Huayu: Everyone's been reborn, who's still going to be an actor?

The announcement of the list for the 58th Cannes International Film Festival immediately caused a great stir in the industry.

The three major European powers still wield considerable influence domestically.

Four domestic films have been shortlisted for the main competition.

Wang Xiaoshuai's "Qinghong" from mainland China.

Hong Kong's Johnnie To's "Election".

Hou Hsiao-hsien's "The Best Time" from Taiwan.

Of course, the most unexpected of them all is Cheng Yuan's "Hunting".

Cheng Yuan's first film, "Buried Alive," was shortlisted for the Venice International Film Festival, although at the time it was rumored that he was just a tool in the film.

That was Jiang Wen's work.

Even though Jiang Wen repeatedly clarified the situation, the doubts remained significant.

Even after the film was released, many people realized that Jiang Wen was not the director, but they still believed that the film's nomination was due to Cheng Yuan's good luck and had nothing to do with Jiang Wen.

But his second film was shortlisted for the top three European films again. Who can say it was just luck?

Who can say that it was Jiang Wen who filmed it?

This time, he silenced those doubts with his new film.

Was it luck on the first try?

So, was it just luck that it happened twice in a row?

Jiang Wen only made a cameo appearance in this movie and didn't even stay on set for more than a few days. How can you say that Jiang Wen directed this movie?

This third-year student from the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy proved her strength with her work and silenced previous doubts.

In addition to the nominated films, many Chinese-language films will also be screened at Cannes.

For example, Chen Shiren's "The Promise" and Xu Ke's "Seven Swords".

Cheng Yuan is currently still in North America and hasn't paid any attention to the Cannes Film Festival.

He got the news from Han Sanping.

You've been shortlisted?

Cheng Yuan wasn't too surprised, nor was he particularly delighted.

The original version was not only nominated for the main competition, but also won an award. If it hadn't been for the movie "Amour", it might have even won the Palme d'Or.

As for whether he can win an award now, and what kind of award, Cheng Yuan has no idea.

However, once it's nominated, the movie shouldn't lose money.

After Han Sanping's call, classmates Tian Zhuangzhuang, Jiang Wen, Jiang Wu, Wang Jinsong, and Zhu Yawen all called to congratulate him.

Liu Yifei also called.

"Do you want me to win the Palme d'Or?"

"Of course I want to."

"So, do you simply want me to win the Palme d'Or, or do you want me to win it and then confess my love to you in front of the global media?"

"That's not funny at all. But are you confident you can win the Palme d'Or?"

"No!"

"So lacking in confidence?"

"Nobody would be confident about this; it's the Palme d'Or."

When are you going back to China?

"I'll be going back to China in a few days. There are still two more scenes to film here. When are you wrapping up filming? This drama has been taking quite a while to film."

"Filming should wrap up by the end of the month."

A few days later, Cheng Yuan returned to China and first went back to his school.

"About company matters?"

Wang Jinsong asked casually.

He naturally had no objection to Cheng Yuan asking for leave.

It's hard to say how good this kid's acting is.

He can offer guidance to actors from a director's perspective, and he has personally experienced Cheng Yuan's abilities.

Whether this kid comes to class or not is actually not important.

He has no idea what he can do for Tuoyuan. He doesn't want to give him leave, but the school will.

"My novel also has book signings in China."

Cheng Yuan shook his head and told the truth.

Wang Jinsong nodded.

He knew that the guy had written a novel that was a huge hit in North America.

Afterwards, Cheng Yuan went to Tian Zhuangzhuang's place for a while.

"The school takes your film very seriously," Tian Zhuangzhuang said with a smile. "This film is not on the same level as 'Buried'."

"A biological son should be treated like a biological son, right?" Cheng Yuan said with a smile. "Does the school have connections in Cannes?"

The lead actor in "Buried Alive" is Jiang Wen, and the key point is that the movie only has one actor, so all the attention was drawn to Jiang Wen.

Once a movie becomes a hit, who cares about anything else?

Cheng Yuan's popularity stemmed from the questioning he received; as for the behind-the-scenes photography and lighting, nobody paid any attention.

Who would care that, apart from the actors, everyone else in that movie is from the Beijing Film Academy, and many of them are still students?

"The Hunt" is different.

The director and screenwriter are students at the Beijing Film Academy, the male lead is a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, and the main supporting actors are all graduates of the Beijing Film Academy.

There's only one student from the Central Academy of Drama, Zhou Yun, and another, Jiang Wen, who makes a cameo appearance.

This film bears a strong imprint of the Beijing Film Academy.

"We will naturally exert our strength where it is needed," Tian Zhuangzhuang said. "However, it's hard to say how much of a role the school can play."

Cheng Yuan smiled and nodded.

No matter how much effort he put in, once the film was shortlisted, the school naturally paid more attention to him.

Don't underestimate the power of Nortel.

Of course, Cannes was somewhat beyond their reach.

Cheng Yuan didn't pin his hopes of winning an award on the school.

However, the school will definitely be a help.

"Some people aren't happy about your selection," Tian Zhuangzhuang said. "I spoke to Lao Han, and he'll probably give those people a heads-up. The school will probably put in a good word for you too."

Cheng Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled.

Who's unhappy?

It's probably just those people from Huayi Brothers.

Isn't the controversy surrounding "Buried" their doing?

At the time, the school voiced its support for Cheng Yuan, but it's hard to say how much effort they put in.

This time, the instigator was warned in advance, and the attitude was naturally different from before.

Of course, the school's warnings may not be as effective as Han Sanping's words.

Huayi Brothers is part of the Beijing entertainment circle, but Han Sanping has already transcended the Beijing circle, the Hong Kong circle, and the Northwest circle.

Cheng Yuan isn't considered part of Beijing's elite circle yet, but he will be sooner or later.

He doesn't reject it either.

This will undoubtedly save a lot of trouble.

He hates trouble.

Moreover, he graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, became close to Jiang Wen after entering the entertainment circle, and received support from Han Sanping, so he couldn't shake off the shadow of the Beijing entertainment circle.

Jiang Wen is from the Beijing entertainment circle, but his relationship with the people at Huayi Brothers isn't very good these days.

Of course, he and Little Cannon have a good relationship.

At least it's good for now.

In their past lives, the films "Let the Bullets Fly" and "Aftershock" involved numerous bloody battles, and whether this affected their relationship is unknown.

However, the differences between the two in their film philosophies are very real.

At this moment, Wang Zhonglei of Huayi Brothers looked rather grim.

The fact that "The Hunt" was selected for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival is like slapping someone in the face.

The key thing is that Han Sanping from China Film Group called, and leaders from Beijing Film Academy also called.

Although nothing was explicitly stated, the warning in his words was clear to everyone.

"Is that all?"

Wang Zhonglei didn't have a good impression of Cheng Yuan.

It wasn't just because Cheng Yuan rejected his offer, but also because it had nothing to do with "Kekexili".

He was one of the producers of that movie.

If it weren't for Cheng Yuan, how could the film have gotten into plagiarism controversy, and how could it have only won one award at the Golden Horse Awards: Best Cinematography?

This year's college student film festival yielded no awards whatsoever.

Art films, without awards, simply won't fetch a good price.

Cheng Yuan caused them considerable losses, and more importantly, he made them lose face.

"What else do you want?" Wang Zhongjun said, "Do you question whether he directed 'The Hunt'?"

Wang Zhonglei fell silent.

There's really no way to question this.

Even with all the effort put into "Buried," it almost failed to gain any real traction, so there's no need to say anything more now.