Who says Beijing Film Academy has no great directors? (2002)

Before heading to Cannes, Ning Hao approached Chen Yan with the newly polished script.

Chen Yan glanced through the script and knew that the changes were minor, but the details were more intriguing. It seemed that Ning Hao and Xing Aina had come up with some new ideas after he had prepared the script in advance.

"Okay, I'll have someone transfer the payment to you in the next couple of days. Have you found all the actors yet?"

Ning Hao thought for a moment and said directly, "I found Guo Tao to be the lead actor, and Liu Hua, Huang Bo, and Xu Zheng to be the supporting actors. Then Huang Bo recommended Wang Xun to me, which I thought was also good, so we finalized the casting."

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow. Ha, this is the same as the centaurs from my previous life.

"Hehe, the main reason is that it's cheap." Ning Hao grinned.

Chen Yan made the decision: "Okay, I have no objections."

Ning Hao suddenly thought of something and said, "Right, when the time comes, you'll have to be listed as a producer. Our company is too small, so we'll have to use your name to negotiate sponsorships."

Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll give you Bingrui's contact information later. I got help from them when I was heartbroken last time. They're a nice guy, and I think we can continue to work together."

Ning Hao agreed, then happily took the script and left.

At the end of the month, the official shortlist for Cannes appeared online.

Among the domestic directors in the main competition section, Chen Yan's name was prominently featured.

Then there's director Lou Ye.

The remaining nominees, Wang Xiaoshuai and Yu Liwei, are both in the "One Focus" category.

In short, the One Focus section is the official second competition section of Cannes, which is dedicated to films that are not considered in the main competition but have a fresh style and a strong auteur feel, and focuses on promoting emerging directors.

There are also award rankings.

When Cannes sent the invitation, Chen Yan mentioned that he might enter the main competition and asked You Zichang and Qin Yi if they would like to attend the Cannes awards ceremony with him.

Both of them readily agreed. Considering that they were both quite old, Chen Yan planned to go a few days earlier so that the two elderly people could have a good rest.

Liu Yifei has been posting selfies and funny pictures with her co-stars every now and then these past few days.

Chen Yan zoomed in to examine the photo closely; Zhao Ling'er was smiling happily and making a peace sign.

"Looks like you had a lot of fun filming."

Chen Yan then moved his fingers and saved the photo to his album, thinking that he would print it out later so that he wouldn't lose it when he changed phones. This is a relic of the past.

Free and Easy: "I'm leaving tomorrow. You stay here and focus on filming. I'll be back."

Liu Yifei did not reply immediately, it seems she is still filming.

After packing up, Chen Yan set off with You Panchang, Qin Yi, and Zhang Jianya. Their goal this time was to conquer Kansas City!

The Cannes awards ceremony has sparked heated discussions online, with everyone betting on whether Lou Ye or Chen Yan will win the coveted Palme d'Or.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. They might both end up empty-handed. The Palme d'Or isn't something anyone can win."

Upon checking the ID, it was indeed Chen Kaige's leg hair.

"Then I'll bet on Director Lou. After all, 'Weekend Lover' won Best Director at the Heidelberg International Film Festival, and 'Suzhou River' won the Tiger Award for Best Film at the Rotterdam Film Festival. Chen Yan seems to be better at directing commercial films. Getting a nomination is already quite impressive."

"Director Kaige is still more impressive. He won the Palme d'Or, the only Chinese film to win the award. Its value is self-evident."

"Chen Kaige's leg hair is showing again, gotta go..."

But Chen Yan had to admit that director Chen Kaige's Palme d'Or was still very significant; "Farewell My Concubine" secured his lifelong glory.

Even though he made so many ambiguous movies in his previous life, he still has a lot of blood on him.

As long as a new film is released, people will still go to the cinema to support it and will still buy tickets, which is undoubtedly due to the influence of the Palme d'Or.

Everyone admires the strong, so I can understand.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan laughed out loud. He figured that Director Chen was probably planning the script for "The Promise" right now, a film that no one would be able to understand for the next 10 years.

It seems I've underestimated it; very few people will understand it within the next 20 years.

But to sum it up simply: a bloody incident caused by a steamed bun.

Chen Yan arrived in France on May 7th.

There were also two staff members accompanying us. There was no other way; the exhibits were going to premiere in Cannes, so booth design and posters were essential.

It's definitely not something you can handle on your own, let alone You Panchang and Qin Yi, who are both older than each other.

It can't be too shabby, otherwise how will we attract foreign film companies to buy our films?

Yes, Chen Yan's second most important task on this trip was to sell all the overseas rights to "Love" at a high price. It should be noted that overseas rights do not require revenue sharing with domestic theaters, so this is pure profit.

That's why there are so many directors who make art films; even when the domestic box office is at rock bottom, there are still people willing to invest money in them to make films.

That is, their films can sell for a good price as long as they are nominated for a film festival, or even without winning an award.

Therefore, even at the risk of being banned from filming, Lou Ye, Jiang Wen, and others still submitted their film to international film festivals.

Of course, Chen Yan glanced at Zhang Jianya next to him and chuckled, almost forgetting that his mentor, Tian Zhuangzhuang, was one of the best among them.

After being banned from filming for seven years, Chen Yan finally understood why Director Tian had given him a disapproving look when he teased Lou Ye that day—it turned out he had touched a nerve.

Upon arriving at the hotel, by sheer coincidence, they ran into Lou Ye and Zhang Ziyi chatting with a foreign man.

It turns out that both film crews booked the same hotel. There was no other way; there were only a few hotels with decent surroundings around Cannes.

Lou Ye saw the foreigners off and came up to greet Zhang Jianya warmly. Chen Yan noticed that Zhang Jianya's expression froze for a moment, but he immediately resumed his polite manner.

Lou Ye's gaze shifted to Chen Yan.

Zhang Jianya immediately introduced them, "This is Chen Yan, Lao Tian's student. His film has also been selected for the main competition."

A hint of disdain flashed in Lou Ye's eyes, but he concealed it well.

"Oh, they're so young. We're all getting old," Lou Ye said, glancing to the side.

"Director Lou," Chen Yan greeted politely.

"By the way, this is Ms. Zhang, the female lead in my new film."

Zhang Ziyi had her eyes glued to Chen Yan from the very first moment he appeared. He's a director who's been nominated for Cannes!

They're still so young; maybe we'll have a chance to work together in the future.

Zhang Ziyi spoke with poise and confidence: "Hello Director Chen, I've been following your news online, but I never imagined you were so young and handsome in person."

Lou Ye lowered his head slightly and pursed his lips.

Chen Yanzhen couldn't stand Lou Ye's pretentious attitude, so she stepped forward and gently squeezed Zhang Ziyi's fingertips before immediately withdrawing her hand.

"Hello, just call me Chen Yan. I just came to Cannes to have some fun, I didn't expect to actually make it into the main competition."

Lou Ye and Zhang Ziyi's smiles froze.

Lou Ye even cursed inwardly, "You call this 'just playing around'? How can you be so pretentious?"

Chen Yan knew that talented people were bound to be arrogant, but brother, you've come to the wrong place to be arrogant. What are you trying to prove here? I'm the second highest-grossing commercial film in China.

An art film tops the Cannes Film Festival in one go, who are you trying to scare?

And so, neither of them was willing to give the other face.

Chen Yan said goodbye and then left with Zhang Jianya.

"He wasn't like this before. I guess he's had a hard time outside these past few years because of the filming ban." Zhang Jianya, who had worked with him before, offered a few words of explanation on his behalf.

Chen Yan is very open-minded. When he wins the award by stepping on Chen Yan, Chen Yan will be the one who will be embarrassed.

So he replied nonchalantly, "It's alright, Uncle Zhang. Awards are based on everyone's own abilities. Just because he looks down on me today doesn't mean I won't get an award."