Chapter 115: The Berlin Red Carpet is a Bit Cold
Miss Liu arrived late. Upon entering the room, she saw Li Chen and a white-haired old man, whose face was wreathed in smiles like chrysanthemums, chatting happily.
“Xixi, let me introduce you. This is Marco Müller, the chairman of the Venice Film Festival.” Li Chen and Marco Müller both stood up.
Marco Müller looked at the young Eastern girl in front of him with a smile.
He secretly nodded, thinking she was indeed very beautiful, not much worse than Zhang Ziyi.
“Markel, she is my girlfriend and the female lead in my film, ‘those years,’ which I brought to Berlin this time.”
“Hello, Mr. Markel, I am Liu Yifei,” Miss Liu said with a smile, extending her hand and speaking in English.
“What a beautiful lady. Li Chen has good taste; even I can’t help but be smitten,” Marco Müller said with a smile, holding Liu Yifei’s hand.
Liu Yifei politely said thank you, this time speaking in Chinese. She was a little surprised that Marco Müller spoke Chinese so fluently.
“Yifei, don’t be so polite. Li Chen and I are very familiar. Actually, compared to clumsy English, I prefer to speak Chinese, haha,” Marco Müller joked with a serious expression.
“That’s right, Xixi, you should still speak Chinese. It’s more comfortable for me to listen to,” Li Chen added.
Miss Liu nodded and naturally sat beside Li Chen.
Li Chen and Marco Müller chatted about the Berlin Film Festival.
Miss Liu listened with great interest, occasionally interjecting a comment.
“Markel, when my film ‘those years’ Premieres, you must come and support it.”
“Li Chen, even if you don’t say so, I will come. I won’t miss any of your China’s films. I just saw Chen Kaige, and he’s not doing so well.”
Marco Müller shook his head as he spoke, feeling regret for Chen Kaige.
Li Chen and Miss Liu exchanged glances, both having a telepathic understanding and thinking the same thing.
Although Berlin gave Chen Kaige a lot of face this time, holding the Premiere of ‘The Promise’ for him at the main venue.
Unfortunately, among the main actors, only Zhang Dongjian came; even his wife, Chen Hong, who was usually inseparable from him, didn’t show up.
The collapse of ‘The Promise’s’ reputation led to a situation where wherever he went, the media would try every means to ask questions that troubled Chen Kaige and his wife.
Now, everyone in Europe and America knows that this film, ‘The Promise,’ was “returned” by overseas distributor Harvey Weinstein Brothers.
It wasn’t until recently that Warner Independent Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Pictures established over a year ago, bought the North America and Germany distribution rights.
Moreover, ‘The Promise’ was strongly demanded by the distributor to be re-edited to a length of 103 minutes, 19 minutes shorter than the domestic release version.
The “short version” was what was screened in Berlin.
The opening and closing credits of the “short version” were changed, and most of the parts that domestic audiences called jokes disappeared.
For example, Wuhuan’s extended golden thumb, “You made me lose the chance to be a good person!”, “I was moved by you!”, and so on.
Chen Kaige was first pressured by Harvey Weinstein Brothers to lower the price, and then was asked by a novice to delete and rename parts of his film.
A painstaking work costing 350 million was kicked around like a ball. It was fortunate that Chen Kaige was self-absorbed enough.
For others, with a lower psychological tolerance, they would probably have completely deflated.
After seeing Marco Müller off, Miss Liu smiled and said, “I didn’t expect Marco Müller to understand our culture so well.”
“Markel is called a China expert, do you think it’s for nothing?” Li Chen said with a smile, putting his arm around Miss Liu’s waist.
Just as he was about to moisten her lips, Miss Liu blocked Li Chen’s mouth with two fingers and said with a charming smile, “By the way, how should I dress for tomorrow’s red carpet?”
This question was quite a headache for her. She had many dresses, but the key was that Berlin was too cold, so she wanted to ask Li Chen’s opinion.
“I had Yang Siwei custom-make a suit for you, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“No need to wear a dress?”
“Forget it. Our ‘those years’ is not a competition entry, and besides, in such cold weather, I wouldn’t want you to freeze,” Li Chen said with a smile.
Miss Liu smiled slightly, wrapped her arms around Li Chen’s neck, and offered a passionate kiss, and the room immediately warmed up.
Actually, there was another reason: very few stars came to Berlin this year.
This year’s film festival happened to be sandwiched between the Oscar nominations announcement and the awards show.
Big European and American stars were busy lobbying for their films in Los Angeles at this time; who had time to come to Berlin?
If Miss Liu dressed too formally, the media might publish headlines the next day like “Berlin Film Festival Suffers Cold Shoulder, Chinese Actors Become Hot Topic.”
Or even more exaggeratedly, “When the tiger is away, the monkey becomes king.”
In the evening, Li Chen and a few others met Andy Lau at the hotel restaurant.
Andy Lau and Li Chen hadn’t arrived yet, and Yang Siwei, Tang Yan, and Liu Yifei were chatting animatedly, laughing and talking.
“This hotel is nice, but the internet is ridiculously expensive. Mi Mi just wanted to video call me. I tried dialing, and 20 minutes actually cost 24 euros. Goodness, I quickly went offline and stayed put,” Tang Yan said, looking startled.
Miss Liu chuckled, “I didn’t realize Tangtang is so good at managing a household. Jin Ge is blessed!”
“Tangtang, video call Jin Ge as much as you want tonight. The boss really doesn’t mind the cost,” Yang Siwei also teased.
Tang Yan, with her face unable to hide her embarrassment from their teasing, retorted, “Alright, since the boss’s wife and the agent have spoken, I can only respectfully obey!”
Miss Liu was now used to their playful addresses and said nonchalantly, “That’s right, but whatever you do, don’t tell your boss that I instigated it. I won’t admit it.”
As the three were talking, Andy Lau and Li Chen walked in.
The three girls proactively stood up and greeted Andy Lau.
“Hua Ge”
“Hua Ge”
“Hello, Yifei and Little Tang are even more beautiful, and Siwei is getting cuter and cuter,” Andy Lau said with a smile, nodding to each of the three girls.
“Alright, Hua Ge, you’re the first person to say I’m cute,” Yang Siwei said with a dejected expression.
“Hua Ge is so handsome, Li Chen has become a background,” Miss Liu sighed softly, shaking her head.
“Xixi, don’t be a lovesick fool. Hua Ge, at his age, is when a man’s mature charm is at its peak. I’m definitely slightly inferior! Slightly inferior!” Li Chen said shamelessly.
The girls all suppressed their laughter and didn’t continue the topic that made Li Chen embarrassed.
During their casual chat, Andy Lau also brought up Wang Zhonglei.
At this time, Wang Zhonglei only wanted to see Li Chen make a fool of himself.
Li Chen’s ‘those years’ might have a fan base in China, after all, the novel was a bestseller, and the lead actress was the currently most popular Liu Yifei.
But this was Berlin; who abroad knew who Liu Yifei was?
Even if Li Chen had some fame, he was a director, not an actor.
Did he really think even his farts smelled like roses?
He believed that as long as he released the trailer for ‘the banquet,’ with its grand scenes and the influence of Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun.
At this ‘Berlin trade fair,’ ‘the banquet’ would definitely shine brightly! Making Li Chen’s ‘those years’ pale in comparison.
Talking about love with the meticulous Germans was like playing a lute to a cow!
That night, Li Chen’s words at the Grand Hyatt Hotel were already relayed back to China.
Local media reported with headlines like this:
“On Valentine’s Day, February 14th, the youngest Chinese The Golden Palm director, Li Chen, will tell the story of China’s first love at the BERLINALE PALAST (Cinema Palace).”
“Silver Lion Director Li Chen interprets an Eastern love story, the most anticipated masterpiece this Valentine’s Day: ‘those years, the girl we chased together’”
Li Chen was still marveling that Tim had done a good job; he was so good at hyping it up that he almost believed it himself.
He had intended to praise Tim, but Tim said it wasn’t his masterpiece.
Later, Li Chen called Kostlick, the film festival chairman who invited him to Berlin.
Kostlick cleared up his confusion.
“Don’t be surprised, Li Chen. It’s no exaggeration to say that you are the biggest name and most attractive filmmaker at this Berlin Film Festival. We also want to use your fame to make Berlin not so cold.”
This answer made Li Chen laugh and cry, and a phrase suddenly popped into his mind: When there are no great generals in Shu, Liao Hua acts as the vanguard!
Pfft pfft pfft! How could Liao Hua compare to me? I am a transmigrator who knows five thousand years of the past and several decades of the future.
Kostlick continued to explain, “Li Chen, don’t laugh at me. This year’s opening ceremony, barely anyone could be called a star.”
“Only the 56-year-old America actress Sigourney Weaver, who played an autistic patient in the opening film ‘Snow Cake’.”
“But she’s already 56 years old!”
“This, this is too exaggerated, Kostlick!” Li Chen gasped.
“Not at all exaggerated! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been teased by our newspapers as ‘full-service’ just because I had nothing to do and went around looking for a restroom with an actress who urgently needed to use the facilities,” Kostlick said with a wry smile.
Li Chen was completely speechless; so, in that case, he really was the biggest star!
It wasn't just Berlin making a big deal out of Li Chen's name; domestic portals were doing the same.
"Li Chen, Liu Yifei in Berlin Together, Suspected Official Announcement!"
"Li Chen Predicts 'those years' Will Be the Progenitor of Youth Campus Romance Films, Followed by Countless Imitators!"
"'those years' Receives High-Profile Treatment at Berlin, Premiere to Be Held on Valentine's Day at the Main Venue of the Berlin Cinema Palace!"
Netizens commented that Li Chen was a walking spotlight, always the brightest star wherever he went!
Wang Zhonglei was furious, cursing at his subordinate.
"These Germans! They look down on people! They're so snobbish! What a bunch!"
"Mr. Wang, there's no need to be angry. Favoring the strong and stepping on the weak is the same everywhere. Director Feng's international reputation truly can't compare to Chen Kaige or Li Chen's."
"However, once our 'the banquet' makes a splash, I believe their attitude won't be so arrogant!"
His subordinate's words calmed Wang Zhonglei down.
Indeed, Director Feng was certainly at the very top of the pyramid in China, but abroad, he truly wasn't as impressive.
He really didn't need to get so agitated.
But the thought of Li Chen always stealing Huayi Brothers' thunder made him uncomfortable all over.
"For the Premiere of 'those years,' go ask Yang Siwei for two tickets. We'll go support them and see exactly what kind of progenitor it is!" Wang Zhonglei said with a fake smile.
At this moment, the most melancholic person was probably another The Golden Palm director.
Both were The Golden Palm directors, one was admired by thousands, while the other could only confide his bitterness and grievances to his wife.
"Chen Hong, I just don't understand, what exactly is wrong with our 'The Promise'!"
On the phone, Chen Hong heard her husband's voice choke up, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
The joy and tears of the Golden Globe Award nomination in the past and the current situation were a huge irony.
She herself had been overwhelmed by reporters lately.
"Chen Kaige, come back early when you're done. Berlin is cold, so wear more layers."
His wife's concern brought a warm current through Chen Kaige's heart.
"Chen Hong, I won't fall! I will return to this battlefield! I definitely will!"
Early the next morning, Yang Siwei started getting busy.
One was her artist, the other was her boss's girlfriend.
She wished she could split herself in two.
Liu Yifei was pulled up by the makeup artist early in the morning to be styled, while Li Chen waited patiently beside her.
After nearly two hours, Miss Liu finally emerged, fresh and new.
Liu's Mother's appreciation for Li Chen's aesthetic grew with every look; this is how her daughter should be dressed.
"Xixi, Mom is relieved to entrust you to Li Chen. At least Li Chen won't let you squander our family's excellent genes," Liu's Mother teased her daughter with a smile.
"Mom, how come even you're siding with Li Chen now!"
"Yifei, my boss's taste is truly impeccable!" Yang Siwei added, delivering a 'stab'.
Liu Yifei also really liked the outfit Li Chen had chosen for her.
It was indeed quite cool, but of course, she would never admit it.
"Siwei, are you complimenting your boss's taste in clothes with that statement? Or his taste in girlfriends?" Liu Yifei asked, resting her chin on her hand.
Li Chen gave Miss Liu a thumbs-up. That logic, full marks!
"Haha, goes without saying, of course I'm complimenting my boss's taste in girlfriends! Yifei, tonight you will absolutely be the most beautiful person on the red carpet, bar none!"
"How much film will that take from the photographers!"
Miss Liu had her hair in a bun, with light makeup.
A black pearl choker adorned her neck, and she wore a white suit paired with a black high-waisted pleated skirt, with a round-neck long-sleeved T-shirt underneath.
Coupled with a pair of dark green high heels, her entire being radiated a soft glow.
Miss Liu spun around in front of Li Chen: "How is it, Director Li? Walking beside you, does it not affect you?"
Li Chen sat on the sofa, legs crossed, pinching his chin and nodding sagely: "Barely, barely, after all, Director Li isn't bad either!"
This time, Yang Siwei pretended not to hear, stood up and said: "Boss, Boss's girlfriend, I'm going over to Tangtang's side. I feel bad for our Tangtang, tonight is destined to be the Boss's girlfriend's night."
The time quickly arrived for the evening's opening ceremony red carpet.
Berlin, which had been sunny during the day, unexpectedly began to snow in the evening.
The Berlin Film Festival, which didn't have many people to begin with, now had even fewer. As the red carpet ceremony began, the snow fell heavier and heavier.
It was as if even heaven looked down on the Berlin Film Festival.
The harsh weather also sharply reduced the number of movie fans, even equaling the number of reporters present for interviews.
The one-and-a-half-hour red carpet ceremony was basically dominated by local German stars, many of whom even local movie fans probably couldn't name.
Presumably, if it weren't for Li Chen, Andy Lau, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan, more than half of the dozen or so domestic media outlets would have left.
Amidst the anticipation of over a dozen domestic media outlets, Li Chen, Andy Lau, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan finally made their appearance.
Walking onto the red carpet, Li Chen felt a pang of sadness for the Berlin Film Festival.
There were hardly any movie fans; reporters outnumbered them. Domestic and several foreign media reporters enthusiastically greeted Li Chen and the others for material.
"Xixi, Yang Siwei was right. Tonight is indeed your night. Pose well. Tomorrow, your beauty will surely become a highlight of this film festival."
Li Chen said in a low voice to Miss Liu while greeting the media reporters.
"How come I feel it's not even as good as last year's Golden Rooster Awards Film Festival?"
"Yifei isn't wrong, it really is very similar to last year's Golden Rooster Awards Film Festival," Andy Lau also said.
"Hua Zai, Director Li, Yifei, Tangtang, you're finally here! If you didn't come soon, we'd all turn into snowmen, haha," the reporters joked.
"Sorry, sorry, you've worked hard," Andy Lau said, putting his palms together, apologizing to the reporters.
Li Chen also said: "It's really tough on you all. If we had known it would snow, we would have come earlier."
"It's no trouble, just give us some material quickly. We need to leave too. This Berlin Film Festival is too cold. Besides Sigourney Weaver, who just walked by and looked somewhat decent, we're almost frozen asleep."
"Yifei is so beautiful today, and her style is a bit different from usual. Did Director Li choose this outfit for you?" The reporters started to gossip.
"That's right, Yifei, are you and Director Li planning to make an official announcement? Give us some inside scoop, considering how hard we're working."
The group cooperated with the media for interviews, while also having to guard against the media trying to trick them into revealing information.
"I wouldn't even look at him! This outfit was chosen by my stylist, not him!" Liu Yifei glanced at Li Chen and replied to the reporters with a smile.
But the stylist was his person, Liu Yifei added in her mind.
"Director Li, Yifei said she wouldn't look at you. Do you have anything you'd like to say?" The reporters suddenly weren't cold anymore.
"Sigh, I say, aren't you guys cold anymore? Finish taking your material and go back quickly, don't catch a cold," Li Chen said with a laugh, changing the subject.
The reporters all laughed. It seemed that to get these two to admit it, they would only get solid evidence.
The first day's opening ceremony passed in coldness and heavy snow.
Li Chen was right; the right time, place, and people made Miss Liu's first time walking a film festival red carpet a highlight of the festival and a focal point for domestic media.
"Berlin Film Festival Opens in Snow, Liu Yifei Makes Elegant Appearance in White Suit."
"Liu Yifei Jests, 'Wouldn't Look at Li Chen!'"
The official Berlin Film Festival website also posted photos of Li Chen and Liu Yifei on the red carpet.
Liu Yifei's fans in China were all curious about how her style had changed so much, suddenly having a mature charm to it.
But everyone tacitly agreed that Liu Yifei had become even more beautiful.
Netizens commented one after another.
"It still takes a green leaf to complement a red flower. I feel that with a common person like Li Chen standing next to her, the effect is quite good."
"It feels like Beauty and the Beast!"
"Looking at their eyes, if you say there's nothing between them, I won't believe it!"
"Whether you believe it or not, it doesn't matter. Fan Bingbing and Wang Xuebing's 'mandarin ducks playing in water' photos were exposed, and the two still didn't admit it."
"Li Bingbing and Zhu Xiaotian were making out like that in the hotel, and they still said they were just studying the script!"
"Li Chen and Liu Yifei still don't have definitive proof. Who knows if they're just hyping up 'those years'!"
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