Chapter 72
The day before the release of "Light and Shadow 7", they held a premiere ceremony.
The ceremony was held at the Yanjing Film Museum. Unlike the previous premiere held here by Qiao Yiqiao, this time the premiere of "Light and Shadow 7" booked all ten theaters of the film museum, which was extraordinary.
Early in the morning, Qiao Yi Qiao and Li Wei landed in Yanjing together. They first went to the Elf Center to rest for a while.
At noon, Teacher Bai Qiu also came here with his two apprentices and joined everyone.
Although Qiao Yiqiao really wanted Xiao He, Xia Longlong and others to come, this time "Light and Shadow 7" was very grand, and each crew had many star actors. In order to maintain order on the stage, director Zheng Mao only allowed the director, screenwriter and main creators of each film to go on stage.
Even so, Qiao Yiqiao still fought for his several leading actors to be on stage. Their group had the most leading actors, so Zheng Mao agreed.
Everyone had lunch at the Elf Center. In the afternoon, the stylist came to do everyone's hair. The five of them crowded in the living room, waiting for the stylist to do their makeup.
Qiao Yiqiao suddenly discovered that Teacher Bai Qiu's hands couldn't stop shaking.
"Teacher Bai," Qiao Yiqiao asked worriedly, "what's wrong with you?"
Teacher Bai Qiu covered his hands a little embarrassedly: "Nothing."
Li Wei also became nervous: "Are you feeling unwell? Can I help you take a look?"
"No, no, I'm really fine," Teacher Bai Qiu said embarrassedly, "I'm just... a little nervous."
"ah?"
When he said this, his students all laughed. The male student asked, "Master, what are you so nervous about?"
"I haven't been in public for a long time," Bai Qiu scratched his head, "I haven't been on stage for more than 30 years, and I'm dressed so formally..."
Today, Teacher Bai Qiu and his male apprentice chose Zhongshan suits, which are both formal and have some traditional elements, while the female apprentice wore cheongsams.
In fact, it is not very grand.
But Qiao Yiqiao could understand Teacher Bai Qiu's thoughts.
He had been away from the stage for too long since losing his son, and every artist would feel uneasy at this time.
Li Wei was still worried, so he walked over to help Teacher Bai Qiu check, and then he breathed a sigh of relief: "I was even more nervous than you when I attended the premiere for the first time. Just treat everyone in the audience as a big carrot."
Bai Qiu nodded: "I know, I can
Adjust back. I just don’t know if they will like our performance?”
"You will know after watching Six Masks," Li Wei consoled him. "So many people like Six Masks, they will like Nuo even more!"
"But……"
Teacher Bai Qiu was still not at ease, because this was his first performance in Nuo in more than 20 years, and he was always worried that he might not do it well here or there.
What's more, today's event is much bigger than the release of "Six Masks".
In order to spend money wisely, Qiao Yiqiao did not allow "Six Masks" to premiere, so this is really the first time that Teacher Bai Qiu has appeared in front of the public in 20 or 30 years.
Qiao Yi Qiao keenly noticed that although Teacher Bai Qiu was nervous and uneasy, there seemed to be some hidden, indescribable emotions in his eyes.
He thought for a moment, said he had something to do, and left.
…
At the premiere in the evening, although Teacher Bai Qiu's hands were no longer shaking, he was visibly more tense.
Especially before the red carpet, Teacher Bai Qiu looked at the stars making their shining appearance, and his face became as hard as a rock, without any gentle expression at all.
His two disciples, including Li Wei, were trying to persuade him to be at ease, but Teacher Bai Qiu still looked unhappy.
It was soon the turn of the members of their "Nuo" troupe to walk on the red carpet. Teacher Bai Qiu's face became more and more gloomy, and what made them even more anxious was that Qiao Yi Qiao did not show up either.
He said he had something to do and left in the afternoon. Before he set off, he just sent a WeChat message to Li Wei asking them to go first and they would meet up again when they arrived at the scene.
But it is still missing till now.
Just when everyone was starting to get nervous because of the disappearance of Teacher Bai Qiu and Qiao Yi Qiao, Qiao Yi Qiao suddenly appeared.
He took out several brooches in the shape of Nuo opera masks from his pocket and pinned them on each of them.
When it came to Teacher Bai Qiu, Qiao Yiqiao's movements were particularly gentle.
"Teacher Bai," Qiao Yiqiao said, "can you recognize the shape of this mask?"
Teacher Bai Qiu's attention was diverted and he looked down.
Unexpectedly, for a long while, Teacher Bai Qiu stood there in a daze, unable to utter a word.
His apprentice recognized it and was also shocked: "Isn't this... the mask that Teacher Bai drew for his son before?"
Teacher Bai Qiu gently touched the small brooch with her fingertips, and her expression suddenly softened.
This is what he had been doing before.
He wanted to give the mask to his son, but his son passed away before he finished painting it.
So he never finished the mask and placed it in a corner of the sanatorium.
He looked up at Qiao Yiqiao.
There are indescribable emotions in his eyes.
"I dared to ask Xia Longlong from our art group to help you finish this mask and make it into a small brooch," Qiao Yiqiao said softly, "You can take it and him on stage together later. I don't believe in ghosts and gods, but I believe that after the death, people will be watching the living from somewhere, and your son will be happy to see you perform Nuo opera again."
Teacher Bai Qiu sighed, touched the small brooch repeatedly, and then held Qiao Yiqiao's hand. After a long while, only Nan Nan said: "Thank you... Thank you so much..."
He couldn't imagine how delicate the young man in front of him was, as he could see the deepest emotions in his heart.
He also couldn't imagine how busy the other party was that afternoon, having to go to the sanatorium to take pictures, then send them back to Heng City, have Xia Longlong design them, and then get these small brooches.
He only knew that Qiao Yi Qiao was not only willing to work hard for the Nuo opera, but also willing to take care of the emotions of an old man like him.
Teacher Bai Qiu let out a long sigh and felt much calmer.
Li Wei and his two disciples watched him regain his former composure, and they finally felt at ease.
A group of people walked onto the red carpet in a lively manner, and this small brooch mask became a highlight of their collective look, attracting countless photographers to take pictures, with excellent results.
After that, the premiere ceremony proceeded as planned.
After Qiao Yi Qiao and the others came on stage, they looked at the audience and several people took a collective deep breath.
To be honest, Qiao Yiqiao has seen big scenes before.
But seeing the hundreds of guests in the audience, all of them familiar with the Chinese film and television industry, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: There are so many people!
The host introduced the crew members.
But in fact, there is no need for much introduction. The directors and actors in each group are familiar faces, and the audience is applauding enthusiastically.
Qiao Yiqiao suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of emotion from the bottom of his heart.
He looked at Li Wei, looked at Bai Qiu, looked at the stars from other crews, and looked at the audience...
He really led everyone and stood with them.
Because the others are all big names, the host deliberately introduced Qiao Yiqiao's crew members.
It took some work.
He even carefully explained the background of Master Bai Qiu and his two disciples, which won him the warmest applause from the audience.
This is the natural respect that people in the film and television industry have for veteran artists.
Qiao Yi Qiao looked at Director Zheng Mao gratefully, and the other party smiled at him in return.
He knew that this must have been a deliberate suggestion by Director Zheng Mao.
After that, the premiere process began. The host guided the crews of each short film to talk about interesting things during the filming, the difficulties encountered, etc. The atmosphere on the scene was very lively.
As usual, the host deliberately interacted with Teacher Bai Qiu for a while and even introduced a lot of Nuo opera culture. Teacher Bai Qiu gradually relaxed and began to enjoy the ceremony.
The guests at the scene were also listening very attentively.
Although they don't know much about Nuo opera, it's hard not to resonate with each other as they are in the same art field.
And this ceremony ended with Teacher Bai Qiu's words.
"...I am actually just an ordinary person. When I was young, I insisted on one thing. Later, I backed off and became afraid, but I stood up again." Teacher Bai Qiu touched his chest, where his heart was, and there was a small brooch. "Movies and Nuo opera are both art. They are both communication and exchanges between artists and audiences. If everyone can gain some small comfort from these arts, or even just relax, then my life, and our lives, will be worth it. Thank you everyone."
As soon as Teacher Bai Qiu finished speaking, the lights at the scene gradually dimmed.
The first global screening of "Light and Shadow 7" officially begins.
The crew members on the stage also retreated backstage.
After that, it’s the stage for the audience.
All crew members returned to the lounge, and many people, such as Qiao Yi Qiao and Bai Qiu, quietly walked to the back of the theater.
They all want to seriously see their works appear on the big screen.
Moreover, Qiao Yi Qiao also wanted to see what other directors' films were like.
Just as he was watching attentively, a familiar person walked up to him.
"Director Qiao, congratulations on making it this far," Wang Yige looked at Qiao Yiqiao, "I've seen it before, your short film is great. At least, I like it very much. I think yours is as good as mine."
When Qiao Yi Qiao heard this, he could hardly believe it.
Wang Yige has always been
He is an extremely proud director, which could be seen from his brief contact with the fledgling project.
I didn't expect him to come here like this today to congratulate me.
Although this rhetoric... is still quite unpleasant.
"Thank you, Director Wang," Qiao Yiqiao smiled, "I never thought that one day my work would appear on the big screen at the same time as yours."
"Yeah," Wang Yige nodded, "I didn't expect that either."
The two were silent for a moment.
Wang Yige suddenly asked, "Did you turn down the movie 'New Year'?"
"Chinese New Year"?
It took Qiao Yiqiao a while to realize that this was the monster movie that Smith wanted him to direct.
"Yes," Qiao Yiqiao nodded, "It doesn't fit with my creative philosophy, so I turned it down."
"Oh." Wang Yige was silent for a while, then said, "I picked up."
Qiao Yiqiao looked at Wang Yige in confusion.
This is not the type of film that Wang Yige usually shoots, and the quality is not very good, but he actually accepted it?
But then Qiao Yi Qiao also understood.
Smith has been looking for a famous or powerful Chinese director to support the project, and Wang Yige is already one of the Chinese directors with the best box office performance.
More importantly, Wang Yige's works are all the same, to put it bluntly, but very stable, to put it nicely. He is not like Wu Gong, who wants to come up with any innovation within a fixed genre.
Just met Smith's requirements.
"You should understand the value of being able to film for Hollywood," Wang Yige said calmly, "This may be an opportunity that all Chinese directors dream of. Do you really not want your name to be known by the whole world?"
"Of course I want to," Qiao Yiqiao replied, "but..."
"Light and Shadow VII is such a great springboard," Wang Yige interrupted, "You've already taken the first step toward the world, why not take another step? I told you in the fledgling project that sometimes you may need to compromise."
compromise?
Qiao Yiqiao's face darkened.
"If you're willing, you can come and work with me on Celebrating the New Year," Wang Yige looked at Qiao Yiqiao, "I'm still in need of a co-director, so we can be equals and move forward together."
Qiao Yiqiao just then understood why the other party came to see him.
Wang Yige is not very familiar with monster movies, which focus on effects, so he needs a co-director to direct them.
On the one hand, Qiao Yiqiao felt very emotional that his former "mentor" actually needed his help.
On the other hand, Qiao Yi Qiao found it a little funny. Wang Yige was supposed to help with something, but he couldn't save his pride and still looked like "I'm teaching you how to do things."
Indeed, Wang Yige is already one of the top directors in China, and it is not easy for him to say something like "on an equal footing".
But... Qiao Yiqiao just didn't want to do what he didn't want to do. Wang Yige had never helped him in any way, so there was no need for him to do it out of favor.
"No," Qiao Yiqiao refused directly after thinking of this. "I have made a bet with your beloved disciple Wu Gong before, so I will make a bet with you as well."
Wang Yige was a little surprised: "What bet?"
"Let's bet on whose name will be known to the world first," Qiao Yi Qiao grinned, "I bet it's me, what about you?"!
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