Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 515 You Are a Born Superstar
Chen Nuo wasn't making things up; the red carpet in front of the Venice Film Palace is indeed short.

As is well known, Venice is a seaside city with a network of canals. The Palazzo Cinema, built in 1936 and the venue for the Venice Film Festival, is located on the Lido Island, southeast of the main island. It is a long and narrow island with canals on one side and the beach of the Adriatic Sea on the other.

Due to the limited terrain, there was not enough space to build a long red carpet in front of the main entrance of the cinema palace, so the red carpet was laid out parallel to the entrance.

All film creators participating in the red carpet will first depart from the main city of Venice or a nearby island, take a boat to the exclusive dock to the right of the Palazzo Cinema, disembark, and walk to the starting point of the red carpet, crossing the red carpet which is only about 20 meters long to enter the venue.

In comparison, the Cannes Film Festival red carpet is about 60 meters long, while the Oscars red carpet is 150 meters long. That's why Chen Nuo always walks very fast when he goes to the Oscars. If you walk slowly, it can take half an hour.

Compared to Cannes or the Oscars, Venice's red carpet, which is only about twenty meters long, is not only short, but can even be described as miniature.

but.

Yes, nine times out of ten, there's a "but" to everything in this world.

However, Chen Nuo, a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, didn't possess the same ability as the top students from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to detect anything amiss from subtle details. His reluctance to think critically resulted in relying solely on past experience.

The "but" placed at the Venice Film Festival caused Chen Nuo to overlook one thing due to past experience—

Although the Venice Film Festival's actual red carpet is short, it has a unique entrance method unlike any other film festival in the world:
Take a boat.

Stars attending the film festival, except those residing on Lido Island, need to take a speedboat from the main island's airport or a nearby island to the Palace of Cinema.

During this process, the speedboats the celebrities rode on were not like cars, which had shelter—they were open-top and completely exposed to the cameras and the crowd.

In other words, from the moment the stars boarded the ship at the pier until they disembarked at the Palais des Festivals, the entire route felt like a red carpet.

Chen Nuo stayed at the Hilton Hotel on the west coast of Giudecca last night. It takes fifteen minutes to travel by speedboat across the Venetian Lagoon to the Palais des Festivals.

Therefore, when Chen Nuo boarded the official speedboat that came to pick him up with a smile, along with Pan Shouyi and Chen Duling, he thought that he would walk on the red carpet in fifteen minutes.

But in reality, from the moment he boarded the ship, it was as if he were walking on a red carpet on the water.

This red carpet starts from the Giudeca Island pier, passes through the Grand Canal of St. Mark, the old town of Venice, the Arsenal district, and then crosses the lagoon to enter Lido Island, with a total length of nearly five kilometers.

Five kilometers.

It was more than thirty times longer than the Oscars red carpet.

This length is destined to be terrifying for any red carpet phobia in the world, and it will surely give anyone who underestimates the Venice red carpet a lesson they will never forget.

……

"Hello everyone, I'm Valeria Morandi, and I'm currently in the RAI studio, bringing you live coverage of the opening ceremony of the 69th Venice International Film Festival."

"We received news half an hour ago that superstar No Chen, who is attending this film festival, is about to take a speedboat to the Lido Film Palace to participate in the red carpet ceremony. We will soon bring you live footage via RAI's dedicated press helicopter."

"Nuo Chen will be competing for Best Actor at this year's film festival with his new film 'Water Drop,' an award he has yet to win at any of the three major European film festivals. Will he be able to achieve this momentous milestone in Italy? The world is watching!"

"Alright, viewers, now we can clearly see through the helicopter's high-definition lens that many gondolas have gathered on the canal below. These traditional Venetian gondolas are filled with enthusiastic tourists and fans, holding cameras and binoculars, eager to catch a glimpse of this superstar."

"On the white speedboat were reporters from all over the world. Everyone wanted to get a first look at the Hollywood star who had secretly arrived in Venice two days earlier by private jet."

"It's here! It's here!"

"Look, everyone, the Riva Aquariva luxury speedboat that appears in the distance in the camera's view is the speedboat that Nuo Chen is riding in this time."

"Ah! What do I see? Ladies and gentlemen, did you see that? All the boats on the river below are now rushing forward!"

"Oh my God, look! Countless ships, as if they just received the news, are suddenly rushing in from all the waterways. Have they all gone mad?!"

"In the more than 60-year history of the Venice Film Festival, such a scene has never occurred before!"

"Right now, all the Italians in Venice and tourists from all over the world are going crazy for this Hollywood star who is attending the Venice Film Festival for the first time!"

"They're chanting his name, OMG, this is unbelievable!"

At that moment, through the lenses of Italian national television, audiences around the world watching the film festival were stunned to witness a crazy scene.

Right below the helicopter, on Venice's main canal, hundreds of brown gondolas poured into the main waterway from all directions, while white speedboats dotted the water like stars, densely packed together.

These boats, large and small, were like ants drawn by honey, or locusts attracted by food; they all changed direction in unison and swarmed toward the same goal.

That target was the white Italian Riva Aquariva luxury speedboat that had just sailed out of the Giudeca Island pier and into the river!

In an instant, hundreds of boats of all sizes caused severe traffic congestion on the waterway, which was tens of meters wide.

In the footage, the boats were jostled together haphazardly, unable to turn around, creating a chaos that defies description.

No one followed the rules. Some tried to film the speedboat from the front, some prepared to flank it from both sides, and some even climbed onto the bow, holding telephoto lenses, chasing their target like wildlife photographers.

Several speedboats nearly collided while vying for position, with one even being pushed to the shore. The bow of the speedboat lurched violently, and several well-dressed men and women standing on it almost fell into the water, causing a burst of screams from the spectators on the shore.

There was also a large speedboat with a banner that read "Milan Chinese Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Chen Nuo," and a five-star red flag was flying fluttering in the wind at its bow. Seven or eight black-haired passengers were standing on the deck, singing and dancing while holding the flag.

The helicopter rose again, and the aerial camera slowly zoomed out. Looking down at the waterway from a higher altitude, the other waterways nearby were empty, with almost no boats or tourists. However, the waterway directly below was almost entirely covered by boats of all colors, a huge expanse where the water surface was barely visible. The riverbanks on both sides were crowded with heads of all colors.

Italian national television commentator Valeria Morandi could barely keep up with her pace as she excitedly exclaimed:

"Dear viewers, what you are seeing now is not a parade, nor a festival procession, but because of—one person! Yes, just one person!"

"The once-flowing waterway from St. Mark's Square to the Lido Island has been completely paralyzed since his arrival!"

"This will undoubtedly be the most sensational, unique, and astonishing moment in the history of the Venice Film Festival!"

……

"WTF!!!"

Five minutes ago, when Chen Nuo saw what was happening before his eyes, he was panicked and immediately shouted, "Allison, what's going on?!"

Five minutes later, he stopped shouting and sat calmly in the middle of the speedboat, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth and a smile on his face. He also waved to the crowd of onlookers from time to time.

It's just like Zhuge Liang, who had everything under control.

Pan Shouyi and Chen Duling, who were sitting in the back row, were not as good at pretending as him.

Two young girls, who were originally dressed up beautifully and ready to walk the red carpet in style, now lowered their heads as low as possible like ostriches, and covered their faces with their hands.

Chen Duling, in particular, looks exactly like a school beauty who got caught stealing in a supermarket.

Alison sat down next to Chen Nuo, her face full of guilt, and said:
"I apologize again, Chen. This was absolutely my mistake. It was truly my oversight."

Logically speaking, if a speedboat is traveling at full speed of 25 miles per hour, with the wind and waves crashing in your face and the engine roaring, it would be impossible to have normal communication.

However, if the speedboat is turned into a slow boat, moving slowly at less than 5 miles per hour, it can almost be described as drifting with the current, then you can say whatever you want.

Looking at the densely packed ships around them, Chen Nuo said calmly, "Alison, stop talking. I don't blame you. Nobody expected it to turn out like this, and you've never been to the Venice Film Festival before. Anyway, it's not a big deal. As long as the two of them lie down and don't get photographed, I'll just smile and wave and wait for the rescue boat to arrive."

The voice just fell.

There was a snap.

A poster, thrown from who-knows-where, was blown by the sea breeze and landed precisely on his head.

Immediately, a burst of cheerful laughter erupted from the gondolas and speedboats all around.

Chen Nuo reached out and pulled the poster off his face, then looked down and saw that it was a promotional poster for "Drop".

On the poster, the silhouette of New Orleans is faintly visible against a heavy, dark blue background. In the center is his blood-scarred profile, his expression cold and his eyes downcast. The designer's meticulous work conveys an unspoken, profound sorrow and repression. Most striking is the single, bright red tear, added in post-production, at the corner of his right eye, seemingly sliding slowly from the depths of the character's soul.

Good.

Chen Nuo didn't feel embarrassed at all; on the contrary, he found the scene quite interesting.

He smiled, raised the poster high with his right hand, and showed it to the surrounding crowd.

The crowd, which had been laughing just moments before, erupted in cheers.

Someone shouted in English, "Chen, we love you!"

Some people shouted in Italian: "Forza Chen, il Leone ti aspetta!"

There's also the French phrase: "Courage, tu es notre star, Chen!"

Spanish: "Vamos, brilla en Venecia!"

Korean: “!”

Japanese: "Hui け! 梦をつかんで!"

Venice is a world-renowned tourist destination, attracting visitors from all corners of the globe. A cacophony of languages ​​blends into a powerful soundscape that echoes endlessly over the waterways.

Then, a voice in Chinese came from somewhere: "Brother Nuo! Keep it up, win the Volpi Award!!!" It traveled through the waves of sound and reached Chen Nuo's ears.

He instinctively looked around, but because there were so many boats and so much noise, he couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.

He wanted to give some response.

Since he couldn't find it, he didn't think much of it. He simply stood up, raised the poster he was holding in his right hand even higher, and raised his left hand as well, making a thumbs-up gesture in the air.

This action seemed to instantly press the pause button on the entire venue, and the scene was briefly silent for half a second.

But it only lasted half a second.

Half a second later,

From the river surface to the bank, from the bow of the boat to the bridge, from the ground to the air, a deafening roar erupted in the next instant.

Voices, screams, cheers, camera shutters, applause, and shouts surged like waves, converging from all directions to create a massive cacophony. It was as if a magnificent Italian opera had just been performed here, and the people on the boat were taking their final bows.

Allison watched all this silently, her expression complex, remaining speechless for a long time.

After a moment, once Chen Nuo sat down again, the well-informed Canadian woman said sincerely, "Chen, honestly, you're just made for this."

—This is exactly what you were born for.

……

Chen Nuo drifted at sea for nearly ten minutes before the Italian police, with their deeply moving administrative efficiency, finally dispatched a small government vessel provided by the Venice municipality to maintain order.

Two uniformed officers wearing sun hats repeatedly shouted through a loudspeaker and waved their hands to drive away the surrounding boats. With great difficulty, they cleared a narrow passage for Chen Nuo's speedboat in the dense waterways.

However, he thought that once he drove out of the congested main canal in the old town and into the open lagoon, everything would be over—

Reality, however, slapped him hard in the face and told him:

No, it's not that simple.

The only things left behind were the gondolas.

In addition, not only did the helicopter in the sky keep circling overhead, but the photographer, wearing full safety gear, kept his camera firmly fixed on him, never moving away from the lens.

Moreover, the speedboats carrying reporters and tourists showed no sign of backing down. On the contrary, as if on command, they all sped out of the old town, tightly surrounding his speedboat on both sides, moving at the same speed, flanking him from both sides, like a ceremonial guard.

If you ignore the long lenses and cameras they're carrying, and the faces of those trying to make money off their photos, the scene really does resemble a king on a royal procession, with all these people acting as his entourage and guards.

At this point, there was still some waterway to the cinema, but the roar of the engines of the escort fleet, composed of various ships, had already reached the destination.

At the pier next to the cinema, some film festival creators were queuing up to walk the red carpet when they suddenly heard the deafening noise on the water and all involuntarily turned their heads to look.

One of the groups was the crew of the TV series "Tai Chi" from Hong Kong.

"What's going on?" Feng Delun frowned, turned to look in the direction of the waterway, and asked in surprise.

The actors next to him, Yuan Xiaochao, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and Eddie Peng, all turned around to look.

Yuan Xiaochao also exclaimed, "Wow, what's all this fuss about?"

The group looked at each other, all of them bewildered.

But at this moment, the photojournalists who had been sitting beside them, lazily dozing against the steps, suddenly stood up, set up their cameras, and craned their necks to look towards the river. From the crowd came a series of names in different accents—all sounding like they were shouting the same word.

“Chen?” Stephen Fung paused for a moment and asked, “Are they talking about Chen Nuo?”
Tony Leung Ka-fai frowned and nodded: "I can't understand Italian, but from the intonation, it seems like he's right."

Yuan Xiaochao immediately looked indignant: "How can it be so exaggerated? Do they need more than a dozen boats to pick up just one person? Are these foreigners crazy? There are so many of us from 'Tai Chi,' and the film festival won't even send us a few more boats, so we have to leave Sister Su Qi and the others at the hotel!"

He was referring to the fact that the original seven members of the "Tai Chi" crew were scheduled to walk the red carpet together, but the film festival informed them that they could only give two official spots. After coordination, there were only four spots left. So, the crew discussed it and decided that the four of them would come, while Su Qi, Daniel Wu, and Feng Shaofeng, who also starred in the film, had to stay at the hotel.

Stephen Fung patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, Chao-zai, say less."

Tony Leung said, "Chao Zai, at least we're better than the people in 'White Crane'."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiaochao immediately fell silent.

Indeed, their situation is already quite good; at least they still have people walking the red carpet—it's just that the number has been reduced from seven to four.

Another Chinese film participating in the festival, "Tell Them, I've Gone on a White Crane," was truly a tragedy.

I had already arrived in Venice and received confirmation from the red carpet, but at the last minute before boarding today, I was notified that my spot had been cancelled due to on-site coordination issues, and I could not board the ship.

Both film crews stayed at the same hotel. Although one was from mainland China and the other from Hong Kong, they were both Chinese and would inevitably run into each other.

When the crew of "Tai Chi" heard about this earlier, they were all so surprised that they were speechless.

Most people have attended film festivals or award ceremonies in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, but have never heard of such a thing.

This incident, on the one hand, demonstrates the chaotic organization of this year's Venice Film Festival, and on the other hand, it evokes a sense of indignation.

Recalling the forced smiles of Li Ruijun, the director of "White Crane," and his wife Zhang Min, the only professional actress in the film, not long ago, the group felt a little uneasy.

Just as the atmosphere was getting a bit somber, Eddie Peng, who had been scrolling through his phone the whole time, suddenly spoke up: "Look at this."

He held up his phone, and several people immediately surrounded him.

It's a news item from NBC on Twitter.

It says:

Breaking News: According to Italian national television, Nochen's appearance in Venice today caused massive traffic congestion on the canals!
Chen Nuo, who was attending the Venice Film Festival in Italy, caused chaos among local tourists and fans on his way from his hotel to the opening ceremony. The crowd, eager to catch a glimpse of the superstar, caused severe congestion on a major canal, with boats of all kinds stuck for over 40 minutes.

The video, which is about ten seconds long, was also included below.

Eddie Peng opened the video, and the camera showed an aerial view of the canal. The canal was almost completely dry, filled with gondolas and speedboats. On the white speedboat in the middle, a man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was sitting at the bow. He was surrounded by crowds of people holding up their phones and filming.

After reading it, the group fell silent again.

At that moment, a staff member hurried over, his voice urgent: "Excuse me...are you from 'Taiji'?"

Stephen Fung nodded immediately.

"It's your turn now. Please get ready."

It turns out that, for some unknown reason, the red carpet show, which was originally moving incredibly slowly, suddenly sped up. The main creators of various films who had been delayed were quickly ushered in, and the procession began to move forward rapidly.

After waiting for almost half an hour, it was finally the turn of the "Tai Chi" crew to appear.

The group exchanged glances, straightened their clothes, and immediately followed the Italian staff member forward.

then……

Five seconds.

It really only lasted five seconds.

Because Stephen Fung heard it clearly.

One, two, three, four, five.

The four of them stood together facing the camera, posed, and faced the flashing lights.

Although almost no one photographed them except for the newspaper reporters who had arranged the announcements.

However, as a newly minted director who transitioned from acting, Stephen Fung was already quite satisfied to have his debut film invited to the Venice Film Festival and to be standing here. At this moment, he was filled with excitement and joy. Apart from regretting that his girlfriend couldn't be there to witness his triumph, he truly felt a sense of urgency to enjoy life to the fullest.

But immediately, he heard the staff member who had arranged the entry, standing not far from them, unabashedly and unabashedly counting in Italian:

"Uno, due, tre, quatre, cinque."

When the count reached five, he actually walked up to us and said in heavily accented Italian English, "OK, gentlemen, time's up. Please move."

At this point, even someone with a very good temper like Stephen Fung couldn't help but want to swear—he'd waited almost half an hour, only to be made to stand on the red carpet for five seconds!?

However, upon seeing the staff member's expression and actions, Feng Delun immediately knew that saying anything more would be a waste of time. This person was simply following orders, and causing a scene would only make him lose face.

All the excitement from walking the red carpet vanished instantly.

Although he tried his best to maintain his composure, even the most well-mannered among them, Tony Leung Ka-fai, was heard by Stephen Fung spitting out his words.

Just as the group silently entered the main entrance of the cinema, Eddie Peng suddenly spoke up: "I understand. They're clearing the area, which is why they suddenly sped up to let everyone else go in quickly. They're making room for people."

No one responded, except for the clueless Yuan Xiaochao who asked, "For whom?"

The other three people did not answer, but stopped and turned around at the same time.

Just thirty meters away on the pier, a huge white speedboat, at least two-thirds larger than the one that had picked them up, was slowly and carefully docking at the main pier in front of the Lido Island Cinema Palace.

On both sides of the pier, the photojournalists who had previously shown no interest in them and were yawning while scrolling through their phones suddenly stood up as if they had just been given an adrenaline shot.

They skillfully set up their equipment, pointing a dense array of telephoto lenses and video cameras directly at the bow of the speedboat—

It was aimed at the red-haired man who had taken off his hat, removed his sunglasses, and stood slightly up on the deck.

The staff members who had been urging the guests to enter with deadpan expressions all stepped aside and formed a straight, human-made passageway in front of him.

At this point, the man about to disembark had nothing but the torrential flashes of camera lights in front of him and the desperate shouts of fans on both sides of the road. There was nothing under his feet and in front of him, no one else.

There was only a huge, empty red carpet.

Several people witnessed this scene and were speechless for a moment.

"He's a true superstar..."

Tony Leung Ka-fai, the most famous and senior actor, suddenly sighed softly.

The voice wasn't loud, but the other three young men all heard it clearly.

Even the most carefree Yuan Xiaochao was speechless.

Then, the four of them turned around and stepped into the automatic revolving doors of the cinema palace.

Ps:

I'm planning to change the book cover.

(End of this chapter)