Chapter 321: Go to watch a movie (two in one)

After the opening ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival, China Film Group sent a vice president to Berlin to be responsible for the film selection and screening of Gu Wei's film.

The eyes of the film and television industry turned to Xingchen Film and Television.

Everyone was curious about when Gu Wei and others would leave for Berlin. After all, since they had been shortlisted for the main competition unit, their chances of winning were still very high.

Not only in China, the Berlin Film Festival also gave official reports.

“Berlin welcomes director Gu Wei and Liu Yifei, and looks forward to “On the Beach at Night Alone” winning a major award.”

"I will leave for Berlin around the 15th, not only to participate in the competition, but also to negotiate the European copyright transaction."

"Well, the North American copyright has been negotiated, and we will bring all the main creative staff to the Berlin red carpet."

On one side was the urging of Berlin officials, and on the other side was the response from Star Films, which instantly attracted the attention of the entire entertainment industry.

"Haha, we are going to Berlin and walk the red carpet too."

The two main characters, Liu Yifei and Qin Hao, were able to control their emotions, but supporting and guest actors such as Su Chang, Chen Minghao, Tong Liya, and Huang Bo were all very excited.

In their opinion, given Gu Wei's influence at international film festivals and the fact that the film has been shortlisted for the main competition unit, the chances of winning are still very high.

Whether it is a supporting role award or a group award, everyone has a chance to win.

"Everyone should adjust their schedules and go together. After the film festival, we can have some fun."

After confirming the time, Gu Wei gathered everyone together and talked about this matter.

"Haha, these Director Gu."

"Berlin Film Festival. This is my first time going there."

"Who isn't? I'll be walking on the red carpet, and I'm excited just thinking about it."

Tong Liya, who had just signed the contract for "The Legend of Hongmen Feast" a few days ago, felt that she was the happiest person at the moment.

As an actress born in the 1980s, it is rare for her to be able to participate in the three major European film festivals.

Even for Liu Yifei, this is her first time going there. Previously, only Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and others had participated in the European Film Festival, and Fan Binbin was one of them. There are only a handful of them.

Liu Yifei is indeed a person with a big heart. At this moment, she is not thinking about whether she can win the award. Instead, she is discussing with Su Chang, Tong Liya and others where to go after the film festival.

...

Hong Kong's Academy Awards has announced this year's list of nominated films.

As before, most of them are films directed by Hong Kong directors, including "Ip Man 2", "Mystery of the Phantom Flame" and "The Insider".

There are very few domestic films, and this is even more so for award nominations. The list of best actor nominees is nothing more than Chow Yun-fat, Jacky Cheung, Nick Cheung and others, and this year there is also Chef Xie.

As for mainland actors, most of them won supporting role awards.

"What are mainland actors supposed to do? Play supporting roles in movies and continue to play supporting roles at film festivals?"

"Since the Academy Awards are ranked so low, it would be better not to invite mainland films to participate."

"You are a bunch of old stubborn people who are stuck in your ways. If you have the guts, don't come to the mainland to make movies."

It is no longer the time to rely on Hong Kong actors to boost the box office. The top three domestic films all starred mainland actors, with the exception of Let the Bullets Fly, where Chow Yun-fat served as one of the leading actors.

And if you look at the Academy Awards in recent years, the Best Actor awards have always been won by the same few veteran actors, and the new generation in Hong Kong is completely unable to come up with anything worth mentioning.

No. 14, Capital Airport.

The appearance of Liu Yifei, Su Chang and others brightened the eyes of the reporters who were waiting here.

With such a large group of people showing up, another round of interviews is inevitable.

Sometimes, actors in the same circle really cannot be compared with each other. The more you compare, the bigger the gap seems to be.

Watching the interviews of online media reporters at the airport, many actresses felt a little sour.

Yang Mi, who failed to compete with Tong Liya for the leading actress, felt sad at this moment.

Thinking about it, my original target was Liu Yifei, but now I can’t even compare to the new actors.

Having failed in the competition for the role, he couldn't even get into a domestic film festival, while others were already walking the red carpet at three major European film festivals.

"Although TV series can bring popularity, in the eyes of big directors in the industry, making movies is still the right way to go."

This idea popped into Yang Mi's mind.

At the same time, Fan Binbin, who left Huayi Company and established his own studio, has been very successful in the circle in the past two years and is known as "Fan Ye".

However, when I saw the reports about Liu Yifei on the Internet, I still couldn't help but sigh.

I remember that I was once nominated for the Berlin Film Festival with "Apple", but in the end I returned empty-handed and the movie was eventually taken off the shelves.

Looking at this person who is younger than herself but is as famous in Hollywood as veteran actresses like Gong Li, and now she is going to participate in the three major European competitions, a hint of jealousy gradually spreads.

“We should make more art films.”

At this moment, this scene has been repeated in the circle. Although the actresses have sent their blessings to Liu Yifei, it is unknown how many of them are sincere.

...

In Shiba Culture Company.

This was the first time Zhao Liying came here after signing the contract. Of course, she was definitely familiar with the person in front of her, but she had just entered the industry when the other party left Huayi, so they had no intersection.

"Hello, Sister Hua, I'm Zhao Liying."

After working in the industry for several years, especially at Huayi Company, Zhao Liying has done a good job in etiquette and culture.

"Well, you'll be one of us from now on. The company will arrange an agent for you and help you take on suitable scripts."

At this time, Wang Jinghua looked up and down at the girl with a chubby face. No matter her appearance or temperament, she couldn't see what made her attractive to Gu Wei.

You know, there are many actresses with good looks and temperament in the company, but Gu Wei has never mentioned any of them. The only one is Tong Liya, and the one mentioned today is the second one.

In fact, Gu Wei just thought of the person in front of him unintentionally. When he was negotiating the broadcasting rights of "The Royal Soldier" with the TV station last year, he remembered that Zhao Liying had played a role in it.

Zhao Liying was an actor that Gu Wei admired very much in the original time and space. In the entertainment industry, there are only two people who can rise from being an extra to being a first-line star: Wang Baoqiang and Zhao Liying.

Anyone who achieves great things must have something extraordinary about him. Zhao Liying’s later achievements were all due to the word “hard work”. She had no background, no professional training, and was limited by her face shape, but she made her way from a supporting role to a first-tier star. She is absolutely an inspirational person.

Of course, Gu Wei didn't like her very much the moment he met her, but after noticing her, he began to look at her with a different eye.

Just like discovering Tong Liya before, people who work hard, have good acting skills and don't seek danger will always be remembered.

"Thank you, Sister Hua. I'll trouble you in the future." Zhao Liying replied after hearing Wang Jinghua's words, and then said with a serious expression, "Sister Hua, I can endure hardships. No matter how big or small the role is, as long as I can join the group, I can do it."

Hearing this, Wang Jinghua was stunned for a moment. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she heard an actor or artist say something like this.

Usually, artistes in the company either start to suck up to the boss and try to please him, or complain about the size of the role and want to star in a big director's movie and become famous overnight.

"Sister Hua, I..." Looking at the dazed Wang Jinghua, Zhao Liying couldn't help but become nervous. Did she say something wrong just now? It was indeed inappropriate to ask for a role after just signing with the company.

"It's okay, just work hard, the company has plenty of resources, don't worry about not having any movies to shoot."

Wang Jinghua said with a smile, and couldn't help but feel a liking for the girl in front of her.

...

After a ten-hour flight from the Capital Airport, Gu Wei and his team arrived in Berlin safely.

The average temperature in Berlin in February was around zero degrees, and everyone came to the exit wearing thick down jackets.

From time to time, foreigners were looking at the group of people. There were more than 20 people, both men and women, and bodyguards. If you didn't know, you would think that they were dignitaries from other countries visiting Germany.

"Senior, shall we go directly to the hotel?"

"Well, China Film has sent someone to pick us up. Let's go."

Besides the exit, we found people from China Film Group waiting there.

"Director Gu, we know you have a lot of people, so we rented a bus. This way it will be more convenient."

The leader was the assistant to the vice president of China Film Group. Gu Wei had met him twice and was quite familiar with him.

"Okay, let's go to the hotel first."

In the car, looking at the scenes moving backwards on both sides, Gu Wei felt a little emotional. It had been ten years since he last came here. At that time, he was still a fledgling new director, but when he came here again, he was already famous all over the world. It felt like things had changed a lot.

On the other side, Liu Yifei, Su Chang and others who came for the first time were a little excited. They had slept for half a day on the plane and were full of energy.

Every year, the Berlin Film Festival attracts many filmmakers and audiences. According to media reports, nearly 60 journalists from newspapers, magazines, the Internet, radio stations and television stations from more than 3000 countries flocked to this year's Berlin Film Festival. From the opening ceremony to now, it has attracted more than 20 audiences.

The hotel where China Film Group stayed was very close to the film festival, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the north side of Potsdamer Platz.

It is also not far from the Berlin Film Palace and Sony Center. It is a gathering place for VIP stars, and official film festival staff will personally receive big-name directors and stars who come to participate in the competition.

At this moment, filmmakers and celebrities who came to participate in the competition were coming in and out of the hotel. As soon as Gu Wei and others got off the car, they were surrounded by local media reporters.

The celebrities coming in and out also looked sideways and talked a lot. Looking at the yellow faces in front of them, they guessed that the superstar had arrived.

"Director Gu Wei, welcome to Berlin. Thank you for your hard work."

As soon as we got off the bus, Det Koslick, the director of operations for the festival, spoke enthusiastically.

Gu Wei had communicated with him through emails before coming, but this was the first time they met in person. Seeing that the other party spoke fluent English, the two hugged each other.

Reporters nearby kept taking pictures and flash lights were flashing. Some people who knew Det Koslik covered their mouths and showed expressions of disbelief.

Not only them, but also Liu Yifei and others were a little shocked at this moment. They only knew the identity of the person who hugged Gu Wei through the introduction of others.

"Director Gu is so respectful that the person in charge came to greet him personally."

Su Chang winked at Liu Yifei, and the two of them whispered to each other.

Tong Liya, Qin Hao and others had bright eyes, maybe they really have a chance to win a supporting role or group award. Next to them, the people from China Film Group were a little emotional, no one greeted them when they came, what a big gap, this group of people really only recognize big directors and international superstars.

"Gu, your movie is very good. We watched it once and it received good reviews during the screening. I guess many film producers are waiting for your arrival, haha."

Dieter Koslick is very talkative and humorous.

“Thank you. Berlin is where I first won an international award and I am very happy to come again.”

The two sides exchanged greetings for more than ten minutes and after accepting interviews from several local media reporters, the other party left with his people. Gu Wei and others also went into the hotel to rest.

When he was leaving, the other party invited him to visit the film festival venue tomorrow. Gu Wei also wanted to see the quality of this year's participating films, so he agreed immediately.

In China, netizens couldn’t help but feel excited and proud when reading the online reports.

"Director Gu Wei and the main creative team arrived in Berlin, and the director of the film festival personally welcomed them."

"Date Koslick commented on director Gu Wei's work, praising its novel subject matter and the high reputation of the audience during the screening."

You know, even Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige did not have this treatment. People in Europe do tend to recognize big directors who are famous in Hollywood.

...

This year's Berlin Film Festival has attracted a lot of attention from the country due to the participation of director Gu Wei. Everyone is looking forward to achieving some success, especially Gu Wei's works, which are still very promising.

In China, Huayi Film Company announced the release details of Feng Xiaogang’s latest film.

Adapted from Liu Zhenyun's novel "Revisiting 1942".

"This is a film I have wanted to make for more than ten years. There were many reasons why I couldn't finish it before, and it has become a knot in my heart."

"The script is basically complete and the project has been organized. The preparations will take six to seven months and filming will start in October at the latest. This is the film I'm most looking forward to since I became a director."

Feng Xiaogang tasted the sweetness of success with "The Great Earthquake" and planned to try it again with a different movie.

“This will be an epic film that will shake the national soul!”

Facing reporters, Feng Xiaogang made no secret of his expectations and ambitions for this film.

"Haha, are they planning to win both the box office and awards?" other companies in the industry couldn't help but think.

“Is it going to be like the movie ‘Earthquake’ where the government unit booked the entire theater?”

Many company bosses have a bad feeling.

In addition to "1942", "The Flowers of War" was still being filmed slowly at this time. Since the male lead had not joined the crew, they could only film the scenes of newcomers and supporting roles first.

The key is that Zhang Weiping is not honest and keeps changing people from time to time. Zhang Yimou in the Jinling crew is also a little tired.

"When can Bale join the team?"

Having spent more than 100 million yuan but still not seeing the leading actor, Zhang Yimou couldn't help but sound a little annoyed.

"The other party said that we have to wait until the Oscars ceremony is over before we can leave for China."

After the first two incidents, the relationship between Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou is now a little subtle. Both of them know it, but they have not yet torn their faces.

"Yeah." Zhang Yimou gave a reply after receiving it.

"It's better to do it later. Bale has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. If he wins, it will be a good publicity gimmick." Ignoring Zhang Yimou's expression, Zhang Weiping continued to analyze.

"Oh." Zhang Yimou couldn't help but sigh. This old friend who had worked with him for more than ten years was becoming more and more incomprehensible to him. Especially during the filming of this movie, he secretly replaced actors and added "bed scenes" to the actresses. One thing after another, made his patience reach its limit.

At this moment, Zhang Yimou couldn't help but think of what Song Ge said a while ago, "Director Zhang, as long as you join Xingchen Film and Television Company, the company will not interfere with your film shooting, whether it is a commercial film or an art film, we will fully support it.

Not only that, when you want to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Director Gu will fully support you. I believe that with Director Gu's connections and resources in Hollywood, your chances of winning are still very high."

"Anyway, let's think about these issues after this movie is over."

As he thought about these things, Zhang Weiping's face in front of him made him feel more and more disgusted.

...

When Gu Wei and others arrived in Berlin, Song Ge did not go with them, but rushed to South Korea.

After more than half a year of recruitment, the branch has hired a number of film producers, new directors and celebrity artists.

The purpose of this trip was also to start the filming of movies and TV series. The specific scripts are ready-made, and some of the themes are very suitable for the South Korean environment.

After all, ever since they had their film rating system, filming has become more and more bold, and the environment is indeed freer than in China.

Berlin Film Festival.

Liu Yifei and others wore formal attire to attend the official film festival event, while Gu Wei went around watching movies with people from China Film Group. Han Sanping had a task for him, and he had just arrived yesterday when the other party called to urge him to complete it.

In the film screening area, posters of the films being screened are posted at the door of each screening room, with a general introduction such as the type of film, the actors involved, the director, the country the film is from, etc.

The scene can be described as bustling with people.

Looking around, people of all skin colors can be seen everywhere, and the posters at the entrance of the screening room are occasionally changed.

"Director Gu, let's go to the movie "On the Beach at Night Alone" first."

The person in charge of China Film Group said that since they had just arrived, they would definitely take a look at their entries first. As for purchasing the copyrights, there was still time, so there was no need to be too anxious.

"Okay." After saying that, several people walked inside.

As a work in the main competition unit, "On the Beach Alone at Night" was treated very highly. Before I even got close to the screening room, I saw a lot of people gathered in front of the booth at the door, asking questions.

Listening closely, most people were asking about movie showtimes.

An employee of Xingchen Films who had arrived earlier saw this and explained, "After the opening ceremony, the film will distribute tickets to the audience at the booth. We have one show per day for this film, with a maximum of 200 people per show, so many people will come to inquire."

"Director Chen, Director Gu and the others are over there, do you want to go over and say hello?"

The screening area was so small, and Brother Chen Kai brought "The Orphan of Zhao" here to sell the copyright. The accompanying staff was sharp-eyed and saw Gu Wei and others.

"Where?" said Chen Hong, who followed Brother Chen Kai.

"It's over there." The staff pointed not far away.

Chen Hong and Chen Kai looked up and saw that it was indeed Gu Wei and the others.

"Let's go and say hello." After saying that, Brother Chen Kai walked over, and the others followed closely.

At the entrance of the screening room of "On the Beach at Night Alone", several film producers from other European countries recognized him and they were chatting.

"Gu Wei, you are here too."

Hearing this, Gu Wei turned around and saw that it was Brother Chen Kai and his wife.

"Director Chen, Sister Hong, long time no see." The two sides had not seen each other for several months since the premiere of "The Orphan of Zhao".

The two sides exchanged a few pleasantries. After learning that the North American rights to Gu Wei's film had been purchased by Warner, the Palme d'Or director couldn't help but feel emotional when he looked at the film producers queuing up at the entrance of the screening room to watch the film.

I came here to sell movies, but after a few screenings of "The Orphan of Zhao", not many film producers came to watch it. You could see there was a long queue outside the door.

...

As it was getting close to evening, Gu Wei and others returned to the hotel first. After a while, Liu Yifei, Su Chang, Qin Hao and others also returned to the hotel after participating in the event.

"How are you? Are you tired?"

Looking at the beautiful young lady in front of him, Gu Wei held her face and spoke.

"Hey, Director Gu and Yifei are together?" Tong Liya, who was standing next to him, finally reacted and asked Su Chang unconsciously.

"Hehe, we've been together for a long time, but we just didn't make it public."

"Okay." For some reason, Tong Liya felt a little lost at this moment.

"It's okay. I'm not really tired, I'm just hungry." The young lady said sweetly.

"Everyone go up and clean up, and then come down to eat something together."

"Okay, director."

Watching everyone return to the room one after another, Gu Wei, Qin Hao, Chen Minghao and others went to the restaurant to wait for them.

In the restaurant, Gu Wei, drinking coffee, recalled today's schedule and found that the quality of the films at this year's Berlin Film Festival was indeed average.

I watched three movies today, which were some of the most popular films at this year's film festival, namely "Innocent Saturday", "Future" and "Story of the Night".

The three movies gave him a very average feeling.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"The organizer has two more events, and there are also some street shoots by brands." Qin Hao said after taking a sip of coffee. As the male lead of the movie, he and Liu Yifei have no time to rest during their time in Berlin.

About half an hour later, everyone who had finished cleaning up arrived at the restaurant one after another.

As the capital of Germany, Berlin is naturally full of delicious food.

The table was filled with various dishes, including German pork knuckle, potato meal, curry sausage, veal sausage, bacon, rye bread and so on.

After the dishes were served, everyone started to eat without any hesitation. After a busy day, Gu Wei was a little hungry.

Liu Yifei couldn't wait to move and was eating with relish.

"Everyone, eat more. Some of you have worked hard these past two days. You don't need to lose weight." Gu Wei said with a smile as he looked at Tong Liya who only tasted a little of each dish.

"Yeah, I'll lose weight after I finish eating." Liu Yifei said vaguely with food still in her mouth.

Unlike other actresses, Liu Yifei usually insists on running and exercising, and basically has no restrictions on food. Unless it is necessary for filming on the set, she will not skip three meals a day and will not diet to lose weight.

...

(End of this chapter)