Chapter 781 Final Confirmation (7000-word update!)
Art is endless.
The end of art is that it never ends, and the perfection of art is that it can never be perfect.
This is what Lu Yanhe and Anna White felt after talking about movies for the past few days.
Before this, Lu Yanhe had almost never talked about movies with someone so intensively.
Previously, he talked most about Chen Siqi.
But that was just "chatting," while with Anna White, it was more than just "chatting." Many times, he had to rack his brains and concentrate to find the right language to express and argue.
To be honest, it was tiring, but also very enjoyable.
-
In the week following the opening ceremony, Lu Yanhe publicly walked the red carpet for three film premieres—
Anna White also asked why he wasn't as "expressive" anymore.
Lu Yanhe said that this was the premiere of a film crew, and he was just invited by the film festival officials or the film crew to make an appearance and help promote the film, so there was no need to be so high-profile.
In fact, for the past week, Lu Yanhe has done nothing but watch movies, sometimes giving interviews to film magazines, and sometimes attending parties and dinners hosted by others.
Anna White's schedule should have been very busy.
However, she put aside all the work she should have done as a film magazine editor at the film festival and devoted all her time to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe was quite surprised.
Lu Yanhe didn't say anything, and even when he had private dinners with friends, he brought Anna White along.
His willingness to let Anna White hear any of his conversations with his friends surprised Anna White, who even asked him about it privately.
"Lu, are you the kind of person with a very performative personality? Do you not need any personal space at all?"
Lu Yanhe: "..."
Lu Yanhe said, "I just do the right thing and have nothing to hide."
-
The premiere of "Yellow Smoke," starring Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian, took place seven days after the opening ceremony.
Although it wasn't a film nominated for the main competition, the event attracted a large number of media representatives because of the international renown of its two lead actors.
With many Chinese filmmakers also attending and walking the red carpet, the event was quite star-studded.
However, the film itself did not receive very high praise.
Anna said that "On the Xunyang River" showed signs of copying and imitation. In fact, "Yellow Smoke" is the one that is truly full of copying and imitation of the master.
The camerawork, color scheme, and style of the entire film appear to be heavily influenced by Liu Bige's "Late Spring".
However, Liu Bige captured the cruelty and pain of youth in a poetic yet realistic way, a skill that Song Hai lacked. In several parts of "Yellow Smoke," the transitions were abrupt, and even the actors' performances failed to reach their best. Furthermore, the shaky camera work deliberately tried to highlight a kind of affected and ethereal quality.
Lu Yanhe was speechless for a moment.
Anna remained silent for a long time, unusually refraining from commenting for an extended period after watching the film.
However, it is customary at film festivals that no matter how good the film is, there will always be applause.
Lu Yanhe naturally stood up and applauded them as well.
But how should I put it? Lu Yanhe had watched so many of Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian's performances, both TV series and movies. Especially Li Zhibai, no matter what the role, he always showed his talent and flair in acting. That relaxed and energetic feeling was unique to him.
But in this movie, Lu Yanhe even felt that all the tension between the two actors was gone.
They became ordinary, decent actors, but failed to move the audience. This wasn't a problem with their acting, but rather the film's style and atmosphere, which suppressed their emotional impact.
The director is no good.
-
Actually, Lu Yanhe was quite supportive of Li Zhibai and Liu Manbo continuing their collaboration on "Grass on the Grass" after the failure of "Nineteen Years of Crime Records".
While "The 19 Years of Crime" has its problems, its strengths are equally obvious, and its weaknesses can be completely eliminated through re-editing.
Lu Yanhe was able to see Liu Manbo's talent and strengths as a director in the film "Nineteen Years of Crime Records".
However, Lu Yanhe will not be able to see the movie "Yellow Smoke".
Lu Yanhe felt it was a great pity.
The movie was mediocre, and the actors were also made to appear mediocre.
-
However, paradoxically, Song Hai, the director of "Yellow Smoke," seemed to have no idea about this.
The applause he received made him believe that he had made a very good film.
After the premiere, Lu Yanhe was chatting with Li Zhibai about the movie when Song Hai suddenly came over, beaming with enthusiasm, and asked, "Yanhe, what do you think of 'Yellow Smoke'? Do you like this movie?"
Seeing the overjoyed smile on Song Hai's face, Lu Yanhe realized that the other party did not realize that the movie was not very good.
"A very unique movie-watching experience," was the only answer Lu Yanhe could give.
Song Hai: "I'm preparing a movie and would like to invite you to star in it. Are you interested?"
Li Zhibai had already told him about this.
However, after watching the movie "Yellow Smoke", Lu Yanhe lost his enthusiasm for working with Song Hai.
Lu Yanhe could only say, "Sure, let's take a look at the script first."
Song Hai: "Then I'll send you the script right away."
"Okay." Lu Yanhe nodded.
Song Hai turned around and started talking to someone else.
Li Zhibai rolled his eyes at Lu Yanhe and said, "You're not a honest person."
"I'm just particular about social etiquette, especially right now," Lu Yanhe asked. "Are you in a good mood?"
“It’s alright,” Li Zhibai said. “But the final product really disappointed me. It’s completely different from what I imagined when we were filming on set. The movie I thought it would be is nothing like the final product.”
Lu Yanhe shrugged.
"Qianqian just apologized to me in a low voice, saying that if she had known the movie would be like this, she wouldn't have recommended me for the role."
"What the hell? Qianqian?" Lu Yanhe was startled, his expression one of utter disbelief. "How disgusting."
Li Zhibai: "What I call my girlfriend is none of your business."
Lu Yanhe: "...I can't take it."
Li Zhibai: "Whether you can stand it or not, sigh, this movie is probably going to get a lot of bad reviews."
"Hang in there."
-
Shortly thereafter, with the release of the first wave of media reviews, the mediocrity and poor quality of "Yellow Smoke" became public knowledge, suddenly putting this film, which was actually quite popular, in a precarious position.
Fortunately, the film's distribution rights were sold in many countries, so there was no loss.
That means the publishers might not be able to make money.
At film festivals, there are always a few films that, after their premiere, receive poor reviews and are even cancelled from distribution, ending up rotting in their own hands.
No one expected that "Yellow Smoke" would be such a movie.
Lu Yanhe ran into Lan Tianqi, the domestic distributor who had previously bought the film "Yellow Smoke"—an old acquaintance of Lu Yanhe's, who had small eyes and looked worried.
“We spent five million to buy the domestic distribution rights for ‘Yellow Smoke’,” Lan Tianqi said with a disgusted expression. “Now we’re stuck with it. At this rate, the domestic box office probably won’t even reach ten million.”
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "It can't be that bad."
The film stars Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian, and the box office revenue alone would exceed this amount just from their fans buying tickets.
While actors' ability to carry a film's box office isn't as exaggerated as some might think, they're not entirely "useless" either.
However, acquiring the domestic distribution rights for "Yellow Smoke" for 5 million RMB appears to be not a buyout, but rather a revenue-sharing model. This makes it quite difficult for "Blue Eyes" to achieve profitability.
Lu Yanhe asked, "President Lan, didn't you watch this movie before signing the contract?"
"There were several companies vying for it at the time, and we had no control whatsoever. In order to secure the issuance rights, we didn't care about anything else," Lan Tianqi said.
Lu Yanhe said, "Even if the film is of good quality, it's an art film, and art films have a limited box office ceiling in China. You don't need to inflate prices, do you?"
“You really underestimate Li Zhibai’s appeal in the domestic film market. Every film company recognizes him,” Lan Tianqi said. “If this movie didn’t have such bad reviews, there would be domestic companies willing to pay more than double the price to take over its domestic distribution.”
"..." Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "You deserve to lose money for doing this."
“It’s alright, weren’t you already acquired by Shijin? You’re not short of money,” Lu Yanhe said.
Lan Tianqi: "Sigh, that's what they say, but I'm worried that this movie will not only lose money, but also ruin its reputation."
"Then let's just not issue it at all and let it stagnate in our hands," Lu Yanhe joked.
Lan Tianqi: "..."
Lu Yanhe asked, "So besides this movie, which other movies did you win this time?"
"We acquired the domestic distribution rights for two films in the main competition," Lan Tianqi said. "The domestic cinema market is sluggish, and people abroad know that too. Fortunately, the distribution rights for these two films were not expensive. We just wanted to buy them to expand our film library."
"Tsk, the films nominated for the main competition at the BiCarlo Film Festival are just for expanding your film library in your hands." Lu Yanhe gave a thumbs up. "You're rich and powerful."
Lan Tianqi: "Stop making fun of us. You keep achieving big results with small investments, making everyone think that movies can achieve big results with small investments. You always use Linghe to criticize us. Do you know how difficult it is for us?"
Lu Yanhe: "That's because we're not like you guys. You don't even watch the films, yet you drive up prices and try to grab the distribution rights for a movie. We don't do that kind of thing."
Lan Tianqi: "If we can produce good films in a stable manner, we won't need to buy films from outside, and we don't want to inflate prices."
“Well then, why don’t you produce it yourself?” Lu Yanhe said. “You’re not without a production department; there have been all sorts of project announcements flying around before.”
Lan Tianqi: "Sigh, it's a long story."
Lu Yanhe: "Then it's hard to say."
He was too lazy to waste words with Lan Tianqi.
After listening to it all, he really deserved it.
Lan Tianqi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Yan He, have you still finalized the distribution plans for those Hollywood movies in China?"
"It has nothing to do with me. The production companies of those films are not Linghe. I have no say in who they sell the distribution rights to." Lu Yanhe drew a clear line.
Blue Sky looked disappointed.
Lu Yanhe ignored it.
-
The day after the premiere of "Yellow Smoke", Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian left Bicarlo.
They had completed their other work in the previous few days and were just waiting for the premiere of "Yellow Smoke".
If the film had been well-received, they might have stayed in Vicario for a couple more days to give interviews and promote the film further. But now, not only are the reviews for the film mediocre, but even their performances have been questioned. How could they possibly stay here any longer?
As A-list celebrities, their teams immediately chose to minimize any public contact with the film "Yellow Smoke".
This is actually quite unfortunate.
The two actors worked on a movie for so long, but because the movie itself wasn't good enough, they started trying to distance themselves from the audience before it was even fully released.
Of course, this is out of utilitarian considerations, but in order to protect oneself, this is the only way.
Lu Yanhe believes that at this moment, both actors and their teams would love for the movie to never be released.
If it is never released, the public will never see this terrible movie.
-
After the second week of the Picardo Film Festival, Lu Yanhe's public work was basically over, with only the dialogue the day after tomorrow and his work as an award presenter on the last day remaining.
In particular, most of the Chinese filmmakers left BiCarlo after the promotion and event schedules for several films came to an end, and Lu Yanhe's private dinners also decreased.
Lu Yanhe specifically invited Anna White and her family out to dinner on the Monday of the second week.
Tucker occasionally ate dinner with them these days, but spent most of his time attending school.
Although he has received an acceptance letter from Harvard, he has not yet graduated from high school and still has some classes at school.
However, some high school students actually stop going to school at this point.
December in Picardo remains sunny and the weather is pleasant.
This is a city favored by God.
During dinner, Tucker asked Lu Yanhe a question very seriously.
“I recently searched for your information online and found out that you were an idol singer before becoming an actor,” Tucker asked. “Why did you become an actor after getting into college? I saw that you actually wrote a lot of songs, and I listened to them; your songs are really good.”
Lu Yanhe said, "For various reasons, it all boils down to the fact that I seem to have more creative passion when it comes to acting."
Tucker: "But you'd never acted before your first TV series?"
"No."
"So you did very well in your first acting role? I saw in your profile that you won a very prestigious award in China for your first acting role."
Lu Yanhe laughed, “There are many reasons for this. First, the TV series I acted in was the work of the best TV director in China. The work itself was good and very popular. Second, I played a character that was very close to me. I was almost playing myself. Fortunately, both the director and my co-star Jiang Yuqian gave me a lot of inspiration, allowing me to act based on my instincts and intuition, which resulted in a good performance. Third, my character died in the end. This tragic character left many viewers feeling uneasy, and the response was very enthusiastic. Fourth, the award was also undergoing reforms at the time, aiming to encourage and support young actors more. All these factors combined were the reason I was able to win the award.”
Tucker looked surprised.
"It sounds like there are so many influencing factors?" he asked. "Isn't the award given to whoever performs the best?"
“I used to think so too, but I later found out that’s not the case.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “In this world, any famous film and television award is not awarded to whoever acts the best. You have to be seen first, then you have to really act well, and finally you have to be lucky enough to have a reason to win among all the competitors. Only then can you have a chance to win the award.”
Tucker frowned. "This doesn't sound very pure."
“That’s right, it’s not very pure.” Lu Yanhe nodded frankly, admitting it.
"Won't this cause problems? Won't this prevent truly capable people from getting recognition in the end?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head: "I can't answer this question either, but that's the reality. All awards are like this. In fact, every award has its own biased standards."
Tucker looked disappointed: "This sounds so boring."
Lu Yanhe looked at Anna and asked, "Anna, what do you think?"
Anna shrugged and said, "I've always only used the results of awards as a reference. In fact, often the final results of a film festival or a so-called award are not consistent with my preferred choices."
Lu Yanhe nodded: "Everyone has their own choices."
Tucker: "Then what's the point of giving awards?"
"I don't know how to answer either," Lu Yanhe said with a smile and a shake of his head.
"You've won many awards."
"yes."
Tucker's expression grew even more surprised. "So you're not going to defend these awards?"
"Actually, compared to awards in other fields, film and television awards are the least in need of maintenance, and maintenance is useless. The audience has its own scale. If the audience and the industry recognize the results of an award, then that award is worthwhile. If the audience and the industry don't recognize it, then it's no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. The film and television industry is an industry that faces the public, and no matter which authority says it, it doesn't count. Time will prove it," said Lu Yanhe.
Tucker fell into a thoughtful state.
Anna said, "Since you brought up this topic, I also have a question to ask. As far as I know, several film festivals have invited you to be a jury member for the main competition. If you had accepted, given your age, you could have broken the record and become the youngest jury member in history. That would have been a very valuable achievement for you. Why did you refuse?"
“Me? The timing isn’t right. I’m always filming or there are other work conflicts,” Lu Yanhe said. “Also, when they approached me before, I didn’t think I was capable of taking on the role of a judge.”
Anna: "But from my conversations with you these past few days, I can tell that you are not someone without your own ideas."
"It's precisely because of this that I don't dare to easily let my thoughts influence the outcome," Lu Yanhe said. "This isn't a film I invest in myself; I'll take responsibility for its quality. But at a top-tier film festival, as a judge, if I have a favorite film, I will definitely fight for it based on reason. I won't care about the big picture or who deserves the award more. If I like it, I will do my best to help it win an award. But I'm also very clear that I wasn't that mature back then. Not to mention back then, I don't even think my aesthetic sense is that mature now."
"There is no concept of maturity or immaturity when it comes to aesthetics."
"Yes, I understand now." Lu Yanhe nodded. "If I were to go now, and time allowed, I would definitely go."
"Hmm? Why is it certain now?"
"When you have the opportunity to fight for some honors for the movies you like, why not?" Lu Yanhe said. "I used to think that people should be sensible and not use their own preferences to measure everything in the world. Now I think, if I don't respect and support my own preferences, why should I expect others to respect and support them?"
Anna White: "You're definitely taking a tougher stance now."
"Is it in expressing my preferences and aesthetics?"
“Yes,” Anna White nodded. “Until a certain age, it’s rare for people to say what they like or dislike so decisively as you do. Now, when commenting on something, I don’t know what’s going on, but everyone starts to say things that are comprehensive, both praising and criticizing, as if that’s the only way to show off their multi-dimensional, comprehensive and multi-faceted thinking.”
"Haha." The sarcastic person is online again.
Lu Yanhe: "I don't like it either."
As they were talking, his phone suddenly started vibrating.
It was Chen Ziyan who called.
"I'll go answer this call first, you guys eat first," Lu Yanhe said.
Anna and the others nodded.
As he stood up, Anna and the others' phones suddenly started ringing with message notifications one after another.
Lu Yanhe glanced at them with some surprise, watching them all pick up their phones. He walked to the side and answered the call himself.
"Sister Ziyan."
"Yanhe, the Jose Film Festival has announced that it will be held in different parts of the world starting next year, and will begin accepting applications from various cities from the next edition onwards," Chen Ziyan said. "The next edition will be held in Yuming."
finally!
Upon hearing this good news, Lu Yanhe showed excitement and joy.
"Very good!"
“Besides the people from the Film Association, leaders from the State Administration of Radio and Television also contacted me to express their gratitude,” Chen Ziyan said. “They want to meet with you when you come back.”
"Ha ha."
"In addition, Wu Yang also hopes that you can serve as the chairman of the selection committee for the next Jose Film Festival," Chen Ziyan said. "That's the one he told you about before."
"Really?"
“Yes.” Chen Ziyan nodded. “This is also a reform that the Jose Film Festival will implement starting from the next edition. From now on, the selection committee will decide the films shortlisted for the main competition in each edition.”
Lu Yanhe said, "This—"
He said, "Okay, if he really wants to—and not just being polite—I'm willing to do the job. We'll clear our schedules. It's the first time the Jose Film Festival has been held in China, and I have to be there where I'm needed."
“Hmm,” Chen Ziyan said, “That’s necessary. I’ll go talk to Wu Yang. Apart from you, I estimate that the other members will all be foreigners. It’s impossible to hold the film festival in China. You’re the chairman of the selection committee, and the next member will also be Chinese. You’ll probably still have a tough battle to fight.”
"It's alright," Lu Yanhe said. "I've already chaired the judging panel once, so I have a better grasp of things and I'm not nervous anymore."
Chen Ziyan: "Okay, sure."
"This is truly wonderful news," Lu Yanhe exclaimed again. "It's fantastic! Has the announcement been made yet?"
“It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but I estimate the news has already spread among many people,” Chen Ziyan said. “Oh my god, Variety magazine just published an exclusive report, this news has been leaked, and some media people have already commented that the sudden formation of this film selection committee and the invitation to you to be the chairman means that Chinese capital is starting to erode art film festivals. We need to do public relations quickly, this public opinion is not right.”
Lu Yanhe: "Let's let things play out for a while and ask Wu Yang. They must have made contingency plans for all sorts of situations."
"Mm," Chen Ziyan replied.
"I'll hang up now, I'm having dinner with Anna's family." Lu Yanhe suddenly remembered the simultaneous notification sounds on all of their phones when he answered the phone, realizing that they had probably all seen the message.
Lu Yanhe said, "I'm hanging up."
"Okay, bye-bye." Chen Ziyan said, "If you encounter reporters asking you about this in the next few days, please don't respond first. We can't take the initiative to speak; we have to let Wu Yang announce the news."
"Okay, understood." Lu Yanhe said and hung up the phone.
He returned to the dining table.
Anna and the others looked at him with some surprise.
"Is this true?" Anna waved her phone in her hand.
Lu Yanhe said, "My agent just called me and was talking about this, but I can't answer you right now because nothing is confirmed yet, and I'm waiting for the final confirmation."
Anna took a deep breath.
"If the Jose Film Festival isn't held in Jose, what kind of Jose Film Festival is it?" Tucker asked directly.
Lu Yanhe said, "I know that the Jose Film Festival has been looking for new sponsors, but the local government is unwilling to continue funding them. If they don't find new sponsors, they will face cancellation."
Anna asked incredulously, "Has it gotten that serious?"
“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “In order to ensure the independence of the film festival, the Jose Film Festival has always controlled its sponsors and prevented the film festival from being affected by too many external factors. As a result, once the local government stopped sponsoring it, it became very difficult for them to continue operating.”
(End of this chapter)
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