Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 415 Hot Picks from the Cannes Telephone Odds List

"You're the owner of Rose Pictures, so of course you have to make the decisions!"

Gu Bei patted Liu Yifei on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Besides, I'm flying back to New York tomorrow, and you'll be in charge of making all the decisions here in Cannes."

This is actually the normal schedule for attending a film festival.
I arrived at the film festival two days before the screenings, stayed for two days afterward, and then went back to attend to my own business.

After that, unless the film festival organizing committee calls to confirm that there is an award to be won, he will not return to attend the film festival's closing ceremony.

Because the film festival organizing committee calls the film crews, they don't explicitly tell them who won the award.
Therefore, many people leave the film festival early without receiving their awards.

For example, Eric, the photographer of the artist,

And then there's Leonardo DiCaprio's Best Actor award at the Berlin International Film Festival for Romeo and Juliet.
They didn't even bother to come back because they didn't know if they could win the award.

"Okay, I will make every decision carefully!"

After listening, Liu Yifei thought it made sense and nodded.

This time, it was Gu Bei's turn to be surprised!

He added with some concern:

"Actually, everyone has regular distributors they cooperate with in the major film markets."
Just let them negotiate, and then choose a publisher with better terms.

As for film markets where neither of the two companies has a partnership, just choose the one that seems more likely to generate revenue.

When it is released globally,
What's most needed are publishers who can recoup their payments, not publishers with the lowest fees.
So even when things have really soured between the two companies, they still choose each other again next time. This is because the more times they cooperate, the lower the cost of trust becomes, and at least they don't have to worry about not getting their money.

"Okay, okay, you're even more nagging than my mom!"

Liu Yifei wrinkled her nose and put the notebook away. "Since you've entrusted this matter to me, then do it my way!"

"Alright, alright, I'll do whatever Empress Qian says!"

Seeing this, Gu Bei stopped talking.

Rose Pictures has collaborated with the world's top film markets multiple times and is not afraid of being scammed.

The remaining areas are just scattered countries, which don't have a significant impact on the overall situation. If you encounter a publisher who cheats you, you can just consider it bad luck.

"Hum~"

Upon hearing Gu Bei's form of address, Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

……

new York.

"Very good, Kevin, your performance was as excellent as ever!"

Gu Bei looked at Kevin Spacey on the monitor, leaned forward with satisfaction, and gave him a thumbs up, praising his acting skills.

This version of Dr. Lizard

He invited Kevin Spacey, a two-time Oscar winner, and Underwood, the future president of House of Cards.

After winning his second Academy Award for Best Actor at the beginning of the century, Kevin Spacey's career became somewhat quiet.
Despite having made many films,

However, he didn't leave behind any particularly memorable characters.

On the contrary, there were disappointing characters like Lex Luthor in Superman Returns, whose performance was hard to describe.

This is mainly because after the turn of the century, Hollywood offered very few roles for actors like him.
Another important reason is...

He returned to the British theater industry, becoming the artistic director of the Vic Theatre Company, and pledged to stay for at least ten years, determined to make the British theater industry great again. His energy was no longer entirely focused on film.

However, even the best ideals need sustenance.

Kevin Spacey has also been actively seeking opportunities to return to Hollywood in the past two years.

It just so happened that Gu Bei needed a better lizard doctor, and the two hit it off immediately.

"Bruce, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity."

Kevin Spacey approached with his signature smile, thanking Gu Bei while extending an invitation, "I'm hosting a party tonight, would you like to come?"

"I'm not going to the party; I don't like the atmosphere there."

Gu Bei decisively waved his hand in refusal, "Kevin, this opportunity isn't given to you by me, it's given to you by your performance."

Kevin Spacey couldn't help but say, "Actually, after Superman Returns, I thought I would never get a role in a superhero movie again."

"That movie was terrible in every way, the script and special effects were just as bad as Superman."

Gu Bei also had a lot to complain about regarding Superman Returns.

There was one more thing he didn't say: your Lex Luthor and that Superman Returns movie were both doomed to failure.

Because of Kevin Spacey's role as Luther in the original series, Gu Bei's choice to play Dr. Lizard was met with strong opposition within the production team.

Everyone thinks he doesn't have much audience appeal.

But he has the potential to make House of Cards a global phenomenon, serving as the first shot in Netflix's comeback.
How could Kevin Spacey not be popular with audiences?

Gu Bei ignored all objections and decided on Kevin Spacey.

It's because he knows how important the villains in superhero movies are.

Only a villain with a commanding presence can make the audience experience what makes a superhero so powerful.

Marvel initially chose relatively unknown actors to play superheroes, but the actors who co-starred with them were a plethora of award-winning actors and actresses, much like the pairing of young heartthrobs with veteran actors.

Marvel Studios' choice of Spider-Man is the opposite of the original Amazing Spider-Man.
I wonder which two producers were able to create the original Spider-Man trilogy.

Why, when the director and actors were all newcomers, was the villain chosen to be Rhys Ifans, a relatively unknown but talented actor?

It might be due to the path dependency of the original Spider-Man trilogy.

The villains there are mostly unknown actors with great acting skills.
But Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire weren't newcomers before joining Spider-Man; they were already quite well-known.

Gu Bei has assembled a truly formidable lineup this time.

Having just won the Oscar for Best Director,

In addition, the on-screen couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, who gained global popularity thanks to La La Land,

With a cast including two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, known for playing villains, the lineup is so solid that audiences naturally feel it's unlikely to be a bad movie.

The only downside is that the pay is a bit high.
Expensive things are often good in every way; their only drawback is the price.

Moreover, Gu Bei only receives a share of the box office revenue; how much the movie makes at the box office is none of his business.

"Jingle Bell!"

While the two were talking,

A cell phone suddenly rang on Gu Bei's person.
It drew everyone's attention on set.

This is a film set. If a cell phone rings during filming, it means that the take is ruined.

While everyone was trying to figure out who had been so careless, they discovered that the phone ringing was coming from Gu Bei's waist.

Oh, it's the director. Oh, that's alright then!
When Gu Bei took out his phone, his expression changed slightly.

Because he knew very well that the only person who could get through to that phone number was the Cannes Film Festival organizing committee.

Sure enough, a French voice came from the other end: "Excuse me, are you Bruce Gu?"

"Yes." Gu Bei was even more certain of his thoughts.

"We are staff members of the Cannes International Film Festival organizing committee."

The other party immediately identified themselves and then said the same thing Gu Bei had heard back then: "We noticed that you have left Cannes. We are calling now to invite the Gravity crew to the closing ceremony tomorrow. Please make sure someone attends tomorrow."

"I see."

Gu Bei smiled slightly upon hearing the other person's words.

“French, looks like there’s good news from Cannes.” Kevin Spacey was right across from Gu Bei and had a vague idea of ​​where the call was coming from.

"There is indeed good news."

Gu Bei said with a smile.

Since the notification has already been given, it means that Gravity will receive at least one award.

However, the organizing committee will not disclose who will win the award; it is up to the individual whether they are willing to risk returning to Cannes empty-handed.

Gu Bei will definitely choose to return to Cannes.

Because there are only three types of awards at Cannes: the Grand Prix, the Best Actor award, and the Best Screenplay award.

In other words, the award will either go to Gu Bei or Liu Yifei.
Unless the Cannes organizing committee is just making a fuss, it's quite necessary for him to take this flight.

He picked up the phone and told his assistant, Edward, "Book me the nearest direct flight from New York to Nice. I need to be there on time for the closing ceremony and awards presentation tomorrow."

A direct flight from New York to Nice takes only eight hours.

It was a bit rushed to finish in one day.
But it's not something that's impossible.

"Director, what happened?"

Andrew was still wearing Spider-Man's bodysuit, with only his head showing as he walked over.

He thought something had happened, after all, Gu Bei was on set with his phone on, and after answering the call, he seemed to be in such a hurry.

"The movie is almost finished filming, so we'll give you a few more days off."

Gu Bei glanced at Emma Stone not far away, "I'll give you a little more time for your date."

Gu Bei's words made Andrew scratch his head somewhat embarrassedly, and he just smiled foolishly without refuting them.

He didn't know if it was because Spider-Man's bodysuit was enchanted.
Andrew and Emma spent a year filming promotional material for La La Land, but they didn't spark any romance. They were clearly about to fall into the trap of friendship.

As a result, on the Spider-Man set...

The progress in two months is much faster than in the previous year.

This fits the premise that the male and female protagonists in the Spider-Man series will inevitably fall in love.

Gu Bei gave the crew two days off, then quickly packed his things and headed straight to the airport.

In the waiting area,

He dialed Liu Yifei's number:

"I have bad news and good news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"and."

Liu Yifei answered very cleverly.

Gu Bei: “…”

"Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose!"

Hearing the deafening silence on the other end...

Liu Yifei couldn't help but burst into a series of laughs.
She said smugly to Gu Bei:
"Hmph~
Trying to trick me again? No way!
Gu Bei, I've completely seen through you!

"In that case, I'll tell you the contents of 'and'."

Gu Bei said calmly, "That's you and me."

"what?"

Liu Yifei was completely confused.

What does 'you and me' mean?

After pondering for a while, she realized she couldn't deduce the result from such simple information, so she helplessly asked Gu Bei, "Then what's the good news?"

"The previous message was for a free trial; the next one will be for a paid trial."

Gu Bei calmly explained, using the skills he learned at Tencent: free traffic generation followed by paid unlocking.

Do I have to pay to unlock it?

Liu Yifei gritted her teeth in anger.
If Gu Bei were still in front of her, she would probably be bitten by his teeth.
She was too smug!
After a pause,

Liu Yifei leaned close to the microphone and said softly, "Brother Gu Bei, Qianqian was wrong just now. Please tell Qianqian the good news~"

"hiss!"

Gu Bei took a breath.

This was the first time he had ever felt Liu Yifei being so tight around him. He regretted not recording it earlier, as he knew that Liu Yifei's personality made it unlikely he would ever hear it again.

Liu Yifei only realized what she had done after she finished speaking.

She touched her slightly flushed cheeks, still unable to shake off the shame from just now, and could only pretend to be fierce as she said, "I've already paid, so hurry up and tell me!"

"The Cannes Film Festival organizing committee just called to inform the Gravity cast and crew to participate in the closing ceremony."

Gu Bei stopped playing the good news/bad news game. After his experience, nothing else was as exciting.

"You mean you're going to win another award?"

Liu Yifei's tone was somewhat surprised.

Gu Bei left Cannes early, but she stayed in Cannes the whole time, dealing with distributors from various countries every day, holding seminars for Rose Films, and frequently and deeply engaging with the film festival.

Because of this,

Instead, she felt that gravity might not work this time.
Although Gravity's initial rating in the program book was good, currently at 3.1 and ranking third, its massive budget of $100 million makes it an outlier in this year's main competition.

Furthermore, the negative impact of science fiction films and 3D movies makes it very unlikely that Gravity will win an award.

"It might not be me."

Gu Bei said with a smile, "I looked at the odds list of the betting company. Your odds for Best Actress are only 2.7 to 1, which is only slightly higher than Juliette Binoche's 1.8 to 1. You two are the favorites who are far ahead of everyone else."

“I watched Juliette Binoche’s performance in the legal copy. This year might really be her year of the European Grand Slam,” Liu Yifei replied earnestly.

"You have to believe in yourself; your performance on Gravity was just as good."

Gu Bei felt that Liu Yifei sometimes underestimated her own abilities.

However, it must be said that this year is indeed Juliette Binoche's most promising year.
After all, Juliette Binoche is a French actress, so she already enjoys certain preferential treatment.
This year, Cannes even used her solo image as part of their promotional posters, plastering them all over the town of Cannes, making it her best chance to be nominated for Cannes in recent years.

"Of course I believe in myself!" Liu Yifei replied with a smile, "but I believe in you even more!"

(End of this chapter)