Chapter 640 Let Lin see my sincerity
Roberto Benigni made his debut in 1972 with the comedy one-man show "Jonny Mario". In 1977, he wrote the screenplay and starred in the film "Berlinger, I Love You" and began to emerge in the Italian film industry.
In 1988, he starred in his first English-language crime comedy "The Outlaws", and won the Silver Ribbon Award for Best Actor from the Italian Film Journalists Association, attracting attention from the Italian film industry.
After entering the 1990s, he embarked on the path of writing, directing and acting in his own films. In 1991, the film "Johnny Stecchino" which he wrote, directed and acted in was a huge success as soon as it was released and won the box office championship in Italy last year.
Roberto Benigni naturally became the hottest comedy star in Italy.
Bertolucci took Lin Weimin to appear in front of the guests. He seemed particularly excited, clapping and whistling, and also encouraged the people around him to clap more enthusiastically.
Standing next to him was his new wife, Nicoletta Braschi, who pulled Roberto Bernini and whispered, "My dear, please calm down!"
Roberto Benigni didn't pay attention to his wife's words. Instead, he shouted to her excitedly: "Lin! Lin! Nicole, "Life is Beautiful Anyway"!"
Nicoletta Braschi looked at her childish husband with some headache. As his bedmate, she was of course aware of his love for Life Is Beautiful Anyway. Coincidentally, this novel won the Strega Literary Award. It was not surprising that her husband had such a warm reaction when meeting the author himself today. This was in line with his usual character.
Bertolucci took Lin Weimin and introduced the guests who came today one by one. There were about twenty of them, most of whom were well-known figures in the Italian film and television circles, but the one that Lin Weimin was most interested in was the "little bald curly-haired man" who had just appeared like a show of support.
Bertolucci introduced a middle-aged man who looked somewhat similar to him to Lin Weimin. This was his younger brother Giuseppe Bertolucci, who was also an excellent director, but not as famous as his brother internationally.
Giuseppe Bertolucci pulled over the extremely excited Roberto Benigni and introduced him to Lin Weimin.
The two are good friends who have known each other since the 1970s. In the early 1970s, Benigni performed one-man comedy shows in an avant-garde experimental theater in Rome and gained some fame.
Then he met Giuseppe Bertolucci, Bernardo Bertolucci's younger brother, and the two made a movie "Berlinger, I Love You" based on Bernini's rural life stories, which was a huge success in Italy.
Giuseppe Bertolucci was the director and screenwriter of this film, while Roberto Benigni was the screenwriter and leading actor of this film.
Seeing that he was finally introduced, Roberto Benigni couldn't wait to shake Lin Weimin's hand with fiery enthusiasm.
"Mr. Lin, I am your loyal reader. I love the novel "Life is Beautiful Anyway". Do you have any plans to make this novel into a movie? I can act in it for free, and I can be the director and screenwriter. I am versatile..."
Nicoletta Braschi helplessly held her husband and gave Lin Weimin an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, he really likes your work so much that he lost his composure."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It's okay."
Roberto Benigni's performance is consistent with Lin Weimin's perception of him. This guy is the kind of person who can make people kneel down at an award ceremony. When he gets crazy, ordinary people can't stop him.
As a comedian, the pressure is much greater than that of ordinary actors, so it is completely understandable that they let their emotions run wild occasionally.
“Thank you for your recognition of this work.”
"Mr. Lin, you may not know that my father spent two years in a German Nazi concentration camp. He has told me many times about that dark and tragic experience, but he did not tell the story from a hateful or hostile perspective, but with humor. This had a profound impact on me.
So I was deeply moved after reading your novel, which is exactly what my father experienced.”
Lin Weimin had a warm smile on his face, "Really? It seems that we are really destined to be together. If there is a chance, we can cooperate."
Roberto Benigni was ecstatic when he heard this, and wanted to pull Lin Weimin aside to continue chatting, but was stopped by his wife beside him.
Today is director Bertolucci's party, and it is also the first time I meet Lin Weimin, so the occasion is not appropriate.
Roberto Benigni listened to his wife and stopped talking about film adaptation. He lifted up a corner of his suit with his hand. Nicoletta Braschi, who was standing next to him, saw her husband's action and couldn't help but cover half of her face with her hand.
Roberto Benigni opened his suit, revealing his belt, and a book was stuck in his right abdomen.
Roberto Benigni pulled a book out of his belt with a rude yet somewhat funny movement. It was a brand new copy of "Life is Beautiful Anyway" with a waistband.
"I have read your book several times, and I bought this one specially to get it signed."
Afraid that Lin Weimin would misunderstand him as a fake book fan, Roberto Benigni made a special explanation.
What Lin Weimin cared about was not whether the books were new or old, but the location of the books, which was really unexpected.
If you put it down a little further, I really can't take it.
Bertolucci laughed and said, "Lin, Roberto is a famous comedian in Italy."
Lin Weimin smiled and nodded, took the book, carefully signed his name on the title page, and also wrote a blessing.
"To Mr. Roberto Benigni: I wish you to become a great actor like Chaplin!"
Lin Weimin wrote everything in Chinese, and Roberto Benigni didn't understand what he meant. But after listening to Lin Weimin's words, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.
"Mr. Lin, Chaplin has always been my idol. Thank you so much!"
After Roberto Benigni finished speaking, he suddenly rushed up and gave Lin Weimin a warm hug, catching everyone off guard.
After chatting for a few more sentences, Roberto Benigni still felt a little reluctant to leave, but Lin Weimin was pulled away by Bertolucci.
Bertolucci pulled Lin Weimin aside to talk about his new movie. The two had previously collaborated on "The Last Emperor", so Bertolucci recognized Lin Weimin's abilities.
The movie "The Sheltering Sky" has a Douban score of 7.9, but an IMDB score of only 6.8, which is considered passing, but can hardly be called excellent. It failed in both awards and box office. Bertolucci is somewhat anxious about the preparations for the filming of the last work of the "Oriental Trilogy".
In recent years, several of Bertolucci's films have been invested with tens of millions of dollars. However, the larger the investment in art films, the greater the possibility of losing both reputation and box office. Works like "The Last Emperor" are destined to be rare, and Bertolucci's anxiety is understandable.
"Old Bay, I think your biggest problem right now is that you don't have the right position. You are making an art film, you can't aim for both awards and box office. If you always hold on to this mentality, problems are bound to occur. Just like when Hollywood makes commercial films, they don't demand an Oscar."
"But my film investment is too huge!" Bertolucci sighed.
Lin Weimin also knew very well that this was the core of all the problems Bertolucci was facing now.
Putting the two words "big investment" and "art film" together is a paradox in itself.
Only a world-renowned director like Baylor is qualified to receive such treatment, but investors are not doing charity after all.
"If you ask me what I think, I have only one suggestion, which is to reduce investment."
Lin Weimin's words made Bertolucci feel heavy-hearted. When he was silent, Giuseppe Bertolucci asked on behalf of his old friend Roberto Benigni: "This time, Life Is Beautiful won the Strega Prize. If Mr. Lin plans to make a movie, my friend is indeed a very good choice. He just starred in an American movie two years ago and is quite famous there. His style is also in line with this novel."
Lin Weimin glanced at Roberto Benigni who was not far away. He was still paying attention to this side, obviously concerned about the effect of Giuseppe Bertolucci's persuasion of Lin Weimin.
"The style of Life Is Beautiful is indeed different from other novels, so it is very difficult to adapt it into a movie. In addition, the novel has a polarized reputation among the Jewish community, and if it is made into a movie, it may even cause resistance."
Seeing Lin Weimin's ambiguous attitude, Giuseppe Bertolucci said, "Mr. Lin, could you please leave your contact information? Roberto does have some ideas about this novel, so why not communicate slowly in the future?"
Lin Weimin said happily: "Of course you can."
"Life is Beautiful Anyway" was written by Lin Weimin based on the movie "Life is Beautiful". Roberto Benigni is the leading actor, screenwriter and director of "Life is Beautiful". He has three identities and he is the well-deserved soul of the movie.
If Life Is Beautiful is ever to be adapted into a film, Roberto Benigni would be the perfect choice.
However, he had just met Roberto Benigni today, and it would be a bit too hasty to hand over the adaptation rights so easily. It would be better to wait a little longer.
Moreover, in addition to Roberto Benigni, the director, screenwriter and leading actor of the original "Life is Beautiful", there were two other people that Lin Weimin was most concerned about.
Ennio Morricone is Italy's most famous and prolific film music master and composer. He has composed music for more than 400 films, including "The Legend of 1900", "Lolita", "The Malèna", "Cinema Paradiso", "Once Upon a Time in America" and "Dollars". He has also been nominated for Oscars many times.
Gianni Amelio is an Italian director whose film "Open Your Heart" was nominated for an Academy Award last year.
The reason why Lin Weimin noticed the two people was because they had been confirmed to serve as judges for the Venice Film Festival to be held in early September.
Zhang Yimou's "Qiu Ju: A Story of a Woman" will soon be competing for the Golden Lion Award at this year's Venice Film Festival. When Lin Weimin told the two about this movie, they immediately understood.
Last year, Zhang Yimou won the Silver Lion Award in Venice with "Raise the Red Lantern". He made a comeback this year and the organizing committee attached great importance to his work.
When they heard Lin Weimin say that he had helped to attract investment for Zhang Yimou's debut film, the two immediately understood what Lin Weimin meant.
When it comes to film festival awards, the quality of the film itself is important, but relationships within the circle are equally important.
Although Lin Weimin is confident in the quality of "Qiu Ju Goes to Court", it always doesn't hurt to give a little more advice.
I recommend this rebirth novel "Restart, the Fiery Years" by You Miao. The writing style is mature and it feels great to read.
Introduction: Back to the year 2000, Chu An is like an outsider, watching the dramatic changes of the times and enjoying his fiery youth.
He didn't want to do the servant job he had in his previous life anymore, but the broken car of fate couldn't leave the old rut. He still became the man behind those successful women.
The behind-the-scenes king of that era.
(End of this chapter)
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