Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 665 Who is the prime suspect? Opening Ceremony, Gathering

August 31, Venice, Lido Island.

Early in the morning, after a short rest and jet lag, Wu Chen and his team set off for the film festival's official press conference and Photocall venue.

As films selected for the main competition, this is the first official process they need to complete, mainly to generate pre-release publicity for their films.

However, they had only taken a few steps out of the hotel lobby when they were surrounded by reporters from several domestic media outlets.

The reporters, holding recorders and cameras, followed them, bombarding them with questions that left Wu Chen and his companions completely baffled.

"Director Wu, Director Wu! Do you know that after Yuan Li walked the red carpet at the Huabiao Awards, she posted on Weibo that she was bullied?"
Do you know who's been stirring up trouble behind your back?

"Yifei, Yifei! Yuan Li said on Weibo that among Chinese actresses, only Gong Li and you can be called 'international stars,' and the rest don't count. What do you think of this statement?"

"Yifei, you were also at the Huabiao Awards that day."

As Liu Yifei listened to these questions, her delicate face was filled with utter bewilderment.

Wu Chen, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought as he listened to these words.

Finally, after some embellished accounts from the media reporters, Liu Yifei and Li Qin finally understood the huge uproar that had already caused in the domestic entertainment industry.

It turns out that after the Huabiao Awards, some netizens and media ridiculed Yuan Li for wearing a black lace dress that day, saying that her outfit was daring and that she did not wear a petticoat.

As a result, Yuan Li was dissatisfied and complained on Weibo, hurling insults:
"I saw an actress who used all sorts of shameless hype tactics, yet pretended to be very righteous. Just like Chen Daoming once said, some people in the entertainment industry have a face that shows shamelessness on the left, but if you peel off their face and stick it on the right, the right side shows thick skin!"

The tone was full of sarcasm and contempt, and it even went so far as to say:

"Your deals are known only to yourself? Ha! You have no right to make sarcastic remarks about me, you're not worthy! Some people pretend to be serious, so I have to pretend to be unserious!"

This statement immediately attracted the attention of countless netizens.

People began to speculate about the identity of the "actress" Yuan Li was referring to who was "pretending to be serious."

In a short time, a host of leading actresses and actresses, including Zhang Ziyi, Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Yao Chen, Liu Xiaoqing, and Huang Shengyi, were all included in the suspect list.

As for why Gong Li and Liu Yifei weren't included, it's simply because, given their status and influence, there's absolutely no need for them to get involved in this kind of thing.

Moreover, everyone present knew that Liu Yifei sat with Wu Chen almost the entire time during the Huabiao Awards, inseparable from him.

"So, who is the prime suspect now?"

Just as the reporters were still chattering on about this "Rashomon" situation, Wu Chen suddenly stopped and asked a question.

His question completely stunned the reporters present, as well as Liu Yifei and Li Qin standing next to him; their CPUs were practically smoking.

"what?"

"No, I was just asking." Wu Chen asked innocently, "You guys are so well-informed, you must know something inside, right? Who is it?"

The reporters were left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Director Wu, that's why we came to ask you because we didn't know."

"Director Wu, you didn't know either?"

"How would I know?" Wu Chen's answer was straightforward. "Should I go over there and ask them one by one?"

His words made the reporters present burst into laughter.

On the opening day of the Venice Film Festival, the atmosphere of gossip and speculation in the mainland film and television industry was exceptionally lively.

Ultimately, Li Binbin unfortunately became the "number one war criminal" in this war of words.

Because Yuan Li repeatedly posted on Weibo to refute the rumors, clearly stating that it was neither Fan Binbin nor Zhang Ziyi.
Then it's easy to guess.

Lido Island at dusk.

The setting sun bathed the entire Adriatic Sea in a warm golden hue. The red carpet leading to the cinema was already laid out.

This is actually Wu Chen's first time participating in the Venice Film Festival.
As one of the most popular films at this year's Venice Film Festival, the crew of "The Warmest 30 Days of My Life" naturally attracted a lot of attention on the red carpet.

Moreover, Liu Yifei today, thanks to the meticulous work of the Chanel team, is even more radiant.

Moreover, Liu Yifei's outfit today was styled by the Chanel team. She wore a long red dress, hand-embroidered with countless pearls and crystals, which refracted a dreamlike glow under the afterglow of the sunset and the flash of the cameras.

She elegantly styled her long hair into a bun, leaving only a few slightly curled strands hanging by her ears. Holding Wu Chen's arm, she looked exceptionally radiant and dazzling.

"Wu, look here, look here!"

“Crystal! Here.”

"."

Foreign journalists on both sides of the red carpet shouted their names in various languages.

It has to be said that Wu Chen and Johnnie To have a somewhat peculiar connection.

He had just finished walking the red carpet when, at the very end, he spotted the crew of Johnnie To's "Life Without Principle".

"Director Wu, we've met again at the film festival." Johnnie To was also surprised to see Wu Chen.

He did the math and realized that this was probably the third or fourth time they had met at the three major European film festivals.

"Director Du, congratulations! I wish you success in winning the gold medal this time!" Wu Chen said with a smile, joking with him.

Johnnie To's film was in the second batch of nominations, and its title is "Life Without Principle".

"Director Wu, if the title of a movie could determine whether it wins an award, I'd be making a couple more movies." Johnnie To naturally knew that Wu Chen was joking, and he responded with a smile.

At this moment, director Ann Hui, along with lead actress Andy Lau and others, had just finished walking the red carpet and gathered together.

"Director Wu, Yifei"

"Director Xu, Brother Hua," Liu Yifei followed Wu Chen, nodding with a smile.

Following closely behind was the cast and crew of "Seediq Bale".

In addition, the film festival also features the cast and crew of two films: "The Legend of the White Snake" (starring Yang Zi, Huang Shengyi, and Ching Siu-tung) and "Me and Li" (starring Zhao Tao and Chen Zhiheng), as well as renowned director Jia Zhangke, who serves as the jury chairman for the Horizons section.
This year, almost all the Chinese filmmakers who participated in the Venice Film Festival opening ceremony were present.

The lineup is unprecedentedly strong.

Perhaps because they were in a foreign country, people inevitably gravitated towards each other.

Among this group of people, Wu Chen's side was subtly the center of the conversation.

Huang Shengyi stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching Liu Yifei and Li Qin surrounded by a crowd of admirers in the center, and her mood was slightly fluctuating.

It took her a tremendous amount of effort to finally walk the red carpet in Venice.

In the end, however, he couldn't even squeeze into the core circle of conversations.

The grand opening ceremony on the red carpet in Venice was broadcast back to China through the media.

It was late at night in China, but freshly published reports had already quietly taken over the headlines of major portal websites.

[Venice opens! Wu Chen and Liu Yifei make stunning appearances on the red carpet; the strongest lineup of Chinese-language actors in history gathers in the water city!]

[Live from the red carpet! Liu Yifei shines in a red dress as Wu Chen makes a grand entrance to promote his new film, "The Warmest Thirty Days of My Life"!]

[Four finalists battle it out! Chinese directors including Wu Chen, Ann Hui, Johnnie To, and Wei Te-sheng gather for a "Chinese Night" at Venice!]

(End of this chapter)