Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 310 Old Ma's Competency

When Cao Yang arrived at Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Marco Müller was already waiting for him.

"Why did you come in person? Wasn't it agreed that the organizing committee would send a car to pick you up?"

After hugging Lao Ma, Cao Yang asked with some confusion.

"The organizing committee's car is waiting outside. I'm very happy that you can come, and I will definitely come to greet you in person," Lao Ma said with a smile.

Cao Yang looked at Lao Ma with suspicion, somewhat disbelieving; the old man must have something on his mind.

During the phone call before boarding, Lao Ma mentioned that an official hotel arranged for him in Venice was waiting for him, which was all too quick.

"Speak up, Lao Ma. You know my personality. If you don't say what it is, I'll really think you're here to greet me."

Old Ma shrugged and said with a wry smile, "Alright, there was a bit of an accident. Can we go back and talk about it? This isn't the place to go into details."

Then, Lao Ma waved to a staff member who was not far away and said to Cao Yang:
"Have him take you to the organizing committee's team to greet you. However, you'd better be prepared that there are quite a few reporters following you to the airport this time."

Is this a bit too much?

There are so many!
Cao Yang looked at the media team, which numbered at least forty or fifty people, all of whom were in full gear, with their cameras and microphones all set up.

The press conference venue was nothing special.

"Director Cao..."

"Director Cao Yang..."

"Director..."

Upon seeing Cao Yang approach, reporters began shouting and shoving microphones at him, while camera flashes went off incessantly.

Even with the help of staff and assistants, it still took Cao Yang more than ten minutes to get away.

"How is this going?"

Sitting in the organizing committee's car, Cao Yang asked Luca Pirno, who was sitting next to him.

He is the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival and one of Lao Ma's confidants. This time, he is representing the organizing committee to welcome Cao Yang.

Luca Pierno hesitated for a moment, then smiled and explained, "You are one of the most influential filmmakers in the world. The news that we came to greet you was accidentally leaked, and these reporters followed us here."

It's that simple?
How can it be so simple.

“Luca, your words are not convincing at all.”

Luca Pirno shrugged and spread his hands, explaining again, "Okay, I admit it, the information was leaked from within our own ranks."

You still haven't explained why so many reporters came.

Cao Yang thought about the problems facing the Venice Film Festival and what Lao Ma had been working hard on in the past two years, and seemed to have some ideas.

The biggest threat to the Venice Film Festival now is not Cannes or Berlin, because the intervals between their events are quite large.

Of course, it's not the Oscars either.

It was the previously little-known Toronto International Film Festival!

The Toronto International Film Festival is held every September, which clashes with the Venice Film Festival.

Furthermore, in the past two years, as the Toronto International Film Festival has grown in popularity, it has gradually become a bellwether for the Oscars.

Hollywood stars prefer to attend the closer Toronto International Film Festival rather than come to Venice.

He tentatively asked, "Are there any currently popular superstars or big-name directors coming to Venice this year?"

Luca Pirno gave a wry smile, nodded, and said nothing.

That makes sense.

In recent years, the influence of the three major European film studios has been declining, especially in Hollywood, where many currently popular stars have begun to pay less attention to them.

Without the participation of these Hollywood stars, the attention given to the three major European countries will continue to decline, which is why the old man compromised with Hollywood after taking office.

However, Venice's compromise seems to have come a little too late.

Cannes attracts Hollywood stars every year, while Venice has a history of misconduct, often luring Hollywood people in without awarding them prizes and then verbally boycotting them—in short, Venice has a low reputation in Hollywood.

This has led to Hollywood stars choosing Cannes over the farcical Venice Film Festival, even if they want to attend European film festivals.

Very few world-class celebrities and directors come here, which is why these reporters flocked to the scene when they learned that Cao Yang was coming.

Reporting on the news of an unknown director is definitely not the same as reporting on a world-class director like Cao Yang.

The level of attention they receive is on a completely different level.

The van drove directly to the Excelsior Venice Hotel on Lido Island.

This hotel is an official partner hotel of Venice and the only five-star hotel on Lido Island, the venue for the Venice Film Festival. The organizing committee has arranged for Cao Yang to stay here for the past two years.

Not long after, Old Ma arrived.

"Why don't you rest for a few hours first, and we can talk again tonight?"

Old Ma asked, "Or shall we go eat first? I know a nice restaurant called 'Little Life'. Although it's run by Chinese people, the food is quite authentic."

"There's no rush to eat."

Cao Yang took a shower before Lao Ma arrived, and he looks quite energetic now.

"Old Ma, what you're talking about isn't asking me to stay in Venice a few more days to be your award presenter, is it?" "Wow!"

Old Ma expressed his surprise with exaggerated body language, and laughed as he said, "No wonder we're such good friends, this is exactly what I wanted to ask you for help with."

Then, Old Ma explained, "You should know very well the situation in Venice. Last year things were alright because you were there, but this year it's much more troublesome."

We sent invitations to many Hollywood stars in advance, but very few were willing to come. In order to increase the attention and influence of Venice, we decided to add a new grand prize this year.

That is the Lifetime Achievement Gold Lion Award, which is intended to be given to David Lynch of the United States.

He's won the Palme d'Or and Best Director at Cannes, has considerable influence in Europe, and is also a renowned Hollywood director, making him influential worldwide.

Cao Yang thought for a moment and asked, "David Lynch has never attended the Venice Film Festival, has he?"

"clever!"

Old Ma gave Cao Yang a thumbs up.

Venice's influence has declined so much, yet it still tries to poach talent from Cannes. Well... this move is not bad, killing several birds with one stone.

"Have you read the script I sent you? What are your thoughts?"

Cao Yang didn't mention whether he wanted to be a presenter for David Lynch's award, but instead changed the subject.

“It’s really great!”

Mentioning this, Old Ma visibly became excited. He gave Cao Yang a thumbs-up again and said with a smile:

"Is this the movie you're going to be afraid of next? Are you planning to come to Venice next year?"

He hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and said, "Don't worry, even if this world record is set under pressure, it doesn't matter. As long as you dare to come next year, I dare to award you the Golden Lion Award for the third time!"

Currently, the directors with the most Golden Lion Awards are Cao Yang and Zhang Yimou, each with two. If Cao Yang wins it again, he will indeed set a new record.

Furthermore, awarding three Golden Lions to a Chinese person puts considerable pressure on Old Ma.

However, it's not a huge number, considering that Cao Yang and Zhang Yimou are currently the directors who have won the most Golden Lions.

"You've misunderstood. I did write the script, but it was written for Lao Tian. I wanted him to direct this movie."

Cao Yang explained.

Old Ma frowned slightly and said, "You know, I have a very good relationship with Lao Tian, ​​but the movies he's made in recent years haven't been very successful. Can he present your script in its entirety?"

"His basic skills are still there. As long as he doesn't drastically change the script, filming according to the script shouldn't be a problem," Cao Yang said.

"Then I'm fine with that too."

Old Ma immediately expressed his opinion, and then added with a smile, "The presenter of the Lifetime Achievement Award..."

Cao Yang sighed helplessly, "Alright, I'll stay a few more days."

Then he thought of something else and reminded her, "You'd better handle the matter of your investment in that company in Hong Kong cleanly, so that no one can find any fault with it."

"Uh……"

Old Ma chuckled awkwardly at first, then eagerly pressed on with the question:
"Do many people know about this? Should I withdraw my funds?"

The main issue was that Jia... needed funding. I thought he was quite capable, so I considered collaborating with him. If I could just help him secure some awards, the film would definitely make a profit. How did it get discovered?

Cao Yang patted Lao Ma on the shoulder and comforted him:

"Your methods are too crude. Hong Kong is Asia's financial center and is very sensitive to financial transactions. Anyone with a keen eye can easily find clues with a little investigation."

Right now, only a limited number of people in the industry know about it. You should get a professional to handle the cleanup and do it discreetly.

"Uh-huh."

Old Ma nodded quickly, then hesitated for a moment and asked, "Should we... take the Golden Lion this time...?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment, then said, "Don't change it. Just tell him to keep a low profile. You should also hurry up and find someone to handle this."

Old Ma left in a hurry.

Cao Yang shook his head. Old Ma probably felt he was getting old and wanted to earn some money for his retirement, and also to find a way out for himself.

With Marco Polo becoming the president of the Venice Film Festival, it's become increasingly apparent in the past two years that more and more Chinese-language films are getting involved.

This year, three Chinese-language films have entered the main competition.

Jia Zhangke's "Still Life", Hong Kong's Du Qifeng's "Exile", and Taiwan's Cai Mingliang's "Dark Circles".

Even more have entered other units.

Liu Jie's "The Court on Horseback" and Jia Zhangke's "East," which was filmed alongside "Still Life," were shortlisted for the Horizons section.

Little Cannon's "The Banquet" was also included in the non-competitive screening section, while Chen Musheng's "Rob-B-Hood" from Hong Kong was included in the midnight screening section.

These two screening sections are essentially promotional sections invited by the organizers to bring in well-known directors to boost the festival's popularity.

There's also Cheng Yu-chieh's "The Beginning of the Year," which was shortlisted for the International Critics' Week section.

Although this year's opening and closing ceremonies weren't as extravagant as last year, with Chinese-language films being selected for the main competition, having three Chinese-language films in the competition is still a respectable achievement.

On August 30, 2006, the 63rd Venice International Film Festival opened. Cao Yang, as a special guest at the opening ceremony, delivered a brief opening speech.

Cao Yang's appearance at least brought more attention to the somewhat lackluster opening ceremony, which can be considered to have met Lao Ma's expectations.

(End of this chapter)