Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 283: Only One Suspense Remains

While Liu Yifei and Natalie were chatting,
Director Darren walked out of the screening room.
Then he immediately spotted Gu Bei, and the two women beside him, Liu Yifei and Natalie, which instantly gave him a chill down his spine.

How did those two end up together?

Both of them are very likely to become the female protagonists of Black Swan.

Seeing this, Darren tried to turn away.

But Natalie, full of enthusiasm, called out to him: "Darren!"

"Natalie!" Darren walked over and greeted her with a sigh. "Bruce, Crystal!"

"It seems you two met at the film festival. Darren mentioned to me a few days ago that he wanted to get to know you."

Natalie looked at the group with a slightly puzzled expression.
When she met Darren at the film festival a few days ago, she asked him about Gu Bei, even though Darren didn't know Gu Bei at the time.

“I have some film projects I’d like to collaborate on with Darren,” Gu Bei said casually.

"That's wonderful! Darren has always been a very talented director!"

Natalie smiled and praised Darren, "We once discussed a ballet film project, which hasn't been successfully implemented for many years, but Darren always has wonderful new ideas!"

Isn't this a black swan event?

Gu Bei and Liu Yifei exchanged a glance.
They seem to have overestimated Natalie's involvement in the project; it's as if Natalie herself was unaware of the script being rewritten and renamed.

Director Darren Aronnax looked slightly embarrassed.

Because the Black Swan that Natalie mentioned was one of the films he discussed with Gu Bei.

Fortunately, Darren didn't have to be embarrassed for long.
They quickly entered the venue and sat down in the front row.

Scott Franklin, the producer of the wrestling show, came out and greeted the three of them.
He was especially sincere when he greeted Liu Yifei.

"Scott is a producer who has worked with Darren for many years. Don't you know him?"

Seeing this, Natalie explained to Liu Yifei with some confusion.

"I do not know!"

Liu Yifei shook her head.

Natalie's doubts grew stronger.

Because it was obvious that Scott knew Liu Yifei.

Moreover, he was even more enthusiastic towards Liu Yifei than towards himself.

Weird!
Crystal definitely has an identity I don't know about!

But she couldn't ask him directly in person.
So he could only suppress his inner doubts.
He asked Gu Bei, "Bruce, I heard that there's going to be a musical film following your artist. I studied dance for a while when I was a child, and I'm also very interested in musicals."

Gu Bei glanced at Natalie.
It turns out they came for the female lead from La La Land.

He also admired Natalie's keen sense of trends. Other female celebrities flocked to artists, but they weren't as enthusiastic about La La Land without Leonardo DiCaprio, even though La La Land was the stage for the leading lady to shine.

But his first choice,

It's definitely Emma Stone.
Emma Stone's performance in the original film was simply perfect.
With his perfect performance, he made it all the way from Venice to the Oscars, dominating the entire awards season.

However, Emma is only twenty years old now and has just finished filming Zombieland. She may not be able to carry La La Land yet, so having Natalie as a backup option is not a bad idea.

Although Natalie's reputation isn't great, her acting skills are still reliable.

He then looked at Liu Yifei and asked, "What do you think?"

Liu Yifei immediately understood what he meant: "I think we can consider it. After the film festival ends, I'll have the casting director send a message to her agent."

Natalie looked on in surprise.
Gu Bei then introduced Liu Yifei again: "She is the producer of La La Land and also the founder of Rose Pictures."

Natalie immediately understood.
Why was Scott so sincere to Liu Yifei just now?

Hollywood has countless production companies, but apart from the Big Six, the number of independent production companies that can hold a franchise like Twilight can be counted on one hand.

"Actually, I still prefer being an actor."

Liu Yifei said with a sincere expression.

Natalie nodded numbly.

They treated Liu Yifei with even more enthusiasm; given the scale of Rose Pictures, it was already considered a well-known name in Hollywood.

quickly,

She witnessed the power of capital right after the screening event.

At the celebration party, Darren brought Scott over and said, "Crystal, we've decided to sell you the North American distribution rights for the wrestler."

"That's not enough!"

Liu Yifei shook her head.

"Are you going to try and lower the price too?" Darren asked, somewhat dejected. "Then what's the current offer?"

“It’s not about lowering the price. I want the North American distribution rights and subsequent rights to The Wrestler, to fill Rose Films’ film library,” Liu Yifei said calmly. “$600 million!”

Darren was overjoyed.
He discussed it with the others.
They readily agreed to Liu Yifei's offer.

In fact, the film festival market has always been decisive. With hundreds of films screened at a film festival, everyone basically submits one round of bids.

If you think it's acceptable, then we'll go with the deal; if not, then forget it. There's no time for haggling.

Only award-winning films have a chance to receive a second round of offers, or even bids from multiple distributors.

The $600 million directly covered the filming costs of the wrestlers, and with the sale of some overseas distribution rights, the film could still generate considerable profits for the investors.

As for Rose Pictures...
It can fill their barren film library.

Film library management is also a traditional skill in Hollywood.
Not only can it be open-sourced, but bundling it with other films allows bad movies to be sold alongside good ones, while average movies can fetch higher prices.
At the same time, it can save costs, as a single negotiation can result in a three-year agreement, significantly reducing labor costs.

The key is,

This film library approach is best suited to the KPI needs of professional managers.
After all, the film library is constantly growing, with new movies being added every year, coupled with inflation and the natural expansion of the entertainment market.

Therefore, the annual copyright revenue has been steadily increasing, which just meets the performance evaluation criteria for professional managers.

Natalie saw Liu Yifei's bold move of spending $600 million and became completely convinced that she was the boss of Rose Pictures; only the boss was qualified to make such a decision.

She continued to chat enthusiastically with Liu Yifei and made plans to hang out together back in Los Angeles.

Gu Bei then asked Darren curiously, "The closing ceremony is coming up soon, aren't you planning to try your luck with the Golden Lion Award?"

Darren looked at Gu Bei: "I'm afraid no one in this year's cohort is qualified to compete with you!"

Gu Bei said with a smile, "Venice has a tradition that you'll die if it gets too hot!"

"Luck is God's game!"

Darren shrugged.

As the wrestler screening came to an end,
The entire main competition section of Venice has been screened.
The final issue's ratings have also been released.

"Gu Bei, you're still in first place!"

Liu Yifei entered the room with two magazines and excitedly handed them to Gu Bei.

Generally speaking, the event publication refers to Screen Daily, but this magazine does not collaborate with Venice; it is published in Cannes and Berlin.

Venice's festival programs generally refer to magazines published by local and international film critics.

It doesn't have as much content as Screen Daily.
But these are the only two books I can read.

"You got up even earlier than me!" Gu Bei took the two magazines with some surprise.

Unlike the Golden Palm, which is scored out of four golden leaves,
The two programs published in Venice are rated out of five stars.

The artist ranked first in both the Italian film critics' scores of 3.85 and the ICS (International Film Critics Society) scores of 3.88.

Gu Bei glanced down again; the wrestlers were ranked fifth, with scores of 3.53 and 3.65 respectively.

He patted Liu Yifei on the shoulder and said, "Don't be arrogant or impatient. Being a favorite in Venice isn't good news!"

After a pause, he asked again, "Have you chosen your dress yet?"

"The choice has been made."

Liu Yifei blushed slightly, covered her bottom, and glared at Gu Bei. "I'm not part of the artist troupe, so why are you taking me to the closing ceremony?"

"Who told you to get caught on camera by Heartbeat at the wrestler screening event!"

Gu Bei said with some helplessness, "They didn't go to Cannes last year, but they actually came to Venice this year. I didn't expect that!"

Since you've already taken photos, why not just walk the red carpet? You're going to be talked about by netizens anyway!

"What did they say?"

Liu Yifei showed a hint of curiosity.

"They said we were... Siamese twins!"

"what?"

Liu Yifei seemed to be thinking of something.
A blush immediately crept onto her snow-white face, and she spat angrily at Gu Bei: "Liu Mang! What kind of comment did you pick?"

You're the one who has to listen, and you're the one who has to curse me!
Gu Bei grabbed Liu Yifei, who was trying to escape.

He gently stroked her slender waist, feeling the soft, supple flesh of Liu Yifei as she swayed like a water snake.

Then he realized something.
It seems Liu Yifei wasn't wrong about him after all.

This comment is indeed somewhat ambiguous.

But... whatever!

In the afternoon,

The FIPRESCI Prize was awarded at this year's Venice Film Festival. This award, established by international film critics, is announced the day before each film festival's awards ceremony.

Because its selectors largely overlap with those of the ICS event publication.

The artist undoubtedly won the award.

that's it,
The Artist has become the most anticipated film before its screening at this year's Venice Film Festival.

It was also the most popular and highest-rated film after the screening.

Only one question remains.
That is, can an artist win the Golden Lion Award?
the next day,
The Venice Film Festival is about to come to a close.

The closing ceremony's red carpet was in no way inferior to that of the Cannes Film Festival.

Reporters and media from all over the world spared no effort in using their flashes to target the celebrities and socialites on the red carpet.

"Bruce, I didn't expect to see you here. Leonardo and the others have already entered the Palace of Cinema." The host of the live TV station approached Gu Bei and asked in Italian.

“I had asked Leonardo to lead the team, so he kicked me out of the closing ceremony team.”

Before the translator could speak, Gu Bei chuckled and cracked a joke in Italian.

"Hahaha!"

The host burst out laughing.

He could tell, of course, that it was a joke.

However, it is true that Gu Bei did not attend the opening ceremony; it was Leonardo who led the team to the opening ceremony.

The real reason should be Liu Yifei, who is next to Gu Bei.

Liu Yifei is not part of the artist's crew, so she naturally cannot walk the red carpet with the crew. However, as Gu Bei's female companion, it is perfectly reasonable for her to walk the red carpet with them from behind.

He smiled and changed the subject to Liu Yifei: "Could you introduce this beautiful lady to us?"

"Of course, if you don't ask, I'll ask for you!"

Gu Bei said with a smile, "I'm about to adapt the mistake in my first novel, Star Destiny, and she will be the female lead in my next movie!"

"Oh my god, I really can't wait to see this movie! That novel made me cry!"

The host said it in a slightly exaggerated way.

However, his expression did resonate with many viewers.

"Starry Night" is a best-selling book with over 1500 million copies sold worldwide. Even in Italy, it has many fans, and many of the people watching the live stream are among them.

Shortly after the host left

Gu Bei met someone he hadn't expected.

"I heard you bought the rights to wrestlers?" Harvey Weinstein walked over and asked casually.

"I heard you bought the distribution rights for The Hurt Locker?"

Gu Bei calmly countered with a question.

He had Liu Yifei quote a price to the bomb disposal unit, but it fell far short of their expectations. Later, he heard that the Weinstein Company had won the contract.

"You also have high hopes for the bomb disposal unit? Looks like I made the right bet!"

Harvey smiled slightly.
He seemed quite pleased with himself for cutting off Gu Bei's target.

"It's okay, I've already gotten what I wanted!"

Gu Bei's expression remained unchanged.

The bomb disposal unit has indeed won many awards.
However, in terms of commercial value, they may not be as high as wrestlers.

Especially next year's awards season,

The bomb squad is about to run into their own La La Land.
Then we'll see, against the backdrop of an economic crisis, whether the anti-war bomb disposal unit or the city of La La Land, nostalgic for the golden age, is more effective.

Without the Oscars,
The commercial value of bomb disposal units has decreased even further.

Harvey scrutinized Gu Bei's eyes and realized that Gu Bei wasn't lying.

However, having won over The Hurt Locker, he also had his own criteria for selecting films, so he casually declared, "Venice has never liked to choose blockbuster films. I wonder if one of your two films will be selected?"

"Could it be your film that won the SIGNIS (Catholic Culture Award)?"

Gu Bei retorted directly, "And... I'll be the unexpected one!"

"hope so!"

Harvey was slightly startled.

He hadn't expected Gu Bei to be so confident.
But from before the opening of Venice until now, artists have been the hottest topic among all the films, almost entirely supporting the highlight of this film festival.

This is also what makes Harvey feel uncomfortable.
He has already discovered the commercial value of artists.
As a result, Gu Bei rejected him time and time again.

This caused him to miss out on the film, but it also made him never forget the artist.

(End of this chapter)