The national goddess of Korean entertainment

It was still cold in Park City at the end of January, and large swathes of snow fell, making this independent film city unique.

This is Xu Zhiyuan's first visit to Park City, but she has long admired the Sundance Film Festival.

This independent film festival founded by Robert Redford is a sacred place for many unknown filmmakers. Many films are excavated here every year, and many great directors go to the world from here.

For example, Nolan became famous from Sundance with "Memory Fragments". The previous "Little Miss Sunshine" was also recognized by the distribution company's eyesight heroes here, not to mention "Sex, Lies and Videotapes", "The English Patient" " and the like.

Xu Zhiyuan appeared in Park City this time, and was photographed by reporters as soon as she appeared.Although she is of mixed race, but has dual nationality of the United States and South Korea, and has successfully become a new generation of idols in the United States with "Dark Angel of the Last Days", Xu Zhiyuan can be said to be a hot news figure in the eyes of reporters.

As soon as Xu Zhiyuan was discovered, a group of journalists kept chasing after her. Although Xu Zhiyuan had always been on the sidelines and didn't intend to stop for interviews, it was considered a success to be able to take some street photos.

On the second day after Xu Zhiyuan's appearance, the reporters were even more surprised.

This well-known idol actress came to Sundance not as an actress, but as a director and producer.

Although Seo Ji Won wanted to keep a low profile, a reporter managed to intercept the person and got an exclusive interview in just 5 minutes.

"Yes, I came to Sundance this time as a director and producer. The film "Thinking of You" I wrote, directed and acted in will participate in the competition."

Speaking very frankly, Xu Zhiyuan even smiled and asked: "Please help me to promote more, our promotional poster will appear tomorrow, and when the movie is screened, please be there to support it."

The day after Seo Ji Won was interviewed, promotional posters appeared in the streets of Park City.

Every year around this time, Park City's publicity sites are always very popular, even the exterior walls of small hotels are covered with posters.

The big hotels that are full of film buyers from major companies have already been plastered with posters.

Xu Zhiyuan spent a lot of money this time. Although there is an old saying in China that "the fragrance of wine is not afraid of deep alleys", after the Berlin Film Festival, she has clearly seen the importance of publicity.

If you want to win an award, tell everyone that you want to win an award.Although the final result may not be what you want, but you always have to express your own wishes.

But in the end, it depends on the work whether it can win the award, and that is a strong ticket.

At the premiere of "Thinking of You," festival president Robert Redford was there in person.

This made Xu Zhiyuan, who didn't invite friends from Hollywood to help out, very happy. This time, only Lee Min Ho, who is not very famous in the United States, was with her.

If she invited her friends to help out, they would definitely attend, but Xu Zhiyuan didn't want to use favors like this.

Favor is the rule of survival, if you take too many times, it will become empty.

And, she doesn't want those stars to take away from her indie film, and she hopes that her first directing film will make all audiences focus only on her film.

In addition to Robert, there are many reporters present besides the audience, but their attention is more focused on Xu Zhiyuan and the tall handsome Korean guy on her body.

Xu Zhiyuan was also angry when she was repeatedly asked if she was a boyfriend or girlfriend, but the smile on her face never disappeared, "Everyone, can you watch the movie first? Maybe after watching the movie, I won't answer. You all have the answer." !"

With a playful smile, she was totally seducing the reporters.

Lee Min Ho was a little amused, "Are you trying to guide them to write us as gossips?"

"I didn't say anything." Xu Zhiyuan shrugged and gave Lee Min Ho a blank look.

I have participated in many premieres, but being an actor and being a director are completely different feelings.

As an actor, you may be concerned about whether your performance will be recognized, but as a director, you are concerned about the entire film, and the producer is probably most concerned about whether the film can be sold and whether it will pay back.

But now, Xu Zhiyuan has three roles in one, and this feeling is really subtle.

The lights dimmed, melodious music sounded, and a little greenness lit up on the big screen. It was a cluster of green leaves, and the sun shone through the branches and leaves, full of vitality. The camera zoomed out, and there were rows of green trees, streets, pedestrians... …

This is a seemingly peaceful afternoon, everything seems so peaceful.

The camera turned to a young woman in a long white dress standing under a green tree.

She stood under the tree, looking up at the apartment opposite.

The camera turned again, completely from the perspective of a woman, and slowly turned to the opposite apartment.

At the window on the fourth floor, a young woman was staring at the opposite downstairs.

Some audience let out a low cry at this time.

The two women who were silently looking at each other had exactly the same face.

The one downstairs looks softer, and her clothes are not so fashionable, while the one upstairs is more gorgeous, and she is still pregnant. At this time, she is caressing her swollen belly.

For a moment, many people thought of the poster they had seen.

On the poster, besides the Xu Zhiyuan they were familiar with, there was also a woman with only a side face, which was also Xu Zhiyuan's side face, but she was sitting behind Xu Zhiyuan's back, showing only half of her side face.

At that time, they didn't pay much attention to it, but now, they are full of curiosity.

Could this be a story about two sisters?

Perhaps it was two sisters robbing a man?

As they thought this way, they heard a voice-over, a man speaking.

Although they couldn't understand what he was saying, the subtitles below let them know that he was asking the woman, "When is the prenatal checkup today?"

Ah, this is Korean, Claire Xu's mother tongue.

Following the questioning, the man walked into the camera. He had long legs and a handsome face. Even though the movie theater was full of Europeans and Americans, only a small number were reporters from Asia, but many people still stared wide-eyed.

"He's so tall!" With such long legs, he is definitely considered tall even in Europe and America.

"Hammy, what's wrong with you?"

Touched by her husband, Han Mei turned her head and said in a panic: "It's nothing..."

While speaking, she turned her head to look, and the woman across from the apartment had disappeared.

"Hey, this is a ghost movie!"

Asian ghost movies are pretty good, especially Japanese ones.

The audience became interested, and even those who liked to watch ghost movies began to lean forward, ready to be startled.

Han Mei left home to go to the hospital for a check-up, but on the way, she saw that woman who looked exactly like her again.

"Who are you? Why do I always see you? Don't pester me anymore, I don't know you..." Begging softly, Han Mei was tangled and helpless.

In order to avoid being entangled by women, she hid in the supermarket, and the handsome supermarket employee asked her what was wrong.

Naturally, European and American audiences don’t know him, but Ding Yiyu is the guest star of this handsome supermarket employee.

Helped Hanmei out to look, but did not find anyone following her. The supermarket staff looked at Hanmei with strange eyes.

Han Mei whispered timidly, "I also know that only I can see her..."

Hiding all the way, looking back all the way, in fear, Han Mei didn't go for the birth checkup, but went home.

But at the door, I heard the husband calling someone, making an appointment to come home for a date while his wife was not at home.

Stimulated, Han Mei finally broke out. After her husband couldn't explain clearly, when she asked her why she didn't go to the maternity checkup, she finally yelled: "I always see her! I can still see her—I told you Of—she has been pestering me, pestering me..."

Because her emotions were out of control, Han Mei was sent to a psychiatric hospital by her husband, and was diagnosed as delusional by the doctor, but she still protected her stomach when she was struggling, shouting "Don't get an injection, don't hurt my child..."

Locked in a separate ward, she looked at the woman who appeared in the ward out of nowhere, crying, laughing, biting her fingernails anxiously, talking to her in a low voice, without a doctor's diagnosis, she felt that she was crazy.

But when she felt the child kicking her gently, she gradually regained consciousness...

Trying her best, she escaped from the mental hospital. She wanted to find a place to hide, but she overheard a mother and daughter say "the daughter is like a mother, just like a sister, exactly the same", and she was moved.

On the bus, she recalled her past experiences. Hanmi had no mother, and many people said that her mother ran away when she was very young.

She also yelled at her father for her mother, but her father just looked at her silently and never spoke.

Could that be her mother?She is already dead? !

At this stage in the development of the movie, everyone already thought that it should be Hanmei's mother's ghost.

Sure enough, as the plot progressed, the young woman who kept looking at Han Mi was her mother.

But it wasn't a ghost, but she was really delusional.

After seeing the psychiatrist who treated Hanmi a long time ago, she remembered that she had lost her memory before, and forgot that she was kidnapped with her mother, and her mother was beaten to death by bad guys to protect her.

Out of pain, she lost that memory, but remembered those past events after she became pregnant.

In the warehouse where she was tied up, she thought of everything, her mother's sacrifice for her, and the fact that her mother should have been abandoned in the sea, and even the body was never found.

Han Mei cried bitterly and knelt down on the ground, but her hands kept protecting her lower abdomen. The camera turned away, and it was the picture of Han Mei's mother leaning over her daughter to protect her daughter from being hurt.

In a trance, Han Mei's mother appeared again, gently hugging the grown Han Mei.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—I don't know, so I forgot you who are so important..."

When the music started, a slightly hoarse voice sang in a low voice. Although he couldn't understand the lyrics, the affectionate singing voice was very contagious, and after understanding the subtitles, it made people feel even more sad.

"My eyes are sore, but I don't know I'm thinking of you. How could I forget, forget your warm smiling face..."

The picture turned dark, and when it came back on again, it was already on the coast, a steep cliff, Han Mei looked at the endless sea in the distance, slowly turned her head, looked at her father behind her, and said in a deep voice: "I remembered, You didn't pay the ransom—Father, you didn't want me to remember it before, did you?"

Asking in a low voice, she didn't go to see her father, but protected her stomach and walked away slowly.

The old man fell down on the rock and didn't stand up for a long time.

In the distance, Han Mei's figure slowly walks towards the beach...

When the lights dimmed, there was a short silence, Xu Zhiyuan was very disturbed, she stood up and turned around, very confused.

But in the next second, someone applauded, one, two, applause...

Covering her face, Xu Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief and bowed deeply.

"A good director is someone who can tell stories." When Robert said goodbye, he patted Xu Zhiyuan on the shoulder and boasted with a smile: "Claire, you are very good at telling stories."

Although such a compliment doesn't mean anything, Seo Ji-won still feels inspired by it.

On the second day, some film critics gave Xu Zhiyuan's "Thinking of You" three points: At the beginning, I thought that this might be another excellent Asian ghost movie, but in the end I was a little disappointed. It's not scary, but it's a really heartwarming movie.

The score given by the "Los Angeles Times" is 3.5 points: This is a story about maternal love, and it is worth watching.Claire's performance is great, and as a new director, this debut feature is very qualified, although it is not amazing, it is still a brilliant movie.

Although the scores given by several newspapers are not very high, the highest is only 3.8 points, which is still less than 4 points, but for a new director's debut, this is already considered a very high evaluation.

No exaggerated compliments, but no bad reviews either.

This is a warm-hearted literary film. It may not be a big hit, but it can still make a small fortune.

In the next few days, Xu Zhiyuan had contact with many film companies, and finally sold the North American distribution at a price of 400 million US dollars.

Distribution rights in Europe were slightly lower at 280 million euros.

As for Asia, Seo Ji-won had already decided before she participated in the Sundance Film Festival.

Seo Ji-won participated in dividends for the distribution in Korea, while the distributions in Japan and China were handed over to local companies. Seo Ji-won received 200 million US dollars each, and if the box office exceeds 1000 million US dollars, there will be a 10% dividend.

This is because Xu Zhiyuan is very popular in China and Japan. Although this movie is really a small literary film, the fan economy alone is likely to reach that box office.

On January 1th, the 29th Sundance Film Festival came to an end, and the awards ceremony on this night was full of stars.

Although it is an independent film festival, there are also films with superstars participating in the filming. Like this year, there is Bruce Willis.

Reunited with Bruce, he hugged Xu Zhiyuan with a smile, "Hey, Claire, you didn't tell me that you are also a director and screenwriter. I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate..."

Although it was a joke, Seo Ji Won was still very happy.

She told Stallone before that she made a movie, and Stallone also encouraged her.

But to really make a film in Hollywood, she still has a long way to go for a newcomer such as a big star to help out.

At this Sundance Film Festival, there are many outstanding films, such as "Beasts of the South" which won the jury award for drama, "Shelter" for documentaries, and "Agent" for Audience Choice Award. Very nice movie.

Listening to the list of winners and seeing familiar faces appearing on the podium one after another, Xu Zhiyuan was always smiling and applauding.

Although you may not get an award, it is a blessing to be able to participate.

While thinking this way in her heart, she suddenly heard her name.

A little surprised, but she raised her head, looked at the big screen, and stood up in surprise.

The surprise came so fast that she didn't even react.

The Audience Choice Award for World Cinema, this award was something Xu Zhiyuan had never thought of before.

Standing on stage, she didn't even know what to say.

"I'm very skeptical that the award was given to me because of the bias of the audience, not because I directed a good movie."

She just said the first sentence, and the audience burst into laughter.

This is not impossible, Xu Zhiyuan is now a lovable idol star in the United States.

"But I think that all the audience in Park City will not vote because they only like one person, but because they like this movie-of course, they also like the people in the movie..."

She smiled brightly, "I'm sorry, I'm so excited! I just want to say, thank you for giving me this award, and thank the organizing committee for giving me this opportunity - I will work harder to make a movie that you like ——So, don’t forget me! Please always love me..."