Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 389 Bingbing Seeks a Child, Named Chengcheng!
Breaking news! Director Huo Jianqi's "Warm" and newcomer director Ning Hao's "Incense" have been shortlisted for the Tokyo International Film Festival!

"The previously rumored favorite, 'The Promise,' has failed to qualify for the main competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival!"

According to sources, "The Promise" still has a chance to participate in the Tokyo International Film Festival!

"This newspaper is making a concerted effort to interview director Chen Kaige..."

The nomination results are in, and "The Promise" is not on the list!
It seems like just yesterday that Chen Kaige's confident expression was still displayed on the webpage.

But now, they've been hit with a devastating blow.

Why wasn't it shortlisted?!
This refers to the main competition section, which is the most important section of an A-list film festival and the section where one can compete for the grand prize.

As for other categories, there are actually some. For example, the South Korean films "Memories of Murder" and "Jealousy Is My Power" were shortlisted for the Asian Winds category.

As you can tell from the name, this segment mainly focuses on the competition between Asian films.

However, this category wasn't shortlisted either.

Actually, there's another Chinese film that was also shortlisted for this Asian Winds competition.

It's called "Where Did the Person Who Loved Me Most in the World Go?", a movie written and directed by young director Ma Liwen, and starring well-known actors such as Siqin Gaowa.

This film was also Ma Liwen's first movie.

Such an outcome...

It was making a really loud slapping sound!

Slap Chen Kai in the face!

But regardless, the results are now in, and many movie fans and netizens in China are discussing them extensively.

The discussion is basically focused on what exactly this film, "The Promise," is all about.

After all, I first saw the trailer for this movie at the film festival.

Judging from this trailer, it looks pretty good.

The colors in the film, in particular, are very vibrant.

Moreover, the film's cast is truly spectacular.

Jang Dong-gun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Fan Bingbing... Even in supporting roles, there's Guan Zhilin's Man Shen and Liu Ye's eccentric assassin.

In short, for the average viewer, when they see a trailer with the entire cast on screen at the College Student Film Festival, they will definitely think that this is a blockbuster!
Or perhaps, "The Promise" is a sure thing!
Given Chen Kaige's confident statement, everyone felt that the Tokyo Film Festival should at least give him some face.

What's more, Hiroyuki Sanada is also in this movie.

He is a well-known Japanese movie star with a very high status.

But to my utter surprise, they really didn't give me any face at all!

The film "The Promise" failed to be selected for the Tokyo International Film Festival!

The internet in China is buzzing right now.

Everyone was mocking Chen Kai...

Never mind, I won't go into details.

The key question is, what about Chen Kai himself?

Tokyo, inside a hotel.

"Teacher Chen, the film festival organizing committee has told us that we still have a chance to participate in the exhibition and can be the opening film."

"Hmph! An opening video? What does this mean? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

"Teacher Chen, please don't think like that."

"Then what am I supposed to think? Tell them! Either we make it into the main competition, or I'm going back to China with my film 'The Promise'!"

"This... Professor Chen, the reasons given by the judging panel are really..."

"What reason! What a load of rubbish! Did they even understand my movie? They didn't understand it at all!"

"Teacher Chen, please reconsider."

"No need to think about it! What I just said is my decision after careful consideration!"

"Teacher Chen, please don't be angry. I'll talk to them again right away."

"..."

Chen Kaige, an internationally renowned director, was truly furious at this moment.

Seeing that things were going badly, the translator ran away first.

As for what else to say... what a load of rubbish.

The film festival made it very clear.

The fact that "The Promise" was chosen as the opening film shows the respect given to Director Chen and the investors behind the film.

Otherwise... after watching "The Promise," the jury's evaluation was simply indescribable.

Not sure why!
An adaptation of Macbeth? But why isn't the protagonist a general?
This story is really hard to understand, and the colors in the film give a very chaotic feeling.

I think this is a postmodern oil painting. The director splashed colors freely on the screen, using chaotic and complex colors to express the confusion and struggle of postmodernism.

Are you talking about this movie? Did you understand it?

I didn't understand it either; after all, it was a really chaotic painting.

All of the above is actually quite polite.

As for that postmodernist guy, he's already saying good things about the film "The Promise".

These words should, of course, not be heard by the great director Chen Kaige, otherwise, it might cause another serious injury.

In short, the Tokyo International Film Festival jury this year was quite reliable, and the films nominated were all very distinctive and had postmodern elements.

They had good reason not to include "The Promise" in the nomination.

But where is Chen Kaige right now?
“Teacher Chen, how about we…”

Bingbing only started talking to Director Chen after the translator left.

She was thinking, "I hope they won't blame me for not being selected for the Tokyo International Film Festival!"
Yes, that idea is absolutely correct. Moreover, it's clear that although this is Bingbing's first collaboration with Director Chen, she has a very good understanding of his temperament.

But as soon as she started, Chen Kai said something.

"They're all targeting me!"

This made Bingbing realize that there was simply no way to explain it.

He could only smile and reply, "Teacher Chen, no way."

She definitely had to say that.

"Hmph! What do you know! Hmph!"

Those two hums were enough for Bingbing to understand.

Chen Kaige... he's completely defeated now!

So, he lost, what should I do?

……

The Tokyo International Film Festival has finally opened.

As a film festival, the opening ceremony naturally included a collective appearance by the creative teams of the nominated films.

Then comes the screening stage.

The Tokyo International Film Festival has always been rather small-scale, and the opening ceremony was relatively simple.

But thankfully, this time they have an international film queen in the lineup.

Gong Li is more than qualified to be the chairperson of the jury this time, both in terms of fame and presence.

Moreover, it can also enhance the prestige of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

We have to say, the organizers of the Tokyo International Film Festival were really smart; choosing Gong Li was a brilliant move.

In contrast, look at our domestic film festivals... hey, you see, nobody thinks of inviting someone like Gong Li to be the jury president or anything like that.

Even renowned directors like Zhang Yimou are rarely invited to hold such positions in China.

And they have their reasons.

Actors like Zhang Yimou and Gong Li are still active at the forefront of our film creation.

They should be the ones being reviewed, not the ones being the reviewers.

I must say, it's really hard to refute.

But is it possible that those guys don't want to give up their little bit of power?
These things... I'd better not talk about them.

Ma Xun naturally appeared at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival, but he remained very low-key.

I simply walked the red carpet with the main creative team.

Ma Xun originally had no plans to walk the red carpet, but Ning Hao, being a considerate person, added Ma Xun's name to the screenwriter credits.

Interestingly, since it was Ning Hao who added it this time, Ma Xun's pen name Ma Bangde was not included.

It was a pleasant surprise.

Seeing Ning Hao like this, Ma Xun was naturally pleased.

Then let's just go with them.

Of course, with Xiaoran and Yaya flanking Ma Xun, it was impossible for him to keep a low profile.

Thankfully, Ma Xun kept a low profile in subsequent interviews and such.

However, the reporters certainly wouldn't leave out a single question.

That is, "The Promise" has withdrawn from this year's Tokyo International Film Festival!

"Mr. Ma, what are your thoughts on the 'The Promise' incident?"

"I respect Director Chen's personal choice."

In Japan, people tend to use the word 'event' to describe anything.

It sounds and looks sophisticated and high-end.

However, the withdrawal of "The Promise" has indeed caused quite a stir.

Listen to this, now "The Promise" has withdrawn from the Tokyo International Film Festival.

As everyone already knew, the Tokyo International Film Festival didn't actually select this film for the competition.

But why did "The Promise" voluntarily withdraw from the project?

It's because our great director Chen publicly published a short essay.

It's clearly written above.

"I didn't feel respected in Tokyo!"

This is great.

Our Director Chen is quite something.

It's clearly because you made a terrible film that no one understood, which is why you weren't nominated.

Now look what's happened, you've become the victim.

High.

His actions did indeed garner a lot of news coverage.

Of course, the Tokyo International Film Festival also issued a statement.

I emphasized that our selection criteria and other aspects are all fair.

They gave him face, but they were practically saying what kind of garbage Director Chen made.

However, regarding this matter...

Chen Kaige actually cares about his reputation.

Ma Xun has certainly seen shameless people before.

For example, even though you were beaten 6-0, even though you were completely suppressed, even though the whole world knows you lost miserably.

They could still claim they won, especially since they held a ten-day celebration.

Good guy, really good guy.

In other words, everyone there is easily fooled and has low intelligence.

Putting all that aside, let's just look at "The Promise" by Ma Xun.

Even if Bingbing were to play the role of Qingcheng, it wouldn't really make a difference.

It will still be bad, regardless of who's in charge.

Chen Kaige said that he made this movie to fight back against "Hero".

To be clear, it's about countering the main theme of "Hero".

In other words, for the sake of unifying the world, it is possible to sacrifice a minority.

Initially, Chen Kaige felt that this concept wouldn't work, so he wanted to make a new film to promote the concept he believed was right.

In other words, a minority should not be sacrificed for the sake of unifying the world.

In fact, Ma Xun had heard of this idea before he traveled through time. Chen Kai had such an idea and wrote it in his own book.

Even without Feng Xiaogang stirring things up, Director Chen would have said the same thing.

And if we look at this film, *The Promise*, from this perspective...

Then you'll probably understand.

In short, "The Promise" is about Qingcheng, but in the end, Qingcheng was not sacrificed, and the world was saved.

So Kunlun put on that outfit, and he ran with Qingcheng, running at the speed of light.

Couldn't the speed of light reverse time?

And so, this is the result.

The world was saved, but Qingcheng was not sacrificed.

Yes, Ma Xun is truly one of the few people who can understand such a terrible movie. While that's nothing to be proud of.

Let's just look at the movie. Director Chen made this movie to express this concept, and it also contains various other elements.

Just like that judge said, this is practically a postmodern painting.

It uses a variety of random colors, which actually symbolize all sorts of messy myths, legends, and stories.

What does this mean?

For this dish of vinegar!

We made dumplings for this meal!

The key issue is that Director Chen's concept needs to be expressed in the film using something so detached from reality and so mythical.

This in itself demonstrates his so-called philosophy.

That's utter bullshit!

Right? This logic is easy to understand.

However, to be fair, most people really can't understand this film.

So, not being shortlisted for the Tokyo International Film Festival is a normal result.

Ma Xun remembers that in the original timeline, "The Promise" failed to be shortlisted for Cannes, and then Chen Kaige even tried to get it selected as the opening film.

Unfortunately, Cannes didn't give him any face, and the reason was very straightforward.

That sucks.

By making this the opening film, the Cannes Film Festival has lost its prestige.

It's just that Director Chen is being rather assertive towards the Tokyo International Film Festival right now.

Forget it, I'd better not think about that guy anymore.

At this point, it can be said that Ma Xun has already won against Chen Kaige.

During that initial observation, Feng Xiaogang stirred things up...

Hehe, anyway, I won!
As for the future release of the film, Ma Xun is even more confident.

Then we'll achieve a complete victory!
With this much thought, the opening ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival was almost ready.

The beautiful women around him, both young and old, were naturally very well-behaved.

However, his behavior of having women on both sides was not in the eyes of Gong Li, the chairman of the jury.

The occasional glances he cast from the shadows seemed to carry a hint of jealousy.

Ma Xun was naturally pleased: Even if you are an international film queen, you are still a woman who gets jealous.

However, upon closer reflection... isn't this situation a veritable battlefield?

Ma Xun just smiled at this. After all, he was not a hesitant guy; he had plenty of strength and methods.

……

The Tokyo International Film Festival screenings have begun.

On the second day of the opening ceremony, it was our turn to perform "Incense".

It's generally best for film production teams to avoid attending film screenings.

Because there will be judges watching the film.

It's best not to use Ma Xun, since his name also appears in the screenwriter section.

However, as he walked out of the hotel in a good mood, he encountered a face he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Boss~"

"Isn't that the big star Bingbing?"

Yes, it was Bingbing, but Ma Xun's words made Bingbing terrified.

"In front of you, she's no longer a big star."

"Really?"

"Oh dear~ please, stop joking with me."

"Okay, so what is it?"

"Um... I'd like to watch a movie."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xun immediately guessed, "Incense?"

Bingbing was truly astonished. "Boss, you are truly a master strategist."

Ma Xun smiled and shook his head. "Otherwise, what other choice do you have? You don't want to watch some Japanese adult films with me, do you?"

Goodness, those words made Bingbing blush instantly.

"Well, if the boss is interested, Bingbing is willing to accompany him to watch."

She actually went along with it!

Ma Xun understood what she meant. "What? Are you going to admit defeat so soon?"

This sentence struck right to the core of Bingbing's soul.

"Brother Ma, he knows he was wrong."

She used to be called "Boss," but now she's called "Brother Ma." This isn't just a simple change in address for Bingbing; it's a change in her status.

Ma Xun nodded, "Okay, let's go see 'Incense' first."

Bingbing nodded; she's very well-behaved now.

Not long after, the two appeared in the screening room of "Incense".

Quite a few people have come.

There's even Gong Li.

Actually, this wasn't the first time the jury had watched the films; they had seen the films even more often during previous selections.

Now that there are fewer judges, we'll have to wait and see their further evaluations.

Ma Xun and Bingbing sat in the back row.

I wonder if Gong Li saw this.

Anyway, the way they were positioned gave off a bit of a couple vibe.

Ma Xun, however, remained completely serious.

To be honest, he was also very interested to see how the filming of "Incense" was going.

The script has been revised, but what will the final film look like?

Soon, the movie began.

A monk and his Buddha statue appeared just like that.

The camera focused on details; even the monk's shoes had holes, which were shown in close-up.

The Buddha statue, the cloth beneath it, and the shattered Buddha statue...

Although they all feature very close-up shots, the camera cuts are very clean and crisp.

It's like reading a four-panel comic strip.

But this camera movement technique is actually quite effective.

To be honest, Ma Xun had heard many people's opinions about Ning Hao.

He truly reached his peak right from the start.

Later movies, on the contrary... especially "Mr. Red Carpet".

This movie is definitely plagiarized.

Let's not think about these things anymore, let's just... um, here it comes.

The village chief's sister, nice, very beautiful.

Although she was wearing the clothes of a village girl, they looked somewhat worn and patched.

Ya Ya's face is still quite dark, but this pretty village girl is really quite good.

Then... hey, not bad.

Xiao Ran, this fallen woman, is beautiful enough and has enough assets to back her up.

well.

And as the plot unfolded... sure enough, having money made life more fulfilling.

Many plot points could be told in more detail and more completely.

That's it, we're safe now.

At least Ma Xun likes it very much.

And then at the end of the movie.

The little monk's Buddha statue has indeed been reshaped, and it is truly beautiful.

But people from the county came and told him that the temple was going to be demolished.

His temple isn't exactly a cultural relic.

It has no protective value.

The little monk ended up with nothing...

But then, two shots were shown.

One was the village chief's sister, the butcher's sister, watching the little monk in the sunset.

One is a prostitute, standing on the road leading out of the village, watching the young monk.

it is good!
One is inside the village, and the other is outside the village.

Although the young monk ended up with nothing, he still had a choice.

The two girls represent two different lives.

Is he staying in the village?

Or should we go out and see the world?

But in the outside world, the person who took him was a prostitute.

This means there is danger.

The cinematography is excellent.

Actually, this was also the storyboard that Ma Xun made for Ning Hao.

He's satisfied with the quality of the footage so far.

So and so...

"Let's go."

"it is good."

Bingbing couldn't sit still any longer; she was now certain that this movie was indeed better than "The Promise."

At least, it's understandable to everyone.

Therefore, the loss was not unjust.

So what's next for me and Ma Xun?
"I……"

"What do you want to say?"

"I want to go back to the hotel."

"What?"

"Dry."

Bingbing lowered her head as she said this.

How could Ma Xun possibly do as she wished?

He lifted her chin.

"Is it just that simple?"

This question cornered Bingbing.

But she understood anyway.

"I want a child."

The way she said that meant she had already declared defeat.

But Ma Xun started teasing him.

"What do you mean by wanting children?"

"With you."

Who wants it?

"I...I want a child..." Bingbing gritted her teeth, "I want to have a child for Brother Ma! I'm willing to do it!"

Ma Xun then smiled and started the car.

Once back at the hotel, Bingbing completely let loose.

As soon as she entered the room, she knelt down and bit the zipper with her teeth...

Ma Xun suddenly thought of something.

"Have you thought of a name for the child?"

"This...so early...oh~"

"You go about your business, I'll think of something... Hmm... How about calling him Chengcheng?"

(End of this chapter)