Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 541 Berlin Opening (6k monthly ticket required)
"Chen, only the second part of Lord of Mysteries is available now. Will the third part be released this year?"

At Berlin Airport, reporters are still asking questions.

“Probably in the second half of the year.”

In fact, Chen Linfeng also writes on weekdays.

He is quite attentive to "Lord of Mysteries", and tries his best to keep the rhythm going, so it is not a problem to produce one film a year.

Therefore, I have confidence in saying this.

"Some media called Lord of Mysteries the 'second Harry Potter'. Do you agree with this view?"

“Every writer who creates a work does not want to be the ‘second’ to anyone else.”

"So you don't agree with this point of view?"

Chen Linfeng blinked, "I think I have answered your question."

On the other side, other media reporters couldn't wait to ask questions.

"Hello, I'm a reporter from the Voice of America. There's news that at the end of last year, the writer Mo Yan was persecuted in China. Is this true?"

A group of reporters looked at us sideways and said, "We are all entertainment media, why did you suddenly bring up a political issue?"

As soon as Chen Linfeng heard the name of the media reported by the other party, he knew what was going on.

"Your information is inaccurate. When the Nobel Prize officials awarded Mo Yan the prize last year, the award speech they read was inappropriate and full of slander and prejudice. As a result, Mo Yan was implicated and many ordinary people in China spontaneously boycotted him.

But the persecution you mentioned is completely fictitious. In Europe and America, if a public figure is scolded by opponents online or in newspapers, is it considered persecution?"

The last sentence he asked was obviously directed to other media reporters.

A reporter chimed in, "Of course not, it's normal for public figures to be scolded."

"Yes, according to what he said, there is persecution everywhere in Europe and America."

"He's just talking nonsense, Chen, you don't have to pay attention to him, let's move on to asking other questions."

"..."

Chen Linfeng smiled as he listened to these words.

He kindly reminded, "Sir, the question you asked today has been recorded by other media. I hope you can report it truthfully later. My team members will also follow up on the follow-up reports."

"puff!"

Some reporters couldn't help laughing out loud.

This clearly shows that they do not trust the media outlet "Voice of America", and they are just short of blatantly calling it "fake news".

The reporter's face turned red, obviously he was angry.

But there was nothing he could do. The reporters around him were not on the same side as him and some even laughed at him.

hateful!

Everyone stopped paying attention to the reporter and continued asking questions.

However, at this time, Luo Lin and two other drivers and bodyguards had arrived with the airport security personnel, separated the crowd and brought Chen Linfeng out.

Call ~
After coming out, Chen Linfeng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "It's been a while since I've been interviewed like this. It's still quite difficult to rack my brains to answer the questions."

Sister Mei smiled and said, "You didn't find it difficult before."

"That's right, boss, you've been slacking off." Xiao Chang said, "How to answer reporters' questions is also a skill. If you don't use it, you lose it, boss."

"Go away," Chen Linfeng glared at her, always being disrespectful.

Having said that, he actually quite likes Xiao Chang's personality of speaking his mind.

The Berlin Film Festival is held on Friedrichstrasse in the Mitte district in the heart of Berlin.

From this point of view, there is a big difference between the Berlin Film Festival and the other two European film festivals.

And the difference is not only in the venue, there is also a big gap in style.

Berlin, relatively speaking, focuses more on the political attributes of films, and films with similar labels are often more popular.

Chen Linfeng chose to use "Joker" as a weapon to compete for the Golden Bear, and he also took this factor into consideration.

Similarly, Han Shanping also mentioned this point.

He arrived in Berlin the next afternoon.

When Chen Linfeng went to greet him, he kept complaining, asking why they didn't wait for one more day so that they could set off together.

In addition, Leonardo, Alex, Jeff Jones and others also arrived on the same day.

Regarding the movie "Joker", Warner may not have cared much about it at the beginning, but now they have changed their attitude.

After "Inception" last summer, the film began to attract attention. At the end of last year, after seeing the finished film, Warner executives were still unsure about the market, but believed that the market for award-winning films would soar.

Therefore, this time not only was Alex, who has always had a good relationship with Chen Linfeng, sent over, but Jeff Jones, the creative president of DC, also came.

There are other people in the team who are here to help Joker win the award.

If he wins the award, it will not only be a major boost for Chen Linfeng, but the film itself will also be better marketed.

In the evening, after everyone gathered, they went to the screening room to play the movie.

Among the people present, the people from Warner and Chen Linfeng had naturally seen it.

Leonardo, Han Shanping, and the people in the team who are responsible for public relations and award-winning activities were all watching it for the first time.

After the 2-hour movie ended, the venue was completely silent.

After a long time, there was intense applause.

Leonardo blushed and clapped his hands loudly.

The others also looked excited.

Only Han Shanping was a little hesitant. He understood the movie, and its content was quite emotional.

But as a Chinese, he is actually not very empathetic.

But when he saw the genuine excitement of the people around him, he understood that this was the plot, and people in Europe and the United States might have a deeper understanding of it.

"Chen, you took such a great picture of me, I didn't expect it to be this good!"

Leonardo is still excited, and while filming on the set, he does feel that he has made a breakthrough in his acting.

However, it was not until he saw the finished film that he suddenly realized that this time it was indeed different.

Jeff Jones nodded, "Leo's performance was indeed very good. When I was watching it, I almost forgot about the actor himself and immersed myself in the plot."

"Especially that crazy and unrestrained solo dance," Han Shanping, who had a high level of appreciation, hit the nail on the head right away.

“This will be a classic shot.”

"Yeah." "Right!" "I think so too."

Everyone nodded in agreement. That segment left a deep impression on them.

After praising the film for a while, Alex looked at the public relations staff in the team and said, "You guys are aware of the situation of this film. I hope you can work harder in the subsequent awards."

Public relations manager Jamie Coffman nodded decisively, "Director Chen's films are of high quality, which is very beneficial to our work."

Afterwards, Jamie and his team members left the room to discuss the subsequent public relations and promotion plans.

It was getting late, the mission had already been assigned, and of course the big guys went back to their rooms.

Han Shanping stayed until the end, and when there were only two of them left, he didn't have to hide anything.

Chen Linfeng could clearly see that he was frowning.

"Boss Han, what's wrong with you? You look very unhappy."

Han Shanping sighed, "Well, I can't say your film is bad, but the subject matter and the plot, if you don't make large-scale cuts, it will be very difficult to introduce it later."

He looked at the other person and said, "Even for you, Xiao Chen, it shouldn't be that easy."

The words were rather obscure, but Chen Linfeng had already heard them.

Indeed, such a provocative film, even one that clearly describes Emilian society, is very sensitive.

In fact, Chen Linfeng is still very confused as to why Piaoliang doesn't seem to care at all.

Even in its previous life, it was released with great fanfare and not only did it make $10 billion at the box office, it even spawned a second film.

Warner has not given any relevant reminders or warnings yet, and he has asked about it specifically, but it seems that there should be no problem.

What a big heart.

Maybe this is the difference between Eastern and Western thinking.

"Well, I know, the subject matter is indeed very sensitive."

Chen Linfeng was shocked when he saw Mr. Han's expression.
"I didn't allude to China in this plot. It's all about the situation in the United States. I only came up with this idea after I spent some time there and made some observations."

It’s hard to say it was plagiarized, I can only find the best excuse possible.

Fortunately, he had experienced the era of account reconciliation in his previous life and actually knew some of the circumstances.

If you don't pay attention, given the degree of isolation between the upper and lower parts of Emily Ken, you may not be able to feel it in a short period of time.

But if you observe carefully, you can definitely see it.

"I understand, I understand." Han Shanping waved his hand and said with a smile, "Look at how excited those foreigners are, and you can roughly understand it."

Chen Linfeng was relieved. "If there is really no way to import it, then we can only give up and just release it overseas."

To be precise, this is a film that reflects the plight of foreign people, and it is different from the situation where it was not allowed to be released because it was a negative film in China.

He was not worried that this would affect his consistent position.

"Don't be impatient yet."

Han Shanping frowned and said, "After all, our own people are different from outsiders. I'd better talk to the leader first."

He thought for a moment and said, "If I can win the award this time, maybe things will be different. Anyway, we are just guessing now, and it's not certain yet.

Besides, you should also understand that when it comes to audits, the wind direction at the top often changes very quickly, and sometimes things can be decided by people.”

Speaking of auditing, Han Shanping couldn't help but sigh.

"A while ago, Ning Hao's movie had just started to take shape, but yours involves sensitive issues again."

"You guys are really causing me trouble."

Chen Linfeng asked curiously, "Is 'No Man's Land' going to be released?"

"Well, it's been a while after all, the situation has gradually calmed down and it's not so sensitive anymore."

In fact, this is also related to the fact that Han Shanping did not retire. Compared with his previous life, he was released half a year earlier.

In the following days, most of the time, it was Chen Linfeng and Leonardo who attended various cocktail parties.

Both of them are top stars in the world. Compared with the other two film festivals, Berlin has less star power, which makes them look even more dazzling.

When people learned that the great director Chen and Leonardo had arrived in Berlin, many people immediately wanted to talk to them about movies, art and the like.

The same goes for the judges, many of whom took the initiative to invite them to have a cup of coffee and chat.

That's normal, as almost everyone on the jury isn't as big a name as these two.

Chen Linfeng also knew some of the judges. He had met them before at other film festivals. They were not very familiar with each other, but it was different after chatting. It was an excuse after all.

When he first attended the Venice Film Festival, Chen Linfeng tried his best to chat and get close to the judges on the jury, but now it is the judges who are approaching him actively.

The two judges from the beautiful country here are also familiar with Leonardo and Chen Linfeng.

The Hollywood circle is not big, so you can run into people there all the time.

Not to mention the female judge, Ellen Kuras, whose main job is a photographer and a real acquaintance.

When Chen Linfeng gave the script of "The Clinic" to Pitt, the photographer he found when he organized the filming was this person.

Chen Linfeng once visited the set and they met at that time. He also provided guidance on the shooting angles of some shots.

Now Alan Kuras was so enthusiastic when facing Chen Linfeng.

Of course, he would not show any displeasure and maintained his usual friendly attitude, and the two sides had a very pleasant conversation.

Another American judge is even more familiar, Tim Robbins, the leading actor of "The Shawshank Redemption". Leonardo has a good relationship with him.

Although it is just plastic friendship, it is sufficient for this occasion.

Chen Linfeng has also met him several times. He is now gradually transforming himself into a director, screenwriter and producer, and they still have a lot to talk about.

Tim spoke highly of Chen Linfeng and directly stated that he would pay special attention to the movie "Joker".

No matter how much more certainty there is, I can’t say it.

But this is enough. It hasn’t even opened yet, so I can’t ask for more.

There are a total of 7 judges on the jury of this year's Berlin Film Festival.

Excluding Wang Jiawei, I have met almost all the remaining judges.

Wang Jiawei arrived late.

It is the eve of the Spring Festival in China, and he also has to participate in domestic promotional activities.

It was not until the day before the opening that he arrived in Berlin with Liang Chaowei and Zhang Ziyi.

That evening, the Chinese Legion held a cocktail party, and Chen Linfeng also attended.

Actually, it is quite shabby. The number of Chinese delegates at this Berlin Film Festival was very small.

The only filmmaker shortlisted for the main competition unit is Chen Linfeng, and "Joker" is not yet considered a Chinese film.

Other domestic filmmakers present participated in other units, such as the forum screening unit, short film competition unit, youth unit, etc.

Chen Linfeng didn’t know several of the directors. They must be new directors, and the screening unit they participated in was intended to encourage newcomers.

There is nothing wrong with this, but after a little understanding, you will find that all the directors are older than him.

After asking, Chen Linfeng found out that one of his schoolmates was also there, named Zhou Yan, a graduate student of Yanying School in 05.

I graduated earlier than him, and I rarely saw him in school.

Zhou Yan was very envious of the students brought up by Chen Linfeng, "I wish I had a teacher like this when I was in school."

She felt quite sad about the process of working hard after graduating from school.

After working in other directors' crews for several years, he now finally has the opportunity to shoot a film independently, but the result will most likely be silence.

Maybe this will even be her last movie.

When she was a student, she was also called a genius.

“It’s very difficult, but I am lucky.”

"In the future? Maybe I'll continue to accumulate experience and make another film. Or maybe I'll find a way to find a film and television school and become a teacher."

"I don't dare to think about my alma mater anymore, but I am very satisfied with being a media teacher in other schools."

The same is true for other new directors.

They no longer felt envious or jealous of Chen Linfeng himself, as the gap between them was too big.

The only regret is that I want to be a student but cannot do so.

Chen Linfeng was deeply touched by what he heard. Stories of this level were something he rarely encountered.

But he didn't have any good solution to this situation.

Resources are limited, so I can promote several waves of students under my command.

It is already very difficult for them to snatch opportunities little by little from the older generation of directors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing and other places.

He couldn't take care of the others.

At the cocktail party, Chen Linfeng and Wang Jiawei also chatted.

I briefly mentioned the award, hoping that the other party would pay more attention to my movie.

Wang Jiawei did not refuse, but simply said, "When the movie is released, I will definitely go to see it as soon as possible. If the quality can be maintained at a certain level, I will definitely support my own people."

Compared with foreign directors, Xiao Chen is indeed one of our own.

Wang Jiawei is an old-school person. He was born in the mainland and lived there for a period of time as a child, so he is relatively nostalgic.

He thought about it and felt that what he said was a bit redundant. "Your films have always been good, and this one should be good too. Don't worry, I will pay special attention to it."

Chen Linfeng was used to reading other people's thoughts from their eyes, but Wang Jiawei was wearing sunglasses late at night, so he couldn't see anything.

Simply give up.

"Thank you Director Wang."

"No need to thank me. I will only support your film if it is of good quality. Don't expect too much."

Chen Linfeng smiled and said, "Of course, quality is the priority in awarding prizes."

The next day, February 2th, Berlin time, the 7rd Berlin Film Festival opened.

The main reason why Berlin is quieter than Cannes and Venice is the weather.

February in the northern hemisphere is a typical winter.

Just like last year’s Golden Rooster Awards in China, it was extremely cold outside.

Berlin is even colder, usually -2-6 degrees in February, and it was even snowing today.

Simply exaggerated.

It’s hard that some female stars even have to wear dresses that expose their arms.

What's worse, some female stars are still wearing off-shoulder dresses, just like in summer.

Chen Linfeng saw it from afar and was full of admiration.

At this time, he was somewhat glad that Sissi did not follow him.

Otherwise, one more person will suffer.

This time, he walked the red carpet with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Meryl Streep was also the producer.

Sister Mei didn’t have any image requirements. She wrapped herself in a layer of fur, which made her more comfortable than the two men.

On the contrary, Chen Linfeng and Leonardo were wearing thin suits and were not very cold-resistant.

Although the weather was bad, there were still quite a few fans and reporters present, surrounding the red carpet tightly.

When Chen Linfeng and the other two appeared, the surrounding noise suddenly rose.

Reporters were also busy pressing shutter buttons to take pictures.

These two are the biggest stars at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a world-renowned writer and director, and an international star who has been popular all over the world for more than 10 years.

The film festival even highlighted the two of them as the focus of publicity.

These days, many news reported by the media revolve around these two people.

Compared to these two, the other stars walking the red carpet are much less famous.

Many of the people present were European actors who mostly starred in art films, and most of the fans and fans didn’t know them well.

Jane Fonda, who won the Oscar for Best Actress in her early years, Tim Robbins, Wang Jiawei, Liang Chaowei, Zhang Ziyi and others are all considered to be relatively famous stars.

The domestic media are quite excited. It is interesting to see that at the international film festivals in Europe, the most noteworthy people are actually the domestic stars.

As we entered the venue, the temperature immediately rose and I felt much more comfortable.

Leonardo let out a long sigh. "This damn weather, I still can't figure out why anyone would want to hold a film festival in winter."

"Uh~" Chen Linfeng felt like he was being alluded to.

“Maybe the authorities have also considered this.”

In his opinion, the organizing committee in Berlin may have no choice but to separate the time from Cannes and Venice.

Those two hotels have already occupied June and September, the two months closest to summer vacation, so all that's left for Berlin is the cold weather.

"It would have been better if it was two months later, February. My God, China is still celebrating the New Year at this time." Leonardo couldn't help but complain.

Speaking of this, Chen Linfeng had to nod his head, "Indeed, it is a bad idea to celebrate the New Year together with China."

"I need to apologize for this, it wasn't our intention."

A voice came from behind them, and they turned around and saw that it was Dieter Kosslick, the president of the Berlin Film Festival.

Chen Linfeng felt a little embarrassed as his gossip was heard by others.

"Uh, Mr. Koslick, we were just joking."

"Just call me Dieter," Koslik said with a smile, "I actually understand your complaints. More than one person has said so, but this is the tradition and I can't change it."

"The power of tradition is still very strong." Chen Linfeng nodded. Until later generations, the Berlin Film Festival did not change the time. Obviously, it was not so easy to change.

"I heard that your organization changed the most important award in China. I have to say, this is amazing, Chen."

"You know this too?" Chen Linfeng was a little surprised. "There shouldn't be many people outside of me who know this."

"You underestimate your own importance, Chen," Scricker said meaningfully, "Many filmmakers around the world are paying attention to you."

"Indeed," Leonardo nodded, "I have also heard that there are rumors in Hollywood that you are ambitious and want to create China's 'Oscars'. There are still many people in Hollywood who are paying attention to your news."

Chen Linfeng was a little surprised. He really didn't know about this third-party perspective.

"I have to say, Mr. Dieter and Leo, you have taught me some new things."

Skrick then talked about the films nominated this year, "Chen, I saw your new film, and Leo's performance was amazing."

Chen Linfeng smiled and said, "Thank you."

Leonardo DiCaprio secretly stated, "An actor's performance should often be attributed to the director, and this is especially true for Joker. I should thank Chen for his guidance."

"Oh, there's this other thing?"

Srick raised his eyebrows in surprise. He originally wanted to find out the other party's main direction for the prize this time.

I didn’t expect that Leonardo himself also supports director Chen.

(End of this chapter)