Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 163 Award Ceremony
Before the Internet age, domestic film fans' impressions of international film festivals mostly came from programs on official television stations.

Mainly CCTV and movie channels.

The two are not in a subordinate relationship. The superior unit of the film channel is the Radio, Film and Television, and it is at the same level as CCTV.

The film channel's exploration of live broadcasts of international film festivals originated from the last Oscars.

In later Cannes, due to the decline of Chinese-language films, the station’s original live broadcast plan was changed to a recorded broadcast.

But because of the sudden emergence of Lu Kuan, the two main competition unit films "Purple Butterfly" and "Shoplifters" gave the film channel enough reasons to broadcast live.

In the early morning of May 2003, 5, Beijing time, backstage at the studio of the Film Channel Building.

"Boss Yu! I cannot thank you enough for your kindness!"

Hu Fei was transferred from CCTV's Western Channel to the Movie Channel through Yu Dong's connections. He is one of the members of the editing and directing team for tonight's live broadcast.

Yu Dong had no words to express his grievances. This time, he not only lost the girl but also his troops. He didn't know how he had offended Boss Lu.

"Alright, we're all brothers, there's no need to say thank you or not."

"I'm helping you out again today. This is my first time doing a live broadcast on TV!"

Yu Dong is now the boss of the first-rank private distribution company. He has cooperated with Lu Kuan before and was called by the leader he is familiar with to participate in the live broadcast recording.

"I know, don't worry. I'm very familiar with the dance team. I'll definitely keep an eye out for any promising talents."

The Western Channel connects with the artistic performances of northern Xinjiang and several provinces with large ethnic minorities, which is equivalent to the "Beijing office" of these dance troupes in CCTV.

For beautiful team members like Tong Liya, they have the advantage of being close to the water and getting the moon first.

"Well... let's talk later. I'm going to put on makeup."

Yu Dong was very depressed when talking about this matter, but he had one advantage, which was that he was thick-skinned.

Wenjie has previously released a signal of accelerated development in the industry. It is not just Lu Kuan's films, he can also make other films.

Tonight during the live broadcast, I will quietly lick it and show my loyalty to Boss Lu who is far away in Cannes.

I, Fatty Yu, admitted my mistake, took the beating, and stood at attention!
At 5 a.m. local time on May 25th in Cannes, Lu Kuan arrived at the award ceremony with the crew of "Shoplifters", and CCTV's live broadcast officially began.

"Hello everyone, thank you for staying up late at night to watch the Cannes Film Channel's live broadcast of the Cannes Film Awards. I'm your host, Jin Wei."

"Today we have three guests on our live broadcast: renowned musician Ai Dajin, Golden Lion Award-winning director Jia Kechang, and Baoli Bona Chairman Yu Dong."

"The three of you, please say hello to the audience."

Ai Dajin was slumped on the sofa with a bulging belly, holding a folding fan in his left hand to show off his elegance, with a headset pinned to his collar and a reserved look on his face.

Chief Jia was wearing a low-key executive jacket and looked reluctant, probably because he was forced to come by his superiors.

Yu Dong is the most enthusiastic. As a businessman, his emotional intelligence and skills are higher than those of the other two guests who claim to be intellectuals.

"Okay, thank you all. Today's movie channel is live streaming. We have a fifteen-person production team stationed at the front of the show. Please don't leave."

"Teacher Ai, we're waiting in front of the Cannes Film Festival right now. We're about to enter the red carpet. Why don't you chat with the audience about this year's Cannes Film Festival?"

Ai Dajin nodded. "Actually, I've been invited to this year's Cannes Film Festival several times. Everyone knows that my film 'My Heart Flies' has basically completed post-production, but I just couldn't meet the deadline."

Jin Wei: "That's such a pity, Mr. Ai. Otherwise, we would have three excellent films from China nominated for this year's Cannes Film Festival, which would be so great for movie fans!"

Section Chief Jia and Yu Dong looked at each other. This fat guy was blowing his own trumpet again.

Ai Dajin showed off a little and became more and more interested in talking.

"Speaking of the domestic films participating in this exhibition, I am relatively optimistic about Lu Kuan's 'Shoplifters'."

"Why? Because I think Lu Kuan is a rare director in China who understands Hollywood's production process and filming techniques."

"Hollywood audiences all understand. That's the most developed region in the world right now. It's no exaggeration to say that it will take at least 50 years for Chinese films to catch up with Hollywood!"

"This gap is equivalent to the current gap in scientific and technological strength between the two countries. We need to reflect on this!"

Jin Wei's face was filled with black lines. If her leader hadn't asked her to do so, she really didn't want to cooperate with such a guest. He was too worshipful of foreigners.

Ai Dajin was criticized in later generations because of his stance.

In 2012, due to the popularity of talk shows, he started a program called "Xiao Shuo". It looked impressive, but upon closer inspection, it was completely unbearable to watch, and was full of nonsense.

Section Chief Jia was the first one who couldn't stand it anymore. He really couldn't stand these second-rate laymen pretending to know everything and giving orders.

"Teacher Ai, why isn't your film 'My Heart Flies' participating in the surprise section at Cannes?"

Yu Dong chimed in: "Yeah, just like Director Lu's Whiplash last year, the submission was also delayed."

Ai Dajin's face turned dark. What the hell is this called a surprise unit?
Jin Wei was curious: "Could you please introduce the surprise unit you mentioned?"

Director Jia laughed and said, "Some film festivals will introduce a surprise section before the opening of the festival in order to wait for films by certain directors. This section does not conflict with the main competition section, and films in the surprise section can also participate in the main competition section."

"If this director's film can make it to the competition, then we'll use this director's film. Otherwise, we'll use another one. Anyway, the title hasn't been announced in advance."

"That's why it's called the Surprise Section. It's usually a backdoor for directors that the festival has a good relationship with."

Ai Dajin's face looked very ugly. Why were these two people always trying to sabotage him?

"Oh, that's right. My film 'My Heart Flies' isn't finished yet. I'm going abroad to represent my country, so I can't bring a shoddy film!"

That is to say, there is no barrage at this moment, but many viewers in front of the TV have already started cursing.

"You're such a Western worshipper! Why don't you just get lost in America?"

Ai Dajin has always been a big mouth and self-righteous, but he is very smart and is used to praising the powerful and bullying the weak. The targets he bullies are usually the small characters that are targeted by his small circle.

For example, Daolang in 2010.

Later, Dao Lang used animals to satirize four people in "Rakshasa Sea City". The chicken was Yingzi, the donkey was Yang Kun, the dog was Piku, and the pig was Ai Dajin.

Liu Yifei and her daughter watched the live broadcast together at Mei Yanfang's Heng'an Pavilion house in Hong Kong. She had arranged promotions in Hong Kong this month.

Her first EP has sold over 4 copies in nearly three months. Compared with singers of the same period, her performance can only be said to be mediocre, but it is already impressive for a newcomer.

"Sister Mei, why does this person sound so boastful?"

Mei Yanfang didn't know Ai Dajin either. She came here today just to see Lu Kuan win the award.

"All TV shows are like this. Hong Kong TV shows are even more exaggerated than this."

Liu Xiaoli watched Zhou Xun and Fan Bingbing walking on the red carpet with Lu Kuan, and thought of her daughter's charming style in Venice.

I don’t know when the next time will be.

Liu Yifei saw Lu Kuan and his two female companions stopping and taking photos on the red carpet on TV. They were surrounded by beautiful actresses competing with each other for attention. She really wished she could appear on TV too.

"I hope Xiaolu can win the Palme d'Or today!"

Mei Yanfang glanced at the little girl without comment. With her experience, she had certainly noticed some clues of the girl's feelings.

Putting aside her relationship with Lu Kuanyi, this young director is not really a good match, and their relationship is far from being as smooth as a beautiful story.

Especially in Hong Kong, there is no director who is not promiscuous and does not cheat, and it is even worse in Lu Kuan.

Jin Wei on TV guided the speeches of the three guests and took the lead again.

"Well, as you can see, the red carpet process is basically over. Our three domestic actresses, Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, and Fan Bingbing, also stun Cannes and shine on the international stage."

"Director Jia, you're also a frequent film festival attendee. What do the awards that Shoplifters has won listed in the subtitles mean? Could you explain them to our audience?"

"Isn't this the main competition award for Shoplifters tonight?"

Section Chief Jia was familiar with the subject: "Oh, this is called an off-site award. It's given to the film by an organization outside the conference."

"For example, there's this Catholic Culture Award, which is given by Protestant and Catholic film organizations abroad. It's generally given to films that portray human nature better."

"There's also a second row called the Humanitarian Spirit Award, which is awarded to films by some non-governmental organizations from abroad in collaboration with Cannes."

Jin Wei asked the audience's question: "So, are the more off-stage awards, the better? Does that mean this film has a high chance of winning major awards like the Palme d'Or?"

Section Chief Jia carefully explained: "To a certain extent!"

"Generally speaking, the more off-stage awards you win, the more positive your film is, and how it's recognized for its depth and depth. However, this has little to do with the final awards, as judges don't really care about these things."

Jin Wei then asked, "Mr. Yu, you previously worked with Director Lou when you were at China Film Group, and Bona is the first domestic distribution company to collaborate with Director Lou. What do you think of the awards prospects of these two films tonight?"

"Personally, I'm optimistic that Director Lu will win at least the prestigious Palme d'Or, Best Director, or Best Actor or Actress!"

Jin Wei: "What do Teacher Ai and Director Jia think?"

Ai Dajin: "This year's Cannes has been criticized by the media for many things, like the red carpet ceremony just now, which was delayed for over 20 minutes due to a strike in France."

"From the perspective of award prospects, I think Shoplifters is slightly inferior to Purple Butterfly, because Lu Kuan's art films always have a commercial flavor, while the temperament of the three major European films is completely opposite to Hollywood."

Chief Jia seemed to be targeting Ai Dajin today: "I don't think so."

"Teacher Ai was talking about the European Big Three a few years ago, or even more than a decade ago. Since the past few years, the European Big Three have increasingly merged with Hollywood to seek to enhance their own influence."

"Take last year's Venice as an example. De Harden's reforms were the most obvious evidence."

"However, this year's Cannes Film Festival has been plagued by terrorist attacks and has been imbued with more political factors, which will also become a major variable in the final awards."

"I just discussed this issue with Mr. Yu backstage. It's indeed worthy of our attention."

Yu Dong took over the conversation.

"I've been in contact with Director Lu and Director Jiang from Cannes recently. Judging from the program brochure scores and word of mouth, the best films this year are Shoplifters and Elephant."

"But the subject matter of 'Elephant' is quite sensitive, as it deals with a shooting in the United States. Director Gus is also very good at hyping things up, and he has been promoting his views on gun control to the media."

"Everyone should think deeply about the reasons behind this. The whole world is opposing the war, and President Bush launched the war under the banner of anti-terrorism. A large portion of his votes came from states where the National Rifle Association has a strong influence."

"So his frequent outspokenness is very helpful in winning the favor of the judges and the audience. Opposing war and banning guns is politically correct in Europe."

During this period, domestic speech was relatively open, far from the taboos of later generations.

Jin Wei was also surprised: "Does this kind of hype and personal image-building have such a big impact on the awards? Aren't film festivals primarily based on art?"

Section Chief Jia laughed and said, "When the quality varies, of course art takes priority, but when everyone is evenly matched, these off-field factors inevitably come into play."

"After all, the awards are decided by judges, and everyone has their own political and artistic views, which is unavoidable."

Yu Dong and Chief Jia are both insiders. There were many interesting things about Lu Kuan’s operations at the last film festival, and now the director of "Elephant" is doing exactly the same thing.

This is a reverse approach of learning from the barbarians in order to defeat them.

"Okay, everyone, the awards ceremony has officially begun. The seating arrangements for both crews are quite unusual. Director Lu is sitting in the aisle of the third row, and Director Lou is sitting in the middle of the fourth row, both relatively close to the front."

"Three of you, can your seating position also reflect your chances of winning an award?" Section Chief Jia explained, "Generally speaking, being invited to the event means you're likely to win an award, but that's not always the case. Seating near the front or the side also has the same meaning."

The three major European award ceremonies are very different from the Oscars. The Oscars are a big show with singing and dancing.

The three major European lottery draws are relatively simple, with prizes being awarded directly and few gimmicks being used.

Some impatient movie fans are already getting a little anxious, waiting for the first batch of heavyweight awards to be announced: Best Actor and Best Actress.

"It's a pity that both the Palme d'Or Best Actor and Best Actress were not awarded to domestic films."

Ai Dajin proudly commented: "This is not surprising. 'Thief' is an ensemble drama, and the male and female protagonists do not have particularly distinctive images or labels."

"As for 'Purple Butterfly', I can only say that Ziyi is still a step behind Gong Li, the previous generation of Mou Girl."

The atmosphere in the studio was a bit dull, and everyone seemed to have become spectators. Except for one Golden Photography Award, no Chinese-language film won anything.

Yu Dong cheered up a bit: "The Best Director competition has begun. Let's see if Director Lou and Director Lu have a chance to win."

Liu Yifei and Mei Yanfang were drowsy watching Xiangjiang, but now they felt like they had received a shot of cardiac stimulant, and their palms were slightly sweating.

Those who care about you may not be your relatives or friends, they may also be your enemies.

At this time, Liu Zeyu and Wang Xiaolei were also in cahoots with each other, just wanting to see Lu Kuan make a fool of himself.

"Brother Lei, I heard that Director Feng has been having some trouble recently?"

Wang Xiaolei sipped his wine gloomily. "It's all because of Cui Yongyuan. It's just a script, no one was mentioned, so why is he so anxious?"

The crew of "Cell Phone" rushed to Qingdao to shoot in order to release it during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Now that Cui Yongyuan has interrupted, although the General Administration has not explicitly rejected or modified the filing documents, it has already given a subtle warning.

There are some things that the government will not investigate unless the people report them, but if people keep speaking out and make things worse, the matter will inevitably have to be brought to justice.

It is true that you have people in Huayi, but it is not for nothing that Cui Yongyuan has been "pretending to be a stage host" for all these years, right?
Cui Yongyuan is the undisputed number one host of CCTV at the moment. He has pioneered a new form of TV programs, and his humorous and sharp hosting style is also very popular with the audience.

In this era where most entertainment comes from television and most people watch TV on CCTV, what kind of national sentiment is this?

Now it is you, Feng Kuazi and Liu Zhenyun, who are so dishonest. You used the pretext of chatting and drinking to talk to Cui Yongyuan, and then turned around and wrote him into the script, and he has a negative image.

Cui Yongyuan was furious after receiving the anonymous materials. He went straight to the leaders of the headquarters and asked them to communicate with the Film Bureau and revise the script!

Otherwise I'll get depressed!

"By the way, you said you were going to kill that real estate guy. Now you can do it. I think some city leaders are already using that piece of land to make a fuss."

The young yamenei looked mysterious: "Well, it's almost done."

It’s almost there, it’s almost there, soon he will be able to appreciate Lu Kuan’s incredulous look and Concubine Liu Yi’s humble posture.

The road is wide, and it is indeed wide.

A voice called "Lu" came from the TV screen. This was the English name he used when he registered for the international film festival.

I learned it from sister Gong Li, her name is "Li".

"Damn it! How did he actually win the Best Director award!?"

Liu Zeyu knocked the cup hard on the table, and a corner of crystal glass flew out.

"Brother Lei, didn't you say you had already talked to Jiang Wen? Him?"

Wang Xiaolei's face was gloomy. On the TV screen, there was a scene of Jiang Wen happily presenting the award to Lu Kuan.

It shouldn’t be!

Jiang Wen is the leading actor in "Heroes of Heaven and Earth". Doesn't he want better box office results?
Besides, Jiang Wen is a Beijing socialite, so there is no reason for him to make friends with this kind of peasant with no background!

When something went wrong, the first thing Wang Xiaolei thought of was whether Jiang Wen had betrayed his circle!

He is a Beijinger and a Manchu, and these are two things he is proud of.

How proud are you?

Wang Shuo, a former core figure in the Beijing circle, once wrote a plot in his novel "Ferocious Animals".

We were all well-off, and we never gave a second thought to peasants. There was once a very handsome young man who had a lot of attention from the big fans. He said he was from the "Beipiao" (Northern Artillery), and we all thought his family was from the artillery. We eventually found out he was from the Beiping Light Bulb Factory, and no one paid any attention to him after that.

Liu Zeyu couldn't help but gloat: "Brother Lei, it seems that I'm not the only one who got humiliated. There's a traitor in your team too!"

He wanted to add fuel to the fire. Lu Kuan's strength was growing stronger and stronger. Hua Yi and Lu Kuan also had some minor disagreements, so it would be better to bring them into the same camp to target Wen Jie together.

Wang Xiaolei also felt a surge of anger in his heart.

He already had a problem with Jiang Wen and had disagreed with his brother's investment in "The Devils", and as he expected, the film was banned and flopped.

It’s just that Jiang Wen is too senior, has a high status, and has a close relationship with the Ying family, so he can’t do anything to her easily.

Liu Zeyu kept adding fuel to the fire: "Brother Lei, do you think Lu Kuan was responsible for Cui Yongyuan's incident?"

Wang Xiaolei paused in his attempt to raise his glass to drown his sorrows, and his heart rate raced.

Jiang Wen informed on others, Lu Kuan retaliated, and Xiao Cui reported the matter.

This logic makes sense!

Looking at the mutual admiration between Jiang Wen and Lu Kuan on the TV screen, in his eyes they were in cahoots with each other!
"Fuck! I was wondering why Choi Yong-won came here just because he smelled something. It's really possible that he was the one who instigated this."

He was so angry that he didn't even bother to think about how Lu Kuan knew the hidden secrets of the "Cell Phone" script. He immediately took out his cell phone and left the private room.

Jiang and Lu, who were 8400 kilometers away from Peking, felt like sneezing at the same time on the stage, not realizing that they had become leftovers from the two men's drinking.

Lu Kuan calmly delivered his acceptance speech and returned to his seat.

He did not try hard to win an award during this trip to Cannes, but winning the Best Director award was not a complete success.

Colleagues far away in China, such as Chief Jia and Yu Dong, could all see the intentions of Gus, the director of "Elephant", in fanning public opinion and hyping up political views. Being at the center of the storm, he had a clearer view of the situation.

It’s just that an ensemble drama like Shoplifters doesn’t really have much competitiveness in individual awards, and the Palme d’Or and Best Director can only be decided by the jury.

I believe that Jiang Wen, who is able to fight for it, will help me fight for it.

As the awards ceremony progressed, more and more results emerged that reflected the judgments of commentators and media on this year's Cannes.

The most mediocre class ever.

The Turkish film "Uzak" won the Best Actor award, but the leading actor was too shy to go on stage...

The French-Canadian co-production "The Invasion" won the Best Actress award, but the leading actress returned home early because she felt she had no hope.

The whole process is awkward.

If it weren't for the appearance of Lu Kuan's butterfly wings, the mediocre Cannes would have given out three hits, because there were really no good films.

Next is the Jury Prize, which is equivalent to the second prize of the Palme d'Or.

If "Shoplifters" didn't win the Jury Prize, it still had some hope of winning the Palme d'Or.

Unfortunately, when the award presenter and judge of this year's film festival, Spielberg, read out the title of the movie "Shoplifters" on the stage, Lu Kuan knew that his trip to Cannes had come to an end.

The guests in the movie channel studio also breathed a sigh of relief, their efforts were in vain!

Lu Kuan gave the Jury Grand Prize to Cao Yu to receive on stage to express his recognition of this photography DP.

Jin Wei in the live broadcast room also noticed this and brought up a new topic.

"Director Jia, how do the photographers and directors usually get along on set?"

Chief Jia said with familiarity: "To be honest, a cinematographer and director of equal stature are like a married couple. During a shot, they can either be in perfect harmony or in endless arguments."

"But a director with very high photography skills, lighting attainments and aesthetics can help a photographer grow, such as our country's top photographer Zhao Fei."

"I'm also very familiar with Lao Zhao. He directed films such as The Horse Thief, The Emperor and the Assassin, and The Red Lantern, which are all very familiar to our audiences."

"In 99, he felt he had reached a bottleneck, so he went to the United States to find director Woody Allen and worked with him on films like 'Sweet and Lowdown.'"

"His film, Heroes of Heaven and Earth, will be released in China in September. You'll notice the difference in cinematography from his previous works. This is the guidance and encouragement a good director can give to a cinematographer!"

In an era when online consultation was not very developed, viewers in front of the TV listened eagerly to these professional comments.

Although winning the Best Director and Jury Prize was not considered a failure, it was just one step away from the Palme d'Or and ultimately missed it.

The story of Gus, the director of "Elephant", is adapted from the famous "Columbine Shooting Case", which has attracted much attention at European film festivals.

It was also at Cannes last year that a film called "Bowling for Columbine" won the Cannes 55th Anniversary Special Award.

Whether intentionally or not, Gus had taken the well-worn path of Lu Kuan in Venice.

The subject matter is relevant, the quality is excellent, the politics are correct, and the hype is appropriate.

They deserved the Palme d'Or.

Jin Wei felt quite regretful as he watched Gus excitedly presenting the Palme d'Or on the stage.

"This Cannes Film Festival can't be considered a failure. After all, Shoplifters won two awards, and Director Lu's Best Director award is well-deserved!"

The audience in front of the TV also beat their chests and stamped their feet.

Lu Kuan's fans regretted that his second film lost to "Elephant" at Cannes;
Lu Kuan’s haters felt sorry that he won the Best Director award after all, and they didn’t know where to start criticizing him.

The guests sat in the studio for two hours, and it was almost midnight when they suddenly heard Jin Wei's puzzled voice.

"Audience friends, please wait a moment. Director Lu seems to be being interviewed with Hollywood star Tom Cruise."

The front-line production team of the movie channel handed the microphone to Tom Cruise. They were extremely excited. If it weren't for Lu Kuan's recommendation, it would have taken several days just to make an appointment.

It still costs money! 5000 euros!
Lu Kuan introduced: "Tom, you have many fans in China. This is our domestic film media. Say hello to them."

Tom Cruise smiled and said: "Hi, my friends in China, thank you for your attention and support!"

Ju Wenpei, a reporter assigned by the film channel, asked: "Hello, Mr. Tom Cruise, are you friends with Director Lu? What is your opinion of him and the film 'Shoplifters'?"

"Yes, we are friends. Although we haven't known each other for long, his film talent has amazed me."

"This movie reminded me of my grandmother. It's a very touching and profound movie."

Yu Dong in the studio was about to take off his headset when he heard Tom Cruise on the screen lightly say something that would drive the domestic film industry crazy.

"Also, Director Lu and I are currently discussing a collaboration on a film project, so please stay tuned!"

Yu Dong was stunned: "Fuck!"

(End of this chapter)