The Greatest Showman

"Please don't go overboard."

"Then let's put it on hold for now."

There was not much time between Renly and Thierry, and all the confrontation happened between lightning and flint, and both of them were extremely tough-to be more precise, they did not want to tear their faces, Instead, they are testing each other's bottom line. This confrontation is not that simple.

According to common sense, now should be the time when Renly begged Thierry, and the Cannes Film Festival's willingness to "give up" a focus unit is already a huge breakthrough.

But Renly smelled something different.

Why did Arthur's trip to Studio Ghibli leak out? Why did Thierry make a "special trip" to New York to visit? Why did Thierry change his mind in just five months?

Of course, there are many reasons, such as the box office record of "Jurassic World", the ticket sales record of the Pioneer Village Music Festival, the "Boom Drummer"'s top Oscar... and so on, and so on, each small event is connected to create momentum, However, the most crucial piece was still missing, and Renly couldn't complete the puzzle for the time being.

Right now, Renly is testing Thierry's bottom line, trying to find the last piece of the puzzle and piece together the whole picture, otherwise even if they complete the contract with Cannes, Don Quixote will still be passive - and this passive , may affect the independence of Sisyphus Pictures and Don Quixote Channel, which is absolutely not allowed by Renly, and if necessary, he would rather give up this cooperation with Cannes.

Faced with Renly's toughness, Thierry didn't give in, but... he didn't leave either.

Like Renly, Thierry slowly picked up his coffee mug, and the two sat in the open-air café sipping their coffee.

After a moment of precipitation, let the quiet atmosphere slowly spread.

"Plus the Director's Fortnight."

It was Renly who broke the silence this time. Since Thierry had not left, it meant that there was still room for negotiation, and he had to know how much room there was.

Thierry showed an embarrassed look.

Renly chuckled and added, "I am willing to be the chairman of the jury next year, but be warned in advance that I am not a guy who easily compromises, be careful that the jury may directly act due to violent disagreements, you should trust my fists and feet. The ability is definitely not something those old guys can fight against."

Thierry still didn't speak, just looked at Renly with interest.

Renly didn't hesitate at all, put down the coffee slowly, and met Thierry's gaze, "Or, we can now make a good guess as to what made you change your mind in just five months."

Renly's attack, as Thierry expected, put down his coffee, "What if I say, because of the movie?"

Renly pretended to be listening.

"Your words touched me. Every year, a large number of films appear in Cannes, showing their style to the world, especially those areas where the film industry is relatively backward. What they show is the most primitive and fierce power of film, very Rare; but alas, it's often something that the market doesn't care about."

Thierry spoke earnestly.

"In this year's Cannes, Iceland's 'The Ram' and Chile's 'Earth and Shadow', they are both works that I personally like very much outside the main competition unit, and they have also won countless praises and affirmations at the film festival, but They have so far not been able to find an international rights distributor, except in France."

The last sentence added a little pride, which made Renly smile, but Thierry didn't care and shrugged very calmly, "I'm saying the truth, these movies, if they can't be watched by their own country, If it is selected for the Oscar for best foreign language film entry, it may never have the opportunity to be seen by other audiences."

"You have to know that they are on the stage in Cannes, the largest film market in the world. If even Cannes can't find a distributor for them, I strongly doubt what other film festivals can do." Thierry said in the words Self-confidence, even with a kind of world-centric arrogance, with irrefutable firmness - he sincerely believes that the Cannes Film Festival is the best film market in the world.

"So, like you said, if you let these films bury and disappear, it will be a serious blow to the film lovers who can't come to Cannes, and the regions where the film industry is relatively weak. Do you know if those talents would be overwhelmed like this?"

Thierry adjusted his sitting position a little and looked at Renly intently, with a firm sense of mission in his eyes, "I brought them to Cannes, and I hope to bring them to the world. Since there is no way for traditional theater chains to do so. Give them a platform, at least I hope technology can play a little role."

Renly believed in Thierry.

Renly believes that Thierry's love for film is genuine, and no matter how Cannes has gotten to where it is today, their delicate balance between business and art is commendable. , at least not inferior to Oscar, or even slightly better than Oscar.

But Renly also knew that Thierry had no bottom line. The earth-shaking changes in just five months, from quantitative to qualitative, also required a key factor.

"Thieri, that's enough to convince the Cannes Film Festival, but not enough to convince the French Film Institute." Renly pressed closer.

"It's our trouble, you don't need to worry about it." Thierry knew his decision could be met with backlash from within the French film industry.

Renly didn't speak, just stared at Thierry intently.

However, Thierry is also a tough guy, he took the initiative to meet Renly's gaze, "A kind of attention plus the director's fortnight, then we're done."

Then, Thierry's shoulders slowly relaxed, "So, are you ready to face the media now? If nothing else, we will announce the candidates for the jury members, including the jury chairman, in January. At that time, the media I'm afraid I won't let you go easily, and it's still during awards season."

"The trouble is mainly with you, not with me. My stress should start when I get to Cannes." Renly laughed lightly.

Thierry couldn't argue with, "By the way, do we need to delay the announcement of the jury president? As far as I know, 'Lobster' may win you a nomination again this year, 'Carol' is also very promising, it's all Our Cannes work. If you don’t want to interfere with the PR situation of awards season, we can postpone the announcement until after the awards ceremony.”

Academy PR is a tricky business, and if Hollywood learns that Renly is going to be president of the Cannes jury and is only twenty-six years old, a competitor could easily push Renly to "a whole new level" , indicating that Renly could not be included in the awards, which is a bit like a sense of lifelong achievement, which is very bad for Renly's awards season prospects, and it is very possible to accidentally lose the nomination.

Renly pursed his lips and said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter to me, just follow your own plan. Even without the Cannes incident, I don't think they'd be willing to vote for me for the second year in a row."

There was a light-hearted mockery between the lines, which made Thierry's eyes full of smiles.

The follow-up conversations didn’t have much content. Thierry and Renly exchanged views and opinions on some films, and the discussion revolved around the film itself – after all, next year Renly’s taste will represent Cannes’ taste, Thierry Yerry still needs some preparation.

Thierry didn't mind when the Coen brothers had an upset at the Cannes Film Festival this year, but he wanted to prepare himself before the upset.

Until Thierry left, he did not mention the key factor that promotes "quantitative change to qualitative change". Obviously, he did not speak so easily.

Then, Renly found the answer in Andre:

Roman Abramovich.

The mega-tycoon hasn't been on vacation for the past five months, and his streak has changed things.

First, after "Jurassic World" broke all-time box office records on its opening weekend, he invested $50 million in Hallwind, and added a second $200 million investment three months later, It has become the largest customer of Hall Ventures.

Secondly, he reached a cooperation agreement with the French Ministry of Culture to set up a new foundation at the Cannes Film Festival to sponsor the filming of local French films. Young director.

To put it simply, Romain solved the main contradiction within French cinema for Thierry - the remaining secondary contradictions, Thierry can solve by himself, this is the real key to changing the whole situation, money is part of the reason, Romain The network is another part of the reason.

In the same situation, in Italy and Germany, there may be different problems, but in France, Romain successfully opened the situation.

For Roman's actions, Andre was a little uneasy, but more excited——

Because Roman's investment and Alexander-Hamilton's connections are causing a chain effect on the European continent, the box office results of "Jurassic World" and the Internet boom of the Pioneer Village Music Festival have all become the best samples. Unbelievable breakthroughs and progress have been made in the fundraising work of the investment.

For at least the next two years, Sisyphus Pictures and Don Quixote will be able to keep sprinting in full force, depending on whether they can turn a profit.

The higher you fly, the harder you fall.

Andre knew this too, and kept a little sane while he was excited, "Renly, what do you think? If you're feeling uneasy, we might need to slow down a little bit, then we'll slow down. I know, you're right. I don’t know much about finance, but we all trust your intuition, and more importantly, all the projects of Sisyphus Pictures still need to be decided by you, and I need you to give me a decision.”

"Don't worry, just follow the plan." Renly gave the answer: there is no turning back when the bow is drawn. Since it has already begun, let the storm come more violently.