When the long ending song sounded and the subtitles began to roll on the screen, Li Tang was a little stunned. It wasn't the first time he had seen this movie, he had seen a rough cut version before, and his first reaction at the time was that this movie was very similar to a German comedy "Captain Impostor" that he had seen in his previous life.

That movie is about a deserter on the battlefield who was supposed to be executed, but because he picked up a captain's uniform, he got a life of openness. Whenever he went to a place, the people there looked at him. Although the "liner" in this uniform is only a nineteen-year-old recruit.

Li Tang didn't think of this movie when he read the script, but when he saw the picture presented on the screen, his mind immediately popped up.

The reason may be that the core of these two movies is the same, probably at the beginning when you get a new uniform, you have to play a new identity. But then I found out that you didn't even start acting, and everyone else had already entered the play automatically.

Of course, compared with "Fake Captain", Diao Yinan's "Uniform" is low, and from Li Tang's professional point of view, the actors in it have no acting skills at all, wooden and empty, and there is no fierce emotional outburst.

And it is precisely this silence, dullness, and even despair that profoundly reflects the adoration and fear of those around him for this uniform that symbolizes power.

This kind of thing may seem commonplace in the eyes of Chinese people, but it deeply touches Li Tang's thinking in his previous life, and it also touches on MK2's Juliet. Schlameck.

When the screen gradually dimmed and the lights came on, the blonde foreign girl clapped her hands enthusiastically, and even her eyes still sparkled.

"It's so good, it's so shocking, it's so powerful......"

In addition to being excited, the girl held Diao Yinan's hand and spit out a series of French words from her mouth, so fast that Li Tang, a half-French translator, had no time to translate. And Diao Yinan, who was holding his hand, was even more confused.

Fortunately, Juliet reacted in time, and after saying sorry, she repeated it in English.

The praise of the French is often extremely exaggerated. In her description, the film "Uniform" is full of lyrical realism, which can be described as a kind of lyrical realism. The director depicts the texture of life in Chinese cities from his unique perspective, as well as the lost emotions of young people and the confusion in their self-search, igniting the underlying passion of an ordinary person with the director's sensitivity.

After listening to Li Tang's translation, Diao Yinan was stunned for a long time, maybe even he didn't expect that this foreign girl could interpret from his own movie that he didn't realize these contents.

In fact, to put it bluntly, this is an experimental movie, he just watched his friends become directors one by one, his eyes were red, and then he wanted to try it himself.

His original intention was similar to that of Chief Jia back then, that is, he wanted to show the social appearance he had seen and experienced. The core things that are shown in his films may be happening all the time on the land of China.

I really didn't think about it so much!

But he could still understand the words, he held Juliet's bony hand, and said in unison with his wooden expression: "Thank you!" ”

The accounts of Shengtang Film and Television and MK2 for the previous year have been settled, and the annual share of "Going" and "The Third Man" is 1.4 million euros, which is 1.68 million euros when converted into US dollars, which is equivalent to 13.98 million yuan.

At present, the exchange rate between the euro and the renminbi is about 1:10, but it is still necessary to convert it into US dollars first and then exchange it for the currency of the country.

Compared with last year's 30 million, this year's is almost half, but it is still a result that exceeds expectations for Shengtang Film and Television. After all, "Going", as a pure romance film, is much worse than the suspense-themed "The Third Man", both in terms of artistic purity, plot and ornamentation.

The most obvious is that "The Third Man" was very popular in Japan and North America last year, while "Going" can only be screened in European art theaters.

After more than a year of cooperation, Shengtang Film and Television and MK2 have a certain trust in each other. Schlamaker came to the company to have a look.

Don't think that foreigners don't pay attention to human relations, they may pay more attention to the rules, but the rules are nothing more than human feelings, which are common all over the world. Under the same conditions, everyone is of course more willing to cooperate with people they know and trust.

This is not the first time Juliet has been to China, because of her work, she has been to Wanwan and Hong Kong in China before, but this is the first time she has come to the mainland.

Diao Yinan, an authorial film with a strong personal personality, has no other way but to take the route of overseas exhibitions. And to be honest, movies with this kind of theme are clearly uncensorable, so Zeng Jia also deliberately set up a company in Hong Kong to produce in the name of this company to avoid censorship.

To put it bluntly, it's a movie wash.

And this trick is learned from Section Chief Jia, Chief Jia's Hutong Production is a film company registered in Hong Kong, in recent years, his works "Xiao Wu", "Platform", "Ren Yao" The so-called hometown trilogy, including the "Tomorrow's World" directed by Yu Liwei and starring Diao Yinan, are all produced by this Hutong.

Therefore, Chief Jia's films seem to be banned in name, but he himself is not affected and will not be punished by the ban.

Now Diao Yinan's "Uniform" is, in Zeng Jia's words, that since it can't pass the censorship, it can't be smashed in your hands. I invited Juliet to come over this time, on the one hand, to get in touch with the relationship, and on the other hand, I also wanted to find a way for the movie "Uniform" through her, and it was best to go to Cannes.

At this time, seeing Juliet's so excited appearance after watching the movie, Li Tang couldn't help but glance at Zeng Jia, okay.

Zeng Jia said tentatively: "Juliet, do you have any hope of applying for the Cannes Film Festival when you see this movie?" ”

Cannes is a French film festival that has a great influence as MK2, the largest art film distribution company in France.

"Cannes? Why not Berlin? Juliet said unexpectedly.

"Berlin? You mean Berlin this year? Li Tang was stunned.

"That's right! This kind of social film is more advantageous in Berlin......"

Before Juliet's words fell, Li Tang hurriedly said: "No, isn't the registration deadline for this year's Berlin Film Festival closed?" ”

Today is January 8th, and this year's Berlin International Film Festival will open on February 6th, the deadline for entries has already closed at the end of December last year, and if nothing else, the shortlist will be announced soon.

If you aim at the Berlin Film Festival from the beginning, it may be too late for Diao Yinan to catch up with the later stage. But Li Tang and Zeng Jia feel that if they use the MK2 relationship, they may hope to target Cannes even more. The Festival de Cannes has always been the most closely regarded, and its strong media campaign ensures that the shortlisted works are immediately presented to audiences around the world.

"The registration deadline has ended, but ......" Juliet spread her hands towards Li Tang, shrugged her shoulders and said with a smug expression: "But there will always be exceptions to everything, right?" The main competition unit is definitely not possible, but the youth forum unit is still very promising. ”

Zeng Jia was a little unwilling and said: "What about Cannes? ”

In her opinion, Cannes is clearly much more influential than Berlin.

"Cannes? I do not know! Kay, I've already said that a social film like "Uniform" is more suitable for Berlin, maybe it can win an award or something. But in Cannes, I can only say that it was probably about participation. ”

One more thing, this "Kay" is the English name given by Li Tang to Zeng Jia.

The general manager of the dignified Tang Dynasty Film and Television often has to deal with foreigners, how can he not have an English name? To be honest, some of the English names that Chinese people have given themselves these days, such as Lily or Tom, are actually equivalent to Cuihua and Jianguo, which are very cheesy.

And the name "Kay" is derived from Latin and Old English and is a girl name with a long history. And the name gives people the impression of personality, independence and self-confidence, and it is a simple but cold and domineering name.

Li Tang felt that this name was very suitable for Zeng Jia's personal temperament.

After listening to Juliet's words, Li Tang understood what she meant. The three major European film festivals have their own unique styles, for example, Juliet just mentioned that the Berlinale has always focused on political and social themes.

The Venice Film Festival, on the other hand, raises the level of film art and encourages innovation, especially avant-garde themes, and the criterion for judging is purely artistry. This is also the biggest reason why director Zhang Yimou was able to win the Golden Lion twice, including Li Tang, who was able to win the Venice Little Actor with "The Third Man".

As for Cannes, more attention is paid to the quality of the films that play an important role in the process of cinema as an art.

In a word: Berlin is a political correctional center, Venice is a pioneer tea party, and Cannes is a gimmick auction house.

"Uniform", as a work with a social theme, is obviously more suitable for Berlin.

Li Tang and Zeng Jia glanced at each other, and then looked at Diao Yinan at the same time. Although they are investors, this kind of thing must also respect the director's intentions.

Diao Yinan's English level is average, he only understood Cannes and Berlin just now, and when he saw Li Tang and Zeng Jia looking over, he said with a cute face: "What, what's going on?" ”

Li Tang had no choice but to briefly repeat the content of the conversation he had just had with Juliet, which roughly means that MK2 may help "Uniform" sign up for this year's Berlin Film Festival, and the chances of winning at the Berlin Film Festival are greater than those in Cannes, and then it depends on how you choose?

As soon as Li Tang's voice fell, he saw Diao Yinan's face full of excitement and said: "What else do you choose, you must go to Berlin......"

His initial idea was simple, just make a movie. Later, he heard that the company intended to apply for the film at the Cannes Film Festival, which was definitely an unexpected surprise for him, and he was still thinking that being able to go to Cannes would be a victory. But at this time, when he heard that if he participated in the Berlin Film Festival, he still had the hope of winning an award, which was like a dream, how could he not be excited.

But as soon as he was halfway through the words, he immediately reacted, looked at Li Tang and Zeng Jia, and then said with a sneering expression: "Teacher Li, Mr. Zeng, what do you two think?" ”

Li Tang smiled and said: "If you go to Berlin, you will go to Berlin, but let's make it clear first, it will definitely be no fun to go to the main competition unit in Berlin, at most you can be shortlisted for the Youth Forum unit." ”

"No problem!" Diao Yinan couldn't wait.

His idol Jia Kechang became famous when he won the Youth Forum Award at the Berlin Film Festival with "Xiao Wu". He didn't dare to hope that he could replicate the glory of Chief Jia, as long as he could follow in the footsteps of his idol, it was already a great honor for him.

After getting Li Tang's affirmative look, Zeng Jia turned to Juliet and said with a smile: "Juliet, thank you very much for your help and your company. ”

Juliet returned with a sly smile: "OK! Kay, let's talk about the next collaboration! ”

To be honest, "Uniform" is a socially themed art film that is very niche, but it is better to have a lasting life. For example, Chief Jia's "Xiao Wu" is still being screened in art theaters in Europe, but the box office is very limited, and it is often in the form of ticket reservations, such as one or two screenings a week.

Therefore, if the previous cooperation method of agency distribution sharing is still followed, it may be a long process for Shengtang Film and Television, and the rest is to buy out the copyright of overseas distribution.

It's hard to say this price, and most of the small-budget art films at the film festival may be sold for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unless it can win the grand prize, just like "Xiao Wu" sold for a high price of $800,000 that year.

But this time, Juliet and MK2 helped deliver "Uniform" to Berlin, and if it can be shortlisted for the Youth Forum unit as desired, if you still hold on to it and have to wait until after the lottery to talk about the price, it will be very unauthentic.

How will we cooperate in the future?

And this is still a double-edged sword, in case you don't get anything after the lottery, you may not even be able to sell hundreds of thousands.

After some bargaining between Zeng Jia and Juliet, "Uniform" was finally sold for 200,000 euros. This is already a lot of money for "Uniform", which cost only 500,000 yuan to shoot, and Juliet and MK2 are also very satisfied, 200,000 euros to buy out an excellent art film with great potential for awards, except for the distribution rights outside the Greater China region. If you calculate purely according to the production cost in Europe, this money is estimated to be barely enough to make a very small cost film.

On January 12, when Li Tang was about to leave for Hu Jian, the 53rd Berlin International Film Festival announced the list of films shortlisted for the main competition unit.

When Li Tang saw the list of reprints on the Internet for the first time, he couldn't help but gasp: Hey, this year's Berlin Film Festival is simply a fight between gods!

Although there are only three Asian films shortlisted for this year's festival, two of them are Chinese-language films, namely "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou and "Blind Well" by a newcomer named Li Yang.

The director's "Hero" was invited to the Berlin Film Festival very early, and it is only natural that it was shortlisted for the main competition unit. Another film shortlisted for the main competition unit is "Twilight Seibei" directed by the famous Japanese director Yoji Yamada.

A striking feature of this year's shortlist is that there are a large number of American films, which occupy six of the 22 films shortlisted, which seems to be seriously at odds with the Berlinale's anti-Hollywood tradition.

But when he saw these titles, he made Li Tang sigh "fairy fight".

The six American films are: Spike. Jones's "Adapted Screenplay"; Stephen. Dudley's "Moment by Moment" ......

It is necessary to say more about the movie "All the Time", the three heroines in it are Meryl. Streep, Nicole. Kidman and Julianne. Moles. If Li Tang remembers correctly, the film will receive nine nominations at the Academy Awards two months later. Kidman won the Oscar for this movie, thus completely getting rid of the shadow of her ex-husband Tom.

The other four are also famous, namely: Steven. Soderbergh's "Flying into Space"; George. Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Thought; Black director Spike. Lee's "The 25th Hour," and Alan Lee. Parker's David. The Life of Al Gore.

I have a cold and am not in good shape!

(End of chapter)