Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 706 The Wind Rises

Despite the fact that "Marriage Story" premiered on the 17th, it did not diminish its popularity in the film market.

After all, Liu Yifei's name is still quite useful.

With the help of some trailers and previews, Marriage Story managed to sell most of its rights in North America and Europe within two days.

Using awards to justify high prices? Who dares to bet they'll definitely win an award? Not to mention Li Qiutang is a Cannes newcomer.

The prices ranged from as low as $300,000 to $400,000 to as high as $600,000 to $700,000. It sold for $1.2 million in North America, which is a pretty good price.

In just two days, they made four or five million dollars, and the production costs of "Marriage Story" were recouped.

Of course, it can't compare to "Ash Is Purest White." The director is a Cannes insider, and he probably sold the rights to his films when they were first conceived.

"Good news from the film market: Chinese films 'Ash Is Purest White' and 'Marriage Story' are being snapped up by international distributors, with impressive sales results."

"The copyrights for most of 'Marriage Story' in North America and Europe have been sold. Li Qiutang: I've already recouped my costs and I feel relaxed."

This is Li Qiutang's first time in Cannes as a competition director. Many media outlets are curious about him. As a newcomer to Cannes, he inevitably has to socialize with others.

But he still had a choice. He didn't like attending fashion galas, charity events, or brand parties; he felt that as a director, these kinds of activities had nothing to do with him. He preferred to attend film-related events.

He's willing to do things like meet with internationally renowned filmmakers or represent his company to discuss collaborations with them.

Li Qiutang rarely films children because they are too unpredictable. However, Hirokazu Kore-eda is an expert at filming children. He told Li Qiutang the techniques for filming children: Don't let children see the script, because they won't understand it or know how to read it; Choose a leader among the children, if the children are disobedient, find the leader among the children; Cherish the first three points.

Li Qiutang was particularly curious about how he communicated with Yagira Yuya in "Nobody Knows".

Hirokazu Kore-eda has answered this question countless times, but every time he talks about it, he feels that it was indeed very difficult at the time.

Children don't see you as the director, so you can't interact with them as a director when you're filming them.

The filming of "Nobody Knows" took a year and a half, during which Hirokazu Kore-eda spent a year and a half playing with these kids, fully gaining their trust.

Since they lack acting skills, the best approach is to place them in a real environment. The apartment in "Nobody Knows" was a real apartment rented by the production team, not a temporary structure built for filming.

Hirokazu Kore-eda told Li Qiutang to cherish children's instinctive reactions, as they are more real than any performance.

"The movie isn't about me asking them to act; it's about me observing how they live their lives."

Hirokazu Kore-eda is a completely different type of director from Li Qiutang, but he also had questions for Li Qiutang to ask. Li Qiutang has directed many blockbuster films and has extensive experience in managing film crews. Kore-eda wanted to know what the differences were between the management of film crews in China and Japan.

Li Qiutang was very open with his knowledge, and he even considered inviting Hirokazu Kore-eda to China for exchanges.

With the Changchun Film Festival about to open, inviting Hirokazu Kore-eda to give a masterclass at the festival would surely attract a large audience.

When Hirokazu Kore-eda heard that the invitation was for September, he took a look at his own work schedule and readily agreed.

During her exchange with South Korean director Lee Chang-dong, Li Qiutang extended an invitation to him to visit China, but he declined.

While Li Qiutang was extremely busy in Cannes, things were also in turmoil back home.

At 9:30 pm on the 10th, Feng Xiaogang announced on Weibo that filming for "Cellphone 2" had begun:
"Technological progress is changing rapidly, but human weaknesses remain unchanged. Fifteen years have passed, and old friends reunite, reminiscing as if it were new."

Three photos were released: a concept poster for "Cell Phone 2", a group photo of the main cast and crew of "Cell Phone 1" from 15 years ago, and a group photo of the main cast and crew of "Cell Phone 2".

The original cast is returning. Audiences are naturally very welcoming of the start of filming for "Cellphone 2," but some people are not happy.

Two and a half hours later, at midnight on the 11th, Cui Yongyuan decisively launched an attack, angrily denouncing Feng Xiaogang and his film "Cellphone 2" on Weibo: "Everyone knows that Feng Xiaogang is scum, but Liu Zhenyun became scum a little too quickly."

She also released screenshots of text messages between herself and Liu Zhenyun in April.

Xiao Cui said that the movie "Cellphone" from 15 years ago caused him great harm. Upon hearing that "Cellphone 2" was going to be made, he said, "In principle, your creative freedom should not be interfered with, but this matter is special. I hope you will think twice before proceeding." Huayi Brothers did indeed register "Cellphone 2" at the time.

In the text message, Liu Zhenyun assured Cui Yongyuan that the film being shot this time was not "Cell Phone 2," but "Friends Circle," a story about the internet, "and has nothing to do with your concerns."

Xiao Cui believed Liu Zhenyun's story at the time.

Now that only a month has passed, they've turned their backs on us. No wonder Cui Yongyuan cursed them out.

At 9:57 a.m. in China (3 a.m. in Cannes), Fan Bingbing posted on Weibo: "How about learning about Wu Yue from 15 years ago? Thank you to director Feng Xiaogang and teacher Liu Zhenyun for entrusting Wu Yue to me again."

They openly promoted "Cellphone 2".

From the current perspective, this is just a very common internet flame war. Many people think that Cui Yongyuan is weak and alone, and he definitely can't beat Huayi Brothers and Feng Xiaogang, who have a large and powerful family.

Li Qiutang, who was in Cannes, woke up with twitching eyelids. She felt uncomfortable and had a feeling that something was about to happen, but she couldn't figure it out.

It wasn't until he met Fan Bingbing at the hotel restaurant and they had breakfast together that he remembered.

Sitting across from Fan Bingbing, Li Qiutang took out his phone, opened Weibo (a Chinese microblogging platform), and reminded her, "You shouldn't have posted this Weibo."

Fan Bingbing, however, said, "It wasn't me who posted it; it was my staff who posted it. It was a promotional Weibo post that was planned in advance." She seemed completely unconcerned.

As a friend of over ten years, Li Qiutang reminded her out of a sense of duty: "If you notice something is wrong, know to run. Don't always be the first to rush in."

Fan Bingbing clearly didn't understand what he meant and laughed, "What could be wrong? Why would I run away? I still have to go back to filming."

She even said playfully, "If you're really going to make a film about that female reporter you mentioned the other day, remember to contact me."

Li Qiutang said in a cryptic tone, "If you could have filmed it back then, I would definitely have asked you."

After finishing breakfast, the two parted ways and went to work.

In the following days, Weibo in China remained calm, and the controversy surrounding "Cell Phone 2" seemed to have been forgotten after just one criticism.

Li Qiutang attended the premiere screenings of Jia Zhangke's "Ash Is Purest White", Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Shoplifters", and Lee Chang-dong's "Burning".

The special issue of "Ash Is Purest White" received a score of 2.8 and was praised for its "accurate social observations".

The film "Shoplifters" received a score of 3.2 in the festival's program, with media reviews stating: "It is not only a touching family film, but also a deep sigh and reflection on the failures of society and the shortcomings of human nature."

In particular, "Burning" received the highest score in Cannes history, 3.8, and is considered the strongest contender for this year's Palme d'Or.

"Burning ignited the fire of Asian cinema at Cannes. This suspenseful drama, as fluid as Black Panther, not only delivered breathtaking performances but also brimmed with originality and innovation that are more important than anything else. The cat meows in the film are the most chilling and blood-stopping cat meows ever heard."

On the evening of the 16th, Liu Yifei arrived at Nice Airport because the premiere of "Marriage Story," in which she stars, is the next night.

(End of this chapter)