Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 313 A Safe Approach

That evening, Lao Tian called Cao Yang, and they went to the small restaurant they frequented.

To Cao Yang's surprise, when the still-attractive proprietress asked Lao Tian if he wanted some wine, Lao Tian waved his hand and refused outright.

"Wow, you're really something, quitting just like that? Impressive."

Cao Yang gave a thumbs up and teased Lao Tian.

"Quit my ass."

Old Tian picked up a strip of pickled radish with his chopsticks, crunched it, and swallowed it before saying to Cao Yang, "That stuff isn't so easy to quit. I've just been under a lot of pressure lately and I'm afraid drinking will interfere with things."

"Take it slow, don't put so much pressure on yourself."

Cao Yang offered casual advice.

Old Tian chuckled, then asked, "Did you show the script to Old Ma when you went to Venice? What did he say?"

"What else can I say? I just want to put you under less pressure, and as long as he takes care of everything."

Cao Yang also picked up a pickled radish and comforted him as he ate.

"hehe."

Old Tian smiled; he knew these words couldn't have come from Old Ma.

Old Ma might say the script is good, or that Old Tian should direct it well, but he certainly wouldn't take on so much responsibility; that's not his style.

However, Lao Tian was just asking casually. Before the movie is released, nothing can be believed. Only when the movie is well made will it matter.

Skipping over that topic, Lao Tian casually asked, "How did things go at Venice this time? What did Chinese-language films gain?"

Cao Yang pondered for a moment and said, "You might not believe it, but this year is another bumper year for Chinese-language films. We'll hear the news tomorrow. I feel that the Golden Lion should go to Jia Zhangke, who graduated from the Literature Department."

Old Tian paused, his hand, which was about to pick up some food, and looked at Cao Yang seriously. "You're not kidding?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Cao Yang retorted.

"This……"

Old Tian stopped picking at his food, frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "Last year, Old Ma gave the Golden Lion to your 'Black Swan.' If he gives it to Jia Zhangke again this year, next year... it won't be possible, right?"
The Venice Film Festival isn't run by the Marx family. Even if he had immense power, he wouldn't dare give us the Golden Lion three years in a row, would he?

He then chuckled self-deprecatingly and continued, "If that were the case, people would think the Venice Film Festival was an internal award organized by our Beijing Film Academy."

Cao Yang nodded; Old Tian's words made some sense.

According to the average person's thinking, it would be impossible for Old Ma to give the Golden Lion to a Chinese person for three consecutive years. It would take a lot of courage to do that.

But the fact is, Old Ma actually did it.

Cao Yang remembered that in his previous life, the Venice Film Festival gave the Golden Lion to a Chinese person for three consecutive years. What was even more outrageous was that the first and third years' Golden Lions were given to the same person, Li An, and the second year's Golden Lions were given to Jia Zhangke.

This incident caused a huge uproar in Europe at the time, with the media condemning Mark Müller as a "traitor to Italy," an enemy within Europe, and a lackey of the East.

Anyway, the insults were really harsh.

Strangely, that year marked the fourth year that Marco Müller had been elected president of the Venice Film Festival. It was during a time of leadership transition, and despite being heavily criticized, he was still elected and served as president of the Venice Film Festival for another four years.

Moreover, bearing the label of "traitor to Italy," after serving two terms as president of the Venice Film Festival, Marco Müller was elected president of the Rome Film Festival.

Yes, Italians do have a different way of thinking. They complain while entrusting important tasks to others. I don't understand it.

"Don't worry about whether it's the Golden Lion at Venice or an internal award from Beijing Film Academy. Just focus on making your film. Once it's done well, leave the rest to me and Lao Ma."

Cao Yang said to Lao Tian with a smile.

"What you've said puts even more pressure on me."

After Lao Tian finished speaking, he picked up a piece of food, chewed it, and said:

"I was still considering whether to cast Duan Yihong or Fu Dalong as the male lead. I was very hesitant during this period. I found a lot of information about the two of them, studied it carefully for a long time, and even made a summary."

Duan Yihong is the kind of person you can really trust. He might not surprise you, but he definitely won't hold you back.

What about Fu Dalong? He might offer some surprises, but he's not necessarily the most reliable; sometimes he tends to overact.

"Have you made a decision yet?"

Cao Yang hadn't expected that Lao Tian would go to such lengths to research the selection of the male lead. This showed that Lao Tian had indeed put in a lot of effort.

Old Tian picked up a large mouthful of food, chewed it vigorously, and then swallowed it down suddenly, as if he had made up his mind.

"Let's use Fudalong. I think if we train him properly, he'll be a real surprise."

In fact, before meeting Cao Yang, Lao Tian had almost decided to use Duan Yihong. The main reason was that Duan Yihong was reliable; even if he couldn't deliver a surprise, he was unlikely to cause any problems. Lao Tian simply didn't want any problems to arise.

However, after talking with Cao Yang, especially since it seems that Ma has given the Golden Lion to Jia Zhangke again this year, he made up his mind to make a film that is "surprising" rather than stable.

Even if it takes time and effort, we can't make things difficult for Cao Yang and Lao Ma.

Cao Yang considered Fidelity's image and offered some suggestions, saying:
"You can lean towards cult films, you can make Fidelity's character more perverted and insane, the more perverted, insane and inhuman the character is, the more shocking and precious the little bit of humanity that is brought out by the female lead will be."

Old Tian thought for a moment, then nodded, indicating that he understood.

After saying goodbye to Lao Tian, ​​Cao Yang also fell into deep thought.

Today's interaction with Lao Tian showed him a change in Lao Tian, ​​even his beloved wine, which he said he had given up. Even if, according to Lao Tian, ​​it was only temporary, it was certainly not an easy decision.

Even Lao Tian dared to give it a try.

Cao Yang couldn't help but ask himself, "Should I also make a film and try to get into the Berlin Film Festival?"

He has always been a realistic person, and he knew very well that the Berlin Film Festival would not easily give him the Golden Bear, allowing him to complete the grand slam of the three major European film festivals.

Therefore, he never planned to go to the Berlin Film Festival.

Whether you call it escapism or pragmatism, he never intended to go to Berlin in the near future.

Whether it works out or not, it's good to have a chance to try; maybe you'll find an opportunity.

Hiding isn't a solution either.

After attending the school's opening ceremony, Cao Yang planned to rest for another month before going to the United States. Unexpectedly, Tom Rothman, the executive director of Columbia University, came to Beijing again in person.

Tom Rothman reaped great benefits from his collaboration with Cao Yang, as he actively promoted films such as District 9 and Inception.

"Tom, I heard that Sony Pictures is considering promoting you to their global vice president. Is that true?"

Cao Yang asked with some curiosity, "Bellman mentioned this when he called last time."

Tom Rothman chuckled and said, "That's right. It was a proposal from Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Linton. The company has already approved the proposal, and it's currently going through the formalities."

However, it's not necessarily a good thing. You might not know this, but although Sony Pictures is nominally Columbia Pictures' parent company, it doesn't get involved much in Columbia's specific affairs. So I don't know if this would be a good choice for me.

Cao Yang nodded. He had only asked casually. These large companies are very complicated internally. Sometimes it may seem like you've been promoted, but who knows if it's a demotion in disguise with no real power?

However, despite his complaints, Tom Rothman seemed quite happy to take on the role of global vice president.

"Dear Cao, what have you thought about what I mentioned on the phone last time? Our cooperation has always been very pleasant, and Colombia has never done anything to damage the trust between us."

Tom Rothman spoke directly.

He knew that Cao Yang was currently very popular in Hollywood, and many companies were definitely vying to work with him. Columbia's advantage was that they had worked together many times before without any unpleasant incidents.

"Weren't you being transferred? Why are you still so concerned about things in Colombia?"

Cao Yang was a little puzzled. According to Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures would not be involved in Columbia Pictures' operations, so why was he so concerned about Columbia Pictures?
"Haha, Cao, you're a smart man, so I'll just say it straight."

Tom Rothman smiled at Cao Yang and said, "Talking to you about cooperation is the last thing I did at Columbia Pictures before I went to Sony Pictures. Do you understand what I mean?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment, was this the kind of report that uses political achievements as a basis? That's roughly the idea.

So, if you want this political achievement, I can squeeze more benefits out of you? Is that right?
"Tom, I understand what you mean. We've worked together so many times and always had a great time. As long as the conditions are right, I'll make sure you can complete this last job successfully before you take over at Sony Pictures."

"Haha, Cao, I'm so glad you said that. We'll always be friends, the best of friends."

Tom Rothman also started to bewitch Cao Yang.

"Yes, Tom, we'll always be best friends. I'm waiting for news of you taking over Sony."

It's just mutual flattery in business, Cao Yang can do that too.

"Thank you for your blessing, dear Cao. What do you think of my suggestion last time? Columbia is very sincere. How about we collaborate again and make '2012'?"

Tom Rothman got back to the main topic and talked about wanting to collaborate.

not so good.

If you were still at Columbia, or if other authorities in Columbia were talking to me about a collaboration, there might still be a possibility. But you're being transferred to Sony Pictures, and as you yourself said, Sony Pictures can't interfere with Columbia.

If I sign "2012" with you, the credit for this project will go to you. Who in Colombia would be willing to take it over?
To be honest, if the person who takes over does a good job, the credit goes to Tom Rothman; if they don't, the blame falls on the person who takes over.

Therefore, the person who takes over will definitely not be a powerful figure in Colombia.

Who knows what might happen then?

(End of this chapter)