When the long ending song played and the subtitles began to scroll on the screen, Li Tang felt a little stunned. This was not the first time he had watched this movie. He had also seen a rough cut before. His first reaction was that the movie was very similar to the German comedy "The Fake Captain" that he had seen in his previous life.
That movie was about a deserter on the battlefield who was about to be executed, but because he picked up a captain's uniform, he lived a cheating life. Everywhere he goes, people there look up to him. Although the "inner gut" in this uniform is just a nineteen-year-old recruit.
Li Tang hadn't thought of this movie when he read the script, but when he saw the pictures on the screen, it immediately came to mind.
The reason may be that the core of the two movies is the same. Probably when you get a new uniform at the beginning, you have to assume a new identity. But later I discovered that you hadn’t even started acting yet, and everyone else had already automatically jumped into the act.
Of course, compared with "Fake Captain", Diao Yinan's "Uniform" is a low-end movie, and from Li Tang's professional perspective, the actors in it have no acting skills at all. They are dull, hollow, and have no intense emotions. Emotional outburst.
And it is precisely this silence, stiffness, and even despair that profoundly reflects the admiration and fear that the people around him have for this uniform that symbolizes power.
This kind of thing may be commonplace in the eyes of Chinese people, but it deeply touched Li Tang's thinking in his previous life, and it also touched MK2's Juliet Schrammaker.
When the screen gradually dimmed and the lights came on, the blond foreign girl clapped her hands enthusiastically, and her eyes even sparkled.
"The filming was so good, so shocking, so powerful..."
Excited, the woman held Diao Yinan's hand and spat out a series of French words so fast that Li Tang, a half-assed French translator, had no time to translate. Diao Yinan, whose hand was being held, was even more confused.
Fortunately, Juliet reacted in time, said sorry, and repeated it in English.
French compliments are often extremely exaggerated. In her description, the film "Uniform" is filled with a sense of reality full of lyrical meaning, which can be described as a kind of lyrical realism. From his unique perspective, the director depicts the quality of life in Chinese cities, as well as the lost emotions of young people and their confusion in self-search, and uses the director's sensitivity to ignite the potential passion of an ordinary person.
After listening to Li Tang's translation, Diao Yinan was stunned for a long time. Maybe even he didn't expect that this foreign bitch could interpret the content from his movie that he himself was not aware of.
In fact, to put it bluntly, this is an experimental film. He was jealous when he saw all his friends becoming directors, and then he wanted to try it himself.
His original intention was similar to that of Section Chief Jia, which was to express the social appearance that he had seen and experienced. The core things shown in his movies may happen every moment on the land of China.
I really didn’t think so much!
But he could still understand the good words. He held Juliet's knuckled hand and said repeatedly in line with his dull expression: "Thank you!"
Shengtang Film and Television and MK2 have settled their accounts for the previous year. The annual share of "Toward" plus "The Third Man" is 1.4 million euros, which is 1.68 million in U.S. dollars and equivalent to RMB 1. 13.98 million.
The current exchange rate between the euro and the renminbi is about one to ten, but it still has to be converted into U.S. dollars first and then into the local currency.
Compared with last year's small 30 million, this year's revenue is almost half less, but it is still an unexpected result for Shengtang Film and Television. After all, as a pure romance film, "Onward" is far inferior in terms of artistic purity, plot and enjoyment compared to the suspense-themed "The Third Man".
The most obvious thing is that "The Third Man" was very popular in Japan and North America last year, while "Bound" can basically only be screened in European arthouses.
After more than a year of cooperation, Shengtang Film and Television and MK2 have a certain degree of trust in each other. This time Zeng Jia specially invited Juliet Schramek, who is in contact with MK2 and the company, to come and have a look at the company.
Don't think that foreigners don't pay attention to favors. They may pay more attention to rules, but there are nothing more than rules except favors, which are common all over the world. Under the same conditions, everyone would of course prefer to cooperate with people they are familiar with and trust.
This is not the first time for Juliet to come to China. Due to work, she has been to China's Bay and Hong Kong before, but this time she comes to the mainland.
Diao Yinan's highly personal authorial films have no other choice but to participate in overseas exhibitions. And to be honest, it is obvious that a movie with this theme will not pass the censorship. For this reason, Zeng Jia specially set up a company in Hong Kong and produced it in the name of this company to avoid censorship.
To put it bluntly, it’s just film washing.
And this trick was learned from Chief Jia. Chief Jia’s Hutong Production is a film company registered in Hong Kong. In recent years, his works "Xiao Wu", "Platform", and "Ren Xiaoyao" have become the so-called hometown. The trilogy, including the previous film "Tomorrow's End" directed by Yu Liwei and starring Diao Yinan, were all produced by this alley.
Therefore, Director Jia's films seem to be banned in name, but he himself is not affected and will not be punished by being banned from directing.
Now, in Zeng Jia's words, Diao Yinan's "Uniform" means that since it cannot pass the censorship, it cannot be thrown into the hands of others. This time I invited Juliet here, on the one hand, to connect with each other, and on the other hand, I also wanted to find a way for the movie "Uniform" through her. It would be best to go to Cannes.
Seeing how excited Juliet was after watching the movie, Li Tang couldn't help but look at each other and Zeng Jia, and it was okay.
Zeng Jia tentatively said: "Juliet, after watching this movie, do you hope to apply for the Cannes Film Festival?"
Cannes is a French film festival, and as the largest art film distribution company in France, MK2 has great influence.
"Cannes? Why not Berlin?" Juliet said unexpectedly.
"Berlin? You mean Berlin this year?" Li Tang was stunned.
"That's right! Movies with this kind of social theme have more advantages in Berlin..."
Before Juliet finished speaking, Li Tang quickly said: "No, isn't the registration deadline for this year's Berlin Film Festival closed?"
Today is January 8th, and this year’s Berlin International Film Festival will open on February 6th. The registration period closed as early as the end of December last year, and if nothing else, the shortlist will be announced soon.
If he had aimed at the Berlin Film Festival from the beginning, it might still be too late for Diao Yinan to catch up on the later stages. But Li Tang and Zeng Jia feel that if they use the MK2 relationship, they may have greater hope of targeting Cannes. Moreover, the Cannes Film Festival has always attracted the most attention, and strong media promotion ensures that the shortlisted works can be immediately promoted to audiences around the world.
"The registration period has ended, but..." Juliet spread her hands towards Li Tang, shrugged her shoulders and said proudly: "But there are always exceptions to everything, right? The main competition unit is definitely impossible. , but the youth forum unit is still very promising."
Zeng Jia was a little reluctant and said: "What about Cannes?"
In her opinion, Cannes is obviously much more influential than Berlin.
"Cannes? I don't know! Kay, I just said that a social-themed film like "Uniform" is more suitable for Berlin. Maybe it can win an award or something. But in Cannes, I can only say that maybe the emphasis is on participation. .”
Let me add that "Kay" is the English name Li Tang gave Zeng Jia.
How can the general manager of Tangtang Shengtang Film and Television not have an English name when he often interacts with foreigners? To be honest, some of the English names that Chinese people give themselves these days, such as Lily or Tom, are actually equivalent to Cuihua and Jianguo, which are very tacky.
The name "Kay" is derived from Latin and Old English and is a girl's name with a long history. This name gives people an impression of individuality, independence and confidence. It is a simple but cold and domineering name.
Li Tang felt that this name suited Zeng Jia's personal temperament very well.
After hearing what Juliet said, Li Tang understood what she meant. The three major European film festivals all have their own unique styles. For example, Juliet just mentioned that the Berlin Film Festival always focuses on political and social themes.
The Venice Film Festival improves the level of film art and encourages innovation, especially avant-garde themes. The judging criterion is purely artistry. This is also the biggest reason why director Zhang Yimou was able to win two Golden Lions, including Li Tang, who won the Venice Best Actor for "The Third Man".
As for Cannes, it pays more attention to the quality of film works that play an important role in the process of film as an art.
In a word: Berlin is a political correctional institution, Venice is a avant-garde tea party, and Cannes is a gimmick auction house.
As a work with social themes, "Uniform" is obviously more suitable for Berlin.
Li Tang and Zeng Jia looked at each other, and then looked at Diao Yinan at the same time. Although they are investors, the director's wishes must be respected in this matter.
Diao Yinan's English level is average. He only understood Cannes and Berlin. When he saw Li Tang and Zeng Jia looking over, he said with a cute look on his face: "What, what's going on?"
Li Tang had no choice but to briefly repeat the conversation he had just had with Juliet. The general meaning was that MK2 might help "Uniform" register for this year's Berlin Film Festival, and the chance of winning an award at the Berlin Film Festival is greater than at Cannes. Then it's up to you. How to choose?
As soon as Li Tang finished speaking, Diao Yinan said with excitement: "What else should I choose? I will definitely go to Berlin..."
His initial idea was simple, just make the movie. Later, he heard that the company wanted to register the film for the Cannes Film Festival. This was definitely an unexpected surprise for him, and he was still thinking that being able to go to Cannes would be a victory. But when he heard that if he participated in the Berlin Film Festival, there was still hope of winning an award, it was like a dream. How could he not be excited?
But when he was halfway through speaking, he immediately reacted, looked at Li Tang and Zeng Jia, and then said with a stern expression: "Teacher Li, Mr. Zeng, what do you two think?"
Li Tang smiled and said: "If you go to Berlin, go to Berlin. But let's make it clear first. There is no chance of going to the main competition section of Berlin. At most, I can be shortlisted for the Youth Forum section."
"No problem!" Diao Yinan said impatiently.
His idol, Chief Jia, became famous when he won the Youth Forum Award at the Berlin Film Festival with "Xiao Wu". He did not dare to hope that he could replicate the brilliance of Chief Jia. As long as he could follow in the footsteps of his idol, it would be a great honor for him.
After receiving Li Tang's affirmative look, Zeng Jia turned to Juliet with a smile and said, "Juliet, thank you very much for your and your company's help."
Juliet responded with a sly smile: "OK! Kay, let's talk about the next cooperation!"
To be honest, an art film with social themes like "Uniform" is very niche, but it has a long-lasting vitality. For example, Chief Jia Ke's "Xiao Wu" is still shown in European art theaters, but the box office is very limited, and it is often in the form of reservations, such as one or two screenings per week.
Therefore, if the previous cooperation method of agency distribution sharing is still followed, it may be a long process for Shengtang Film and Television. The only remaining step is to buy out the copyright of overseas distribution.
It’s hard to say what the price is. The transaction price of most low-budget art films at the film festival may only be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unless it can win a big prize, just like "Xiao Wu" was sold for a high price of 800,000 US dollars.
But this time Juliet and MK2 helped send "Uniform" to Berlin, and if it can be shortlisted for the Youth Forum section as expected, it would be very unethical if you are still holding back on selling it and have to wait until the lottery is drawn before negotiating the price. .
How can we cooperate in the future?
And this is a double-edged sword. If you don’t get anything after the lottery is drawn, you may not even be able to sell it for more than 100,000 yuan.
After some bargaining between Zeng Jia and Juliet, "Uniform" was finally sold for 200,000 euros. This is already a huge profit for "Uniform", which cost only 500,000 yuan to shoot. At the same time, Juliet and MK2 are also very satisfied. They bought out 200,000 euros for an excellent art film with great potential to win awards, except in Greater China. The distribution copyright is definitely a big advantage. If we simply calculate it based on European production costs, this amount of money is probably enough to make a very low-cost movie.
On January 12, when Li Tang was preparing to leave for Hu Jian, the 53rd Berlin International Film Festival announced the list of films shortlisted for the main competition unit.
When Li Tang saw the list that was immediately reposted online, he couldn't help but gasped: Oh, this year's Berlin Film Festival is simply a fight between gods!
Although there are only three Asian films shortlisted for this year's film festival, two of them are Chinese films, namely "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou and the Sino-German co-production "Blind Shaft" directed by a newcomer named Li Yang.
The director's "Hero" was invited to the Berlin Film Festival very early, and it is reasonable to be shortlisted for the main competition unit. Another film shortlisted for the main competition is "Twilight Seibei" directed by the famous Japanese director Yoji Yamada.
One notable feature of this year’s shortlist is that there are a particularly large number of American films, accounting for six of the 22 films shortlisted. This seems to be seriously inconsistent with the Berlin Film Festival’s anti-Hollywood tradition.
But after seeing these film titles, Li Tang felt like "the gods are fighting".
These six American movies are: Spike Jonze's "Adapted Screenplay"; Stephen Daldry's "The Hours"...
It is necessary to say one more thing about the movie "The Hours". The three heroines in it are Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore. If Li Tang remembers correctly, this movie will receive nine nominations at the Academy Awards two months later. Nicole Kidman won the Oscar for this movie, thus completely getting rid of her ex-husband. Tom Cruise's shadow.
The other four are equally famous, namely: Steven Soderbergh's "Into Space"; George Clooney's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"; black director Spike Lee's "25th Hour", and "The Life of David Gore" by Len Parker.
I have a cold and am not in good condition!
(End of chapter)
