I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

To be honest, Xu Xin was quite surprised.

He thought that Venice would be the first place he qualified to be invited as a judge.

After all, it is "our home".

Moreover, when he went to Venice for the first time, the old man took him for a tour.

Qualified as a member of the association.

Although he has not made much achievements in Cannes over the years, at least he won the first important award in his life there...

Unexpectedly, among the three major European cities, Berlin, which I had only been to once so far, invited me.

After all, Cannes should have a better chance than Berlin, right?

What is this?

Serious and pragmatic Germans?

Seeing that I have to make a trip next year anyway, why not just make up the number of people?

But the problem is...

"What date are they this year?...When will we celebrate the New Year this year?"

"February 6th to 16th is when the Berlin Film Festival is held. As for the Chinese New Year... they open on the seventh day of the lunar new year."

"Yo?"

Xu Xinxin said that it was okay.

As long as it doesn't delay the Chinese New Year, it doesn't matter to him... huh?

etc.

"The review...does it have to go in advance?"

"..."

Qi Lei's silence replaced the answer.

But no.

Others can rush to the venue after the festival opens or at the last moment of the awards ceremony.

But the judges didn’t say that.

The evaluation of the final list of film festivals takes time.

and……

"How long does the assessment usually take?"

"You have to ask Director Zhang or Wang Jiawei about this."

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

After thinking for a while, he said:

"I'll think about it and ask Director Zhang and the others... It's not like that if we don't celebrate the New Year at home every year."

"Okay. The reason why they informed so early is because they are afraid that something will happen to the judges during the trip. You should think about your schedule first. If you are sure that there is no problem, consider it. If there is any conflict... In fact, you have to go there. …”

Xu Xinxin said this is not nonsense...

After chatting some more about the movie, he hung up the phone and scratched his head.

In fact, the biggest improvement for a director...or himself as a film festival judge is not the so-called "honor", but the recognition of the three major European films.

Being a judge means that the three major universities recognize your artistic aesthetic ability.

This has nothing to do with admiring foreigners or not. The status of the three major European countries lies there. He is the dream of most filmmakers in the world.

Of course, the vast majority of filmmakers obviously cannot beat the Oscars of only a few people.

After all, the Oscars are in Hollywood.

But there are two sides to the matter.

If the description is exaggerated, then maybe in a hundred years, no one will study who the Oscar winner and best actress was 100 years ago, and what the best picture was. But the three major European art films will definitely shine eternally in the annals of film history.

This is also an insurmountable gap between business and art.

Commercial films only make money, but when it comes to writing film history, textbooks, and what can be called art, let literary films do it.

Although this is not absolute, the truth is here.

It is an honor for any filmmaker to be recognized by the three major European films.

First comes the review.

Next, there is the chairman of the jury.

This actually represents the improvement of the director's status in the film palace.

Unless they are really unique, no filmmaker will refuse.

Thinking of this, I thought that I had no reason to refuse.

But you still have to ask clearly.

So he looked at the time and dialed the old man's phone number.

"Hey, are you busy?"

"I just finished eating. Why, are you having trouble with the movie?"

"That's not true, that's what happened. Berlin just invited me to be a judge for the Golden Bear Award."

"Yo? That's a good thing. This is a kind of recognition for you. What's the problem?"

"The review process...how long does it usually take? I haven't had a good time at home to celebrate the New Year in the past two years..."

"..."

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, a voice that didn't know whether to laugh or cry sounded:

"I have heard people say more than once that when you were in school, you stayed up all day and night, driving a Ferrari around the world, either in bars or karaoke bars. Did you ever think that you would be a family man at that time?"

"Well……"

Xu Xinxin said: Why did you, the old man, start to mention this?

Don’t you know whether to slap someone in the face or not?

Zhang Yimou did not wait for his answer and said to himself:

"Gong Li was the chairman of the jury in Berlin. I have not been, but I have been a judge. That time... was 1992? 1993? I don't remember very well. In fact, it is more appropriate for you to ask Wang Jiawei than me. He Didn’t you just participate last year?”

"It doesn't matter how often you participate."

"Ha~"

Zhang Yimou didn't care whether his words were flattery or not.

He likes to hear it anyway.

Then he said:

"Actually, the review time for the judges is not very long. For our session, if I remember correctly, it seemed like it took 8 or 9 days."

"How long did it take before the film festival started?"

"About ten days. It is different from ours. Silk Road is a very ordinary award now, with few people and fast efficiency. But their size requires the jury's film selection and submission process, including layout and so on. Yes, it will take at least ten days. You can definitely spend the New Year at home, unless you have a movie to promote elsewhere, just like Wang Jiawei this year, you will stay abroad for a long time. Otherwise... you can go In about ten days, I’ll come back after watching the movie. The rest of the time, I don’t even have to show up. It’s okay, it’s a good opportunity, just agree.”

Seeing that he had said this, Xu Xin did not hesitate:

"Hey, okay, then I agree... How is your film? Can it be completed before the end of this year? If so, I will get you a Golden Bear Award."

"Hahahahaha..."

Zhang Yimou's smile was so happy.

Xu Xin naturally does not have this ability.

But.

Again, he was happy to chat with Xiao Xu.

And I'm really in a good mood right now.

"You'd better make your movie. Remember to show it to me after you finish it."

"okay."

Then, he called Wang Jiawei again.

But the other person seemed to be sleeping, and his voice was muffled.

And his and the old man's answers were similar.

The list was indeed selected about ten days before the festival.

So, after hanging up the phone, he sent Qi Lei a message:

"Reply to the film festival, I agree."

"good."

After putting down the phone, Xu Xin walked out of the tent and saw Su Meng squatting next to her, her hands constantly moving there.

Wondering what this girl was doing, he stepped forward and twitched the corner of his mouth...

I don’t know where she got a plate of roasted and browned potato slices, and she was weighing the plate at the moment.

He said in his heart that he would give you some salary every day, so that you could come to the Loess Plateau to bake potatoes?

So he grabbed it.

"Who!...Ah...Brother Xu..."

Xu Xin grabbed a handful of potato slices, looked at the scolding assistant, and laughed proudly.

"Humph, if you fish at work, I'll deduct five hundred from you. Also, remember, my schedule will be free after late January next year, and I will go to the Berlin Film Festival to be a judge."

"OK."

Su Meng nodded quickly and stood up, hiding the plate behind her:

"I remember."

Smash it, smash it. Xu Xin, who thought the potato slices were well roasted, asked:

"Who baked the potato chips?"

"...Fairy Grandpa."

"..."

Xu Xin, who thought to herself that this stupid girl was getting more and more cute, shook her head helplessly:

"If you know how to bake, bake more. I'll eat it as a snack while we're filming a movie."

After that, he took a bite of potato chips and left humming a song.

After he left, Su Meng took out her cell phone and used it with one hand, recording the incident in the memo and mailbox, and then glanced at her plate of baked potato chips.

(`Д*)9!

Take away most of my plate... Why are your hands so big!

But I immediately remembered something.

What did he just say... deduct five hundred from me! ?

I……

(`)

…

When he arrived at the set, he walked directly to the RV and knocked on the door.

Soon, Yang Mi with calm eyes opened the door.

After seeing that it was her husband, those gray eyes became lively again.

Xu Xin was actually used to her state.

These days, my wife uses this almost perfect state to interpret the role of "Zhao Di" vividly.

The price is that in the past two days, I will act like a stranger to myself from time to time.

But as long as the two people stick together for about half an hour, the mask will melt again, and all efforts will be in vain.

Therefore, the two of them have now developed to the point where they sleep in separate rooms and beds.

At least that's the case at this stage.

But don't tell me...it's quite enjoyable to sleep alone.

With some things in mind, Xu Xin went straight to the point.

After all, there are still scenes to film in the afternoon:

"Brother Qi called me just now and the Berlin Film Festival invited me to be a judge."

Yang Mi was stunned:

"Not the presenter? Is it the judge?"

"Um."

"...When is the Chinese New Year this year?"

look.

Great minds always agree.

The two of them wanted to go together.

So, after explaining the matter, Yang Mi's eyes became calm again:

"Okay, I understand. You go out. Isn't the first scene in the afternoon my show? Don't disturb my state."

"OK."

Xu Xin nodded and walked out of the RV like an "outsider".

…

In fact, he feels that it is a good thing that he defines the style of "Silence" as "simple".

The whole process revolves around the story, so that you don't have to pursue the scenery on the northern Shaanxi Plateau too much.

Of course, there should be some embellishments.

Otherwise, it would be too monotonous to have all the main dishes.

The filming process of the movie is already halfway through, and everything surrounding the story of "Looking for the Child" is starting to fall into place.

Plus the actors are in good shape.

This movie, which originally had a short story, officially came to an end on the seventeenth day after the crew started filming.

There are actually no big scenes in this film.

All the stories originate from a small rural area in northern Shaanxi.

He didn't plan to shoot any big scenes.

It's just that in the movie, both sides of human nature are shown.

In fact, during the drafting of the script, he discussed the theme of the movie script with Lu Haibo.

"Is human nature inherently evil? Or human nature is inherently good?"

Lu Haibo quoted scriptures from him and finally came to the conclusion that human nature is inherently evil.

He thought the story was good, but not evil enough.

Then, Xu Xin took this story and met with Yu Hua.

Regardless of the tragedies Yu Hua has written all his life, it is just like the old man's evaluation of him, or it is like the old man's self-evaluation of the movie "Alive".

“In that era, there were no romantic prodigal sons who could never return their fortunes. Instead, they were mostly about survival, parting, and desolation. People’s lives... were like strings like weeds, growing out of the cracks, tightening, being played repeatedly by the strong wind, and then broken again. "

The final definition he gave to the work "Alive" is a kind of "living" vitality.

Therefore, when the story was given to Yu Hua, after reading it, Yu Hua’s evaluation was:

"I think this story is not good, it is too painful. If it continues to be bad, you will definitely lose money if you film it."

The big brother always talks in this tone.

But Xu Xin understood the truth.

So, over the years, with the preparation of the script, and as Xu Xin read more books, as he learned more about the world, he finally shaped the story into what it is now.

Everyone has their own good and evil.

So, just express them all.

The village chief, Zhaodi, Li Shuiquan, and even Chang Wannian...

Express the good and evil of these people.

As for the last open ending, it was the answer that Xu Xin himself was not sure about.

Human nature is good?

Is human nature inherently evil?

Everyone has their own answer.

And today, the crew welcomed the first completed character in the "Trio".

The village chief's drama will end today.

At this moment, under the camera.

The neatly dressed man stopped writing.

In the close-up shot, he is crouching at his desk, writing something rustling.

He was required to dub this section later, and Xu Xin had already sorted out the text, so there was no need for him to perform lines or anything like that.

After finishing writing, he folded the manuscript papers together.

Then he picked up a rice bag next to him.

The pocket was not big, so he tried to wear it on his head. After making sure it was OK, he picked up the marker next to it.

Then, the crew was busy for a while, and under the close-up shot, he wrote a few words:

"Don't open it, don't scare the baby."

After finishing writing, he stood up and went to the mirror.

In the mirror, the face of a patient with advanced lung cancer who had given up treatment was gray and white.

That was the signal that the footsteps of death were coming.

He suddenly showed a smile.

That smile was full of honesty and kindness.

And...a sense of regret under the carelessness.

Everyone watching behind Xu Xin's monitor felt their hearts tremble.

Then, he arranged his shirt and cardigan in front of the mirror, and then took out a tie from the closet.

After tying it meticulously, he put some mousse in his hands, and little by little, he combed his hair into the way he looked with the big red flowers in the photo frame next to him.

After the nearly two-minute silence ended, Xu Xin finally shouted.

Then, the scene became busy again.

After waiting for the camera to be set up facing the door, with the countdown of Xu Xin's "321", we started shooting again.

Outside the camera, the village chief with a slicked back hair and a suit walked into the frame.

From the moment he appeared, Lin Li began to actively control the camera to lose focus.

The picture became blurry little by little.

But in the blurry picture, you can clearly see that he grabbed the cloth bag on the table, walked to the door step by step, and took something like a rope from the clothes hanger.

Then he reached the door.

A pause in his steps.

Seems to be hesitating.

But only for a second.

A second later, with the image becoming increasingly blurry, he opened the door.

The sun shines through the door.

The picture is getting blurry.

His back is also getting narrower.

Narrower and narrower, narrower and narrower.

From the body, it became a twisted line.

at last……

Even the lines are gone.

He completely disappeared into the light.

I originally wanted to end the plot of the movie today... because I regret it now, thinking that it would be most suitable for this movie to appear after "The Wind"... But after thinking about it, I really planned this scene for a long time. Just write it down. There will not be a large introduction to acting skills or director’s perspective next. I'll end it naturally tomorrow.