Chapter 464

With the arrival of the Venice opening ceremony, more and more filmmakers from all over the world rushed over, most of whom were here to promote and sell copyrights.

The film festival opening ceremony is at 7 o'clock in the evening, but as a well-known actress, Zeng Li made her first appearance at the Venice Film Festival, and the brands almost cried.

Just after lunch, the makeup artist came to put on makeup for Zeng Li, and the dresses and various jewelry set by the brand had also been sent over.

Wei Jin didn't wait dryly, but accompanied Da Meiyuan in the room to say some intimate words.

Just after chatting for a while, the phone rang. Looking at the number, Wei Jin came to the balcony.

"Hello, Mimi?"

A glutinous clip sound came from the other end of the phone. "Senior Brother, are you busy?"

"Not busy right now, what's wrong?"

"Senior Brother, I came into contact with a film contract..."

Listening to Yang Mi's narration, Wei Jin couldn't help but frown.

Although he hadn't seen "Tiny Times" in his previous life, he had heard of this kind of film that was rotten to the sky and even made Yang Mi win the Golden Broom Award, so he expressed his position directly.

"Refuse it."

The short three words made Yang Mi's body tremble instantly, as if she had heard something unacceptable.

"Why, Senior Brother? The influence of fan movies is very large, the box office will definitely explode, and it is a series..."

Listening to Yang Mi's rapid-fire questions, Wei Jin's tone was slightly cold.

"What if the box office is good? What if the influence is large? An actor, if the reputation is rotten, you can't pick it up. Listen to me, it's right."

Yang Mi suddenly felt a bit aggrieved, and her voice carried some trembling involuntarily.

"But... but I didn't get the role in Director Guo's play, and the company's TV series in the second half of the year don't seem to be suitable for me. Should I just be idle?"

Hearing this, Wei Jin sighed in his heart. Guo Fan thought Yang Mi was not very suitable for the role, and the remuneration was too high. He also agreed with this point, but he didn't expect it to make Yang Mi think too much.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin's tone became as gentle as possible.

"Mimi, if there are suitable opportunities later, I will arrange them. You should finish the work on hand first..."

Before Yang Mi could answer, Wei Jin felt the phone in his hand start to vibrate, so he said:

"Mimi, let's not talk for now, I have a call coming in..."

Hanging up Yang Mi's phone, Wei Jin picked it up again.

"Hello, Big Brother?"

"Director Wei, I'm here, in the hotel cafe. Do you want to come down for a drink?"

"Alright, wait a moment."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin said hello to Da Meiyuan in the room and walked towards the cafe on the first floor.

It was just that Wei Jin didn't expect to see other acquaintances here.

"Big Brother, Brother Jiahui, long time no see. But, how did you get together?"

Cheng Long's iconic laughter sounded: "Hahaha, Director Wei, it's been a long time..."

After speaking, he stood up and gave Wei Jin a hug. Liang Jiahui on the side took off his sunglasses and greeted with a smile.

"Director Wei, long time no see. It's a coincidence, same flight..."

Wei Jin nodded and sat down at the other end of the sofa, but then he was a bit puzzled.

"That's not right, Brother Jiahui, you should have set off from Beijing with the 'Tai Chi 0' crew, right?"

"Hmm."

Wei Jin, who got an affirmative answer, turned his eyes to Cheng Long, because he had confirmed the schedule before, and the latter said he set off from Hong Kong.

Seeing the doubt in Wei Jin's eyes, Cheng Long explained with a smile: "It's also a coincidence. I received a call from above the day before yesterday, and there is a film to talk to me about, so I arrived in Beijing yesterday..."

"Oh? Is that so? Then it's really a coincidence. By the way, Brother Jiahui, where are the rest of your crew?"

"Still packing in the room, they will come down later. Director Wei, order first, let's drink and chat..."

"Alright."

Wei Jin was not polite. After calling the waiter to order, he chatted with Cheng and Liang. It felt like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

About ten minutes later, the rest of the "Tai Chi 0" crew also came.

The leader of "Tai Chi 0" this time was Wang Zhonglei, still looking like a social big brother.

Director Feng Delun from Hong Kong looked arrogant, but in front of Wei Jin, he could still distinguish between big and small kings, and his attitude was very correct.

Producer Chen Guofu still wore black-rimmed glasses, looking older than when he collaborated on "The Message". The white hair on his head was the best proof.

That Peng Yuyan from Taiwan, who played the "effort" persona, was wearing a white casual T-shirt with a hoodie, and headphones hanging around his neck, but a mouthful of Taiwan Mandarin really made people play out.

As for the female lead Yang Ying, she was also putting on makeup in the hotel room.

After some pleasantries, Wang Zhonglei issued an invitation.

"Boss Wei, our premiere is set for the 31st. Please show your face to participate then..."

"Sorry, Boss Wang, I'm leaving tomorrow, so I have no chance to appreciate your company's masterpiece."

Wei Jin shook his head and then looked at Cheng Long.

"What about Big Brother?"

"I'm about the same, I have to rush back tomorrow..."

"I see..."

Seeing this, Wang Zhonglei felt a bit regretful. After all, there were only three crews invited to this film festival.

If the "Gravity" crew didn't participate, would there be too few people to show support? As for the other documentary "Three Sisters" participating in the Horizons section, from the director to the actors, they were all small shrimp, and they really couldn't be of much use.

But Wang Zhonglei quickly suppressed the thoughts in his heart, with a smile on his face.

"Boss Wei, 'Gravity' is at 8 o'clock, right? We will all come to show support then. Is this the first 3D opening film in Venice history?"

Chen Guofu on the side added, "Hmm, that's right, officially notified."

Wei Jin smiled faintly. "Alright, then thank you all."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Although "Gravity" was not a film in the main competition section, it received no small attention. After all, this was the first 3D opening sci-fi film in the history of the Venice Film Festival.

When Wei Jin's party got off the courtesy car, the flashes in the red carpet waiting area flashed instantly, and many movie fans even shouted Cheng Long's English name. "Big Brother, your popularity is too high..."

Wei Jin said with emotion. In terms of Chinese popularity, Big Brother was indeed one of the best in the world.

"I just debuted early, but Director Wei, if you were an actor, you might be even more powerful, haha..."

Zeng Li on the side maintained an elegant demeanor and said softly: "You two don't blow it, I'm just a small transparent, okay."

"Lizi, you are humble. Cannes Best Actress, Oscar nominated Best Actress, how many are there in China? Haha..."

After a round of commercial mutual praise, the group came to the red carpet waiting area. Here, Wei Jin saw the "Tai Chi 0" crew dressed up.

Several men were all in suits and sunglasses, while Yang Ying was in a green backless long dress, matched with a big wave, which was indeed eye-catching, but the scale on her chest was a bit small.

Wei Jin was watching, and Yang Ying walked over to say hello.

"Boss Wei, long time no see."

Yang Ying had a sweet smile on her face. Perhaps red raises people, this Hong Kong tender model was no longer as careful as when she first arrived in the Mainland, and the whole person seemed to be more confident.

"Hmm, Miss Yang, long time no see."

Wei Jin reached out and shook hands with Yang Ying politely, but he didn't expect that this woman actually scratched his palm, and a pair of big eyes blinked, as if issuing an invitation. This damn thing is far away from the emperor, is she wanting to be fucked? Without a trace, he withdrew his hand, and Yang Ying greeted Cheng Long and Zeng Li again, really treating herself as a first-line big flower.

Today's opening ceremony didn't have the joke of "The Sorcerer and the White Snake" last year. Each crew stepped on the red carpet in an orderly manner.

Soon, staff came to remind Wei Jin's party that it was their turn.

"Let's go."

Wei Jin, in a casual and decent suit, led Sister Li, who was wearing a dark blue one-shoulder long dress, and walked in front, while Cheng Long, wearing a silk Tang suit, walked behind.

After a simple interview with the red carpet host and the media, Wei Jin's party entered the Film Festival Palace directly.

After the host's opening remarks, the Venice Film Festival Chairman Alberto Barbera, an Italian old man of about sixty, took the stage to give an opening speech.

This person served as the Venice Film Festival Chairman from 98 to 02. After leaving office, he had been the curator of the Italian National Film Museum.

He had a different philosophy from the former chairman Marco Müller, who favored Chinese films, while the former had no good feelings. This could be seen from the number of Chinese films shortlisted during their tenure as chairman.

Subsequently, 9 jury members from all over the world appeared one after another, and Peter Chan was also among them.

Wei Jin heard that he was invited this time and even suspended the filming of "American Dreams in China".

Immediately after, the host introduced the eighteen films shortlisted for the main competition section this time, which was a quarter less than last year, and there wasn't even one Chinese film.

On the big screen, the film clips were played one after another, and the slightly plain opening ceremony ended like this, and many people began to leave the venue to enjoy the reception tonight, but Wei Jin's task here had just begun.

The group came directly to the premiere scene next door - PALABIENNALE hall.

This was a screening hall similar to the SALAGRANDE hall, with about eight hundred seats on site.

Wei Jin noticed that the current seats were still relatively empty, most of them were local media reporters, and there were few movie fans. After all, Venice was a paradise for literary films, and sci-fi blockbusters like "Gravity" were not so favored.

However, with the end of the opening ceremony, many filmmakers also entered the venue one after another. The "Tai Chi 0" crew was all present, and Peter Chan also came to the scene.

In just over ten minutes, the seats in the hall were filled seven or eight times. At this time, the staff began to distribute 3D glasses, and the premiere was about to begin.

As the lights dimmed, the name of the movie appeared on the pitch-black big screen - "Gravity"! Wang Zhonglei also waited for the opportunity. He wanted to see the quality of this film. After all, he had to fight head-on in a few months.

But when the first long take appeared, Wang Zhonglei was deeply shocked, and he also noticed the bursts of exclamations from the scene.

"unbelievable!"

"It's amazing!"

"It's so beautiful"

"..."

Until the lens ended, Wang Zhonglei seemed to have recovered, turned his head to look at Chen Guofu beside him, only to see that the latter was also shocked.

"Zhonglei, is this really a film that can be shot in China?"

Not only Chen Guofu asked this question, but even Cheng Long, who participated in the filming, felt incredible.

Especially the few shots when the disaster came, he was filming in the lightbox himself, but he never expected that the effect presented would be so shocking.

By this time, Cheng Long somewhat believed that this movie might even take back the domestic box office record created by "Pacific Rim".

But Yang Ying's focus was not on this. She only knew that Zeng Li's scenes in this film were too many, which could be called a one-man show, and some thoughts in her heart became more and more active.

After the 90-minute film came to an end, thunderous applause erupted at the scene, and Wei Jin led Cheng Long and Zeng Li to the stage to bow and pay tribute.

While applauding, Chen Guofu sighed to Wang Zhonglei beside him: "I finally know why such a sci-fi film would be favored by Venice..."

"Why?"

"Attempts in shooting techniques, pioneering consciousness is Venice's dish. Wei Jin is indeed powerful. Feng Xiaogang's film, it's difficult..."

After the premiere, Wei Jin led the crew to accept media interviews.

At this time, the media seemed much more enthusiastic, asking about many things during the filming process, and Wei Jin didn't hide his clumsiness, basically answering every question.

Since he chose to be the opening film of the film festival, it was to create momentum for global release and even impact the Oscars. Naturally, the more media space, the better.

After more than an hour, Wei Jin refused the invitation to the reception and took Sister Li back to the hotel to start clouds and rain, after all, they were about to separate.

At the same time, relevant media reports also came out.

"The first 3D opening film in the history of the Venice Film Festival - 'Gravity' was born today!"

"Directed by internationally renowned director, Palme d'Or winner, Berlin Golden Bear director, Venice Jury Grand Prix winner Wei Jin, and starring Chinese action superstar Cheng Long and Cannes Best Actress Zeng Li, the 3D sci-fi disaster film 'Gravity' premiered at the Venice Film Festival today. The film tells..."

"'Gravity' is not a traditional sci-fi film. It is full of tension and surprising bridges. The magical director Wei from the East has created the most realistic and beautiful space film."

"'Gravity' depicts outer space in a spectacular way, with the same pioneering nature as '2001: A Space Odyssey'."

Similarly, these reports were also synchronized to China almost without time difference. Some night owl netizens were instantly excited after paying attention to the news.

Zi Min Shui Tian Yue Mu Dong: "It's full of praise, looking forward to it!"

Zhe Ji ⊙o⊙ Chen Sha: "Wei Jin's sci-fi film will never disappoint."

Gui Nan Hai Bian De Shan Li Ren: "Is there any resource online? Does Venice have pirated copies?"

Earl Luke: "This is a 3D sci-fi film, what kind of pirated copy are you looking at? Upstairs is a sand sculpture, appraisal completed!"

Although the building was crooked, it was undeniable that "Gravity" was popular before it was released!

(End of chapter)