Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 111: Big Names Appear
On the morning of September 2002, 9, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Lu Kuan and others came to the Film Palace to attend the screening of "Looking for the Gun".

There will be three Chinese-language films screened today: "Missing the Gun" and "The Drummer" in the morning, and "Small Town" in the afternoon.

No matter what conflicts there were in the past, we are all compatriots when we go out together, and we still have to maintain our compatriots.

Not only Tian Zhuangzhuang and Lu Kuan, but also Chinese-language filmmakers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macau attended the event.

Without Jiang Wen, Taro became the king.

He was on the stage in the cinema, communicating with reporters and fans in a leisurely manner, acting like a famous director.

"Teacher Tian! You're here!"

Lu Chuan is not stupid. She has always respected and admired people like Tian Zhuangzhuang who are experienced, capable, and well-known in the upper echelons of the film industry.

Lu Kuan looked at his flattering appearance with disdain, and quietly teased him with Concubine Liu Yi beside him.

"Xiao Liu, look how fawning this guy is. He's almost bowing to Teacher Tian."

"The road is wide."

Concubine Liu Yi hesitated for a few seconds.

"Ok?"

"In fact, when you were with Teacher Tian, ​​you were even more flattering than him..."

The young director was watching the two of them chatting jokingly, but he became furious when he heard what was said.

Lies don't hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife!

"Nonsense! I have a deep admiration for Teacher Tian, ​​not like this grandson!"

The little girl has always been at a disadvantage in conversations with him, but this time she can finally see Boss Lu's defense break down.

She covered her mouth and chuckled, "That's right, he is the grandson, and Teacher Tian is the grandfather. Isn't it just a relationship of admiration? You are from the same generation!"

"Me! You!"

Boss Lu was speechless.

"Xiao Liu, you haven't been doing your morning exercises very hard lately. Why don't you extend it by half an hour starting tomorrow?"

Concubine Liu Yi: “…”

Chinese-language filmmakers from across Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong exchanged greetings. The movie was about to begin, but Lu Chuan's face became more and more anxious.

"Boss Wang, is this Chairman Gong Li?"

Wang Xiaolei's expression wasn't looking good either. "She was delayed by something and probably can't make it. Her assistant answered the phone."

Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei in the first row smiled at each other.

Lu Kuan is Xiao Tailang who is quite good at taking advantage of the situation. He knew to pull Gong Li over to help liven up the scene.

Concubine Liu Yi is Xiao Lukuan, who is an enhanced version of Lu Chuan. She is much more scheming and decisive than him.

On the first day of his visit to the Venice Film Festival, he won the favor of Gong Li and invited her to attend the premiere of "The Drummer".

Lu's grandson and Lu's grandson are still a little bit behind in terms of level!
The audience was not fully seated, probably about one-third were missing, but this is considered a very good attendance rate for a Chinese-language film.

Yesterday, the theater of Hong Kong director Fruit Chan’s film “People’s Toilet” was not even half full. Almost everyone ran away halfway through the movie, which was really annoying.

Lu Chuan sighed and signaled the staff to start the screening.

Lu Kuan had watched "Looking for the Gun" many times in his previous life.

To put it bluntly, the whole film is full of typical Jiang Wen-style black humor and absurdity, which is exactly the same as the Jiang flavor in "Let the Bullets Fly".

It would be strange to say that Lu Chuan was not sidelined by Jiang Wen.

The audience watched the double subtitles, some understood them, some didn't. They exclaimed in amazement as Ma Shan chased the murderer, and also whispered in the thrilling atmosphere when the director asked Ma Shan, "Were you at home the night before?"

Lu Chuan kept looking back at the audience's reactions and was happy for the audience's dedication.

He couldn't help but feel proud when he saw Lu Kuan, Tian Zhuangzhuang and others who were concentrating on watching the movie.

Ultimately, filmmakers have to let their works speak for themselves. How much point does it have in just showing off some words?
As Ma Shan walks shakily beside the railway tracks, the film's image becomes strongly blurred and the film ends.

The audience in Venice had a relatively high level of movie-watching skills. They didn't applaud until the subtitles appeared and the lights came on, and then they stood up and left.

Lu Chuan walked onto the stage and bowed, which was the creator's way of thanking the audience for their support.

The two female reporters and Lu Chuan were doing an interview in front of the screening room. Lu Kuan didn't even say hello and just left, and started chatting with Zhang Zuoji who was beside him.

"Director Zhang, I saw your movie yesterday. It's a great feature film!"

Lu Kuan offers commercial flattery.

Zhang Zuoji's "Beautiful Time" is the only Taiwanese film to enter the main competition unit and is also highly anticipated.

"No, no, Director Lu, I'm looking forward to your movie later." Zhang Zuoji said with a smile.

Lu Kuan smiled and said, "I've already informed you in advance, Director Zhang. I'm young and have a strong sense of pride, so please be gentle with me after you finish reading this."

Concubine Liu Yi watched him greet her hypocritically and thought to herself, you don’t have a strong sense of self-esteem, you have a strong desire for revenge!
"What do you mean by being merciful?"

Lu Chuan walked over with a smile on his face. The audience's applause and recognition allowed him to face Lu Kuan with the attitude of a winner.

As for the slight sarcasm before, there is no need to worry about it anymore, otherwise wouldn’t it just confirm the malicious and unreasonable speculations of the rumormongers?
Zhang Zuoji complimented him, "Director Lu, the movie is fantastic. I heard it's already grossed over 900 million, right?"

"Haha, the cost was 200 million, so I can only say I'm making a small profit at the moment. Let's see if we can make some breakthroughs in overseas copyright this time!"

Seeing that Lu Chuan was very proud of himself, Lu Kuan watched him show off leisurely, as if he was watching a monkey show.

Lu Chuan's mouth was almost stretched to his ears as he boasted to the domestic media who came over to interview him.

Looking at the harmless Boss Lu, he didn't forget to say, "Everyone, don't waste your time here. Let's go next door and see Director Lu's masterpiece."

Tian Zhuangzhuang also called out to Lu Kuan: "Xiaolu, go over and make preparations first."

Half an hour before the premiere of "The Drummer", the crew members arrived early to prepare to greet the audience. This is etiquette and custom.

Han Lu from Xinlang and Xie Xiao from Nanfang also arrived at the screening room early and greeted Lu Kuan.

"Director Lu, I'm finally at your home turf. Please answer a few questions for me!"

Lu Kuan had a good impression of the female reporter from the competitor, so he smiled and nodded in agreement.

"What are your expectations for deals and awards for your film?"

Lu Kuan spoke frankly: "We have had some contact with overseas copyrights, but the final confirmation of the transaction may have to wait until the awards are announced."

"As for winning awards, I don't have too high expectations."

"Whiplash is not simply an art film. From the perspective of narrative structure and camera language, it has elements of Hollywood films."

The two reporters didn't react much, but Zhang Zuoji, Chen Guo, and even Lu Chuan at the scene were all stunned.

What was this for? Suicide? Declaring war on Venice?
As mentioned earlier, Venice is the anti-Hollywood vanguard in the film camp.

Each film festival has its own selection style. As a director of a film in the main competition unit, Lu Kuan openly declared his Hollywood leanings. This can be understood as a provocation to the traditional jury concept of Venice.

Is he really that stupid?
Liu Yifei and Tian Zhuangzhuang accompanied Lu Kuan to meet Gong Li on the first day.

On their way back, Lu Kuan expressed his thoughts on this year's Venice judging panel and award tendencies.

The slogans of the Venice Film Festival before and after 2002 were all anti-Hollywood. Why is only this year's called "Accept Diversity"?
Lu Kuan, who is smarter than a monkey, would not do such a stupid thing. His target is directly the chairman of this film festival, De Harden!

How can a young director win the three major awards for his first film?
Did he travel back in time to the 2002 class of Beijing Film Academy, copy a script casually, recruit a few famous actors, have capital rush to invest, Han Shanping bow down and then become famous overnight?
It can be said that this is a matter of time, place and people.

First of all, the content of "Whiplash" is solid enough, Feng Yuanzheng, the star of the show, is extremely talented, and the quality of the film was recognized by the judges.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to agree to his request to delay the delivery of the film.

Secondly, this time a Chinese actor serves as the chairman of the jury, which is an absolute benefit under the elite award system.

In the final tug-of-war and when the voting situation is deadlocked, as long as the quality of the film is up to standard, she will have the courage and determination to make the final decision!
There is no doubt about this, as can be seen from the fact that she openly quarreled with Anjelica in 1997 over helping Liang Chaowei win the Best Actor award.

Finally, this was also the purpose of Boss Lu’s speech to the media just now.

Aren’t you, DeHaden, talking about “accepting diversity”?

Didn't you invite the most Hollywood films in history to participate in the screening?

Didn’t you put up posters of Hollywood stars in the best spots outside the Cinema Palace and invite them to walk the red carpet?
I will accept your olive branch now and openly respond to you. Let’s see if you will accept it!

This German, who once presided over the Berlin Film Festival for more than 20 years, is also a paranoid person. Lu Kuan believes that he has influence on the jury's decision.

Apart from these, the rest depends on the results of Boss Lu's crazy movie screenings these days.

For example, the support and endorsement from a number of big names.

Lu Chuan and Wang Xiaolei whispered to each other, and then pretended to comfort Lu Kuan, who had a serious expression.

"Director Xiaolu, don't worry. This is how it works when Chinese-language films are exhibited abroad. Just now, the theater for 'Looking for a Gun' was only two-thirds full."

He looked around at the deserted scene, feeling a bit smug, but he didn't want to show it too obviously.

It’s a pity that he was slapped in the face in an instant...

The first to arrive was Gong Li.

"Chairman Gong, welcome!"

She was wearing a black silk long dress with hollowed-out details today, and her temperament was elegant and noble. Even when standing next to Lu Kuan, who was wearing a well-tailored suit, her age was not apparent at all.

The two of them followed local customs and kissed each other on the cheek.

Even though the two of them were not close, Lu Kuan still fully felt the charm of the mature woman, and the soft touch was fleeting.

"Xiaolu, do more interviews these days and build up more momentum for yourself."

Boss Lu understood what Gong Li whispered in his ear, nodded excitedly, and gentlemanly took her arm and invited her to sit down.

Gong Li seemed to be particularly close to him. She patted the back of his hand gently and motioned him to continue with his reception work.

"Lu Kuan-san! I came here uninvited!"

Takeshi Kitano walked into the venue like a gangster boss, accompanied by his studio staff in suits, followed by a large group of fans and reporters.

“There’s an old Chinese saying.”

Boss Lu listened to his poor Chinese with annoyance, not knowing whether the next sentence was "He who knows the times is a hero."

"Have friends come from afar!"

"Lu Kuan-san, I hope I can enjoy your masterpiece here today!"

Reporters picked up their cameras to record the hug between the two Asian directors, and Gong Li, who was standing nearby, also came over to greet them in a friendly manner.

This kid actually has such connections?

Gong Li greeted Takeshi Kitano with a smile. Both of them are leading figures in Asian films.

"Mr. Kitano Takeshi, have you and Director Lu Kuan known each other for a long time?"

"No, no, no, we only became close friends last night in the hotel room!"

Gong Li glanced at Boss Lu with a strange look. Why is such a handsome guy also doing this?
"Um! Sister Gong Li, Director Takeshi Kitano meant that we drank too much in the room yesterday, and Teacher Tian was there too!"

"Not bad, not bad. I really admire Lu Kuan-san's drinking capacity! I'm also looking forward to his movie today!"

Everyone bowed their heads in surprise, and only the journalists disappointedly crossed out the shorthand note "Kitano Takeshi is having an affair with an Asian male director" in their notebooks.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was delighted to see more and more audiences pouring into the theater, and he had a cordial conversation with Takeshi Kitano.

Lu Chuan was inexplicably furious. She had never expected that this boy was so good at flattery. Gong Li and Kitano Takeshi were willing to build momentum for him!

Wang Xiaolei was a sensitive person. Looking at the intimacy between Gong Li and Lu Kuan, he was already secretly wondering if they were having an affair.

Old grass and tender beef?

"Xiaolu, are you ready to start?"

Lu Kuan looked at his watch. The theater was almost full and the interview was almost done. It was almost time for the movie to start.

"Wait two more minutes."

Concubine Liu Yi was puzzled: "The audience is protesting, who are we waiting for?"

Suddenly, a tall and fat white man rushed in from the door. It turned out to be the number one foot control in Hollywood who had just landed today!

"Lu! You actually made it to the main competition! Awesome!"

In June, he and Lu Kuan met at the Beijing Film Studio. He admired the latter's film creativity and talent, and the two later made several appointments for drinks in Sanlitun.

As for whether Boss Lu took him to Tianshang Renjian to do something else, it is not something that outsiders can know.

The traffic brought by Quentin is huge, and this film genius is the focus wherever he goes.

"Quentin, you're very welcome. I almost thought you wouldn't make it."

"Just now, Harvey from Miramax pulled me over to talk about a movie. It's really annoying."

Boss Lu chuckled in his heart. Harvey was probably complaining that his filming in Peking was progressing too slowly and that the costs were seriously over budget!
The audience filed in and crowded into the corridors and aisles.

Lu Kuan asked Quentin to take a seat and walked to the stage to prepare his speech.

"I'm very happy to welcome everyone here. I'm a new director, but I'm very fortunate to have the dedication of the entire crew, the support of the excellent actors, and the help of my caring seniors. This is how this film came about."

"I won't take up any more of your time. I wish you all a wonderful 120 minutes! Thank you!"

The applause was sparse, and the audience was looking forward to what magic this rising Asian director had that could make so many big names in the film industry stand up for him.

The movie starts quickly. After the dragon mark, there is a burst of dense drumbeats. As the saying goes, you hear the sound before you see the person. The gradual picture is introduced along with the drumbeats.

(End of this chapter)