hollywood melon man

Chapter 426 Arrival in Shanghai
The Shanghai Film Festival is an international A-level film festival jointly organized by the China National Film Administration, China Central Television and Shanghai City, and certified by the International Association of Film Producers.

The Shanghai Film Festival was first held in 1993. The festival is held in early June every year. The highest award is the Golden Goblet Award, which has 6 awards.

Filmmakers who have served as chairpersons of the Golden Goblet Awards jury include Wong Kar-wai, Jean-Jacques Annaud, John Woo, Danny Boyle, Luc Besson, Andrei Zvyagintsev and others.

In fact, according to the original plan, Gilbert Jr. was invited to serve as the chairman of the jury for this year's Shanghai International Film Golden Goblet Awards.

Although Gilbert Jr. has never won any international A-class film festival awards, let alone awards from the three major European film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

But this does not affect Gilbert Jr.'s qualifications to serve as the jury chairman. After all, he is a two-time winner of the Oscar for Best Director.

Although the Oscars are essentially a regional award, with Hollywood's global influence, the Oscars have long become a world-class award and a stage that all filmmakers aspire to.

The three major European film festivals all have to give way to the Oscars.

This gap in influence is comprehensive and cannot be made up by artistry or professionalism alone.

Besides, are the three major European film festivals really as professional as the Oscars, or more artistic than the Oscars? I'm afraid that's not necessarily the case!

Little Gilbert was quite happy to serve as the chairman of the jury.

However, he was busy with various jobs during the North American summer season, and he really couldn't spare more than ten days to review a bunch of movies he didn't know or hadn't seen.

So little Gilbert declined and instead agreed to attend the exchange lecture.

In addition to Little Gilbert, this lecture also invites several well-known domestic directors. Guo Shi and Chen Gezi will attend and communicate with Little Gilbert face to face.

Three days after the lecture, there was a small test, which was where Gilbert Jr. selected fifty students.

Of course, what was told to the public was that Gilbert Jr. was just investigating talents in the Chinese film industry and he had no other purpose.

The weather in Shanghai in June is as hot as a furnace, even hotter than the summer in Los Angeles.

Gilbert Jr.'s private plane landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Paul, president of Disney Greater China, and Wilson, general manager of Warner China, had been waiting here for a long time.

In addition to these two people and their entourage, people from the Shanghai International Film Festival Organizing Committee were also waiting here for little Gilbert to arrive.

Looking at the luxurious business jet parked in front of the tarmac, several Shanghai International Film Festival staff members were still whispering.

"Isn't this little director Gilbert a movie director? So rich? He can afford a plane."

"Do you think all directors are poor? They earn one or two hundred million dollars for a movie!"

"That's so exaggerated. Didn't you say the salary was only 20 million US dollars?"

"Tsk, who will make a movie for you with only 20 million dollars? Usually there will be a share of the box office revenue. And don't forget that Gilbert Jr. is not only a director, but also a super-rich man.

Have you read the Forbes Rich List this year? He ranks ninth in the world with $231 billion.

"Oh my god, that's scary, he's only thirty-three years old?"

"To be precise, I haven't even had my thirty-third birthday yet."

"Shh, don't talk, they are coming."

As he stepped off the private plane, little Gilbert immediately felt a gust of hot air. Fortunately, he was prepared and wore casual clothes.

Although it’s not formal, it’s not hot!

Scarlett was wearing a plaid shirt on the upper body and denim hot pants on the lower body, her face was flushed. She had been obsessed with little Gilbert for a long time on the plane, and now her body was a little weak.

She was fanning herself with a Chinese-style fan, the same one that little Gilbert had given her on her birthday.

"It's so hot, my dear, I want to eat ice cream." Scarlett said coquettishly.

Little Gilbert asked Scarlett to be patient: "Eating now will cause diarrhea, wait a little longer and go to the hotel to rest first."

"Okay," Scarlett nodded obediently, showing that she was obedient.

The two men walked towards the crowd, and their entourage quickly took the suitcases, briefcases, etc. and placed them on several RVs.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses and slightly fat came up to greet him: "Hello, are you Director Gilbert Landellini Jr.?"

After little Gilbert nodded, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Hello, hello, welcome to Shanghai. I am Xu Caikun, and I will be responsible for receiving you."

I almost thought it was some Kun Kun, and little Gilbert even wanted to say he was handsome in a guise.

After a few simple greetings and meeting Paul and Wilson, Xu Caikun said, "We will take you to the hotel to rest first, and then we will welcome you tomorrow."

"Then I'll just follow the host's wishes." Little Gilbert said with a smile.

He has always been able to speak Chinese, after all, it was his mother tongue in his previous life, but if you don't speak a language for a long time, you will never speak it as well as the locals.

However, there is no doubt that Gilbert's Chinese language proficiency is definitely better than most foreigners.

Not only these official personnel came to the airport to pick up the plane, but also media reporters and others, who took photos not far away.

There was supposed to be an interview session or something, but considering that it must be tiring for little Gilbert to have been on the plane for so long, we gave up on it and just took some photos.

After the greetings, Gilbert Jr., Scarlett, and their entourage got on the RV and headed to the Peace Hotel on the Bund to rest. Hotels these days need to be qualified to receive foreign guests, so Gilbert Jr. can't just stay wherever he wants, so the Peace Hotel is the best choice.

After arriving at the hotel, little Gilbert fell asleep and slept until the next morning.

Although he pays attention to physical exercise, he is not young after all. He is in his thirties and cannot endure it.

There are still two days before the opening of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Little Gilbert did not go out for a stroll, but just walked around the area with Scarlett.

After Johnny Depp arrived at the hotel to rest, no one knew what he did.

Little Gilbert didn't bother to care about him, as long as he didn't cause any trouble.

Although foreigners are rare in China these days, they are not uncommon in the big city of Shanghai, especially in the Bund.

The amazing thing is that Gilbert and Scarlett met several Chinese fans on the road who asked for their autographs and photos.

Little Gilbert didn't feel anything, but Scarlett's little vanity was satisfied.

She jumped up and down happily and said, "I didn't expect that I have fans in China too. I'm so happy!"

"Of course, wherever our Scarlett goes, there will be people who like her," said little Gilbert.

Scarlett was very satisfied when he heard this: "This girl is infinitely charming, haha."

Looking at Scarlett who was caught up in narcissism, Little Gilbert shook his head speechlessly. Chinese people value modesty, which means that you cannot praise yourself, but let others praise you.

But Americans don't have this burden. Even if others don't praise them, they will still praise themselves.

After walking around and returning to the hotel, Anna reported the itinerary communicated with the organizer: "There is a dinner party in the evening, and you, Scarlett, and Mr. Depp are required to attend.

In addition, the film festival will open in two days and we need to attend it, and we also need to attend the China premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean" the day after the opening ceremony.

After that there will be exchange forums and lectures, as well as a small test according to your arrangement.

In addition, Fudan University wants to invite you to give a lecture, do you have time?"

After listening to this, Little Gilbert waved his hand and said, "Just make the arrangements as you see fit..."

"Okay," Anna wrote down the time in her work log, and then remembered something else: "By the way, there is also a TV talk show that wants to interview you."

"What program?"

“I think it’s called ‘Yang Lan Interview’?”

Gilbert Jr. refused: "Forget about the TV interview. It's too ostentatious. Some people are very dissatisfied with me now."

When Anna heard this, she crossed out the interview program to show that she understood.

With 911/ and China's accession to the WTO, China and the United States seem to be entering a honeymoon period again, and the two sides now have very close exchanges in politics, culture and economy.

But Gilbert Jr. is a Hollywood director who is as mainstream as can be. His stance towards China in the past two years has made many people quite dissatisfied.

At this time, we should not irritate these people's fragile nerves, lest they do something and lose face for everyone.

There's nothing wrong with attending an event, but there's no need for a TV interview.

After confirming the work schedule, he took a rest in the afternoon. In the evening, little Gilbert took Scarlett to attend a reception dinner specially held for him.

Johnny Depp is very funny. He wore a traditional Zhongshan suit, which looked very strange with his weird outfit.

Gilbert Jr. smiled and explained to the Chinese staff: "John is a Hollywood weirdo, but he is still a good person. He just thinks this shows his respect for you."

Several Chinese staff members accompanying him smiled awkwardly. Is this respect? They didn't think so.

The dinner was quite delicious. Chinese food that can be used to entertain foreign guests must have been modified to suit their tastes.

Little Gilbert himself has no major problems, he can eat authentic Chinese food. However, Scarlett and Johnny Depp were full of praise for this improved Chinese food.

Scarlett even used the two Chinese sentences that little Gilbert had taught her, raised her thumbs and said, "Good, good, crab..."

Although her speech was not standard, for Scarlett with a thick tongue, being able to say a few words was quite remarkable.

In China, eating is never just about eating, it usually has a lot of additional meanings.

Everyone can chat with little Gilbert and come up with something, such as projects, which are all political achievements.

Unfortunately, Gilbert Jr. was very tight-lipped and refused to reveal anything about Disneyland and the surrounding factory investments.

There were only two sentences in the back and forth: "I don't understand this, I need to communicate with Paul."

"I don't know about this. You should talk to Wilson."

A group of Chinese personnel cursed inwardly; Nonsense, if we could have a clear talk with both of them, would we still bring up this matter?
But unfortunately, Gilbert Jr. played dumb and the toast was useless. Disney and Warner both had a few drunkards, and that was when they came in handy.

(End of this chapter)