The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 942 Sincerity

Carl Leavitt's fingers were a little sore, and his muscles were tense to the extreme. He stared at the TV screen and forgot to breathe.

If someone had told him three hours ago that he was willing to pray with all his energy that "The Cortrights" win the Best Director award this year, he would have thought that person was a psychopath, talking nonsense with an abnormal mind.

But now, he really thought so, and silently prayed to the power of the entire universe. He had never imagined that he was so eager to say the name of the "Cortwright Family" as soon as possible, so that it would end sooner and he could be reborn sooner.

The air froze for a moment.

Then, without deliberately creating suspense, the answer came through the microphone -

"Gus Van Sant, 'Elephant.'"

Karl: …

Nicholas:…

The entire press conference room was in complete silence. The worst, most terrifying thing had finally happened. Everyone forgot how to react, and even forgot to congratulate Gus Van Sant. They all froze in place, like a group of children who were so engrossed in playing the statue game that they forgot to lift the spell.

Actually!

Who would have thought that the best director at this year's Cannes Film Festival would not be Lars von Trier, Clint Eastwood, or Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but Gus Van Sant?

Who could have thought that Bertrand Brillet still didn't get any award, and the Best Director award was inexplicably given to Gus Van Sant. What kind of magical operation is this?

"elephant"?
"The Elephant", which was filmed entirely in a pseudo-documentary style, actually won the Best Director award?
It's hard to judge.

The same goes for the photographers who had taken up position early on the balcony outside the Film Palace.

Emanuel was stunned, and the photographers around him were cursing, confused, furious, fainting on the spot, and wailing everywhere.

Although Emanuel had never been to hell, the scene before his eyes should be similar.

For the entire night, after enduring shock after shock, he fell into madness again. The whole world began to spin at high speed. The madness of this year's Cannes Film Festival reached its true peak at this moment.

It’s not that “Elephant” is bad. Compared with “Cortright Family”, people would rather “Elephant” win the award. But the problem now is that after “Elephant” won the award, the “Cortright Family” Palme d’Or is gradually becoming a reality, which is not funny.

So much so that I forgot to congratulate Gus Van Sant.

Originally, Emmanuel was also stunned, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind, but when he saw this scene, he couldn't help but smile.

Judging from the atmosphere at the scene, one or two people seemed to be strongly protesting against Gus winning the award. Their cursing and furious attitude made it seem as if Gus had offended half of Cannes; but only those who really knew the situation knew what was going on.

it's so funny.

One is absurd, the other is dark, this is the real Italian comedy, right?

but.

Things seemed much simpler in the Lumiere Hall. There was no time to calculate, no time to worry, no complicated thoughts or twists and turns. One could just immerse oneself in it and enjoy the moment to the fullest and wantonly.

"director."

"director!"

“Director, ahhhh!”

Anson stood up suddenly, raised his hands high and cheered with a smile on his face. He did not hide his joy at all and celebrated wildly.

Gus was confused and looked at Anson: Huh?

Anson did not answer, but just smiled brightly. Seeing Gut clapping his hands vigorously, he didn't care about the cells in his palms dying at the speed of light. He used the simplest and most plain way to give Gut the top treatment.

Alex and Eric were both confused and didn't understand what was going on.

Alex subconsciously turned his head and looked around. Many guests stood up. He also stood up quickly, approached Anson and asked in surprise.

“…We won a prize?”

Anson nodded heavily, "Yes, we won the prize."

Alex's eyes widened in disbelief, and he clapped his hands in confusion, then looked at Eric, and the two of them jumped up and down and cheered.

No stiffness, no restraint—just a little off-kilter.

But it is precisely this naturalness that allows people to see the innocence of the crew.

They are not actors, they are just ordinary students, a group of kids. Maybe they don’t even know what award the movie won, but no matter what award it is, it’s worth being happy.

This scene fell into Nicholas's eyes.

Mixed feelings.

Nicholas realized that they were still too concerned about gains and losses, which had unbalanced their mentality. Instead of being unhappy because "The Cortright Family" won the Palme d'Or, they should cheer for their favorite works.

The point is not what award it is, but that the "elephant" won the award.

Thinking of this, Nicholas' mood brightened again.

No matter what others say, Nicolas' best film at Cannes this year is "Elephant", an undoubted masterpiece and his personal choice for the Palme d'Or. Maybe the final result was different, but at least the film was praised.

No?
Worth celebrating. Worth cheering.

Nicholas put his fingers in his mouth and whistled in celebration.

Ho, ho, ho, ho.

Carl looked at Nicolas, then at the Lumiere Hall on the TV screen—

Gus was a little reserved and shy, and it took him two beats to react.

Anson was the first to step forward and gave Gus a hug. Alex and Eric surrounded Gus, jumping and cheering, which made Gus unable to help but smile.

Simple and pure, passionate and natural.

This scene made Carl let out a long breath, and then he started to applaud.

Regardless, "Elephant" is worth it.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang!
The sound waves rolled in, rising steadily, and in the blink of an eye they became a tropical storm.

Sweeping the whole place.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Gus took the stage. The shy director seemed a little reserved. After receiving the trophy, he stood in front of the microphone, at a loss as to what to do.

"thanks, thanks."

Gus clutched the trophy tightly, as if it were a life-saving straw. In the panic, he finally managed to find his center of gravity and calmed down a little.

Thank you Cannes, thank you jury, thank you HBO... After expressing his gratitude, Gus stood there in a daze, thought for a while, and continued.

"This film started out as just an idea, but it was eventually transformed into a film and even made it to Cannes thanks to the children."

"Thank you for opening a window for us to see their daily lives and what they are going through and facing. They are under pressure and violence that they should not face at this age. This is our society. Although we try our best to ignore or even deny it, this is the reality of life."

"So, thank you for their bravery, which reminds us of our timidity and cowardice through their actions."

His words were a little dry and a little stuttering, and there were obviously countless ideas in his mind that he was trying to express; but Guts still couldn't find a way after all.

After a moment's hesitation, Gus awkwardly raised the trophy and gave a slight gesture.

Then, turn around and leave the stage.

The acceptance speech was neither gorgeous nor ostentatious, and even seemed plain and crude, but just like the movie, it brought an emotional impact with its plain and simple camera language.

This time, there was no time difference. Carl clapped his hands vigorously and cheered for Gus immediately.

They need filmmakers like this who can use their camera lenses to capture more things in life and society beyond money, glory and fame.

Turning around, Carl saw Nicholas also clapping with a smile on his face.

After exchanging glances, the two men clapped their hands even harder.

(End of this chapter)