Literary Master 1978

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang appeared in Tung Ying Building in Tsim Sha Tsui. He came today to see the finished film of "The Truman Show".

The post-production of "The Truman Show" has been completed for a while, and Ann Hui informed him of this before.

Knowing that Lin Chaoyang was coming to watch the film today, Ann Hui and Xu Guanwen both ran over.

Lin Chaoyang is the original author and the screenwriter, and the two of them really want to hear Lin Chaoyang's opinion on the finished film.

The two of them spent too much effort on this movie, and their eagerness is understandable.

In the dim screening room, only the beam of the projector hit the screen.

After the logos of several production companies flashed, the first shot of the movie was a close-up of the director played by Bao Fang being interviewed in front of the camera.

"We watch plays and are tired of hypocritical performances and fancy stunts. You can say that The Truman Show is fake, but Truman himself is real.

This show has no scripts or cue cards. Although it may not be a masterpiece, it is genuine..."

The close-up shot is the closest shot in the movie screen. Every subtle expression and emotional change of the character will be recorded by the camera.

Bao Fang's lines are clear and have their own unique rhythm. His voice is also very charming. This advantage is infinitely magnified in close-up shots.

He did not wear makeup when shooting this shot. His face, over 50 years old, was covered with fine wrinkles. With every time he spoke, these wrinkles seemed to become part of his acting skills.

Especially his deep eye sockets and sharp eyes, he looked both scheming and sober in the camera, showing the contradictory temperament of the director's character, which is paranoid and sophisticated.

Lin Chaoyang was attracted by the first shot, not because of how amazing the shot was, but because Bao Fang's performance was better than he expected.

The face worn by the years was full of stories in the shot.

The shot switched, and it was Xu Guanwen who appeared as Truman.

He looked much younger in the movie than in real life, which was the effect of makeup.

Xu Guanwen has always been called a cold-faced comedian in Hong Kong, but in "The Truman Show", his performance was neither "cold-faced" nor "comedian", but very relaxed.

And in this relaxation, there was also brightness and warmth.

This was of course the background of the character "Truman" in the early stage of the movie, and it was enough to let the audience feel the background, which proved that Xu Guanwen's performance was successful.

This movie is a one-man show of "Truman". As the plot continues to advance, the image of the character Truman becomes more and more full, and Lin Chaoyang can't help comparing Xu Guanwen with Jim Carrey.

Compared with Jim Carrey's performance, Xu Guanwen's acting is more restrained, lacking the kind of confidence and sunshine that Americans deliberately pursue in their lives.

But this restraint is not entirely a disadvantage, especially when the movie reaches the second half.

The more restrained Truman is in the early part, the more exciting his resistance is in the later part.

Not only the fake "audience" in the movie is worried about him, but also the audience outside the screen.

When Truman finally stood in front of the long door leading to freedom, he finally laughed wantonly and said that classic line.

"If I never see you again, I wish you good morning, good afternoon, and good night!"

After that, he turned and left, like a young man with high spirits!

The movie ended, the cast list was scrolling on the screen, Xu Guanwen stood up to turn on the lights, and his eyes fell on Lin Chaoyang.

"Chaoyang, how is it? How is it?"

The dignified actor acted like a primary school student waiting for praise from the teacher after the test results came out.

At this time, Ann Hui looked at Lin Chaoyang, hiding some expectations.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said: "The degree of completion is very high, very good!"

Ann Hui is the kind of director who performs very stably. It is difficult to bring the audience a stunning viewing experience, but she rarely fails. Her performance in "The Truman Show" is as stable as ever.

This does not mean that Ann Hui's performance is not excellent. It can only be said that the story setting of "The Truman Show" itself is amazing enough.

So much so that people will subconsciously ignore the director's audio-visual language scheduling when watching it, and completely immerse themselves in the story.

In fact, in a sense, this is also a manifestation of the director's skill.

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's evaluation, Ann Hui and Xu Guanwen's faces became relaxed.

"With your words, I feel relieved." Xu Guanwen said.

As a senior filmmaker, both he and Ann Hui have their own judgment, but people are like this. The more you value something, the more you worry about gains and losses.

"The Truman Show" carried too many expectations from Xu Guanwen from the beginning. It was difficult for him to look at the finished film from a completely rational perspective. He could only constantly correct his feelings through the feedback from others.

After watching the finished film, several people talked about participating in the film festival.

Last month, Giles Jacob was invited by Li Hanxiang and King Hu to come to Hong Kong to review the film.

As the film selection director of the film festival, Giles Jacob has a lot of say in the selection of films for the main competition unit.

But this kind of thing is not something he can decide alone. Before leaving Hong Kong, Giles Jacob did not make any promises to Golden Harvest, which hosted him.

Seeing that there is still just over a month until the opening of this Cannes Film Festival, the day when the shortlist of the main competition units will be announced is getting closer.

Er Xu is like a prisoner waiting for trial, and one can feel their anxiety whenever this matter is mentioned.

"Will the shortlist be released in the next two days?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Xu Anhua said, "In previous years, it was one month before the opening, and it was only these two days."

Lin Chaoyang comforted the two of them with a relaxed look, "With the quality of The Truman Show, it will be no problem to be shortlisted. You have to have confidence."

"Of course I have confidence. But no one can say anything about the film festival. We are afraid of accidents."

Xu Anhua is a director of literary films, and he still knows a lot about the inside story of film festivals in various countries. In many cases, there are too many factors involved in film festival awards, and it is not just the quality of the film.

"Aren't you worrying unfoundedly and putting more pressure on yourself? Don't think so much. Anyway, the shortlist will be announced in the next two days.

Being shortlisted for the main competition means you are qualified, and God will do the rest. "

Xu Anhua nodded, but his expression was not relaxed. Lin Chaoyang could only smile when he saw this.

The next day, Lin Chaoyang suddenly received a call from Di Long.

"Chaoyang, a new play is opening in Xinyi City, and they want me to be the leading actor. I said it was your recommendation."

Di Long's tone on the phone was a little excited. Shaw Brothers graduated last year and he has not started working for more than a year.

During this period, Ti Lung also contacted many film companies that had offered him an olive branch when he was popular, but these companies were very realistic.

In the past two years, the traditional Shaw Brothers martial arts movies have gradually declined, and Ti Lung, a star who was trapped in the image of a "hero", is no longer as popular as he used to be.

After more than a year of troughs and cold reception, someone suddenly contacted him and told him that they wanted to cast him as the leading actor in a new film, and it was also a modern gunfight-themed film. Naturally, Ti Lung was ecstatic.

One of the big reasons why he wanted to leave Shaw Brothers was because he felt that his acting career was limited by period martial arts movies.

What makes Di Long even more happy is that the film he filmed was actually invested by New Art City.

New Arts City is an upstart in the Hong Kong film industry. It has become very popular in recent years. Almost every movie they produce is a hit.

Even though they suffered a slight decline in the competition with Golden Harvest last year, it did not hinder their strong position in the film industry.

Given Dillon's current sluggish situation, being able to connect with New Art City is a great blessing for him.

It was Shi Nansheng who contacted Ti Lung. She also mentioned to Ti Lung on the phone that the reason why they invited Ti Lung to star in the new film was mainly due to Lin Chaoyang's recommendation.

Dillon was filled with emotion after receiving this news.

He never expected that when he reached middle age and his career was bleak, it would be Lin Chaoyang, a friend he had known for more than a year, who would give him a hand.

He said a bunch of words of thanks on the phone and that was not enough, so he added: "I will be the host tomorrow and treat you to a meal with everyone."

Less than half a day after the two talked, Yue Hua also called Lin Chaoyang.

Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but sigh that Shi Nansheng's efficiency was really high!

He also called to thank him. Compared with Di Long's excitement, Yue Hua's mood was much more stable.

The reason for this is that Ti Lung still has great expectations for his acting career, otherwise he would not have been pursuing transformation.

What's different about Yue Hua is that he became famous too early and was already out of fashion by the mid-to-late 1970s.

Now he doesn't choose whether to cast a leading role or a supporting role, or whether it's a movie or a TV series.

With this state of mind, when faced with a supporting role in a movie, his heart was naturally calm, and calling to thank him was also out of courtesy.

The next night, Wan Chai, Fulinmen Restaurant.

Di Long hosted a dinner party and invited all the friends he and Lin Chaoyang knew together.

Di Long received a call from Shi Nansheng yesterday and met with her today to negotiate a contract.

At this time, receiving a modern gunfight starring a male protagonist was definitely a timely help for Ti Lung, who had been longing for a transformation in the past two years, and his gratitude to Lin Chaoyang was beyond words.

Everyone didn't know the reason for Dillon's treat before they came, and they couldn't help but be surprised after hearing Dillon explain the situation.

These people have been in the film industry for many years and are considered veterans of the Hong Kong film industry, but they can't guarantee that they can help their friends find a suitable and important role.

Lin Chaoyang has only been in Xiangjiang for a year, but he has such energy, which is really surprising.

But what everyone appreciates more about this incident is Lin Chaoyang's loyalty. He really thinks about his friends when good things happen.

Who wouldn't want to be his friend?

With the support of Ti Long and Yue Hua, Lin Chaoyang became the absolute protagonist tonight.

While everyone was talking and laughing, the phone that Cai Lam placed on the table rang. He stood up to answer the phone. No one paid attention to it and just kept talking to themselves.

When Cai Lan came back after answering the phone, his face was relaxed and a little happy.

Li Hanxiang asked: "Seeing you so happy, what's the good thing?"

Cai Lan said with a smile: "It's not me who has good things, it's Chaoyang who has good things."

Everyone was confused after hearing this, and Di Long asked: "What's the good thing?"

Cai Lan shook the mobile phone in his hand and said, "I just received a tip that "The Truman Show" has been shortlisted for the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival!"

The atmosphere on the table suddenly exploded.

The biggest investor of "The Truman Show" is Golden Harvest. Cai Lan is a senior producer of Golden Harvest and a capable assistant to Mr. Zou.

Lin Chaoyang, Xu Guanwen and Li Hanxiang also participated in the film, so everyone present knew the situation of the film very well.

Although the film was aimed at winning awards from the beginning, who can guarantee that it will succeed?

Moreover, Hong Kong films have done well in commercialization in recent years, but they are not very impressive in terms of artistry and awards.

Why does Li Hanxiang have a high status in the Hong Kong film industry, even in the Chinese film industry?

Isn't it because he won several international awards in the early 1960s?

This includes being shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival twice in 1960 and 1963. Although it did not win any heavyweight awards, it was a rare honor for the Chinese film industry in that era.

Now that "The Truman Show" has been released, it is Li Hanxiang's peak in those years. How can this not shock everyone present?

As everyone was discussing, Xu Guanwen's mobile phone also rang, also informing the Cannes Film Festival that the list of films shortlisted for the main competition had been announced.

"The Truman Show" was on the list!

Ti Lung raised his glass and said loudly: "Today is really a double happiness, let's have a drink!"

Everyone raised their glasses together and drank the wine. They were still discussing excitedly that "The Truman Show" was shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival.

For Hong Kong films that rarely have the opportunity to appear at international film festivals, being shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival is definitely a special honor. Lin Chaoyang and Xu Guanwen, the main creators of these two films, also became the focus of everyone's discussion.

Li Hanxiang looked at the two people and felt a little jealous. If he had been asked to direct this movie, he would have been shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival now.

Ann Hui was really lucky!

"You will be on the headlines again tomorrow!"

"The headlines of gossip newspapers are not important. If you are shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival, you will have no worries about selling the movie. You may even make a fortune!"

Cai Lan's words attracted everyone's approval.

After all, movies are still a business. Being shortlisted is of course a good thing, but winning is a low-probability event after all.

Don't worry about whether "The Truman Show" can win an award. After being shortlisted, the news will be hot and the public opinion will definitely be full. The box office should not be too bad at that time. The most important thing is that the copyright can be sold, which can be said to be both fame and fortune!

Listening to Cai Lan's words, Li Hanxiang felt better. After all, he was also one of the investors of "The Truman Show".

He didn't get the fame, but at least he made the profit.

The party, which was already hot in the atmosphere, became even more lively because the organizing committee of this year's Cannes Film Festival announced the list of shortlisted films for the main competition unit. Everyone gathered until late at night before dispersing.

The next morning, the news that "The Truman Show" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival" appeared in many newspapers in Hong Kong. After the news was published in the newspaper, it quickly became the focus of heated discussion among Hong Kong citizens.

In recent years, the Hong Kong film market has flourished, and the public is willing to pay attention to it. Many people feel proud to see this news.

After all, this is one of the three major European film festivals with international influence. Hong Kong films have not been shortlisted many times in these years!

If they win another award, it will be a record!

As the news fermented, "The Truman Show" became popular before it was released, and Golden Harvest would naturally not miss such a good publicity opportunity.

The main creative staff of the crew went out together, and interviews and reports about this film appeared in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio.

That night, Lin Chaoyang came out of the study, and Tao Yumo was watching TV intently.

"Brother-in-law, do you think Maggie will become a big star in the future?"

"Isn't she a star now?"

"I mean a big star, a very popular one."

"How popular is very popular? She is popular now." Lin Chaoyang said while looking at Maggie Cheung on TV.

Tao Yumo said: "She is even more popular than Cherie Chung and Brigitte Lin!"

Lin Chaoyang laughed, "You are really daring. Even if you are good sisters, you can't flatter her without any bottom line, right?"

"What do you mean I flatter her? She said it herself."

Lin Chaoyang glanced at Maggie Cheung on TV. She had a chubby face and a bright smile. She looked as heartless as Tao Yumo. No wonder you two can become good friends.

Tao Yumo and Maggie Cheung have known each other for more than half a year and have been shopping together a few times. Probably because their brain circuits tend to be the same, they soon became good friends who could talk about anything.

What was playing on TVB was "Happy Tonight". In recent days, "The Truman Show" has become a little popular. Maggie Cheung, as the second female lead in the film, also appeared in several announcements.

Tao Yumo asked Lin Chaoyang again: "Brother-in-law, then you say, this time "The Truman Show" is selected for the main competition unit of the film festival, can Maggie win an award?"

Her questions went off the track, and Lin Chaoyang asked: "Did she tell you that?"

"No. I just imagined that if she won the Best Supporting Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, she might become a big star."

Tao Yumo was talking and suddenly laughed, "With her acting skills, I'm afraid she will never win an award in her lifetime."

Lin Chaoyang looked at his sister-in-law with a smile, you girl is still too young!

As the saying goes, life is unpredictable, and the big intestines are wrapped in the small intestines.

Who would have thought that Maggie Cheung, whose acting skills were ridiculed by the entire film industry a few years before her debut, would transform so amazingly a few years later?

Your good friend has indeed never won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, but she won the Best Actress Award.

Lin Chaoyang really wanted to record his sister-in-law's unbridled laughter and give her a boomerang after several years.

The news was hot for more than a week, and the fact that "The Truman Show" was shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival finally gradually disappeared from the media pages.

Before the heat disappeared, Golden Harvest announced that "The Truman Show" would be released on May 24, which attracted the vigilance of many Hong Kong film companies.

"The Truman Show" stars Xu Guanwen and Cherie Chung. After its release, it will inevitably become a popular film in that period, squeezing out the living space of other films.

If it were just that, it would not be a big deal. After all, "The Truman Show" is an art film, and its audience is still not as large as that of commercial films.

But everyone is afraid that it will really win an award, let alone a big award, even if it is just a technical award, with the precedents of Li Hanxiang and Hu Jinquan, it is probably enough to set off a huge wave in the Hong Kong film industry and among moviegoers.

If that happens, the audience's curiosity and sense of honor will be mobilized, and no matter whether it is an art film or not, just watch it and that's it, I'm afraid everyone will have a hard time.

So what many people are most looking forward to now is that "The Truman Show" will not win anything at this film festival.

Time flies to the beginning of May, and an accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Kiev Oblast, Soviet Union. In just a few days, it became the front-page news of countries and regions around the world.

These days, international news has become a mess, because the first time the accident happened was April 26, and the Soviet Union did not inform the international community, nor did it attract enough attention.

After the situation was discovered by Europe, these countries were furious, and the Soviet envoys rushed to the Soviet Union's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for an explanation.

Official news media of various countries even criticized the Soviet government, forming a huge wave of public opinion against the Soviet Union in the international community.

Recently, many elite newspapers in Hong Kong have also reported on this incident in a series of articles, attracting the attention of many citizens.

But this matter is too far away from Hong Kong after all. Citizens can only talk about it in the newspapers at most, and their lives go on, songs are sung, and dances are performed.

One week before the opening of the 39th Cannes International Film Festival, the invitation letter sent by the organizing committee to Golden Harvest was sent to Hong Kong.

Lin Chaoyang had not originally planned to go to the film festival, but Golden Harvest attached great importance to this exhibition. Before the invitation letter was sent, they communicated with Lin Chaoyang and asked him to attend the film festival. Lin Chaoyang went back to the mainland to apply for a visa to France.

As a screenwriter, he could go or not. The reason why Golden Harvest tried hard to invite him was mainly because, according to Giles Jacob, the jury had a high evaluation of "The Truman Show".

The higher the rating, the higher the chance of winning. Although the jury didn't promise anything, Golden Harvest will imagine it!

If "The Truman Show" really wins the award, it will definitely set off a wave of public opinion in the Hong Kong film industry.

At least this year, it will definitely destroy Xinyicheng without any temper!

Lin Chaoyang, the original author and screenwriter, is one of the souls of the movie, so he naturally cannot be absent.

On May 7, the crew set off for France. There were seven people in the crew. The boss Zou Wenhuai brought Cai Lan, and there were five people in the crew, including director Xu Anhua, screenwriter Lin Chaoyang, male lead Xu Guanwen, female lead Zhong Chuhong and second female lead Maggie Cheung.

Among them, the air tickets and accommodation of Lin Chaoyang and the other four were all paid by Golden Harvest, while Maggie Cheung was arranged by Chen Ziqiang to go to Cannes to walk the red carpet.

Zou Wenhuai personally showed how much Golden Harvest valued this Cannes Film Festival.

Cannes, the Cannes in Hong Kong, is a small city with a population of less than 70,000.

Since the 1940s, this place has attracted the attention of filmmakers from all over the world every May. This originally quiet and peaceful town has become bustling because of the film festival.

As a small town, Cannes itself has no airport. The nearest airport is the Blue Coast Airport in Nice.

However, there is no direct flight from Hong Kong to Nice. Lin Chaoyang and others need to land in Lyon first, then take a plane to Nice, and then take a bus to Cannes.

Drive onto the southern highway through the Saint-Fonts ramp, pass the Fezzan refinery and the inclined Roti Hill on the right, cross a field of fruit trees and drive down the Rhone Valley. The lavender field that comes into view is beautiful and boundless.

Cannes is located in the south of France, nestled at the foot of the green mountains and on the Mediterranean coast.

The beach of more than 5,000 meters long and the sunshine all year round make this place have a charming natural scenery.

The bus drove all the way to the city. Tomorrow is the opening day of the film festival. Huge movie posters, advertisements and photos of movie stars can be seen everywhere, covering the streets of this small town, making this small town full of festive atmosphere.

Croisette Promenade is the largest main road in Cannes, with palm trees swaying on both sides. As the film festival is about to open, luxury cars from various European countries pass under the trees.

On the other side of the avenue, you can see the endless beach, and the sparkling sea is dotted with white private yachts.

It is already afternoon, and those yachts are accompanied by pink sunsets, shuttling in this blue ocean, with a breathtaking beauty.

Cherie Chung and Maggie Cheung are women, and they have no resistance to seeing this scenery. The two of them are lying on the car window with greed in their eyes.

The bus finally arrived at the Carlton Hotel, one of the most central hotels in Cannes.

Every year during the film festival, Cannes is always overcrowded, hotel rooms become extremely tight, and prices soar.

Lin Chaoyang and others don't need to worry about finding a hotel. They are the crew who were invited to attend. The hotel has been arranged by the organizing committee, but they still need to pay for the room themselves.

After checking in, several people rested in the hotel room for a while. Zhong Chuhong and Maggie Cheung beautifully changed their clothes, put on makeup, and pulled Xu Anhua to go out.

When they came to the Cannes Film Festival, the two naturally wanted to take some beautiful photos. Ann Hui had to be their photographer today.

These photos will be used as propaganda materials after returning to Hong Kong, and they will inevitably make the headlines of major media in Hong Kong.

Lin Chaoyang and Xu Guanwen were a little hungry, so they ran to the open-air restaurant on the roof of the hotel and tasted a serious French meal, which soothed their stomachs after being hungry for most of the day.

After eating, Xu Guanwen looked around. Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the film festival. The place is very popular, mostly foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes.

He suddenly pointed to a table near the edge of the terrace, "Hey, Chaoyang, look! Is that Robert De Niro?"

Lin Chaoyang glanced at it. Although he was not sure about seeing a real person for the first time, they saw a poster of Robert De Niro when they passed by Croisette on the bus just now.

At this year's film festival, Roland Joffe's "The War" was also shortlisted for the main competition, with Robert De Niro as the leading actor.

At this time, when I saw someone who looked similar to me at the Carlton Hotel, it was almost certainly me.

"Probably so."

Seeing Xu Guanwen's eager expression, Lin Chaoyang asked, "What are you doing? You don't want to go up and ask for an autograph, do you?"

After Lin Chaoyang exposed his thoughts, Xu Guanwen lowered his buttocks to the seat.

"You are really good at joking. He is an actor and I am an actor too. What else do you want!"

As Xu Guanwen spoke, he glanced at Robert De Niro reluctantly.