The 54th Cannes International Film Festival kicked off on May 9, Paris time, France. A total of 23 films from different countries were shortlisted for the main competition and competed at the same venue to compete for Cannes' highest honor, the Palme d'Or.
Yuan Qiaoqiao, who originally had no plans to come, arrived at Cannes on the 15th, accompanied by her aunt and cousin.
The hotel the three of them stayed in had been booked by Gu Huxin a long time ago. It was very close to the Movie Palace. It would only take less than five minutes to get there if they walked.
Standing in the room with her suitcase in hand, Yuan Qiaoqiao looked around the suite and said with a smile: "Auntie, it's only now that I'm sure you really want to come to Cannes and not follow me."
"Nonsense, why is your brain not working this time? I don't even think about it. You have a green card and Xiaoli has a registered permanent residence in Xiangjiang. You can leave as soon as you want. When I come to Cannes, I need to apply for a visa in advance. I'm not like you two. Can you leave?"
Yuan Qiaoqiao reached out and touched the back of her head and explained with a dry smile, "I didn't expect this at the moment."
The two Taiwanese films shortlisted for the Cannes main competition this time, "What time is it there" and "Millennium Mambo: The Name of the Rose," also stayed in this hotel, but not on the same floor, but on their floor. superior.
As the star of "What Time Is It Over There", although the crew did not expect her to come to Cannes, since she was here, she had to go and meet her. Therefore, after knowing the crew's room number, she contacted the director and made an appointment. Visiting hours.
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After seeing the director come back, Yuan Qiaoqiao returned to the room and sat on the sofa, lost in thought.
After arriving in Cannes, he fell on the bed and went to sleep when he got to the room. When Lu Meili, who was suffering from jet lag, got up and saw her like this, he asked in confusion: "What's wrong with you?"
I vaguely heard in my sleep that you were going to meet the people on the set of "What time is it over there"? You must not have been hit by them, right? "
Faced with her speculation, Yuan Qiaoqiao smiled bitterly and admitted bluntly, "You guessed it right, I was indeed shocked.
Sister Kuan told me that the crew did not want me to come to Cannes, and the reasons given were political. In fact, there was another important reason that was not mentioned, which is that the male lead Zhang Zhen in "What Time Is It Over There" just finished filming? Starring in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the best foreign language film at this year's Oscar.
Although the bonuses he received were not as big as those of others, the popularity at the moment is not low. Taiwanese people should be planning to support him since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". The two of us collaborated on "Where Are You?" In the story "Point", my role is more outstanding, so they don't want me to use Zhang Zhen's popularity and popularity to rise as a celebrity. "
After listening to her words, Lu Meili's focus was obviously different from hers, and she exclaimed: "Oh my god, if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have noticed. Indeed, that Zhang Zhen is an artist who has starred in the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. In this case, has your status in the industry improved?"
Yuan Qiaoqiao thought for a while and said uncertainly: "I don't know, I'll ask Sister Kuan about this later, I guess it won't be a big improvement.
People in the industry consider status, apart from their works, to be famous. Although I have works, they are not recognized much, my achievements are not enough, and my popularity is average. But if I become famous, I may use this as my qualifications and record to convince my opponent when competing for titles in the future. "
"Oh." Lu Meili was a little disappointed, but when she saw her cousin who was obviously in a bad mood, she changed her tone and said with relief: "It's okay, we are not in a hurry, you are still young anyway, you will definitely become popular."
She went back to her room, changed her clothes, took her bag, and was about to go out. She looked at Yuan Qiaoqiao sitting there and asked, "I'm going to go out to eat something and go see my mother on the way. Do you want to come with me?"
After thinking for a moment, Yuan Qiaoqiao nodded and said, "Wait for me."
When the two sisters went out and went downstairs, they met Shu Qi. Yuan Qiaoqiao greeted her with a smile. Shu Qi nodded to her reservedly and said nothing. When both elevators were open, they got on the other one. An elevator.
"Are you at odds with her?" Lu Meili leaned close to Yuan Qiaoqiao's ear and asked curiously.
"She and I had met on some occasions before, but we had never spoken or had any friendship. However, I had been interested in casting her for the role I played in "Sometimes to Dance" directed by Guan, and in the end the role fell to me. on the head.
Currently, Zhang Wanting, who has previously directed the hit literary film "City of Glass", and her screenwriter husband are preparing another film called "The Joy and Road of the Imperial Capital". Sister Kuan is helping me win the heroine. , and she is also fighting for it.
Because she has worked with them in "City of Glass", it stands to reason that since they have worked together before, as long as there was no unpleasantness in the last cooperation, with Shu Qi's current status and acting skills, she can achieve the same goal with Director ZhangThe second cooperation is not difficult.
But because the heroine of this movie, which has not yet been shot, is from the Mainland, I have a natural advantage in terms of background, and my acting skills are guaranteed. Moreover, through Sister Kuan¡¯s introduction, I have met Director Zhang and her Husband, the two of them talked very happily, so it is especially clear whose hands the heroine will fall into in the end. "
After dinner, the two went to the Film Palace booth to find Gu Huxin. There, Xinyuan rented a stall and sold the movie "Waiting to Die" that he had invested in.
Marchedufilm in Cannes is a very magical place. Upstairs is a forum for art. Masters hold press conferences to promote artistic concepts to media and fans around the world. Downstairs is like a noisy vegetable market, with artists from more than a hundred countries. This is where studios sell their product¡ªtheir movies.
Around ten o'clock in the morning, sellers began to enter the venue one after another. There were more than a dozen people, as few as three or four, carrying all kinds of strange props and furnishings, and they started to arrange things in a messy manner. There are very few buyers, only tourists and reporters hanging around with cameras. Most of them are not here to buy movies, but to collect gossip.
The booth in Cannes is an independent space divided by partitions, with equal areas. If you want a larger one, you have to pay extra. Xinyuan Film and Television Media arrived earlier and chose a better location, making it easier to focus.
There is a long table in the front and an open space in the back. A display screen is hung on the wall for showing trailers. It was said to be a layout, but there was actually nothing there, just a few large posters and stacks of brochures. It is not only a matter of cost, but also because of the film "Waiting to Die", both the director and the actors are new, and the subject matter is not the one that the public is interested in. So no matter how you promote it, it¡¯s hard to attract attention.
"Hey, Qiaoqiao, do you think this movie we invested in can be sold?" Gu Huxin saw that the tourists didn't stop in front of her good booth at all, and couldn't help but worry, "I heard that Asian movies are very popular all over the world. The world¡¯s share is not too small, but it is definitely not big, and film producers in many countries have little interest.¡±
Yuan Qiaoqiao, who has participated in several international film festivals, said nonchalantly: "Auntie, don't worry, it's only the first day, the opening ceremony hasn't been held yet, and ordinary film dealers won't buy movies now.
As for whether it won¡¯t sell? You don't have to worry, any movie that can be screened at this Cannes Film Festival will not be smashed into your hands. If you can be shortlisted for the competition unit and get the prize, whether it is a grand prize or a small prize, you don't have to worry about losing money.
Film producers from various countries naturally know the market share of literary and artistic films in the local market. Therefore, as long as our movies are not too bad, we can make a small profit while ensuring our return on investment. "
Lu Meili interjected and asked: "Qiaoqiao, do you mean to wait until this movie wins an award before selling it?"
"Forget it, I'll just buy it if someone buys it and estimates that the price is about the same." As an employee from the Imperial Film Factory, and her sister is still working in the National Television Station 6, Chen Jing still has a lot of knowledge about selling films at film festivals. I know a lot.
"Some countries have a small population, only a few million or tens of millions. Due to the population base, the market is there. As long as they like it, they will buy it regardless of whether the movie wins awards or not, but the price will not be very high. There are also some countries that have a small population. Film producers like to keep an eye on newcomers, so it doesn¡¯t matter to them whether our films win awards or not.¡±
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Throughout the morning, no one came to visit. At most, there were people standing in front of the booth to watch the trailer. In the blink of an eye, it was noon, Gu Huxin and the others went to eat, and told several employees watching the stall that if nothing happened, they would not come over.
"Auntie, I'm fine here. If you're worried, you can stay over at the booth." After they had gone far, Yuan Qiaoqiao couldn't help but said as she watched Gu Huxin keep looking back at the booth.
Gu Huxin shook her head, "Forget it. Originally, I didn't have much involvement in Xinyuan's business. With Mr. Chen here, I can rest assured that I won't cause trouble here." Changing the subject, "By the way, where are we going to eat?" "
"Before I came out, I contacted Director Guan and made an appointment. I will treat him to a seafood dinner at noon today. Do you and your cousin want to go?"
Gu Qiaoqiao invited Director Guan's "Lanyu" crew to have dinner. In addition to connecting with Director Guan and the crew members, she also thought about asking him to take care of her aunt on the day of the Xiangjiang Night Party. After all, there were more than a hundred people, many of whom she was unfamiliar with, so she couldn't take care of Gu Huxin who was accompanying her. (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com