I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 349 "The Whisperer of the Golden Palm"!
Evening, St. Regis Hotel, New York.

After a day of filming, Chen Jin returned to her room and turned on her computer.

Film festival juries typically confirm their invited guests several months in advance, as they are also responsible for the early selection of shortlisted films.

Therefore, information about the jury members for the Berlin Film Festival next February is currently available.

To win an award for a film, prior public relations efforts are essential.

Just like how Chen Jin won the Venice Film Festival Best Actor award before.

Of course, there are rare cases where good movies will definitely win awards and newcomers can stand out, but public relations tactics are no longer an unspoken rule in the industry; this is something that Hollywood can openly discuss.

Therefore, film festivals and award ceremonies, even the Golden Rooster and Golden Horse Awards, are basically subject to some behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Besides the chairman of the organizing committee and major film and television companies, the jury of that year is the one who can influence the awards.

Chen Jin would definitely investigate thoroughly and see if she could pull some strings or something.

Chinese people have always been very good at interpersonal relationships; after all, with five thousand years of history, this is almost an extraordinary gene ingrained in the hearts of every Chinese person.

[Jury Lineup for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival]

Chairman: Mike Lee.

Members: Jake Gyllenhaal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Barbara Sukova...

There are a total of 8 people, including the chairman of the jury.

Without exception, all of them were foreigners; there were no Chinese movie stars. Otherwise, public relations would definitely be easier. If there were Chinese judges or chairpersons, the difficulty of judging would definitely be different.

Chinese people have always been quite good at winning awards, and even those of Chinese descent often give face to their compatriots.

This is certainly not friendship; it's mostly because of the huge Chinese market.

Except for a few XX.

……

"Mike Lee?"

Chen Jin looked at the introduction to him and carefully imagined the connections he could make.

This is a British national treasure director who has been nominated and won awards at the three major film festivals multiple times, and has been nominated for an Oscar seven times, five of which were for Best Original Screenplay. He is very skilled at writing.

His representative work, "Secrets and Lies," won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and he also won the Best Director award at Cannes.

Therefore, his achievements in awards give him a lot of influence as chairman.

He is approaching 70 years old and is considered a veteran in the film industry.

An older person with a proven track record is likely to have a one-man show as chairman, unless there are capable members among the members.

And this year, there really wasn't anyone who could handle him.

Although several directors have been nominated for the three major awards or won awards, their resumes cannot compare with his. The only one who can be considered impressive is the Iranian director. As a foreign monk in a white world, his qualifications are much lower.

There are also a few actors, whom we dare not offend; the other two are a photographer and a writer, whom Chen Jin guesses are likely people from the chairman of the organizing committee.

Yes, in order to ensure that the awards do not become the "personal hobby" of the jury president, the presidents of major film festivals will also place their confidants in the jury for each year.

The candidates are usually around 3-4 people, who can influence the award voting.

This way, the jury president is given face without compromising the film festival's authority; this is an open secret known within the industry.

"This European actor should be one too!"

"That leaves Chairman Mike Lee, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, and two actors!"

Jake Gyllenhaal, Charlotte Gainsbourg!
The former starred in "Brokeback Mountain" and is a well-known Hollywood actor, while the latter is a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress winner and a famous British actress who starred in "Jane Eyre" and "Nymphomaniac" and is quite well-known in Europe.

"That's difficult!"

Chen Jin didn't recognize any of these four people.

Even in the best-case scenario, where the current president of the Berlin Film Festival, Dieter Kosslick, is pro-China and eager to award the prize to "The Flowers of War," he may not be able to influence the outcome of the award.

These four individuals can also determine who receives the award.

Unless, of course, there are two other people who are certain to cast two votes for "Jinling".

That would greatly increase the chances of winning the prize.

Of course, this is the best-case scenario that Chen Jin envisioned, which is that Dieter Kosslick wanted to give the award to Zhang Yimou.

In fact, this is very difficult.

Although Zhang Yimou is very famous internationally and his film's awards are absolutely well-deserved, it's been a long time since he's been to Berlin; to put it bluntly, European filmmakers have changed generation after generation.

Those in power are all from the next generation. Even Chairman Dieter Kosslick only took office at the beginning of the new millennium. Zhang Yimou, you may be awesome, but that's all in the past.

That's the feeling of déjà vu.

"We could try to pull some strings with one of the members, Gyllenhaal!"

The lead actor and director of "Brokeback Mountain," Li An, has a good personal relationship with Zhang Yimou. Several years ago, "Lust, Caution" won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, thanks to Zhang Yimou, who was the chairman of the jury at the time, casting his valuable vote.

Of course, this vote wasn't for nothing. Zhang Mo, the daughter of director Zhang Yimou, needed a recommendation letter from Li An, a well-known alumnus of NYU, to apply to the New York University Film School.

So this private deal is that you vote for me, and I'll help you get your daughter into NYU.

See, this is what public relations is all about.

"That's only one vote!"

"Iranian director... Asghar Farhadi..."

Chen Jin checked the resume of the "only outsider" on the judging panel; the others were all white.

A quick search revealed that this Iranian director is quite influential.

Two-time Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Berlin Golden Lion, Cannes Jury member... Except for Venice, where it has never been nominated, it is a regular at Berlin and Cannes.

She seems to have the air of a vice-chairman of the judging panel, suggesting she has considerable influence.

"If we can win this guy over, our chances of winning the prize should be pretty high!"

Don't underestimate him just because he's an outsider; the awards speak for themselves. If he says he's optimistic about "The Flowers of War," the jury chairman, Mike Leigh, will definitely give him some face. Plus, with the support of Dieter, the Berlin bigwig, his 3-4 puppets will soon chime in.

That way, others might vote directly out of respect for Zhang Yimou.

He has the ability to influence awards.

Other jury members are either not very experienced or are mere puppets, and actors are afraid of offending the director, but he can speak up.

This is the power of the "Executive Vice President".

"Does Mike Lee know Zhang Yimou?"

Chen Jin sent a message to Zhang Yimou, asking about the members of the judging panel.

Zhang Yimou, who was in Beijing, had just woken up and saw a text message pop up on his phone. He clearly knew what Chen Jin was up to.

"I don't know him well; I've only met him a few times at film festivals!"

"However, next year's Shanghai International Film Festival will have a film-themed exhibition on him, the British Art Section!"

"How about I call the person in charge at Shanghai Film Studio for you and ask?"

In the past, Zhang Yimou would never have cared about such things because Zhang Weiping was there. Public relations for the film were all handled through him. This man is a master at building connections; his only flaw is that he's stingy and unwilling to spend money.

However, his approach to public relations was very correct: he sought out influential people.

For example, when it comes to winning awards at film festivals, he doesn't approach the jury members, but goes directly to the head of the film company.

The investors have collaborated with the film's directors and actors, and out of consideration for their "sugar daddies," these judges will definitely make concessions.

This is the key to his success.

But because he was unwilling to spend money on public relations, he often messed things up, and Zhang Yimou didn't win many awards.

Before that, in the 70s and 80s, the film quality was really good, and the Beijing Film Academy had a good relationship with the three major film studios. At that time, a lot of European films and learning materials were introduced to China, so it was a honeymoon period.

This led to the rise of film festivals for the fourth and fifth generations of Chinese filmmakers.

However, with the development of the Internet in the new millennium, coupled with the booming film industry and the prevalence of commercial films, the three major film festivals have become increasingly "important"!
This importance lies in traffic and capital.

The film industry needs the Big Three to package art, which has led to increasingly frequent commercial operations behind the Big Three.

Public relations emerged at that time.

Having witnessed these three major changes, Zhang Yimou is all too aware of the deals behind them.

So when Chen Jin said she wanted "The Flowers of War" to win an award, he didn't object; moreover, "The Flowers of War" was different from his previous films. His biggest wish for this film was to let the world see the massacre.

Ideally, it should be exported directly to Japan and shown in theaters.

According to the original timeline, he took Zhang Weiping to many film festivals in order to sell the Japanese distribution rights of "Jinling" and find a reliable buyer.

"Director Zhang, is this troublesome?"

Chen Jin felt a little embarrassed. He had agreed to handle the public relations matters, but in the end, he still had to rely on Lao Zhang's connections.

Because he knew that Zhang Yimou was someone who rarely asked for favors.

This is Zhang Yimou's personality.

"No trouble at all. The Shanghai Film Studio called me a few days ago, wanting me to be the jury president next year!"

"..."

That's what status in the martial arts world is all about!

Chen Jin suddenly realized that although she had become very famous in the past two years, she hadn't really made many connections in the film industry.

He finally won the Venice Film Festival Best Actor award, but actually not many people know him.

In this circle, it's still important to make more connections.

Sometimes it can indeed come in handy. Of course, for someone like Zhang Yimou who doesn't like to make friends, it's his illustrious resume that attracts many people to curry favor with him, which puts him at another level altogether.

At present, Chen Jin is definitely focused on making friends with others.

"And this Iranian director, Asghar Farhadi, I know him very well too!"

"Asian directors often attend our award ceremonies in China..."

Alright, Chen Jin really doesn't want to say anything more.

In fact, if Zhang Yimou were good at public relations, he would have been doing much better in recent years; it's impossible for him not to win the three major awards. Many times, it's just that he himself is unwilling, and Zhang Weiping is unreliable, which is why he seems to be declining more and more.

Furthermore, Chinese cinema needed him to step up and make commercial films to boost domestic box office growth, which led to him gradually drifting away from the Big Three.

Actually, the old man should make more art films!
Your commercial films are really no good.

But art films, especially cinematic visuals, are true power!
"Then you should also tell Li An to ask him to cast his vote for 'Jinling' as well!"

"Ok!"

After replying to this message, Zhang Yimou did not say anything more.

Alright, it'll have to be Old Zhang who takes charge.

"Then I'll just throw money at it!"

Chen Jin sent Chen Su a message, asking him to contact the heads of several European film companies and try to get a few to attend screenings of "The Flowers of War" so that the film's distribution rights could be sold as soon as possible.

This is triple insurance.

The organizers, the jury, and European film companies.

These established European giants have a lot of say in the three major awards, especially MK2.

The unsung hero behind Jia Zhangke's awards at the three major film festivals.

This is the largest art film production company in France!
Headquartered in Paris, it has very close and shady relationships with the three major film festivals, especially the Cannes Film Festival; there was even a scandal in which the president of MK2 directly interfered with members of the Cannes jury.

Section Chief Jia, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Wang Chia-wei all have in-depth collaborations with this company.

Especially Wang Jiawei, his early films such as "Chungking Express" and "Ashes of Time" were also of high quality, but they were always unable to make it into the top three European films.

It wasn't until MK2 became his agent that "Happy Together" made it into the main competition and even won Best Director.

That year even saw a famous scene of jury member Gong Li and Isabelle Adjani clashing, which at one point became a hot topic even more than the film festival itself.

As I said before, as long as it's the entertainment industry, whether it's domestic or international, there will always be under-the-table deals and unspoken rules in public relations.

Those who fail to understand this rule will find that they have given everything but received no reward, which means they have taken the wrong path.

Chen Jin, of course, knew the ropes, so she instructed Chen Su to make connections in advance, get these filmmakers on board, and let them make a big splash around the world together.

Moreover, as the film industry continues to develop, these film companies will have an increasing influence on the final award presentations.

In the past two years, the chairman and members of the judging panel have also developed their own arrogance and quirks.

In a few years, it will really be capital that's in charge.

The judging panel has also become an independent puppet.

Just like Neon Pictures, which is very famous in the future film industry, it is known as the "whisperer of the Palme d'Or"!
Established in 2017, the Palme d'Or, the highest prize at Cannes, was one of their promising projects.

They won six Palme d'Or awards in eight years.

You say there wasn't some kind of deal behind this?! Who would believe that?!

It collaborates with many ambitious international directors and helps their films win awards at major film festivals.

In 2019, when Neon released Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite," it used the Cannes premiere to generate hype and social media suspense marketing to ultimately drive "Parasite" to a $5300 million North American box office and an Oscar for Best Picture, creating a commercial miracle for a non-English film!
In the five years that followed, Neon released several films, including Titanium, Triangle, The Fall, Anora, and The Ordinary Accident, all of which won the Palme d'Or!
Neon's six consecutive years of success at Cannes, the top of the three major film festivals, has established its professional image in the field of art film distribution and sparked great interest in the public relations and distribution strategies behind this "Cannes harvester"!
Chen Jin had found all of these news articles in his system.

Behind this company stands a man convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to 23 years in prison—Harvey Weinstein, mentioned in Zhang Yimou's text message.

This guy has been making waves in Hollywood and has won over 70 Oscars.

The employee he trained, Tom Quinn, the founder of Neo Films, also dominated the three major film festivals.

The logic is actually the same.

Public relations!

Therefore, Chen Jin actually wanted to get to know this pervert.

Perhaps, we could meet?

(End of this chapter)