Chapter 281

Although the film premiere for "Mother" arranged by Cannes was on the evening of May 19, 2009,

Bong Joon-ho still led his team to arrive before the opening of the Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2009.

Upon learning that Li Cangdong could only serve as an ordinary juror this time, Bong Joon-ho made up his mind to find a way onto the opening ceremony red carpet to get familiar with the jurors.

Ahem, one can only say that while Director Bong is a good director, he is also a genuine citizen of the Republic of Korea.

However, one cannot entirely blame him; his pressure is truly mountain-high.

Before he came this time, CJ Vice President Ms. Lee specifically hosted a banquet for him once more, saying that as long as he brought back a weighty trophy, there would be no limit to the investment amount for his next film. In other words, if he didn't win an award, then...

Bong Joon-ho patted his chest at the time and guaranteed there would be no problem.

But in his heart, he truly had no confidence.

Aside from his assistant and translator, only two actors came with him from Korea this time.

Besides the lead actress Kim Hye-ja, the other was the film's supporting actress Park Mi-sun.

The three of them attended the Cannes opening ceremony in full dress, greeted the nine jurors from afar, and watched the opening film "Up."

Afterwards, they stayed at the hotel, ignored by everyone.

Aside from the Korean media, the number of foreign media outlets that scheduled interviews with them was: 0.

By the evening of May 15, they went to watch the premiere of "Thirst," which was also a Korean film and had been shortlisted for the main competition unit.

Afterwards, they had a meal with the main creators of "Thirst," including Park Chan-wook and Song Kang-ho.

A group of Koreans drinking and chatting together became high and drank too much.

Bong Joon-ho first talked about the cold treatment he received at home and drank two glasses straight. It wasn't Korean rice wine, but whiskey.

Park Chan-wook also followed suit and poured out his bitterness.

Come to think of it, he was even more miserable than Bong Joon-ho.

His first time being shortlisted was in 2004, with the film "Oldboy."

"Oldboy," which won countless major awards in Korea, even allowed Choi Min-sik to ascend to the position of the number one male star in Chungmuro through this film.

However, what did he ultimately receive at Cannes that year?

The Jury Prize.

To put it another way, that's called a consolation prize.

And this time?

Even worse.

The seats weren't even full, and after watching the film just now, not a single person applauded.

After finishing, Director Park also drank two glasses.

Although Li Cangdong was on the jury, he couldn't come out to dine with them.

But Bong Joon-ho felt that if the three of them gathered together, they would surely only drink more.

"Oldboy" at least had a Jury Prize,

but what about "Secret Sunshine," which was also praised by everyone in Korea 3 years ago?

All it received was a wound that still cannot heal to this day.

Compared to China and Japan, Cannes has a bias against Korean films.

This has almost become the consensus of all Korean filmmakers.

These men, who can almost command the wind and rain in the Korean film circle, are ignored upon coming to Cannes.

But it just fits that saying: what you can't get is the best.

The more this is the case, the more he and Park Chan-wook truly want to prove something.

Bong Joon-ho didn't know how much he drank in the end; in any case, he vomited a complete mess, and in the end, his assistant and translator had to carry him back to the hotel together.

The next day, Bong Joon-ho held his headache-splitting big head and sighed deeply.

After getting up, drinking a cup of coffee, and eating a bowl of instant noodles brought from Korea, barely resolving the hangover headache,

Bong Joon-ho took the day's "Screen" from his assistant's hand.

He wanted to see what the media score for "Thirst" from last night was in this Cannes trade magazine.

The result was 2.6 points.

He rubbed his eyes.

That's right, "Thirst," which indeed stunned him a bit last night,

Jeon Mi-sun, who had come to Cannes for the first time and whose English wasn't very good, also saw that rather large 2.6 score on the side and curiously asked, "Director, is this score high?"

Bong Joon-ho took a breath, looked at her, and asked, "What do you think? 2.6, how does it look? Is it high?"

Jeon Mi-sun realized and said a bit guiltily, "I thought... but clearly 'Thirst' is a good movie."

"Yes, 'Thirst' is a good movie. But, Mi-sun xi, among those that can come to Cannes to compete, which one isn't a good movie?"

Bong Joon-ho sighed again.

When he saw the score, he also couldn't believe it for a moment at first.

However, when he recalled the scores of other films he had noted down over the past few days.

"2.7 points, 'Inglourious Basterds.' 2.8 points, 'A Prophet.' 3.2 points, 'Bright Star.' 2.9 points, 'Dogtooth.'"

He had to admit that the 2.6 points for "Thirst" wasn't actually strange.

This is Cannes.

The standards of these media and film critics are truly terrifyingly strict.

Any film can have over ten thousand types of flaws picked out by them.

He looked at the review of "Thirst" in the trade magazine.

"Very disappointed. Although the film's style inherits Park Chan-wook's consistent methods and the visual effects have improved compared to previous films, all the technical progress cannot hide the film's essential regression—boring."

"The director focuses too much on the human conflict he wants to express, but fails to grasp the audience through an attractive theme."

"Setting aside the form of gorgeous packaging, the entire film is so hollow and vulgar, with thin character emotions."

"It even reminds me of another vampire film..."

When Bong Joon-ho saw this, although he felt quite indignant for his compatriot, he couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

He knew what the other vampire film mentioned here was.

However, unlike other professionals, he never felt that "Twilight" was a bad film.

Can a bad film sell 600 million US dollars?

That's over 600 million US dollars!

How much is that in Korean Won?

It's 900 billion, ashibal!!!

A film that ultimately sold 900 billion in box office, who dares to say it's bad?

Bong Joon-ho felt that at least he couldn't; he couldn't say it.

In Korea, its viewership exceeded 6 million, ranking in the top three of the 2008 Korean box office, second only to "Scandal Makers" and the star-studded "The Good, the Bad, the Weird."

From Seoul to Daegu, from Busan to Jeju Island, Bong Joon-ho estimated that more than half of all Korean middle and high school students probably went to see it.

Those kids going to see "Twilight" was simply more active than going to see a Girls' Generation concert or going to a 2PM music show site.

It was also from then on that many local Korean box office prediction experts had already raised "Mother" to the height that if it didn't sell 8 million admissions, it would be a failure.

Bong Joon-ho thought of this and couldn't help but shake his head, looking at the name of the person who wrote this review in the Cannes trade magazine in his hand.

John Stroutt.

I wonder how many points these harsh media and these harsh film critics will give after "Mother" is released, and what rating they will give?

Bong Joon-ho felt a bit uneasy and was preparing to continue reading when Jeon Mi-sun asked, "Director, is there anything else today? Are we going to watch a movie, or are there any interviews? Can I go to the beach to play for a while?"

Bong Joon-ho looked at her expression and smiled, saying, "No interviews, and no need to watch movies. For these two days, you, Teacher Hye-ja, and I, let's all have free time."

"Ah? Really, Director?"

"Mm, play to your heart's content; anyway, no one here cares about us."

Over the next two days, the three people from the "Mother" crew really spent a few leisurely days. Then, unknowingly, it reached May 19, the day of the "Mother" premiere.

Bong Joon-ho slept in, and just like the first few days, prepared to go downstairs to the hotel to buy a few trade magazines, then drink a cup of coffee and eat a piece of bread.

Anyway, the "Mother" premiere was in the evening, so starting preparations in the afternoon would still be in time.

He went downstairs and walked out of the hotel lobby.

He saw about a dozen people standing on the left and right sides of the hotel entrance chatting, among whom several were holding cameras; they should be photographers.

Bong Joon-ho didn't pay attention.

He was staying at a hotel arranged by Cannes officials, and there were no shortage of reporters squatting downstairs every day to take pictures; these days were like this every day.

However, the formation today was a bit big; it seemed that since Brad Pitt left, he hadn't encountered so many reporters squatting at the hotel entrance.

Bong Joon-ho noticed that among these chatting reporters, a middle-aged man wearing glasses saw him walk out of the hotel's revolving door wearing a pair of slippers, and for some reason, he suddenly froze.

Bong Joon-ho didn't pay attention either and continued walking toward the newsstand.

The result was the next second.

Bong Joon-ho didn't understand French, and he didn't know what that "c'est bien lui" that the man suddenly said in a very loud voice meant.

But just after that short French sentence, Bong Joon-ho noticed out of the corner of his eye that those text reporters and photographers suddenly turned their heads in unison, and over a dozen pairs of eyes of different colors and sizes stared at him fixedly with burning gazes.

At that moment, all the hair on Bong Joon-ho's body stood up.

He definitely couldn't buy the newspaper; being able to rush back into the hotel could be considered him exerting the rare agility of his 200-plus-pound body.

The security guards at the entrance saw his miserable appearance of pouncing on the hotel floor like a vicious dog catching food and couldn't help but laugh dumbly, but they still very responsibly blocked the reporters outside the door.

When he stood up, a director from the Philippines next to him looked at his foot that was missing a slipper and couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying in English, "Director Bong, what are you doing?"

Bong Joon-ho awkwardly touched the natural curls on his head and said to this Filipino who he had met several times in the past few days and who was inexplicably very kind to him, "I don't know what's going on, these reporters are actually guarding the door waiting to interview me."

That Filipino director named Brillante Mendoza smiled and said, "Have you not seen today's 'Screen' yet?"

Bong Joon-ho nodded and said, "I was just about to go buy it, and then I encountered this kind of thing. What's wrong?"

Brillante Mendoza chuckled, handed over an English version of the Cannes trade magazine "Screen," and said in a nauseating tone, "See for yourself, Director Bong. The male lead of your film arrived in Cannes yesterday."

Bong Joon-ho of course knew his male lead had arrived; the two had even talked on the phone last night.

However, what does this have to do with him suddenly changing from a dog-ignored nobody to a beloved darling overnight?

He froze the moment he took the trade magazine.

Because on the cover was directly a photo of his male lead.

A candid photo, not a movie poster.

It had been a long time since they met, and his appearance hadn't changed much; he was still very young, looking more like a boy than a man.

He was smiling and chatting with the people next to him, looking so relaxed and natural, walking out of the arrival gate surrounded by several people.

A huge headline on the cover: "Cannes welcomes a truly powerful contender for Best Actor."

Bong Joon-ho stared at this unprecedented cover photo and this headline for a long time.

He suddenly remembered that day when he was dizzy from drinking, Park Chan-wook said a sentence; he said Director Bong, you will definitely have something to gain this time. Because your male lead is favored by Cannes.

Bong Joon-ho calmed his mood and opened the magazine.

He saw the text on the first page write: "He is here."

"Everyone knows who I am talking about."

"Three years ago, he was the hope of countless Cannes Film Festival attendees and film critics around the world, yet he painfully lost the trophy. On May 18, he arrived in Cannes."

"The moment his plane landed, reporters seemed to see a huge shadow looming over the heads of the male actors hoping for Best Actor at this year's festival."

"Although the competition for Best Actor at the 62nd Cannes can be said to be unprecedentedly chaotic and intense."

"Before today, we have already appreciated how evil the German officer played by Christoph Waltz in 'Inglourious Basterds' is, and we have also seen how powerful and majestic Niels Arestrup is in 'A Prophet'."

"Besides this, among the films that haven't been released, there are Qin and Chen; I heard they made unprecedentedly bold performances in the film 'Spring Fever,' which explores homosexuality and love."

"Others including Mathieu Amalric, Jean Dujardin, Elijah Wood... and so on, the male actors who participated in many main competition films, are also faces we are familiar with."

"But if there were a gambling table in front of me, I would only place my bet on one name, and that is: Nuo Chen."

"When I saw him at the airport, the reporter trance-like recalled the way he first came to Cannes three years ago. Although I have gained a lot of weight, time has left almost no traces on him."

"Over these years, we all know he has achieved extraordinary accomplishments. But unexpectedly, he actually still remembers me. A small trade magazine reporter from 3 years ago. I met him at that time and helped his Chinese friend place a small advertisement."

"When I asked him what decided to make him launch another assault on the Cannes Best Actor with the Korean film 'Mother'."

"He said because 'Mother' has a wonderful team, and every one of them is very professional. From the director to the actors, to every staff member, they all make him feel incomparably relaxed; this is a wonderful collaboration that makes him hard to forget."

"It needs to be pointed out that he holds the Korean director named Bong Joon-ho in high esteem. In the eyes of the reporters on the scene, Chen's respect for him is extraordinary. It even exceeds the way he mentioned Wong Kar-wai in an interview three years ago."

"He said it was precisely this Korean director's extraordinary cinematic touch and directing ability that allowed him to ultimately dedicate all his talent in the 'Mother' film, conducting a breakthrough performance, for which he feels very satisfied."

"Afterwards, I confirmed again, do you think this Director Bong can lead the film to assault the Palme d'Or?"

"Chen smiled a bit shyly. Afterwards, he said a sentence to me, and it seemed to be to the entire Cannes, his voice firm and powerful."

"He said, this time, they are precisely here for this."

Bong Joon-ho stood in the hotel lobby, reading this report almost word for word. Afterwards, his hands were shaking a bit, and his eye sockets were a bit hot.

He now knew why everything that happened just now occurred.

Director Bong only felt that the stifled anger he had suffered these days was all vented in this article, making him wish he could shout to the sky: "Ashibal, you guys who look down on people, now you know who I am, right?"

After a while, he waited until his face wasn't so red, then raised his head, seeing Brillante Mendoza smiling at him, and saying: "Finished reading? Director Bong?"

Bong Joon-ho hurriedly returned the magazine and said: "Yes, finished reading, thank you. Thank you very much."

Brillante Mendoza revealed a shy smile and said: "Director Bong, actually no need to be polite. Can you, for the sake of me lending you the newspaper, or for the sake of everyone being so familiar, let me... um, if I remember correctly, Director Bong, your film should be premiering tonight, and you should be meeting Chen then, right?"

Bong Joon-ho was a bit confused and nodded, saying: "Yes, that's right. What's wrong?"

Brillante Mendoza said earnestly: "Three years ago, I watched 'My Blueberry Nights' at the premiere, and I still can't forget it to this day. Can you help me get two of Chen's autographs? I didn't expect he actually wasn't staying here."

Chen Nuo, who didn't attend the opening ceremony, didn't know how glamorous Fan Bingbing was on the red carpet this time.

However, looking at the woman in the red dress on the inside page of "Screen" on the opening day, Chen Nuo couldn't help but say: "This back... is it showing a bit too much?"

Liu Yifei stretched her head over to look, "It's fine, Chanel is just this style."

"What style? Skin-showing style? Forget it, she went to be a juror, have you just been sunbathing these days? Have you not done anything meaningful?" Chen Nuo frowned and said.

Liu Yifei said fiercely: "What is meaningful? Why didn't you take me to do it? Why didn't you come earlier? Waited for you for so long!"

Chen Nuo helplessly waved his hand: "Forget it, not talking to you. You go out first, I'll chat with Li Jing. I'm going to attend the premiere in a while. No time to talk nonsense with you."

"What's so great about it..."

Liu Yifei stood up with an unhappy face, muttering non-stop as she walked. Chen Nuo couldn't hear clearly what she was saying, but in any case, it definitely wasn't anything good.

He turned his head and roared impatiently: "What are you chanting? Walk faster! Didn't eat breakfast?"

"Bang!"

A very loud sound, the door closed.

Chen Nuo turned his head and smiled at Li Jing: "Sister Jing, looking for you to chat this time is because President Qi suggested to me..."

PS:

Ten thousand words a day, begging for votes!!!

Exhausted.

(End of chapter)