Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 720 Blessed? A Natural Barrier

In early December, the capital city was already quite chilly.

The dry, cold wind felt like knives on my face.

The invitation from Berlin, like the first snowflake of the season, drifted silently into Wu Chen's inbox.

It was a formally worded and officially formatted email.

Wu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the words "62nd Berlin Film Festival" and "Jury President" in the email subject line.

He opened the email; the body of the email was very long and full of German-style politeness and formality.
The gist of the statement is that after careful discussion, the organizing committee unanimously agreed that he was the most suitable candidate to be the president of the jury for the main competition section of the next Berlin Film Festival, and praised his outstanding contributions to the art of world cinema.

"Is Ning Hao's mouth blessed with some kind of magic?"

Wu Chen couldn't help but think of what Ning Hao had said a few days ago when he asked Ning Hao to send "No Man's Land" to Berlin.

"what?"

Liu Yifei listened to Wu Chen's mutterings and curiously leaned over to take a look.

When she saw the words on the screen, she was slightly taken aback. Then, her beautiful eyes shone like stars in the sky.
"This is just great."

Looking at Liu Yifei's adorable slightly open mouth, Wu Chen couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek, teasingly saying, "The snow in Berlin, which has been falling for sixty years, has only fallen once for me."

Only two years have passed, and I'm already falling behind again.

Just as Liu Yifei was about to say something, Wu Chen's phone rang.

On the screen, the name of Dieter Kosslick, the president of the Berlin Film Festival, popped up.

"Wu, long time no see. You should have seen the email we sent you, right?"

On the other end of the phone, Dieter Kosslick asked with a laugh in his German-accented English.

"I just saw it!"

"Perfect timing! We sincerely hope you can take on the role of director of next year's Berlin Film Festival. You won our Golden Bear, and we desperately need you right now."

Dieter Koslick is a great communicator, or rather, a skill that a good film festival organizer should possess.

"Dieter, I need to think about it. You know, this position isn't easy to hold!"

Wu Chen didn't immediately agree.

To be honest, being the chairman of the three major film festivals is indeed a prestigious position, representing a filmmaker's pinnacle status in the international film industry.

But this position is also a hot potato. Not only does it require balancing the opinions of judges from different countries, backgrounds, and aesthetic preferences, but it also requires balancing the opinions of the entire jury.

It is also necessary to remain clear-headed amidst the public relations battles between major film companies, producers, and film critics/media publications.

The final selection must be convincing to the media, satisfying to film fans, and artistically sound, without being so outrageous as to be criticized by film critics for a year.

This job is not something just anyone can do.

“Oh, Wu! Those things might be troublesome for others, but I think they should be a small matter for you.”

Dieter Koslick's statement was certainly not just empty praise.

Because of Wu Chen's qualifications, he certainly has the power to shut everyone up.

Historically, the three major film festivals have had their share of jury presidents who were difficult to convince, often resulting in chaos and even scandals such as the collective resignation of jury members, turning that year's festival into a laughing stock.

Compared to Dieter Koslick's composure, Ning Hao was far more excited after learning about this from Wu Chen.

"Brother! What are you still hesitating for?! This is an incredible opportunity! If you become the chairman, you'll be making history! The youngest chairman of the three major film festivals in history!"

Ning Hao yelled into the phone, "Besides, it's not like you lack the ability! Even if there are people who don't like you, they'll have to submit!"

Fuck him!

Ning Hao's words, though crude, are not without merit.

Wu Chen laughed when he heard this.

"You think that if I become the candidate, your chances of success will increase, right?"

"Ahem, I admit, I do have a little bit of selfishness." Ning Hao chuckled. "But, when recommending someone, you shouldn't avoid favoritism, right? Besides, I'm not going to follow Jiang Wen's example."

Jiang Wen's exploits from a few years ago are widely known in the industry and have made everyone laugh.

"Alright, what you said makes sense!"

Wu Chen was originally inclined to agree.

The very next day, he replied to Berlin with a confirmation email. The official response from Berlin was extremely swift, and their words were filled with joy.

In addition to fierce competition for the main competition films, the three major film festivals also secretly compete for the position of jury president.

This is also a kind of tacit understanding.

"This year, I believe there will be no director with more prestige and more buzz than Wu Chen. Unless, Cannes and Venice can get Spielberg or Cameron to come out of retirement."

"Now, it all depends on how many good films we can get our hands on."

"."

And just then, the long-awaited global box office data was finally updated.

By the end of its second week of release, Interstellar's global box office had reached a staggering $9.3 million!
In just two weeks, it climbed to the top 15 of the all-time global box office chart!

The media has gone completely mad.

[9.3 million! Interstellar becomes a cinematic legend in two weeks, and is within reach of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time!]

[The billion-dollar mark has been achieved! Based on the third week's North American box office figures, Interstellar has surpassed the one billion dollar mark!]

[A dominant performance! Interstellar redefines the box office ceiling for science fiction films!]

When the news reached China, it sparked an unprecedented frenzy.

Headlines such as "Wu Chen becomes the first Chinese director to enter the global billion-dollar director club" and "Liu Yifei becomes the world's youngest actress to win a billion-dollar box office" are appearing one after another.

Movie fans both at home and abroad have completely fallen into a frenzy.

Many directors in the industry were still somewhat bewildered when they saw this number.

Although they knew all along that this would happen sooner or later.

However, when this number is actually presented to us, we still feel a dizzying sense of being swept away by the tide of the times.

"That's... a billion dollars?"

Of course, the actresses who are working hard in Hollywood have the most complicated feelings.

Li Binbin looked at the news on his phone, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

She recalled a few days ago on the set of Resident Evil 5, when everyone was chatting and discussing the movie's box office.

She was optimistic at the time, and when others were saying it would cost two or three hundred million dollars, she boldly predicted that the film would gross four hundred million dollars.

As a result, not only were the director and producers pessimistic, but even the lead actress, Milla Jovovich, looked at her with the eyes of someone looking at an outsider, and said with a smile:
"Binbin, you may not fully understand what four hundred million dollars in box office revenue represents."

At that moment, she truly realized that while global box office figures may seem daunting, most films only reach the range of two to three hundred million US dollars.

The higher you go, the greater the gap becomes.

A billion dollars is like an insurmountable chasm, standing in the way of all filmmakers.

Especially original films without intellectual property backing!
At this moment, Wu Chen appeared at the site where the 3D Stereoscopic Film and Television Industry Alliance was officially established in the western suburbs of Beijing.

He is here today for the "New Energy Plan for the Creation of 3D Stereoscopic Films in China".

As soon as he entered, Liu Shuaichen greeted him with a big smile.

"Congratulations, Director Wu! Interstellar has actually surpassed one billion US dollars at the global box office!"

"Thank you!"

“Not bad,” Tong Gang said with a smile.

"Thank you, Director Tong!"

Several leaders from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration of Radio and Television present also congratulated him.

Wu Chen smiled, shook hands with everyone, and then glanced around the room.

There were very few media outlets present; only two state media outlets were present.

It's obvious that this 3D project doesn't prioritize publicity.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, various procedural meetings followed, including the appointment ceremony.

Under the flashing lights, Wu Chen received the red certificate of appointment as chief expert, bearing the national emblem, from a leader under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

That afternoon, major official media outlets published the news at an extremely fast pace.

Director Wu Chen has been appointed as the chief expert of the "New Energy Project for the Creation of 3D Stereoscopic Films in China," contributing to the industrial upgrading of the Chinese film industry.

(End of this chapter)