Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 416: Crowned Queen at Cannes!

……

Cannes.

Gu Bei stood in the red carpet waiting area, looking refreshed.

Despite having just endured an eight-hour flight, plus the six-hour time difference between Cannes and New York, the convenience of first class minimized the fatigue of the arduous journey.

"Bruce, I thought you were still in New York!"

Michael, president of Sony Classics, walked over and struck up a conversation with Gu Bei with a smile, "I've seen your Gravity, it's truly an excellent work."

"Thank you. Judging from your happy expression, you must have snagged something good, right?" Gu Bei guessed from Michael's expectant look that he must have returned from Cannes with a bang.

“That’s right, another year for Mike Lee, I got their North American distribution rights.”

Michael said smugly.

"This is a big favorite at this year's Cannes Film Festival!"

Gu Bei was slightly surprised.

Another year, the event's program received a score of 3.4, which is a full 0.3 points higher than Gravity, which came in third place, and is just one step away from a perfect score of 4.

As a strong contender for the Palme d'Or, the competition for distribution rights is sure to be fierce once again.

Sony Classics must have spent a lot of money to secure the deal ahead of time.

"Bruce, I have to thank you, otherwise Sony Classics wouldn't have had such a large budget."

Michael said smugly.

Sony Classics, along with Rose Pictures, won two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Picture. The films The Artist and La La Land also performed well at the box office, which boosted his status within Sony and allowed him to receive a significantly larger budget than before.

"But...where did Mike Lee go?"

Liu Yifei suddenly blurted out a sentence.

The atmosphere froze.
Gu Bei looked around.
He didn't seem to see the crew of "Another Year" either.

Michael did the same as Gu Bei, looking around but not finding any members of the crew from Another Year.

Michael's expression changed slightly, and he left, seemingly to contact someone.

"It looks like this year is going to be a year of upsets."

Gu Bei said to Liu Yifei beside him.

Another highly anticipated winner was conspicuously absent from the awards ceremony, presumably without winning a single award. This suggests that Tim Burton, the chairman of this year's judging panel, is a formidable figure, and there will likely be many upsets in this year's awards.

"possible."

Liu Yifei gestured to a spot not far away, "See that film crew over there? It's the crew of the movie 'Our Life.' That movie has a 1.6 rating in the festival's daily publication, third from the bottom."

After a pause,

Liu Yifei then gestured to the other side:
"That one is the cast of 'The Wrong Choice,' which received a 2.0 rating in the program, fourth from the bottom."

Gu Bei looked at Liu Yifei with some surprise.
Before leaving Cannes, he entrusted everything to Liu Yifei.
The reason was that they had enough people in Cannes, but lacked someone to make decisions, so the margin for error was very high.

But Liu Yifei's familiarity with all the films in the main competition clearly exceeded his expectations of her, making him realize that he had underestimated her.

"What are you looking at?"

Liu Yifei raised her chin slightly at Gu Bei, revealing a smug look, "Don't you think I'm especially amazing?"

"Great!"

Gu Bei raised his thumbs up.

This move truly shocked him.

"Hum~"

Liu Yifei was also somewhat surprised.

If she had been this smug before, Gu Bei would probably have teased her again.
Surprisingly, Gu Bei didn't tease her today.
This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Finished!

Liu Yifei, do you have some masochistic tendencies?
While Liu Yifei was still lost in thought, Gu Bei leaned closer and whispered, "Do you know what I saw?"

"what?"

Liu Yifei asked without hesitation.

Gu Bei looked into her eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Juliet Binoche hasn't appeared in the waiting area yet!"

Bang bang bang!
Liu Yifei realized Gu Bei's meaning, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

But because she kept making eye contact with Gu Bei,
Therefore, it is impossible to determine at the moment.
This sudden, frantic jump was ultimately because of Gu Bei.

It was still because of that seemingly promising golden palm leaf.

"You still smiled!"

Gu Bei reached out and touched the corner of her mouth, smiling as he said, "As expected, deep down you still have expectations!"

"Did I laugh?"

Liu Yifei touched the corner of her mouth in a flustered manner.

But now she can't touch anything with her hands, and she said somewhat stubbornly, "Even if I smiled, it doesn't mean anything. Every actor must be longing for that golden palm leaf!"

"Actually, I was lying to you; you didn't laugh."

Gu Bei said with a smile.

When he said this, he felt like he was about to transform into Nezha, the Demon Orb, and he felt a little guilty about teasing Liu Yifei like that.

"Gu! Bei!"

Liu Yifei was immediately enraged, her teeth clenched, wishing she could devour Gu Bei alive.

"But I just want to help you explore your inner desires,"

I'm not lying to you, Juliette Binoche hasn't been seen yet.

Gu Bei explained earnestly.

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at him and didn't say anything more.

But I have to say,
After Gu Bei's rollercoaster-like soul-searching interrogation,

She did indeed gain a deeper understanding of her inner desires.

Awards, box office, star power
These worldly things in the entertainment industry,

She couldn't say she had no desires at all; after all, she wasn't a saint.

Her childhood experiences have allowed her to quickly adapt to loss. While she longs for these things, she is also prepared for the possibility of not having them, leaving everything to fate.

After the closing ceremony's red carpet,

Gu Bei and Liu Yifei sat down in the middle of the cinema.
As one of the top three European film festivals, Cannes boasts the Palais des Festivals, which is undoubtedly the largest and can even rival the Kodak Theatre, which frequently hosts the Oscars.

The Cannes awards ceremony then began.
Initially, it was still a kind of focus section, film foundation, and short film award.
However, the Cannes closing ceremony is lengthy because of the several hours of red carpet ceremony. The actual awards ceremony is quite fast-paced, with all the awards combined taking just over an hour, and there are also some speeches in between.

Just twenty minutes later,
The awards ceremony then moved into the main competition section.
The first award was for screenwriting, which was given to Lee Chang-dong from South Korea, who was the director and screenwriter of the film Poem.

After Lee Chang-dong

Jury president Tim Burton began announcing the winner of Best Actor: "Javier Bardem, you're right!"

This decision wasn't exactly a surprise.

Although the event's program rating was a bit low.

However, there is generally a minimum standard for films that can be selected for film festivals.

The low rating of *The Wrong Choice* is only relative to other films in the main competition.

Moreover, Javier Bardem had been a frontrunner for Best Actor from the start, having already won the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor award twice, proving himself to be a highly accomplished actor. A burst of enthusiastic applause followed, with everyone congratulating Javier Bardem.

however,
at this time,

Tim Burton paused for a moment, then continued, "Elliot Germano, our life!"

The applause grew even louder.

"I never expected it to be a double-yolk egg!"

Liu Yifei was slightly surprised.

"There have been quite a few double winners at Cannes. Several major awards, including the Actors Award, have been won by two people. The most famous example is the year Wong Kar-wai's film, which had five Best Actor winners and six Best Actress winners."

As Gu Bei watched the two people on stage give their acceptance speeches, he smiled and said to Liu Yifei.

Cannes does indeed produce a considerable number of double-yolk eggs.

Whether it's Best Actor or Best Actress, film awards, or even the Palme d'Or, there have been instances of two winners sharing the award.

In 2006, when Wong Kar-wai was the president of the Cannes Film Festival jury, he even produced a rare five-way tie for Best Actor and six-way tie for Best Actress, a feat uncommon in Cannes and even in film festivals worldwide, making it a veritable wholesale event for Best Actor and Best Actress awards.

Meanwhile, the first Cannes Best Actress born in the 80s was also born in this year, Joana Covo from Spain.

However, the prestige of this year's Best Actor and Best Actress awards is really low, because five Best Actor winners came from one movie, and six Best Actress winners came from one movie.

All I can say is that the Cannes jury president can indeed do whatever he wants.

While the two were still chatting,

The two newly crowned Cannes Best Actor winners have already given their acceptance speeches.
There were no performances or programs in between.

They went straight to the Best Actress award ceremony.

"Liu Yifei, gravity!"

Tim Burton's sudden attack, without any warning, left Gu Bei and Liu Yifei somewhat stunned.

Liu Yifei turned away from her posture facing Gu Bei, her eyes slightly dazed. She looked around and saw her own slightly dazed reflection on the big screen, still somewhat bewildered.

Congratulations, Sisi!

Gu Bei had just come to his senses and immediately stood up, saying excitedly.

Liu Yifei finally snapped out of her daze.

Cannes Best Actress

Although I had prepared myself mentally beforehand,

But when their names are actually called...
The thrill of having your name recorded in the hall of fame for performances,

It was still able to instantly break through all the mental preparations I had made.
All that remained in my heart was excitement.

Gu Bei smiled as he watched Liu Yifei's adorable, overloaded expression. He really wanted to take a picture of her, but luckily the Cannes awards ceremony had high-definition video recording, and the camera immediately turned to capture all of Liu Yifei's expressions as she won the award.

Just as he was marveling at Liu Yifei's adorable performance,
Liu Yifei regained consciousness.
She immediately embraced him like a swallow returning to its nest.
Before he could react, Liu Yifei kissed him on the cheek: "Thank you!"

Thank you, only you can bring out the unique qualities in me!

Liu Yifei didn't have time to say the second half of the sentence.
She had already turned and left her seat.
Slowly walking towards the stage in Cannes,
There stands her own Palme d'Or trophy, the best actress award at Cannes!

Gu Bei watched Liu Yifei's retreating figure, glanced at the camera, and resisted touching the spot that had just been wet. This girl looks gentle and kind, but when she goes crazy, she's bolder than anyone else!

……

Kyoto.

"Jingle Bell!"

Liu Xiaoli's eyes were still a little misty; she had just heard that Liu Yifei had won Best Actress at Cannes, and her emotions were too overwhelming to contain.

Just as Shu Chang was frantically looking for paper for her, her phone rang.

She looked up and saw that the number was familiar; it was a number she had saved long ago, but she would never call it unless absolutely necessary.

hesitated for a moment,
She answered the call anyway.

"My daughter won the Best Actress award at Cannes!"

An excited voice came from the other end.

"That's my daughter too!"

Liu Xiaoli said with a hint of jealousy, her voice rising three notches.

"It's all the same, it's all the same!"

An Shaokang replied casually, seemingly not caring at all.

If Liu Xiaoli had spoken to him in this tone normally, he would have backed down long ago. After all, even though Liu Xiaoli was his ex-wife, he still felt some guilt towards her.

But today,

An Shaokang felt as if he had floated up to the sky.
Liu Yifei is only twenty-two years old this year, and she has already won the Cannes Best Actress award.

His pride in his daughter had made him somewhat oblivious to his own pride.

"you……"

Liu Xiaoli became even more jealous, and secretly feared that An Jia would try to take Liu Yifei away.

at this time,

An Shaokang's voice, as if plunged into an icy abyss, came from the other end of the phone: "Did they kiss? This is a public place, and it's being broadcast live on TV!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli's lips curled up slightly.

Yes, Sisi has grown up, and in the future she will only belong to her husband.

……

Weibo.

"???"

"She really won? Wasn't the French actress supposed to be the frontrunner? How come it's suddenly Liu Yifei?"

"Sissi was the second most popular choice to begin with, so what's so strange about that? You can't just award her the prize because she's a favorite, can you? What's the point of having a judging panel then?"

"Are people still talking about the casting controversy for 'Gravity'? Is there any controversy about her winning Best Actress at Cannes? From today onwards, Sissi has been upgraded from one of the 'Four Dan Actresses,' 'Two Bing Actresses,' and 'One Fairy Actress' to 'Empress Sissi.' No one is objecting anymore, right?"

"Did I see that right? Liu Yifei seemed to kiss Gu Bei?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"It's just that after Sisi won the award, she hugged Director Gu in excitement, and the two of them got a little close. You can't spread rumors!"

"Are there still people who can't accept it? Gu Bei and Liu Yifei's scandal has been going on for so long, I thought everyone already knew!"

"That's right. Thinking about it carefully, the two are indeed quite a good match. They've supported each other all the way to where they are today. One is an Oscar-winning director, and the other is a Cannes Best Actress winner. Is there anything more romantic than that?"

……

Liu Yifei left the stage after giving her acceptance speech.

After Gu Bei finished reading,

Then he looked at the empty seat next to him.
He would then have to spend the entire journey alone.

He used to be the one receiving the awards while Liu Yifei waited below, but this time it was the other way around.

Next, only the four major awards in the main competition remain, all of which are film awards and are the most important part of Cannes.

The Jury Prize was won by Mahamant Saree Haron, the director of Scream Man, which was a bit of a surprise, considering that Scream Man was not particularly outstanding in the screenings.

"The film that won the Best Director award is Gravity, directed by Gu Bei!"

(End of this chapter)