Chapter 345 Capital Film Festival

Since the Wenchuan earthquake, Xingchen Film and Television Company has donated money and materials, setting a record for the largest donation in the circle at that time.

Later, many charitable organizations came to the company to seek donations. At the beginning, Gu Wei also actively participated. Later, it was reported that the donated money and materials were embezzled.

Xingchen Film and Television Company has established its own public welfare charity organization, and sets aside a large sum of money every year for charity.

Not to mention other things, but the number of schools donated to the western region has already reached hundreds, not to mention other supplies.

"The domestic situation is special. Some people dare to take any money. It is better for us to do it ourselves so that it can be implemented on the ground."

These were also the original words that Gu Wei said when he established the charity organization. He did not trust many people. From ancient times to the present, there are countless examples of drinking human blood.

Although there are many people without conscience, there are also many responsible people. After all, in the charity circle, Han Hong is one of the people Gu Wei admires.

Although he is also doing charity, this person is really dedicated and one cannot help but be convinced.

No. 21, Capital International Airport.

Gu Wei drove over personally to pick up Liu Yifei.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, Gu Wei, wearing a mask and fully armed, sat in the car and waited in the parking lot for about ten minutes.

Finally, the young lady who came out with Cheng Long and others was seen. At the same time, the reporters who were waiting at the airport instantly surrounded the other group.

Cheng Long and Liu Yifei answered a few questions before getting rid of the group of reporters.

"Director Gu, I almost didn't recognize you, haha." Looking at Gu Wei dressed like this, Cheng Long spoke first.

"Haha, it's mainly because I'm afraid that the reporters will recognize me." Gu Wei waved his hands and said nonchalantly, his eyes looking at the young lady next to him. He hadn't seen her for more than half a month and missed her a lot.

Cheng Long, who was standing by, naturally noticed Gu Wei's focus and said, "Director Gu, you and Yifei should go back first. We can get together again when we have time."

"Okay, let's go first."

In the car, Gu Wei and Liu Yifei were getting tired of each other before driving to the villa.

.........

2011:4, evening of April 23, 17.

National Theatre.

The opening ceremony of the first Capital International Film Festival officially began.

The invited guests arrived one after another and began to walk the red carpet. This time no one dared to make any trouble and the actresses were all dressed relatively normally.

After all, if you wear something flashy again, you’ll probably be mocked in a sarcastic way and become a hot topic.

To be honest, there are many film festivals established in China in recent years. Apart from the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, the most famous one is the Shanghai International Film Festival. The festival is promoted as an international Class A film festival, but there are also extreme commentators who call it Class B.

The main reason is that the quality of the films participating in the previous Shanghai Film Festivals was not high, the market transactions were average, and 90% of the stars on the red carpet of the opening ceremony were Chinese-language filmmakers. There were basically no influential foreign filmmakers participating, which was indeed a bit embarrassing.

The establishment of the Capital International Film Festival is also a national effort to promote culture and allow Chinese-language films to go abroad.

That night, almost no guests below second-tier were invited to the event.

Almost all the media reporters who were able to attend this film festival were well-known news media in the domestic entertainment industry. Sina Entertainment was also invited to the event.

The first to walk onto the red carpet were the celebrity artists in the circle.

Huang Xiaoming, Huang Bo, Lu Yi, Deng Chao, Wen Zhang, Chen Kun, Qin Hao…

Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Zhao Yanzi, Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei, Zhou Xun, Su Chang, Tong Liya…

The stars who were able to come all cherished the invitation and accepted the interviews from reporters with smiles on their faces. It was truly a star-studded gathering with distinguished guests.

Countless flashes kept flashing around the red carpet.

There was a red carpet at the entrance of the venue, and a huge movie poster was erected on one side. The stars and guests who came to support the event signed the posters as they passed by, and then stood for a while to let the reporters take pictures.

After the celebrities walked the red carpet, major directors appeared one after another.

Domestic ones include Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen, Feng Xiaogang, Jia Zhangke, Ning Hao, Wu Ershan...

Even Lu Yang, who was filming "The Blade of the Assassin", gave the crew a day off. In his words, those who could come were all people of high status in the circle, which also represented the official recognition of him by the film festival.

The Hong Kong Island is also shot by John Woo, and behind it are Chan Ho-yan, Chan Ka-shang, and Wong Kar-wai…

As for the bigwigs from the film and television companies who attended, they almost covered the entire entertainment industry.

Led by Han Sanping of China Film Group and the big and small Wangs of Huayi Company.

Yu Dong from BonA, Song Ge and Wang Chen from Xingchen Films.

The glamorous Wang Changtian, the dashing Li Ming, and Ye Ning of Wanda Pictures.

The star-studded Lu Zheng and the Emperor Entertainment Group's Yang Shoucheng.

Others include Xingmei, Tianyu...

There are dozens of companies, big and small, all together, and these are only the ones that are famous in the industry. If you count those with average fame, the number would easily reach hundreds.

It can be seen that with the rapid development of the domestic film and television industry in recent years, more and more people have entered the circle to make a living, which has also attracted a large amount of capital.

As the publicity ambassadors of this year's film festival, Liu Yifei and Cheng Long arrived at the scene early, but they will appear at the end as the closing guests.

According to convention, most people who attend award ceremonies and walk the red carpet will bring a female companion, either a real-life lover or a partner in the entry.

However, the young lady had to perform with Cheng Long, so Gu Wei had to drive to the National Grand Theater alone.

Soon the car arrived at the National Grand Theater, in front of the film festival awards venue, Gu Wei got out of the car from a distance and walked towards the red carpet. Reporters saw him from a distance and swarmed over.

Perhaps it is because since the release of the global trailer for "2012", Gu Wei has appeared in public and accepted media interviews very rarely.

"Hello, Director Gu. Do you think 2012 can beat Avatar and win the record for the highest global box office?"

"Director Lu, 2012 is your first 3D special effects blockbuster. Are you confident that this movie can break the box office record set by Avatar in China?"

To be honest, the questions these reporters asked were completely meaningless.

"Obviously, 2012 definitely has the capability."

Gu Wei gave a very official and polite answer, and strode towards the red carpet. Reporters followed him, taking photos and asking questions.

The actors who were in front or had just arrived were all amazed at Gu Wei's popularity. Walking in front of Gu Wei were none other than Wang Quanan and Zhang Yuqi. After they received their marriage certificate, they were considered another couple in the circle.

"Wow, this scene is so exaggerated!" Zhang Yuqi couldn't help but look back and saw that there were too many reporters following Gu Wei. She sighed in her unique tone.

Wang Quanan naturally felt ashamed, snorted, and said, "What's so good about it?"

Zhang Yuqi turned around and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear clearly, "It's not that great, but it does feel very cool. Director Gu has such a high status. Even when Director Zhang and Director Chen were walking on the red carpet just now, there weren't so many reporters surrounding them."

The muscles on Wang Quanan's face trembled slightly, and he said, "Hurry up and go in and find a seat."

Gu Wei who was standing behind naturally didn't hear their conversation. He really didn't like these two people and just ignored them.

After accepting the interview with the reporter, just as he was about to enter the venue, he heard someone behind him come up to greet him, "Hello, Director Gu, long time no see."

Gu Wei looked back and saw that it was Wang Baoqiang. Then he glanced at the woman beside Baoqiang. He really wanted to remind him, but he still held back and smiled, "Well, it's been a while since we last met. How have you been lately?"

When Baoqiang heard this, he hurriedly said, "Everything is fine recently, Director Gu, this is my wife, Ma Rong."

The two registered their marriage last year. Gu Wei was on a movie set at the time and did not go, but he still asked Xu Zheng to bring a red envelope.

Without Wang Baoqiang's greeting, Ma Rong was very tactful and immediately greeted Gu Wei, who nodded.

After chatting for a few words, we entered the venue.

When Gu Wei entered the venue, a hostess guided him to his seat, which was in the first row, reserved for leaders.

"Come on, sit here." After seeing Gu Wei, Han Sanping waved his hand, motioning him to come over and sit down.

But when Gu Wei got closer, he was surprised to see that almost half of the leaders of the General Administration of Film were there.

"Hello, Director Tong, we haven't seen each other for a while." Seeing the deputy director of the general administration, Gu Wei was the first to greet him.

"Haha, hurry up and sit down. I was just chatting with Old Han about you!" Director Tong Gang smiled and said casually. Hearing this, Gu Wei sat to the right of Han Sanping, with Han Sanping between him and Director Tong.

To be honest, Gu Wei and Director Tong had met quite a few times. Compared with Director Zhang of the General Administration, the two were relatively familiar with each other. Gu Wei had only met Director Zhang two or three times in total.

"I'm a little curious about what President Han wants to talk to me about." After sitting down, Gu Wei said with a smile, looking back at the same time.

The back row was the seats for directors. Directors like Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kaige, Guan Hu, Wang Quan'an, Ning Hao, Jiang Wen, etc. basically all attended with their wives. Only Gu Wei was alone.

When Gu Wei looked back, the Wang brothers in the back row also looked at him at the same time. When they saw Gu Wei's gaze coming over, they nodded and greeted him. Gu Wei nodded slightly in response.

"We are both directors, so how can he sit in the front row!" Feng Xiaogang looked indignant and whispered to Wang Xiao and Wang Da.

"There's nothing we can do. He's an internationally renowned director who's well-connected in Hollywood. Didn't you see the attitude of Director Tong and the others? Their attitude towards other directors is completely different from their attitude towards Gu Wei." Wang Zhonglei shook his head and said it directly.

"Okay, stop mumbling. Don't you see what kind of occasion it is today?" As Wang Zhongjun spoke, the two of them sat up straight.

"Look, this is what differential treatment means. We sit in the second row, and Director Gu sits directly with the leaders. Does he count as our leader? Haha." Jiang Wen still spoke in a loud voice and started chatting with Ning Hao and Wu Ershan next to him.

"Director Jiang and Director Gu are our bosses. We're used to it. Haha." Ning Hao joked.

Afterwards, a few of them started chatting again.

After Gu Wei sat down, before Han Sanping next to him spoke, Director Tong smiled and said, "What are we going to talk about? Of course, we're going to talk about movies. I've seen the trailer for 2012, it's pretty good, and I believe it will definitely set a new box office record after it's released!"

"Haha, then I'll borrow Director Tong's good words."

Gu Wei laughed and said.

There must be a performance at the opening of the film festival, but the time has not yet come and everyone in the venue is talking in groups of three or four.

"President Han told me that we will start producing domestic special effects blockbusters in the second half of the year. That's right. Our domestic filmmakers should have this attitude and cannot just watch the American culture invade without restraint."

Hearing this, Gu Wei was speechless. This Old Han was really impatient, but as the boss of China Film, it was normal for him to report his work to his superiors.

Just as Gu Wei was about to speak, Director Tong continued, "Can our country produce special effects blockbusters like "Avatar" and "2012"? Tell me the truth!"

Gu Wei naturally did not dare to neglect the leader's question. He paused for a moment, sorted out his thoughts and said, "Director Tong, there will definitely be no problem with the technology. Xingchen Film and Television Company is fully capable of special effects. The company has invested a lot of money and manpower and material resources over the years. I can say without exaggeration that in terms of technology, we are now no less than the big Hollywood companies.

However, I plan not to let Hollywood special effects companies participate in the production of this film. It will probably take a lot of time and money. There is no other way to make it completely domestically produced. After all, it took them decades to develop it. Even if we take a shortcut, it will take time.”

"Really?" Director Tong asked in surprise. He only knew that Gu Wei's company had been introducing European and American filming technology and equipment. He didn't expect that its development has been no worse than theirs. This gave him great expectations.

"Director Tong, if Gu Wei says there's no problem, then there must be no problem. Among domestic directors, no one understands the technology better than him." Before Gu Wei could even open his mouth, Han Sanping gave a comprehensive answer.

"Well, Mr. Han is right. If foreigners can do it, we Chinese will not be worse than them." When saying this, Gu Wei's eyes were full of confidence.

"That's good. If you need any support, you can contact me. I can't say that it will be smooth sailing, but as long as it does not violate the principles, the General Administration will give you the green light." Hearing what they said, Director Tong nodded with satisfaction. As the leader of the General Administration, no one wanted the domestic films to develop better more than him.

Mainland film festivals and awards have always given people a feeling of being of low quality. As a result, people in the industry don’t give them much face, and it is common for big stars to be absent.

However, this Capital Film Festival completely broke this phenomenon. Of course, this is also taken seriously by the higher-ups.

At red carpet ceremonies, the less famous usually go first, and the more famous ones go last.

Like the actors who walked on stage at the beginning, no matter how big their status is, they cannot enter after the director, the bosses of the film and television companies, and various leaders. This is also one of the characteristics of China, the powerful are always greater than the powerless.

Relatively speaking, these celebrity artists who can make it through are already the "superior people" in the entertainment industry. There are countless unknown celebrities who don't even have the qualifications to come through. A considerable number of these people will switch to other industries when they see no hope for the future after a few years of persistence. Only a very small number of them can persist and become famous.

Gu Wei has already arrived, and only Cheng Long and Liu Yifei are left. The two of them are really running out of time.

As soon as she appeared and walked onto the red carpet, she was surrounded by a group of reporters.

"As the promotional ambassadors for this year's Capital Film Festival, what do you two want to say?"

"Brother, Yifei, what is the current progress of the filming of "The Chinese Zodiac"?"

"Director Cheng, I heard that this movie will be shot in the largest private estate in France..."

Most of the questions asked by reporters were about movies, and Cheng Long picked out a few questions to answer to satisfy the reporters' questions.

"Let's go, Yifei, they've all gone in and are waiting for us."

"Well, let's go." Liu Yifei, wearing a custom-made Lv dress, nodded with a smile.

...

At the venue, the presence of Liu Yifei and Cheng Long attracted a lot of attention.

In the third row, the four Dan actresses and two Bing actresses sat next to each other, looking at Liu Yifei who was the center of attention, with different expressions on their faces.

There was no change in Zhao Yanzi's expression, while Zhang Ziyi's face looked a little dark. She had put a lot of effort into becoming the image ambassador this time and had great hopes, but in the end she lost to Liu Yifei.

Looking at this girl who was younger and prettier than himself, even though Zhang Ziyi had a lot of complaints, he didn't dare to say them out loud and could only sulk alone.

Fan Binbin, who was standing by, looked at Zhang Ziyi's expression and felt much better. "Oh, a former international star still has a joke on his face."

Thinking of the conflict between the two some time ago, Fan Binbin almost couldn't help laughing at this moment.

The same is true for Li Binbin. After becoming a capital in the circle, the better she develops, the more she can feel the influence of Star Film and Television Company, not only in China, but also in Hollywood.

When auditioning for "Resident Evil 5", the other party also mentioned Gu Wei. In response to this, the Chinese director, the director of "Resident Evil", did not hesitate to praise him.

"In fact, we originally planned to invite Liu Yifei to play this role, but she directly refused."

When Li Binbin heard this, he felt a little indignant, but later he thought about it and felt fortunate that Liu Yifei refused, otherwise she would have no chance.

Compared to others, Zhou Xun and Xu Jinglei were much calmer. The latter had little contact or cooperation with Gu Wei and Liu Yifei, so he naturally took it easy.

As for Zhou Xun, he has a good relationship with Liu Yifei and watched the whole process with a smile on his face.

After all the guests were seated, the award ceremony officially began and an opening performance was necessary.

The show started with singing a song to welcome you. The group of dancing children were very lively and cute and the guests were generous with their applause.

Then the leaders gave speeches, and finally the former president of the Venice Film Festival, Marco Mueller, was invited. He is an expert on China and speaks Chinese well.

In the following program, publicity ambassadors came on stage and 17 presidents of world film festivals gave speeches.

Gu Wei was stunned by this scene. It seemed that the film festival officials were well prepared.

As the performances of bands from various countries ended, the first Beijing International Film Festival came to a close with Liu Huan’s singing.

The next day, there was the Charm of Film, the Capital Forum, with the participation of twenty jury chairmen and senior officials, who held discussions on the film festival and the city's impact. Gu Wei did not participate in this event. Even if he had gone, he would have attended various meetings, which was a serious case of formalism.

If you have this time, you might as well stay at home and accompany your little sister.

...

People in the circle no longer have any hope for "Guan Yunchang".

Based on the first day's box office and reviews, there is only one thing worth noting.

That is, how long can this movie last, how much money will it lose in the end, and which one is worse, it or "Warring States"?

Then on the second and third days, "Guan Yunchang" closed in 1800 million and 1700 million respectively.

Judging from the daily box office, this movie is pretty good, but that’s not because the movie is so good, but because most audiences went to the theaters out of curiosity.

The result is predictable. First, people scolded the crew and the screenwriter for being stupid and what a crap adaptation it was.

As the leading actor, Zhen Zidan is sure to not be able to escape. More and more netizens are mocking him online, and the fame he accumulated from the "Ip Man" series is also slowly disappearing.

On the contrary, Jiang Wen received praise from many netizens for his mighty and domineering role as "Cao Cao".

The result was similar to what Gu Wei predicted.

Zhen Zidan chose to pass the buck. When the media mentioned Jiang Wen or Cao Cao played by the latter in front of him, the former decisively said something like stealing the show.

Soon after, Hong Kong media began to accuse Jiang Wen of being unprofessional and a drama tyrant, and of deliberately stealing the spotlight as a supporting role. Such remarks became more and more frequent, and there was a tendency for them to turn into a war of words.

"Haha, what do you think? I wasn't wrong, was I?"

After receiving Gu Wei's call, Jiang Wen cursed, "Fuck, what a bunch of idiots, none of them have any brains."

(End of this chapter)