Huayu Entertainment: Starting with Exorcising Evil from a Film Queen

Chapter 94 Cannes Finalist (3K)

Zhang Ze stood behind Jiang Jiajun, waiting for him to finish watching this set of shots.

Jiang Jiajun took off his headphones and turned to look at Zhang Ze.

"How was it? That scene had good tension; we can do another take."

"Director Jiang, I would like to request a two-week leave."

Jiang Jiajun paused for a moment, then rolled the script into a tube.

"Half a month? You've only been on set for a short time; the rest of the scenes are all your major ones."

"I'm going to France; my film has been selected for the main competition at Cannes."

The script in Jiang Jiajun's hand fell onto the table.

He sat in the chair without saying a word for a long time.

The assistant director sitting next to him stopped writing and looked up at Zhang Ze.

Which movie?

Jiang Jiajun picked up the script again, raising his voice several octaves.

"A low-budget art film that I directed myself, 'Like Father, Like Son'."

"6

Hu Ge was walking over carrying a bottle of mineral water and stopped just behind Zhang Ze.

Upon hearing Zhang Ze's words, Hu Ge froze on the spot.

"Cannes Film Festival? My own film? In the main section?"

Zhang Ze turned his head and nodded to Hu Ge, "I just received the notification too."

The water bottle in Hu Ge's hand creaked, and the plastic bottle became deformed.

The once noisy film set fell eerily quiet.

Several electricians who were adjusting the lights put down the cables they were holding.

Bai Bing sat in a rest area not far away, her hands gripping the edge of the script tightly.

She stood up and took a few steps toward them.

Jiang Jiajun stood up and circled around Zhang Ze.

He pushed up his glasses, and the muscles in his face twitched.

"Are you kidding me?"

"This is no joke; the organizing committee has already sent the invitation to my producer."

Jiang Jiajun rubbed his hands together and paced back and forth a few steps.

"Okay, I'll approve the leave."

Jiang Jiajun stopped and patted Zhang Ze on the shoulder.

"That's Cannes, after all. None of our actors—no, we don't have a director—who gets to walk the red carpet there!"

"You're the first one!"

He turned to the still-dazed coordinator and shouted, "Postpone Zhang Ze's scenes! No one is allowed to schedule him for the next few days! Let him go to France in peace!"

"Thanks, Director Jiang."

Zhang Ze politely gestured to the people around him before heading towards the dressing room.

Hu Ge followed behind Zhang Ze without saying a word.

The two entered the empty dressing room.

Hugo leaned against the doorframe and placed the deformed bottle of water on the table.

"Are you really going?"

"What else can we do? We've already registered."

Zhang Ze sat in a chair and began removing his makeup in front of the mirror.

Hu Ge looked at Zhang Ze's face in the mirror and chuckled softly.

"I used to think you were just a good actor, a fortune teller, and a troublemaker."

Hu Ge took out a cigarette from his pocket, but didn't light it; he just put it in his mouth.

"Now I feel like we're not from the same dimension."

"Cannes is the main competition, a place many top directors in China never even dream of, and you, an actor who's only been in the industry for six months, made a film and actually got into Cannes—"

"Good luck."

Zhang Ze used a makeup remover pad to wipe away the dark foundation from the corners of his eyes.

Hu Ge shook his head, walked over and grabbed Zhang Ze's shoulder, gritting his teeth.

"Don't give me that crap, this is Cannes!"

"I'm feeling really bad right now, you deserve to die!"

"No way! Regardless of whether you win an award or not, you have to treat us to a meal when you get back! And nothing cheap will do!"

"Sure, you can choose whatever you want to eat then."

Zhang Ze stood up and patted Hu Ge's hand.

"While I'm away, you should work on your scenes with Director Jiang. Don't wait until I come back and find that I've overshadowed you and you don't have any scenes left."

"Get lost."

Hu Ge laughed and cursed.

Zhang Ze walked out of the dressing room, and Bai Bing was standing at the end of the corridor.

She was wearing a white traditional Chinese dress and holding a box of throat lozenges in her hand.

Seeing Zhang Ze approach, Bai Bing handed him the box.

"Zhang Ze, I just heard that your film has been nominated for Cannes. Congratulations!"

Bai Bing's voice was very soft, and her head was slightly lowered.

"Thanks."

Zhang Ze took the box and smiled politely.

"Give it your all, Director Jiang has high hopes for you."

Bai Bing nodded, took a step back, and made way for him.

After saying goodbye to Bai Bing, Zhang Ze took out his phone and opened his contacts as he walked out.

He dialed Li Xiaoran's number first.

The phone rang twice before being answered, with a noisy background noise coming from the other end.

"Feed? Zhang Ze?"

Li Xiaoran's voice sounded somewhat tired, as if she was still on set.

"I have something to tell you. 'Like Father, Like Son' has been shortlisted for the main competition at Cannes. Get ready, we're going to France."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

Five seconds later, a high-decibel shout rang out from the receiver.

"What did you say! Say it again!"

Zhang Ze moved his phone further away.

"Cannes, main competition, we've made it! We're going to walk the red carpet now."

97

"I'm going crazy! Zhang Ze! I'm really going to Cannes?"

Li Xiaoran's voice was clearly choked with sobs, and she was breathing heavily.

"I'll ask my agent for leave right now! No, I won't ask for leave, I'll just cancel the contract!"

"Don't be ridiculous, there's still enough time, let's follow the normal procedure."

Zhang Ze hung up the phone and then dialed Liu Hua's number.

Liu Hua is currently having braised pork offal with some friends in Nancheng.

"Brother Hua, the film has been selected for the main competition at Cannes."

A series of clattering sounds came from the other end of the phone.

"What? Cannes? That French film festival?"

Liu Hua's signature hoarse voice became high-pitched.

"Yes, you're the second male lead, you have to come with me."

"Oh my god, oh my god! I never thought I'd get caught like this!"

Liu Hua chuckled, his voice sounding slightly trembling.

"Okay, when do you say you're leaving? I'll dig out my old suits and iron them."

Zhang Ze chuckled upon hearing this, "No need. We can buy or rent them when we get there. Don't worry, the production crew will pay for it!"

Finally, Zhang Ze dialed Hao Lei's number.

"So you finally remembered to call me?"

Zhang Ze suddenly remembered that at the wrap party, this woman had told him to keep in touch.

But then he got busy editing the footage and went straight to the film set, completely forgetting about it.

"Ahem, Sister Hao, I'm calling you to talk about something important. I'm postponing my schedule and getting ready to go to France."

"The film was nominated?"

Hao Lei was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, the main competition."

"Sure, I got it. When do we depart?"

Hao Lei's reaction wasn't as strong as the previous two, but he still sounded quite happy.

"It'll be in the next day or two. Chen Zhixi is booking the tickets. We're the main creative team, and we need to get there before the film festival opens, so time is quite tight."

"Okay, since we have important business to attend to, let's take care of it first. Send me the plane tickets on my phone later."

"I'll settle the score with you when we get to Cannes!"

Hao Lei hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

Zhang Ze put away his phone, inwardly cursing.

This bill will likely amount to over a billion dollars.

Zhang Ze bent down, picked up the makeup case from the ground, and walked towards the assistant director who was directing the movement of lights.

"The leave slip has been signed, and Director Jiang has already given his approval."

Zhang Ze handed his work ID to the other person.

The assistant director stopped what he was doing, wiped the sweat from his face, and took the credentials.

"Okay, I'll have the finance department stop your allowance for the next two weeks."

17

Zhang Ze nodded, said nothing more, and turned to walk back to the rest shed.

The assistant hurriedly walked under the parasol, holding several freshly printed flight itineraries in his hand.

"Brother Zhang, Sister Zhixi has already booked the flight; it's tonight at 8 PM."

"Teacher Liu Hua is also in Beijing; you two were on the same flight."

At Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport, crowds throng the area under the massive, streamlined dome.

As soon as Zhang Ze passed through security, he saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the VIP lounge.

The man was wearing sunglasses and a slightly loose gray hoodie, and was idly playing with his boarding pass.

Liu Hua.

Zhang Ze walked over and patted the other person on the shoulder.

Liu Hua was startled. She took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of her signature big eyes, with some bloodshot veins in them.

"Brother Hua, what are you doing here?" Zhang Ze asked.

"I've been waiting for you." Liu Hua hung his sunglasses on his collar and took the suitcase from Zhang Ze's hand. "Zhi Xi said we're on the same flight, so I'm waiting for you here."

The two went into the lounge and found a corner to sit down.

Liu Hua sank into the sofa and let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy about going to Cannes?" Zhang Ze took two bottles of water and handed him one.

"Don't even mention it." Liu Hua unscrewed the bottle cap and took a big gulp. "You have no idea, things are in chaos in the industry lately. As soon as that rectification document came out from above, the two deals I had finalized fell through."

"I'm not getting any acting roles right now." Liu Hua gave a wry smile, scratching his head. "My agent told me to take a break for a while, but you know me, I can't stand being idle. I get anxious when I'm not working."

Zhang Ze took a sip of water but didn't reply.

An actor of Liu Hua's caliber certainly doesn't lack money; what he lacks is good opportunities and the sense of accomplishment that comes with winning awards.

"Hey, Director Zhang." Liu Hua suddenly sat up straight and leaned closer. "If you ever get another script like this for a film festival, no matter how small the role is, you have to think of me."

Zhang Ze looked at him and smiled, "Brother Hua, opportunities like the main competition at a film festival are rare and hard to come by."

"And if it weren't for the fact that you and Sister Hao Lei were both willing to lower your fees for this movie, I wouldn't have been able to afford to hire you."

2

Liu Hua nodded vigorously.

"I understand, I get that logic. But I just feel your movie has a better chance."

"Look at this! This debut work has already made it to Cannes! Its future is limitless!"

"As for the salary—" Liu Hua patted his chest, "That's negotiable, a friendly price will do. As long as the script is good and we can get a chance to attend one of the three major film festivals, the money doesn't matter."

Although Liu Hua has won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor, he still has an extreme desire for awards at A-list international film festivals.

In this industry, fame and awards are sometimes harder to earn than money.

Looking at Liu Hua's sincere face, Zhang Ze quickly started to make plans in his mind.

This is practically a high-level tool delivered to our doorstep.

He has good acting skills, is now very famous, and most importantly, he has lowered his salary and is cheap. He can even produce good work without much training.

We should make the most of this kind of actor.

>