Chapter 90: That's not a Story, it's an Accident
As the Hollywood sun rose, Li Chen's phone began to ring incessantly the moment he turned it on.
Before he could even check it, Han Sanping's call came through.
"Han Dong, did you install a monitor next to me?"
"I just turned on my phone, and your call came right in!" Li Chen said, laughing from his bed.
"You little rascal, don't you check what time it is on my side?"
"I stayed up most of the night to call you, and you're complaining!" Han Sanping said, annoyed.
"Alright, alright, just tell me what you need quickly."
"We'll be seeing each other in Venice soon, what can't wait until then that you have to call?" Li Chen asked.
"You little brat, you really don't know what's good for you! I'm too lazy to bicker with you."
"This afternoon, Yang Dong called me and told me to praise you over the phone."
"What does that mean?" Li Chen asked.
"What do you mean you don't understand?"
"For a horror theme like lurking, the official domestic channels certainly won't heavily promote or commend it."
"But the higher-ups approve of your approach of going overseas to earn dollars!"
"So they told me to give you a verbal commendation!"
Li Chen laughed heartily: "So that's what it meant all along."
Li Chen found it amusing; it was indeed the domestic style.
After hanging up with Han Sanping, Li Chen finished washing up and went online to check the comments.
The netizens were truly dreaming big.
It made Li Chen a little speechless.
What's this about the Big Six becoming the Big Seven? What are they thinking?
In Hollywood, a newcomer like Li Chen, even with the halo of the Golden Palm, was still just barely getting his foot in the door when it came to dealing with giants like the Big Six.
Li Chen was self-aware enough to know that achieving parity or even competing with them was not something that would happen anytime soon.
Even if lurking's opening box office was quite impressive, in the eyes of the Big Six, production companies primarily focused on B-grade horror films were not considered legitimate.
Perhaps Li Chen, in their eyes, was more like a gambler from the East.
For example, the Chinese director of A Nightmare on Elm Street 8, Yu Rentai.
It's not as if no Chinese people have tried their luck in Hollywood over the years.
Xu Ke and Lin Lingdong both returned from Hollywood with their tails between their legs.
Only the physically impaired Yu Rentai managed to establish himself in Hollywood in 2003 with a ghost horror film.
Think about how similar his situation is to Li Chen's current one.
Ultimately, Chiyou Films still needs a major production to make its mark.
Otherwise, Chiyou Films will always just be an unremarkable small workshop.
It can't even compare to first-tier independent production and distribution companies like Lionsgate and New Line, let alone the old aristocrats like the Big Six.
These past few days, the name Chiyou Films has been a constant topic of discussion among Hollywood filmmakers.
Especially with the fresh release of lurking's opening box office today, Chiyou Films instantly became a favored guest of local Hollywood media and television stations.
For these three days, Tim has either been on his way to an interview or in a car heading to a banquet.
He spent his days frequenting various Hollywood parties and social events.
However, this is normal in Hollywood; social networking is Tim's job.
The next day, Tim drove Li Chen to the airport.
Li Chen gently admonished him: "Tim, lurking is just a stepping stone; don't stop at what's in front of you, do you understand?"
Tim smiled brightly: "Boss, while I don't quite understand what 'stepping stone' means, I certainly understand what you mean by 'don't stop at what's in front of you.'"
"Even though I've been frequenting various banquets and parties these past two days, it's actually for the company..."
"Also, boss, I haven't delayed helping you find real estate either..."
Ignoring the talkative Tim, Li Chen walked into the airport with his assistant and bodyguards without looking back.
By the time Li Chen arrived in Venice, Huo Wenxi, Yang Siwei, and Han Sanping had already arrived earlier.
Li Chen would definitely make an appearance at the premiere of father's love is like a mountain on September 5th.
Normally, there was no need to get mixed up with them.
Yang Siwei, Li Bingbing, Tang Yan, and Zhou Xun came to pick him up together.
As he exited the aisle, he saw several familiar Chinese faces.
Yang Siwei waved from afar and smiled: "Boss, over here..."
Li Chen smiled and nodded, walking closer.
Tang Yan smiled: "I didn't realize, Boss, you're wearing matching outfits with Sister Xun today!"
Li Chen also noticed; indeed, they were.
Li Chen was dressed in a light grey casual outfit, with a buzz cut, black hair, and black sunglasses.
Behind him were two assistants and two bodyguards.
Zhou Xun, on the other hand, wore a light grey camisole, a silver mini-skirt, and black high heels, giving her a fresh and crisp look.
Zhou Xun playfully stepped forward and linked arms with Li Chen, saying: "Tangtang, you really lack discernment. Can't you tell this is a couple's outfit that Director Li and I agreed upon? Isn't that right, Director Li?"
Li Chen chuckled: "Xun Ge, mind your image. There are reporters ahead. If your significant other sees this, be careful of trouble in paradise!"
Li Bingbing smiled and stepped forward, also familiarly taking Li Chen's other arm, saying: "What image are Zhou Xun and I talking about in front of Director Li?"
Zhou Xun laughed heartily: "Exactly, Director Li, we're not afraid, what are you afraid of?"
With that, ignoring everyone's gazes, the two of them linked arms with Li Chen and walked towards the airport exit.
Li Chen pulled his arm away, not wanting to joke around with these two; he had already spotted the domestic media.
He certainly didn't want to be involved in rumors with them.
Seeing Li Chen withdraw his arm, Zhou Xun smiled: "Oh, Director Li is quite protective of his reputation."
Yang Siwei helped her boss out of the predicament: "Sister Xun, Bingbing Jie (Sister Bingbing), neither of you is my boss's type."
The group chatted and laughed as they left the airport. Li Chen was very cooperative, providing some material for the domestic media at the airport.
Once in the car, Zhou Xun was still restless.
"Siwei, tell your sister, what kind of woman does your boss like?" Zhou Xun asked, laughing without any reservations.
Li Chen sat in the back, closing his eyes to rest.
Yang Siwei was a bit fed up with Zhou Xun's personality; she was completely uninhibited and dared to tease anyone.
"Sister Xun, don't make it difficult for me. How would I know what kind of woman the boss likes?"
"But someone like you, who's already taken, is definitely not the boss's type, haha." Yang Siwei also joked.
Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing were not like Yang Mi, who was an insider and knew about the boss's relationship with Yifei, so it didn't matter.
Yang Siwei was mindful of this, knowing what to say and what not to say to whom.
Zhou Xun nodded to herself, saying sagely: "I guess your boss likes..."
"A camel nose, sloping shoulders, and preferably an eighteen-year-old virgin, right?"
"Uh..." Li Bingbing was a bit surprised, turning to look at Director Li, curious how he would respond.
Tang Yan's eyes widened slightly, surprised at how explicit Zhou Xun's words were!
Yang Siwei, however, remained expressionless and smiled: "Sister Xun, you should ask the boss yourself..."
Li Chen opened his eyes and said irritably: "You could have just said I like Liu Yifei, instead of beating around the bush so much..."
Zhou Xun burst out laughing: "Oh, Director Li finally admitted it!"
Li Chen nodded: "Yes, I admitted it. What's so surprising about that?"
"Thousands upon thousands of people like her, enough to line up from Tiananmen Square in Beijing to the Eiffel Tower in Paris."
"One more of me won't make a difference!"
Li Chen's words made everyone in the car, including Yang Siwei, stunned.
Li Bingbing also hadn't expected Li Chen to admit it so directly.
And to admit it so righteously and matter-of-factly.
He had thought Li Chen would either be coy and evasive like most people, or flat-out deny it.
But Li Chen was clearly not most people.
After a long pause, Zhou Xun murmured: "Siwei, your boss, he really has a certain charm..."
Before Yang Siwei could speak, Li Chen, who had resumed resting with his eyes closed, replied: "Xun Ge, don't covet my looks; you can't afford it."
"Bah!" Zhou Xun spat.
Yang Siwei burst out laughing, and Li Bingbing and Tang Yan also couldn't help but smile.
"Sister Xun, don't provoke my boss."
"Even Forbes can't grasp my boss, and it's not that I don't have confidence in you."
Zhou Xun turned her head away and muttered to herself: "Alright, your boss is indeed like Tang Sanzang's flesh in the eyes of ninety-nine percent of female artists now."
"Let's see if he can escape unscathed and achieve enlightenment!"
Li Chen wasn't worried at all about whether Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing would leak information to the media.
That wouldn't faze him at all; if they did leak it, he would just admit it openly.
They arrived at the St. Clemente Palace Hotel.
Li Chen was about to take a shower and change clothes before going to find Han Sanping.
But a knock on the door already sounded from outside.
Li Chen opened the door and saw it was Han Sanping, of course.
Next to him stood several other prominent figures.
Li An from Taiwan, and familiar faces like Wu Yusen, Tsui Hark and his wife, and Guan Jingpeng from Hong Kong.
"Han Dong, why are you here?"
"Director Li, Director Wu, Director Xu, General Manager Shi, Director Guan, please come in quickly."
Han Sanping stepped in first with small, measured steps.
The others followed behind Han Sanping.
"You're conquering territory in Hollywood, so I had to come and comfort you, my vanguard."
"Coincidentally, they were all at my place, so we came together to see you."
Han Sanping had the air of a leader, quite like a big boss giving directions.
Li Chen called his two assistants to act as servers.
After seating everyone, Li Chen said: "Gentlemen, don't listen to Han Dong's exaggerations; I wouldn't dare wear such a high hat."
Tsui Hark smiled nonchalantly: "Han Dong is telling the truth. Although Director Li is young, the achievements he has made in the past two years leave us old-timers speechless."
Tsui Hark's seven swords ultimately only grossed 84.35 million at the box office, losing all its money.
But it still didn't affect Tsui Hark's status as a major director.
Looking at Tsui Hark's calm demeanor, the failure of seven swords seemed to have no impact on him at all.
Moreover, he had an capable wife, Shi Nansheng, and seven swords was also the opening film of this year's festival.
Li Chen really didn't understand Tsui Hark's thinking.
He knew he was coming to Venice so early, why couldn't he have adjusted the release date of seven swords?
He insisted on releasing it domestically first, then coming to Venice.
With such a dismal box office, how many distributors would be crazy enough to spend money to buy it?
Look at Chen Kexin for perhaps love.
Li Chen didn't know how to respond to him.
Li An also smiled: "Tsui Hark is right. Learning has no precedence; the accomplished come first."
"According to martial arts rules, Director Li is already qualified to establish his own school."
These people, one after another, praised him so highly, and he was still a bit unaccustomed to it.
"Alright, Director Li, Director Xu, please stop flattering me."
"If you keep talking, if painted skin gets nothing this time, I'll have no face to meet the folks back home," Li Chen said with a smile.
Wu Yusen spoke with the tone of an experienced person: "Since you already have a Golden Palm, just take it easy. To joke, it's about participation..."
Among them, Han Sanping and Wu Yusen were considered the most influential.
One was the general manager of China Film Group Corporation.
The other was the founder of the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild.
In addition to his representative work, A Better Tomorrow, he also had the added prestige of Mission: Impossible 2, which was the global box office champion that year.
Plus, he was the oldest.
His words always carried a commanding tone.
Li Chen didn't argue further; who the hell comes to Venice if they don't want to win an award?
It's about participation—if I were sixty or seventy, I could also talk like that without a care in the world.
The group exchanged pleasantries for a while, all discussing the excellent prospects for Chinese cinema.
It felt very much like a discussion on Mount Hua.
Han Sanping was like a divine practitioner, who, though possessing the Nine Yin Manual, never practiced it.
Han Sanping announced that during the Venice Film Festival, the organizers would host a centennial celebration for Chinese cinema.
He asked everyone present to attend without fail.
The leader had spoken, and those who hadn't planned to go nodded in agreement.
The next day, the Venice Film Festival welcomed its opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony began in the evening, but reporters had arrived at the venue early in the morning, waiting.
At 2 PM, a press conference was held for 'seven swords,' the opening film.
Led by Tsui Hark, the entire cast, except for Leon Lai and Lu Yi, lined up, presenting quite an impressive sight.
The press conference was hosted by this year's Venice Film Festival chairman, Marco Müller.
Old Ma and Old Xu, having a 20-year friendship, naturally engaged in mutual flattery.
Tsui Hark was the first Chinese to make a mark in Venice.
The international standard of the entire lineup was quite impressive.
Shi Nansun, Charlie Yeung, Zhang Jingchu, and Donnie Yen were all dressed to the nines, exuding International Fan.
Then came the red carpet for the evening's opening ceremony.
It was even more crowded, with reporters acting as if they were in a battle.
They had long since taken their positions, setting up their long and short lenses, snapping photos whenever someone stepped out of a car.
It was like machine gun fire, taking down one after another.
I have to say, Markel was truly generous.
The first day of the opening ceremony felt more like a grand festival for Chinese cinema.
The most eye-catching were Tsui Hark's seven swords lineup and Li Chen's painted skin lineup.
Tang Yan wore a golden fishtail gown, tall and beautiful.
Zhou Xun wore a black strapless dress, agile and elegant, with beautiful and charming collarbone lines.
Li Bingbing wore an ice-blue vintage dress, complemented by her fair skin and well-proportioned, slender figure.
The three of them standing together completely overshadowed the three women from seven swords.
For some reason, Li Chen suddenly thought of Miss Liu, who seemed to have worn a similar blue princess dress to Li Bingbing's that year.
That year, Miss Liu's skin was truly like snow, and her beauty was unparalleled.
If Miss Liu were also present today, Li Bingbing probably wouldn't be smiling so brightly.
The gentlemen, from Li Chen to Zhao Wenzhuo, all wore black suits.
The next day, Venice's local media widely commented that yesterday's highlight was entirely Chinese.
Especially the several eye-catching women: Zhou Xun, Li Bingbing, Tang Yan, and Zhang Jingchu.
The most conspicuous and frequently appearing word was "Beautiful."
Tang Yan smiled at the media and said, "Yesterday, I wore my opening ceremony gown and got off the boat at Lido Island."
"An old lady came up and exclaimed 'Beautiful!'"
At 7:45 PM was the screening of Li An's brokeback mountain, and many people came to watch.
Li Chen's painted skin crew also turned out in full force.
Li Chen had not seen brokeback mountain in his previous life, as it was banned in the mainland.
He was curious about how Li An's film, which he knew what it was about just from the title, actually was.
Sitting next to Li Chen were Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing.
Before the movie started, Zhou Xun covered her mouth and whispered, "Director Li, your family member's brokeback mountain is said to be Director Li's painstaking work. Are you nervous?"
"Why would I be nervous? I never thought painted skin could compete for the Golden Lion. This is called having no desires makes you strong! Stop talking nonsense, the movie's starting."
The movie, which lasted over two hours, ended.
Li Chen was completely stunned, and not just Li Chen; most people present were also a bit bewildered, especially the Chinese.
"Director Li, this film, how do you, how do you see it?" Li Bingbing hesitated.
Before Li Chen could speak, Zhou Xun interjected, shaking her head and sighing, "Five hundred years ago, we were one family. 'Director Li' is no less than Director Li."
Li Chen let out a breath and was amused by Zhou Xun next to him: "So mysterious, what kind of tongue twister are you saying?"
"I thought your shoplifters was already imaginative, but for this brokeback mountain, I don't even know what words to use to describe it," Zhou Xun said.
Zhou Xun was right. Li Chen finally understood why this film was banned in the mainland.
It wasn't because it was poorly made, but because it was too good.
Precisely because it was so well made, its values would never be recognized by mainstream mainland views at any time.
Yang Siwei also leaned over and smiled, "Boss, do you think this film is good or not?"
Everyone in the crew, including Louis Koo, also looked over.
Li Chen didn't answer directly, only saying, "I heard people say that showing a movie here is the most direct way to test whether it's good or not."
"Why? Because we've all been quite tired these days, and it's easy to fall asleep once we sit down."
"If a film can keep everyone awake, then it's a good film."
Everyone understood the answer. They weren't just awake; they were astonished.
After all, he was a 'Director Li' who made it big in North America.
He didn't care about mainland views and opinions.
After watching this movie, everyone was a bit slow to recover.
The film told the love story of two gay men.
To be honest, just in terms of the story, it was quite moving.
But Li Chen, as a good student, found it a bit hard to swallow.
Li Chen suddenly remembered a netizen's comment when he watched "Happy Together" years ago.
It said, don't think of them as two men; just imagine it's a man and a woman.
But in Li An's film, you don't even need to imagine whether they are men or women.
Because it was filmed so naturally, it was just the love between two people.
This Brokeback Mountain, which won countless awards, truly lived up to its name.
Everyone secretly knew that painted skin couldn't compete for the Golden Lion; the script and subject matter didn't give it an advantage.
It could come to Venice because of Director Li's Golden Palm title and Markel's internal recommendation.
"Han Dong, we're going back to the hotel first." Li Chen, with the painted skin crew, greeted Han Sanping.
"What's the rush?"
"Han Dong, this film probably can't be released in the mainland, right?" Li Chen leaned in and asked.
Han Sanping glanced at Li Chen, silence speaking volumes.
Li Chen chuckled, "Since it can't be released, if I meet Li An later, I really can't say nice things against my will, so... I'll be leaving first, Han Dong."
"This kid!"
"Hey, no, are you implying something else..."
On the third day, the Venice Film Festival chairman and high-ranking officials from Italian National Television jointly delivered speeches at the Centennial of Chinese Cinema opening reception.
Han Sanping represented Chinese cinema and the filmmakers present, thanking the Venice Film Festival and Italian National Television for their deep friendship.
Wu Yusen, in an interview with Sina Entertainment, also spoke for the first time about the 'far-reaching' red cliff.
"red cliff is a blockbuster that promotes Chinese culture to the West."
"I have always admired mainland filmmakers for shooting many good films under limited conditions."
"This time, the filming of red cliff in China also hopes to provide a window."
"Allowing mainland filmmakers the opportunity to access and learn the processes and experiences of the American film production industry."
This tone completely placed him on a pedestal.
Li Chen listened and seemed to feel he wasn't Chinese.
Filming a red cliff was to descend from the pedestal and impart knowledge to mainland filmmakers.
Whenever Li Chen saw Han Sanping's beaming expression when mentioning the red cliff project, he always had something he wanted to say but held back.
Han Sanping's personality would certainly not listen to advice and abandon Wu Yusen's red cliff.
If he tried to persuade him, it might even backfire.
Alas, Wu Yusen, Wu Yusen. Old Han will surely understand the meaning of this 'speechless' name many years later.
Finally, it was the day of the painted skin premiere.
The process was similar to that of shoplifters in Cannes.
From the press conference to the media screening and then the evening premiere.
Thanks to Li Chen's current fame, his recent momentum in Hollywood, and painted skin's martial arts fantasy theme.
The number of distributors who came to watch the film was nearly double that for shoplifters.
Since the opening of this Venice Film Festival, the number of viewers has consistently ranked first.
The venue was packed, and Han Sanping's smile didn't falter all evening.
Li Chen even wondered if he had a cramp from smiling so much that he couldn't stop.
The visual quality of painted skin was definitely a cut above Tsui Hark's seven swords.
The ending song still used the Japanese composer Ikuo Fujiwara's piano piece "Asian Road."
Which later became "Painted Heart" sung by Zhang Liangying.
This song was already included in Ikuo Fujiwara's piano album in 2003.
When Li Chen watched the finished film.
He felt that the pure instrumental piano piece without lyrics was more moving than Zhang Liangying's "Painted Heart" from later generations.
During the nearly two-hour screening.
Yang Siwei constantly monitored the surroundings.
Firstly, to prevent piracy, and secondly, remembering what the boss said that day about watching brokeback mountain.
To see if anyone was dozing off.
"Boss, as far as I can see, everyone seems to be quite still. Could they all be asleep?"
Li Chen hadn't even responded to her when the ending song finished.
The applause from the entire audience made Yang Siwei swallow the rest of her words.
"Siwei, later you'll go with the China Film Group Corporation people to negotiate with these distributors."
"Next time, you'll be negotiating by yourself..."
"No problem, boss. Bargaining is our women's specialty, hehe..." Yang Siwei showed no fear.
"Go, Siwei! The size of Sister Bingbing's red envelope depends on you!" Li Bingbing laughed.
"Director Li, tell us, how much was the red envelope you gave Xue Jian? I'm not greedy; the same as Xue Jian is fine." Zhou Xun leaned over and said.
Li Chen pointed at Li Bingbing and Zhou Xun, scolding with a smile, "You two are at least the top stars in the current mainland entertainment industry and seniors to Tangtang. Can't you have a bit more ambition? Are you only thinking about money?"
Zhou Xun laughed, "Compared to you, Director Li, Bingbing and I are beggars."
"Too lazy to bother with you all..."
After some brief socializing with the media and guests.
Li Chen and Han Sanping took the crew back to the hotel.
The remaining negotiations with the distributors were left to Han Sanping's deputy and Yang Siwei.
On the way, Han Sanping still had a smile on his face: "Haha, Li Chen, didn't you see Tsui Hark's expression was a bit unnatural just now?"
Li Chen smiled, "Han Dong, anyone would be unnatural."
"seven swords's only self-deception was by our domestic media for the sake of face."
"Local media and viewers aren't fools."
"All that talk about impressive box office in Asia is just to fool uninformed outsiders."
"It's not about not knowing good goods; it's about comparing goods. Film critics will give the answer tomorrow. Let's wait and see."
Hearing Li Chen's certainty, Han Sanping felt even more at ease.
"Do you predict that the transaction price for our painted skin this time can surpass shoplifters?"
Li Chen smiled, "Han Dong, isn't this out of character for you? So cautious?"
"You should be asking me, what height can painted skin's transaction price reach?"
"But honestly, I can't estimate either, but I'm confident it will never be lower than shoplifters."
Han Sanping's eyes lit up: "You're that confident?"
"Of course, you should have an idea just by seeing how many distributors came today."
"Moreover, the previous new world had both critical acclaim and box office success in Japan and South Korea."
"It even broke multiple records for foreign film viewership in South Korea!"
"And painted skin's theme includes both ancient fantasy and martial arts action."
"The former is the most popular genre in Japan and South Korea, and the latter is the most sought-after subject matter for Chinese films globally."
"How could it not be a hit?"
Li Chen had another thing he didn't say: after he revised the entire painted skin script.
The fatal logical flaws were gone, and the ending was also a tragedy, making it more emotionally coherent.
There was no cheesy happy ending where Pei Rong came back to life.
For a film, joy and sorrow, separation and reunion, all are stories.
But to rigidly turn a tragedy into a comedy for the sake of censorship and catering to the general public.
That's not a story; it's an accident.
It's the last day of the month, adding an extra chapter to thank readers for their subscriptions. My drafts are completely gone. Readers with tickets, please vote to support me. If you don't have tickets, it's okay; your continued readership is my biggest support. Thank you for your love 2024.