Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 177 Double Yolk Egg + Double Yolk Egg!
Before setting off, Lu Jiang and Situ Zhaodun repeatedly confirmed: "Are you sure it's not just because of the short film?"

"Don't worry, I won't let you come back just because of the short film!"

Situ Zhaodun was beaming.

He also had this concern when he received a call from the Cannes organizers yesterday.

After all, Lu Jiang had two works nominated this time.

One feature film and one short film.

If it's a short film, even winning the Palme d'Or for short films wouldn't mean much to him.

Fortunately, Cannes sent out two invitations last night.

The creators of "Beauty" and "The Lobster" were invited to participate in the closing ceremony and awards presentation.

This means that both works received awards.

The fact that both works won awards, even if they were minor ones, is of extraordinary significance.

So at this moment, all Situ Zhaodun wanted to do was quickly walk down that damn red carpet, win the award, and return home.
Compared to the intense ceremony of the Cannes opening ceremony red carpet, and the fierce competition and brand rivalry at various premieres.

The Cannes closing ceremony red carpet appeared much more casual.

There are no specific requirements for haute couture, ready-to-wear, or custom-made clothing; any formal attire is acceptable.

The people walking the red carpet also appeared more chaotic.

The first part featured the creators of works not in the competition section, including some invited creators of shortlisted works and some local celebrities.

The main competition's shortlisted winners are only announced later in the competition.

Overall, it looks very similar to the red carpets that came later in mainland China.

Those of lower status are presented first, those of higher status last, and leaders and the like are presented last.
Moreover, there was no organizer controlling the red carpet, leaving the main focus to the fashion and business atmosphere of the various brands.

Instead, the film festival has become a genuine film trading hub.

The waiting area was packed with people, mostly producers of various works and buyers from all over the world, making it look a bit like an exchange.

In the short half hour before the red carpet event, Lu Jiang, introduced by Situ Zhaodun and Han Sanpin, had already exchanged brief greetings and communicated with no fewer than ten copyright holders from various countries.

Of course, there is also communication and exchange among peers. For example, Son Ye-jin, a South Korean actress, was nominated for her film "Painted Fire," which was also nominated. The lead actor is Choi Min-sik, a South Korean film emperor.

Son Ye-jin is indeed very beautiful, and she is also very quiet and doesn't talk much.

However, the team's translator, who understood a little Korean, turned around and told Lu Jiang that after they walked away, Son Ye-jin kept telling her companions how great Lu Jiang's figure was and how ridiculously handsome Fan Binbin was! She wondered if Lu Jiang, seeing her every day, would still be interested in other actresses, and if they got together, wouldn't their children be incredibly beautiful?
So Son Ye-jin is also a bit of a gossip, covering her mouth and laughing.

Only after the red carpet began did everyone start to appear in batches according to their order of appearance.

The entire red carpet process was also very tight; the 7-minute time limit was no longer available, with a maximum of only one minute, because the awards ceremony was more important than anything else today.

But it is still the Cannes red carpet, no matter what.

So when the red carpet reached its later stages and the award-winning creators started walking it, the frequency of the flashing lights increased significantly.

During this stage, the main cast members can have their time on the red carpet extended to about five minutes.

Therefore, this period is also very favorable for female celebrities who need exposure.

You could say this was a mini premiere red carpet.

This is why Fan Binbin shone brightly at Cannes once again.

Wearing a Chanel haute couture piece, Fan Binbin exudes confidence and charisma.

Having experienced the premiere red carpet and with Lu Jiang about to win an award, she is now more confident, especially when it comes to awards. In her opinion, awards give her more confidence than endorsements.

Lu Jiang could also clearly feel that he and Fan Binbin were receiving much more attention now than they had on the premiere red carpet.

"Lu, look here!"

"Fanbinbin, over here!"

"Lu, Fan, can you two come together?"

"Lu, please wait a moment."

The reporters were very enthusiastic; some were from China, but most were from abroad.

Long lenses and short lenses, a huge crowd, and flashing camera lights.

The creative team behind this work is much more active than the previous ones.

This also made Zhang Jingchu and her few followers very excited.

After today, will I be able to get an endorsement like Dong Xuan?

Even if I didn't, with this appearance, wouldn't I be considered a semi-international star?
In this blissful state, the red carpet event quickly came to an end, and the awards ceremony was about to begin.

The awards will be presented in the order from non-main competition units to main competition units.

That is, the awards will be given starting with short films.

Lu Jiang's "Beauty" won the Jury Prize for Short Films, along with the Canadian animated short film "Crazy Stone," without the backing of a gold insurance policy.

This is a second prize, not bad.

When accepting the award, Lu Jiang went on stage with the female lead Fan Binbin, the male supporting actor Lao Lu, the producer Situ Zhaodun, and the production assistant Baoqiang.

The short film was supposed to be made by all the main creators. Baoqiang was indeed a production assistant, but he could have either participated or not. However, since he was already there, Lu Jiang naturally had to take care of his younger brother.

This led to widespread celebrations and excitement in Baoqiang's hometown of Xingtai, Hebei, the following day, with Baoqiang's family as the center of the festivities.
After giving a brief acceptance speech, Lu Jiang and the others returned to their seats.

At this point, some mainland media outlets began to lament.

It turns out the short film won an award; what a disappointment.

Some Chinese media outlets with complex backgrounds were secretly pleased.

Lu Jiang's "The Lobster" has been marketed as a dark horse at Cannes these days.

I didn't expect the short film to win the award.

Ha ha ha.

But their laughter soon faded.
After another long wait, the awards ceremony for the main competition finally arrived.

"The recipient of the 55th Anniversary Special Award at the 55th Cannes Film Festival is Michael Moore for *Bowling in Columbine*!"

"The Special Jury Prize at the 55th Cannes Film Festival goes to Elia Suleiman for *Divine Intervention*!"

The awards ceremony for the main competition was conducted in the same order as all other award ceremonies, progressing from smaller awards to larger ones.

As soon as these two awards were announced this year, everyone at the scene started discussing them.

Because these two awards are very special.

Let's not even talk about the 55th Anniversary Special Award; it's an anniversary award that doesn't exist normally.

As for the latter.

If the Palme d'Or is the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival, then the second-highest award is the Grand Jury Prize, also known as the Jury Grand Prize.

But all of this happened after 1967. Before 1967, the second prize at Cannes was called the Special Jury Prize.

However, after Cannes established the Grand Jury Prize as a second-class award in 1967, it established the Jury Prize as a third-class award in 1969.

The Jury Special Award thus became a non-established award, a special award that individual judges would strive to win for a particular film.

The Jury Special Award had only appeared twice since the 1990s until last year, and I never expected it to appear again tonight!
Situ Zhaodun noticed the change immediately and whispered to Lu Jiang, "Looks like there won't be a Jury Prize this year."

Lu Jiang didn't know how he came up with that analysis, but he also began to frown and think.

In the original timeline, "The Lobster" won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2015.

So if what Lao Zhao said is true, then what awards will "The Lobster" win with its gold insurance backing?

While they were pondering, Fu Biao on the other side chimed in, "It wouldn't be Best Screenplay, would it?"

The Best Screenplay Award is also a permanent award, and it is quite prestigious.

Based on past experience, this award is usually given out third to last, after the Best Actor and Best Actress awards.

It would be great if "The Lobster" could win this award, since Chinese people have never won it before.

But reality soon surprised everyone.

Because the awards ceremony skipped the Best Screenplay award and went straight to awarding Best Actor and Best Actress.

So, there's no Best Screenplay winner this year?
Dong Xuan couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim softly, "Could it be the Best Actress?"

The rules for Best Actor and Best Actress nominations at Cannes are different from those at the Oscars.

The Cannes Film Festival does not announce the nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress in advance. Actors in all films in the main competition are considered eligible to win, and the final awards are announced directly at the closing ceremony. Therefore, theoretically, Lu Jiang and Fan Binbin can already be marketed as "Cannes Best Actor/Actress nominees," and there are many "Nominated Best Actor/Actress" figures in the Chinese entertainment industry as well.

But my family knows their own affairs.

The performance style of "The Lobster" is different from that of ordinary films. The puppet-like performance is very distinctive, but that's all. Unless the jury members unanimously agree to be unconventional, they will not give these two honors.

Indeed, the Best Actor and Best Actress awards were announced next, going to the South Korean film "Painted Fire" and the Finnish film "A Man Without a Past," respectively.

After the awards ceremony, Situ Zhaodun and others began to get restless.

According to past practice, after the Best Actor and Best Actress awards are given out, there are four major awards left: the Palme d'Or, the Grand Jury Prize, the Jury Award, and Best Director.

This year's Jury Prize is highly likely to be cancelled, so Lu Jiang is going to make a fortune this time!
Whether it's the Palme d'Or, the Jury Prize, or Best Director, their significance is top-notch.

Let's not even talk about the Palme d'Or. The great poet won one in 93. Later, Zhang Yimou won more awards in the three major European awards than him, including the Berlin Golden Bear and the Venice Golden Lion. But the great poet still clearly outshines Zhang Yimou.

The other two awards are also quite favorable for Lu Jiang.

There are currently seven Chinese people who have won awards at Cannes.

In 93, the great poet "Farewell My Concubine" won the Palme d'Or.

In 94, Zhang Yimou's "To Live" won the Jury Prize, and in the same year, Ge You became the first Chinese actor to win the Best Actor award at Cannes for his role in "To Live".

In 97, Wong Kar-wai won the Best Director award for "Happy Together".

In 2000, Jiang Wen won the Jury Prize for his performance in "Devils on the Doorstep".

In the same year, Tony Leung won the Best Actor award for his role in "In the Mood for Love".

In the same year, Edward Yang won the Best Director award for "Yi Yi".

In other words, if Lu Jiang wins the Jury Prize, he will be the third person in mainland China and even the entire Chinese-speaking world to achieve this.

If he wins Best Director, he will be the third Chinese person to receive this honor, and the first person from mainland China to do so.

The honor of being "the first person from mainland China" is greater than winning a second prize.

It could even surpass the Palme d'Or to some extent.

That's why Fu Biao, who was standing next to Han Sanpin, couldn't help but exclaim, "If he really wins Best Director, that would be amazing!"

Han Sanpin and Situ Zhaodun even started discussing which one to take.

However, no one dares to dream of winning the Palme d'Or. As the saying goes, only those in the know truly understand their own situation. Currently, "The Lobster" does not possess the necessary qualifications, especially now that "The Pianist" has become the biggest dark horse. It is even less likely that "The Lobster" will win it.

Therefore, the two only discussed the Jury Prize and Best Director.

In less than a minute, the two reached a conclusion.

Although the Jury Prize can increase the global sales value, meaning it can sell for more money.

However, for a star like Lu Jiang, who has a special case like this, winning Best Director would obviously be much more advantageous than the Jury Prize.

Regardless of which award he wins, everyone agrees that Lu Jiang is definitely going to make a fortune today!
Lu Jiang felt the same way.

For directors, it's best to choose awards that match their interests.

However, this year's Cannes Film Festival seems to enjoy playing tricks.

After the Best Actor and Best Actress awards were given out, the next award was surprisingly "Best Screenplay".

"It's changed again!" Han Sanpin immediately complained.

It used to be called Best Screenplay, but this year it became Best Screenplay. They changed the name without even giving us a heads-up.

There was a buzzing sound at the scene, and everyone was clearly a bit dazed.

And they were all somewhat dissatisfied.

In addition to the name change, the order of the awards ceremony has also changed.

How can the best screenplay be placed above the best actor and actress?

This goes against the laws of our ancestors!
Old Zhao was also speechless. Compared with the three awards mentioned above, the Best Screenplay award is far less prestigious!
But the reality cannot be changed.

Next, the award presenters came on stage and announced the results.

"The Best Screenplay award goes to Paul Lavaldi, for *Sweet Sixteen*!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Situ Zhaodun, who had just been fuming, suddenly perked up.

After all, this means that the chances of "The Lobster" winning the grand prize have increased significantly.

Unless Cannes pulls another stunt, such as keeping the Jury Prize or introducing a different award.

In response, Situ Zhaodun slapped Han Sanpin's thigh and said, "I don't believe there will be any more trouble!"

Han Sanpin didn't dare to speak, but he moved his buttocks and sat up straighter.

Fan Binbin then quietly took Lu Jiang's hand.

Lu Jiang scratched her palm and waited patiently.

As expected, nothing else went wrong.

After Best Screenplay, it's time for Best Director.

"The Best Director Award at the 55th Cannes Film Festival goes to Paul Thomas Anderson for *Fooled Love*!"

Lu Jiang was somewhat disappointed; the Best Director award he had been longing for was gone.

The same applies to Situ Zhaodun and others, but this also means that an even bigger prize is on the horizon.

However, this year's Cannes Film Festival was absolutely outrageous.

There were no big problems, but the small ones still existed.

Then the presenter on stage announced, "Wait, there's another Best Director! It's Lu Jiang from China, for 'The Lobster'!"

Hey!
It’s actually a double yolk egg!

Lu Jiang really wanted to swear. This year's Cannes Film Festival is crazy, it's too much of a hassle!

But reality doesn't allow for such contemplation.

Han Sanpin and the others immediately stood up and applauded along with everyone present.

Lu Jiang, somewhat flustered, was quietly instructed by Situ Zhaodun: "Did you remember your acceptance speech clearly?"

"forget!"

"Forget it, just improvise. Don't forget to thank the country."

"clear."

The master and apprentice quickly exchanged words while embracing each other in various ways; in the midst of their busy and chaotic state, they didn't even know how they got onto the stage.

Only after I held the iconic mini palm leaf trophy in my hand did the cotton under my feet return to the floor.

Then, Lu Jiang picked up the trophy, weighed it in his hand, and found it quite light; it was indeed not pure gold.
Approach the microphone.

His first words were: "Hello everyone, we meet again."

The audience laughed, then stood up and applauded enthusiastically.

He is truly the only person to have two films win awards at the same time during a film festival.

Therefore, Lu Jiang can be said to have made history.

After tonight, the global film industry is likely to experience a minor earthquake.

Because of this realization, the applause lasted for more than two minutes, interspersed with whistles. Everyone congratulated Lu Jiang and Cannes on their new record.
After the applause gradually subsided, Lu Jiang delivered his formal acceptance speech:

"Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival and to the jury for bestowing this honor upon me."

I also want to thank my country for giving me this opportunity to come to Cannes and showcase my talent.

From a young age, I've believed that making movies is like cooking Chinese food. If the heat is too low, it won't work; if there's too much seasoning, it won't work either. The fact that I'm standing here today means that my 'dish' is pretty much right.

Film is a universal language, and tonight, this honor belongs to all the team members who fought alongside me, as well as to my family and the audience who have supported me.

I will continue to tell the world's stories in a Chinese way.

Thank you, goodnight, or should I say good morning? (Looks at watch) Oh, it's Beijing time, time to get up!

Crash.

This time, the applause wasn't the emotionless kind from the praise group; it was filled with admiration, envy, worship, and fervor—that's how Lu Jiang saw it, and that's also true!

(End of this chapter)