Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 454 Emerging Markets

Chen Kai took the newspaper that Sister Hong had carefully selected and began to read it.

The 59th Berlin International Film Festival announced its first batch of nominees yesterday, with "Mei Lanfang" representing Chinese-language films in the main competition.

According to the film selector, "Mei Lanfang" is a modern film that embodies Eastern beauty. Its subtle and restrained expression of Eastern emotions is very unique, fusing a grand epic with a delicate personal emotional world...

Director Chen Kaige consistently carries on his cultural mission in his films, which is why he was ultimately nominated for the Golden Bear Award…

Old Chen glanced at the newspaper's title.

Yangcheng Daily, well, it's well written, as expected of a major media outlet.

The 59th Berlin International Film Festival has announced its first batch of nominees, with Chen Kaige's new film "Mei Lanfang" competing for the Golden Bear award alongside Cao Yang's "Like Father, Like Son".

It is reported that the Berlin Film Festival selectors gave "Mei Lanfang" a very high rating, believing it to be a modern film imbued with Eastern beauty, and that its subtle and restrained Eastern emotional expression is director Chen Kaige's forte..."

Old Chen glanced at the name of the newspaper again.

The Yangtze Daily is a major media outlet in China, and its reporting is relatively objective.

Old Chen couldn't help but nod.

"Since its nationwide release on December 5, the Lunar New Year film 'Mei Lanfang' has been receiving a lot of good news, achieving a box office of 40 million yuan in its opening weekend."

Yesterday, the 59th Berlin International Film Festival announced its first batch of entries for the main competition, and "Mei Lanfang" was among them.

Producer Han excitedly stated that participating in the Berlin competition is an opportunity to showcase the unique charm of Chinese culture, and that the unique Eastern aesthetics of "Mei Lanfang" and the spirit and character of the Chinese people will give Western audiences a pleasant surprise.

Several key members of the production team were extremely excited upon learning of the film's nomination at the Berlin Film Festival. Li Xiaoran, a former Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner, stated, "The film's inclusion in the competition is a tremendous affirmation of its artistic achievements and a great encouragement to all the staff who poured their hearts and souls into this film. I am very honored to be one of them..."

Old Chen glanced at the name in the newspaper.

The People's Daily.

He couldn't help but read the report again. It seemed to be full of praise, but something felt off.
Then he finally understood where the problem lay.

Seriously, just report it properly, why bring up box office numbers? It's utterly baffling!
When talking about box office, he couldn't help but think of Cao Yang's "Joker".

The box office of "Mei Lanfang" over its opening weekend was actually similar to that of "Joker" over its second weekend. This refers to the single-day box office of any one day of the weekend, not the total box office for the three days.

This is what broke Old Chen's defenses.

Logically speaking, as an art film, "Mei Lanfang" already achieved a very good result with a box office of about 4000 million yuan in its opening weekend, which is even higher than the total box office of many commercial films by Hong Kong and Taiwanese directors.

But I am afraid of comparison in everything.

You say your newspaper, Dazhong Daily, is a mainstream media outlet in Shandong Province. You should have just reported that "Mei Lanfang" was included in the first batch of films selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival. Why bother mentioning the box office?
baffling!

"Why are there only a few portions?"

Old Chen wasn't quite satisfied with what he was seeing, so he couldn't help but ask Sister Hong a question.

Why are there only a few portions?
Sister Hong really wanted to say, "Do you know how much effort I went through to find these newspapers that all reported on Mei Lanfang but didn't mention Cao Yang?"
If I showed you those mainstream media reports, I guarantee you'd be furious for at least a week after reading them.

Sister Hong could only say these words to herself.

“I don’t collect newspapers; I just bought a few randomly on the street.”

Fearing that Lao Chen would ask more questions, he quickly changed the subject, "It's almost time. Our thank-you reception for the media and partners at the Huguang Guild Hall is about to begin. Let's go, don't be late."

After saying that, Sister Hong picked up Old Chen's coat, helped him put it on, and tidied it up.

"What thank-you party? Isn't it just an opportunity to promote the film after the Berlin nominations were announced? It's purely a commercial event."

Old Chen said in a slightly low voice.

He actually strongly dislikes this kind of deceptive publicity, such as a thank-you event. No matter how grand the name sounds, it's essentially just a commercial event to promote the movie.

Old Chen wasn't against promoting the movie; what bothered him was the pretexts used to promote it.

Sister Hong didn't respond, but took two steps back to look at Old Chen's clothes, then walked closer and helped him turn up the collar of his coat.

Yes, this looks a bit more energetic and less serious.

"By the way, you and Xiaoran both filmed Cao Yang's new movie. What did you think of it? The film's theme, the characters' performances and portrayals, and..."

The acting goes without saying; my junior apprentice excels at that. The most important aspects are the exploration of human nature and the film's message.

Old Chen couldn't help but ask.

If Cao Yang's "Joker" were to compete with him at this year's Berlin Film Festival, Chen might not think so much about it and would not have any hope of winning the Golden Bear.

Ultimately, the film "Joker" is profound in its message and resonates with the current state of society.

Old Chen asked himself, if "Joker" were his movie, he would definitely not have it released on a large scale worldwide, but would have gone to the three major European cinemas.

For a film like this to go to any of the three major European film festivals, it's practically like "getting" the top prize for free.

So in this respect, he still looked down on Cao Yang, feeling that Cao Yang was too young and too focused on box office revenue.

In Lao Chen's opinion, Cao Yang should already be regretting it.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed back to China and hastily filmed a movie that hadn't been polished much.

How could a film like this possibly win a major award at Berlin?

This doesn't make sense.

Of course, Cao Yang's fame was built step by step through his films, not through media hype, so Lao Chen was still somewhat worried.

Sister Hong thought about it very seriously. In "Like Father, Like Son", the actors' performances... Since Old Chen said there was no need to say anything, then she wouldn't discourage him, and it would save her the trouble of trying to think of some euphemistic words to express herself.

As for the film's theme and its exploration of human nature?

Sister Hong was having a bit of a headache; she needed to think of some tactful words to express herself.

She looked up at Old Chen, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. What's the point of being so energetic? It's better to be more serious; it suits her personality better.

So she lowered Old Chen's collar, which he had turned up.

"The theme and exploration of human nature in 'Like Father, Like Son' are not as good as 'Joker'."

Sister Hong couldn't think of a more tactful way to put it, so this was the only way she could say it.

Hearing what Sister Hong said, Old Chen's serious face broke into a smile, and he breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Let's go."

After returning to Beijing, Cao Yang first went to the Qingying Film Studio to check on the post-production progress of "Like Father, Like Son".

As a long-time collaborator, Yang Qian, the editor from Qingdao Film Studio, was very reliable. He did not act on his own initiative, but edited the film entirely according to Cao Yang's requirements.

In his words, editing Director Cao's films is very simple because there are very few redundant shots and ambiguous shots that even the director himself is unsure about, especially the latter, which are almost non-existent.

Cao Yang was quite satisfied with the 150-minute version edited by Yang Qian.

At this point, it's no longer considered a "rough" cut. With a little refinement, the length can be kept around 120 minutes.

That evening, Cao Yang drove Jing Tian to that secluded private restaurant, and they had dinner together.

Jing Tian is currently in Beijing. In two days, on the 22nd, the filming of "The Great Biography of Sun Tzu," starring her, will begin, and a ceremony will be held in Beijing to mark the start of filming.

"Shall we go see a movie?" After dinner, Jing Tian put her arm around Cao Yang's, pouted, looked up at Cao Yang's face, and asked softly.

It was still very cold in Beijing in December, especially at night. Cao Yang wore a hat and a scarf to cover the lower half of his face so that he wouldn't be recognized.

"What do you want to see?"

Cao Yang lowered his head, pinched Jing Tian's rosy cheeks, and said with a smile in a low voice, "Watching a movie is fine, but you have to tie your hair into a ponytail tonight, um, a high ponytail."

Immediately, Cao Yang felt his arm tighten. He didn't know if Jing Tian had thought of something, but she hugged Cao Yang's arm tightly and lowered her head to give a soft "hmm".

After a pause, she said in a barely audible voice, "Just a single ponytail will do. You can't do anything else naughty."

"Ha ha……"

Seeing Jing Tian's somewhat shy expression, Cao Yang couldn't help but laugh.

I remember at the Berlin Film Festival last year, she seemed very brave when she knocked on the door, but after getting to know her, she turned out to be a simple and shy girl. The contrast between her before and after was quite significant.

"Forget it, let's not watch the movie. Nothing looks as good as a ponytail."

Cao Yang suddenly became interested. What's so interesting about a movie on such a cold day? Nothing beats watching a beautiful woman under the lamplight. Jing Tian only resisted slightly before obediently following Cao Yang, saying, "Then, don't you owe me a movie?"

"I owe you. I'll pay you back double whenever you want to watch it again."

"keep your word?"

"Of course!"

Cao Yang said very firmly.

……

"Liar, you're a big liar."

Jing Tian's face was flushed, her big, watery eyes were somewhat listless, and she was muttering to herself.

“You were probably in the way while you were lying down, so I took your ponytail off. I did this for your own good.”

"Hmph, you know that's not what I meant."

"You didn't object, did you? I think you seemed to enjoy it quite a bit back then..."

"Don't say it."

Before Cao Yang could finish speaking, Jing Tian hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.

"Okay, okay, I won't say, I won't say."

Cao Yang brushed Jing Tian's hand away and said with a smile.

"By the way, isn't your new film still in post-production? Then it can't be submitted to the Berlin Film Festival. Why did they put 'Like Father, Like Son' in the first batch of entries for the main competition?"

Jing Tian changed the subject and asked the question that had puzzled her.

In Jing Tian's mind, the three major European film festivals, such as the Berlin Film Festival, are very authoritative and fair, but the things the Berlin Film Festival does are somewhat puzzling to her.

How can you see any artistry in a movie that hasn't finished post-production?

If it lacks artistic merit, how can it be selected for the prestigious Berlin Film Festival's main competition?
Cao Yang hadn't expected Jing Tian to ask this question. He thought for a moment and explained, "As long as a director has won major awards at the three major European film companies, especially the highest awards, like Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Tian Yi, if their new film is an art film, the three major European film companies will send out invitations in advance once they find out."

"They'd invite you even if the movie wasn't finished?"

"meeting."

"Can a film that's not even finished be selected for the main competition?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment and said, "As long as they can ensure that the film is completed before the opening of the film festival, and then submit the film's name, script, and some pre-made clips to the film festival, they will most likely be selected for the main competition."

"Oh."

Jing Tian nodded, indicating that he understood, and said, "Is your new movie like that too?"

Cao Yang smiled and explained, "I was too busy recently, and since 'Like Father, Like Son' had just finished filming and hadn't gone into post-production yet, I just sent the movie title to Berlin."

Jing Tian's eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you provide the film festival with a script or film clips?"

Cao Yang smiled and stopped talking about that, instead changing the subject: "The 'Great Biography of Sun Tzu' that your company invested in, is starting filming on the 22nd, right?"

"Ah."

Speaking of this, Jing Tian was surprised by Cao Yang's "privilege" but couldn't help feeling doubly happy. This was her first time playing the female lead, so she was especially happy.

"This time I'm working with Zhang Fengyi and You Yong, both of whom are very famous actors. Director Liu Xingang has directed several good TV series. By the way, he was also the art director for Director Feng's 'A Sigh,' 'Big Shot', and 'Cell Phone.'"

“Good, act well and learn more from Zhang Fengyi. He’s from the class of ’78 at Beijing Film Academy. I’ll put in a good word with him and ask him to give you some guidance.”

"Uh-huh!"

Jing Tian nodded firmly, a happy smile on his face, filled with curiosity and longing for the upcoming TV series.

Well, regardless of the young lady's acting skills, at least her attitude is very proper and her professionalism is very high.

The latter two points, in particular, are qualities that many new generation actors lack.

As for acting skills, Cao Yang decided that when a suitable role came along, he would give it to Jing Tian. He didn't believe that with so much reputation he had, he could improve Jing Tian's acting skills.

Even if Jing Tian's acting is bad, how much worse can it be than Gao Yuanyuan and Yu Feihong?

Then, Cao Yang recalled the scenes from filming "Love in the Seaside City" and couldn't help but doubt his own judgment.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Let Cao Yang deal with this headache in the future. What does it have to do with Cao Yang now?

"Hey, hey? What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? When we were halfway through, did I let your ponytail down? Don't you still owe me half?"

"I... um..."

On New Year's Day, Cao Yang finally completed the production of "Like Father, Like Son".

Furthermore, after being delayed for more than ten days, "Joker" finally broke through 6.85 million yuan at the domestic box office, which, according to the current exchange rate of around 6.83, is considered to have officially reached 1 million US dollars.

This number was still quite astonishing for the end of 08 and the beginning of 09.

Although many people know that the box office of "Joker" can reflect the potential of the domestic box office to a certain extent, it broke 6 million yuan in less than a month of normal release, which is a new box office record.

But when the film's release was delayed by ten days and the box office actually reached $1 million, it shocked not only China, but also the Americans.

For the North American box office market, $1 million is not a small amount, let alone for China.

Aside from North America, which other country in the world has a single film that has reached $1 million? At least for now, there aren't many. Even among those films that have grossed over $1 million, most of them are "Titanic".

Most importantly, China's box office market is growing too fast.

Therefore, Hollywood film companies, especially the Big Six and some other slightly larger film companies, have all turned their attention to China, a new market with great potential.

(End of this chapter)