Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 176: Like a duck in water
Five days later, Lu Jiang received a call from Situ Zhaodun.

He excitedly told Lu Jiang over the phone that Cannes had invited the film crew to attend tomorrow's closing ceremony.

According to the three unspoken rules of Europe, this means that "The Lobster" has already secured the awards.

The next morning, Lu Jiang led a group of people to Cannes again.

Among the accompanying personnel, besides Dong Xuan, Zhang Jingchu and Tang Wei were also present. Their visas had just been processed a few days ago, which was just in time. In addition, there were several male leads, including Fu Biao.

Photographer Ning Hao also accompanied them. He is one of the key members of the production team. Filming for "Goddess Dragon" has just wrapped up, and he can make it to the awards ceremony just in time.

In addition, there was Han Sanpin from China Film Group, as well as several people including the class teacher and vice principal from the Central Academy of Drama.

After a long and winding journey, when Lu Jiang finally arrived in Cannes, the level of attention he received was completely different from what it had been a week or so ago.

As soon as it appeared, numerous flashes went off.

This attention is not only due to the unexpected success of "The Lobster," but also largely due to the new English album.

His new English album "Lu" has been released for two weeks, and Zhou Jianhui has reported that it has sold 74 copies worldwide.

In North America, "Shape of You" topped the Billboard charts, "Hall of Fame" came in 17th, and "Free Loop" came in 9th.

With three songs making it into the top 20, "Lu" also reached number 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Meanwhile, "lu" was released in Europe and America for nearly 10 days. In the UK, "free" and "shape" entered the top ten, and even last year's "you" entered the top ten again.

The song's success boosted Lu Jiang's fame once again.

With Cannes about to close and the awards about to be announced, it's currently at its peak in terms of buzz.

Lu Jiang is also the dark horse director at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Thus, Lu Jiang's identity as a director was officially revealed to the world.

He's both a Grammy nominee and a rising star in the pop music scene, and a dark horse in the film industry.

With two major halos above his head, Lu Jiang is now considered the most dazzling star in Cannes.

Therefore, from the moment he got off the bus all the way to the hotel, Lu Jiang finally got to experience some of the spotlight treatment that he only gets in mainland China.

Although the intensity of these spotlights is actually not as high as that in mainland China.

But Zhang Jingchu and the others were already quite satisfied.

At this moment, the two of them had the same thought as Young Master Zhou back then: choice is more important than effort.

So, should we just call it quits tonight? Fan Binbin's around; we can't compete with her.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Zhang Jingchu and the others quickly began applying makeup, as the closing ceremony was only 5 hours away, and time was tight.

Lu Jiang met with Fan Binbin to hear her report on her achievements over the past few days.

Of course, before that, we still need to have a hug and spin around.

This time, Fan Chengcheng was smarter; he stayed far away, afraid of being dumped again.
After a brief moment of tenderness, Fan Binbin began to report on his achievements.

In the past few days, Fan Binbin has received offers from three top-tier brands.

Chanel, Dior, and LV.

Other smaller cards are not counted.

Fan Binbin is currently interested in Chanel, partly because the two sides have a foundation for cooperation, and partly because Chanel is the fastest to make a move.

For example, the dresses for tonight's closing ceremony were provided by Chanel.

A Chanel-style dress, which was supposedly one of the dresses prepared for the New York Fashion Week in the second half of the year, has been brought out ahead of schedule.

So what the scalper said about the scarcity of high-end custom items and that they had all been borrowed was just empty talk.

If these brands really take the initiative, they could be around any time!
That said, it's basically confirmed that Fan Binbin will collaborate with Chanel.

Currently, Fan Binbin holds the title of "Brand Ambassador," which is below "Global Spokesperson" and "Product Line Spokesperson." The "Brand Ambassador" title doesn't actually have a formal endorsement status, which doesn't seem very prestigious.

But she is already the first female star in Asia to achieve this level of recognition.

This may not significantly boost her status as an actress, but it will greatly enhance her commercial value.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at his endorsement value, with a Chanel collaboration in hand, Fan Binbin wouldn't even need to glance at the prices of other products unless they doubled!
To achieve further breakthroughs and secure higher-level endorsements, progress in two areas is crucial.

One aspect is the sales performance in the region where it is located.

When it comes to endorsements, it's natural to consider the ability to drive sales, which is perfectly normal.

Now that my country has joined the WTO, Chanel stores in mainland China will soon reach double digits, so there's no need to worry about sales.

On the other hand, besides the ability to drive sales, one must also have solid skills.

Fan Binbin needs to increase his work, preferably works that leave an international mark, and works that are related to the Chanel brand or roles that match his fashion persona.

At that time, not only Chanel, but also other top-tier brands will have greater leverage in negotiations.

Judging from this perspective alone, a thriller comedy like "Happy Death Day" wouldn't be a good fit for Fan Binbin.

Lu Jiang decided to go back and open a bunch of treasure chests to see if there were any more suitable ones, and then he would replace them with the new ones.

Even without that, "A World Without Thieves" wouldn't be a big problem; at least it would still be considered a cinematic achievement.

It's not easy to get higher-level endorsements with this, but it's more than enough to boost an actor's status and commercial value.

Besides his collaboration with Chanel, Fan Binbin has also gained a wealth of connections in the European and American fashion circles these past few days.

They also received a first-class invitation to Milan Fashion Week in the second half of the year.

This means they've begun to control international fashion resources.

Fan Binbin was full of confidence and enthusiasm about this.

In her view, she had finally found a field that Lu Jiang was not good at, but that she was in her element, where she could make the most of herself.

Once this industry grows big, let's see who dares to call themselves Lujiang's canary in the cage!

Fan Binbin has reaped great rewards, and Dong Xuan is also feeling very comfortable now.

She landed a deal with an Italian handbag brand, not a top-tier or even first-tier brand, but a second-tier brand, though it does have stores in China.

Those in the know understand: when this kind of brand goes to China, its prestige automatically skyrockets.

So when Dong Xuan goes back, she can confidently say that she, Dong Xuan, is also a female star with international endorsements!

Such actresses are few and far between in mainland China.
There's no need to wait until she returns to China; she's already showing off with Zhang Jingchu and Tang Wei.

The two of them were filled with regret.

If I had applied for my visa earlier and made it to the premiere red carpet, wouldn't I have been able to be like Dong Xuan?

Little did they know that Fan Binbin played a significant role in this.

After all, she's the boss's wife, so she has to take care of her own people.

In addition to allocating funds to buy dresses and do styling for Dong Xuan, she also put in a lot of effort in negotiating endorsements.

The specifics of how the deal was reached are unknown, but as long as Lu Jiang knows that this area is truly Fan Binbin's comfort zone and that she has the ability to build a career in it, that's enough.

She has the ability, and with the support of Lu Jiang's works, she can continue to grow and expand.

Breaking Hong Kong and Taiwan's monopoly on international fashion resources, further cultivating the mainland fashion industry, becoming the top female figure in the domestic entertainment fashion sector, and helping Lu Jiang become a tycoon like Ren Quan who monopolizes fashion resources is just around the corner!
Four hours later, the group set off for the red carpet.

It's time to claim the award.
(End of this chapter)