China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 475 Reception
2 month 7 day.

The movie "Witness" became one of the films to be screened at this year's Berlin Film Festival. Finally, as the male lead Zhang Jiahui wished, he and director Lin Chaoxian both went to Berlin to attend the film festival.

The two arrived at 8 a.m. local time. It was drizzling. Zhang Jiahui had brought a down jacket to protect himself from the 3-degree Celsius temperature in Berlin, but Lin Chaoxian only had a thin coat.

The temperature will drop to -3 degrees Celsius tomorrow. When asked by reporters, Lin Chaoxian said, "I have brought enough supplies and plan to buy warm clothes in Berlin. I will start a big shopping spree later."

Although the two were excited, Zhang Jiahui said that he had trouble falling asleep on the plane last night, probably because of his high excitement and the cramped cabin, and he tossed and turned all night.

As soon as he arrived in Berlin, he immediately asked local staff where there was a Chinese restaurant. He was extremely eager to have a Chinese meal and some warm rice to resist the severe cold weather and cope with the publicity work in the next two days.

Unfortunately, he was unable to do so for the time being because they had been arranged by the Berlin Film Festival staff to attend a meeting and lunch at noon. It seemed that Zhang Jiahui would have to wait until the evening to find a Chinese restaurant.

The duo's promotional work in Berlin included dealing with over a hundred international media outlets, and because the film was so controversial, local audiences also expressed interest in watching it.

In addition, you must attend at least two film meet-and-greets to meet with the audience and deconstruct the films.

In response to the reporter's question, Zhang Jiahui said: "I am looking forward to it, but I dare not imagine what the Berlin audience will think after watching the movie. After all, different places have different cultural generations. But I hope that they will not leave with a smile, but leave the theater with a wooden expression and a heavy heart, then it will be a success."

The hotel they stayed in was a five-star hotel called Berlin Marriott Hotel.

From Zhang Jiahui, Lin Chaoxian and others, we can see that no matter how dim the starlight is on the opening red carpet of the Berlin International Film Festival, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.

As one of the three major European film studios, it is a holy place in the hearts of many filmmakers in third world countries.

It can even be said that its importance in the hearts of filmmakers in second and third world countries other than the United States is far greater than that of the American Academy Awards.

This is because, except for the Best Foreign Language Film Award, the American Academy Awards are not open to the public and are only local awards of the American Film Academy.

Filmmakers from second and third world countries can’t get it unless they work in Hollywood.

On the contrary, Europe's three major film festivals are where filmmakers from many second and third world countries can win awards for shooting local films.

It is closely related to their interests and honor.

For example, when Chen Kaige was filming "Mei Lanfang", he was able to come here to compete for the three major European awards.

As for the Oscars, the rules have not yet been amended. He has to make an English version of "Mei Lanfang" to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

There is no English version, so I can’t even attend.

On the same day, Kate's film "The Reader" was exhibited at the Berlin Film Festival.

The director and three leading actors, including Kate, all made appearances.

Compared to "The Witness" directed by Lin Chaoxian and starring Liang Jiahui, which did not attract much attention when it appeared in Berlin, "The Reader" has caused quite a stir just like "The Wolf of Wall Street".

Of course, the most watched and concerned person in the crew of "The Reader" must be Kate.

"Titanic" seems like yesterday, and her appearance has aroused many people's memories.

As Nicole Kidman withdrew from the role due to pregnancy, the female lead eventually fell to the director's first choice, Kate Winslet.

When asked by reporters about her role, Kate said frankly: "This role is really difficult to interpret."

"The feeling of playing her...I haven't had that feeling for a long time. And because of the special nature of this character, I also felt an extra sense of responsibility when acting, which forced me to devote myself to playing her seriously."

In the film, Winslet once again performs a thrilling and passionate scene.

The reporter naturally would not miss this question and immediately asked her how she felt about being naked again.

Winslet said with a smile: "As a professional actor, this is part of the job, so there is no turning back."

Talking about the passionate scenes with the 18-year-old German actor Klaus, Winslet's answer was also very relaxed: "He is already 18 years old, a little man."

2 month 9 day.

After Zhang Ziyi and Li Ming arrived one after another, Chen Kaige and his wife Chen Hong finally flew to Berlin. The "Mei Lanfang" team gathered together and officially embarked on the journey to capture the hero.

"Mei Lanfang" is the only Chinese-language film shortlisted for the main competition unit of the 59th Berlin Film Festival and is widely anticipated.

Chen Kaige and Chen Hong did not look tired after flying for more than ten hours.

Chen Kaige was even more energetic, and was full of familiarity and fondness for Berlin, a city he had visited before.

In response to the reporter's question, he smiled and said: "Being able to use the Berlin Film Festival as a platform to allow this film to premiere in the world is already giving enough respect to Chinese films and traditional Chinese culture. Whether it wins an award or not is not within his consideration, because a film always has its own destiny."

"Mei Lanfang", the only Chinese-language film shortlisted for this year's Berlin Film Festival, was once again his favorite.

Compared with Chen Kaige, Chen Hong, the film's producer and one of the female leads, cares more about the reputation of "Mei Lanfang" among European and American audiences.

She also prepared several high-end custom-made dresses for the grand premiere of "Mei Lanfang".

However, Wang Shu knew that Mei Lanfang's reputation in Europe and the United States was not good, and many foreigners said they could not understand it.

The reputation is not good, foreigners say they can't understand it, and it didn't win any awards, so it can't be sold at a high price. This time, Chen Kaige must come with a lot of fanfare, but leave with his tail between his legs.

On February 2, the crew of "The Wolf of Wall Street" held a cocktail party at the hotel where Matt Damon and Wang Shu were staying.

Many well-known filmmakers came to the scene.

For example, Leo and Kate both came to show their support.

Yesterday, Leonardo DiCaprio attended the Film for Peace charity dinner at the Berlin Film Festival. This dinner provides a platform for discussion for environmentalists. Leonardo DiCaprio, who has always taken the lead in promoting environmental protection, was awarded the International Green Film Award.

Gus Van Sant, director of "The Age of Harvey", won the Most Valuable Film of the Year Award for his film, and he received the award from Bob Geldof.

In addition, veteran movie stars Christopher Lee, Diane Kruger and former Soviet President Gorbachev also took the stage to deliver speeches. Other celebrities in attendance included French actress Catherine Deneuve, Ben Kingsley and his wife.

Wang Shu and Matt Damon did not go.

Leo, who won the International Green Film Award, will stay in Berlin for a few days. As his fan girl, Kate will also stay in Berlin even though she is a married woman.

The two were invited by Matt Damon and came to show their support out of courtesy.

The opening red carpet of the Berlin Film Festival was indeed dim in starlight, but with the arrival of Kate, Leo, Keanu and other well-known Hollywood stars after the opening ceremony, and the presence of Matt Damon, the starlight became much brighter.

As for Wang Shu, he learned that Zhao Haichen from China Film Hengdian Warner was also there, so he invited him.

China Film Hengdian Warner is a branch of China Film. Wang Shu had previously had contact with it when he was preparing for "Ghost Ship".

This person will be the deputy general manager of China Film Corporation in the future.

In addition to Zhao Haichen, Wang Shu also invited Chen Hong.

Inviting Chen Hong was just a casual move and I didn't think she would come.

Unexpectedly, Chen Hong really came.

Zhang Ziyi also came with her.

Wang Shu did not invite this person.

Matt Damon and the crew did not invite her either. It seems that either Chen Hong dragged Zhang Ziyi along, or Zhang Ziyi took the initiative to find Chen Hong after learning that she was invited and asked her to bring her along.

"Sister Hong, Sister Ziyi, thank you for coming to support us."

In order to prevent the two from feeling ignored, Wang Shu took the initiative to go forward and warmly welcome them with a smile on his face.

The cocktail party for "The Wolf of Wall Street" was organized by Matt Damon and Hollywood investors. Those who came to support the party were European and American producers, film distributors, and actors such as Leo and Kate.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Hong and Zhang Ziyi would not be invited at all.

When they came, no one paid any attention to them and they were left out.

Wang Shu knew this, so he went to receive him personally.

Otherwise, Zhang Ziyi might be able to strike up some topics with the European and American filmmakers who came to the scene.

Chen Hong will most likely be ignored.

Chen Hong’s husband is of course Chen Kaige, and there is indeed a certain story behind the Cannes Palme d’Or director coming to Berlin.

But...it also depends on the nature of the cocktail party.

Chen Hong did not feel complacent, and politely replied: "It's okay, we are all Chinese filmmakers, and we should help each other when we come to Berlin."

After Chen Hong finished speaking, Zhang Ziyi winked at Wang Shu and said with a smile: "It is difficult for us mainland actors to encounter such a cocktail party. Maybe something good will happen if we come here today."

She followed Chen Hong over and immediately saw Leo, Kate, Matt Damon, and some famous producers who were on the scene. She thought it was a good decision to come over shamelessly this time.

Wang Shu understood what Zhang Ziyi meant and said with a smile, "If Sister Ziyi knows anyone, you can go over and say hello. I'll take care of Sister Hong."

Zhang Ziyi didn't expect Wang Shu to be so considerate. He really did what he thought. Her eyes lit up immediately. However, she thought that she came with Chen Hong, so it would be a bit bad to leave right after she arrived. She pretended to say, "Forget it. I'll go and say hello later when I have a chance."

In fact, at this moment, Wang Shu almost figured out why Chen Hong came here for the first time.

In the final analysis, it was all to cover up for Chen Kaige.

The movie "Mei Lanfang" was a relative flop.

With an investment of 100 million yuan, the box office in mainland China was less than 100 million yuan due to the double impact of "If You Are the One" and "Travel to Taipei".

According to the rough calculation that the investment must be three times the box office to break even, "Mei Lanfang" still needs 200 million yuan to break even.

At present, I have lost a lot.

(End of this chapter)