Alberto's purpose for visiting the New Orleans crew has been revealed: he has personally invited Lan Li to attend the Venice Film Festival, and it is undoubtedly an honor to participate in the exhibition not as a guest, but with two productions, "Burst Drummer" and "Nightcrawler", the former starring and the latter as the producer.

Such sincerity also makes people feel Alberto's enthusiasm and sincerity.

So, how exactly did Lan Li respond?

"Main Competition?" Lan Li's rhetorical question made Alberto pause for a moment, and the faint embarrassment and jerkiness were still exposed.

But Alberto didn't look too embarrassed, but laughed, "I really didn't think of it, would you care about this?"

Although he didn't say it directly, Lan Li had already got the answer, and he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't care, but in the current conversation, I have to look at the problem as a producer, don't I? Otherwise, you don't need to come to New Orleans in person, right? So, I have to care." ”

As an actor, Lan Li doesn't mind whether or not to enter the main competition unit, and it is very interesting to be able to show their works on the platform of the festival and communicate with film lovers, even if it is not the main competition unit, they can also dig up a lot of works worth seeing.

But as a producer, Lan Li has to care, because he needs to think about the whole team, in addition to attention, expenses are also a link that cannot be ignored - although Lan Li has no idea how much budget it will cost to go to the festival, it is certain that it is definitely not cheap.

Especially the Venice Film Festival.

As mentioned earlier, among the three major film festivals in Europe, Venice has the highest consumer spending, which is really unaffordable for many independent film teams, which is also an important reason why a large number of North American films choose to abandon Venice and go to Toronto - the name of the back garden is not without reason.

Alberto could only spread his hands helplessly, "Okay, I'm not good at eloquence, you caught me, and I don't know what to do now." ”

This...... Is this a scoundrel?

I didn't have any problems in the conversation just now, and then after encountering a threshold problem, I suddenly started pretending to be weak and saying that I was not good at eloquence?

Lan Li was full of question marks, but she couldn't help but laugh, "It's good that you didn't say it, your English is not very good, and you didn't understand what I meant." ”

Unexpectedly, Alberto nodded as a matter of course, "My English is really not very good, and when I communicate, I am often prone to problems." ”

Lan Li raised his eyebrows slightly, "So, do you need us to talk in Italian?" This is a lie, Lan Li's Italian can only be used for simple daily communication, and if it really enters into a business conversation, which involves a lot of professional vocabulary, then he will also surrender directly.

Alberto didn't know enough about Lan Li, he only knew that Lan Li was a hereditary aristocrat and a language genius, and when he visited Venice last year, Lan Li had no problems with his Italian, and he also surprised the Italian reporters at the press conference, and now he is in trouble.

"No, no, no, no. Alberto waved his hand again and again, then smiled helplessly, "Someone said, are you very aggressive?"

"Ha, no, not yet, but it's in my nature, and everyone has been deceived by my mask. Lan Li also responded openly and honestly, and that serious posture also made it difficult to distinguish the truth from the false.

Alberto paused, looked at Lan Li seriously, but found that Lan Li also looked back calmly, without the slightest hesitation or apprehension, his bright eyes seemed to be waiting for Alberto to give an answer, and his indomitable attitude made Alberto lose the battle.

"I can't give any guarantees. Alberto finally gave an open and honest answer, "If I can, I also hope that both works will be able to enter the main competition unit, but the specific situation still needs to be reviewed by the film selection committee, and then make a judgment to see which unit the work should be assigned to." ”

Alberto was slightly anxious, which could not be blamed on him, although he was the president of the Venice Film Festival, this position was far from as comfortable as he imagined;

I saw that Alberto's upper body leaned forward slightly, staring intently at Lan Li, showing his sincerity, "But I promise, I will do my best to promote the two works into the main competition, as much as possible to avoid the recurrence of last year's events, the audience wants to see you appear in the main competition, and so do I." While I can't give exact guarantees, I'll definitely work my way in the direction of the main race. ”

"There are still a lot of factors to consider in the main competition, but one thing is for sure, we are all looking forward to bringing together the best work. Alberto's English, with a strong Italian accent, became incredibly smooth and gushed his opinions.

The main competition unit of the three major European film festivals is not so simple, and on the whole, being able to be shortlisted for the main competition is already a kind of commendation in itself:

Because of the limited number of seats in the main competition unit, the selection committee must consider the overall situation, in addition to quality, there are many considerations, such as the new generation of forces, such as the balance of different cultures, such as the collision of themes, such as the relatively weak environment of cultural deserts...... And so on, and finally being shortlisted for the main competition, every work has been carefully considered and reviewed, and it is definitely not that easy.

The simplest and most intuitive thing is that although Alberto has come to place the Blue Gift in person, the Blue Gift is not Alberto's only goal in North America, there may be more than ten American works signed up for Venice, or even more, and the number of works that can finally appear in the main competition in Venice cannot exceed a certain percentage, otherwise Italy will be upside down, and Alberto will be attacked again.

Lan Li also knows this very well. Although Lan Li is not familiar with general affairs, especially business management affairs, it is tedious paperwork for him, but these principles and systems, he could not be more thorough, there is no way, many rules of hereditary nobility are so troublesome.

However, Lan Li still took the initiative to raise the question of the "main competition", the main purpose of which was to express his position and put pressure on Alberto.

Head to the Venice Film Festival, such a great opportunity, there's no reason to miss out on Blue Rite.

"Burst Drummer" and "Nightcrawler" are both unique works that require a lot of exposure, and the style of the sword is difficult to accept in the mainstream market, both in terms of commercial performance and awards season prospects.

What's more, leaving aside the two works, for the future of Don Quixote's channel, Lan Li is also worried, lacking the opportunity to get close to Venice.

Alberto's olive branch, Lan Li naturally will not refuse.

Perhaps, this is just the beginning, and in the future, Sisyphus Film will be able to have more connections and bonds with Venice, Cannes and Berlin, and gradually open up the situation, even if it cannot directly cooperate with the three major European film festivals, he will be able to build more contacts within the industry for Don Quijote Channel, and hope to attract more European independent film production companies to cooperate with Don Quijote and become a source of their film library.

All of this can be combined into a web that connects all aspects of the industry. In the early days of Sisyphus Pictures, they didn't have enough confidence to let each other take the initiative to cooperate, and they could only gradually open up the situation through Lan Li's personal prestige, so every opportunity was precious and needed to be cherished.

Although he had already made a decision in his heart, Lan Li did not give a hasty answer, he did not take the initiative to interrupt Alberto's words, he listened patiently, and occasionally asked some questions, you kept the communication back and forth, and finally let Alberto "convince" him.

"Okay, why not? Maybe we can give it a try and see if I can make it to the main competition this year. Lan Li finally gave the answer, and by the way, he also teased the situation of "gravity" last year.

Alberto waved his hand in the negative, "No, no, no, last year we wanted Gravity to be in the main competition, but you rejected our invitation, and to be honest, we are very, very sad. Alberto also drooped the corners of his eyes and made a mournful expression to complain.

"We all had our hands and feet tied. Lan Li said meaningfully.

Alberto nodded his head again and again, and then let out a long breath, "Then it's settled, we look forward to meeting in Venice next month." When the goal was finally achieved, Alberto's mood was noticeably relaxed.

Admittedly, the Venice Film Festival's name still has a strong influence around the world, and for most productions, it is an honor to be able to attend, but Venice now has to face a strong impact from Toronto, and it is understandable that "Burst Drummer" and "Nightcrawler" choose to travel to Toronto nearby, especially a top superstar like Lan Li, who can easily and conveniently enjoy top treatment in Toronto, and does not need to travel to Venice to toss around - Even if it is the main competition unit, it may not be able to win the award, so there is really no need for such a toss.

Therefore, although Alberto personally stepped out, he himself did not know how Lan Li would respond.

But after a moment of relaxation, Alberto followed up and asked, "You're coming to Venice, aren't you?"

Lan Li chuckled directly, "I can't guarantee this, just like you can't guarantee whether or not you will be the main competition." What do you say?" If it weren't for the main competition, it wouldn't make much sense for Lan Li to go to Venice in person, which made Alberto stunned for a moment, and then Lan Li added, "It's just a joke, relax." We still need to see the filming progress of the film, and hopefully by the time the film festival opens, we will have finished it. ”