Chapter 378 Cannes Film Festival
The next evening, Mo Yan found the People's Art Theatre.
Lin Weimin was supervising the rehearsal of "The Ming Dynasty 1566: Jiajing and Hai Rui" here in the evening, and he came here just in time to talk to Li Guangfu about the house.
Mo Yan had a huge sum of 6,000 yuan in his hand, which was enough to buy a house in Yanjing. The difficulty was how to buy a satisfactory house, and this required Li Guangfu's help.
"With Teacher Lin here, your business, Teacher Mo, is my business." Li Guangfu patted his chest and promised.
"My last name is Guan." Mo Yan reminded.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Teacher Guan."
"It's okay. I'll trouble you with the house."
Li Guangfu smiled and waved his hand, "Well! This is just a side job. I found all the more than 30 houses for Teacher Lin, so your share is not a problem. I will contact you as soon as I have news."
Mo Yan was shocked when he heard what Li Guangfu said. More than thirty houses?
Firstly, he was shocked by the number of houses, and secondly, he was shocked that Teacher Lin spent so much money on buying houses.
To be honest, he wanted to buy a courtyard house with the royalties because he was influenced by Lin Weimin.
Lin Weimin's small courtyard by the Shichahai Lake left a deep impression on him. It is a retreat in the wild and in the city. Whenever he visited Lin Weimin's courtyard, Mo Yan had an urge to own such a courtyard and spend the rest of his life there.
Having received such a considerable sum of royalties this time, he naturally couldn't wait to realize this impulse.
Of course, he also knew that he might not stay in Yanjing in the future, but it didn't matter. After all, the house in Yanjing was more valuable than that in his hometown, so he would not lose money even if he sold it!
He knew before that Lin Weimin had asked people to help him buy houses, but he didn't expect that he would buy so many. How much did it cost?
Mo Yan's sigh only lasted for a moment. He knew very well that for Teacher Lin, he could afford to buy even 300 houses, let alone more than 30.
Thinking of this, Mo Yan's heart moved.
He has been in contact with Teacher Lin for several years. He admires Teacher Lin's creative talent and gift, and he is also impressed by his vision and knowledge.
Teacher Lin bought such a large house, there must be a deep meaning behind it. When I have money, I will buy it and store it. Anyway, the house is money. Yanjing is the capital, and the house will not be difficult to sell.
After discussing the house, Mo Yan stayed at the People's Art Theatre's rehearsal hall to enjoy the rehearsal of "The Ming Dynasty 1566: Jiajing and Hai Rui". In just a few minutes, he was attracted by the powerful charm of the drama and was so engrossed in it that he even forgot the time.
By the time he came to his senses, it was already 10 o'clock in the evening and all the buses had disappeared.
"I saw you were so engrossed in watching just now that I didn't call you. I'll take you back to the Military Art Academy later!" Lin Weimin said with a smile.
Mo Yan said gratefully, "Thank you, Teacher Lin."
On the way back to the Military Art Academy, Mo Yan talked about the drama he had just watched. Even though it was a rough rehearsal, it still shocked him greatly.
"I just realized that a play can be written this way. Teacher Lin, your script is amazing!"
"The script is thanks to Mu Sen!" Lin Weimin said.
Mo Yan thought again of the young man with thick bottle-bottom glasses he met in the rehearsal room.
Mo Yan has become accustomed to Lin Weimin's modesty. He knows that this is all because Teacher Lin is supporting the young man named Mu Sen.
Without Teacher Lin’s novel, how could Mu Sen write such an excellent script?
He read both the novel and the play. The content of the play is almost 100% the same as that of the novel, but the form has been greatly innovated. All the content has been deconstructed, disrupted, and rearranged.
Mu Sen’s ideas are certainly valuable, but without Teacher Lin’s foundation, everything is just a mirage.
It is such a blessing for that young man to have a noble person like Teacher Lin to help him on his life journey! ——
By mid-March, the filming of "The Female Doctor" was coming to an end.
During this period of time, Lin Weimin only appeared in the crew occasionally, but because of his great performance a few years ago, the absolute authority of his crew had long been established, and no one dared to make trouble for him anymore.
Tao Huimin's role actually ended in early March, but his secondment procedures were handled by CCTV, so he didn't have to worry about the time. During this period, he and Lin Weimin have been enjoying their own world, and occasionally go to the "Legend of Female Doctor" crew to chat with everyone.
Lin Weimin did not wait for the news of the completion of filming of "Legend of a Female Doctor", but first received the news of the completion of filming of "The Lover" in France. He received an international call from Yang Meng in France.
Because the drama "The Lover" has scenes set in Shanghai and France, it was filmed in two locations, first in Shanghai and then in France.
When writing the script, Lin Weimin took into account the limited production budget of the crew. In the script, there are very few scenes in France, and it also includes many empty shots.
In fact, if you really want to save money, you can shoot without going to France.
But Ann Hui is very practical in filming. Even though the budget was tight, she still went to France. Only four or five people went with the crew. Each of them had multiple duties and worked hard for a week to complete the final filming.
Yang Meng told Lin Weimin on the phone that the film would go into post-production after filming was completed, and the director of Shanghai Film Studio, Xu Sangchu, had originally planned to invite "The Lover" to entrust the post-production to the Shanghai Film Studio.
However, Yang Meng and Ann Hui chose to return to Hong Kong for the final film effect.
Post-production in the mainland can certainly save a lot of money, but it will affect the quality of the film.
After decades of rigid planning system, many domestic film studios have suffered from overstaffing and shoddy production, which have become common problems.
Yang Meng said that she planned to take "Lover" to a film festival, so she must not slack off on quality and must strive for excellence.
Lin Weimin had heard her talk about this plan before, so he asked, "Have you made any progress on the film festival?"
"I contacted Director Li Hanxiang for help before, and during the filming we were fortunate to invite the selection director of the Cannes Film Festival. The French are very interested in how the Chinese can make a film with French style, and now "The Lover" has been successfully registered.
An Hua and her team have returned to Hong Kong. She must complete the post-production of The Lover within a month and send the copy to France. After the film festival selection team completes the preliminary review, it will be determined whether we can be shortlisted for the main competition unit. "
Lin Weimin knew that the Cannes Film Festival Yang Meng mentioned was the "Cannes Film Festival", one of the three major festivals in Europe.
The history of the Cannes Film Festival can be traced back to the 1930s, but the first film festival in the true sense was held on September 20, 1946, when the Cannes International Film Festival was organized by the French Association for Action Artisticis with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Film Federation.
From 1946 to 1986, a full forty years, before Hollywood swept the world film scene with special effects and science fiction films in the 1990s, the influence of the Cannes Film Festival was no less than that of the American Oscars.
Before Gilles Jacob took over the Cannes Film Festival in 1978, the festival's selection principle had always been for the relevant film departments of various countries and regions to select the best films of the year for review and entry.
After Gilles Jacob took over, he made a bold adaptation and changed the Cannes Film Festival's film selection method to independent film selection.
But as the way of film selection changed, a new problem arose.
Films from all countries and regions around the world can be registered for the Cannes Film Festival, but the behind-the-scenes selection team that screens qualified films for the festival is very small.
As a result, the small behind-the-scenes film selection team has gained absolute power, and the matter of nomination becomes particularly casual, which is why Yang Meng stayed in France.
The earliest domestic film to participate in the Cannes Film Festival can be traced back to "A Chinese Ghost Story" directed by Li Hanxiang in 1960. The film was shortlisted for the main competition unit, but unfortunately did not win the grand prize.
In 1962, Li Hanxiang's film Yang Guifei won the Indoor Color Filmmaking Technical Award. This was just a technical award, but it was a breakthrough for Chinese-language films at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1971, Hu Jinquan's film A Touch of Zen also won this honor.
In 1982, The True Story of Ah Q, starring Yan Shunkai, was selected for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for the Palme d'Or, but unfortunately it did not win.
It is certainly a good thing that "The Lover" can participate in the Cannes Film Festival. Even if it does not win an award, as long as it occupies the media's pages, it will play a positive role in the promotion of the film.
This film is destined to have no chance of being released in the mainland market due to its scale. Yang Meng's identity as a ZY filmmaker also makes it impossible for him to gain access to the Taiwan market. Having lost out on two major markets, the film can only find ways to expand in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and naturally, it has to launch a bigger publicity campaign.
Lin Weimin sighed: "Time is very tight!"
The Cannes Film Festival starts registration in mid-March every year and opens in May, so the time left for "The Lover" is indeed very tight.
"Yes! So the post-production cannot be handed over to Shanghai Film Studio."
Efficiency issues are also one of the important reasons why Yang Meng cannot entrust post-production to Shanghai Film Studio.
The movie "The Lover" has French elements, and the actress who plays Jane is a French ZY actress whom Yang Meng took great pains to find. It has unique conditions to participate in the Cannes Film Festival, and Lin Weimin also hopes that it can achieve good results.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Weimin said to Teng Jinxian, "Director Teng, I'm really sorry to cause you trouble."
"Haha, Teacher Lin, you're too polite!"
Yang Meng was in France, so it was not easy for her to contact Lin Weimin by phone. She called the Film Bureau, and the Film Bureau found Lin Weimin to answer the call.
Teng Jinxian is the director of the Film Bureau. In the entire unit, only the phone in his office can make and receive international long-distance calls.
The reason why Yang Meng took so much effort to call Lin Weimin was because she had previously rejected the Shanghai Film Studio.
She had heard from Ann Hui about the relationship between Lin Weimin and Shanghai Film Studio, and also knew that Lin Weimin had asked Shanghai Film Studio for help and support before, so she called to explain.
"I've always heard of your name, but never met you in person. This time I finally see you!"
Teng Jinxian has a plump face and is a rare fat man in this era. When he smiles, he is kind yet a little funny, which makes people feel friendly.
Lin Weimin exchanged pleasantries with him for a while, then offered to leave.
Unexpectedly, Teng Jinxian stopped him and said, "Teacher Lin, please walk slowly. I just have something I want to ask you!"
Lin Weimin immediately said, "I'm not worthy of your advice. What can I do for you?"
(End of this chapter)
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