Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

After the film festival opening ceremony,

Zhuang Huai'an began preparing for the premiere of "Parasite".

There are actually quite a few showrooms in Cannes, but only two or three have more than a thousand visitors. Zhuang Huai'an originally wanted to call Lao Xiahou to pull some strings, but he didn't expect that MK2 Company was prepared and had already secured one for him.

Tsk, who says foreigners lack social skills? It's just that you can't create value for them.

Zhuang Huai'an set the premiere date for May 15th, the day after the opening ceremony.

All eight main actors from the crew were present. After all, the Big Three are places that Hollywood actors aspire to attend, and if a film they starred in is nominated, they naturally wouldn't be absent.

It was also because of these actors that Zhuang Huai'an became a hands-off manager again, showing up at the premiere and then not paying attention to it anymore.

This greatly disappointed many actors who wanted to befriend him.

The only Chinese-language film nominated for the main competition at Cannes this year was Lou Ye's "Purple Butterfly," which also received an invitation to its premiere.

Although Zhuang Huai'an didn't like him very much, he still went to see him. He had to maintain a friendly facade in public, especially since this man was also from the Beijing Film Academy.

You can't lose your public persona.

It was Zhang Ziyi's constant, flirtatious clinging to him that made him feel nauseous.

A few days later, the festival's official publication, Screen, released its ratings for all the films that were nominated for the main competition.

Parasite continues to lead by a wide margin, crushing all other films with a score of 3.5.

Dogville ranked second with a score of 3.1, while Lou Ye's Purple Butterfly only scored 2 points, receiving mediocre reviews and having virtually no chance of winning an award.

It's worth mentioning "Elephant," which only has an average score of 2.1, and many film critics are not optimistic about it.

Who would have thought that this film would win both Best Director and the Palme d'Or, becoming the biggest winner of this year's film festival?

Early on the 21st, today is the closing ceremony of the film festival.

Zhang Lu organized the collected news and delivered it.

Front page of XX Daily: Chinese young director Zhuang Huai'an's Hollywood debut "Parasite" shines in Cannes, with an average score of 3.5 in the festival's daily publication, and may win the Palme d'Or?

The New X Daily: Director Zhuang's Hollywood debut bravely conquers Cannes, receiving rave reviews!

Metropolitan Daily: Parasite is far ahead and a hot favorite, while Purple Butterfly may get no awards.

Enlight Media: Warmest congratulations on the huge success of Parasite's Cannes premiere! Our company's film in collaboration with director Zhuang is currently in preparation and will be released to audiences soon!

"Something's strange."

Zhuang Huai'an frowned and closed the file. "This is an English film. Even if it's been nominated for the main competition, there shouldn't be this much coverage in China, right?"

"It's Chairman Wang of Enlight Media who's made his move," Zhang Lu reported. "Chairman Dong of Wayi Media has also contacted several familiar media outlets to report on it."

Zhuang Huai'an nodded, somewhat understanding. He was close to Wang Changtian and Dong Ping, and they still had a film, "Detachment," to shoot. Seeing how well he was doing in Hollywood, the two of them must be getting anxious.

After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone, edited a message, and sent it to the two of them.

"After Cannes, filming began for 'Detachment'."

Both replied instantly, and their messages were almost identical, wishing him success in winning the Palme d'Or.

Zhuang Huai'an didn't reply to the two of them, but tentatively sent Jiang Wen a message.

The other side replied instantly!

OK, this one's in the bag.

Zhuang Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief. To avoid suspicion, he and Jiang Wen tacitly avoided meeting in private.

Actually, compared to the all-foreign film "Parasite," Zhuang Huai'an hoped that a Chinese-language film would win the Palme d'Or. However, plans can't keep up with changes. He forgot about this domestic event this year, otherwise he would have made "Detachment."

But in addition to the Palme d'Or, he also has his sights set on the Oscars.

You could say there are gains and losses in everything.

He spent the whole morning handling miscellaneous tasks in his room. At 2 p.m., Zhuang Huai'an changed into a black Armani suit.

He wore this outfit every time he came to Cannes for the first time, and every time he did so at the film festival afterward.

It's not about wishing for good luck; it's just a characteristic of boys—they find things troublesome.

They gathered eight lead actors from the "Parasite" cast, and the whole group headed to Kirk Theatre.

"Holy crap, isn't that Director Zhuang? He finally showed up."

Outside the waiting area, numerous domestic and international media reporters pointed their cameras at the "Parasite" film crew.

"This red carpet appearance must have had the largest audience of his entire career, right?"

"Tsk, now that's more like the style of an international director."

Seeing Zhuang Huai'an surrounded by a group of big-name directors and stars, a CCTV reporter remarked, "Director Zhuang, you've really got the job done."

"Indeed, Parasite is a strong contender for the Palme d'Or," a cameraman chimed in. "It's just a bit of a shame that it's not a Chinese-language film."

The short-haired female reporter rolled her eyes at him. "There's nothing we can do about it. We've already seen the premiere. There's no environment for this kind of film to thrive in China."

Many domestic media professionals who have seen "Parasite" admire Zhuang Huai'an's decision. Both films deal with reality and human nature, but Zhuang Huai'an managed to set the background in the United States.

What about those sixth-generation directors in China?

In order to win an award, they'd practically expose their asses to the old white men!

In the waiting area,

The Parasite crew was arranged to wait next to the Dogville crew.

It has to be said that Nicole Kidman was really impressive during this period. Last year, with "The Hours," she practically swept up every Best Actress award she could win.

During their conversation, Zhuang Huai'an unexpectedly learned that Lars von Trier, the director of "Dogville," was related to his employee Lao Feng; their fathers were cousins.

Okay, okay, so the entertainment industry is a small circle, right?

It's worth mentioning that this guy's parents were both members of the Communist Party.

Thiel was quite a character; he didn't care whether his film won awards or not, but instead kept pulling Zhuang Huai'an aside to discuss communism, and in his words, he highly praised the teacher.

This piqued Zhuang Huai'an's interest. "As long as you share the same idol as me, then we can be good friends!"

The two chatted for a long time until the staff came to inform Tyrell that he was going to walk the red carpet, at which point he reluctantly left.

"Bro, best of luck." Zhuang Huai'an smiled and hugged his international friend.

Huang Bo once said something very insightful: "Once you succeed, everyone around you will be a good person."

As soon as Till left, Park Chan-ok, the director of "Oldboy," came over. Although he was much older, his words revealed a hint of respect.

It fits the stereotypical image of Koreans very well.

As expected, the "Parasite" cast was scheduled to perform last, with the jury members making up the grand finale.

This made Zhuang Huai'an very suspicious that Jiang Wen had spread domestic customs to Cannes.

"Here comes the crew of 'Parasite,' the highest-rated film at this year's festival."

The host's tone was enthusiastic: "Director An, he debuted at Cannes two years ago, and then won the Bear at Berlin and the Golden Lion at Venice. Three films from his debut have conquered the three major cinematic awards."

Will his return to Cannes allow him to continue the miracle of the "Son of Cannes"? Let's wait and see!

Zhuang Huai'an, along with the rest of the crew, calmly and confidently faced the media on both sides of the red carpet. After signing their names on the backdrop, they were about to enter the hall.

"An, please wait a moment."

In the interview area, the host stopped him, smiled and handed him a microphone, and asked, "As far as I know, you haven't made any public appearances since the premiere of 'Parasite,' and you've even declined interviews from various magazines."

Your low-key approach has led many media friends to believe that it reflects strong confidence in your film. Could you share your thoughts on this?

Zhuang Huai'an took the microphone and smiled faintly.

"As my friends know, I've never been one to enjoy the limelight. It's not that I have a problem with the media, it's just that I feel directors aren't celebrities."

As someone working behind the scenes, my task was complete once the film was finished. How the audience interprets the film is up to them.

"Great response."

The host then changed the subject, saying, "There's something else interesting happening recently. Playboy magazine did a poll for the world's sexiest men, and you ranked third, behind only Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio."

Many socialites have publicly stated that they want to go on a date with you. What do you think about this?

Zhuang Huai'an found the whole situation both laughable and absurd.

Previously, Kirk, who was usually low-key and did not accept interviews, perhaps to promote his joining the MGM board of directors, not only held a grand signing ceremony, but also gave interviews to multiple media outlets for the first time, stating that Zhuang Huai'an would be the hero who would save MGM Studios.

Who is Kirk?

Casino tycoon, entertainment tycoon, real estate tycoon, aviation tycoon—a financial giant who never gives interviews—openly made such remarks, which must have been incredibly shocking to Americans.

After this interview was published, Zhuang Huai'an instantly became one of Hollywood's hottest new stars, enjoying unparalleled fame.

Regarding this matter,

Facing dozens of top media outlets from various countries, Zhuang Huai'an's response was rather pretentious: "All I can say is that those who voted for me have excellent taste!"