Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 607 Emma Stone (24)

After the premiere of "Burning," most of the footage from the event and subsequent interviews were sent back to China…

However, their wording was mostly along the lines of "causing a sensation!", "shining over the water city!", and "Burning ignites the water city!"

That's pretty exaggerated...

That's normal. Shen Yan himself said on Weibo that "the probability of winning the Golden Lion Award is higher than winning the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards"...

Then many netizens and self-media interpreted it as—aiming for the Golden Lion Award.

It's understandable; it's a case of praising someone to death!
First, I'll lift you up...

Then, the event program ratings were released…

The two films shown on the first day were "Burning" and "The Postman's White Nights"...

"Burning" received a high score of 4.2.

The Venice Film Festival has four main publications: *Screen*, ICS (Italian Association of Film Journalists), the Italian Publication (published by Italian media and film critics), and the International Publication (combining ratings from film critics worldwide)...

There are also Chinese-language film programs—primarily focusing on the performance of Chinese-language films, published by Chinese-language media outlets or film critic teams…

Screen is one of the most authoritative festival publications of the Venice Film Festival, published by the internationally renowned film magazine Screen.

It provides ratings, critic reviews, and festival updates for films in the main competition.

Their honest assessment of *Seediq Bale* was that it was a flashy but ultimately empty pseudo-epic, giving it a score of only 4.8 out of 10. This score was only higher than the experimental film *Summer*, which scored 2.7 and was the second-to-last film of that year…

By the way, Venice uses a five-point system.

Therefore, the ratings in the various event publications must be converted to a five-point scale.

The Postman's White Nights... Rating: 3.35...

Director Andrei Konchalovsky is a renowned Russian director with experience being nominated for all three major European film festivals. He comes from a film family—his father, Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov, wrote the lyrics for the Russian national anthem, "Russia, Our Sacred Motherland."

His younger brother, Nikita Mikhalkov, is also a director, best known for his film "Burnt by the Sun"...

"The Postman's White Nights" is seemingly loose in form but cohesive in spirit. It appears to be about the loneliness of a postman, but in fact it transfers this mentality to the context of the nation and history.

The dilapidated school still echoes with Soviet patriotic songs, a ghostly black cat that is both visible and unattainable, a rocket that exists completely detached from the rural background, and background sound effects that appear from nowhere. All of these bring about a separation between people, between people and groups, between society and the nation, and between the present and the past.

A rare sense of mission.

This movie is good too!

However, films about the relationship between Russia and the Soviet Union are not very popular in the three major European cinemas. Even a great film like "Goodbye Lenin!" did not get a ticket to the three major European cinemas!
I doubt "The Postman's White Nights" will win any awards...

By the way, the festival publication score usually reflects the film's reputation among the media and critics, but the final award is decided by the jury, so a high score in the festival publication does not necessarily mean winning an award.

Highly rated films are generally considered strong contenders for awards, but there are historical examples of "big favorites failing to win"...

The film "Burning" has a high rating of 4.2...

However, last year's "Philomena" only scored 4.35 points, but won the Best Screenplay Award and the Catholic Culture Award...

The Rome Ring Road, which won the Golden Lion, received a score of 3.65 in the festival's program!
……

At 4:30 PM, Shen Yan changed into a suit and prepared to go out, when he ran into Dilraba…

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to meet an actress... the female lead in my next film!"

"...Who is it? Zhao Yanzi?"

Shen Yan asked in confusion, "Why do you have this opinion?"

"Didn't you just greet the crew of 'Dearest'?"

Shen Yan waved his hand: "...It's not Zhao Yanzi!"

Both "Dearest" and "The Golden Era" are being screened at the Venice Film Festival. Both films boast star-studded casts.

"Dearest": Huang Bo, Tong Dawei, Zhao Yanzi, Zhang Yi, Hao Lei;
"The Golden Era" is an ensemble drama, with any one of the main actors being either a talented performer or a star. The cast includes Tang Wei, Feng Shaofeng, Wang Zhiwen, Zhu Yawen, Huang Xuan, Hao Lei, Yuan Quan, and more.

"Dearest" was screened on the first day, while "The Golden Era" was screened on the last day...

Therefore, Shen Yan contacted the production team of "Dearest".

But that's all...

"Who is that?"

"Emma Stone, do you know her?"

“I know, Gwen Stacy from The Amazing Spider-Man…” Dilraba answered casually, then remembered something: “You’re going to work with Emma on a movie?”

"It's not certain yet," Shen Yan shook his head. "I'm planning to shoot a musical, but Emma might not agree!"

"So, you're going to see her?"

“She contacted me…” Shen Yan explained, “I sent her the script last month, but she hasn’t responded. Today she watched ‘Burning’ and probably wants to talk to me about it in detail!”

"what movie?"

"La La Land, La La Land, has a weak storyline. It's just about two young people with dreams drifting in Los Angeles, falling in love, encouraging each other, being separated by reality... The key is the emotions!"

Dilraba interrupted him: "...You don't need to tell me."

"So...do you want to go?"

Dilraba shook her head: "No, I have an event later..."

Shen Yan asked curiously, "An event? What kind of event?"

“A commercial activity…” Dilraba explained, “Cartier wants to do promotions, and I’m their promotional ambassador…”

"Oh, then go ahead!"

……

The Venice Film Festival also needs sponsorship.

In fact, most film festivals operate on a non-profit model, with their main sources of income being sponsorships, donations, and grants from the public and private sectors.

Ticket revenue typically accounts for only a small portion of a film festival's total revenue.

The same applies to Venice; generally speaking, ticket revenue is only around 200 million euros, accounting for 10% of the total budget of 2300 million euros.

The remaining revenue comes from a grant of €1370 million from the Ministry of Culture, commercial sponsorships worth approximately €500 million, and a grant of approximately €200 million from the Biennale Foundation, the film festival's parent company.

Sponsorship: Campari, Cartier, Armani Beauty, and Mastercard jointly provide €500 million in sponsorship to the Venice Film Festival annually!
As for expenses, the largest item is venue rental and facility maintenance: the Venice Film Festival is held on Lido Island, and venue rental and facility maintenance are considerable costs. The renovation and expansion of the Palais des Festivals also require substantial funds…

Emma Stone met Shen Yan at the Venice M'Art restaurant, which was located inside the Venice Hotel where she was staying…

The food was so-so, but the ambiance was nice, especially the terrace where you could enjoy a beautiful view of the Grand Canal.

Upon seeing Shen Yan approach, Emma Stone immediately stood up: "Director!"

"...No need to be so polite, have you ordered yet?"

"This is the menu..."

Shen Yan casually ordered four dishes, then asked, "You've read 'Burning'? What did you think of it?"

"The sunset dialogue and dance were beautiful... What country is that actress from?"

“She’s from our country, she’s Uyghur…a girl from Xinjiang!” After a pause, Shen Yan explained, “China has 56 ethnic groups…”

(End of this chapter)