Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 343 The Dilemma of the Venice Film Festival

Venice is exceptionally bustling this year.

On one side is a renovation project that is under construction and not yet completed;

On the other side were film critics arguing fiercely.

The stunning opening of La La Land has raised film critics' expectations for this year's Venice Film Festival, given that the number of renowned directors attending is no less than that of Cannes.

"Jacques has gone to extremes in non-plot-based narrative. The story of 'Around a Hill' has no clear beginning or end, the conflict is completely dissolved, and even the most basic dramatic tension has disappeared..."

Liu Yifei sat on the sofa, softly reading aloud the film review that had just been published that day.
The above is a film review of the new film by Jacques Rivette, a veteran of the French New Wave.

He had only read one sentence when...
Liu Yifei put down the program booklet in her hand: "Forget it, I won't read it!"
This person's words are so rude! They're subtly suggesting he should retire and enjoy his retirement, and they're even dragging your La La Land into it, saying it's inferior to your La La Land, just trying to stir up trouble for you!

Gu Bei was standing in front of the mirror, preparing to tie his tie.

He turned around curiously and reached out his hand: "You really say that?"

"Then there is still a holiday?"

Liu Yifei stood up, handed the magazine to Gu Bei, and took the tie from Gu Bei's hand.

Gu Bei glanced at the film reviews in the magazine.
His words were certainly impolite, showing no consideration for the fact that Jacques is already 81 years old.

Most importantly, this guy dragged himself into his evaluation system, which really made him look bad.

While Gu Bei was reading the magazine in his hand,
Liu Yifei picked up the tie in her hand and very naturally tied it for Gu Bei.

I've done this quite often before, and I'm very skilled at it.

Gu Bei shifted his gaze from the magazine to the mirror, looking at Liu Yifei's slender back, and then thought of what happened in the fitting room before Cannes.

"why are you laughing?"

Liu Yifei caught a glimpse of Gu Bei's slightly upturned lips and asked curiously.

"I was reminded of the time you tied my tie at the last film festival," Gu Bei said with a smile.

Liu Yifei, upon hearing this, had not yet realized anything.

But soon, the familiar memories began to attack them.
Back then, in the fitting room before the Cannes Film Festival, she used the excuse of tying her tie to try to force a kiss on Gu Bei, giving away her first kiss prematurely.

Now, just recalling a little bit of what happened back then makes Liu Yifei try to erase that memory.

Of course, there are also Gu Bei's memories.

"Shh!"

Liu Yifei tightened her tie immediately.

She glared at Gu Bei with wide eyes, pulled him closer, and warned him in a threatening tone, "I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not intend to mention that matter!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Gu Bei looked at Liu Yifei, whose face was slightly flushed, and couldn't help but gently pinch her cheek. "You look so cute like this!"

"Who is your wife?"

Liu Yifei immediately retorted.

“I didn’t call it that first, last time…”

"Are you a human surveillance camera? How can you remember so clearly!"

Liu Yifei muttered discontentedly, "Anyway, I don't care. You can only call me that after I agree to it. Otherwise, it doesn't count!"

"I don't care, you're the one!"

Gu Bei smiled and moved closer, one hand against the mirror, the other supporting the back of Liu Yifei's head, easily capturing her rosy lips.

"Well……"

Liu Yifei wanted to say something, but her voice was drowned out by the two's passionate embrace.

After a while,
Liu Yifei turned around and looked at the few remaining lipsticks in the mirror, which were completely unable to cover up the slight redness and swelling.

She said with some dissatisfaction, "There's still a red carpet to walk on later!"

"It's not like it's the closing ceremony's red carpet!"

Gu Bei said indifferently, "It's just a small red carpet for the films exhibited in Xiangdu. It doesn't matter whether you go or not."

"Wasn't it Louis Koo who invited you?"

While touching up her makeup, Liu Yifei asked curiously.

"That's because he came to support Whiplash back in Cannes, so I went to support his screening event."

Gu Bei gave an explanation.

Although it was Han Sanpin who helped to rally the troops that time,

But Bai Gu did come, and this time Gu Bei accepted the invitation.

"Oh!"

I don't remember Liu Yifei at all.

After all, she mainly had a very pleasant chat with Gong Li that time.
With so many celebrities from the entertainment industry present, she genuinely didn't notice who came and who didn't.

After some trouble,
The two of them went out together.
We arrived at the theater where the movie "Accident" was being shown.

There weren't many media outlets taking photos on the red carpet initially; they were scattered and didn't seem to care much about the entry.

When Gu Bei and Liu Yifei appeared together...
There was a brief commotion among the media.

The cameras that had been put down,
They immediately started taking pictures of Gu Bei.

"Bruce, what do you think of circling a small hill? Do you think European directors are no match for you?"

Given the bustling atmosphere of this year's Venice Film Festival, as expected, some media outlets asked him for his opinion on the new work of Jacques Schaffhausen, a renowned director of the New Wave.

“I really like the metaphor in Jacques’ films about ‘acting is fiction, accidents are real,’ just like I really like his Celine and Julie’s Voyage and the Unruly Girl.”

With similar stories and themes, he still uses his restrained narrative and understated themes to express something new.

Gu Bei naturally praised him lavishly.

After all, it was the old man's final work.

Perhaps it wasn't his masterpiece.

But why should someone who's 81 years old demand so much from others?

After answering the question,
Gu Bei quickly pulled Liu Yifei along the red carpet.
I met with Gu Tianle and director Zheng Baorui at the end of the red carpet.

"I was wondering why the media suddenly got so excited. It turns out it's because Director Gu is here. Director Gu is so famous at this year's Venice Film Festival. We heard your name everywhere as soon as we got off the plane."

Gu Tianle greeted Gu Bei very warmly.

"I am over-flattered!"

Gu Bei responded with a smile.

He had a good impression of Gu Tianle. In the future, Gu Tianle seemed to have become the only pillar of the declining Xiangdu film industry, and his figure appeared in all kinds of movies.

However, it seems that Gu Tianle doesn't accept films dominated by mainland capital, which means that Gu Bei hears very little gossip about him.

The fact that the two had been chatting for so long without Gu Tianle ever expressing any intention to cooperate suggests something is amiss.

Then, Gu Tianle introduced Gu Bei to Zheng Baorui, who was standing next to him: "Director Zheng, this is the one I told you about..."

At this point, Gu Tianle paused for a moment.

In terms of age and seniority,
Gu Bei should be Zheng Baorui's junior, so he should be called a younger generation.

But Gu Bei wasn't part of the Xiangdu film industry either.

Moreover, in terms of both commercial and artistic achievements, they far surpass Zheng Baorui.
The term "younger generation" is definitely not appropriate.
But it's impossible to call him a senior, right?

Just as Gu Tianle was stuck,
Zheng Baorui also looked at Gu Bei across from him with some embarrassment.

As a rising director at Xiangdu Film Studio in the past two years, he is not much younger than Gu Bei, but he has an advantage in terms of the number of works he has produced.

I've been in the industry for almost thirty years.

I've been a director for almost ten years now.
This was his first time being shortlisted for the main competition of the three major competitions, and he came running over excitedly.
On the other hand, Gu Bei participates in the three major competitions every year.

The disparity between the two sides prevented him from putting on airs in the slightest.

"Director Gu, I've heard so much about you!"

Zheng Baorui treated Gu Bei with a slightly respectful attitude.

"I've long admired Director Zheng!"

Gu Bei replied with a smile, "Let's meet in Venice, and maybe we can meet again in Toronto!"

He still had some impression of Zheng Baorui.
The opposing detective and drug war are both very good Hong Kong movies.
Not to mention the Journey to the West trilogy that followed the move north; despite its poor quality, it certainly satisfied the audiences of those years with its entertainment value.

Even though they've made terrible films like "The Lost Tomb,"

But they also released a small but excellent film like SPL 2 in the same year.

Directors who can consistently produce commercially successful films are highly sought-after talents in China's entertainment industry.

"Director Gu has also submitted his application to the Toronto International Film Festival?"

Zheng Baorui was slightly surprised, not expecting that Gu Bei would pay attention to him.

"Unfortunately, I was already in China at that time and couldn't attend the Toronto International Film Festival screening in person." Gu Bei extended an invitation to Zheng Baorui, "Director Zheng, if you're going to Kyoto, you can contact me."

"sure!"

Zheng Baorui watched with delight as Gu Bei entered the movie theater.

"He's trying to recruit you. This young man has quite the ambition!" Gu Tianle said with some emotion.

"His Linlang Entertainment is really doing well. Zhang Ziyi's fashion films have grossed over 100 million yuan in China. He also invested in films like 'The Founding of a Republic' and 'Bodyguards and Assassins.' He's known for being very generous!"

Zheng Baorui had a slight look of joy on his face.

Everyone is heading north, so how could he not want to go north too?
Moreover, it's a company like Linlang Entertainment, which is experiencing rapid growth.

After the red carpet

It refers to the screening of movies.
Surprisingly, it still features Zheng Baorui's forte: dark suspense.
However, compared to the slightly mystical style of the original, this time it was much smoother. It mainly tells the story of how Louis Koo and his team create various accidental murders, resulting in the hunters becoming the prey.

The fact that a film of this style could be selected for the Venice Film Festival is actually a pleasant surprise in itself.

Although there is little hope of winning an award, the title of one of the three major awards can still give Zheng Baorui a bit of prestige, and it would be even better if he could sell the copyrights along the way.

"Clap clap clap!"

After the movie ended,

The person in the tie began to clap.
This prompted the remaining audience members in the theater to applaud.

"What do you think?" Liu Yifei asked curiously while clapping.

"A very smooth commercial film, but that's about it."

Gu Bei said lightly.

Venice may have been drawn to the film's exploration of the criminal's inner world.
However, the film itself is still based on a commercial film style.

The inner exploration part wasn't particularly outstanding either.

To some extent, this unexpected turn of events also symbolizes that the film selection for this year's Venice Film Festival was indeed somewhat lacking.

Aside from the unexpected incident in Xiangdu,
China also has the "Tears Prince" from Taiwan Province on the list, but he doesn't have much of a competitive edge.

These two films reflect the predicament of this year's Venice Film Festival.
Although Venice looks much more lively than before.
Many renowned European directors came to participate.

But if we're really talking about the quality of the works,
So this year's Venice Film Festival might not even be as good as last year's.

After all, last year's Venice Film Festival had a number of excellent works.
Whether it's Gu Bei's artists, wrestlers, or even the bomb disposal team that didn't win any awards.

Venice continues.
Marco Müller, in order to further enhance Venice's competitiveness,
The Venice Film Festival awarded five Pixar animation directors with lifetime achievement awards, and even invited George Lucas, the father of Star Wars, to present the awards to the five individuals, all in an effort to further enhance Venice's influence.

This makes the recipient the youngest of the three lifetime achievement awards, with the youngest being only 42 years old.

Gu Bei also noticed this trend.

Why will Venice gradually become a precursor to the Oscars?
On the one hand, the competition among the three major film festivals is fierce. Apart from the Cannes Film Festival, which remains firmly in its position, many other film festivals are trying to dethrone Venice.

In addition, the number of high-quality films produced each year is limited.
Italy's domestic film industry cannot uphold Venice's status as one of the three major film festivals.

In the end, Venice could only gradually gravitate towards Hollywood and the Big Six.

"Does it look good?"

Gu Bei looked at Liu Yifei beside him and asked.

“3D效果很不错，虽然都说皮克斯这两年沉迷于3D化自己的电影，但我觉得这一次玩具总动员1和2的3D化更加好看了！”

Liu Yifei nodded.
She has always liked animated movies.

Following the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Venice this time,

The world premieres of the 3D versions of Toy Story 1 and 2 are definitely not to be missed.

"I think Pixar's technology is a bit outdated. This time, the 3D version came out a little too early. They should have waited two more years to release the 3D version, by which time the technology would have been much more advanced."

Gu Bei, however, had a different opinion.

In fact, 3D technology is already very mature, which is why Pixar continues to release 3D versions of its movies.

But technology also requires financial support.

Only the little blue Avatar at the end of this year shocked the world.
Only then did 3D movies truly take center stage, and only then did various 3D technologies ensure the low-cost 3D transformation of previous films.

Pixar's film was too ahead of its time; they didn't understand the market trends.

As the two walked and talked,
A man's voice came from the side: "What do you think is not good enough?"

Gu Bei turned around and immediately recognized John Lasseter, who had just received the Venice Lifetime Achievement Award and was also Pixar's technical guru.

John Lasseter recognized Gu Bei: "You're Bruce Gu?"

Gu Bei nodded: "Yes."

After a pause,
He felt it was inappropriate to have technical discussions at this time.
So he extended an invitation to John Lasseter: "Your ideas about 3D technology are different from mine. If you have time, you can come to the Gravity trailer launch event in two days."

(End of this chapter)