Chapter 65: The Golden Palm Disregards The Golden Palm
Li Chen woke up around eight in the morning.
His cell phone's inbox was overflowing with congratulatory messages, both in Chinese and English, including those from Scarlett Johansson and Hillary, who had kissed him at the awards ceremony.
There were also messages from most of the actors who attended the Cannes Film Festival.
Yang Siwei was even more swamped.
Early in the morning, she excitedly came to Li Chen's room.
Her face was beaming with a smile: "Boss, my phone is about to explode."
"You probably won't believe it, but guess who called me?"
Yang Siwei said mysteriously.
"Whoever, I'm not interested!" Li Chen laughed, showing no respect.
"Boss, has Yifei ever told you that you're too unromantic?"
Yang Siwei said pitifully.
Finally, she couldn't help but exclaim happily: "It was LV and Gucci!"
"They want to invite the Boss to be their spokesperson, but I didn't dare to accept on your behalf."
Li Chen raised an eyebrow, roughly understanding.
Huang Xiaoming seemed to be the earliest high-end luxury brand spokesperson in China.
But that seemed to be after 2008.
LV and Gucci were potential competitors.
The Chinese market was an important part of their global market that they could not ignore.
They valued him, the youngest Golden Palm director with an East Asian face.
And he would very likely be a regular on the red carpets of major international film festivals in the future.
His external conditions were also highly representative.
So.
"Refuse them, I'm a director, not a celebrity artist, I don't have time."
Yang Siwei gasped, although she had already anticipated this outcome.
But she still couldn't help but regret: "Boss, you disdain something others dream of, it's too, too extravagant."
"Alright, I knew it would be this result, I will reply to them, Boss."
Seeing that the Boss didn't want to discuss the topic further, Yang Siwei didn't continue.
Returning to her room, Yang Siwei couldn't help but post another update on her blog for her Boss.
"I received calls from LV and Gucci this morning, don't misunderstand, they weren't looking for me."
"I excitedly went to find the Boss!"
"The result was unexpected but within expectations; the Boss rejected them without hesitation."
"My heart is bleeding!"
"At this moment, I don't want to be a woman anymore."
More and more people followed Yang Siwei's blog.
Soon, comments started pouring in.
"Siwei, save it, one Director Li is enough among men."
"Siwei, I have to admit, I'm also 'sour' about Director Li this time."
Although everyone understood that Yang Siwei was actually promoting Rongchen Film and Television.
But this blog post truly made the celebrities in the industry feel 'sour'.
Especially the A-list celebrities; it was no exaggeration to call it a 'dimension-reduction attack'.
How many people were still lingering in the eighteenth-tier, dreaming of more.
Countless people struggled to barely enter the second-tier threshold.
A small group of A-list artists painstakingly created news and increased their exposure.
Yet they couldn't attract the attention of international luxury brands.
As a result, Director Li, who had only debuted for two years, was favored by two major luxury brands, LV and Gucci.
What was most infuriating was that Director Li actually refused!
It was truly a case of 'some die of drought, others die of flood'.
The leading actress of Huayi Brothers also sighed repeatedly.
"Only Director Li has this confidence and strength," Li Bingbing sighed.
Li Xue, however, was very open-minded and said with a smile.
"Sister, Director Li's height, long legs, plus his hairstyle and eyebrows, fit Western aesthetics very well."
"Otherwise, even if Director Li won the Golden Palm, LV and Gucci wouldn't have noticed him."
"When Director Chen won it back then, his treatment was incomparable to Director Li's."
Li Bingbing couldn't help but laugh: "Xue'er, when Director Chen won the Golden Palm, he already had white hair at his temples, how can that be the same?"
"Ultimately, you still need to produce influential works."
"Otherwise, your sister, I, would have stopped here."
When Fan Bingbing saw this news, her heart was also in turmoil.
Red carpets, awards, high-end endorsements – each was something she yearned for.
Now, Wang Zhonglei, in order to keep her.
Promised that next year, the company would prioritize her and give her the best resources.
Starting with two movies.
But looking around, she couldn't relax at all.
Zhang Ziyi, the most famous, quietly hooked up with Huo Qishan, the son of a Hong Kong tycoon.
Zhao Wei was involved with Wang Yu, one of the Four Young Masters of Beijing.
Xu Jinglei had the core of the Beijing Circle behind her.
The other Bingbing in the company was more like a direct descendant of the company.
Only she had to fight alone.
Fan Bingbing bit her lip stubbornly.
Even without relying on men, I, Fan Bingbing, can make everyone look at me.
She looked at her exquisite reflection in the mirror.
Fan Bingbing thought to herself: We'll see.
For the celebration banquet that evening, Han Sanping booked the most luxurious hotel in the area.
The guests included nearly 80% of Chinese and foreign film stars and high-level executives from film and television companies attending the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the presidents of the three major European film festivals.
When Director Chen Kaige and Chen Hong arrived.
Chen Hong wore a red evening gown, her elegance undiminished.
Director Chen Kaige stood with one hand in his pocket, his imposing manner not lessened in the slightest.
He still had that annoying air of someone who would 'stand on the highest peak and survey all the small mountains'.
It was Chen Hong who took the initiative to extend her hand and smiled: "Congratulations, Director Li."
Li Chen shook her hand and smiled: "Thank you, Hong Jie and Director Chen, for coming tonight."
Li Chen felt uncomfortable looking at Director Chen Kaige's arrogant posture with one hand in his pocket.
He didn't take the initiative to shake Director Chen Kaige's hand, leaving Director Chen Kaige hanging there, somewhat embarrassed.
Director Chen Kaige's expression turned sour.
It was Han Sanping who smoothed things over, quickly saying: "Let's take a picture."
And so, a group photo was captured on the beach of Cannes.
Two generations of The Golden Palm directors stood in the center.
Director Chen Kaige was a few centimeters taller than Li Chen.
He stood with great presence, one hand in his pocket, the other hanging down, head held high, chest out.
Li Chen, on the other hand, had his hands naturally hanging down, completely relaxed.
But the photographer felt an oddly incongruous quality in the picture.
Director Chen Kaige was like a gleaming, sharp sword, captivating to the eye.
While Li Chen was more like a profound iron sword, heavy and without an edge, its brilliance contained within.
But Director Chen Kaige was clearly older, so why did he have this feeling?
Even he found it difficult to judge which of the two great directors had more imposing presence.
Amidst the bright lights and clinking glasses, Li Chen and Han Sanping were the protagonists of the night.
Director Chen Kaige, simmering with anger, didn't stay long before pulling Chen Hong away to leave.
Back at the hotel, he could no longer hold back.
"No manners, doesn't know his place, winning the Golden Palm means he has no one in his eyes?"
Chen Hong didn't know what to say; she also felt that Li Chen had been a bit excessive tonight.
They, as a couple, went to support him, but he wasn't willing to show even a little humility.
He made her husband, who was so concerned with face, lose face on the spot.
If Han Sanping hadn't intervened, it would have been even more awkward.
Han Sanping didn't say much about Director Chen Kaige's departure.
They were all great directors, and everyone had their temper.
He wouldn't side with Director Chen Kaige to admonish Li Chen.
Which talented person isn't proud of their talent?
Li Chen now had the qualification and confidence to stand as equals with these fifth-generation directors.
In fact, in Han Sanping's eyes, he admired Li Chen more.
After all, shoplifters had already brought him tangible benefits.
While The Promise still needed the boost of critical acclaim and box office success after its release.
The celebration banquet continued, and Hillary and Scarlett left one after another.
Their few encounters with Li Chen had not yet yielded any substantial results.
Perhaps Scarlett Johansson thought more about it, as Hillary had already won the Oscar for Best Actress.
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