Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 155 Arrival in Cannes
Recently, several news items from Wenjie Culture, which has attracted much attention in the industry, have been widely circulated.

The first one: "Shoplifters" has been shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival. Lu Kuan and the crew will rush to this coastal city in early May 2003 to participate in the screening.

The film's distribution is entrusted to China Film Group, and the release date has not yet been determined.

The second one: "Crazy Stone", a work by Ning Hao, another contracted director of Wenjie Culture, will be distributed by Shanghai Film Group and will be released in July.

The third one: Wenjie Culture has signed a new contract with director Xue Xiaolu, who has started a youth film project, which is expected to start shooting this year.

The fourth one: The fairy tale drama "The Legend of Sword and Fairy", a collaboration between Hunan TV and Wenjie Culture, has officially wrapped up filming and will be broadcast on satellite TV within the year to meet fans of the game.

After the filming of "Stone" was completed, Bald Xu Zheng found Lu Kuan and volunteered to film with him, vowing that he could start by doing the job of a stagehand and learn.

Boss Lu knew his character and did not deny his ability, so he decided to let him finish filming this movie with Mr. Xue from Beijing Film Academy before discussing other things.

When the time comes, just give him a movie like "Nightclub" to test the waters. If it works, then use it conditionally. If not, just reject it.

Between March and May, the raging boiling point changed the fate of many people and many industries.

The mainland's entertainment industry seemed to be a little slow to realize the situation, but it still came to an abrupt halt under the harsh circumstances.

The TV series "The Passionate Years 2" was forced to stop filming after only one day of shooting;

The TV series "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" originally planned to invite Zhao Wenzhuo to play Qin Shubao, but after the postponement, Zhao Wenzhuo had no schedule, so he was replaced by Huang Haibing.

For example, the crew of "Cell Phone" moved to Qingdao because the situation in Beijing was serious, just to catch the Lunar New Year holiday.

After being exposed by the media, local residents collectively protested and demanded that the crew be quarantined on the spot for 14 days.

For safety reasons, the crew went to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for a physical examination immediately after arriving in Qingdao, and the filming was usually confined to an 18-story hotel.

By the way, the original role of Fan Bingbing was replaced by Huo Siyan.

There is also "The Story of a Noble Family", which was lucky enough to be broadcast at this golden time, and the three main actors Chen Kun, Dong Jie and Liu Yifei became famous quietly.

Dong Jie released a statement that she had signed a contract with Xiangjiang Zedong and became an artist under Wong Kar-wai.

Liu Yifei, who had already become popular under Lu Kuan's packaging, saw her popularity soar with the hot sales of her records and the appearance of her first classic role, Bai Xiuzhu.

A large number of her fans have emerged on websites such as Blog.com, Tianya, and Maopu, and some fans have even spontaneously organized themselves to set up theme websites.

With the successive broadcasts of "Tian Long" and "Chinese Paladin" this year, viewers will soon find that no matter how they change channels, she is the one appearing on TV.

Lu Kuan stayed in the courtyard and did not go out, working on two scripts.

One is a national disaster film that invited Ms. Zhang Chunru as a consultant. The Road is Wide in Hesitation describes the tragic history from a positive perspective and warns future generations.

It would be better to directly film an autobiography and experience of Ms. Zhang Chunru, and describe this history that cannot be slandered from the side.

Another one is the blockbuster science fiction film he is about to start.

This is a gamble and also a test.

If it succeeds, the main source of funds will be available to secretly acquire Golden Harvest next year.
If we fail, the whole world will have to start all over again!
After careful consideration, Lu Kuan chose to adapt the science fiction film and acquire it himself.

After the final selection, he faced two choices.

He Xi's "Foreign Land" and Liu Cixin's "Chaos Butterfly" are works that have not been adapted in later generations.

To sum it up in one sentence:

"Alien Land" tells the story of the hero and heroine who, in order to maintain the evolutionary advantage of mankind, ignore the global food crisis and destroy the Ximai Farm built on the basis of "scale conservation".

"Chaos Butterfly" tells the story of a patriot who has mastered the power of chaos and uses the butterfly effect to protect his motherland. It is an anti-war short story.

In short, he completed the adaptation of both film scripts.

Which one to make depends on the performance at the film festival and the revenue of Emile's "Paranormal Activity".

The cost of science fiction films is very high, and box office revenue is crucial. It is impossible to make a profit solely by relying on the domestic and Asian markets.

Therefore, this film must use Hollywood stars and use Hollywood's completion guarantee system to raise funds, and the main source of ticket sales in the future will still be the North American market.

In this way, even if it fails, it will not be a devastating blow to oneself and the world.

On May 2003, 5, the crew of Shoplifters arrived in Nice by plane after passing through numerous quarantines.

We then chartered a car for another half-hour drive to arrive at the Carlton InterContinental, our resident hotel during the Cannes Film Festival.

This time, Wenjie and China Film Group dispatched a lot of staff in advance to promote the film, so it will not be as embarrassing as last year in Venice.

"Zhou Xun!"

Lu Kuan and others had just gotten out of the car and were walking towards the lobby when they suddenly heard a local accent behind them.

Everyone turned around and saw the crew of "Purple Butterfly" who were shortlisted for the main competition unit this year.

"Director Lou, long time no see!"

The person who greeted her was Lou Ye, with whom Zhou Xun had worked in her famous work "Suzhou River".

It was also in that drama that she met her boyfriend Jia Hongsheng. So...

Well, they are the ex-ex-ex-brother-in-laws of the duck shed, and among them are Park Shu and Song Ning.

Feng Yuanzheng also greeted Lou Ye familiarly. He also had a role in "Purple Butterfly", but not many.

"Director Lou, let me introduce you. This is Director Lu Kuan."

Lou Ye is not a particularly sociable person. Among the sixth generation, he is the one with the least background and is not a pure professional.

However, when meeting someone in the same industry like Lu Kuan, Lou Ye still did not hesitate to show his kindness, and his facial expression became more lively.

"Director Lu, I've heard of your great name for a long time. I hope we can communicate more."

Lu Kuan was also very easygoing: "Hello, Director Lou, would you like to have a drink tonight?"

Lou Ye laughed heartily: "You and Zhou Xun are really good friends, you both can't live without wine, right?" "I have an appointment with Jiang Wen tonight, let's go together then!"

Boss Lu couldn't help but look him up and down again. Was this old guy going to take away his path and leave him with no way out?
He was also thinking of making an appointment with Jiang Wen in advance through Han Shanping!

That’s right, blending is necessary. Jiang Wen, the leader of the Chaoshang Sect, is one of the nine judges of the Cannes jury.

"Okay, a thousand cups of wine are never enough when you're with a good friend. Let's have a good time together tonight."

"no problem!"

Tired from the long journey, Zhang Ziyi got off the car dejectedly, and her brother Zhang Zinan followed her carrying the luggage.

"Hey, hello, Director Lu. Nice to meet you!"

"Hello, Ziyi."

Lu Kuan smiled and shook hands with her, observing closely this "Mou Girl", who best represents Chinese actresses after Gong Li.

I have to say that Zhang Yimou's vision is top-notch.

Zhang Ziyi cannot be said to be stunningly beautiful, but from Lu Kuan's professional perspective of film photography, her appearance and structure are the most "compliant".

Zhang Ziyi has slightly high cheekbones, and her apple cheeks are not full enough and appear slightly flat.

These were originally minor flaws in her appearance, but once placed under the camera light, these minor flaws became advantages.

Whether it is top light or direct light, the lines of the whole person in the lens will be very smooth.

In the words of foreigners, it is called a high-end face.

Zhang Ziyi smiled and greeted the others: "Teacher Feng, Zhou Xun."

Fan Bingbing was putting her luggage away with her back to them. I don’t know if Zhang Ziyi didn’t see her or she didn’t even think about her.

Feng Yuanzheng is the Golden Lion Award winner and a senior actor of the People's Art Theatre, and Zhou Xun is also a top actress in the domestic entertainment industry.

This group can be said to be the current stars in the domestic entertainment industry who have both strength and idol status, especially Liu Ye and Zhang Ziyi, who became movie stars early on.

From this perspective, Fan Bingbing is the least noticeable one in this group.

But who knows, the famous actress now has a backer!

I don’t know if she was angry or if she was just so confident, but Fan Bingbing turned around with a pretty face and greeted everyone generously.

"Ziyi, Liu Ye, hello!"

There was no embarrassment of being ignored at all.

Liu Ye really didn't see her, and walked forward very gentlemanly to help her with her luggage.

Zhang Zinan said impatiently: "Hurry up and go in. You're going to get sunburned standing here in the hot sun."

Zhang Ziyi gave him a look, signaling him to be quiet and not to get restless.

Liu Ye looked envious: "Director, you are so rich that you live in the Carlton InterContinental?"

Founded in 1911, the Carlton InterContinental Hotel is the first choice for European and Hollywood stars to stay in Cannes.

Walking out from here, you can almost seamlessly connect to the red carpet in front of the Palais des Festivals, the main venue of the Cannes Film Festival!

This is extremely valuable for a group of female stars who have very high requirements for costumes and makeup, and provides great convenience.

It means that after you tidy up in the room, you can go out and show yourself in front of others.

The three major European film festivals generally only cover the airfare, food and accommodation of the directors of the main competition unit, and all of them are economy class.

Unless they are world-class directors or Hollywood stars, the conditions can be relaxed.

Foreigners also know how to treat people differently based on their preferences.

"Haha, the crew has good cost control and still has some budget."

Boss Lu has never treated himself badly. As soon as he made some money, he mortgaged his shares to get a loan to buy a courtyard house. Every time the crew followed him out, they had a good time!

It is common practice to win people's hearts with small favors.

Zhang Ziyi's brother has always been a brainless person. Seeing that a second-tier person like Fan Bingbing was staying at the Carlton InterContinental, he also started shouting loudly.

"Director Lou, Ziyi and I will stay here tonight. It's too hot and we're too lazy to run around."

As he spoke, he ignored Zhang Ziyi's darkening expression, threw his luggage to the white guy who came forward, and walked in with a shameless face.

Lou Ye shook his head helplessly. He had witnessed Zhang Ziyi's domineering behavior when they were filming on the set, so it was not surprising at all.

It was common for family members to serve as agents when the domestic entertainment industry was just starting out. At that time, celebrities had never seen big money, so how could they feel comfortable handing over such a lucrative position to an outsider?

Zhang Zinan can be said to be the "leader" among family agents.

Zhang Ziyi and Fang Long were rumored to be having an affair at a banquet, including the incidents of her catching grapes and sitting on someone's lap. Zhang Zinan blasted his elder brother through the media, saying that he was trying to ride on his sister's popularity, and as a result, the latter's resources in the Hong Kong circle came to nothing.

Zhang Ziyi attended the Monaco royal family's charity dinner, which was also an event attended by many celebrities.

Before the dance started, the staff came to inform Zhang Ziyi that the Prince of Monaco would come to invite her to dance the first opening dance.

As a result, this guy scolded me and finally said that it was not written in the contract.

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The host that day was Jin Xing, and it was she who broke the news.

Until the day when Piku proposed to Zhang Ziyi, he was already confident that his sister could find someone to take over, but he still couldn't hold back his mouth and disparaged Piku, making everyone embarrassed.

Boss Lu is happy to watch the fun, but he can't just leave Lou Ye here forever.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while to ease the awkwardness, the two of them went their separate ways, agreeing to meet again in the evening.

(End of this chapter)