The King of Directors 2000

At 2014 a.m. on May 5, 14, Cannes International Airport was bustling with people. Passengers from all over the world came to this small city excitedly.

They want to start a romantic movie journey.

In a corner of the waiting hall, the atmosphere was a little heavy.

Li Shengyao and Chen Hao stood on one side, and Lao Mouzi stood on the other side.

Li Shengyao came here this time not to observe the mental state of passengers at Cannes Airport, but to see off Lao Mouzi.

Just yesterday morning, "The Return" was screened in Cannes, but the effect was far less than expected.

Lao Mouzi was originally very confident, thinking that he might be able to win an award at Cannes.

Unexpectedly, this carefully prepared work was not recognized by many peers.

The vast majority of film critics and directors believe that "The Return" is a superior film. However, compared with Lao Mouzi's past classic films, this film is far different and has no surprises.

In short, if it is produced by an ordinary director, it should be encouraged and rewarded.

But this is Lao Mouzi's movie, and his colleagues are more disappointed.

Word of mouth about the movie came out quickly.

Since I can't win awards, there's no point in staying in Cannes.

Lao Mouzi decided to leave Cannes and return to China.

"Director Li, you are the only one left in Cannes now, come on."

Lao Mouzi looked at Li Shengyao and Chen Hao with envy in his heart. They were such a perfect couple.

If he and Gong Li could get along well back then, would they be so sweet?

Li Shengyao waved his hand, "My movie style is too commercial, so it probably won't work."

Just yesterday, John Woo and Jiang Wen both left with their respective crews.

John Woo's "The Wheel" was screened without any splash. Some film critics publicly commented that such vulgar commercial films should not participate in the Cannes Film Festival in the future.

As for Jiang Wen's "One Step Away", the reviews are slightly better than "The Taiping Wheel", but not much better. Most people think they can't understand it and think Jiang Wen's aesthetic is too egotistical.

Under such public opinion, there was no need to wait for the awards show. Both John Woo and Jiang Wen knew that the movie had no hope, so they hurriedly left Cannes with the crew.

No one expected that before the screening, the two of them were in high spirits, but after the screening, they fled in embarrassment.

Both John Woo and Jiang Wen found Li Shengyao and hinted that he should not spread the actual situation here back to China.

Li Shengyao agreed.

So there was news that "The Wheel" shone in Cannes and "One Step Away" moved the French.

Both movies will be released during the Lunar New Year this year.

Now it's up to them to see how much money they can make.

Li Shengyao did not send Jiang Wen and John Woo as gifts. He planned to send Lao Mouzi as gifts, mainly because he had the closest relationship with Lao Mouzi.

When Lao Mouzi heard Li Shengyao's words, he looked over and said, "Yours is a musical, maybe it can break out a bloody path."

"Okay, let me lend you some good words."

At this time, the airport announcement sounded, and the assistant reminded that it was time to board the plane. Lao Mouzi nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Director Li, my energy has declined, and I no longer have the energy to hit the top three in Europe. You can keep up your efforts and take advantage of the opportunity." Young, make more excellent movies.

Nowadays, Chinese-language films are among the top three in Europe, and it all depends on you. "

"No, Chief Jia, aren't Lou Ye and the others here?"

"They are almost done. Their style is difficult to last forever. Only your movies are ever-changing and mature."

It's so different, it's just copied from different movies.

When Li Shengyao heard this, his face became slightly hot.

Lao Mouzi then waved and left.

This old man should have been over 1.7 meters tall when he was young. Later, as he got older, his height shrank a lot.

Li Shengyao looked at Lao Mouzi's old appearance, feeling a little emotional and a little irritable.

John Woo, Jiang Wen, and Lao Mouzi all left.

Could he be next?

"Let's go, go back."

The two of them then got in the car. Li Shengyao was not in a good mood and was too lazy to go to the movies and planned to go back to the hotel to sleep.

Chen Hao quietly sat next to him.

The scenery outside the window is beautiful, and under the bright sunshine, Cannes is like a city in a painting, with a sense of fantasy.

Chen Hao held Li Shengyao's hand, thinking about every detail of so many years, and suddenly said: "Are you worried about "La La Land"?"

Li Shengyao didn't want to admit this, "It's okay, I can't say I'm worried."

Chen Hao glanced at Li Shengyao, pursed his lips and smiled, then leaned into Li Shengyao's ear and whispered: "I feel that you have changed in the past few years."

"Has it changed?"

"Well, when you were filming TV series, you were very...brave, no, you had a very strong sense of competition. Whether it was the production, promotion, or subsequent sales of the TV series, you would strive to be the best.

You have been a lot lazy in making movies in the past few years. After you finish the movie, you leave the matter to God. You don't even bother to promote it. Just like "Dalian by the Sea", Lu Han and Zhang Songwen are running around. You didn't go.

Now that you are successful and famous, you are even more lazy and don’t want to work hard. "

After finishing speaking, Chen Hao looked at Li Shengyao quietly.

This is not just true for big directors, senior actors, and even popular celebrities.

After too much halo, people often become timid and less confident than before.

She was not sure whether Li Shengyao would be angry after hearing these words.

But she still said it because she preferred the energetic Li Shengyao to the mature and lackluster Director Li.

When Li Shengyao heard this, he turned to look at Chen Hao in a daze, looking at this familiar woman.

Under the bright light, the wrinkles and capillaries on her face were very clear.

Time has left traces on her face, but compared to more than ten years ago, she is more attractive now, with a calm and mature beauty.

He looked at it for a while, then withdrew his gaze and quietly thought about the content of Chen Hao's words.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was indeed seeking stability too much and was too lazy.

He is no longer the young director who made TV series. He does not think about the promotion of the movie or strives for movie honors.

He always finishes the movie and then leaves it to God.

It seems that trying hard to achieve it seems very low.

He even looked down on Oscar lobbying and found it meaningless to spend money on Oscars.

There is really no need to spend money on lobbying.

But in Hollywood, where there are so many talents, the desire to strive for the top is worthy of recognition.

He has been living among the top three in Europe, but he doesn't dare to go to Hollywood to compete with directors from beautiful countries, even though there are various reasons.

But the real core is that he wants stability.

He lost his competitive spirit.

Chen Hao's words at this time made him suddenly think about many things.

He took Chen Hao's hand and said, "You're right, I've been living too comfortably in recent years and I've lost my competitive spirit." He paused for a moment, looked out the window, and then said, "Then let's go Starting from now on, starting with "La La Land", I have set myself as a small director making TV series, and I want to get busy with "La La Land"."

After saying this, he took out his mobile phone and contacted Li Lianhua and Yue Ming. Later, the four of them would go watch a movie together on behalf of "La La Land".

The screenings at the Cannes Film Festival were shoulder-to-shoulder, and there were reporters at every screening venue.

In order to increase their popularity, many crews will watch movies together as a whole crew.

Lee Sung-yew has never cared about this in the past, but now he plans to start from such small things to attract publicity for "La La Land".

Soon after, they arrived at the agreed venue, and then the four of them walked in generously.

Sure enough, a reporter came forward to interview.

Li Shengyao accepted the interview with a relaxed expression on his face.

……

Chen Hao's words suddenly awakened Li Shengyao, and he planned to show stronger initiative and competitiveness in the coming days.

He began to attend more movie screenings, accept more interviews from reporters, and would ask makeup artists to apply makeup on him, trying to appear in the best mental state in front of the public.

Under such circumstances, they welcomed the screening of "La La Land".

With Lee Sung-yew's celebrity status and his high-profile style in Cannes in recent days, "La La Land" has attracted more people's attention.

The venue for film screenings is the Grand Hall, which is a hall that can accommodate a thousand people.

In such a hall, it is natural to attract more people, but if this wave of audiences is not caught, screening in such a venue is not necessarily a good thing.

Just like the opening film of this Cannes Film Festival-"Princess of Monaco".

The heroine of this movie is Nicole Kidman, who is very beautiful and has a very good reputation in Europe and the United States.

However, the movie was screened in the lobby, and the effect was not satisfactory.

Film critics think this is a very mediocre movie. Even Nicole Kidman's expressions are unnatural because of Botox.

The previous opening ceremony films of the Cannes Film Festival were not very good, just like Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris", which was looked down upon by many film critics.

However, films like "Princess of Monaco" are considered by many to be mediocre, which still happens relatively rarely.

At this time, "La La Land" was playing in the hall. Seeing more and more audiences pouring into the theater, Li Lianhua and Yue Yueming were a little nervous.

Will playing it in the lobby affect the movie-watching experience?

Did later viewers really see the subtitles clearly?

Many thoughts flashed through the two people's minds.

Li Shengyao stood aside and looked confidently at the audience behind him. He nodded slightly and looked very magnanimous.

He soon saw Jacob, the chief seal of the Cannes Film Festival, and Jane Campion, the chief seal of the jury for this year's film festival.

Li Shengyao didn't pay attention to the looks of others and strode over, "Mr. Zhuxi, Miss Jian."

Jacob was very happy to see Li Shengyao. He stepped forward and hugged Li Shengyao, "Li, you are back, Cannes welcomes you."

Li Shengyao nodded, "Yes, I brought a musical this time. I hope you will like it."

This year's Cannes Film Festival has determined its style, which is to select outstanding literary and artistic films.

Jane Campion thought Li Shengyao would be depressed, but at this time, Li Shengyao seemed to be in very good condition.

Doesn't seem to be affected.

She liked young people who were energetic and very confident, so she smiled and nodded, "Okay, Li, we will watch carefully and hope you can surprise us."

"Definitely."

Lee Sheng-yao then left calmly. He noticed Section Chief Jia, Kim Do-yeon, and Sofia Coppola.

These were all members of the judging panel. Li Shengyao did not shy away from anything and walked over generously to greet them.

Both Li Lianhua and Zhou Yueming felt that Li Shengyao was different. He seemed to like talking more than before.

The two of them didn't know why, but they both thought that Lee Sheng-yew was more attractive like this.

Seeing Lee Sing-yew's smile, they became more confident in the movie.

Lao Mouzi, Jiang Wen, and John Woo have all gone back, so they may not be so embarrassed.

With this mentality, the movie was officially screened, and then the entire theater fell into joy.

The music style of "La La Land" is similar to that of Lee Sung-yao's previous life. Most of them are relaxed and happy, especially when the male and female protagonists get along, it is even sweeter.

The dancing and the soundtrack are very sweet.

The choreography is also cheerful and romantic.

These elements do not dominate and exist independently, but are completely integrated into the story. You will not have such a feeling when watching the movie. After watching the movie, when you think back, it is full of atmosphere.

At this time, Jacob smiled. He is a person who loves movies.

He knew very well that musicals were very popular in the 1960s, and there were many excellent musicals at that time.

But then there were fewer and fewer excellent musicals.

After entering the new millennium, musicals have become a minor category.

At this time, it is really rare for a young director like Lee Sung-yew to be willing to try a musical.

Of course, Jacob was even more happy.

The films that Lee Sung-yew participated in at the Venice Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival were all traditional dramas. Although they were very exciting, they really didn't feel amazing.

At this time, this musical film can easily attract traffic and bring topics.

Although this year's film festival focuses on literary and artistic films, Jacob still hopes that the Cannes Film Festival will have a variety of topics that can attract the attention of the world.

Jane Campion was sitting next to Jacob, and she didn't think too much about it.

She focuses more on movies.

"La La Land" tells a love story between a man and a woman. The story may seem a bit cliché, but it has a good idea.

Love and dreams, how to choose.

Apart from the content, it’s the filming of the movie.

Chongqing is a very beautiful and charming city. The movie was shot in Chongqing. In addition to a sense of fantasy, there is also a magical cyberpunk feel.

In addition, the music and dance of the movie are all very reasonable and just right, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the story better.

In the end, the hero and heroine meet again, and there is a montage setting. If they had chosen to be together, would they have been happy?

This association is very exciting.

Campion looked at it and nodded repeatedly.

She remembered Li Lianhua's complicated gaze at the end.

When the movie ended, both Campion and Jacobs stood up and clapped along with the general audience.

The applause at the scene was very warm, and everyone looked at Li Shengyao.

He took a deep breath, then waved his hand, leading Li Lianhua and Yue Yueming to the stage.

"The preparation period for "La La Land" lasted one and a half years, and the official shooting and post-production period lasted half a year. This movie took us two years. I hope everyone will like it."

(End of this chapter)