New Age Artists

Chapter 659: Collapse of Three Views
Sanlitun Embassy District.

In a cafe called Old Bookworm, Ning Hao was chatting with two foreigners with his translator.

One was a middle-aged white man and the other was black.

This coffee shop has a strong international atmosphere and is often used by independent filmmakers for informal gatherings.

The situation in "No Man's Land" is slightly better than in the previous life.

Because of "The Lost Tomb", the cocoon of the Western media image of the frontier was temporarily broken, and "No Man's Land" was subsequently approved for release.

There was not enough time to promote the film during the Lunar New Year holiday, and we didn’t dare to release it during the Spring Festival holiday.

This year's Spring Festival period is called the Devil's Spring Festival period in the industry. It is led by Shen Santong and produced by Santong Entertainment for many years with "The Return of the Great Sage", as well as Stephen Chow's famous "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

It is definitely a collision between two strong dramas. The subject matter of "No Man's Land" is relatively depressing, and it will be crushed by the two dramas during the Spring Festival.

So we plan to release it in the summer season in June this year.

It can't be delayed either, as this drama takes too long and investors including Ning Hao urgently need it to be released to get their money back.

If it is released before June, it will not be able to make it to Venice, so it will be Berlin or Cannes.

If conditions permit, a film will usually be screened at an international film festival first. Even if it does not necessarily win an award, it can be used to create hype and is a commonly used method of promoting films.

Both the Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals were very fond of No Man's Land.

Not only the film subject matter, the fact that Ning Hao's play has not been released for many years also fits the stereotype that Dongda restricts directors' creations.

If a film wants to be shown at the three major film festivals, the major producers and production companies have connections and channels and can communicate directly with the film selectors, or seek help from institutions such as the China Film Archive or the Film Association to help with recommendations.

Small filmmakers either wait to be selected or take copies to film festivals to try their luck and win awards.

Ning Hao's status is different now, and he is qualified to bargain with the film festival.

The three major European film festivals only give awards to films that premiere at their own film festivals.

These film festivals have ideological purposes behind them, but their survival depends on the market. Film festivals are actually markets for selling movies.

Those that sell well will naturally have a greater influence. After being recognized by film festival awards, the price of the copyright can be greatly increased, and the higher the value of the film festival.

Ning Hao didn't have a very thorough understanding in the past, but his thinking has changed over the years, and he gradually understood what Shen Santong had said in the past.

Ideology is the goal, but it also carries hidden agenda.

If a film festival only has private products but no market, it cannot survive. It is too expensive to rely solely on funds, and the sponsors behind it cannot provide endless funds.

There is competition among the three major European film festivals, and there is also competition between the three major European film festivals and the Oscars.

It was very subtle, but Ning Hao began to be able to feel and even participate in the deep operating logic behind the industry.

Two foreigners, a white man named Friedrich.

The other party directly bypassed the Berlin Film Festival's regional consultant at the University of Tokyo and came to communicate with Ning Hao about "No Man's Land".

Generally, regional consultants are responsible for the film selection work of the Lin Film Festival on the Dongda side. They will not appear in the media and there is very little public information about them.

Every film festival has a selector.

Responsible for the screening of films around the world, such as the Berlin Film Festival, the main competition unit, the forum unit, the panorama unit, etc., and different regions may have different film selectors in charge.

For film recommendations for specific regions, we will rely on regional consultants or work with local film organizations and curators to help discover and recommend excellent films.

The white man in front of him, Friedrich, is the head of the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival. He is an important and powerful figure in the film festival, a close confidant of the artistic director Dieter Kosslick, and represents the other party's will.

As for the other black man, he calls himself a cultural activist.

Ning Hao could more or less guess the other party's identity.

As he left Santong Entertainment, he was approached by all kinds of people, including those from outside the industry.

I heard that the person in charge in the past was called Smith, a big shot in the circle, and he was replaced by Commissioner James last year.

Rumors about James also spread in the circle. Although he is black, he is very white at heart and is definitely an elite.

Western media front pages, selections, endorsements, and awards.
Becoming each other's friend may result in rewards.

Friedrich said, "Mr. Ning Hao, the Berlin Film Festival is a film festival with a long tradition. I can only say that when the main competition unit is officially announced on January 1, there is a high probability that No Man's Land will be included."

After hearing what the translator said, Ning Hao shook his head. He sounded tough, but his heart was full of mixed feelings. "No, not only do I need to be 100% qualified for the main competition, I also need to be given the Golden Bear Award."

What they are talking about now is no different from bargaining for vegetables in the market.

Film art has become something to be sold.

Ning Hao followed Guangtou Xu's suggestion, gave it a try, and reached this point today in just a few days.

The other party was really anxious and really needed him.

The more successful the plan was, the more Ning Hao's three views collapsed.

This is the Berlin Film Festival!
Friedrich firmly refused: "The Golden Bear Award depends on the choice of the jury. Of course, if you premiere No Man's Land in Berlin, even if it is not selected for the main competition unit, it will win in other units. We will help our friends."

The Berlin Film Festival usually adopts a phased announcement strategy. Due to its importance, the main competition unit will be announced separately to attract media attention.

Friedrich was not happy about today's meeting from the beginning.

The Berlin Film Festival is one of the temples of film art, and directors, especially those from the University of Tokyo, need to pursue it carefully.

Just like shopping points in a supermarket, you have to accumulate enough points to redeem prizes.

You need to redeem it at a specific time, such as membership day, and you have to queue up early to redeem what you want.

The Berlin Film Festival is even more demanding, and requires consideration of various factors, such as policy direction, producers in the international market, and even mood, which is random.

If you want to give, give; if you don’t want to give, don’t give.

In this way, it will be able to better maintain its own status and tame non-Western directors, especially those from the University of Tokyo.

Ning Hao chose to premiere "No Man's Land" in Berlin, and the most he did was to hint to the other party that there might be a shortlisted spot in the main competition unit.

It is so unseemly to discuss this openly today, mainly because of Agent James's pressure from behind.

"I want visible rewards." Ning Hao did not give in at all: "You must understand the pressure I am under!"

The black man, who had been silent the whole time, said, "If you can openly oppose Shen Santong's film ideas, everything can be discussed."

Friedrich refused: "No, this is not negotiable!"

James glanced at the other party calmly, and said word by word: "We can talk about it, everything can be discussed."

Friedrich's face immediately turned visibly pale. He had heard that this thing was gained by relying on skin color. He was indeed an idiot.

Damn Yankees, damn niggers, they don't care about the reputation of their Berlin Film Festival at all.

He really wanted to say that this was the Berlin Film Festival and not a place for Americans to run wild, but he couldn't say it because he knew the other party could.

Friedrich thought that such a concession was huge enough and Ning Hao would definitely be grateful.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Ning Hao refused: "Impossible."

James frowned and reminded, “Ning, you have to pay to gain.”

Ning Hao said bluntly: "I can't criticize Shen Santong publicly. It will lead to the destruction of my career."

James said: "You don't have to worry"

Ning Hao asked directly: "Have you ever seen a director who directly mentioned Shen Santong, even if he was an academic director, who is there?"

James was stumped by the question.

Why did he disregard his dignity and publicly carry out transactions such as the nomination and award of the Berlin Film Festival, which Ning Hao was not allowed to participate in, let alone watch?

One important reason is that the pressure brought by Shen Santong and Santong Entertainment is too great.

The shitty predecessor, Commissioner Smith, transformed the interests of the empire into his own personal interests, allowing Shen Santong to grow step by step and become the most unstable factor in the public opinion field of Dongda.

Li An personally came out to lead the group, but the scene as expected with everyone responding enthusiastically did not occur.

Shen Santong himself has retired and didn't even respond.

At the same time, in addition to the media and big Vs who spend money, and some brainless "intellectuals".

Media people with status and connections are at most sarcastic and support the so-called freedom of creation, but no one dares to name Shen Santong.

Even the squeezed academics, even if there is a conflict of interest, dare not go directly to Shen Santong. With the development of the Dongda film market, the six generations of directors who have taken the international route also want to make money in China.

Cinema revenue is only a part of the film market, and online copyright fees have also increased significantly in recent years.

Shen Santong is a person with exaltation ability in the film industry.

James is a pain in the ass.

Today, the Dongda film market is very unhealthy, and Santong Entertainment has achieved a monopoly.

Commissioner James also instigated people to report Santong Entertainment’s monopoly, but to no avail.

Santong Entertainment’s cinema chain share is not the largest, and is not even in the top three. Last year, its non-core businesses were still shrinking, and this behavior has been officially recognized.

The reason why it can achieve monopoly is not by relying on market manipulation, but because the content is good enough, so this achievement is achieved.

To put it bluntly, it’s all because these filmmakers at Tokyo University are rubbish.

Santong Entertainment has written down how to succeed. These rubbish filmmakers from Dongda University have plenty of food and drink, but few of them go to learn, and those who do learn rarely learn.

In this situation where everyone is silent, Ning Hao, who shows the intention to get closer, is simply a treasure!

The key is that Ning Hao’s movies have a large audience base in Dongda, at least much better than other rubbish literary and artistic directors.

There is great value in united front work!
Friedrich didn't think as far as Commissioner James. Seeing that Ning Hao didn't even show basic gratitude, he was a little upset: "Ning Hao, do you know how much concession we have made?"

In the past, all the directors from the University of Tokyo licked them to death!
They have put various options in front of Ning Hao, but the other party is still not satisfied?
Ning Hao was very calm: "Even if No Man's Land wins an award, how much can the copyright be sold for? A few hundred thousand euros, and we'd be lucky if we can get a few million euros. At most, it's tens of millions of RMB, which is too little compared to the Tokyo University market."

"If I openly challenge Shen Santong, I will lose the Dongda market. My losses will be tens of millions or hundreds of millions of euros in the short term, and in the long term, they will be immeasurable."

Friedrich said: "You are just a director. You can get the honor and recognition from the Berlin Film Festival! The ones who lose money are the investors!"

Ning Hao looked at the other person like a fool.

Friedrich couldn't stand Ning Hao's look of trash, "Was there anything wrong with what I said?"

Taking advantage of the differences in interests between the director and the investors, squeezing a movie dry, turning it entirely into the director's personal honor, and defrauding the investors are means that can only be understood but not described.

In emerging markets like Todai, there is no shortage of directors who will rip off investors for their own personal gain.

Of course, these are the dirty parts under the countertop.

I was forced into a corner today and provoked by Ning Hao, otherwise I wouldn't have said it.

Seeing how stupid he was, Ning Hao had to explain, "Let's not talk about the fact that I also invested a lot of money in the movie No Man's Land. Generally speaking, our Dongda directors have a lot of say in film projects. It's not like Western directors who just have a job. We have huge interests in it."

James asked directly: "How far can you go?"

Ning Hao said: "I can hint that there is no one else like me who has a certain market appeal, can give you this condition, and is willing to fight against Shen Santong."

"I have already shown my sincerity by contacting you without going through the producers and the production company!"

What they meant was that Ning Hao didn't need them, but they needed Ning Hao more, so it was time for them to show sincerity.

Ning Hao did not lie. If he had not repeatedly confirmed that some of his operations had been approved by Shen Santong, he would not have dared to do so.

Friedrich wanted to say something, but James said, "We need to reconsider the Golden Bear Award. We also need to see the opinions of the artistic director and other parties."

"But you will definitely be shortlisted for the main competition, and you will definitely be included in the Silver Bear Award."

"If you get closer to us, we can still negotiate the Golden Bear Award."

Friedrich's face suddenly turned pale.

These damn niggers, these damn Americans, treat their film festival as a chamber pot, and use it whenever they want?

Ning Hao's tone was pleasantly surprised, but his heart was almost as broken as that of an important figure at the Berlin Film Festival: "Really?"

At this moment, Ning Hao's three views completely collapsed.

Even though he had a slight premonition about what Shen Santong had said in the past, he had a slight premonition about Xu Guangtou's proposal.

But the fact that the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards were put on the table for bargaining so smoothly and so openly really shattered Ning Hao's three views.

Ning Hao's acting was actually a bit fake, but James and the others didn't notice it.

At this time, Ning Hao fits their impression of a Dongda director.

James shrugged and smiled like a white man: "I'll make you my friend."

Ning Hao said: "I still want the Golden Bear Award."

James laughed. He was not afraid that Ning Hao had any ideas, but was afraid that he had no ideas. “I said, we can talk.”

Friedrich did not want to say a word.

The three of them chatted happily for several hours.

Ning Hao got into the car.

His wife Xing Aina, who had been waiting for him in the car, asked, "How is it?
Ning Hao said painfully, "The discussion went well. No, it should be said that it went very smoothly. No, it went extremely smoothly."

Xing Aina carefully checked the pinhole camera that Ning Hao had taken down, and confirmed that it was recorded. She asked, "Shun Li, why are you looking so sad?"

Ning Hao didn't say anything, just looked at the street in silence.

Xing Aina simply said: "Otherwise, we won't do it anymore. Santong Entertainment can't cover the sky with one hand, and we don't need to please anyone."

Ning Hao shook his head: "I'm just a little dazed."

If Ning Hao had some psychological burden before, he now has no psychological burden at all.

Ning Hao has no psychological burden to step on this kind of film art.

And apart from Santong Entertainment's films, it is becoming increasingly difficult for other Chinese-language films to make money overseas.

To be precise, from the past to the present, there is basically no one who can make a lot of money.

The reason why "Hero" achieved such great results overseas was because the copyright was sold all at once. If the signed contract was for profit sharing, the same fate would have beenfallen for "Curse of the Golden Flower" as it could not make any money.

There are no interests involved. The only thing that Ning Hao is concerned about is film art and the film concepts he has formed over the years.

But now it’s basically gone.

What art, what literature, it's all bullshit.

As long as we find the right way to open it, these film festivals will be successful one by one.

the other side.

Friedrich was so angry that he ran over from afar.

Damn American blacks are going too far. Even a director like Ning Hao from Dongda University, a low-class person, has the right to treat him like this. It makes me crazy.

The phone rang, Friedrich took a look and answered the call.

"Mr. Friedrich, I heard that you came to the mainland. I would like to do my best to play the role of a good host." Du Qifeng called, speaking English considerately, feeling nervous.

The person in charge of the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival can communicate directly with the artistic director and is a truly powerful person.

This year, King of Sunglasses is the chairman of the film festival, and he also has "Drug War".

The scale is quite large and the sarcasm is abundant, so he feels there is a good chance of winning the award.

Friedrich said impatiently: “Du, the main competition finalists are about to be announced, you shouldn’t contact me.”

He also watched Johnnie To's "Drug War" and gave it a nomination at most.

Although there are some black actors, they are too obscure and they still want to make money from the University of Tokyo.

In mainland China, there are modern scenes. Do you still want to win awards with these factors?

Friedrich really hates directors like Johnnie To, who think they are from Hong Kong, but in his eyes there is no difference.

You are a director from Tokyo University, what kind of urban issues are you discussing?

When Du Qifeng heard the other party's bad tone, he immediately apologized: "I'm sorry"

Friedrich hung up the phone directly, feeling inexplicably relieved.

This was the Tokyo University director he was familiar with.

Trampling on the other party's dignity!
Won again!
(End of this chapter)