain say.

There is no other reason.

After "Hawthorn Tree" was released, she, Lin Gou, and Xu Xin attended many dinner invitations.

According to Director Zhang, this kind of dinner also has levels.

Big companies have big company methods.

Large companies are confident and influential in their own countries. Their distribution attributes are both theater and offline development.

Even though some stores are trying to bully customers, when it comes to really good movies, even if everyone talks about it, they invite all the filmmakers they catch their eye to to a banquet, and then they chat slowly.

Throughout this film festival, they have many films to watch and inspect.

There is no time to talk about visiting a certain director alone.

Over time, this behavior became the rule of the film festival.

The best resource is to arrange it through a dinner party.

Only small companies like that would take the initiative to visit us. Put your body very low...

Publishing companies are not stupid either.

The movies they value must be released in theaters in their own country. The potential of such a movie that cannot even be released in theaters can be imagined.

While "The Hawthorn Tree" was in Venice, they participated in this kind of banquet many times.

So, she understands.

But Xu Xin heard what Lao Xu wanted, but he didn't think about it like she did.

Because he already knew that the market prospect of "Japanese Pirates" was not that good.

So after thinking about it, he said:

"Then what are your plans for domestic distribution of this film? Is there any headwind? Or..."

"..."

Xu Haofeng was silent for a while and shook his head slightly:

"I originally thought that if the market was good, I would ask Xiying Studio to come. But... after talking to Lao Jia yesterday, I thought it would be better to go back and look for other companies. What do you think?"

Distribution, promotion, and money.

He clearly does not want to continue to let Headwind or Xiying Studio bear the responsibility, but plans to find other companies to share the risk.

After all, judging from the current tone of this film, the market response may not be particularly good.

Where is Xu Xin...

No comments.

Just a guarantee is given:

"You make the decision about your movie. If there are any difficulties then, tell me. There will definitely be no problem if it goes to a theater. By the way, how did you revise the script of "Master"?"

This is the main purpose of his visit this time.

Ever since he read the novel "Master", he liked it very much.

After watching the movie "Japanese Pirates", he had a clear idea of the martial arts described in the story of "Master".

So I thought about finalizing the copyright matter first.

This time, Xu Haofeng was even more embarrassed:

"I haven't done it yet..."

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched and he was speechless:

"Brother, it's been almost two years...I haven't even seen the script yet."

"I'll get it for you when I get back."

Xu Haofeng touched the big oily head and became more and more uncomfortable.

At the same time, there was a hint of guilty look on his face:

"The main thing is... Mr. Yu and I came up with another idea while we were filming... I have already written this idea and included it in my next collection of short stories."

As he spoke, he opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out a stack of manuscripts:

"show you."

"..."

Xu Xin looked at him more and more speechlessly and took it.

Looking down at the name:

""Farewell Biography of Liu Baiyuan""

He didn't open it in a hurry, but took it in his hand, looked at Xu Haofeng and asked:

"Not a single word of "Master" was touched?"

"……hey-hey."

It's not easy to make a man in his forties feel embarrassed.

Looking at his reaction, Xu Xin flipped through the pages of these manuscripts.

After discovering that there are about ten pages...