"Midsummer".

This Russian film began to be screened at half past eight in the morning in the Lumière Hall of the Palais du Cinémath, but the theme of focusing on the godfather of the former Soviet rock still attracted many fans to come to the theater early. Cannes these days has a very wonderful atmosphere.

Even if you join in the fun, you have the temperament of a movie fan.

It seems that this air is full of the breath of movies, and anyone who walks in front of Ji Ming through this air has a wisp of movie smell on his body, and he can smell it as soon as he smells it.

Sitting next to Ji Ming was an Italian guy who basically didn't know English, but he was eager to communicate - he even tried to have a little bit of Chinese that he didn't know where to hear, which was crazy. Fortunately, Ji Ming's Italian can still communicate, after all, it is the hometown of opera, and Ji Ming is a studious bel canto singer.

"My name is Andri, hello, China, right?"

"Yes, you can teach me Ming. ”

Andriy leaned back in the velvet chair of the Palais des Films, probably feeling comfortable, leaned back again, and then laughed to himself, like a fool: "It's nice here." ”

"Yes. Are you interested in rock 'n' roll?"

"Yes, it's okay, sometimes I listen. ”

Ji Ming was a little skeptical: "Listen to the rock of decades ago?"

"Uh......" Andriy hesitated, but admitted: "Actually, I don't hear much, I just think this movie is cool." Did you know it? It's about an underground rock band in the former Soviet Union......"

He stumbled like an endorsement, and gave Ji Ming the synopsis of the story and many morals he heard, but fortunately, his vocabulary is not particularly large, even if it is his native language, Ji Ming can understand it.

Before that's finished, the movie begins.

The shot is a little familiar to Ji Ming, maybe it's similar to the background, and the feeling of depressing explosion can also be felt on his Qingqi song list - of course, the movie also has the director's unique talent, such as MV-style intersperse, alternating black and white and splashing colors......

A biopic, and Ji Ming once watched an American music biopic "Unstoppable", like two representatives of time and space with very different temperaments.

The film received unprecedented applause.

The director's absence did not prevent the audience from giving their own praise.

Ji Ming and Andriy also stood up and applauded, Andrie was a little ignorant, obviously this is not an old driver who has read countless films, for such a relatively complex work, it is a little difficult to eat - in fact, Cannes movies are not easy to eat, because Cannes does not require you to have all kinds of qualities, smooth, interesting, attractive, etc., as long as there is one that is very prominent, it is enough to make you come to Cannes.

This is also their philosophy, the value of choosing 10,000 mediocre works is far less than any of the shortcomings with special strengths.

It's not a cinema, it's a temple of cinema, and everyone comes here with the merit in the hope that everyone can think about it – not find fault with it, especially for those who are just watching the movie.

is a good movie, of course, Rao is looking at it from a strict perspective, and Ji Ming can also say the same.

But there is not much of an award, he thought, at least if it was himself, he would not give it the award.

"What do you think?"

"Of course, it's good. ”

Andriy yawned, "It's interesting, but I feel a little sleepy, maybe it's too far away from me, and I can't feel those emotions." ”

Ji Ming was happy for a while, when Bob Dylan and The Beatles appeared, and they couldn't make you feel excited, you should really sleep-but it was actually like this at the beginning, watching art films is not a pastime, many times it is the same as reading a book with profound meaning, the interest is greatly reduced, and everyone tends to watch it, either to find a sense of identity from the text, or to want to finish it, and then go to beep.

"Will you go to see it in the evening?" "Like, Kiss, Run", right?"

Ji Ming nodded: "If there is no accident." ”

"Then we can go together. Andriy obviously doesn't have any friends here, so he asked Ji Ming to watch it with him in the evening: "I'm more interested in that film." ”

Ji Ming blinked.

It was a teacher-student film, a male teacher and a male student, yes.

"If my girlfriend was here, she would have liked that film too. ”

Andri blinked, without any particular expression, he shrugged his shoulders: "She's not here, it's really a pity, is she in China?"

"Uh-huh. ”

When they parted, Andriy seemed to suddenly remember: "Would you like to come and see our movie?"

Ji Ming was stunned, ah?

"You mean your films?"

"Yes, "Happy Lazaro", I play Lazaro. ”

OMG。

Among all the shortlisted films, this is the movie that Ji Ming hopes to see the most, even higher than Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Thief Family", higher than Li Cangdong's "Burning", and of course higher than "Children of Jianghu", this film is a naturalistic film in the true sense, not exactly the same as the movie with naturalistic temperament like "Immortals".

But it should be the two most similar films at this Cannes Film Festival, maybe 10%, or 15%?

It is on Ji Ming's must-see film list, probably because it has already been determined, he didn't go to know more details about this film. Watching a film in Cannes doesn't need to be handled with the attitude of doing Chinese drama homework, checking the information in advance, and then the whole process is trying to discover something, or capture the language of the camera - here, just enjoy the film and perceive the film.

"Of course, I'm very, very looking forward to your film. Ji Ming smiled: "If you want, you can also come and see me." ”

Andriy had a look of surprise in his eyes, and then a look of surprise.

"You too, oh, that Chinese film, 'Where the Gods Land'. ”

Scales fall from one's eyes.

Interesting.

Ji Ming didn't go at night, but fortunately he didn't make an appointment, otherwise he would have let his personality go. Because his evening time was occupied.

The owner of the distribution company Yano, who met on the red carpet, made an appointment with Wen Yan and the chief distributor, and this time they asked Ji Ming to also attend - it may be the aftermath of the red carpet that made "Immortals" unexpectedly gain a little attention.

"That's the difference, the more films in competition that are outside of Europe and the United States, the more attention you get, the more opportunities you have. "Arnold carries the oiliness of most French men, when he is not pretending.

"Our film hasn't been released in China yet, so it's impossible to broadcast it abroad, and if you get the rights, you might have to wait until September. Do you think the impact will be there at that time?"

The memories of social networks are short-lived, global and without exception.

The chief publisher, Wang Sheng, is a native of Jinling and is very capable.

Arnold smiled: "You know, that difference is not enough to change the box office, but it is enough to tilt the attitude of the theaters." The French art cinema chain is a place coveted by all art films, and the country's regulations are extremely friendly to art films, so much so that even art films from many different cultures can get some rewards here. For example, hundreds of thousands, millions of euros - many films don't use so much budget.

So we just need to make the people in charge of the cinema chain think that we are different, then we will be competitive. When we get to the theater, it depends on quality. ”

In fact, the quality is not particularly important, unless it is a god film, otherwise most art films are just that meaning, for the audience, there is always something desirable, there is always a point of confusion, and people are almost the same.

There is no need for Arno to say these words, everyone knows it.

Wang Sheng was a little tempted, he looked at Wen Yan: "What do you say, Director Wen?"

You must know that this time is different from the past, and it is no longer so easy to make a living by selling literary films. In the 90s, or even at the beginning of the 21st century, the sixth generation of directors had a sweet time abroad, and everyone was very curious about China, so they were willing to watch these films that "depicted reality".

But now, it's hard.

So Arnold was willing to win this film before the lottery, and he was quite sincere.

Of course, there is no need to be presumptuous, since "Immortals Descend" has come out, there are always agents who are interested in Chinese films, in addition to Arnold's company, there are also some distribution companies such as ARP and MK2 that have represented a large number of Chinese films, and they are also in contact.

Wen Yan glanced at Ji Ming, Ji Ming didn't speak, and he didn't understand this.

"Do you think we have a chance of winning? ”

The four most important awards in Cannes, the highest award is the Palme d'Or for Best Picture, then the Grand Jury Prize, and then the Best Actor and Queen, even the director has to be raised again, and the script and jury award will be lower, if there is no special award at that time, such as the 50th anniversary of the "Palme d'Or" and the like, it will be 7 awards.

19 films, more than 150 competitors.

There are only 7 awards, and it's hard for anyone to say that they will win them.

As long as you take it, you will definitely not worry about selling.

Arno pondered for a while: "Frankly speaking, the possibility is not very large, although I am not a big director or actor, but I judge that although your work is very good and moving enough, it may not be able to win the favor of the judges." This kind of film, in Cannes, especially in this year's trend, is not optimistic, such as your works, such as "Happy Lazaro" and so on, is not social enough, not philosophical enough.

Your excavation into the hearts of modern youth is a great entry point, and Ming's performance is touching and fascinating. However, this year's prediction is like this, maybe it will be "Midsummer", maybe "The Book of Images", who knows. ”

As a veteran film buyer who has been in Cannes for more than a decade, Arnold has a say, especially when it comes to off-market observations – though he doesn't necessarily tell the truth.

All are businessmen.

"Okay, thank you," Wen Yan nodded, a little disappointed: "After the premiere of the film the day after tomorrow, we'll talk about it." ”

"Good. ”

This is for sure, after the premiere, there will be more buyers, but at the same time, feedback will come out, everyone will reduce the risk, and they are not red-eyed gamblers, so they must play the dark market.

Before leaving, Arnold left Ji Ming's contact information: "If you are interested, I think you can go to Europe to develop, or do some co-productions, and the audience in Europe will like you - especially the look on the red carpet." If you have an idea, you can contact me, at least I can give you a little advice. ”

"Hah, charming Apennine thinker?"

"Hahaha, yes. ”

Ji Ming accepted the contact information: "Thank you very much." ”

Wait for Arno to leave.

"Actually, it doesn't matter, since Ji Ming's red carpet explosion in the past two days, there have been a lot of filmmakers who have contacted us, and this afternoon, more than 20 regions have already come to contact, and when our movie is staged the day after tomorrow, I think the result will be better. Wang Sheng is quite confident: "In fact, it is good to win the award, but if you don't win the award, you can't sell it." ”

"Alas, I don't think it's very likely that the movie will win the award, after all, my new style is not so mature, I originally thought if it was possible for Ji Ming to fight for the actor——"

The more she spoke, the more Ji Ming's heart beated.

But Wen Yan still didn't say anything about making a wish after all: "Anyway, there is such a thing as a red carpet, it's not in vain, there will be more opportunities in the future." ”

Call~

It seems that it is really a hit, and even making wishes stop on his lips again and again.

Ji Ming shook his head in his heart: "I didn't expect it, why do you want to do so much, I think we can't say what kind of jury award or something, and it's okay to get a final award." ”

After all, the wish to "make a gain" has already been made, and there should undoubtedly be some awards.

"Haha, that's pretty easy for you. Wang Sheng also has some qualifications, among those who do international distribution in China: "Don't look at Cannes, there are seven awards, but there are only three for films, the Palme d'Or, the Grand Jury Prize and the Small Award, oh, the Small Award is the Jury Award." Nineteen movies, all of them are the best of the best, can you win the third place?"

Ji Ming doesn't like this kind of person who likes to say "impossible" with a little seniority - this kind of person is an idiot in the Great Wishing Technique, a person without a spiritual root, a waste of firewood, a blocked meridian, and there is no help.

"It can't be said that if you win the actor and actress, the screenwriter and director, it is unlikely to win the jury award, so it only needs to be in the top seven, and the ranking is very unreliable. ”

Wang Shengleng paused.

He has also come into contact with many young actors, and most of them are not very good at refuting him - because they really don't know much about foreign countries and don't want to show their timidity, so most of the time they keep their mouths shut.

Ji Ming is so direct, relatively rare.

He planned to give Ji Ming a little knowledge of international distribution, but Ji Ming was not interested in listening, so he turned to the literary director: "It's not up to us to decide to win the award, but I think there will be some gains, it's too late, I have to go to the premiere of "Children of Jianghu" tomorrow, I'll go back to the hotel first." ”

"You hurry back, next time you come out and bring an assistant, dangling alone, it's not dangerous. ”

"Haha, okay. ”

Ji Ming nodded to Wang Sheng, got up and left.

Leaving Wang Sheng staring, a little inexplicable.

Wen Yan glanced at him: "Mr. Wang, this is the most popular actor in China, no matter how well our film sells, it can't be worth the salary of a play." You don't want to give him an international distribution unless you can make a Hollywood blockbuster on the scale. ”

Hehe.

Let's just say that you are embarrassed or not - Wen Yan looked at him embarrassed, anyway, it was quite cool.

......

The premiere of "Children of Jianghu" the next day was unprecedented.

Whether it is the media, Chinese filmmakers, European audiences, or ...... who buy films Together, it didn't seem like an art film, it felt like some blockbuster was premiering here. Ji Ming said in advance that he didn't walk the red carpet, but he was still photographed by a domestic reporter, still dressed in casual clothes, chatting with Xu Zheng while walking, and walked into the movie palace together.

Since the red carpet became a blockbuster, Ji Ming disappeared from view at a faster speed.

Yang Ruyi helped him turn down all media appointments - in fact, he had pushed off a wave before he came, and everyone knew that he wanted to watch and enjoy the film in Cannes, rather than using the movie as a set board. But after the limelight exploded, the unwilling media naturally had new invitations, but Ji Ming's team's response was still the same.

"I'm sorry. ”

"It's all set. ”

"It's too hot, cool down, cool down. ”

"Next time, next time. ”

For media with different degrees of closeness, there are also different words - no one will answer a bowl of water. And since Ji Ming's debut, it has been more difficult to pick, but once he cooperates, his attitude is very sincere and cooperative, and everyone will not have any special bad feelings, and finally there are two ironic sentences behind him: If you don't have the life of an artist, you will have the disease of an artist.

But the thirst for Ji Ming's news has always existed, so capturing Ji Ming has become a task, I originally thought that he would definitely appear on the red carpet of "Children of Jianghu", and he didn't have to wait until tomorrow for "Immortals", but he didn't expect him to show up, but went on another road with Xu Zheng - I finally got one, and I will have an interview with Xu Zheng later, and I can ask Ji Ming when the time comes, and I can also make a news.

"Well, it's deliberate. ”

"Haha, who makes people popular. ”

"If you want to say it, you can't say that people are wrong, and coming to Cannes to watch a movie is also the right topic, right? You can't say that those red carpet thoughts are not pure, and on the other hand, you can say that Ji Ming is unwilling to be interviewed, ha, it's a bit of a double standard. ”

"Forget it, when the meeting ends, see if you can catch him and ask a few comments. The one-eyed reporter geared up: "By the way, you are a big platform, if you can have material, don't forget to give some corners to the girl." ”

The other party is a reporter from 1905 Movie Network, that is, the official website of CCTV Movie Channel - it is worth mentioning that CCTV6 is jointly governed by CCTV and Guangyu Film Bureau, which is a little more official than other channels.

"No words. ”

"Thank you then. ”

The scheming girl with one eye didn't plan to share Xu Zheng's interview with the eldest brother in 1905.

Oh, woman.