Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 388 "The Promise" Shines in Japan? Gong Li Frowns!

Chapter 388 "The Promise" Shines in Japan? Gong Li Frowns!
The venue for the Tokyo International Film Festival remains unchanged.

It's still the same cultural village in Shibuya.

Shibuya remains a dream destination for many young Japanese people.

At a glance, you can see many young people gathered together, either performing dances or singing.

They're probably new recruits signed with some agency, trying to build their confidence. Or maybe they haven't signed with any agency yet and are hoping a talent scout will discover them.

Seeing this, Chen Kaige couldn't help but smile.

"Look, these Japanese boys are so much more energetic."

The way he said it gave off a very strange feeling.

However, the people accompanying him all flattered him.

Bingbing, standing to the side, also gave a smile.

"Indeed, indeed."

If Director Chen likes to listen, then we'll just go along with it.

Bingbing came to Tokyo with Chen Kaige this time, of course, because of the movie "The Promise".

Probably many people didn't expect that "The Promise" would be filmed so quickly.

Even Ma Xun would be surprised.

However, Chen Kaige and his team don't see anything wrong with this.

Before that, Chen had once again impressed overseas investors with his film "Kill Me Gently".

Although this movie is just so-so, some people gave it good reviews, while others thought it wasn't very good.

But after all, the cost wasn't high, and we made some money.

The explicit scenes inside are quite interesting.

As a result, Chen Kaige had money, and with the enthusiasm of domestic investors, his film "The Promise" was naturally filmed quite quickly.

Moreover, he had previously turned down a film, a movie about children playing the violin.

Without the delay caused by this film, his "The Promise" would naturally be completed much faster.

Of course, there is another reason that cannot be ignored, which is that he is competing with Ma Xun.

The competition started back in Germany and has continued until now; Chen Kai feels he has endured humiliation and hardship.

The counterattack is finally about to begin!
The film "The Promise" was well-made; at least he was satisfied with it.

However, when the script was first released, some people said it was an adaptation of Macbeth.

He immediately retorted.

"Nonsense! How can this be called 'Macbeth'?!"

That's quite a lot of effort.

Forget about all that, let's focus on the present.

Chen Kaige plans to have the film "The Promise" meet with movie fans at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

He firmly believes that there are still many fans who appreciate him in Japan.

The Tokyo International Film Festival will be where he makes his comeback!
Hmm, they both have the character "东" in them, isn't that perfect?

Chen Kai felt that no one could see through his inner thoughts.

He could make a comeback at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and many people know perfectly well what that means.

So, is that really possible?

Actually, some people in his team also felt... that things might not go so smoothly.

However, Chen Kaige is still a big director after all.

Let's just listen to him.

"Xiao Ye, what do you think of Tokyo?"

"Oh, that's good."

"You haven't been here before, have you?"

"Oh, I've been here before."

"Oh? You've been here before?"

"Postmen in the Mountains and Their Dogs".

"Oh, so this is the one."

"Teacher Chen, I hadn't even graduated yet back then, and several years have passed."

"It is also true."

awkward.

Fortunately, Chen Kai himself didn't seem embarrassed.

Xiao Ye is naturally Liu Ye. He played a very special role in the movie "The Promise", but in terms of screen time, he was indeed less than the main characters.

But he has been to the Tokyo International Film Festival before.

This Teacher Chen... well, he's probably just a forgetful person.

Liu Ye certainly wouldn't think that 'Brother Chen Kai didn't take him seriously at all,' but in reality, Liu Ye was indeed feeling quite uncomfortable.

Next, Chen Kaige chatted with several more important actors.

The lead actor in our drama is Jang Dong-gun, who is currently a top star in South Korea.

It's no exaggeration to say that Jang Dong-gun was indeed very popular in 2003.

However, this time Chen Kai reserved more of his words for another important character in the film.

That was Hiroyuki Sanada.

Now that he's in Japan, it's naturally his home turf.

Of course, I had to say a few more words to him.

To be fair, Chen Kaige's actions weren't wrong. Hiroyuki Sanada is indeed quite strong in Japan, and his popularity is currently quite high.

Moreover, his teacher, Shinichi Chiba, is a very high-ranking figure in the Japanese entertainment industry.

The two of them, master and apprentice, starred in many classic films in the Japanese entertainment industry.

The movie "Makai Tensei" (Demon World Reincarnation), directed by Kinji Fukasaku, pioneered a very, very distinctive genre.

Simply put, it fills the gap in the comparison between Guan Yu and Qin Qiong.

It was incredibly popular at the time, causing a huge sensation.

Moreover, some entirely new versions that they could not have foreseen will emerge in the future.

For example, the later "Fate"... This is not fake. The author of this article, Mushroom, admitted that he was inspired by "Makai Tensei".

Okay, this movie was originally an eroge (adult film).

That being said, this clearly demonstrates how formidable this master and apprentice were in Japan.

So, all of Chen Kaige's plans at the Tokyo Film Festival will ultimately depend on him and his mentor.

Hiroyuki Sanada was very satisfied with Director Chen's attitude.

But, as for the Tokyo Film Festival...

“Mr. Chen, I heard that Ms. Gong Li is the chair of the jury this time. She seems to have worked with you before. Isn’t this a great opportunity?”

Hiroyuki Sanada is incredibly eloquent, and he also understands the truth of this world.

The whole world is actually a huge society based on human relationships.

Since you have connections, you must make use of them; he learned this lesson very deeply in Japan.

Or perhaps the situation is actually more serious in Japan than in China.

In the entertainment industry here, it's particularly obvious.

Besides, this is all in the open.

To outsiders, it's called inheritance.

It refers to things like master-disciple transmission, such as rakugo and kabuki families.

Actually, it's all the same.

If the royal family of this island nation is the product of inbreeding, then the entertainment industry is probably much the same.

This family and that family, they all have some kind of kinship.

Hiroyuki Sanada is truly different in this respect; he only got there through his mentor's connections. In that case, for this Tokyo Film Festival… Director Chen, you might as well try to find connections with Gong Li.

But as soon as Gong Li's name was mentioned, Chen Kaige's expression turned sour.

"Your suggestion is excellent, I will consider it."

Chen Kai's attitude was good, which seems to have covered up the issue.

But in reality, those who know him will understand.

Something's on his mind!
Simply put, Chen Kaige isn't stupid; he certainly had the idea of going to Gong Li before.

Unfortunately, despite saying a few things, there was no real progress.

Gong Li, that woman, ugh!

They probably had some unpleasantness because of what happened before.

I'll just ignore her!

My film "The Promise" will definitely shine brightly at this Tokyo International Film Festival!
……

Unlike Chen Kaige's confident demeanor.

After arriving in Tokyo, Ma Xun didn't rush to have the "big and small" beauties accompany him.

Let's get back to work first.

Xiao Ran and Ya Ya were both key members of "Incense". They soon joined Ning Hao, Huang Bo, and Deng Zhuo.

Everyone get ready to do some promotion and business-related things.

Keep in mind that the Tokyo International Film Festival still has some time to go, and what they need to do is get "Incense" into the main competition.

Of course, it mainly depends on the judges' taste.

But we still have to work hard.

Ma Xun then began acting alone again.

Actually, Bai Xiaohang had said he planned to come over, along with his secretary He Qing.

However, Ma Xun felt that this trip to Tokyo would probably not be too eventful.

Bai Xiaohang can come over.

He Qing can just help him with some daily tasks at the company.

But for now, Bai Xiaohang is still on his way.

Ma Xun didn't wait for him and simply met with that guy Da Shan first.

"Ma Sang, it feels like ages since I last saw you."

"Alright, alright, let's stop with this pointless talk."

"Haha... Ma Sang is so straightforward, I really admire him."

"You got promoted again recently?"

"Oh, is it that obvious?"

Da Shan's expression practically screamed, "Come and congratulate me!"

Ma Xun looked on with amusement and said, "Congratulations on entering the 20 million level."

Upon hearing this, Da Shan burst into laughter, clearly delighted with the 'congratulations'.

The 20 million level, that's very simple, it just means earning 20 million yen a year.

You should know that in Japan, this would be considered a high-level executive salary.

The wages in Japan are quite strange.

From the perspective of large companies, the lower limit is quite high, but the upper limit is relatively low.

1 million yen, that's roughly equivalent to a million US dollars.

However, currently, a million dollars is only the starting point for senior executives of large companies internationally, which is really not high, not to mention stock dividends.

But in this island nation, 100 million yen is simply unthinkable.

Twenty million yen is considered a very high amount.

Seeing Da Shan's smug expression, Ma Xun roughly guessed what had happened.

So, when they said that, everyone was happy.

Of course, Da Shan understood that he was no match for Ma Sang.

In Japan, the term "Mass" refers to the bourgeoisie, a class with no upper limit.

Therefore, Dashan's attitude was still quite good.

The two met this time, of course, to talk about the Tokyo Film Festival.

Ma Xun got straight to the point, saying, "I've heard about the movie 'The Promise'."

"It is indeed very impressive. Director Chen's strength and reputation are beyond doubt."

"Undoubtedly?"

"Ah? Ma-san, could it be..."

"I bet this movie is absolutely terrible."

Ma Xun couldn't tell this to just anyone, except acquaintances like Da Shan.

After all, this is criticism of a famous director.

And so, Da Shan was quite happy to treat Da Shan like an acquaintance.

But his expression showed great surprise. "Really? Could it be that this movie..."

Ma Xun stated directly, "I only have one point, which is to be fair, so that..."

Da Shan understood instantly.

In other words, if things were fair, Chen Kaige's "The Promise" might not have been selected...

Well, this is quite surprising.

"I understand!"

Okay, that's enough.

The two then began to talk about romance.

It's worth noting that the Tokyo International Film Festival is actually backed by large corporations, although they typically establish an independent non-profit corporation.

But in reality, it still depends on the big companies.

Ma Xun is still confident about the play "Incense".

He talked more with Dashan about film copyrights.

The most important of them all is the movie "Kung Fu Hustle".

But Chen Kai, you've picked the wrong opponent this time!

……

As the chairman of the judging panel.

Gong Li is still under some pressure.

She already knew that Ma Xun had come, and that he had brought a movie with him.

But now, Gong Li is watching a different film.

The Promise!
This is Teacher Chen's work, so take a good look at it.

And then I saw...