"Me, the festival president?"
Although Zhou Yiyang had long known that Ning Mang was very powerful, he never expected that the first opportunity this man gave him would be to let him be the chairman of the film festival.
Isn't this a bit too big a step...
Ning Mang subconsciously laughed out loud at Zhou Yiyang's incredulous look.
"Old Zhou, I think you may not know much about the First Film Festival." Ning Mang glanced at Zhou Yiyang's untouched cup of tea and silently poured him a new cup.
Zhou Yiyang was also very tactful and took a sip of the tea. It was indeed good tea.
"It's just a rising star among us filmmakers. To be more precise, among us young filmmakers."
Zhou Yiyang nodded continuously, he knew what Ning Mang was going to say.
"Compared to the three major awards, the vast majority of audiences across the country haven't even heard of it. Even actors in the industry don't know much about it, and even fewer are willing to come."
"Yes, I know." Zhou Yiyang smiled. "But in my heart, it still carries a lot of weight. It's really contributing to our country's film industry, discovering and training outstanding young filmmakers."
"I know you've always been very conscious." Ning Mang sighed, "But others aren't like you. Our film festival has been running for three years, but it's always been confined to a small circle, invisible to the outside world. Our original intention was to discover new filmmakers, but what happens after we discover them? They still have no one to see them, and they still have no films to shoot."
"So you hope that as this year's chairman, I can bring you traffic?" Zhou Yiyang raised his eyebrows.
"That's about it." Ning Mang scratched his head. "I think you have a lot of ideas and know everything. Maybe you can introduce something new to our film festival and change the current situation?"
"In that case, I'll give it a try!"
Although he is humble, Zhou Yiyang will not push away such a rare opportunity.
But he only has one month now, so it is unknown how big a change he can make.
This world's first film festival seemed quite immature. There were few awards, not many participants, and as Ning Mang had just said, there were very few celebrities who came here.
As a result, many people don’t even know about it, and investors don’t pay much attention to this film festival. Without capital, the directors selected will still be stuck in the same place.
Unless they are lucky enough to be noticed by a big director.
From this perspective, the first film festival really needs to break out of its circle.
Ning Mang was so concerned about this matter that Zhou Yiyang looked at him with more respect.
This guy really loves movies.
"But aren't you worried that this will turn the film festival into an entertainment event? Ultimately, it will go against your original intention."
"It would be a lie to say I'm not worried," Ning Mang gulped down a glass of water. "I can only hope the judges can stick to their original intentions. As long as the jury can ensure fairness, I believe this award won't become just an entertainment event."
"Well, I don't want it to lose its credibility in my hands. If I were the chairman, would those young directors be dissatisfied?"
"It's possible." Ning Mang felt much better after seeing Zhou Yiyang agree, and he even joked with him. "But I remember that your new movie is almost finished, Old Zhou. Why not show the first version directly at our film festival?"
"You're not trying to trick me so that you can watch my new movie first!" Zhou Yiyang raised the corner of his mouth.
Jokes aside, he was considering this suggestion very seriously.
The filming progress of "Sunny" has exceeded expectations. If it is released during the National Day holiday, it will be time for the media premiere in July and August.
Given this, he screened "Sunny" at the First Film Festival, which would have generated more buzz. This would have been beneficial for both the film and the festival itself.
Moreover, the previous first film festival process was too boring. It just introduced the new directors of the year, everyone went on stage to speak and look forward to the future, awards were given, and it ended.
If we learn from other film festivals and fix the opening film, it will also make the film festival itself more interesting.
Ning Mang looked at Zhou Yiyang's expression and knew that he must have heard it.
"Anyway," he patted Zhou Yiyang on the shoulder, reassuring him, "I've been sponsoring the First Film Festival since its inception. So don't worry, no one will object to you being the chairman. And even if you make drastic changes, I will absolutely support you!"
"As long as it can help China's film industry flourish!"
Ning Mang's sudden rise in value caught Zhou Yiyang off guard.
But there is indeed a fire burning in my heart.
"Why do I feel like you've dragged me into this pirate ship?"
After the two finished chatting, Ning Mang called his cousin and went to the restaurant for dinner.
"Boss Zhou," Ni Junyan poured Zhou Yiyang a glass of wine and said coquettishly, "Are you still angry with me?"
"No." Zhou Yiyang usually saw the tomboyish side of Yue Shao and the other girls, so he was quite uncomfortable when he suddenly met a girl who acted like a spoiled child.
"Then could you do me a favor?"
At this time, Ning Mang said unhappily, "I should have persuaded Second Uncle not to let you go abroad. Look at you now. You don't even know how to eat properly."
"Brother!" Ni Junyan snorted, "Your tone of voice right now is exactly like uncle's!"
"What help?" Zhou Yiyang was amused by the interaction between the brother and sister.
"Can Helian Bei sing a song for me personally?"
"I'm not familiar with him," Zhou Yiyang couldn't help but complain in his heart. Ni Junyan looked like a spoiled young lady. "And I don't think he would be willing. But if you force him to come, he shouldn't be able to refuse, right?"
"If we force him, he'll definitely come!" Ni Junyan pouted. "But that would be boring. I thought you, Boss Zhou, were very familiar with all the celebrities in the industry! Oh, and I also like Yue Shao. Can you give me two tickets to their concert?"
"That's no problem."
Zhou Yiyang stayed in the capital for the next few days. Ning Mang, having gained his trust, treated him well. He brought him to meet many people in the industry, and those directors and investors were all very friendly to Zhou Yiyang, praising his promising young talent.
Of course, I also met some young directors. Initially, they were very dissatisfied with Zhou Yiyang's appointment as the director of this year's film festival. However, after Zhou Yiyang shared the theories he had learned from the great Kubrick, these directors changed their attitudes and believed that Zhou Yiyang, like them, was also a director with artistic aspirations.
In Shanghai, a car carrying the most popular girl group quietly drove into an alley.
At the back of the alley is a gymnasium where the finals of the variety show "Dancing King" will be broadcast live tonight.
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