Chapter 780: Final Confirmation (7,000-word update!)

Art is endless.

The end of art is that there is never an end; the perfection of art is that it is impossible to ever be perfect.

This was the feeling Lu Yan He had after constantly chatting about film with Anna White over these past few days.

Before this, Lu Yan He had almost never chatted about film so intensively with anyone.

Previously, the person he chatted with the most was Chen Siqi.

But that was purely "chatting," whereas with Anna White, it wasn't just "chatting"; many times, he needed to rack his brains and concentrate to find the appropriate language to express and argue his points.

To be honest, it was exhausting, but also very satisfying.

In the week following the opening ceremony, Lu Yan He publicly walked the red carpets for three film premieres—

Anna White even asked why he wasn't as "expressive" anymore.

Lu Yan He said that these were other film crews' premieres, and he was only invited by the film festival or the film crew to make an appearance and help drum up some buzz for the films, so there was no need to be so high-profile.

In fact, this past week, when Lu Yan He wasn't watching films, he was watching films, and then occasionally accepting exclusive interviews with film magazines, or attending parties and dinners hosted by others.

Anna White's original schedule should have been very busy as well.

But she set aside all the work she should have been responsible for as a film magazine editor at this film festival and devoted all her time to Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He hadn't expected that either.

And Lu Yan He didn't say anything, even bringing Anna White along to private dinners with some friends.

He didn't mind letting Anna White hear any conversations with his friends, which also surprised Anna White; she even asked privately,

"Lu, are you the type of person with a performative personality? You don't need any private space at all?"

Lu Yan He: "..."

Lu Yan He said: "I just walk straight and sit upright; there is nothing I need to deliberately hide."

The premiere of "Yellow Smoke," starring Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian, was held on the seventh day after the opening ceremony.

Although it wasn't a film in the main competition section, because both leads had international recognition, there were many media outlets present at the scene.

Plus, with many Chinese filmmakers also attending and walking the red carpet, the star power at the scene was quite dazzling.

However, the evaluation of the film itself was not very high.

Anna said "On the Xunyang River" had traces of copying and imitation; in fact, "Yellow Smoke" was the one truly filled with traces of copying and imitating masters.

The entire film's cinematography, color, and style all looked very much influenced by Liu Bige's "Late Spring."

However, Liu Bige filmed that youthful cruelty and pain in a way that was both poetic and realistic, while Song Hai did not have that level of skill; "Yellow Smoke" not only had abrupt transitions in several places, but even the actors' performances failed to capture the best parts, and under the shaky camera, it even deliberately highlighted a kind of pretentious haziness.

Lu Yan He didn't know what to say for a moment.

Anna was even silent for a long time, rarely not offering a comment for a long while after watching the film.

However, the convention of a film festival is that no matter how the film is, there will definitely be applause at the scene.

Lu Yan He, of course, also stood up and applauded for them.

But, how should he put it, Lu Yan He himself had watched so many of Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian's works, both TV dramas and films, especially Li Zhibai; no matter what the play was, one could always see his talent and spirit in acting, that uniquely relaxed intensity that only he possessed.

But in this film, Lu Yan He even felt that the tension in their acting had completely vanished.

They had become ordinary actors who acted quite well, yet they were unable to move the audience. This wasn't a problem with their acting, but rather the film's own style and temperament, which infinitely suppressed their infectiousness in this regard.

The director was not good enough.

Actually, after Li Zhibai and Liu Manbo experienced the failure of "Nineteen Years of Crime Records," Lu Yan He was still quite supportive of them continuing to collaborate on "Grass on the Fly."

Because although "Nineteen Years of Crime Records" had problems, its merits were equally obvious, and the flaws could have been completely eliminated through re-editing.

Lu Yan He could see Liu Manbo's talent and merits as a director from the film "Nineteen Years of Crime Records."

But, with the film "Yellow Smoke," Lu Yan He could not see it.

Lu Yan He felt it was a pity.

It was bad enough that the film was mediocre, but it also made the actors appear so mediocre.

However, the strange thing was that the director of "Yellow Smoke," Song Hai, seemed to have no concept of this.

The applause at the scene made him believe that he had filmed a very good movie.

After the premiere, Lu Yan He was chatting with Li Zhibai about the film when Song Hai suddenly walked over, his smile enthusiastic and overflowing, asking: "Yan He, what do you think of 'Yellow Smoke'? Do you like this film?"

Looking at the joyful smile on Song Hai's face, Lu Yan He realized that the other party did not realize that this film was filmed very ordinarily.

"A very unique viewing experience." Lu Yan He could only answer like this.

Song Hai: "I am preparing another film, and I want to invite you to star in it. Are you interested?"

Li Zhibai had already told him about this.

However, after watching the film "Yellow Smoke," Lu Yan He no longer had any enthusiasm for collaborating with Song Hai.

Lu Yan He could only say: "Sure, let me take a look at the script first."

Song Hai: "Then I will send you the script immediately when I get back."

"Okay." Lu Yan He nodded.

Song Hai turned around and went to talk to someone else.

Li Zhibai rolled his eyes at Lu Yan He and said: "You are not an honest person."

"I am just more mindful of social etiquette, especially at a time like this." Lu Yan He asked, "Are you in a good mood?"

"It's alright, I guess." Li Zhibai said, "But the final cut really disappointed me. It is completely different from what I imagined while filming on set. The film I thought it was is fundamentally different from the final cut."

Lu Yan He shrugged his shoulders.

"Just now, Qianqian even whispered an apology to me, saying that if she had known the film would be like this, she wouldn't have recommended me to act in it."

"What the hell? Qianqian?" Lu Yan He was startled, his expression incredulous, "So disgusting."

Li Zhibai: "It's a term of endearment for my girlfriend; none of your business."

Lu Yan He: "... I can't stand it."

Li Zhibai: "Whether you can stand it or not, sigh, this film is probably going to be met with a wave of bad reviews."

"Hang in there."

Shortly thereafter, as the first wave of media reviews came out, the mediocrity and poor quality of the "Yellow Smoke" reviews were made public, putting this film, which had actually received quite a bit of attention, in a subtle situation.

Fortunately, the distribution rights for the film had been sold in many countries, so there was no loss.

It was just that those distributors might not necessarily make money.

At a film festival, there are always a few films that, because of poor word-of-mouth after the premiere, end up not even being distributed and just rot in the hands of the owners.

No one had expected that "Yellow Smoke" would be such a film.

Lu Yan He ran into the domestic distributor who had previously bought the film "Yellow Smoke"—also an old acquaintance of Lu Yan He, the "Small Eyes" Lan Tianqi, who had a look of distress on his face.

"We spent five million just to buy the domestic distribution rights for 'Yellow Smoke'." Lan Tianqi had an ugly expression as if he had eaten shit, saying: "Now it's completely stuck in our hands. As it stands now, the domestic box office probably won't even reach ten million."

Lu Yan He thought to himself, it wouldn't be that bad.

With Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian starring, just their fans buying tickets would be more than that box office.

Although it is said that actors' ability to carry the box office isn't that exaggerated, they aren't that "useless" either.

However, taking the domestic distribution rights for "Yellow Smoke" for 5 million RMB apparently wasn't a buyout, but a revenue-sharing model. In this case, it would indeed be quite difficult for "Small Eyes" to achieve profitability.

Lu Yan He asked: "Boss Lan, before you signed the contract, didn't you watch this film?"

"There were several companies fighting for it at the time; the initiative wasn't in our hands at all. In order to grab the distribution rights, we didn't care about that much." Lan.

Lu Yan He said: "Even if the film quality was good, this is an art-house film. The box office ceiling for art-house films in the country is only so high; you guys didn't have to inflate the price, did you?"

"You really underestimated Li Zhibai's appeal in the domestic film market; every film company recognizes him." Lan. "If the word-of-mouth for this film wasn't so bad right now, there would be companies in the country willing to pay more than double the price to take over the domestic distribution."

"..." Lu Yan He thought to himself, if you guys act like this, you deserve to lose money.

"It's fine, haven't you already been acquired by Shijin? You aren't short of that little bit of money." Lu Yan He said.

Lan Tianqi: "Sigh, that's what they say, but I'm worried that this film will not only lose money but also ruin our reputation."

"Then just don't distribute it, let it rot in your hands." Lu Yan He teased.

Lan Tianqi: "..."

Lu Yan He asked: "Then besides this film, which other films did you get this time?"

"We got the domestic distribution rights for two films in the main competition section." Lan. "The domestic cinema market is sluggish, and people abroad know it too. Fortunately, the prices for the distribution rights of these two films weren't high; we actually just wanted to buy them to expand our film library."

"Tsk, the films shortlisted for the main competition section of the Bicalo Film Festival are just for expanding your library in your hands." Lu Yan He gave a thumbs up, "Rich and imposing."

Lan Tianqi: "Stop mocking us. You win big with small investments time and time again, making everyone feel that films can win big with small investments, and they always use Linghe to criticize us. Do you know how hard our days are?"

Lu Yan He: "That's because we aren't like you, inflating prices without even watching the films, fighting to grab the distribution of a film; we don't do that kind of thing."

Lan Tianqi: "If we could stably produce good films, we wouldn't need to buy films from outside, and we wouldn't want to inflate prices either."

"Speaking of which, then you should produce them yourselves." Lu Yan He said, "It's not like you don't have a production department; there were all kinds of project news flying around before."

Lan Tianqi: "Sigh, it's a long story."

Lu Yan He: "Then let it be a long story."

He couldn't be bothered to waste words with Lan Tianqi.

Listening to it, it really was deserved.

Lan Tianqi suddenly remembered something and asked: "Yan He, those few films you have in Hollywood, hasn't the domestic distribution been finalized yet?"

"It has nothing to do with me. The production companies for those films aren't Linghe; it's not up to me who they sell the distribution rights to." Lu Yan He drew a clear line.

Lan Tianqi showed a look of disappointment.

Lu Yan He ignored it.

The day after the premiere of "Yellow Smoke," Li Zhibai and Jiang Yuqian both left Bicalo.

Their other work had already been completed in the previous few days, and they were just waiting for the premiere of "Yellow Smoke." If the response to this film had been good, they might have stayed in Bicalo for two more days to accept some media interviews and help further promote the film, but now that the film not only had average reviews but even their own performances had been questioned, how could they possibly stay here?

As first-tier stars, their teams chose to minimize their connection with the film "Yellow Smoke" in the public sphere at the first opportunity.

This was actually quite helpless.

Two actors filmed a movie for so long, and because the film itself wasn't good enough, they started trying to distance themselves before it had even fully met the audience.

Of course, this was out of utilitarian considerations, but to protect themselves, they had no choice.

Lu Yan He believed that at this moment, both actors and their teams wished this film would never be released.

Never being released means the public will never see this terrible film.

After the Bicalo Film Festival entered its second week, Lu Yan He's public work was basically over, leaving only the dialogue the day after tomorrow and the work of being an awards presenter on the final day.

Especially since most Chinese filmmakers had left Bicalo following the promotional and activity schedules of several films, Lu Yan He's private dinners also decreased.

Lu Yan He specifically invited Anna White and her family out for a meal on the Monday of the second week.

Tucker would occasionally have dinner with them these days, but most of the time he went to school for classes.

Although he had already received his Harvard admission letter, he hadn't graduated from high school yet, so there were still some courses at school.

But in reality, some high school students stop going to school at this time.

Bicalo in December was still sunny with a comfortable climate.

This is a city favored by the heavens.

While eating dinner together, Tucker asked Lu Yan He a question very seriously.

"I searched for your information on the internet recently, and I only just learned that before you were an actor, you were an idol singer?" Tucker asked, "Why did you become an actor after getting into university? I saw that you actually wrote many songs, and I listened to them; the songs you wrote are also very good."

Lu Yan He said: "For all sorts of reasons, but ultimately, it's because I seem to have more creative passion for acting."

Tucker: "But before you acted in your first TV drama, you had never acted before?"

"No."

"Then were you very good the first time you acted? I saw in your profile that you won a very authoritative award in China the first time you acted."

Lu Yan He laughed, "This also has many reasons. One is that the TV drama I acted in at the time was the work of the best TV drama director in China; the work itself was good and very popular. Second, I played a character very close to myself; I almost played myself, and it just so happened that both the director and my opponent actor at the time, Jiang Yuqian, gave me very good stimulation, allowing me to act based on instinct and intuition, resulting in a good presentation. Third, my character died in the end of the drama, and a tragic character left many viewers feeling unsatisfied, so the response was very enthusiastic. Fourth, the award was also undergoing reform at the time, wanting to encourage and support young actors more. Under all these factors, I was able to win that award."

Tucker showed a look of surprise.

"It sounds like there are so many influencing factors?" He asked, "Isn't the award given to whoever acts the best?"

"I used to think so too, but later I found out it wasn't like that." Lu Yan He shook his head, "In this world, no famous film and television award is given to whoever acts the best. You first have to be seen, then truly act well, and finally, you have to be lucky enough to have a reason to win among a crowd of competitors, and then you might have a chance to win."

Tucker frowned: "This sounds like it isn't very pure."

"That's right, it isn't very pure." Lu Yan He nodded frankly, admitting it.

"Won't this be a problem? Won't this lead to truly capable people not getting recognized in the end?"

Lu Yan He shook his head: "I can't answer this question either, but the current situation is like this. All awards are like this; in fact, any award has its own biased standards."

Tucker showed a look of disappointment: "This sounds too uninteresting."

Lu Yan He looked at Anna and asked: "Anna, what do you think?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders and said: "I have always just used the results of awards as a reference. In fact, often a film festival, or a so-called award, has results that are inconsistent with my preferred choices."

Lu Yan He nodded: "Everyone has their own choices."

Tucker: "Then why give out awards at all?"

"I don't know how to answer that either." Lu Yan He shook his head with a smile.

"You have won many awards."

"Yes."

The expression on Tucker's face was even more surprised, "Then don't you defend these awards?"

"Actually, compared to awards in other fields, awards in the film and television industry are the least in need of defense, and defending them is useless. The audience has their own scale in their hearts. If the audience recognizes the results of the awards, and the industry recognizes them, then your award is worth it. If the audience doesn't recognize it, and the industry doesn't recognize it, then it is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. The film and television industry is an industry facing the public; no matter which authority says what, it doesn't count. Time will prove it." Lu Yan He said.

Tucker fell into a state of contemplation.

Anna said: "Since you mentioned this topic, I also have a question I want to ask. As far as I know, several film festivals have invited you to be a judge for the main competition section before. As long as you accept, given your current age, you could actually break the record and become the youngest judge in history. This should also be a very valuable achievement for you. Why did you refuse?"

"Me? The timing wasn't right; I was always filming, or there were other work conflicts." Lu Yan He said, "Also, when they approached me before, I didn't feel I had the ability to take on the responsibilities of a judge."

Anna: "But from my interactions with you these days, you are not a person without your own ideas."

"It is precisely because I have them that I don't dare to easily use my ideas to influence a result." Lu Yan He said, "This isn't me investing in filming a movie; if the film is good or bad, I bear it myself. At a top-tier film festival, if I am a judge, if I have a film I like, I will definitely argue for it with reason, and I won't care about the big picture, nor will I care about who should win more. If I like it, I will definitely do my best to help it win an award. But I also know very clearly that I wasn't that mature at the time; let alone then, I don't even feel my aesthetic is that mature now."

"There is no concept of mature or immature for things like aesthetics."

"Hmm, I know that now." Lu Yan He nodded, "If I were asked to go now, and time permitted, I would definitely go."

"Hmm? Why is it definitely now?"

"When there is an opportunity to win some honor for a film I like, why not?" Lu Yan He said, "I used to always feel that people should be tactful and not use their own preferences to measure everything in the world. Now I feel that if I don't respect and support my own preferences, why should I expect others to respect and support them?"

Anna White: "You are indeed quite tough now."

"In expressing my preferences and aesthetics?"

"Yes." Anna White nodded, "Usually, before a certain age, very few people will be as categorical as you in saying what they like and what they don't like. Now, when commenting on something, I don't know what kind of wind is blowing, but everyone starts saying things that are comprehensive and have both praise and criticism, as if only in this way can they highlight their three-dimensional, comprehensive, and multi-angled thinking."

"Haha." The sharp-tongued person is back online.

Lu Yan He: "I don't like that either."

Just as he was speaking, suddenly, at this moment, his phone buzzed and vibrated.

It was Chen Ziyan calling.

"I'll go take a call first; you guys eat first." Lu Yan He said.

Anna and the others nodded.

When he stood up, the phones of Anna and the others all rang with message notifications at the same time, one after another.

Lu Yan He looked over with some surprise, watching them pick up their phones one after another, while he walked to the side and answered the call.

"Sister Ziyan."

"Yan He, the Hexi Film Festival has announced that starting next year, it will be held in a rotating manner around the world, and will begin accepting applications from cities starting from the next edition." Chen Ziyan said, "The next edition will be held in Yuming."

Finally!

Hearing this good news, Lu Yan He showed a look of excitement and joy.

"That's great!"

"Just now, besides the people from the Film Association, the leaders of the SARFT also contacted me to express their gratitude to you." Chen Ziyan said, "After you return, they want to see you."

"Haha."

"In addition, Wu Yang also hopes that you can serve as the chairman of the selection committee for the next Hexi Film Festival." Chen Ziyan said, "It's the one he told you about before."

"Are they really doing it like this?"

"Yes." Chen Ziyan nodded, "This is also a reform of the Hexi Film Festival starting from the next edition. From now on, every edition will have the selection committee decide the shortlisted films for the main competition section."

Lu Yan He said: "This—"

He said: "Fine, if he really hopes—and not just being polite—I am willing to do this work. We will clear the schedule; the first time the Hexi Film Festival is held in China, where I am needed, I must be there."

"Hmm." Chen Ziyan said, "This is a must. Then I will go communicate with Wu Yang. Besides you, I estimate that the other members will all be foreigners. It's impossible to have the film festival held in China, with you as the chairman of the selection committee, and then have another member also be Chinese. By then, you will probably still have a tough battle to fight."

"It's fine." Lu Yan He said, "I have already been the chairman of the jury once, so I have some idea; I'm not nervous."

Chen Ziyan: "Hmm, okay."

"This is really good news." Lu Yan He sighed again, "It's really great. Has the news been announced?"

"It hasn't been officially announced yet, but I estimate the news has already spread among many people." Chen Ziyan said, "Oh, damn, the American magazine 'Variety' just released an exclusive scoop; this news has already been leaked, and media people have already published comments saying that suddenly setting up such a selection committee and inviting you to be the chairman means Chinese capital has begun to erode art film festivals. We need to do PR immediately; the public opinion trend is not right."

Lu Yan He: "Let the bullets fly for a while, ask Wu Yang; they must have made contingency plans for various situations."

"Hmm." Chen Ziyan responded.

"Then I'll hang up first; I'm having dinner with Anna's family." Lu Yan He suddenly remembered the synchronized notification sounds of their phones when he answered the call, realizing that they might have all seen this news.

Lu Yan He said: "I'm hanging up now."

"Hmm, bye-bye." Chen Ziyan said, "If you run into media reporters asking you about this in the next few days, make sure you don't respond first. We can't take the initiative to speak; we have to let Wu Yang announce this news."

"Fine, understood." Lu Yan He said, and hung up the phone.

He returned to the dining table.

Anna and the others looked at him with some surprise.

"Is this true?" Anna raised the phone in her hand.

Lu Yan He said: "My agent just called me and was telling me about this too, but I can't answer you now because nothing is confirmed yet, and I am also waiting for the final confirmed news."

Anna took a deep breath.

"If the Hexi Film Festival is not held in Hexi, what is it still called the Hexi Film Festival?" Tucker asked directly.

Lu Yan He said: "I know the Hexi Film Festival has been looking for new sponsors; the local government refuses to continue allocating funds to them. If they don't find new sponsors, they will face cancellation."

Anna asked incredulously: "Has it reached such a serious point?"

"Hmm." Lu Yan He said, "To ensure the independence of the film festival, the Hexi Film Festival has always controlled its sponsors, not letting the film festival be influenced by too many external factors. As a result, once the local government stopped sponsoring, they found it very difficult to continue." (End of chapter)