It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 34 Lu Chuan: Have I become a clown?

"I am very grateful to the Venice International Film Festival for giving young directors the courage to dream..."

On stage, Lü Rui calmly delivered his acceptance speech.

From the main cast and crew to the investors, from the support staff to the film festival organizers, and even their parents, teachers, and alma mater, no one was left out.

This is a common practice at international film festivals: the more comprehensive the acknowledgments, the higher the media favorability.

Below the stage, Jiang Wen, Han Sanping, and others looked on with a sense of satisfaction, as if they were watching a fledgling eagle spreading its wings and taking flight for the first time!

Holding the St. Mark's Prize, Tian Zhuangzhuang felt a mix of envy and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep emotion) in his heart.

Having just won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival at the beginning of the year, he then took home the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice International Film Festival at the end of the year…

This is definitely a momentous occasion for the Chinese-language film industry!
It's worth noting that, to date, only Zhang Yuan, a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy's Cinematography Department, has won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 56th Venice International Film Festival for his film "Going Home for the New Year".

Apart from this, no one else in the Chinese-language film industry, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, has ever won this award.

Now, Lü Rui has won the Silver Lion for Best Director in his first appearance at Venice, and also helped Jiang Wen win the Best Actor award at Venice. This achievement is truly remarkable!
Looking at Lü Rui speaking eloquently on stage, Tian Zhuangzhuang felt as if she were seeing a rising star in the Chinese film industry!

Sitting next to him, Liu Yifei's eyes were wide and watery, her expression even more excited than Lü Rui's when he received the award.

"Wow, this senior is amazing! That's so cool! Best Actor, Best Director Silver Lion, oh my god!"

Shocked, she suddenly wondered if her previous prayers had worked.

Her eyes darted around, and she couldn't help but mutter to herself with a smug grin, "Hehe~ So I'm the senior's super lucky charm~"

"Thank you, thank you all for your support and help!"

After delivering his acceptance speech, Lü Rui returned to his seat amidst thunderous applause.

"Mystic River" won two major awards tonight, and he is very satisfied.

"Congratulations, Level 1."

As I sat down, Harvey's congratulatory voice suddenly came from behind me.

Lu Rui turned his head and saw that the other person was smiling brightly and had no unusual expression.

He smiled and nodded, but didn't reply.

But Harvey persisted, saying, "If you're willing, Miramax Films is ready to partner with you and welcome you to Hollywood, just like John Woo and Ang Lee did."

Wu Yu?
Li An?

Lu Rui's heart skipped a beat. He neither refused nor agreed, striking a balance while leaving some room for maneuver: "Thank you very much for your recognition, Mr. Harvey. I will consider it carefully."

On stage, the awards ceremony continued.

The Silver Lion, the Grand Jury Prize, was won by Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky for his film "The Asylum".

This is a film that focuses on the plight of mentally ill patients who were left unattended during the war between Russia and Chechnya.

Lu Rui read it and was deeply moved; it had a very strong anti-war message.

Finally, the Golden Lion was won by Scottish director Peter Mullan for "The Brothel Sisters".

Harvey, as the film's producer, also went up to the stage to accept the award.

"He succeeded in his PR efforts again," Jiang Wen muttered to himself.

Lu Rui's eyes flickered slightly, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Hollywood? Wu Yu and Li An can go, why can't I?"

However, despite these thoughts, he did not intend to act hastily for the time being.

Such a life-changing event absolutely cannot be decided on a whim!
With the backing of Beijing Film Academy and China Film Group, and the support of Jiang Wen, who is also in charge of supporting her from behind, she has the resources to develop her career in mainland China.

However, going to Hollywood is like entering a den of wolves and tigers. If you are not careful, you may be devoured without a trace. You must calm down and plan carefully.

With the announcement of the Golden Lion, the 59th Venice International Film Festival has officially come to a close.

Due to the time difference, it is currently 4 a.m. in China.

Even so, writers from major media outlets were already sitting at their desks, writing furiously!
The following morning, firsthand news from the Venice International Film Festival made it to the front pages of major news outlets.

"Warmest congratulations! Lu Rui, a rising star in Chinese cinema, has won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 59th Venice International Film Festival for his film 'Mystic River'!"

"Following Xia Yu, actor Jiang Wen has successfully won his second Venice Film Festival Best Actor award. Congratulations!"

"Mystic River" wins two major awards, director Lü Rui has a bright future ahead of him!

China Film Group has announced that The Mystic River will be released in domestic theaters on October 1st, National Day.

Upon opening her eyes early in the morning and seeing the morning news, Lu Chuan suddenly realized:

The sky is falling!

Lu Rui won another silver lion and also helped Jiang Wen win the Best Actor award.

Looking at myself, I'm supposed to be Jiang Wen's "top disciple," but I'm even worse than a chicken!

Unsurprisingly, the media has once again brought him up for comparison with Lü Rui.

In particular, his earlier boast that "The Missing Gun will be the most classic suspense crime film in the history of Chinese cinema" felt like a slap in the face.

There are also boasts like "Lu Rui's works are not as profound as mine," which have now become bullets loaded with gunpowder, hitting him squarely on the back of the head and leaving him with a bloody face!
If I had known this would happen, why did I bother pretending in the first place?
Now look at him, with the Silver Lion and Best Actor awards, he's the one who looks like a clown.

Overwhelmed with grief, he couldn't hold back any longer... "Waaah..."

Meanwhile, Feng Xiaogang, who had just gotten up, also looked extremely unwell.

It's obvious without even guessing that with the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Best Actor award at the box office, the upcoming film "Mystic River" is sure to be a box office hit.

It's not impossible for it to even surpass "Big Shot's Funeral"!
Thinking of this, a sense of gloom welled up in his heart.

It's one thing to lose out on awards, but they might even be crushed in box office records. Isn't this clearly an attempt to step on them to rise to the top?
"No, I have to think of something. At least I can't let the media laugh at me."

The box office record of "Big Shot's Funeral" may be surpassed, but he also has another film, "Cellphone," starring Ge You, Zhang Guoli, Fan Bingbing, and others.

He was very confident about the upcoming film project, believing it would definitely achieve even higher box office results!
Thinking about it this way, he immediately had an excuse to maintain his "high-class" image.

……

Nortel.

dormitory.

"Come here, Shen'ao, come and lend a hand. This banner is a bit crooked, help me adjust it."

Early in the morning, after picking up the banner from the warehouse, Zhao Peng busied himself with hanging it up everywhere.

On the brand-new red banner, the gold lettering reads: "Warmest congratulations! Our school's third-year directing student, Lü Rui, has won the Silver Lion Award for Best Director for his film 'Mystic River'!"

As for Jiang Wen's name, it naturally won't appear.

Who told him to be from the Central Academy of Drama? And he was an actor who wasn't admitted to the Beijing Film Academy's acting department that year.

After the awards ceremony last night, the head of the performing arts department, in addition to having a headache, was already thinking about how to "talk" to Lü Rui.

Why do directors at Beijing Film Academy always want to collaborate with actors from the Central Academy of Drama?

"Senior! Is this okay?"

Shen Ao, who had been dragged along by Zhao Peng to be a laborer, could not hide his excitement. It was just a matter of adjusting a banner, but he inexplicably felt a sense of pride.

Zhao Peng looked left and right, then nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, no problem. Let's go hang up the next one."

Shen Ao followed behind him, carrying the banner, and said with a fawning smile, "Brother, I heard you're really close to Senior Lü Rui? I... I also want to learn from him, could you help me make a connection?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Peng immediately straightened his back: "It's no big deal! Lu Rui and I are brothers who share a bunk bed. During the filming of 'Mystic River,' he specially made me the production manager. Everyone in the crew calls me 'Brother Zhao.'"
I'll mention it to him later, and tell him you're really smart, you're guaranteed to succeed!

Shen Ao's eyes lit up and he quickly said, "Thank you, Brother Zhao. I'll treat you to a meal after the banner is hung up!"

Zhao Peng waved his hand and walked forward with his hands behind his back: "Don't be so polite, we're all brothers. Leave this to me, just wait for my message."

Lu Rui had specifically instructed him to keep an eye out for clever people at school.

Although the purpose wasn't stated at the time, Zhao Peng could roughly guess that his brother Rui was probably preparing to build his own team.

Although Shen Ao is only a freshman, he is very clever and seizes every opportunity to visit the mountain.

If such talent is used in the right place, it can produce very good results.

"Oh, right, let's skip eating out. I need to finish this quickly so I can get back to the classroom. We can talk about it another time."

Zhao Peng was getting impatient; he hadn't had enough of showing off yet.

What's the point of pretending in front of my little brother? It's much more satisfying to show off in front of those arrogant classmates who always brag about their powerful family connections!
"it is good."

Shen Ao nodded slightly, watching Zhao Peng's retreating figure, and quietly clenched his fist.

If I could really work for Lü Rui, maybe one day I could even make an appearance at a film festival!
……

Venice, inside a hotel.

"The copyright sold for $845 million."

When Han Sanping uttered the number, Lü Rui's fingertips tightened sharply, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He quickly calculated in his mind, and soon an astronomical figure popped into his head.

6984 million RMB!

Based on a 30% share, he could keep 2095 million RMB for himself.

Even after deducting taxes, it still has more than 10 million RMB, which is three times the amount of the previous film "Gone Girl"!
"I made a killing!"

"Haha." Han Sanping explained with a laugh, "Actually, it could sell for more than 900 million US dollars, after all, it has two major awards, but Warner helped us out, so the price was lowered a bit."

“I understand.” Lü Rui nodded slightly.

Warner Bros. really did a great job this time. Although there were some conflicts of interest involved, they did a really good job.

"Shall we pack our bags and go back to China?" Han Sanping stood up and straightened his suit.

"Yes! Back to China!"

Lü Rui also stood up.

The trip to Venice has come to a successful end, but there is still a tough battle to fight after returning home!
He's absolutely going to shatter the box office record of "Big Shot's Funeral"!

Even if "Hero" is released at the end of the year, there are still a few months to go, right? Let's lie on the box office champion throne for a while and enjoy it first.

(End of this chapter)