Porcelain to Porcelain

In this time and space, the names of the world's A-level international film festivals are similar to those of the previous time and space. The top three are the Cannes Film Festival in France, the Berlin Film Festival in Germany and the Venice International Film Festival in Italy.Of the three major film festivals, the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or has the highest gold content.

The difference from the previous life is that the French Xana Film Festival in this time and space is held in March every year instead of May.

The film festival lasts for [-] days, during which in addition to the film competition, the market exhibition is also held at the same time.The highest award for the film is the Palme d'Or.This award is basically monopolized by European and American films.In Asia, only Japan has won it once.

In the previous life, until Lu Qiu was struck by lightning, except for China's "Farewell My Concubine" which won once and Japan won twice, other countries in Asia did not care about the big prize.

Films participating in foreign exhibitions do not need to be submitted for review. After the post-production of "Farewell My Concubine", as soon as the registration period for the Cannes Film Festival opened, Xie Pu went to the organizing committee to register for the selection.

At the beginning of March, the Xana Film Festival Organizing Committee sent a reply notice to Xincheng Film and Television Company. One of the shortlisted entries at this year's Xana Film Festival for the Palme d'Or.

In addition to "Farewell My Concubine" from mainland China, films from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan have been shortlisted. At the film festival, East Asian faces are still relatively new."The Tragic Hero" starring Xu Tingfeng from Xingchen Film and Television Company also passed the review.Lu Qiu and Xu Tingfeng met in Paris. Xu Tingfeng was very enthusiastic, but Lu Qiu was a little cold, and his words were only polite.

After receiving the notice from the Xana Film Festival Organizing Committee, the morale of the entire Hwaseong Film and Television Company was boosted, and the film's promotional advertisements were naturally in a rush. With this good news, the film's value was raised.

Feeling that "Farewell My Concubine" had a great chance of winning, Huacheng Film and Television sent a large team, besides Xie Pu and Lu Qiu, there were twelve other actors and staff members, including Wang Gui and Lu Qiu's female secretary You Hui.

The other two leading actors, Lu Ya and Sun Jiaxing, both have filming assignments, and they will not be able to come until the opening of the film festival.

In the first two days of the Xana Film Festival, there were almost no arrangements, and it was basically a time for directors and filmmakers to communicate freely.However, the first batch of European publishers who rushed to the gold rush have arrived ahead of time.

"Farewell My Concubine" is competing for the Palme d'Or award, and the other is promoting sales in foreign film markets.

Xie Pu paid more attention to winning awards than Lu Qiu, and took most of the staff to the organizing committee to understand the detailed regulations, and even chatted with Director Wang, who was led by Xing Chen, and exchanged information with each other.They are both Asians. Compared with Japan and Taiwan, which has a hostile political consciousness, the mainland and Hong Kong teams meet more closely and cordially.

Lu Qiu took Secretary You and Wang Gui to contact European publishers.

Secretary You is a passer-by, with extraordinary connotations. He is proficient in both English and French. Most of the publishers who came first were mainly in French. Secretary You made Lu Qiu, who can only speak English, feel relieved.However, Secretary You and Wang Gui were only surprised by Lu Qiu's fluent English. They both believed that Lu Qiu's English scores were very good when he was studying. He went to Hong Kong for three months to study and improved his oral English.

Although "Farewell My Concubine" was favored by the organizing committee, it did not have much advantage in front of the distributors. Even after watching the credits and approving the film, the price offered was still too low. The highest French distributor was only willing to give The price of 200 million francs is only about 300 million yuan when converted into RMB.

This price cannot satisfy Lu Qiu, so naturally he refuses to agree.

The news spread quickly, and the news that "Farewell My Concubine" could not be sold quickly spread to the Asian teams. Japanese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong filmmakers met Lu Qiu and others, and there was a trace of pity in their eyes.

Wang Gui was very depressed, but Lu Qiu was more relieved. From the standpoint of Asians, everyone was at the same level, and there was no gloating.

The Xana International Film Festival in France officially opened on March [-]th.Both Lu Ya and Sun Jiaxing arrived one day earlier, and on this day, everyone got up early.When the "Farewell My Concubine" team arrived at the venue in a Porsche rented from the hotel, Xie Pu, Wang Gui, Secretary You and others were amazed by the dense flow of people and the huge lineup with long guns and short guns.

Lu Qiu had the experience of interviewing Oscars in his previous life, and he had seen big scenes. Compared with the people around him, his expression was much more composed.

Because there are not many Asian faces, and Lu Qiu and others come from the only big country with a red regime, they get more attention when they walk on the red carpet. Many foreign journalists took a few groups of photos with their cameras, and the attention is higher than that of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Lu Qiu was well aware of the Chinese people's idea of ​​blooming flowers inside the walls and outside the walls during this period, so he sent a photographer early on, paid the organizing committee members to occupy a good place, and pressed the shutter hard on himself, Lu Ya, Sun Jiaxing, and Xie Pu.Regardless of whether the film wins an award or not, these photos of walking the red carpet of the largest film festival can raise the bar.

On the second day of the Xana Film Festival, the organizing committee began to screen every shortlisted film, and "Farewell My Concubine", which was favored by the Cannes Film Organizing Committee, was also eligible for screening.

Compared with other Asian movies, the vacancy rate of the screening hall of "Farewell My Concubine" is not too much, nor too small, about [-]% to [-]%.Secretary You deliberately went to inquire, and most of the audience came for the "Farewell My Concubine" poster.On the poster, Cheng Dieyi, dressed in the costume of Concubine Yu, aroused the curiosity of these Western audiences.

Lu Qiu's current appearance is no worse than Leslie Cheung's, and Zhang's performance can be imitated. Cheng Dieyi in this "Farewell My Concubine" can be said to have copied his previous life.After the finished film came out, Lu Qiu was very satisfied after watching it. The film is not said to be better than the previous life, but he thinks it is evenly matched.

"Farewell My Concubine" was screened for a week, and it was arranged in a small cinema. Compared with other cinemas in Paris, this small hall is much larger than Hong Kong.It has three screening halls with more than 300 seats in each hall.

When it was released on the second day, the attendance rate increased to more than [-]%. On the third day, the attendance rate soared to [-]%.The director of Dream of Paradise is a Frenchman himself, and the film made by the Chinese of the host country naturally has an advantage.The organizing committee will also spend a week listening to word-of-mouth from audiences and film critics. The more audiences, the more recognized the film is.

The third day of "Farewell My Concubine" was released, and the fourth day of the Xana Film Festival. Because of the [-]% attendance rate, "Farewell My Concubine" attracted the attention of the western media.At the same time, the publisher who couldn't agree on the price took the initiative to negotiate with Lu Qiu.

Faced with the issue price which had increased several times, Lu Qiu laughed and refused to sign the contract. The issue price was less than one-fifth of "Dream of Paradise".

The French businessman Alva Senior, who had offered the highest price, came to Lu Qiu and tentatively offered 1000 million francs to buy out the European distribution rights of "Farewell My Concubine".This price is five times higher than the previous one.

"Lu Qiu, this price is not bad." Xie Pu blushed with excitement.

Good news came from theaters in China and Hong Kong. "Farewell My Concubine" was a success in both places. Even Star's morning shows and late night shows had an attendance rate of more than 3000%.It is conservatively estimated that the domestic box office will exceed 800 million, and Hong Kong can reach [-] million.Based on the domestic and Hong Kong markets alone, "Farewell My Concubine" is enough to recover all investment costs, and the distribution in other markets such as Europe, America, and Japan will be all profits.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Lu Qiu patted Xie Pu and gave him a contemptuous look.In the previous life, "Farewell My Concubine" had a total global box office of 3000 million US dollars, converted into more than 2 million yuan.

Lu Qiu did not agree to Alva Senior's request for a buyout, but instead changed the way of box office commission.The commission distribution method is only beneficial to films with guaranteed audiences. Films without full confidence are not dared to be released in this way. In case the attendance rate is not high and the film is forced to withdraw from the theater, the risk will be borne by the film party.

"Farewell My Concubine" is just a dark horse, and its opponent "Dream of Paradise" is strong. The Palme d'Or is not in the bag, and there is no 100% guarantee. As a publisher, Alva Senior is happy to distribute it with a commission.

After signing the European distribution rights, distributors in Asia and the United States took the initiative to negotiate with Lu Qiu.Except for Japan, the United States and Southeast Asia are all commissioned releases.

"Lu Qiujun, although the commission is guaranteed for us, the company still wants to buy it out." The Japanese publisher is short in stature, but his attitude is extremely firm.

The issue buyout price given by the Japanese side is abnormally high, but compared with the previous life, it is still a little less.

No matter how sweet Lu Qiu's rhetoric, the publisher insisted on buying it out.Moreover, apart from this short publisher, no other Japanese theater dealers came to negotiate with Lu Qiu.

In the end, Lu Qiu reluctantly agreed, and if he didn't sell it, he would lose the Japanese market. The Japanese market is not mosquito meat, but beef leg meat.

The Japanese theater businessman is very confident in "Farewell My Concubine". He knows Chinese culture too well, and because of his understanding, he has more judgment.Lu Qiu couldn't help sighing, the person who knows you best is not your friend, but your enemy.On the earth, the one who knows China best is this island country that has been coveting and coveting.

"Farewell My Concubine" was released in Japan, and the response was particularly strong. A cinema even showed it for a year, and the distributor also made a lot of money.Of course, this is for another day.

With the attention of the media, the audience who watched it unanimously praised the word of mouth. On the fourth day of the screening of "Farewell My Concubine", the attendance rate was full, and there were even many audiences waiting for refunds at the gate.

Filmmakers from Hong Kong and Taiwan came to congratulate Xie Pu, Lu Qiu and others.

A silver-haired gentleman about 50 years old was mixed among the congratulatory people. He walked up to Lu Qiu and stretched out his right hand.

"Hello! I'm Phoebe Bright." The silver-haired gentleman spoke English.

"Hello! Mr. Brett, I am..." Lu Qiu replied directly in English.

"Of course I know who you are. You are Cheng Dieyi, the most beautiful beauty in the East!" The silver-haired gentleman showed blatant admiration in his words and eyes.

"Dear Cheng..."

"My name is Lu Qiu."

"Oh dear Lu Qiu, I'm addicted to your incredible performance. Farewell My Concubine is amazing! The whole movie is a feast for the eyes, I'm always surrounded by beautiful costumes and bizarre scenes. Her tragic story line makes me feel close to Shakespeare's masterpiece. Wonderful! Wonderful!" Phoebe Bright spit out words of praise without hesitation.

Lu Qiu's face turned red from being praised, and Phoebe Bright's mouth continued to protrude.The expression of Director Xingchen Wang next to him changed from shock to envy.

After Phoebe Bright left, Director Wang immediately said to Lu Qiu and Shep: "Congratulations, "Farewell My Concubine" will most likely win the highest award."

"Why?" Although Xie Pu was full of joy, he was a little puzzled by Director Wang's affirmative tone.

"That was Phoebe just now!" Director Wang reminded.

"Phoebe..." Shep suddenly realized, "He is Phoebe, the most famous film critic in Europe? Hey! No wonder I felt familiar just now!"

"With Phoebe's affirmation, the award is basically stable. We Chinese can finally aspire to the highest award." Director Wang sighed, expressing the bitterness of Chinese filmmakers.

Xie Pu, Lu Ya, Sun Jiaxing and others were already smiling.

"Lu Qiu, congratulations!" Xu Tingfeng, who came with Director Wang, came up to congratulate with bitterness. The attendance rate of "The Tragic Hero" he starred in was not good, and he was always hovering around the third floor.

"It's too early to congratulate everyone before the awards are announced." Lu Qiu was also happy, but he knew that he couldn't get carried away at this time.If you don't get the big prize, it's a big deal.

"Yes, Lu Qiu is right, everyone can't be complacent until the awards are announced."

Suddenly, a deep and magnetic voice came from beside Lu Qiu.When Lu Qiu looked back, he couldn't help being extremely surprised that Zhou Hongxun in a neat suit was standing behind him.

"Hong Xun..."

"Mr. Zhou!"

"Mr. Zhou!"

Xie Pu, Lu Ya, Sun Jiaxing and others stepped forward to say hello.

Xie Pu introduced Wang Dao and other colleagues from Hong Kong and Taiwan to Zhou Hongxun.

"Zhou always came here to care about the film's selection?"

"I just came to Paris to attend a meeting, so I stopped by to have a look."

"Mr. Zhou, you have a unique investment vision!" Dao Wang gave Zhou Hongxun a thumbs up.

"I originally only wanted to promote the withered dramas. I never thought that the first film I invested in would win everyone's favor." Zhou Hongxun's eyes flicked past Lu Qiu.

For Zhou Hongxun, a well-known Internet technology elite in the Asian world, filmmakers from Hong Kong and Taiwan came forward to talk to him one after another. From the beginning to the end, Zhou Hongxun stood beside Lu Qiu, inseparable.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Hongxun and Lu Qiu left side by side. Xu Tingfeng watched the two of them back, feeling more and more sad in his heart.

If what he met was not a freak like Du Zhiwen, but a caring and generous financial supporter like Zhou Hongxun, Xu Tingfeng thought, his star journey would definitely be smoother and more brilliant.

After entering the hotel room, Zhou Hongxun dragged Lu Qiu into the bathroom, and the two big men squeezed into the bathtub for a good wash. The two corn cobs were washed extremely clean.

Lu Qiu lay on the bed and asked Zhou Hongxun. "Why are you here?"

Film festivals are full of long and short shots, and Zhou Hongxun, who doesn't like exposure, has always avoided it.

"You've been out for a week, don't you miss me?" Zhou Hongxun's hands lingered on Lu Qiu's body, and the corn cob was about to move.

"There are reporters everywhere, we have to avoid suspicion. Besides, the next week is very important, and I don't have much time to accompany you." Lu Qiu was uneasy, afraid that the media would have any associations with Zhou Hongxun's appearance.

"It's okay. I'm mainly in Paris for a meeting. I'll stop by the film festival to see it. It won't attract suspicion." Zhou Hongxun comforted Lu Qiu.It was only natural for the boss, Paris Business, to drop by to care about the film he invested in.

"Be careful."

Zhou Hongxun grabbed Lu Qiu's hand and clenched it tightly: "Europe is very tolerant of homosexuality. Brother Qiu, have you heard that Denmark has launched a motion to establish registration for same-sex couples."

"I did not notice."

"If Denmark passes it, how about your immigration?" Zhou Hongxun had a special status and could not change his nationality at will.

"No!" Lu Qiu flatly refused. In his previous life, he was relatively big and Chinese, and he never had any plans to immigrate in his heart.

Zhou Hongxun stopped talking and let go of Lu Qiu's hand.

Lu Qiu took a look, okay, his face was dead.

"Hong Xun, I just want to stay in the country."

"Well, I was thinking too much." Zhou Hongxun wanted Lu Qiu to immigrate because he wanted to secretly register and marry him in Denmark.

"Actually, I think marriage is just a formality." Of course, Lu Qiu understood Zhou Hongxun's purpose of emigrating by himself.

"How to say?" Zhou Hongxun moved his ears.

"Well, if two people are close, it doesn't matter whether they get married or not. If they don't get along, even if they get a marriage certificate, they will be the same bed."

"You don't care about form?" Zhou Hongxun leaned closer to Lu Qiu.

"I've always cared about the substance, not the form."

There was a smile in Zhou Hongxun's eyes: "Aren't you afraid of being abandoned by me?"

Lu Qiu was stunned: "If you want to break up, please tell me in advance." For some reason, my heart was a little blocked.

Zhou Hongxun stared at Lu Qiu for more than ten seconds: "Don't worry, that day won't happen."

Lu Qiu chuckled, and was startled when he finished laughing, why were he so happy just now?Abandoned by Zhou Hongxun Wasn't it a wish from the bottom of my heart all along?