Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 298 He Really Came to Watch a Movie
No Chinese-language films were shortlisted for the main competition this year, but Lou Ye's "Floating City" was shortlisted for the Un Certain Regard section, and the Chinese-language film "Dangerous Liaisons" directed by Korean director Heo Jin-ho was shortlisted for the Directors' Fortnight section.

Despite being absent from the main competition, Chinese-language filmmakers’ voices at this year’s Cannes Film Festival remain as loud as ever.

Bingbing's Chinese porcelain dress was very eye-catching and had a great media effect.

Li Qiutang, a judge of the main competition unit, appeared on the red carpet in a formal suit, and the media described him as elegant and handsome.

This year's opening film is Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom". The film maintains the director's usual childlike fun, but the media commented that it is "too lively and not profound enough."

However, opening the event with a lively movie is also a good choice.

This was Li Qiutang's first time as a judge, and a judge at such a high-level film festival. The problem was that his French was terrible, so communication would be a big problem.

But he was also lucky, as Emmanuelle Dove was the only French judge on the main competition this year.

But he was not lucky either. This year, the nine judges of the main competition came from eight different countries, and the chairman was Italian.

They can all speak English, but their accents are so heavy that Li Qiutang has to prick up her ears to understand what each of them is saying.

However, at the meeting with the judges, Chairman Nanni Moretti acted democratically, saying that he would let everyone freely choose the movies they liked.

On the second day of the film festival, the judges began their busy work of watching films, reviewing films and conducting interviews.

The next morning, Li Qiutang was going to be interviewed by domestic media. After all, he was the only Chinese-language filmmaker in the main competition.

"Cannes is a relatively open and fair platform," he said. "I didn't know Jacob and Frémaux before, but they asked me to be a jury member. I felt a little surprised when I received the call."

"So what do you consider most when evaluating a movie?"

Li Qiutang said: "I am a judge, I cannot comment on the competition films. But I hope to see a moment of surprise. Reviewing a movie sometimes takes only a moment, whether it is the lines, the story, or the language of your camera. As long as there is a moment that touches me, that is enough."

"This year, Chinese-language films failed to enter the main competition. What do you think this means?"

"That doesn't mean anything." Li Qiutang said, "If you don't come this year, come next year."

The reporter also asked him what he thought about celebrities "crashing onto the red carpet" without any works. After this year's opening ceremony, this issue was brought up again, and the focus was naturally still on Fan Bingbing.

Li Qiutang's opinion is different from others: "As long as I am invited through formal channels, I think it's okay to walk the red carpet."

The reporter added: "But some stars stay on the red carpet and don't leave, wanting to get as much exposure as possible. What do directors think of this phenomenon?"

Li Qiutang said: "This is not good. We can't be shameless just to increase exposure."

Li Qiutang's assistant came over to end the interview because he was going to watch a movie.

When Li Qiutang first became a judge, he inevitably had a mentality of seeking perfection. He said that as long as there was one moment in a movie that touched him, it would be fine. But when actually watching a movie, Li Qiutang wanted to see a perfect movie.

When I watched it on the first day, I always felt that this was not right, that was not good, this could be improved, that could be better.

While finding fault, he also learned a lot. Others’ perspectives on things were very novel, and other people’s understandings were different from his.

On that day, apart from watching movies, Li Qiutang spent the rest of his time accepting interviews from Chinese and foreign media.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Li Qiutang arrived late and came to the beach promenade of Majestic Hotel, where the annual Chinese Film Night is held.

This year's Chinese Film Night mainly recommends three movies, "Chinese Zodiac", "Painted Skin II" and "Fuchun Mountain Residence" which has been approved but not started. Although Li Qiutang has no movies to recommend at the party, he and Jackie Chan are undoubtedly the biggest guests tonight.

"Hello, director." Many people took the initiative to greet Li Qiutang.

Li Qiutang did not put on airs, but instead apologized to the organizer: "Sorry for being late." The organizer of the Cannes Film Festival's China Night is TVB.

"Don't try to trick me," Li Qiutang and the evening party host Jiang Xiaohan said with a smile, "You know I can't say anything nonsense."

Jiang Xiaohan said, "I haven't asked anything yet, but you've already stopped me from talking. How boring."

"Xiao Li, let me introduce you." Jia Qi, deputy director of the film channel, introduced to Li Qiutang, "This is the director of Painted Skin II, Wu Ershan."

"Hello, director." Wuershan's pair of red glasses is really flashy.

"Hello." Li Qiutang nodded.

Jia Qi didn't know that the director candidate that Pang Hong and Yang Zhenjian originally favored for the film was actually Li Qiutang, but Wuershan knew that he was the backup candidate for the young man in front of him. He also knew that Li Qiutang wanted to make a film called Painted Skin II that was about gods and ghosts, fantasy, and big special effects, and he looked down on using this theme to make something small-scale like a love story.

So it’s hard to describe Urshan’s current state of mind.

He took on projects that others didn't take. That's not a big deal. He just worked and made money. It wasn't shameful.

But the love between men and women, which Li Qiutang despises, is still the theme of his "Painted Skin 2", which makes him a little at a loss for words.

If there was no "In Time", Wuershan could also say that Li Qiutang was talking nonsense with his eyes closed. Who doesn't want to make a fantasy movie with big special effects? But objective conditions don't allow it, so filming the love story between men and women is a last resort.

But the structure of "In Time" is there, and Li Qiutang's vision is already so high that the love between men and women that he despises is regarded as a treasure by him, which makes him seem incompetent.

After watching "In Time", he thought about it and found that he could not shoot such a story. It was not because he did not have the skills, but because he could not think of describing the relationship between people and society from that perspective.

Wuershan’s previous work was “Swordsman Laughing”, which Li Qiutang had never seen, so she couldn’t say anything polite and could only deal with him with a dry laugh.

The two of them just got to know each other for a while, and then Li Qiutang was called away to go somewhere else.

"You don't know what to do when you come to Cannes for the first time," Li Qiutang said to Yang Mi, who came to promote the event. "It's my first time here too, and I don't know what to do."

Liu Kaiwei was also in Cannes. The two had shown their affection in front of the media all day, but now Liu Kaiwei was not seen at the party.

Yang Mi was very happy to be in Cannes. Li Qiutang said she became famous in Cannes.

Yang Mi nodded at Fan Bingbing who was not far away and said, "That guy became famous in Cannes, what am I?" She said a little sourly.

Fan Bingbing looked over tacitly, and seeing that it was Li Qiutang, he smiled, and Yang Mi said, "Okay, you guys chat, I'm leaving."

At tonight's event, Li Qiutang came late and left early. She stayed for about forty to fifty minutes, ate something, and then left.

He said he was going to the Beach Cinema to watch a movie because a classic old film was going to be re-screened and if he didn't watch it today, he wouldn't be able to watch it later.

"He really came to watch a movie." A familiar guest joked to him.

(End of this chapter)