Chapter 600

That Year in Chinese Entertainment: Chapter 746 - Premiere, Paris. To be honest, Lin Nan hadn't paid attention to news about the Hong Kong Film Awards for several years.

Suddenly hearing the news that they had announced the nomination list at the Berlin International Film Festival, for a moment, he really felt a bit of freshness.

Looking closely at that nomination list, yeah, as expected, it was still that old taste, unchanged for more than ten years.

It's just that this year there were quite a few powerful mainland actors, such as Huang Bo, Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, Tang Wei, and others.

But to put it bluntly, letting these mainland-background filmmakers be nominated was basically a helpless move, because the Hong Kong circle really couldn't find anyone to make up the numbers.

And Lin Nan, who was in Berlin, was paying attention to the news there because a small number of Hong Kong filmmakers had proposed a "heretical" suggestion.

"In order to save the Hong Kong Film Awards, and also to save Hong Kong films and Hong Kong filmmakers.

The Film Awards have reached a point where it is imminent and must modify the award rules.

That is, to open the registration channel to the entire mainland and Chinese film circle, cancel the threshold restrictions, and no longer be confined to the small circle of Hong Kong and Hong Kong films."

Once this proposal came out, it instantly gained the support and solidarity of more than half of the Chinese film circle.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that once this was done, the Hong Kong Film Awards could absolutely be reborn from the ashes, instead of continuing to struggle like a withered bone in a grave.

But as the old saying goes, who doesn't have a group of selfish old stubborns and remnants of the past?

Reform? That is absolutely impossible!

Only one day later, the Hong Kong Film Awards Committee jumped out, and their words were sharp.

They criticized this idea as "forgetting one's ancestors," completely subverting the original intention of the Film Awards, and a betrayal of local Hong Kong films, which they would resolutely not adopt.

Everything was like a farce; the "uprising" had just begun when it was ruthlessly "suppressed," becoming a joke and talk for after-dinner conversation in the circle.

"It won't take too long, maybe another two or three years, and the Film Awards over in Hong Kong will naturally have no one paying attention to them; they will quietly 'die of old age' completely."

At the dinner table, Lin Nan swore confidently.

To be impolite, the Golden Rooster Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards are about the same, both a bit disgusting.

But the former has an advantage that the latter cannot compare to, which is having the vast mainland film market, and to a certain extent, official endorsement!

That's why the masters of the Golden Rooster Awards are even more arbitrary and high and mighty.

"It should 'die'; my *Let the Bullets Fly* back then had 13 nominations, and the dog thing only gave me Best Costume Design in the end! It was clearly playing me..."

Jiang Wen held his beer and cursed; he had also been used as a stepping stone by the Hong Kong side.

"Lin Nan, Tom sent a message saying Ma Te and Jessica have arrived," Liu Yifei held Lin Nan's phone and suddenly reminded him.

"Then let's stop here for today, shall we?"

Looking at the slightly messy state of the dinner table, Lin Nan said.

"Alright, let's talk again when your film premieres the day after tomorrow."

Jiang Wen stood up unsteadily and took the coat handed over by Zhou Yun.

Five minutes later, the few of them separated at the restaurant entrance.

"Director Jiang doesn't seem to be in a very good mood?"

Liu Yifei put her left hand into Lin Nan's down jacket pocket and asked with some confusion.

"He made appointments with quite a few film merchants to watch the film after the opening ceremony. But now the film hasn't been watched yet, and those people are using the domestic reviews of this film to talk, starting to press the price in advance."

"Oh. That's indeed quite annoying. It's still our film that's popular, hehe..."

Speaking of this, Liu Yifei couldn't help but show a joyful smile.

Because as of this morning, *Manchester by the Sea* had already received viewing intentions from more than thirty film merchants.

But in order not to affect the opening ceremony premiere, these people would all be arranged at other times after the opening ceremony to watch the film.

Having not seen each other for more than twenty days, Ma Te Damon and Jessica Chastain still maintained an excited mood.

The Golden Globe results gave them great confidence. They were very much looking forward to replicating that honor at this Berlin International Film Festival.

"Lin, the *Great Wall* crew will return to China one after another at the end of this month. Maybe after the Oscars end, we can travel together."

Ma Te Damon's words reminded Lin Nan that it had been three months since the *Great Wall* casting was set, and training had been going on for more than two months.

"Yeah, then I look forward to us being on the same flight then."

……

Two days passed quickly; by the afternoon of the 4th, the Berlin International Film Festival had already entered a state of being crowded with people.

News of various film crews, actors, and stars arriving in Berlin was constantly refreshing, and various activities, press conferences, and cocktail parties were also widely distributing invitations.

The main force of Chinese filmmakers was a force that could not be ignored, quite conspicuous.

Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing, Little Zhang Ziyi... Xu Jinglei, Jackie Chan, and others were all the focus in front of the lens.

In addition, several major domestic giants like China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, Huayi, Bona, LeEco, etc., also appeared one after another.

On the evening of the 4th, Lin Nan received calls from La Peikang, Ren Zhonglun, and others; they would all attend the opening premiere of *Manchester by the Sea* the next morning, which was the global premiere.

La Peikang acted quickly; having only arrived in Berlin for 5 days, he had already finalized an imported blockbuster, Disney's *Cinderella*, which would be publicly screened simultaneously in the country and North America in March.

On the morning of the 5th, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei got up very early.

The two would not attend the nine o'clock opening ceremony red carpet, but would go directly to the largest screening hall of the Berlin Film Festival.

There were also many media there, and some top filmmakers from all over the world would also be present.

Around 9:30, simply wearing down jackets, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei set off by car.

Tom, Ma Te, and Jessica had already arrived there in advance; Leonardo was still on the plane and was expected to arrive in the afternoon.

When they arrived at the scene, there were already quite a few people outside, mostly foreigners.

"Lin Nan."

Following the sound, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei saw La Peikang, and those people from the country were clustered around him.

"Lin Dao, Yifei."

"Lin Dao, dressed a bit casually today? Haha..."

……

Li Bingbing, Jackie Chan, and others greeted them, and many foreign filmmakers smiled and nodded to Lin Nan.

"Xixi, let's go over."

"Yeah."

When they got close, Lin Nan couldn't help but laugh; Little Zhang Ziyi really knew how to play, coming to the film festival and actually bringing Wang Feng? Here for tourism?

Everything was ready in the screening hall; sticking to the time, a group of people was able to file in one after another.

This was the first official public exposure of *Manchester by the Sea* to the outside world, and many media people hung relevant credentials on their chests, also watching the film intently.

And how to describe this *Manchester by the Sea* today?

Those who could understand and get into it were often easily carried away by the emotions, just like the nearly 80% of the people at the scene right now.

Their faces were suppressed, restrained, and negative; one could even see struggle and pain in their expressions, and more of it was sadness and frustration.

"Lin Nan, you never told me you filmed such a film? It's too miserable, it makes people feel so uncomfortable... If this is taken back to the country for public screening, the box office probably won't be optimistic..."

Liu Yifei tugged at Lin Nan's sleeve, her eyes a bit red.

That's right, a father watching his three children swallowed by a big fire, and everything was because of his own "mistake"—who could support that mentally? The days and nights, months and years that followed were all lived under the torture and sinking of the spirit and soul... it was very touching.

"Precisely because of this, I didn't show you the finished film, only told you the synopsis. Leonardo acted well, right?"

Lin Nan held Liu Yifei's hand and asked softly. As for the box office? For this kind of film, Lin Nan never expected it to have a high box office.

"Yeah, he acted really well. Especially the shot where he saw Ma Te's body, it's simply impossible to describe in words..."

"This subject matter is very advantageous," Lin Nan said pointedly.

"Yeah?"

"Look at everyone, almost everyone is into it. Those few big men over there are still wiping tears..."

Looking at this scene, Lin Nan was even more confident.

Most professional filmmakers are emotional, or easily substitute emotions.

And the biggest advantage of *Manchester by the Sea* is the resonance in emotion; tragedy is always more direct to the heart and more profound than comedy.

The film, just over two hours long, ended in a dead silence in the screening hall.

For the first time, after the premiere of his own film, Lin Nan didn't hear applause immediately, but instead heard sobbing.

After a long time, I don't know who started clapping first, and the applause slowly piled up, forming a wave of sound.

"Lin, this film is amazing."

"Leonardo contributed top-level acting; he clearly doesn't have children, right?"

"This film is very infectious, making people a bit depressed..."

……

"Filmed well, but your big brother still firmly believes *Gone with the Bullets* is stronger!"

"Lin Dao, it would be unreasonable if your film didn't win an award." When Fan Bingbing came over to greet them, she was still wiping away tears.

……

*Manchester by the Sea*, as the opening film of the Berlin International Film Festival, could be considered to have amazed all the filmmakers and media people present.

Media reporters had already rushed back to write their drafts; it was estimated that in the next few days, they would see their reports on *Manchester by the Sea* in the internal publication of the Berlin International Film Festival.

Lin Nan believed that in the next ten days, the plot of this film, as well as that suppressed and extreme sadness, would linger in many people's minds.

"Do you have time later? There will be a banquet for the film crews, directors, and actors from the country."

Standing outside the screening hall, La Peikang asked Lin Nan.

And Lin Nan and Liu Yifei looked at each other and smiled, shaking their heads helplessly.

"What, not giving face? Already starting to act high and mighty?" La Peikang teased.

"Chairman La, we booked a flight to Paris. We really can't spare the time," Liu Yifei took the initiative to explain.

"Chairman La, I have to go pay respects to my father-in-law, together with Xixi."

Lin Nan shrugged and said with a smile. Liu Yifei's face was full of smiles, nodding constantly.

At this point, La Peikang, Ren Zhonglun, and the others all understood. Isn't that right, Lin Nan and Liu Yifei are getting married soon...

"Alright then, when you come back from Paris, let's get together again here. Still waiting for the closing ceremony awards day, hoping you can give everyone a big surprise."

"Chairman La, you say that, where does that put my film?" Jiang Wen, who was on the side, had his temper written on his face, and he retorted with a smile.

"Then why don't you two split it? Anyway, we're all our own people," Ren Zhonglun joked.

…………