Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 368 Old Ma's Tactics

"A grand gathering of Chinese filmmakers in the water city!"

A photo of the groom, accompanied by a caption, instantly went viral online.

This photo shows a dinner party, with a round table surrounded by Chinese filmmakers.

Of course, it wouldn't matter if the people sitting there were just some relatively unknown filmmakers, but the key point is that almost all of them are directors that everyone knows.

Judging from the photo, sitting directly opposite the shooting position is Cao Yang, one of the most famous and influential directors in China.

To Cao Yang's left sat Zhang Yimou, the president of the jury for the 64th Venice Film Festival, and to Cao Yang's right sat Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Next to Zhang Yimou is Jiang Wen, next to Jiang Wen is Hong Kong film director Du Qifeng, next to Du Qifeng is Taiwanese director Li Kangsheng, and next to Li Kangsheng is Taiwanese director Chen Yili.

Next to Tian Zhuangzhuang is Lü Le from the 78 Photography Department. Next to Lü Le is Jia Zhangke, the winner of the previous Venice Golden Lion Award. Next to Jia Zhangke is Zhuang Yuxin, and next to Zhuang Yuxin is Du Haibin.

Sina Entertainment's accompanying text served as an explanation for the gathering of Chinese directors.

Cao Yang is the producer and screenwriter of the film "Pieta," which was selected for the main competition. He is also a special guest of the Venice Film Festival. According to sources within Venice, he may present the Best Actor or Best Actress award at this year's festival.

Zhang Yimou is the chairman of the jury.

Tian Zhuangzhuang's film "Pieta" has been shortlisted for the main competition.

Jiang Wen's film "The Sun Also Rises" has been nominated for the main competition.

Lü Le's "The Novel" has been included in the Horizons section.

Jia Zhangke's film "Useless" has also been included in the Horizons section.

"Mad Detective," directed by Hong Kong director Du Qifeng, was added to the main competition at the last minute after "Lust, Caution" was removed from the main competition.

Taiwanese director Li Kangsheng's film "Help Me Cupid" has been shortlisted for the main competition.

"Love's Teeth," directed by Zhuang Yuxin, has been shortlisted for the main competition.

Taiwanese director Chen Yili's "Blood Brothers" was included in the midnight screening section and was also selected as the closing film.

Du Haibin's film "The Umbrella" has been selected for the Horizons section.

(If you think this is an exaggeration, just search for the 64th Venice Film Festival. There were indeed 8 Chinese-language films participating. Apart from Lao Tian's "Pieta" and "Love's Teeth", the other 7 films plus "Lust, Caution" are not an exaggeration at all, including Zhang Yimou's jury president.)
Since taking office as president of the Venice Film Festival, Mark Müller has only done two things:
Firstly, in order to enhance the film festival's influence and attract more attention, it has completely compromised with Hollywood, ensuring that an American film wins a major award every year, rather than just paying lip service.

Secondly, he supports Chinese-language films and Chinese filmmakers, especially by giving them significant support in awards. The reason for this is probably that he studied in China, likes China, and has many friends in China.

In the original timeline, it was he who awarded the Venice Film Festival's highest prize, the Gold Lion, to Chinese people for three consecutive years.

"Is Old Ma really going to let you be the presenter for the Best Actor or Best Actress award?"

After the gathering ended, Lao Tian asked Cao Yang a question.

When Cao Yang arrived yesterday, Lao Ma jokingly suggested that Cao Yang be his award presenter, but Lao Tian thought he was just kidding.

The ten-day film festival is already more than halfway over, and the award presenters must have been decided long ago. How could Cao Yang be asked to replace someone else at the last minute?

Cao Yang shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm not the presenter for the Best Actor award."

"Oh, I knew it."

Old Tian nodded, indicating that he knew, and that he was simply curious about it.

"Old Ma asked me to be the presenter for the Best Actress award."

Cao Yang spoke after Lao Tian finished speaking.

Old Tian glared at him. "You brat, are you kidding me?"

"Ha ha……"

Cao Yang laughed, and then explained to Lao Tian:
"It's not easy for Lao Ma either. He really tried every means to increase the attention and influence of the Venice Film Festival. In the end, not many Hollywood superstars came to the opening ceremony, which hurt Lao Ma a lot."

Then, he whispered to Lao Tian, ​​"Especially those two Hollywood stars who had the best chance of winning Best Actor and Best Actress, they didn't even think about coming. There are also many films that were selected for the main competition, and the lead actors didn't come either."

Old Tian was stunned. Cao Yang's words contained too much information, and he didn't know what to ask for a moment.

How do you know who has the best chance of winning Best Actor and Best Actress?

How do you know those Hollywood stars aren't planning to come to Venice?

How do you know so much information?

Do you already know who won the award?
……

"Are Hollywood stars the most likely to win Best Actor and Best Actress awards?"

Old Tian tried his best to suppress his curiosity and followed Cao Yang's lead to ask the question.

Cao Yang nodded and said, "Isn't that obvious? You know what Lao Ma is thinking. Now, if he wants global attention and to maintain his influence, he can only try to compromise with Hollywood and attract big stars."

Unfortunately, in previous years, the Venice Film Festival had been playing games with Hollywood stars, promising to give them big awards, then luring them in only to claim they were going against Hollywood and not giving them a single award... So now the consequences are showing.

The boy who cried wolf has cried it too many times, severely damaging his credibility. Now that they're actually going to offer rewards, nobody's coming anymore.

Old Tian thought about it and realized that he didn't see many Hollywood stars on the red carpet at the opening ceremony. Most of the people walking the red carpet were Europeans and Asians.

To be fair, there are quite a few American films selected for the main competition this year, a total of 8, which is unimaginable in previous years—only 21 films were selected for the main competition.

Only four Italian films were selected, two of which were co-productions with other countries.

Yes, five of them are Chinese-language films.

So, with the US, China, and Italy combined, a total of 17 films were selected for the main competition, leaving only 4 films for other countries around the world.

Of course, it seems that more than four films are left for the world and Europe, because two of the four Italian films were co-produced with other European countries, and two of the eight American films were also co-produced with Europe.

Otherwise, Maradona's extreme actions would definitely have drawn fierce criticism from the European media.

Old Tian was beginning to understand why Old Ma insisted on having Cao Yang as the award presenter.

"Old Ma released the news that you would be the presenter for the Best Actor or Best Actress award, just to attract Hollywood stars who might win the award?"

Old Tian asked Cao Yang in a low voice.

At the same time, he thought to himself that Cao Yang's influence was really huge now. Old Ma actually used him as "bait" to attract Hollywood male and female stars to Venice.

Will those who previously decided not to come come after hearing that Cao Yang is the presenter for the Best Actor or Best Actress award?

Most likely it will.

This is an opportunity to get to know Cao Yang and establish a connection with him. As long as we can get to know him and establish a connection, the chances of cooperation are much greater than if we don't know him at all.

It's worth noting that even in Hollywood, Cao Yang rarely attends events or parties. Aside from filming movies, he seldom stays in the United States, and many Hollywood stars who want to meet him don't even have the chance.

Old Tian glanced at Cao Yang and couldn't help but sigh again. This brat is really getting more and more impressive. Even Hollywood stars have to be careful around him.

He suddenly remembered a very interesting promotional interview video, which can still be found online. When Jackie Chan returned to Hong Kong to promote "Rush Hour 3" a while ago, it was probably because the Hong Kong media was unhappy that "Rush Hour 3" was being overshadowed at the North American box office by "The Fault in Our Stars".

Some media outlets are trying to make up for it in other ways.

So, a reporter asked:
"Jackie, according to reliable sources, you will receive 15% of the profits from 'Rush Hour 3,' while Cao Yang will only receive 13% from 'Inception.' Both are A-list productions. Does this mean that your status in Hollywood is much higher than Cao Yang's?"

Old Tian couldn't help but laugh when he thought of Cheng Long's expression at the time.

Cheng Long was clearly stunned. His eyes widened as he stared at the reporter who asked the question, and it took him a full twenty seconds to react.

Interestingly, his first reaction was neither to berate the reporter nor to answer the question.

His face turned visibly red, and he hurriedly said to the camera, "Director Cao Yang is the director I admire most and respect the most. He is also one of the most influential and respected directors in Hollywood."

He then glared at the reporter, staring at him for several seconds before saying:

"Although the one I received is also called Gross, its full name is First Dollal Gross, also known as the initial total box office."

You can think of it as the portion of the film's box office revenue minus the theaters' share, from which I make my profit.

In Hollywood, actors who receive a share of the profits either receive an initial share of the total box office revenue or a share of the profits.

Director Cao Yang received Gross, which is the total box office revenue share. It's completely different from what I received. How can my 15% be compared to Director Cao Yang's 13%?

I can tell you with certainty that there are probably no more than five directors in Hollywood who have won the Gross Award. Now you understand Director Cao Yang's status, right?

After explaining all that, Jackie Chan probably still wasn't satisfied, and angrily shouted, "Do you understand now?"

Old Tian poked Cao Yang's arm and asked with great curiosity, "Is no one in Hollywood dares to offend you now?"

Cao Yang was taken aback. What did he mean by that?

Could it be that Lao Ma's shady tactics made Lao Tian think of this problem?
He hesitated for a moment, then asked in return:

"Why would any company or actor I've worked with offend me? Aren't they happy to make money working with me? Aren't they happy to win awards working with me? Do they hate the US dollar?"

As for those who haven't worked with me before, why would they want to offend me? Don't they want to work with me in the future? Do they have a grudge against the US dollar?

One difference between Americans and Chinese is that as long as you can get them to earn US dollars, political and other factors are not taken into consideration, at least not yet.

Perhaps it will be another ten years or so before Americans are completely corrupted, and before they are willing to earn less or no money for the sake of certain "correct" things.

On September 4th, Jiang Wen's film "The Sun Also Rises" held its premiere, and he specifically invited Cao Yang, who would definitely attend.

This film marks Jiang Wen's return to directing after a six-year ban, at least nominally.

Jiang Wen is quite famous in Europe, and the premiere was a great success.

Furthermore, of the three actresses in the film, apart from Jiang Wen's wife Zhou Yun who wore a strapless long green dress, Chen Chong and Kong Wei dressed quite daringly.

She was wearing a light green dress with a corset, but her back was completely exposed.

A woman wearing a white halter-neck dress not only exposed her entire back, extending to her buttocks, but the two pieces of fabric covering her chest in the front were also small, with two figure-eight shaped spheres that were quite eye-catching.

Cao Yang recognized the actress wearing the white, figure-eight-shaped long dress.

When Cao Yang was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, he was very curious about the famous 96 acting class, which was two years ahead of him, and even went to see it.

Besides Little Swallow, chubby Yan Danchen, He Lin, and others, there was also a girl with a big mouth in the 96th class, so that when you first look at her, you can't help but look at her mouth first.

That's Kong Wei, one of today's leading ladies.

It has to be said that some actresses are really daring when it comes to their outfits.

"Director Cao, it's been so many years. Do you still remember me? I remember you came to our class several times before your sophomore year."

It's true that actresses have an advantage when it comes to socializing. Kong Wei directly linked arms with Cao Yang, and her V-shaped breasts inadvertently touched Cao Yang's arm several times.

"Oh, Weiwei, you know Director Cao? That's good. Please take good care of Director Cao for me. He's a very important guest."

Jiang Wen said in a loud voice.

"Hehe, don't worry, Director Jiang, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Kong Wei said with a smile.

"Hello Director Cao, I'm Chen Chong, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Chen Chong walked over from the other side and reached out his hand.

Taking the opportunity, Cao Yang broke free from Kong Wei's hand, shook hands with Chen Chong, and said with a smile, "Hello."

He could tell that Chen Chong and Kong Wei were at odds, and it seemed that the saying "three women make a drama" was becoming increasingly relevant.

"Director Jia, you've been here for a while?"

Cao Yang saw Jia Zhangke not far away, quickly greeted him, then gave Kong Wei and Chen Chong an apologetic smile before walking towards Jia Zhangke.

Sigh, sometimes the worst thing is encountering an actress who knows you and is especially enthusiastic. If she takes advantage of her womanly status and deliberately tries to reminisce with you while ignoring your identity, that can be a real headache.

"What's wrong? Are you in trouble?"

Jia Zhangke chuckled softly and asked, "There are people who can make you lose face? That's really rare."

Cao Yang sighed and said, "They were from the 96 acting class at our school. I met them a few times when we were in school..."

He then shook his head with a wry smile.

Jia Zhang laughed, revealing an expression that every man understands, and teased, "I understand, I understand. I didn't develop a relationship with you back in school, but now I want to get involved with you... in your drama."

Cao Yang glanced at Jia Zhangke with some surprise. He hadn't expected that Old Jia, who usually seemed so serious, would have this side to him.

After attending the premiere of "The Sun Also Rises," Cao Yang had a chat with Jia Zhangke. Sure enough, Jia Zhangke also understood this film that reflects the extremes of human desire.

However, Lao Jia had reservations about Jiang Wen's approach, believing that this unconventional filming style was too casual and might leave viewers confused.

Okay, even Lao Jia said Jiang Wen's narrative is too casual. It seems that Jiang Wen does have an excessive desire to express himself and is too casual.

Cao Yang arrived in Venice too late, so he only caught the premiere of Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises," and missed the premiere of "Pieta."

September 8th marked the final day of the Venice Film Festival.

Old Ma came to find Cao Yang and excitedly told him that many Hollywood stars who hadn't come before had made a special trip to the closing ceremony red carpet today.

He also specifically mentioned the names of several people.

For example, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Abramovich, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, George Clooney, Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, etc.

These are the main actors from several American films that were shortlisted for the main competition.

It seems that Lao Ma's "unorthodox trick" really worked.

(End of this chapter)