Acting school started in 1998

Chapter 353 Venice Holiday

The weather in Venice is very comfortable in early September. The highest temperature during the day is 25-[-] degrees Celsius, and it is a little cooler at night, around [-] or [-] degrees Celsius.Wear casual shirts and T-shirts during the day, and just add a light jacket at night.

The second time he came to Venice, Xu was not under the pressure of selling a film for the first time, so he seemed particularly relaxed."Subway to Spring" premiered yesterday, and the effect was surprisingly good.

In Li Tang's eyes, this film, which was a little slow-paced and somewhat intellectually pretentious, turned out to be extremely popular. The theater, which could accommodate more than 300 people, was full. After the screening, the sound lasted for more than a minute. After receiving huge applause, director Zhang Baibai was not only incoherent when he came on stage to express his thanks, but also exaggeratedly burst into tears and kept bowing to express his gratitude to the enthusiastic audience.

Originally, the films shortlisted for the screening unit were only scheduled to be screened once, but seeing the first show, the organizer made an exception and added two more screenings, which almost met the treatment of being shortlisted for the main competition unit.

Of course, MK2 is involved in this. As for the organizers, they are not stupid. The movie is popular and the box office revenue is naturally considerable.

As we all know, movie tickets are surprisingly expensive during the film festival, with prices ranging from [-] to [-] euros each. "Metro to Spring" will be screened three times. If the theaters are full, the number of moviegoers can reach over a thousand, or [-] to [-] euros. The box office revenue is easy, and the money belongs to the organizers.The film producers and distributors use the film festival as a platform to gain popularity and sell at a good price.

Compared with Xu Jinglei and Wang Li who are keen on various red carpets, and Zhang Baibai and Liu Fendou who go on various pilgrimages, Li Tang prefers to find an outdoor cafe to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Mediterranean Sea while drinking fragrant coffee.

Not long after, he saw Zeng Jia's tall figure, more than 1.7 meters tall, still very eye-catching even in Europe.He stretched out his hand to say hello, and Zeng Jia quickly walked over, followed by the very small Zhao Luoyao.After arriving in Venice, because Zeng Jia was responsible for many things, Li Tang assigned Xiao Zhao to Zeng Jia's side.

In fact, for Zhao Luoyao, being able to work with Zeng Jia was also a kind of learning. Not only could she become familiar with the process of participating in overseas film festivals, but she also participated in the entire negotiation process with MK2, which was an eye-opener for the assistant.

In addition, Xu Jinglei came here with her agent and assistant and could leave it alone, but Wang Li's company was entrusted by the construction boss to help take care of it.

Although she had an assistant, a bodyguard, a makeup artist, and even a makeup artist with her, she was still unfamiliar with the place. Even when attending some red carpets, she needed Zeng Jia to contact her in advance.

One more thing, the red carpets in Venice are clearly priced like those in Cannes. The red carpet for the opening ceremony is [-] euros, and the usual red carpets with various themes range from [-] to [-] euros.

"Brother, it's settled!"

Perhaps because he was walking a little hastily and was in an excited mood, Zeng Jia's face was slightly red, her tall and ferocious breasts were rising and falling, and she was breathing slightly.

"Thank you, sit down."

Li Tang snapped his fingers, called the waiter, and ordered two glasses of lemonade in half-baked Italian.

Zeng Jia couldn't wait to say: "Still an agent, the agency fee has dropped by one percentage point, 13%."

At first, MK2 wanted to buy it out. The price of 60 euros was quite sincere for a small-budget romance film.Not counting the domestic box office, not only did it recover all its investment, but it also earned more than 200 million yuan.

But "The Third Man" is ahead of others, and the premiere was very good. Zeng Jia still insists on being an agent. Even if the final box office is only half of "The Third Man", even if it is only one-third, it is still better than buying out. powerful.

"Okay, let's relax for the next two days." Li Tang was very satisfied.

To be honest, when MK2 offered a buyout price of 60 euros, he was still very excited.After all, you can make a small fortune without taking any risks.But Zeng Jia insisted, and he had to listen to Zeng Jia's opinion.The company has just been established, and Zeng Jia's authority as general manager must be maintained.

As he spoke, he said to Zhao Luoyao, who was also excited: "Xiao Zhao, you have worked hard these past two days. It is a rare time to come out and have fun."

"Mainly because Mr. Zeng is busy, I just help out and run errands." Xiao Zhao said with a modest face and a very upright attitude.

"Yao Yao is really hardworking and has helped me a lot."

Zeng Jia rarely said a fair word at this time, which made Xiao Zhao feel embarrassed.

After chatting and joking for a while, Li Tang asked: "By the way, how was the screening this morning?"

Zeng Jia smiled and said: "It's still full. I just used this excuse to steal a little bit from Juliet."

But don't underestimate this point. If it can reach the box office of "The Third Man", that point will be as little as [-] US dollars, which is enough to buy an apartment in Wangjing.

Seeing that Li Tang seemed worried, Zeng Jia suppressed her smile and said, "Brother, are you still worried?"

Li Tang shook his head: "It's either that I'm not worried, or that it's a bit unbelievable. You name it, this movie... To be honest, I wasn't very optimistic about it at first. I always felt that I would be satisfied as long as I didn't lose money. I didn't expect this result."

In the end, even he felt funny.

Zeng Jia said: "What's so strange about this? For the audience, it's new, but for you, it's probably just aesthetic fatigue. Otherwise, you wouldn't have invested in it at the beginning. Do you think that's the right thing to do?"

After being reminded by Zeng Jia, he remembered it. On the one hand, it was because of director Xiao Teng's reputation, but the most important thing was that the script was good, especially Liu Fendou, who was very showy. He captured his hidden heart of a literary young man.

Looking back now, it is true that the fusion of memories and the fact that he has returned to this era for too long have made him integrate into this era and become a real Chinese from the inside out.It’s rare to look at things or a particular movie through the lens of a previous life’s experience.

Love is the main theme of the movie. "Subway to Spring" describes the love of different groups of people.For example, the love between Jianbin and Xiaohui, they have a deep-rooted love, but after the long-term passion for getting along slowly faded, they began to doubt.And it is precisely because of such unhindered possession that both parties feel confused. This seems to be very similar to the so-called "midlife crisis" that is often talked about in Western movies.

Another example is the love between a photo studio clerk played by Gao Yuanyuan and a deaf-mute boy, and the love between a chef and a salesman, including the kindergarten teacher played by the second female lead Wang Li who got her face burned by fire while trying to save a trapped child.It contains the beautiful love of young people, elements of disabled people, the simple love of people at the bottom of society, etc. It is simple and pure.

Putting aside the cinematic techniques, at least the emotion contained in it is sincere.The hypocrisy that Li Tang thinks fits the hypocritical values ​​of the current white left society.

"Tomorrow is the premiere of "Looking for a Gun". Do we want to go and support it?" Zeng Jia changed the subject.

"They sent out invitations to "Looking for a Gun"?"

"That's not true. This time Jiang Wen didn't come, but director Lu Chuan and Mr. Wang from Huayi came. It seems that he just arrived yesterday. When I went out in the morning, I happened to meet reporter Wang from "Nandu News". He made an appointment I had an exclusive interview with Director Lu and Mr. Wang,” Zeng Jiada said.It has to be said that Nandu Daily attaches great importance to interviews with the three major European film festivals. It will send reporters to interview on-site at almost every festival, and it has become one of the few domestic media outlets during the film festival.

"Forget it, I won't go, you can do whatever you want." Li Tang thought for a moment and shook his head.

If the invitation is formally extended, it may not be a good idea not to go.But without an invitation, there was no need to get involved. After all, Jiang Qinqin was arriving this afternoon.

Zeng Jia naturally knew the inside story. She looked at Xiao Zhao and said, "Then let Yaoyao follow."

"No, Xiao Zhao rarely has a chance to relax." Li Tang smiled and shook his head.

Zhao Luoyao naturally refused to let go of this opportunity to express herself, and said hurriedly: "I'm fine, Teacher Li, just let me follow you."

"It's really not necessary. She still has bodyguards and assistants there. I just need to be careful. It doesn't matter."

Originally, when I brought Xiao Zhao out, she was asked to help cover, but now it seems that it is not necessary.The main reason is that he has already done all the interviews he should accept, and after the movie was screened, he successfully reached an agreement with MK2.At this point, their mission at the film festival has been completed.

Of course, the most important thing is that starting tomorrow, several other Chinese-language films shortlisted for the competition will be released one after another. The Hong Kong, Bay, and a few domestic media who come to interview will definitely gather on Lido Island.Even if he and Jiang Qinqin were shopping on Venice Street, the probability of encountering a Chinese media reporter would be extremely low.

……

Venice, actually there is a small city called Venice on the west coast of California, USA.But compared with the world-famous historical and cultural city - Venice in Italy, Venice in the United States is just a modern replica of a small town.

In his previous life, Li Tang had just graduated from university. In order to pursue the so-called art, he once visited that small town that was a replica of Venice.Because there are many so-called poets, painters, artists and musicians gathered there, and art exhibitions or theater festivals are often held there.To use a current fashionable term, the small town of Venice in the United States is actually a cultural tourism project.

The real Venice is full of heritage. Its architecture, paintings, sculptures, operas, etc. have an extremely important status and influence in the world.

After Li Tang had a brief lunch with Zeng Jia and Xiao Zhao in the cafe, he walked around Venice alone. He carried a small Coach bag with him. If you are knowledgeable about goods, you will probably know that he is one at a glance. American.

As for personal safety, he is not worried at all now, mainly because Nico is basically invisible here.As for the white gangsters who occasionally committed petty crimes, based on his previous life experience in the United States, they were all a cowardly bunch. As long as one was defeated, the rest would run away.On the contrary, the more you show weakness, the more arrogant they will become.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful and we didn't encounter any minor thefts, but we did see a lot of police officers along the way.It's the same all over the world. As long as there are large-scale events, security will be very strict. Especially after 911/[-], Europe has also become uneasy.Fortunately, the security here in Venice is not as exaggerated as at the Cannes Film Festival in the first half of the year, but the atmosphere is much more tense than last year.

Li Tang found a B&B in the city center according to the address provided by Zeng Jia, which Zeng Jia had booked through an international travel agency one month in advance.After a brief exchange with an Italian aunt, we entered a small building that looked very old.

There is a living room and a double room on the first floor, and a suite on the second floor. The facilities are average, but the decoration is very warm, and there are fresh flowers in the room.

Li Tang walked around and felt that it was pretty good. Of course, the price was even better, [-] euros a day.

When it comes to the three major film festivals in Europe, he has never been to the Berlin Film Festival, he only heard about it.If you want to talk about prices during the film festival, the knives here in Venice are definitely the fastest.

For example, the luxury hotels on Lido Island may usually only cost three to four hundred euros a night, but now the most expensive ones cost [-] euros a night.

In comparison, the B&B that Li Tang is currently renting is quite affordable.

Furthermore, Venice is not like a land city like Cannes that can expand to the surrounding areas. This is an island. With such a small area, housing prices will naturally rise.

The Italian aunt was the landlord. After previous communication, she knew that Li Tang and the guest who was about to stay were from Chinese filmmakers, so she warmly invited Li Tang to drink coffee with her.

Coffee is to Italians what tea is to Chinese people.And among European countries, Italians are the most like Chinese people. Many of them are big families with multiple generations living under one roof, and they have a strong sense of human touch.

The Italian aunt is a native of Venice. Her husband has passed away and she has a son who works in Milan and can only come back during the holidays.

Like many empty-nesters in China, the Italian aunt opened a B&B not only to make money, but also as a way to relieve loneliness. Especially Li Tang could speak some Italian. The Italian aunt was very talkative, until the time was almost up, Li Tang Then I had to get up and go out.

There are no cars or bicycles in Venice. In addition to gondolas that carry tourists, there are also transportation boats that are equivalent to buses, and motorboats that are equivalent to taxis.

The B&B is not far from the pier, about ten minutes' walk.From Marco Polo Airport to the main island of Venice, there are dedicated buses, trains, and a combination of buses and boats.

"Li Tang!"

"Qinqin!"

Because in foreign countries, there are too many worries.Jiang Qinqin, who had just come out of the dock station, saw Li Tang standing at the door waving at a glance, and immediately rushed towards him like a pigeon throwing itself into the forest.

It's soft and fragrant, and it's still that familiar smell.

After the hug, Li Tang took a closer look at his good friend. He seemed to have lost a little weight, and there was a trace of fatigue between his brows and eyes, but he was in good spirits.Especially when he saw Xiao Tang dragging large bags and the female bodyguard obviously tanning a lot, but Jiang Qinqin still maintained her fair complexion, he was a little surprised and said: "Why don't you tan at all?" ?”

The three of them have been wandering around the North American continent for more than half a month. This time of year is the brightest time in both California and Florida.

"Hehe, don't you know, I can't tan!" Jiang Qinqin said with a proud look on her face.

Xiao Tang and the female bodyguard on the side both showed envy. It was obvious that the person in front of them was God's favorite.

　There are so many chores to do during the holidays, I’m sorry!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)