I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chapter 17 Selected for the Main Competition
On the third day after summer vacation started, Cheng Sheng finally received a call from Xu Xiaozhong, who told him some good news.

"The Great Tang Dynasty - Origins" has been selected for the main competition of the 61st Venice International Film Festival.

Cheng Sheng jumped up with joy.

Unfortunately, he was the only one in the dormitory, and no one shared this honor with him.

Then, Cheng Sheng quickly shared this good news in the group.

Before long, Cheng Sheng's phone kept ringing. It was Zhang Yang and Teacher Yang Chao calling, Fu Dalong calling, Zheng Guolin calling, Zeng Li calling, and even the coal mine owner's mistress calling him...

Su Chang also called him afterward.

I also told him that, in addition to his own film, Kashin-ko's "The World" was also selected for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival this year.

According to another recollection, Chia Chang-ko was a remarkable person whose works have won numerous international awards, especially "Xiao Wu," which won multiple international awards and was hailed as "a dazzling beacon of hope for Asian cinema."

Unfortunately, after filming "Xiao Wu", the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television banned him from making films, and the ban was not officially lifted until this year.

Moreover, it was rumored back then that Chia Chang-ko was banned from directing because of a tattling from a certain fifth-generation director.

Chia Chang-ko said he saw the signature on the report at the time: "XX. XX is the literary planner of that Five Dynasties Master. I can't believe it. What do I have to do with you? We're all in the same profession, why are you so hostile? Be kind to others, why speak ill of your colleagues! I'm so confused, so confused!"

A well-known media figure said: "Only Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are called the fifth generation of masters, but Chen Kaige does not use cultural planning, so there is only one other person left."

Cheng Sheng's first film was selected for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival, which prompted congratulatory calls from everyone who heard the news, including classmates, teachers, and acquaintances.

For a new director, winning an award is not important; being selected is already a success.

What's even more surprising is that Cheng Sheng's films are not about humanism or the kind of award-winning films that feature grievance sessions.

It is not a film, but a story about Chinese history.

The fact that such a film was selected for the main competition demonstrates the remarkable abilities of director Cheng Sheng.

Although he was selected, most people still didn't think he could win an award. However, Cheng Sheng didn't care. In his opinion, being selected was already a victory.

Now that the film has been selected, the remaining task is to determine how many people will go to Venice.

The movie "The Great Tang Dynasty" has so many actors, with more than a hundred having lines.

It would be absolutely impossible for everyone to go; the Venice organizers probably wouldn't agree either, since there has never been more than a hundred people walking the red carpet before.

Moreover, Xu Xiaozhong said that Venice only provided accommodation and airfare for ten people, which obviously limited the number of people they could send.

This puts Cheng Sheng in a somewhat difficult position.

He'll definitely go to those dozen or so coal bosses in Xishan, after all, he signed a contract promising to show them his prowess whenever he has the chance.

The European Grand Prix is ​​the best stage to gain exposure.

There are more than a dozen coal mine owners; the staff is already over the limit.

However, these are nothing, they're just airfare and accommodation costs.

Those coal mine owners have plenty of money.

So Cheng Sheng didn't think much about the coal mine owners.

Of the remaining people who can go, several main actors will definitely be there.

There were also two teachers, Yang Chao and Zhang Yang, who helped him a lot before and after the filming of the movie.

In the end, Cheng Sheng made some cuts and selected ten people.

However, he did not refuse other people who wanted to go.

Anyway, the coal mine owner invested 100 million yuan and still has over 100,000 yuan left.

He figured he'd treat it as a perk for the rest of the staff. After finalizing the list of participants, Cheng Sheng notified all ten of them and then sent a message in the group chat.

I asked if anyone wanted to go, and if so, I could sign up directly.

Upon hearing Cheng Shengfa's news, Tong Yaya and Wang Zhi immediately signed up.

They originally thought they had no chance, but now that Cheng Sheng has given them one, how could they not seize it?

Those who had not received individual notifications also immediately signed up.

In the end, about forty people actually wanted to go.

As for those who didn't go, they either didn't have time or were already filming in other productions.

Qiao Shan received the notification from Cheng Sheng separately.

He happened to be working as an extra on a film set, and on the spot, he happily hugged another extra and shouted excitedly.

Upon receiving the news, the coal mine owners in Xishan were so excited that they immediately started giving money to the nightclub girls.

I originally invested in Cheng Sheng's films because I was misled by him, and I regretted it afterwards.

But the contract has already been signed, so there's no use regretting it now. Just consider the money as a waste.

As for whether Cheng Sheng can fulfill the terms of the contract, they have already prepared for failure.

I just didn't expect that Cheng Sheng would actually do it.

Venice!

Where they go to walk the red carpet will definitely make them the center of attention.

Coal mine owners are generally concerned about their image. As a group of nouveau riche, they often flaunt their wealth to demonstrate their social status and success.

For example, some coal mine owners order delicacies and expensive wines when entertaining guests, but only drink cheap wines when they get home. This behavior is considered to be for the sake of face.

Furthermore, when coal mine owners invest in movies or sponsor cultural events, it is often not for the purpose of making money, but to appear cultured and satisfy their vanity.

This is why coal mine owners were swayed by Cheng Sheng to invest so much money in movies.

One hundred million seems like a lot, but there are more than a dozen coal mine owners who invested in Cheng Sheng's film.

If divided among them, it would amount to at most a few million per person.

A few million is a lot for ordinary people, but a coal mine owner can earn more than that by keeping a mistress.

Originally, they only hoped that when Cheng Sheng's movie was released, he would take them to the premiere, let the reporters take a picture, and then put it in the newspaper, and that would save face.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Sheng was so helpful that he actually took them to Europe to walk the red carpet. This was incredibly auspicious; in ancient times, it would have been a family tree dedicating a whole page to them!

The excited coal mine owners almost popped open champagne to celebrate.

Bai Baihe also wanted to open champagne to celebrate.

A few months ago, she was a junior majoring in performing arts. She was about to graduate next year and was worried about what to do after graduation.

Should I go to Hengdian to look for opportunities, or see if I can sign with an entertainment company?

Unexpectedly, news came that Cheng Sheng was filming his first movie, and the principal encouraged everyone to participate, even making an exception for freshmen to participate in the filming.

Bai Baihe was not optimistic about the first film of the new director, no matter how big the investment was, and some comments on the Internet were also very unfavorable to director Cheng Sheng.

Most celebrities in the entertainment industry bluntly stated that this was a terrible movie.

The fact that none of the celebrities in the entertainment industry came to audition shows that no one has high hopes for Cheng Sheng's film.

(End of this chapter)