These two are a pair of strange people.

As the most famous master of contemporary British cinema, James McCullough became famous very early, and in his early years, he has always been a recognized "prodigal son".

Let's not talk about other things, anyway, there are many in the British literary circle, the key is that this guy is still romantic, he has even been sued by the girl's parents three times for living with his underage girlfriend, and he has also been in prison once for this. It is said that at most, he fell in love with three women at the same time, and it was public, but it turned out to be too fierce, and no woman was willing to take the initiative to give up on him.

Then, by the way, he met his current wife.

At that time, her name was Helena Hurley.

When she was fifteen years old, she was discovered by James McCullough, who was drunk in Paris at the time, and this guy felt at first glance, "Oh no, so beautiful, this girl doll needs to sleep—of course, you can understand the mental activity of this moment as: the spark of love has appeared!

Then, he made a movie for the girl.

He won his first Cannes Palme d'Or and completely achieved his reputation as a master of cinema in Europe and around the world, while Helena Hurley won the first Cannes actress in her life - between the ages of 15 and 16, and was only 16 years old.

The French Rose became famous in one fell swoop, and in the following 20 years, generations of French actresses have been given countless people by the media to surpass her lifelong goal - the title of the new French rose, and there are many French lovers, but the only "French rose" has always been her.

But at this time, the movie was finished, and the little girlfriend was also having fun, and it happened that the three women in the UK were very angry and announced that they had cut off contact with James McCullough.

There's no trouble in the country!

However, Helena chased to England.

She loved him.

At the age of sixteen, Rose Française chased her to England and stayed with James McCullough for more than a year, so angry that her parents once announced that they had severed their father-daughter relationship with her, and scolded James McCullough in the newspapers for being despicable and shameless, and then, at the age of seventeen, Helena proposed to James McCullough.

directly scared James out of the way.

But this time, he didn't run away.

Helena is beautiful and smart is only one of the reasons, the key is that she is very loose with James, and even James often changes girlfriends and brings women home, in addition to going out to pick up one or two movies every year to earn money, she comes back like a maid, washing and cooking for James.

For two or three years, James McCullough couldn't stand it.

Such a girl can't stand it if she is a person!

At that time, James McCullough was in his thirties, a typical old prodigal son in the British literary circle, and Helena Hurley was famous all over the world, since the age of sixteen, she was the French Rose, and she was the "movie lover" of the whole world - because of this chase, except for the British, the media in Europe at that time, as long as Helena was mentioned, they criticized and ridiculed James McCullough.

Then, as she got older, Helena became more and more beautiful and moving, and she had the charm of stunning the whole world with every move, and she was also remarkable in film performance - after the Cannes seal at the age of sixteen, she actually won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival at the age of twenty-three.

At this time, the huge success of the previous decade, as well as the decadence of his private life, had already made James McCullough feel a little twilight, and he even began to drink heavily.

Later, in an interview, both admitted that for a while, James McCullough even hit Helena twice, and of course, a slap in the face would make him immediately regret and apologize.

Finally, the pressure is mounting, and James McCullough gets drunk again and is blocked by the British paparazzi, who scolds Helena like catharsis and asks her to get out of her life quickly!

This scolding set off an uproar.

However, the next day, when the media reporter found Helena, who was filming in Italy at the time, Helena smiled and said, "He's drunk too much again, right? He always likes to drink, but I love him." ”

Well, the whole world admits that it's definitely true love!

James McCullough, who was in his early forties at the time, seemed to have had an epiphany suddenly, and in that year, he officially proposed to Helena, and the two soon officially registered their marriage - since then, James McCullough, as the prodigal son, has been successfully locked in a cage by the French Rose.

The two went through eleven years from acquaintance, cohabitation, and finally marriage.

In the end, it will be a positive result.

James McCullough doesn't know if he really had an epiphany, or if he had had enough, and he did stop from the precipice, and he no longer had the previous lace news one after another, and the girlfriend who could change a hundred a year.

And after getting married, James McCullough not only paid attention, but also quickly regained his strength after a short adjustment, and in just two years, he won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for the second time in history, and at the same time sent Helena to the throne of the actress for the second time.

At this point, the two of them have become a legend completely.

And this time, Li Qian came to the UK during the Cannes Film Festival, mainly at the invitation of James McCullough, to come over to spend a vacation in his small villa in the Lake District.

Well, the French Rose deserves to be the French Rose, and the real person is not weaker than in the movie.

Moreover, the point is that she is in her forties!

…………

James McCullough walked over briskly with an excited face, opened his arms while greeting, and gave Li Qian a big hug - according to public information, he should be sixty years old this year, tall, but he has been seriously blessed.

When he let go, Li Qian smiled and nodded to Helena Hurley McCullough, and then handed over the French red wine in his hand that was still in the wooden box, and said at the same time: "Madam, you are more charming than in the movie." ”

Helena happily accepted the gift and thanked Li Qian with a smile.

…………

It's a house that looks old, some new and some old.

James took Li Qian for a brief tour, and then muttered, "The beauty here has been destroyed, and Helena and the others insist on renovating it." ”

Before he could finish speaking, a cigar had already been thrown away.

So the two swallowed the clouds, Helena brought a pot of black tea, and then sat next to James and chatted with them—she was like a cloud, looming from Li Qian's point of view.

Of course, although she rarely interjects, but occasionally speaks, Li Qian can feel that this French rose still has some insight into the movie.

Both praised "Red Sorghum".

But then, James McCullough bluntly criticized "Once Upon a Time": "My daughter helped me buy the DVD, which is an Oriental film that is more popular among young people in England, but when I finished watching it, I could hardly believe that it was actually your work! Hue, believe me, that's terrible! Just like the businessmen in Hollywood have been asking me to do - 'Oh my gosh, Jamie, we need box office, you have to get more people to like your work, you have to add some commercial, Your movies can't always be made for a few!' - Fack, they don't understand movies!"

What could Li Qian say, he could only laugh.

When it comes to playing movies, James McCullough is an absolute genius, and since the sixties and seventies, his art films have been very popular in Europe, and a wave of Hollywood producers have come to him, hoping to ask him to go to Hollywood to direct, but after two experiences of the project being aborted due to huge differences in directing concepts, James McCullough completely rejected Hollywood.

It's not that he doesn't want to make money, but he prefers to stick to his ideas.

For such a person, especially if he has made so much achievements on the road he loves, all Li Qian can give is admiration.

However, it is impossible to agree.

Of course, Li Qian came from afar, not to quarrel with the old guy.

First, he didn't want to stay in Cannes, he was noisy all day long, and at the same time, he had to look up and see the crew of "Unfinished Love", and second, he really wanted to ask James McCullough some questions.

Although "Red Sorghum" has achieved great achievements that have been praised by the world, whether it is word-of-mouth, awards, or box office, Li Qian does not think that he is extremely awesome.

He knew that he was just standing on the shoulders of the previous work.

And James McCullough became famous at a young age, from the success of his first film to now, it has been more than 30 years, during which he won the Cannes Palme d'Or twice, the Berlin Silver Bear once, and the Venice Golden Lion once.

It can be said that now he is looking at the world, he is the master of the top art films, in front of him, Qin Wei, who has only won the Venice Golden Lion Award once, is far from good in terms of achievement, fame and status.

And talking to him on his knees did make Li Qian feel that he had gained a lot.

…………

This is the Lake District of the United Kingdom, which is already quite northerly, and the temperature difference between day and night is relatively large. Even if it's already summer, once it's four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature will quickly start to drop.

In the evening, the sunset shines at night.

The old man had a pipe in his mouth, and Li Qian also held a cigar in his hand, walking along a path, chatting as he went, and the old man gushed about his views on art films and popular films, and even talked with some regret and anger about his experience of trying to cooperate with Hollywood studios when he was young and ultimately failed - in fact, he was not unwilling to make popular films, and his works were by no means all obscure so-called art films that ordinary audiences could not understand, but he would never agree with them." Popular films are commercial films".

In this regard, Li Qian deeply agreed.

He told the old man that "Red Sorghum" was screened in China and now grossed more than $280 million — "Red Sorghum" is obviously not a commercial film, but it is definitely a popular film.

The old man looked envious.

He also dominated the early years, which was the golden age of European art films, but over the past 30 years, nearly 30 works combined, the total box office of his solo directing works is less than 300 million US dollars.

A "Red Sorghum", Li Qian reached it.

While walking and chatting, Li Qian casually mentioned that he hoped to get his authorization to have his company in China be responsible for the distribution and sales of DVDs and videotapes for James McCullough's films in the past few years, and he hoped to hold a special film week for James McCullough in China when the time was right- At that time, all the works of the old man from this life to the present will be taken out and screened in a centralized manner, and the old man will be invited to come over and talk about artistic creation with Chinese filmmakers.

The old man was very happy and immediately agreed.

And he was also pleased to say that although many of the copyrights of his works in the past years were in the hands of some British film companies, he could let his agent be responsible for assisting Li Qian in negotiating to help Li Qian obtain the rights to distribute DVDs in China.

…………

The lake area is beautiful in the summer.

The cigar inventory in the old man's hand is of good quality.

It is even more wonderful to be able to get the personal authorization of James McCullough and obtain the DVD distribution rights of nearly 30 of his works in China in the future.

I went out for a walk, especially when I stood by the lake for a while, blowing all over the water and blowing the night cold, and when I came back, the hostess Helena had already prepared dinner.

The red wine was opened, and the three of them chatted while eating.

In fact, the McCulloughs have properties in many parts of the UK – James McCullough may not be good at doing these things herself, and she is not good at running them, but Helena is not only beautiful and acting, but she is also very good at taking care of their businesses.

So much so, before he met Helena, although James's movie production was not low, and in that year, while holding awards, the box office income was also quite considerable, but he never cared about how much money he had, and he just spent it when he had money.

Genius, I never thought that I would be short of money one day.

But since Helena, the old man's financial power has been confiscated, and he has complained in the early years, but the more he goes on, the more he has nothing to say.

Today, they have two small houses in London, a villa in Nottingham, a small winery in the south of France, and even several high-end restaurants in London and Paris that use their portraits.

However, James McCullough still likes the old villa he bought in the Lake District the most.

Especially in recent years, according to himself, the older he gets, the more he likes to live here, so whenever the climate is right, he will come and live for a few months - Helena did not complain in the slightest, and the old man wanted to live there, and she ran there. Despite the living conditions of the cottages, they certainly can't compare to their mansions in London and Edinburgh.

This feeling is to some extent similar to Wang Jinglu and their doting on Li Qian.

Li Qian can do whatever he wants, they have never had any opinions, they have supported from beginning to end, and they have supported them personally.

…………

After dinner, the temperature in the Lake District of England at the end of May drops to about 10 degrees.

Fortunately, Li Qian prepared in advance, and fortunately, this old house has undergone some repair and maintenance a few years ago, so it feels quite good to put on a coat and visit his workshop with the old man.

The so-called workshop is where the old man makes his own pipes.

Piled up on the ground and filled with various wooden boxes, the old man bought briar roots, of all shapes. On the long, rough wooden workbench there are a lot of semi-finished products.

The old man asked Li Qian if he had ever made his own pipes, and Li Qian shook his head.

Cao Zhan has this hobby, he likes to buy and collect some famous or nobody's works, collect them, and use them, but at the same time, when he was not so busy a few years ago, he would make dozens of them himself in a year. Some will give it away, and some will collect it themselves.

Li Qian had several pipes in his hand, all of which were given by Cao Zhan.

But Li Qian is usually too busy, smoking a cigar is okay, sitting there and enjoying a bucket of cigarettes leisurely, it seems to be a little more extravagant.

So, he smoked very little, very little.

It was only occasionally when Cao Zhan came over to sit and talk about things that he remembered and followed suit.

When he told him about these circumstances, the old man was very dissatisfied, "How can a person not make his own pipe?" Qian, you should learn to make your own pipe, believe me, it will be fun!"

Li Qian shrugged.

Then, the old man took Li Qian into a room next to the workshop—this time, Li Qian was in a trance, and thought that he had entered Cao Zhan's pipe collection room.

There are so many pipes of all kinds.

Don't say thousands!

The old man said aggressively: "Every pipe here is made by me!" From the initial cutting, to making, to grinding, to coloring, or sandblasting, all by myself!"

I have to say that looking at this room full of pipes, Li Qian felt from the bottom of his heart that this was indeed a great achievement worth bragging.

At the same time, he had to sigh from the bottom of his heart again: in contrast, too many artists in this world live too leisurely and have a lot of interest in life, but on the other hand, he is busy from beginning to end year after year, and in this life, except for work, there is almost no interest at all.

Especially in the past two years, as a traveler who clearly knows that a new wave of the great development of the whole world film is coming, he is like a clockwork villain, constantly busy and busy, trying to catch up with such a major turning point, at least bring Minghu culture on the right track, pull the next step will be the fast lane of rapid development, and at the same time hope to be able to drive the entire Chinese film industry......

In short, one word: tired!

Pointing to his treasure house, the old man said very generously: "Which one of the photos, take whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"

Then he said, "If you're willing to learn, I can teach you how to make a good pipe!"

Li Qian's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Striving for the rise of Chinese films is the goal I set for myself, and if the goal is not reached, there is no possibility of relieving or being lazy in advance, and perhaps, once I leave the UK and end this little vacation I gave myself, what I have learned here will be useless, and I will never think about it again for the rest of my life.

However, at this time, in the treasure house of pipes accumulated by a film master for decades, Li Qian subconsciously nodded and said with a smile: "Okay! Then I'll learn to make pipes with you!"

***

Ask for a monthly pass!

Recently, there are too many things at hand and too much.,I don't have the ability to break out for the time being.,But I still hope that the brothers can pull me at the beginning of the month.,When I'm busy with this section.,I'll definitely give you a period of enjoyment!