Lance sat quietly in his chair, his left hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, his thumb gently rubbing the side of his index finger, but even so, the boiling of his brain could not be cooled down.

This isn't the first time he's seen the finished cut of "City of God," but it's the first time he's seen his own work on the big screen in a movie theater, a work of his own that he wrote and directed.

He originally thought it was just a small thing, because he had experienced the premieres of many films, several of which he was a producer on; Because he directed many plays on the stage, from his student days to Broadway; Because he is no longer a child, the ups and downs he has gone through have made him mature enough and calm enough...... However, it is not the same, after all, it is still different.

Looking at the big screen, the giant catches up with the little ghost gang, and everyone disappears into the alley giggling. The thoughts that surged in his mind were overwhelmed in an instant, the restlessness of putting his work on the big screen to be reviewed and judged by the audience, the throbbing of telling his thoughts and ideas through the camera and the story in anticipation of finding resonance, the excitement of completing a wonderful story and allowing the audience to relax and have fun...... It's like an elementary school student presenting his or her scientific research project in front of his teacher and classmates.

The most important thing is that this is the "City of God" that belongs to him, this is not the "City of God" of Fernando Meriels, this is the "City of God" of Lancelot Strello. He managed to do just that!

Suddenly, his hands were clenched into fists, and the restlessness that lingered around his body was violently accused, and the whole person calmed down. Lance told himself that this was just the beginning, that this was only the first step, that this was only his first work, that there was still a long way to go, that it was far from the time to get carried away with joy.

The boiling blood slowly cooled, and Lance only then drew his attention to observe the reaction around him. Lance has always believed that for any film, the audience is the most important reference criterion - including ordinary audiences, professional audiences, media reporters and film critics, film is an art, but first and foremost it must be an art that can be accepted by the public.

Throughout history, there have been countless works of art by Qu Gao and Kui, but Vincent van Gogh is undoubtedly the most famous, and during his lifetime, his work was never appreciated, and only one oil painting was sold. Half a century later, Van Gogh became one of the most famous artists in the world, and his works became the jewels of the temple of art, but during his lifetime, he was only a wanderer who was alone and immersed in his own world, and his life of poverty tormented his short but splendid life.

What's even more cruel is that among the many artists or works of art who are high and low, there are very few who can become Van Gogh.

True art needs a confidant who knows how to appreciate it, as well as an audience who is enthusiastically followed. Therefore, after a century of film development, how to find a balance between business and art is still the goal that every film practitioner and every film creator is striving for.

The importance of the audience is pushed to the extreme at the festival. Because, above the film festival, the film work does not need to consider the box office, does not need to consider the commercial performance, the audience's feedback and professional opinions are the only criteria for judging the work. This is especially true at the Sundance Film Festival, where it is a stage that truly belongs to independent filmmakers.

Lance looked at the reactions of all the spectators around him, but the heat in his heart gradually began to grow cold, because there was a dead silence around him, there was no sound, let alone any comments, and even Jessica Alba, who was sitting next to him, fell into endless silence.

This does not bode well.

Lance had heard of some films at the festival being screened and the audience was leaving the table with a lot of insults, and there were more than one or two films. Today, the audience did not shout or leave their seats, but after the film was over, the scene was silent, and even a layman with no experience knew that this was not a good phenomenon - it was a terrible situation.

This made Lance a little flustered, and he tilted his head slightly to look at the area where the reporters and critics were doing, and there was still a dead silence, as if it were just a group of terracotta warriors sitting in the dark. Lance grinded his teeth lightly, trying not to let his true feelings leak out, trying to calm himself down, but it was not an easy task - because this was the Sundance Film Festival, the audience didn't like the movie, even if he used the power of the media to point the finger at the deer, there was no way for the "City of God" to find a distribution company, let alone for the "City of God" to deceive the audience at the box office in the art theater.

Only, is the finished product of the "City of God" really that bad?

The thought crossed Lance's mind, and to be honest, he may not be better than the original, but it was definitely not inferior. To this, he can confidently admit it.

But, he's a director, he's a producer, he's a seller's market, and his comments don't count.

"First Ethan Cohen, Joel Cohen, Paul Kiamati...... And then there are the film critics, and by the way, Robert Redford...... And then there are the reporters of the major newspapers...... Then there is a discussion session where you can have a face-to-face discussion with the audience......"

Lance's brain was already running fast, thinking about how to use the resources at his disposal to control the situation as much as possible, not only to avoid further deterioration, but also to open up more situations for the film. If the City of God can't find a distributor and can't make a profit, then Chaos Pictures will face bankruptcy...... He would never give up lightly.

"Smack! Smack! The crisp and rhythmic applause rang out alone and echoed softly in the screening room. This interrupted Lance's train of thought, and he couldn't help but turn his head to follow the voice, and then Lance saw Joel's figure standing up, "Is that Joel or Ethan?" ”

In the darkness, Lance was a little uncertain. But judging from the reaction before the movie was played, Joel was not interested in him, and even a little repulsed, so, should it be Ethan?

The lonely applause echoed in the quiet space, but there was no passion at all, but it only made the atmosphere of the scene more awkward, and more and more set off the indifference and sluggishness of the other audiences, almost making people think that this is the most direct and cruel satire of the "City of God". That scene is unbearable to look at.

So, should it be Joel?

At that moment, another person stood up next to the figure, and the two men stood side by side, and the applause began to overlap. All of a sudden, people were standing in all directions of the screening room, as if it were a chain effect, and after the first switch was flopped, the next thing was stopped, and people stood up and joined in the applause.

The applause of "pop pop" converged into one, and the momentum began to climb steadily.

One second he was thinking about how to minimize the damage, and then he was thinking about whether the black hand of the taunting prank was Ethan or Joel, and the next second he was shocked by the jagged standing up like a whack-a-mole in front of him. Lance was stunned for a second, just for a second.

Jessica also stood up, vigorously agitating her hands, her eyes flashing with crystal light, looking at Lance intently and excitedly, her sexual/sensual lips opened slightly, and the curvature of the corners of her mouth showed inner excitement and excitement. Alexander Rodriguez, Leonardo Firmino and others, who were sitting next to them, panicked, and watched blankly as the people around them stood up one after another, and then waved their hands at them, and the group of simple lads hesitated to stand up, and then began to applaud in a similar way.

Seeing the blank expressions of Alexander and Leonardo, Lance couldn't help but laugh, and the curvature of the corners of his mouth was ridiculously and helplessly outlined, and he chuckled out a chuckle.

But this is not the end, everyone in the screening room stood up, even Percy and Hayden also stood up, clapping their palms in unison, and the crisp sound of palms colliding with palms gradually gathered together, making the air in the room slowly warm up.

The muffled sound of "pop" was directly drowned in the applause, the lights in the screening hall slowly lit up, the milky yellow light sprinkled down like a waterfall, the darkness faded like a tide in an instant, and the scene in the entire screening hall was extremely clear in front of you.

The three hundred audience members stood up en masse, densely packed like an undulating forest, towering into the sky, compressing the space in the screening room, filling every corner in sight, as if three thousand people could be seen in a trance; The faces blurred in the light all carried a similar excitement and excitement, and the applause of the scene climbed step by step with the brightness of the lights, and finally evolved into a tsunami that swept in with an unstoppable momentum, slamming into the walls of the screening room, reverberating with continuous echoes, giving people the illusion that the whole world was shaking.

All the eyes, all the eyes, all the applause were focused on Lance's body, and the temperature of the eyes danced on the skin, as if all the pores of the body were erected, and the sensational and hot sound violently struck the heart, stirred the blood, and lifted the body, as if it were ...... It's like flapping your wings and flying instantly.

All the emotions rushed in an instant, so mixed that they couldn't tell the difference.

Robert, who was standing not far away, cast his gaze and hinted with his eyes, "Come forward, you should come forward." Then, with his clapping hands, he pointed ahead and nodded encouragingly to Lance. Then Lance stood up and took a stride forward.

Applause, suddenly to the next level!

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