Chapter 200: Venice's Invitation

Ma Ke-Mu Le, as the chairman of the Venice Film Festival, was even busier in the following days, even though the film festival had already closed.

It wasn't until the day before Cao Yang returned to the country that he had time to meet with Cao Yang alone.

They often saw each other at cocktail parties these two days, but those occasions were not suitable for detailed discussion.

"Old Ma, to be honest, this time your approach really caught me off guard."

As the pusher of this "experimental film," Cao Yang definitely didn't need to hide anything from him and said directly.

"Ha, it was just a coincidence. I didn't think about doing it this way at first. When watching the film, someone raised a question: how come this film is a bit like a commercial film technique, but it explores human nature inside..."

Old Ma smiled proudly and continued: "I understood his meaning. He just wanted to say, how can a commercial film explore human nature? This gave me inspiration."

After speaking, Old Ma took out a box of cigars with decent packaging, handed it to Cao Yang, and popularized science for Cao Yang.

"This is called Romeo and Zhu Liye, it was the favorite of the Englishman Churchill, representing passion and infinite power. This model is their Zhu Liye No. 2, also known as the Churchill cigar, a century-old boutique."

Cao Yang didn't understand this, nor did he smoke this, so he just looked at it and put it on the table.

"If you don't smoke, take this back to Old Tian and say it's a gift from me."

Old Ma said, and took out two more boxes, "These two boxes are for Teacher Situ. He is old, let him smoke less, just look at it every day, haha..."

"Then I will thank you on behalf of Teacher."

Cao Yang shook his head with a bitter smile. Teacher Situ loves to smoke, and occasionally smokes a cigar. Let him just look at it, can he hold back?

Old Ma knows the human relationships in the country very well. The previous Best Director was a benefit card, and now he is starting to play the emotional card. It seems that this matter is not small.

"Do you want to be the jury chairman for a session next year?"

Old Ma looked at Cao Yang and asked suddenly.

Cao Yang thought about it, then shook his head, "Forget it."

Old Ma sighed and said with a bitter smile: "I knew it would be like this. I originally thought that we would join forces next year, so I could reduce a lot of pressure, but you are not willing."

"You haven't sat firmly in this position? Is the film festival board chairman David Croff singing the opposite of you?"

Cao Yang couldn't help but ask. In his mind, Old Ma is also an old man at the Venice Film Festival, and he has also been the artistic director of the film festival. Besides the board chairman, who else can cause him trouble?

Ma Ke-Mu Le shook his head.

"It's not David. Although he sometimes sings the opposite of me, I have a way to deal with him."

Old Ma cut a cigar, lit it, and signaled to Cao Yang.

Cao Yang shook his head.

Old Ma took a puff and continued: "The one who caused me the most trouble is Hollywood."

Subsequently, he looked at Cao Yang and said: "You know that I made many promises for those Hollywood superstars this year, but in the end, I didn't let a single Hollywood film enter the final awards ceremony.

This is something that can't be helped. Many people inside Venice are traditionalists. They oppose Hollywood and are unwilling to compromise with Hollywood, which has also led to Venice being held worse and worse in recent years, being left behind by Cannes.

Actually, I will also compromise next year, and I am prepared to give Best Director and Best Actor, and even the Golden Lion to Hollywood films, in exchange for Hollywood's attention to Venice."

Cao Yang frowned, "How could it be like this? Is the situation so severe?" Old Ma spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said: "It will only be more serious than you think. The main sources of income for the film festival are film market transaction registration fees, sponsorships and donations, ticket sales, brand promotion and advertising, and broadcast fees."

He looked at Cao Yang and said in an extremely serious tone: "All of this here, I mean all, was sucked away by Cannes. As the influence of Cannes rises, many directors are more willing to go to Cannes instead of Venice."

Old Ma waved his hand very forcefully, "So I want to learn from Cannes and embrace Hollywood. Great directors and great stars will bring more attention, and more attention also represents greater influence. Everything will follow..."

Cao Yang could see that Old Ma's ambition is not small. He wants to stop Venice's decline and wants to compete with Cannes.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Since you are not willing to be the jury chairman, then bring a film to the main competition section next year. As an Italian, I don't want to give the Golden Lion to Hollywood.

Of course, this is one of the reasons, but the main thing is that giving Hollywood so much will put a lot of pressure on me, so much that it is hard for me to bear."

Cao Yang's heart moved, and he couldn't help but say: "I have a *District 9* that has been shot, which is about racial discrimination..."

Before Cao Yang finished speaking, Old Ma shook his head, "Cao Yang, this kind of commercial film, even if it has a deep meaning, even if it is attributed to an experimental film, winning Best Director is the limit."

"Do you want me to shoot an art-house film?"

"An art-house film that has no obstacles to winning the Golden Lion. In other words, this film winning the Golden Lion cannot have controversy."

!

Old Ma extinguished the cigar and looked directly at Cao Yang.

Cao Yang is now mixing well in Hollywood. The money earned from shooting a commercial film is by no means comparable to an art-house film.

Old Ma knows that letting Cao Yang go to shoot a pure art-house film again will cause Cao Yang to lose a lot.

This is also the reason why he did so many things.

"I will tell Hollywood that I originally wanted to give the Golden Lion to you, but Cao Yang's film is really too good. He is also a Hollywood director, and his influence is great, so I have no way."

And in the eyes of those in Venice, you are a Venice direct descendant. Giving you the Golden Lion is better than giving it to Hollywood, at least preserving Venice's face, and it is not a comprehensive surrender.

In the eyes of the outside world, even in Hollywood, you are also the one with the greatest fame, and your influence is greater than most Hollywood directors. Giving you the Golden Lion will only enhance Venice's influence."

On September 18th, Cao Yang and Han Zong returned to the country together. Next is to promote *Painted Skin* and prepare for the release on National Day.

Now Han Zong is full of confidence. *Painted Skin* not only won a big award in Venice but also had the name of an experimental film.

Even Xiao Gangpao stood up to support such an experimental film, and in order to show support, he personally shot an experimental film of the same type.

During this period, the audio-visual copyright of *Painted Skin* was finally negotiated and bought by Guangdong's Zhongkai Culture for 17.8 million.

This price tied the price sold by *Hero*.

As early as 2002, the audio-visual copyright of *Hero* was auctioned for 17.8 million yuan, and it was also bought jointly by three companies in Guangdong.

Cao Yang remembered that later, the audio-visual copyright of *The Promise* was also bought by Guangdong's Zhongkai Culture for about the same price.

In audio-visual distribution, Guangdong is still relatively developed, and many well-known audio-visual product companies are in Guangdong.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 201 =====