Coming to Berlin again after four years, He Xin felt a little excited. Recalling that it was his first time going abroad, everything here was very fresh.
He still clearly remembered that he, Li Bing, and Zhang Xia, the guide and translator of Wanwan, drank beer and tasted Thuringian sausages on Crotch Street. He bought Cheng Hao a brooch worth 500 marks, and also
There were a lot of Cologne and Nutcracker dolls. In the end, I was almost fooled by Zhang Xia into seeing the real Crotch Street in Berlin.
Looking back now, he couldn't help but laugh.
We took a flight at 9 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year and arrived in Berlin at around 4 p.m., a difference of seven hours. Xiao Douding and the deputy manager of the distribution department of Bona who came with us were dozing in the car at this time. After all, this
It was almost midnight in China.
Only Ning Hao was originally a night owl, and it was his first time in Germany. Just like when He Xin came here for the first time, he looked out the car window in novelty, and kept asking, "The Berlin Wall?"
, Brandenburg, the German Parliament Building and other famous attractions here that often appear in history books.
Compared with the capital city, which is undergoing rapid construction and rapid changes, it still feels cold and solemn, without a trace of hustle and bustle. Compared with four years ago, there seems to be no change on the way from the airport to the city center. There are no high-rise buildings in the entire city.
It's rare to find an overpass, it's not even "modern", and it doesn't give people the psychological sense of depression that is common in big cities.
There was still one day left before the opening of the film festival, and it was as if I hadn’t heard the gongs and drums to start the show. A car that happened to drive by had a red "Golden Bear" printed on it, and it was like I heard a note before the show started.
Tuning sound.
Different from the shabby trip four years ago, this time I relied on the rich man Pauli Bona to book a hotel in advance less than one kilometer away from the Cinema Palace, and it was a luxurious room for one person.
However, compared to the expensive consumption in tourist cities like Cannes and Venice, prices here in Berlin are relatively affordable.
Although the outside of the hotel looks very old and full of historical vicissitudes, when you go inside, you will find that both the decoration and the facilities are very luxurious and modern. This is very in line with the temperament of this city - it is modern in its bones and absolutely.
Not on the skin.
As soon as Xiao Douding and the deputy manager of Bona's distribution department arrived at the hotel, they didn't even bother to eat dinner, so they went back to the room early to catch up on jet lag. Speaking of coming to participate in the film festival this time, the two of them had the most difficult task, because
They shoulder the heavy responsibility of selling films, and they have to go to the film market of the film festival to set up stalls early tomorrow morning.
As a producer, screenwriter, and director, Ning Hao is the creator of the movie. He must be present on this occasion. And He Xin's trip is more like the image ambassador of the movie. To put it bluntly, he is a flower vase, using his popularity to attract film producers.
Tool man.
Before setting off this time, He Xin and Yu Dong bumped into each other. "Incense" originally sold for 350,000 euros in Venice. If "Green Grass" can sell for 300,000 euros this time, they can basically recover everything including
All investments including this trip will be a net profit from the domestic box office.
However, considering the nature of this film as a literary film, and the fact that all dialogues are in Mongolian, the domestic box office is not expected to be optimistic. However, for Poly Bona, if they can recover their investment, they have already made a profit. What they value more is that this time they can
It would be an honor to be shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, and of course it would be even better if it could win an award.
As for Xinhao Studio, the studio only invested a total of 500,000 yuan, and it has already made almost 200,000 yuan in production fees. In addition to the 200,000 yuan paid by Ning Hao in advance for screenwriter and director fees, the final result
The income will be split with Bona according to the 64 ratio. As long as the principal can be maintained, it will still be a profit.
In short, with the goal of maintaining capital in advance, the cooperation between Xinhao Studio and Poly Bona for "Green Grass" is a win-win project.
He Xin originally wanted to take a bath, rest in the room, and then contact Sister Jiao Xiongpin, the producer of "Peacock". Sister Jiao had already greeted him before coming, hoping that he could help stand on the platform.
Although as a famous photographer, Gu Changwei is relatively well-known internationally, after all, the actors are all newcomers, and they still need the help of well-known actors.
Just like the American movie "Thumbsucker", which was also shortlisted for the main competition of this film festival, the famous Hollywood movie star Geno Reeves played a dentist in the film, but he is the main focus in both the trailer and the movie poster.
.
In fact, He Xin only had less than ten scenes in the film "Peacock", which were just guest appearances, and he received some symbolic remuneration. Logically speaking, he had no obligation to help support the film.
But favors are hard to avoid. Even if Gu Changwei is the husband of his fellow senior sister Jiang Wenli, elder sister Jiao Xiongpin was also the producer of "Bicycle" at the time. This reputation must be sold.
What's more, in the industry, you help me, I help you, and everyone gives you face. He previously invited Jiang Wenli to play a guest role in "Wulin Gaiden", and it was just a matter of words.
As a result, he had just arrived in the room to put down his luggage and was about to take off his clothes and take a shower, when Ning Hao came and knocked on the door. This guy slept all the way on the plane, and when he came to a new environment, he was excited and energetic, so he had to take care of him.
Go out for a walk.
Helpless, He Xin had to take him to visit the nearby Cinema Palace and Potsdamer Platz.
To be honest, compared to Cannes and Venice, Berlin's Film Palace is a bit low-key. From the appearance, it looks like the kind of "big theater" before the liberation of China. Because the film festival will open tomorrow night, the staff are doing "big theater" at this time.
Busy decorating in front of the building.
It can be seen that Ning Hao is obviously a little disappointed, probably because the "big theater" in front of him is not consistent with the movie holy place in his mind.
Just as he was smacking his lips and turning around, he found He Xin looking around. He also looked around. Night was about to fall, and there were only a few pedestrians on the street.
"What are you looking at?"
"Well, it depends on the terrain."
"Terrain? Why, do you still want to capture this place?" Ning Hao said with a smile.
"That's right, I just want to capture this place, but it's just a poster capture."
"What do you mean?" Ning Hao was a little confused.
He Xin has already had experience participating in so many film festivals. Compared with Cannes and Venice, the number of films shortlisted at the Berlin Film Festival is almost twice that of the former due to its wide variety of units.
Precisely because of the large number of participating films, films without the blessing of well-known actors or insufficient publicity are easily overlooked.
For He Xin, whether or not he will win an award at this film festival is a secondary matter. The key is to make money. He also hopes to earn more from the movie "Green Grass" to cover the production costs of the next "Stone".
Where's the money?
Whether it is Berlin, Cannes or Venice, like most cities in Europe, things cannot be posted randomly in public places. However, there are places dedicated to advertising on street lamp poles and bus stops. However, the price is extremely expensive, at least a few dollars.
million euros.
In order to attract as many audiences and film producers as possible, He Xin wondered if he could secretly post some movie posters here the night before the movie premiered.
Although Ning Hao has a ferocious face and usually wears big gold chains and bracelets, he pretends to be a social person, but he is actually very timid.
After hearing He Xin's explanation, his eyes suddenly widened and he said nervously: "A Xin, is this... is this appropriate? Will I be arrested?"
"That's why we have to act in the middle of the night! As long as we don't get caught on the spot, it will be fine." He Xinze said with a nonchalant look.
After saying that, he patted Ning Hao on the shoulder and comforted him: "Okay, maybe it was an enthusiastic movie fan who did it. Anyway, as long as people see it, the advertising effect will be good."
"..."
After walking around for a while, He Xin generally took a good look at the terrain, and unknowingly felt a little hungry. Relying on the memory of four years ago, he took Ning Hao, a country bumpkin, to a small restaurant near Potsdamer Platz.
The last time he came to the film festival, he, Wang Xiaoshuai and Li Bing had visited this small restaurant several times. In addition to the affordable price, the sauerkraut braised elbow and German wontons here were very good.
Although Germans are aloof, in terms of food, they actually have the characteristics of Northeastern China. For example, this sauerkraut is no less good than Northeastern sauerkraut, and there are also hodgepodges like Northeastern stew. The only difference is probably the cheese and Northeastern miso.
the difference.
There is also the German wontons, which are made from pork, spinach, and onions, minced and stirred together, then wrapped into squares with dough, cooked in soup, and cut into pieces with a knife when eating.
But in any case, compared to the rich and diverse cuisine in Cannes and Venice, Berlin is really good. But for Ning Hao, who came here for the first time, everything is novel, and he is also familiar with small restaurants.
Very interested in the gin.
He Xin couldn't get used to drinking this at all. It was too strong and the taste was not good. It was extremely spicy and far from the softness of Maotai and the crispness of Laobaigan.
…
The foreign language of foreigners is far less profound than Chinese. Ning Hao was worried that foreigners would not understand the meaning of the title "Green Grass", so he chose a very easy-to-understand English name called "Mongolian Ping Pong".
Since the shortlisted films were not in the main competition unit, the premiere was scheduled on the third day after the opening of the film festival, on the same day as the American film "The Thumbsucker", which was shortlisted in the main competition unit. The premiere on this day also included
There are a total of seven films in other sections, so the competition in attracting audiences and film producers is quite fierce.
The next morning, He Xin got up early as usual. After breakfast, he went to the film festival film trading market early with Xiao Douding and Bona's deputy distribution manager.
As for Ning Hao, maybe he drank too much gin last night and there was no response when he knocked on the door, so he simply ignored him.
At this time, various people have already set up camp. For example, in the Korean booth, their lighting is quite good. The movie posters posted inside have a spotlight shining on them, which is very eye-catching, and their equipment is also very good.
Trailers of participating movies were played on a large flat-screen TV.
In comparison, the Spanish booth next to them looked much shabby, with a 20-inch old-fashioned TV connected to a video recorder underneath, which looked very Third World.
However, they are obviously inferior to those in the third world. Not only are their booths small, they don't even have projection equipment. All they have to do is hand out flyers and put movie posters on the walls.
In fact, many of the stalls here are organized by large distribution companies to promote and sell their works, and some even have the country come forward, such as in South Korea.
Unlike Chinese movies, they are all scattered and fighting on their own. The domestic distributor of Gu Changwei's "Peacock" is Polybona, but it has no use overseas. The people responsible here are the investor Jiao Xiongpin and the domestic Hua.
100 million.
It is said that the three major European film festivals are the palaces of literary and artistic films, but every time He Xin comes to the film trading market, which is crowded and noisy like a vegetable market, there will be a magical feeling. The commercial atmosphere envelopes the artistic atmosphere, which makes you feel helpless.
Don't think about the artistic and commercial aspects of movies.
In other words, in addition to artistic quality, literary and artistic films also need to sell money.