Chapter 26 Isn't the director right in front of you?
On the morning of September 16th, the San Sebastian International Film Festival officially started.
As the most influential international film festival in Spain, in addition to the main venue, there are seven or eight branch venues nearby, which are used to screen shortlisted films in turn.
Coincidentally, perhaps because the organizers considered them both Chinese, "Letter from an Unknown Woman" and "Shark Beach" were placed in the same sub-venue.
Moreover, looking at the playback order in the movie viewing manual, "Letter from a Strange Woman" was screened immediately followed by "Shark Beach", and then followed by another Chinese film "Kekexili".
Is this considered being attacked from both sides?
Tang An smiled bitterly.
The influence of Chinese-language films in Europe is still too small. If an audience turns around and goes to other branch venues as soon as they see a Chinese-language film, then wouldn't it be unlucky for them to be at the back of the queue?
"What are you thinking about?"
Xu Jinglei on the side saw Tang An in a daze and couldn't help but remind him that the red carpet was about to start.
"Oh, let's go then. This is my first time walking on the red carpet!"
Tang An smiled, straightened his handmade high-end suit, looked at the spotless handmade leather shoes on his feet, and strode towards the red carpet at the door.
Yang Mi quickly followed. Xu Ruoyun was not a member of the crew and could not go up, so he entered the screening room from the side.
As soon as he arrived at the door, Tang An met the third batch of Chinese crew from the film festival.
Lu Chuan looked at Tang An in front of him and was slightly startled. Apparently he did not expect to see a Chinese person here. He thought about it carefully and then recognized Tang An.
Out of politeness, Lu Chuan still extended his hand to Tang An, "That's Director Tang, I'm Lu Chuan!"
Looking at Tang An, who is 10 years younger than him, Lu Chuan also has mixed feelings. At the age of 23, he directed a film by himself and was nominated for an International Category A Film Festival.
Compared to himself, Lu Chuan was ashamed because he was called the leader of the new generation of directors after he only filmed "The Gun" at the age of 31.
"Hello, Director Lu!" Tang An nodded to him lightly.
No matter what, he would not look down upon someone who could make a movie like "South View, South View", even if it was just to be polite.
Seeing Tang An's nonchalant look, Lu Chuan couldn't stand it anymore. He was a well-known director and took the initiative to say hello, but he was ignored. Moreover, he was still a junior!
At this moment, Xu Jinglei and Jiang Wen followed behind. When they saw an acquaintance, Jiang Wen greeted them warmly.
"Hey, Lu Chuan is here, let's go in together!"
Lu Chuan's face darkened immediately when he saw Jiang Wen, his eyes glanced between him and Tang An, and he immediately turned around and led the people in, ignoring them.
Jiang Wen shook his head, "Hey! This Lu Chuan still has the same old temper!"
Xu Jinglei smiled and scolded, "Can you not have a temper? You messed up the first movie. It's good that I didn't fight with you!"
"What do you mean it's screwed up? If you really shoot it the way he did, it's such a good novel!" Jiang Wen retorted.
"Then you even have to have a hand in editing?"
Before Jiang Wen could speak, Xu Jinglei sighed, "Lao Jiang, you just can't be an actor. No director can stand you. If Director Wu hadn't been there to hold him down while filming "Jiujiuqing Killing", , you and Director Zhang are about to start a fight!"
Jiang Wen waved his hand and looked indifferent, "It's normal to have differences with different ideas. In the future, I will only act in the movies I film!"
"If Brother Wen directs and acts by himself, I'm afraid he won't win Best Director and Best Actor at the same time!" Tang An added with a smile.
"Jiujiuqing Killing" was the original name of "Red Sorghum". Later, Wu Tianming, the director of Xiying Studio at the time, renamed it "Red Sorghum". With his support, Zhang Yimou, who was originally not qualified to make a film, finally tinkered with it.
A stunning masterpiece.
Tang An remembered an entertainment news story. The reporter secretly photographed Zhang Yimou, who had not been seen for a long time, dining with a wealthy middle-aged man with a fat head, big ears, and a bald head. After the meal, his face was full of joy, and he even opened the door for him, suspected of soliciting investment...
So, Zhang Yimou and other fifth-generation directors still know him, and remember Wu Tianming, the "godfather of fifth-generation directors" who single-handedly promoted Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Gu Changwei, Huang Jianxin and others.
But young people only know about fat heads, big ears, wealthy people, and eating.
After chatting for a while at the door, everyone started to walk on the red carpet.
There aren't many movie fans. The movie hasn't started yet and people are just playing around.
However, this group of people still attracted the attention of many reporters. After all, Chinese people are always in the minority here.
Looking at the movie guide, the reporters also knew that they were the crews of those two movies, so they asked a few questions about the movies and went to interview other people.
"To these reporters, we are like a food stall on a street full of Michelin restaurants. They are just out of curiosity!" Xu Jing smiled self-deprecatingly.
"The food stalls also have the advantages of food stalls, no matter what they think!" Tang An shrugged.
"I just feel a little uncomfortable!" Xu Jinglei shook her head.
While he was talking, a Chinese reporter came over with a microphone in his hand and said, "Director Jiang, hello, Lao Xu!"
Facing their own people, they immediately stopped talking. It was never good to be reported out.
"Hello!"
The reporter turned the microphone to Xu Jinglei and Jiang Wen, "I am a reporter from Xinlang Entertainment. Are you and Director Jiang here to compete, Mr. Xu?"
Xu Jinglei nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, my new film "Letter from a Strange Woman" was shortlisted for the Golden Shell Award and the Best Director Award at this film festival!"
"Actually, you should call him Director Xu, she is the director!" Jiang Wen added with a smile.
"That's right, I was negligent. So what does Director Xu expect from this film he directed and starred in?" The reporter smiled apologetically.
"The most important thing about a film festival is participation. Whether you can win awards is secondary. The main thing is to let our country's films go abroad and be shown to audiences around the world..."
The reporter then asked some formulaic topics, and then brought up Tang An.
"Director Xu, do you know where the creative staff of the other Chinese-language film "Shark Beach" participating this time are?"
As a senior entertainment reporter for a leading domestic portal website, Li Zhiye is obviously more interested in "Shark Beach" than "Letter from an Unknown Woman".
I know nothing about the former, it's like a movie that appeared out of thin air, and the director's name is also very unfamiliar.
The director and leading actor of the latter are almost household names in China, but with their shrewdness, they couldn't find any valuable news.
Xu Jinglei almost laughed out loud when she heard this, and turned to Tang An with an inexplicable smile.
Tang An didn't feel embarrassed, it was normal not to recognize him, and there was no photo of himself in the brochure.
But wasn’t Yang Mi’s photo on the cover of the miniature version of the movie? I’d be blind if I couldn’t recognize it.
"You're talking about the director of "Shark Beach", isn't he right in front of you?"