I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 333 Utterly insane, utterly depraved!
The three major European film festivals are artistic meccas in the hearts of countless Chinese filmmakers, and this is especially true for Liang Xiaogang.

After the opening ceremony and premiere, he did not rest, but instead embarked on an even busier schedule.

Every morning at six o'clock, Liang Xiaogang, dressed in a sharp suit, would appear in the lobby of the hotel where the judges were staying, offering them carefully prepared coffee under the guise of a "chance encounter," and then taking the initiative to chat with them...

Around noon, he carried a trilingual art analysis manual for "The Last Supper" and went from one luncheon to another; late at night, he would still attend private screenings and salons, patiently explaining to the drowsy judges the film's "perfect fusion of Eastern aesthetics and Shakespearean tragedy".

When he obtained the internal scoring sheet of the jury through special channels and found that "Chrysanthemum Terrace" was leading in the "Visual Innovation" category, he immediately spent money to hire local students to hold up posters of "The Last Supper" outside the cinema to create momentum.

Upon hearing that Li Zhengtao had been received privately by Chairman Marco, he disregarded the late hour and knocked on the doors of each of the twelve judges, presenting each of them with a custom-made silk Tang suit with their name embroidered in Italian on the cuffs.

……

He knows it very well!

This battle is of paramount importance to him!

It was the most important battle of his career!
He kept a close eye on Li Zhengtao's every move, and whenever Li Zhengtao participated in any activity, he would immediately follow suit and participate in similar activities...

The box office failure of "The Last Supper" only proves that this film is not a commercial film!
If he can turn the tide at the awards ceremony, he will still be a great director who can rival Li Zhengtao when he returns to China.

As for "War of the Moon 2"?
Shen Long and his group of young directors are completely clueless about interpersonal relationships. After arriving in Venice, they only cared about shuttling between various film festivals and even took time to travel and sample local delicacies. Apart from the most basic film festival activities, they had no professional attitude that filmmakers should have.

Zhou Yang isn't even willing to attend in person; how can a film like this expect to win an award?

It’s simply a fantasy!

This busy and fulfilling life continued until September 9th...

The day of the Venice International Film Festival awards ceremony.

At this moment of great anticipation, Liang Xiaogang suddenly heard news that made his heart race: the jury had temporarily added a "Special Mention Award for Script".

What excited him even more was that he might be shortlisted for the award, but the jury deliberately kept it a secret, neither announcing the specific shortlist nor revealing any selection details, leaving only an intriguing suspense.
..............................

"Holy crap! The three major film festivals can add extra awards at the last minute?"

"I don't know, I've never heard of it before..."

"Damn, I just got news from Venice. I heard that this award is for Chinese directors, and 'The Last Supper' has been nominated..."

"Why did I hear it was called 'Chrysanthemum Terrace'?"

"This award seems to be a substitute for the Best Screenplay Award, and doesn't appear to be an award in the main competition..."

"Wow, even if it's not a main competition award, it's still incredibly awesome!"

"Yes!"

When the hashtag #VeniceFilmFestivalAddsSpecialMentionAward# suddenly appeared on the trending topics list, [Kuaibo] instantly exploded with discussion.

Netizens were collectively shocked, staring in disbelief at the news, the veracity of which was unknown.

The three major international film festivals have always been highly regarded, and except for special periods, there has never been a precedent for adding new awards on short notice.

This sudden action inevitably raises questions.
Following this, as the topic suddenly trended on various social media platforms, film fans quickly split into two camps: Li Zhengtao's fans posted screenshots of overseas film reviews of "Chrysanthemum Terrace," insisting that the award was clearly reserved for Director Li! They felt that Western judges were most receptive to the palace intrigue theme;
Meanwhile, Liang Xiaogang's supporters presented leaked photos from the film festival, emphasizing that Director Liang was waiting at the judges' hotel every day to deliver coffee, and that it would be an injustice not to give him the award.

However, the authenticity of these supporters' statements is difficult to discern, and the photos they posted are all "candid shots" of Liang Xiaogang with a fawning smile on his face in Venice, making it hard to tell whether they are praise or mockery...

Netizens unleashed their creativity, creating a frenzy of memes: someone made a spoof image of Liang Xiaogang laughing wildly with a golden lion on his head, captioned "The new award is confirmed to be called 'Best Public Relations Award'!"
The "Movie House" group unearthed some behind-the-scenes stories from film festivals, implying that "in 03, the temporary award was given to the jury member's mistress, and this time..."

The most hilarious comment came from Zhou Yang's fans: "We suggest creating a 'Best Absence Award,' so my brother Yang could be nominated even while lying down."

Veteran film critic @MovieOldGuy posted an analysis late at night: "The addition of new awards often indicates disagreements among the jury. Judging from Zhou Yang's refusal to attend, according to the Venice Film Festival's past judging practices, he is highly likely to miss out on the award. These two new awards will probably be decided between Li Zhengtao and Liang Xiaogang!"

This analysis quickly topped the list of most-viewed comments, and the comment section instantly turned into a guessing game.

Netizens engaged in a heated debate over who would ultimately win the "Liang-Li contest," with opposing viewpoints clashing fiercely and the scene becoming chaotic at times.

..............................

On the evening of September 9, the setting sun illuminated the Venice Film Palace.

The awards ceremony of the 62nd Venice Film Festival has officially begun. The red carpet is dazzling with stars, and the flashes of light make the night sky as bright as day.

Actresses from various countries competed to outshine each other, striking graceful poses to capture the spotlight.

Liang Xiaogang and Li Zhengtao's cars arrived at almost the same time.

As Liang Xiaogang got off the bus, he glanced at Li Zhengtao, who was adjusting his tie not far away, and a competitive glint flashed in his eyes.

The heated online discussions about the "Special Jury Prize" had already reached his ears through his assistant.

Facing the media's barrage of questions, Liang Xiaogang, with a humble smile, praised: "Director Li is a benchmark for Chinese cinema."

Turning around, she engaged in a silent battle with Li Zhengtao...

He deliberately adjusted his pace to be the last to appear, and his gold-embroidered Tang suit was more eye-catching under the spotlight than Li Zhengtao's pure black suit.

Upon seeing Li Zhengtao shake hands with the chairman of the judging panel, he immediately stepped forward and interjected with pleasantries in fluent Italian.

Before the awards ceremony began, he followed everyone into the venue, his gaze fixed intently on Li Zhengtao's seat at the entrance. A flash of anger crossed his eyes, but when the broadcast cameras panned across him, he instantly straightened his back, a composed smile appearing on his face, perfectly maintaining his humble and elegant gentlemanly demeanor.
Due to Zhou Yang's absence, the organizing committee arranged for the "Moon Wars 2" cast to sit in a corner of the venue, where they received almost no camera attention.

The awards ceremony began quickly, and after a series of performances, the first award in the main competition, the Best Screenplay Award, was announced.

"War for the Moon II" was unfortunately not selected, and the award ultimately went to an Italian director.

Among the several awards presented subsequently, Chen Jianfeng, who attended the ceremony, was also eliminated from the competition for the Mastroianni Best Newcomer Award.

In the highly anticipated Golden Lion Award competition, both "The Last Supper" and "Chrysanthemum Terrace" were nominated, but ultimately both missed out on the grand prize, which was awarded to a film by a French director...

……

As awards were announced one after another, Liang Xiaogang's heart was in his throat.

He kept wiping the sweat from his forehead; his back was already soaked with cold sweat, and he was having difficulty breathing.

When the Golden Lion Award finally went to someone else, he seemed to have all his strength drained away, and slumped into his chair in despair.

Even though he already knew the outcome, the complete defeat in the main competition still plunged him into an unprecedented sense of loss.

As the awards ceremony drew to a close, with only one special award remaining...

Liang Xiaogang felt his heart pounding so hard it was about to leap out of his chest. He subconsciously straightened his collar, his fingers trembling slightly.

Although this newly added "Special Mention Award for Script" is not in the main competition, it represents the judges' special favor for a particular work.

"The winner is..." The award presenter deliberately dragged out the last syllable, plunging the entire venue into a suffocating silence.

Liang Xiaogang held his breath, his body leaned forward involuntarily, his fists clenched and trembling, and all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant!
Not far away, Li Zhengtao was also intently watching the screen!

However, when the spotlight suddenly shone on the corner, a young director stood up blankly!
Liang Xiaogang's pupils contracted sharply, and he froze in his seat as if struck by lightning.

He watched as Shen Long, the assistant director of "Moon Wars 2", remained seated for nearly ten seconds amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd!
this moment!
His mind went completely blank!
"Fuck you!" He stared intently at Shen Long...

Shen Long seemed completely unprepared. On camera, he appeared utterly bewildered. Then, as he went on stage, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he instinctively took off his suit jacket…

then!

An inner lining was revealed, and on the inner lining...

It was covered with all sorts of logos and advertisements...

then!

His face flushed red, and he stammered, "Um... I came to accept the award on behalf of President Zhou. I didn't expect to actually win. So..."

The entire venue fell silent; everyone was stunned by this sudden "product placement."

Shen Long stood helplessly on the podium, mechanically repeating, "Thank you to the judges. Thank you to the audience. Thank you everyone... We are grateful..."

..............................

In the study.

Film critic Liu Jiasheng was holding a coffee and staring intently at the broadcast screen when he saw Shen Long take off his suit to reveal a body covered in advertising logos. He spat out a mouthful of coffee all over the monitor!
"Cough cough cough—" He choked, his face turning red, and in his frantic attempt to grab a tissue, he knocked over an ashtray.

Ignoring the mess on the table, his wide eyes were practically glued to the screen—Shen Long's gaudy promotional T-shirt was like a walking billboard, the [Xuan Shi Mall] logo gleaming under the spotlight, and the words "《Demon Knight》coming soon" printed in huge letters on the chest—it looked like a promotional T-shirt sold for ten yuan for three at a night market stall!

Following that, one after another, the logos of all the brands Zhou Yang had collaborated with, and even a certain shampoo brand, appeared on his clothes...

"Is this some kind of award ceremony or performance art?!" Upon seeing this, Liu Jiasheng dropped his pen on the ground with a thud, completely dumbfounded.

"The most outrageous award ceremony in Venice history! Zhou Yang, that bastard, definitely did it on purpose! Even his award ceremony had to be a huge spectacle! Holy crap, this guy's dedication is simply...shameless!"

"..."

……

"Damn, other people wear haute couture to receive awards, while Zhou Yang's people wear investment promotion PPTs! What the hell!"

"This reverse marketing is brilliant! I suggest Venice add a 'Best Product Placement Award' next time!"

"Damn, I thought Zhou Yang was up to something, but I didn't expect him to go this far. He might even be blacklisted at the next Venice International Film Festival..."

The moment Shen Long took off his suit, revealing a body covered in advertising logos, the entire Chinese internet exploded!
[Kuaibo] The top ten trending topics were dominated by #VeniceAdvertisingShirt#, #ZhouYangStyleAwardReceiving#, and #ShenLongDeathScene#, with related topics garnering over a million views in half an hour.

The 【Movie Home】group started a thread overnight to investigate and found that Shen Long's shirt had at least 20 brand logos printed on it, ranging from 【Xuan Shi Mall】 to an unknown shampoo brand, which was jokingly called a "walking advertising space auction".

Some netizens took a screenshot and zoomed in, discovering that there was a small sign sewn under his arm that read "The Demon Knight crew is recruiting extras," which instantly made thousands of people laugh: "Zhou Yang doesn't even forget to advertise for extras while accepting an award!"

Film critics collectively broke down, with Liu Jiasheng posting: "I've studied film festivals for twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen someone turn an art sanctuary into a live-streaming sales event!"

Meanwhile, netizens went wild with their own creative works, photoshopping Shen Long into a "human billboard" with the caption: "Venice: Never before have I regretted awarding this prize so much..."

The most amazing thing is the poll post on [Movie Home] titled "How many points would you give this move?", where 87% of netizens chose "outrageous but I want to applaud," and the top comment was: "Zhou Yang used a shirt to tell us—art is nothing, making money is eternal!"

..............................

Early the next morning.

The following morning, the headquarters of [Xuan Shi Entertainment] was swarmed by media from all sides. As Zhou Yang's black sedan slowly drove in, reporters surged forward like a tidal wave, their flashes instantly flooding the morning light.

"President Zhou! Was Director Shen's advertising T-shirt authorized by the company?"

What are your thoughts on winning awards at the Venice Film Festival?

"Is this a desecration of art awards?"

"..."

Zhou Yang had just gotten out of the car when a microphone was shoved in his face. He stopped in shock, then his expression turned pained: "I only found out about this this morning from the news!"

As he spoke, he pushed away the microphone in front of him and condemned Shen Long's behavior with righteous indignation: "Shen Long's behavior seriously violates the company's values! We have always respected artistic creation, how could we possibly use such a vulgar method for marketing?"

A reporter held up a large photo, which was a GIF of Shen Long taking off his suit jacket to reveal an advertising shirt while accepting an award.

Zhou Yang glanced at it, then his face suddenly turned extremely ugly, almost ashen: "This is outrageous! This is simply... simply..."

His fingers trembled with rage. In front of all the media, he abruptly turned to his assistant and roared, "Immediately freeze the budget for Shen Long's new project! At the same time, we announce that, given the negative impact of Director Shen's misconduct on [Xuan Shi Entertainment], the company has decided to impose a six-month ban on him—effective immediately, suspending all of his work on projects related to the company! In addition to freezing the budget for the new project, we will suspend all of Director Shen's salary and formally send him a lawyer's letter demanding 2000 million RMB in compensation for reputational damage!"

"At the same time, on behalf of [Xuanshi Entertainment], I apologize to the jury for Director Shen's inappropriate behavior at the Venice Film Festival. We are willing to publicly pay 2000 million RMB in compensation as restitution for this inappropriate behavior at this prestigious global film awards ceremony..."

"I also bear responsibility for this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed Shen Long and his team approaching from the edge of the crowd, looking travel-worn.

Upon seeing Shen Long appear, Zhou Yang immediately raised his voice and shouted with a gloomy face, "Shen Long! You come here! Who gave you permission to do this? Do you know that your behavior represents the image of the entire Chinese film industry? How many Chinese filmmakers have you brought shame upon?"

As Shen Long squeezed into the crowd, looking bewildered, Zhou Yang grabbed him by the collar and, from an angle out of the camera's view, whispered quickly, "Well done! But now I have to scold you..."

Shen Long nodded knowingly, then lowered his head in shame under everyone's gaze.

Zhou Yang then released his grip, turning to face the media with a helpless expression. He sighed, "Young people are ignorant, I apologize for making a fool of myself. We will definitely strengthen the quality education of our artists. However, Director Shen is good in some ways, after all, he was promoting domestic products, but this behavior was indeed inappropriate. I hope everyone can forgive him this time because of his youth. I also bear responsibility for this matter, and I have decided to take a six-month hiatus from acting! During these six months, I will not attend any film-related conferences or give any interviews. Furthermore, I will personally contribute 1000 million RMB to compensate the Venice International Film Festival for its losses and issue another public apology! In addition, I apologize to all filmmakers and film industry professionals in China..."

After speaking, Zhou Yang bowed deeply to everyone, his expression exceptionally sincere.

Then, grabbing Shen Long's clothes and cursing, he dragged Shen Long into [Xuan Shi Entertainment], looking like he was about to slap Shen Long a few times.

……

Shortly after Zhou Yang brought Shen Long into the company, a strange wave of apologies suddenly swept across the internet.

Major media outlets have successively published apology statements from domestic brands, and these brands have remarkably consistent in their statements, all expressing "deepest apologies" to the Venice Film Festival.

【Bingbingyang】beverage was the first to speak out: "We should not have sponsored Director Shen's shirt advertising space, and we are willing to pay 1000 million yuan to compensate the film festival for its losses."

Following this, the official Weibo account of [Xuanshi Mall] published a lengthy article: "We deeply regret our unauthorized use of images from the Venice Film Festival for promotional purposes and are willing to pay an additional 2000 million yuan in compensation."

Even more outrageous was an unknown shampoo brand that registered an account overnight claiming: "Our logo is too conspicuous and pollutes the art world. We are willing to donate 1000 million to atone for our sins."

In just two hours, more than twenty companies lined up to claim "advertising space"...

When everyone saw that the apology amount exceeded 2 million, they were instantly stunned!

"Holy crap! It's broken 2 million!"

What's even more shocking is that this storm of apologies shows no signs of abating.

On the internet, numerous domestic brands have sprung up one after another, issuing apology statements and vying to take responsibility, claiming they will also compensate the Venice International Film Festival ten million...

(End of this chapter)