Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 299 released! Released!
This year's jury did not have a one-man show by the chairman, nor did the judges form a clique to sideline the chairman.

Because there is the eel Li Qiutang.

Li Qiutang didn't know much about Cannes, but as a professional director, she had heard some gossip about Cannes.

For example, the infamous double Palme d'Or incident in 1997.

Cannes has a principle that double yolk eggs cannot be awarded except in extremely special circumstances.

But in 97, on the occasion of Cannes' 50th anniversary, the jury awarded two Palme d'Ors, and the president that year was Isabelle Adjani.

As the chairperson of the jury, Anjelica failed to exercise effective control over the jury, resulting in herself being sidelined by other judges.

The mastermind behind the removal of Adjani was this year's chairman Nanni Moretti.

Adjani broke down after the festival, calling Nanni Moretti a "Machiavellian figure" and accusing him of taking advantage of her.

Jacob must have taken this into consideration when he invited Nanni Moretti to be the chairman this year, fearing that Nanni Moretti would have the final say. Therefore, the judges of the main competition this year are as diverse as possible in terms of gender and nationality, so as to leave no chance for Moretti.

Li Qiutang did not take sides, was not fooled by Moretti's beautiful words of equality for all and freedom of speech, nor was he intimidated by his status as chairman.

Apart from watching movies, he did not accept Moretti's private lobbying.

Li Qiutang is too young and has no involvement in the international film industry. She has no connections with this group of old hands, and Nanni Moretti's influence in the film industry cannot affect Li Qiutang.

The main competition judges meet every three days.

Li Qiutang originally thought that the meeting atmosphere would be good, but he was wrong. The nine people started arguing at the first meeting.

French actress Emmanuelle Dove really liked Mungiu's "Over the Mountains" and praised the film to the highest heavens at the jury meeting.

British female director Andrea Arnold believes that "Beyond the Mountains" is "just a normal performance by Mungiuchi" and she prefers Carlos Reygadas's "A Brighter Summer Day": "It was because of such films that I was able to get out of the state of being a proletarian child in Britain." She saw her own childhood in this movie.

Regarding "A Brighter Summer Day", the president of the jury, Nanni Moretti, said: "Yes, indeed, the first ten minutes of the film are great." It can be seen that he does not like "A Brighter Summer Day".

Li Qiutang and British actor Ewan McGregor agreed that they both liked the Danish film "The Hunt" and appreciated the wonderful performance of the lead actor Mads Mikkelsen. Nanni Moretti also liked "The Hunt", but he appreciated the director Thomas Vinterberg's approach more.

Chairman Nanni Moretti brought in American director Alexander Payne and Haitian director Jaou Peck as "allies", and the three of them were unanimously optimistic about Haneke's "Amour" and "Holy Motors".

But Nanni Moretti did not win the support of the majority of judges. Li Qiutang liked "Amour" but did not like "Holy Motors". He liked "Amour" but only agreed to give it the Best Director or Best Actor award, but did not agree to give it the Palme d'Or.

This was the case with the previous two jury meetings, where no film won the favor of all the judges.

Each judge spoke up for his or her favorite film, and sometimes they even swore at each other when they argued.

During the film festival, Li Qiutang was really busy. She had to watch movies, attend events, and accept interviews.

The Cannes Film Festival is the world's largest film trading market. Countless film companies from all over the world like to come here to attract investment, do pre-sales and hold press conferences.

Autumn Pictures brought the upcoming "Introduction to Architecture" to Cannes, but the focus was still on projects that had not yet started shooting.

Zhang Zhao blew away Li Qiutang's "Mirage" and "The Invisible Guest" at Cannes.

This is also the first time that these two films have been made public.

"Director Li is currently pushing these two projects. I don't know which one I will shoot yet. I'll just shoot whichever one is pushed faster."

And released the concept posters of the two films.

The concept poster of "Mirage" is a lightning bolt hitting a TV; the poster of "The Invisible Guest" only has a pen with leaked ink. The director's name on the poster is Li Qiutang, and the project progress is written as: creative stage.

Anyone who knows the business can tell at a glance that neither movie even has a script.

Li Qiutang cooperated with the company's publicity and admitted that both projects were being promoted: "It is a new type, a new challenge. The story is already there, only the details are missing." Li Qiutang would not admit that the two plays do not have scripts yet.

It was also on the Cannes stage that Zhang Zhao held the global launch conference for Autumn Pictures' "Towering Tree Project".

Officially announced the launch of this youth director support program.

At the press conference, almost all the Chinese-speaking people in Cannes were present.

At this press conference, only the charter of the Cantianshu Project was released, without specific introduction of which people and plays will be supported by this project.

"We have met many excellent directors and are currently selecting the first batch of candidates. We are willing to contribute our meager strength and hope that the new directors can make solid and steady progress."

Zhang Zhao said: "The 'towering trees' will be unveiled in China, please give us a little patience."

This press conference caused a great response in the country. If I remember correctly, the Autumn Towering Trees Project was the first young director support program sponsored by a private film company in mainland China.

Huayi has had similar activities before, but Huayi’s Young Director Program belongs to its “H Plan” and is a section of the annual film list release conference, and is not formed independently.

Although Qiu Ji is not as big as the top companies, its financial, production and distribution capabilities should not be underestimated. In addition, with two industry giants, Zhang Zhao and Li Qiutang, in charge, it is indeed very attractive to newcomers in the industry.

Zhang Zhao said at the press conference that he welcomes friends in the industry to recommend candidates to him, and also welcomes newcomers to recommend themselves.

This project has won unanimous praise from many scholars and media professionals in the industry. Even Channel 6 supported the Cantianshu Project in its special program at Cannes that night, saying that the project "creates a new development channel for young directors in my country."

After the Cannes press conference, Li Bingbing, who came to Cannes to promote his new film, first made an appointment with Li Qiutang.

She didn't come to ask him about the Towering Tree Project, as she had no interest in that. Li Bingbing mainly came to ask about "Mirage" and "The Invisible Guest".

Although I don’t even know what the story is, if I don’t ask, I will know nothing and have no chance.

Li Bingbing is also an acquaintance, and since the project has been announced, Li Qiutang has no intention of hiding anything.

Tell her the general stories of the two movies.

Li Bingbing was very moved. The heroines in both movies were very outstanding. Although the heroine in "The Invisible Guest" was an elderly person, she felt that she could play the role with some makeup.

But Li Qiutang said: "I won't hide it from you. Both projects are still in the creative stage. I can't be sure whether they can be filmed or when they will be filmed. The purpose of making them public now is to promote the company."

Li Bingbing has seen this kind of thing many times, but she doesn't mind. She will get Li Qiutang's cake first. At worst, she will contribute her own strength to promote the project.

There are fewer and fewer roles suitable for actresses of her age. Can't she play the role of Xu Fan in "1942"? Is her acting worse than Xu Fan? But Feng Xiaogang just won't give her the role. She must grab every opportunity that comes her way.

"Director, Fan Bingbing is here." the assistant announced.

Li Qiutang smiled at Li Bingbing, saying nothing.

Li Bingbing smiled and said, "I won't delay you from meeting the guests. We'll talk again when we get back home."

"Let's talk about it when we get back home." From a director's perspective, Li Qiutang prefers Li Bingbing compared to Fan Bingbing.

(End of this chapter)