After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 705 A Feast for the Senses: Who is the Main Course?
"It's not that easy..." Zhang Yimou patted Gong Li's hand, then patted Chen Daoming's shoulder, smiled, straightened his collar and cuffs, and pulled his daughter toward the exit.

"What does Director Zhang mean?" Chen Daoming asked.

"What else could it mean? He hasn't given up; he still wants to fight."

Chen Daoming chuckled, “Director Zhang does have an advantage. He has the backing of the big capital LeEco, and President Zhang has a Hollywood background. He is also the top Asian among the top three in Europe, so winning the Palme d'Or is well-deserved… But Li Mingyang is very rich, and he has the valuable FBTV. He is cunning and shrewd. Competing with him… is hopeless.”

Gong Li didn't comment on the two famous directors, but instead asked, "Old Chen, have you found out the price?"

One hundred million US dollars.

"Best Actor? Do you have that many?"

"I'm talking about the Best Actress award."

Gong Li's eyes widened. "Robbery? A lousy actress is priced at 100 million US dollars, wasn't it 50 million US dollars? How did it double?"

"Raising prices on the spot... Selling one is selling, selling a group is selling, so of course the higher the price, the better."

"A bunch of lunatics! Li Mingyang is Li Mingyang, we're not him. Where would we get so much money? Who could afford to give us that money!"

Chen Daoming slapped his thigh and said with a wry smile, "Ten billion US dollars! Li Mingyang is the real lunatic. If I were the president of Cannes, I wouldn't hesitate for a second, I would definitely sell."

"Isn't it $12 billion?"

"It's all a mix of truth and lies. When I first arrived, it was worth five hundred million US dollars, but if we round it up, one billion US dollars would be about right. Li Mingyang's Enlight Media shares are enough to cover the debt. Any more than that would be difficult to manage."

"I feel like I've been ripped off."

“Winning the Palme d'Or is a win-win situation; he can make it back.” Chen Daoming frowned and said, “Li Mingyang has been in a rush since his debut, working with this person and that person. He has beaten up all the big directors in China, and he just happened to catch the wave of financial films… I even suspect that he is working so hard and rushing around so aggressively just to save up enough money to buy the Palme d'Or this year.”

"No way... If he went to Hollywood, he might even win an Oscar."

"The key is that he doesn't want to go..." Chen Daoming clapped his hands. "You don't know him because you haven't met him. This kid's way of thinking is different. He's neither a cultured person nor a pure filmmaker. He's more like one of those internet guys who just want to fight first and worry later..."

"I've heard some things, like how they outmaneuvered Baidu, Youku, Tencent Video, and Sohu Video," Gong Li said.

"Where did this news come from? It's pure nonsense. I even suspect that this kid was deliberately nurtured by the internet industry. If it weren't for those big internet companies backing him up, he would have been finished long ago. Those people in the internet industry are all talk and no action, talking about how Li Mingyang is going to be this or that, but when it comes to actually taking him down, they all disappear. Especially that guy from Alibaba, he talks the loudest, but every time it's crucial, you can't find him."

"Where...where did you get this information from?"

"Guoli!"

Gong Li gave a meaningful "oh," indicating she believed her!

After thinking about it carefully, I'm even more convinced.

Then... Gong Li suddenly thought of a question: if Li Mingyang and those people on the internet are in cahoots, what about those people?

Li Mingyang winning the Palme d'Or may be a success for those in power and a political achievement for everyone, but it has absolutely nothing to do with people in the Chinese entertainment industry and film industry.

Those people on the internet have plenty of money; paying for Li Mingyang's actions is just a form of pandering.

The most important thing about the internet is attitude!

……

On the other side, Li Mingyang disembarked from the luxury yacht.

I feel a little heavy-hearted...

He originally wanted to try out peach blossom eyes today.

The three female members of this year's Cannes jury include Nicole Kidman.

And then there's Naomi Kawase from "Little Days".

In 2003 and 2007, Naomi Kawase entered the main competition of Cannes twice with "Sara-sou" and "Mourning Forest", and won the second grand prize of the Cannes Film Festival - the Jury Prize - with the latter.

Lynn Ramsey is from the UK.

Ramsay was a photographer who won the Palme d'Or for short films at the Cannes Film Festival twice.

Two years ago, her film "What's Wrong with Kevin?" entered the Cannes competition section, and its sharp narrative style sparked a lot of discussion.

Nicole Kidman probably won't be of much use. She's very enthusiastic about herself, but that enthusiasm is purely business-oriented; all she talks about is business.

The simplest, fastest, and most effective way to make more money from film and television copyrights is to sell them to more countries and regions!
The four major markets of China, Japan, South Korea, and India all have barriers in the area of ​​film and television copyrights, with many requirements, making them difficult to sell.

Within a few days, Nicole acquired some more HBO television rights, intending to sell them to him... These weren't the old, outdated rights, but rather rights that could make a lot of money.

True Blood, Six Feet Under, Late Bloomer, Boardwalk Empire, Rome, The Newsroom, Femme Fatale, Girls, True Detective, Band of Brothers, Family, The Wire...

Aside from Game of Thrones, it covers almost all of HBO's most popular shows from the past decade.

Excellent copyright, a masterpiece of pornography and violence!

The price is also shockingly high, with the Asian online broadcasting rights costing 100 million US dollars per year...

Li Mingyang neither agreed nor disagreed, but set a deadline, waiting for FBTV to gain a foothold in Japan before buying, ensuring a guaranteed profit.

The University of Tokyo has very strict controls. All these TV dramas with explicit content have to be re-approved and cut out. Unlike Game of Thrones, where you can just remove some of the explicit content without affecting the plot.

We can only rely on the Chinese and Japanese markets. Southeast Asia is currently rife with piracy. If we want to make money, we must first eradicate piracy.

Southeast Asian piracy is rampant, even more so than in Tokyo, and extremely difficult to combat. It's one of the world's largest piracy hubs...

Li Mingyang recalled that the Li family in Hong Kong had to mobilize the military to crack down on piracy...

Nicole doesn't like peach blossom eyes.

The other two were both correct!

Naomi Kawase, in her daily life, looked at him with the eyes of a wolf seeing a sheep, eager to devour him immediately.

Various verbal and physical provocations.

In that kind of society, wives were often quite sexually repressed, so it was normal for them to have "peach blossom eyes" (a term used to describe eyes that are considered attractive or alluring).

Who is the leading lady in the Japanese film industry? It's Naomi Kawase, from the Cannes Film Festival.

She won the Golden Camera Award, the Jury Grand Prize, and the Golden Coach Award.

She wields considerable influence among elite female groups in Japan.

The influence of Cannes and the influence of directors are mutually reinforcing and interdependent.

The judges are not puppets; they have a voice.

Of course, the Palme d'Or is ultimately decided by the official authorities.

However, this year is special because Spielberg is serving as the jury president. As the undisputed number one figure in world cinema, he can make his own decisions.

That's what makes a powerful jury chairman so awesome!
After all, it was the chairman of the jury who announced the Palme d'Or.

Furthermore, even if Spielberg were to serve as a judge instead of the chairman of the jury, his influence would still surpass that of the chairman.

The Cannes Film Festival has a number of powerful jury members who overstep their authority.

For example, last year's jury president, Nanni Moretti, overstepped his authority when he was a judge, colluding with other judges to sideline the jury president...

Another one is Lynn Ramsay, who's an older woman.

The British director and his wife are definitely having marital problems...

At first, she ignored him. But after their eyes met, she was captivated by his charm and her attitude towards him completely changed. She even took the initiative to ask him for his contact information.

They gave me their contact information, were incredibly proactive, and even sent me their hotel room number...

This famine is even more intense than that of Aunt Benzi.

Peach blossom eyes have a miraculous effect on lonely aunties!

However, all of this was based on the premise that there was no conflict of interest between the two parties. Once a conflict of interest was involved, the illusion of their charming eyes was instantly shattered.

So Li Mingyang never talked to the two lonely aunties about movies or the Palme d'Or; he only talked about food.

Just focus on building goodwill!

However, the two aunties were a bit risqué; when they talked about food, they always focused on seafood and hot dogs.

Foreigners are generally more open-minded, or rather, artists tend to be more risqué.

Everyone was having a good chat until, on the way back, they encountered Thierry's luxury yacht.

Thierry took the initiative to approach Li Mingyang.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, Thierry invited Li Mingyang and Spielberg aboard his yacht.

Once aboard Thierry's yacht, on the second deck, were four Cannes bigwigs, members of the Cannes Film Festival Council.

Unlike Thierry's tactful approach, these two immediately accused Li Mingyang of corrupting the atmosphere of Cannes.

Global media outlets are criticizing this year's Cannes Film Festival for its "ugly money deals," with all awards having clearly stated their prices.

They warned Li Mingyang that if he wanted to win the Palme d'Or, he shouldn't resort to these underhanded tactics.

They have discovered that this was Li Mingyang's doing. He not only manipulated the media behind the scenes, but also told people everywhere that he had bought the Palme d'Or.

Cannes wanted to sell the Palme d'Or, but setting a price wouldn't be in Cannes' interest. They wanted a backroom deal, but Li Mingyang was more open about it.

Although these people spoke very harshly and threatened him, saying that if he didn't behave, they would blacklist him in the future.

But they never said they weren't going to sell it...

This involves at least a billion dollars in net profit! Not selling would be the mark of a fool!
After speaking with the council members, Thierry took Li Mingyang to the salon area on the first floor, comforting him and giving him directions on what to do.

Tell him to stop doing all this unnecessary stuff and wasting money.

No matter what Li Mingyang does, Cannes has a bottom line on the price; anything less than one billion US dollars is impossible.

Finally, Thierry added that the six major Hollywood studios had sent people to talk to him.

Thierry's point was that whatever conditions Hollywood offered, they should agree to them first, otherwise it wouldn't sell well.

In short, this year's Cannes Film Festival is big business!

And he is the most important main course in this feast!
Everyone wants a piece of the pie... they're all exploiting him...

These damn alpacas are not only after what's in front of them.

They're still squeezing his future!

"They're raising prices arbitrarily, and it's never going to end!"

Li Mingyang opened the back door and got into the car, unable to resist complaining.

"The best solution is right in front of you, but you're unwilling to kneel down, so you can only accept the custom-made rules of the game." Zhang Wei, sitting in the passenger seat, immediately made sarcastic remarks.

Li Mingyang fell silent, gazing out the window, lost in thought.

More than half an hour later, the convoy stopped at the Paradise Hotel.

Zhang Wei got out of the car first and opened the car door for Li Mingyang.

Li Mingyang got out of the car and greeted Doi Yutai with a smile. After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, the two went into the hotel together.

The Japanese version of "Romantic Bouquet" was also submitted to Cannes, but it was not selected for the main competition; it was only selected for the Un Certain Regard section. Tomorrow is the world premiere of the Japanese version of "Romantic Bouquet," and Li Mingyang has agreed to attend the premiere.

In exchange, Hiroshi Doi will help him get in touch with the executives of TX TV in Japan today.

TX TV is one of the five major privately owned terrestrial television stations in Japan.

A "mudslide"-like presence, channel 7 on the remote control.

The king of late-night dramas, known for its animation and alternative programs, often "goes its own way" during major news events.

While other television stations were reporting major news, TV Tokyo continued to broadcast its own food programs or anime, earning it the nickname "even the end of the world can't stop broadcasting anime."

An held a press conference to announce the lifting of the ban on collective self-defense, and TV Tokyo broadcast "Ultraman".

At An's funeral, TV Tokyo broadcast the event live for only 5 minutes before airing the comedy film "Invincible Head of House".

The five major private enterprises are like five powerful warlords!

If you want to enter the Japanese drama market, Japanese TV stations are an insurmountable hurdle.

Sony and SoftBank are certainly good partners, but the more options available, the better, so that if one path collapses, there are still other paths to take.

The Asian streaming ecosystem is now down to its most crucial link: the Japanese adult video market.

If we can't conquer Japan, everything else is in vain.

The sooner we conquer the Japanese market, the sooner we can escape the attacks of Wall Street capital.

The talks with the executives of TX TV went well, but the two sides didn't discuss anything substantial; it was more of an introduction.

There will be no conflict of interest between the two sides in the short term; on the contrary, there will be more cooperation.

The biggest obstacle for Li Mingyang in entering the Japanese market is the five major film and television production companies.

Japanese television is a future rival.

The company's corporate structure is quite unconventional, much like their gang structure.

Although they belong to the same conglomerate, there is no unity or friendship between them. They are real competitors, and it is common for them to bring in outside help to fight against their own people.

The same applies to TV Tokyo, which is part of the Nikkei group.

After they had finished talking, Li Mingyang shook hands with the other party and said goodbye. Before leaving, he didn't forget to look for Yui Aragaki and gave her a flirtatious look through his sunglasses.

Yui Aragaki reacted strongly to the peach blossom eyes, her face like a peach blossom and her eyes like spring water, her heart fluttering with spring fever, she was quite cute!

However, Li Mingyang only chatted with her for a couple of minutes before running away after flirting with her.

The Cannes Film Festival features numerous premieres and screenings, as well as internationally organized events, private dinners, and parties.

After leaving the Paradise Hotel, Li Mingyang went to three other places.

He made an appearance at a China Film Group exchange event.

I went to the beach to attend the press conference for the film "Coming Home".

Finally, we went to a social dinner hosted by a fashion magazine.

In these social settings, Li Mingyang continued to claim honors, considering himself the Palme d'Or winner, completely ignoring the warnings from the Cannes authorities, and continued to do as he pleased.

Everyone else offered their congratulations and believed it to be true.

Only Zhang Wei, who had also been warned by Cannes officials, knew that Li Mingyang was going against the Cannes authorities...

Back in the hotel's presidential suite, seeing that no one else was around, Zhang Wei couldn't help but ask, "Don't you want the Palme d'Or anymore?"

"Yes I do!"

"But it seems to me that you have already given up on the Palme d'Or and are using Cannes as a stepping stone."

Using Cannes as a stepping stone... Even Hollywood wouldn't do that, Zhang Wei really dares to think that way...

But that's not his fault; he doesn't really understand the film industry.

Viewing Cannes through the lens of internet capital is nothing but a farce, a spectacle of petty thieves and scoundrels, nothing more than flies trying to make a living.

Li Mingyang thought so too before he came, but as he had more contact with the Cannes executives, he discovered that Cannes was not a makeshift organization, but a group of elites who were well-versed in business, politics, fashion and art.

Moreover, it possesses a global strategic vision.

Thierry, the artistic director of Cannes, is not as simple as he seems on the surface. He can see through his own methods, which is quite remarkable.

Li Mingyang used loans to quickly increase his influence.

Thierry saw through it all, but he endured it and then brought Hollywood in. All Li Mingyang had to do was compromise with Hollywood.

Cannes has no limit to its tolerance.

Cannes can tolerate problems in one or two editions.

The Palme d'Or was awarded to Farewell My Concubine, but it was ridiculed by foreign media for lacking prestige.

Li Mingyang wants to test Cannes' bottom line. If he doesn't know this bottom line, he has no right to talk to Cannes!

"You don't need to worry about these things... Keep the hype going. I bought the Palme d'Or. Put up ads for me everywhere in Cannes where you can, and make sure to highlight that it's the Palme d'Or winner."

Zhang Wei rolled her eyes. She had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this shameless.

"Furthermore, I need to bribe all the film critics in Cannes. I want unanimous praise from the ladies. I don't want to hear any dissenting opinions."

"You're wasting money."

"Next, you only need to remember one thing: I, Miss, and FBTV are a trinity. Pay one advertising fee and get three ads. Isn't that a great deal?"

"..."

……

Li Meijin has laid out a sure path to victory for Li Mingyang in the Golden Palm competition.

All he had to do was kneel down, choose Hollywood, and pay 10% of FBTV shares to complete a super premium deal worth billions of dollars!
The Palme d'Or is his.

But Li Mingyang refused to kneel!

Cannes doesn't deserve it, the Palme d'Or doesn't deserve it!

If it were an Oscar, Li Mingyang wouldn't mind kneeling down!
Kneeling once will earn you an Oscar.

Li Mingyang was more than willing; he'd kneel before him for seven days and seven nights! Even eighty-one days wouldn't be a problem!
However, the truth is that Hollywood's kneeling was useless.

We need to learn from Netflix and just go for it! Bit them to death!
Screw the rules!

If you don't give it to me, I'll make sure you have no food to eat!

Li Mingyang's two guarantees of winning an Oscar are streaming media and Li Meijin!
Li Meijin has been delaying her departure to the United States.

Li Mingyang was very anxious. If she didn't go to Hollywood and join the corrupt practices, and instead sold out the Koreans as soon as possible, how could he win an Oscar?
What Li Meijin is most anxious about is whether he can win the Palme d'Or!

In order to help him win the Palme d'Or.

Lee Mei-jin even went so far as to sell FBTV.

To be honest, Li Mingyang didn't quite understand at first, but later he figured it out. Li Meijin didn't want to run away to the United States; she wanted to use South Korea's first Palme d'Or to stay in South Korea.

Is it feasible?
It’s so feasible!

With so many Korean players, Ms. Park's determination to go east is the strongest ever!

The smooth integration of China and South Korea, and the Korean wave sweeping across the mainland, are largely thanks to Ms. Park!
If he wins the Palme d'Or, the political significance will far outweigh the Palme d'Or itself!

Li Meijin really can stay.

After figuring it out, Li Mingyang became unhappy and even lost interest in winning this year's Palme d'Or.

As long as FBTV achieves its monopoly in Asia!

He is fully capable of making Cannes kneel, and winning the Palme d'Or is not difficult for him.

The Oscars are difficult... Hollywood is difficult.

Hollywood is the global film powerhouse!

The next morning, Li Mingyang attended the premiere of "Love Like a Bouquet".

It’s time to say it or not.

The Japanese version of the bouquet photo looks better than Li Mingyang's version.

The entire storyline is similar to the original "Bouquet" romance, but it's even purer and more romantic than the original!

Perhaps because it was filmed in advance, it lacked some of the ambiguous infidelity controversies and added some social conflicts from the script.

For example, conflicts between men and women, workplace conflicts, and family conflicts.

This makes the bouquet more artistic and more pure in love.

The male and female protagonists are more attractive, and their performances fit their characters better.

The overall rhythm is cleaner and crisper.

From the moment a bouquet is carefully wrapped, bursting forth with vibrant colors and exuding a captivating fragrance, to its gradual withering and petal falling, isn't this process a vivid portrayal of love?
This was said by director Hiroshi Doi.

He took the photos.

Li Mingyang knew this, but he didn't film it...

In his first film, *Love Like a Bouquet*, neither he nor Liu Yifei truly expressed the concept of 'love like a bouquet'.

The main problem is their poor acting skills; neither of them had any depth in their performances.

When "The Bouquet" was released, everyone from teachers at the Beijing Film Academy to film critics, netizens, and people both inside and outside the industry criticized the two actors' performances as a disservice to the film...

Halfway through the Japanese version of Bouquet, Li Mingyang suddenly recalled the various aspects of filming Bouquet, which was an extremely arduous process, with all sorts of unexpected problems.

It was also an unforgettable experience.

He used experiential photography to photograph bouquets, and the aftereffects were quite severe. He fell in love with Liu Yifei, and it took him a long time to recover, but he still couldn't completely forget her.

As time went on, the Japanese version of the bouquet finally came to an end.

Li Mingyang watched as Mai and Juan, their backs to each other in the movie, waved goodbye.

Suddenly, the knot in my heart was untied.

Let's forget each other in the vast world. We've helped each other achieve success, and now it's time for us to go our separate ways.

There's no need for Liu Yifei to be so sarcastic.

In fact, the two were not even friends, but simply companions who happened to be traveling together at the right time.

So when a better path appeared, she chose another path, one that was more suitable for her.

That's not what friends are like.

How can you have friends in the entertainment industry?
(End of this chapter)