Chapter 261: Judging Impartially

The Venice Film Festival ended on the 10th. Cao Yang stayed for two more days and left in the early morning of the 12th.

His itinerary this time was a bit tight; for the next week, he would likely be spending it on airplanes.

After the Venice Film Festival ended, Cao Yang's original plan was to return directly to the country, because the 19th was an important day—the first round of the Beijing Olympics director bidding was set for that day.

As the chief consultant specially hired by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for the director selection, Cao Yang definitely had to be present.

However, Cheng Jianye called to say that the studio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, had been built, and the snow mountain castle was also finished; it only needed a heavy snowfall to be put into use.

Of course, before that, Cao Yang definitely had to inspect it.

This matter was actually very important and could not be delayed; hundreds of workers and staff members could not be dismissed until the inspection was completed.

Even if labor costs in Canada were lower than in the US, the daily cost was not a small amount, especially for technical jobs involving film, where salaries were higher.

Cao Yang could only fly to Canada first, meet with the art director, production designer, and visual effects personnel, and look at the snow mountain castle and the Montreal studio.

"Is everything going smoothly? Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Cao Yang asked after meeting Cheng Jianye.

Cheng Jianye smiled and shook his head. "Everything is going very smoothly. Both the local government and the hired staff are very cooperative. Columbia still has a lot of strength here."

Passing the buck, shirking responsibility, etc., exist everywhere in the world, and Westerners are particularly good at this. If you urge them too hard, they will talk to you about human rights... In short, work efficiency is really not high.

Cheng Jianye had many headaches because of this.

Moreover, some people saw that he was Chinese and acted one way to his face and another behind his back. They seemed to respect him on the surface, but he could faintly feel exclusion and arrogance.

Cheng Jianye had previously been sent by Cao Yang to be the executive producer of *Juno*. That was a small crew, the director didn't have much fame, there were no big-name actors, and he wasn't responsible for exterior locations or preparations, so he didn't feel it deeply at the time.

Now, in a large project like *Inception* with a total budget of 160 million US dollars, with many people and complex identities, it was not easy to get things done.

Of course, now that it was settled, there was no need to tell Cao Yang about these annoying little things.

Cao Yang patted Cheng Jianye on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

The scenes built in the studio for the film were generally okay. Cao Yang marked out some small flaws and areas he was dissatisfied with.

The snow mountain castle was still a bare castle, but the exterior outline and terrain met Cao Yang's requirements; it only needed a heavy snowfall to become a real snow mountain castle.

In Canada, especially in Quebec, the last thing you have to worry about is snow.

Quebec's climate is characterized by cold winters with frequent snow, especially in the northern regions, where winter temperatures can even drop to -60°C, and the snowfall is also very large, with an average annual snowfall of about 3 meters.

The reason Cao Yang insisted on finishing the snow mountain castle before October was because it would snow in Quebec after October.

Once a heavy snow falls, you still want to build a castle? The manpower, material resources, and time spent would be huge.

Being able to complete all this in mid-September, Cao Yang was definitely very satisfied.

He estimated that if he hadn't let Cheng Jianye be responsible for all this, and had let Americans be responsible, requiring them to finish before October, they might not necessarily have delivered on time.

Cao Yang returned to Beijing in the early morning of the 18th. It was only because he was still young; otherwise, if it were someone of Old Mouzi's or Old Tian's age, they might not have been able to handle the itinerary during this period.

However, that's not necessarily true. It is rumored in the industry that Old Mouzi is famously energetic; when rushing a film, he sometimes only rests for about three hours a day.

Cao Yang actually doesn't deal with Old Mouzi much, and he doesn't know if the rumors are true.

Old Gu did say that when he was the cinematographer for Old Mouzi's *Red Sorghum* and *Ju Dou*, Old Mouzi often worked through the night, and was still full of energy the next day.

Cao Yang felt it was still very possible.

After all, it is said that while serving as the chief director of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, Old Mouzi was able to plan the Olympic proposal while filming the Chinese blockbuster *Curse of the Golden Flower*.

Old Tian couldn't compare to this; Old Tian just couldn't do it, he didn't have that kind of energy.

Thinking about it this way, Old Tian is really a loser. Which director isn't energetic and infinitely passionate?

Otherwise, just dealing with so many women... um, otherwise, how could they film good movies?

Cao Yang had to go to the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for a meeting on the afternoon of the 18th. At noon, Hou Ke-ming found him.

Old Hou was mysterious, called Cao Yang into his office, and looked around furtively to make sure no one was there before closing the office door.

Cao Yang subconsciously thought that Old Hou must have come for the Olympic director position. Was he going to ask him to "take care" of someone from the Beijing Film Academy?

Actually, what many people don't know is that on the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee's shortlist, Cao Yang was the first choice, and Old Mouzi was the second choice.

Cao Yang only learned about this after becoming the chief consultant for the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee.

After all, Old Mouzi is also a world-renowned director and had the experience of directing the "China Eight Minutes" at the Athens Olympics. Although those eight minutes were a bit unsatisfactory, it counted as having experience, right?

As a major country, one of the purposes of China hosting the Olympics is to show and prove itself to the world. Therefore, the chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies basically couldn't be handed to an "outsider."

If the position of chief director were given directly to Cao Yang, given Cao Yang's influence in the world and the fact that he is one of the few big directors in Hollywood, perhaps no one would say anything.

However, if the position of chief director were designated directly to someone else in the country, there would be concerns that some Western countries would seize on this and criticize our country for not being "democratic."

Western countries are particularly good at this kind of thing, so they had to be cautious.

In short, let some directors prepare in advance and then hold a competition. If a Chinese director's proposal really surpasses Old Mouzi's, that would also be a good thing.

Cao Yang had considered it: if Old Hou really opened his mouth, he wouldn't give a clear answer on the surface, nor would he refuse. Then, if Old Mouzi were elected in the end, Old Hou would definitely think he had "tried his best."

"Director Cao, logically speaking, we are all from the Beijing Film Academy. If the Olympic chief director is also from the Beijing Film Academy, it would definitely be a good thing for the school."

Old Hou looked at Cao Yang, then pursed his lips, and said seriously:

"However, the Olympics is a major national event, a major national event. We must never neglect major national affairs because of personal reasons... You might think I'm speaking official jargon by saying this."

Old Hou poured a glass of water for Cao Yang and sighed softly.

"I also want the Olympic chief director to be from the Beijing Film Academy; that's my honest opinion. But what I just said is even more of a thought after careful consideration.

The reason I called you here is that I'm worried you're still young. Of course, you are a person with your own opinions, but I'm just a little worried that when you see alumni, especially Old Mouzi and Chen Kaige, or if someone asks for a favor, you won't be able to save face.

My only request for you is four words: Judge impartially! Don't worry, if the chief director is not from the Beijing Film Academy, I will definitely not let you face the pressure. I will stand up to support you and tell all the people from the Beijing Film Academy that it was I who asked you to do so."

At this moment, Cao Yang suddenly looked at Old Hou with new respect, and his image became much taller.

In his impression, Old Hou used to have some selfishness and "snobbery" when he was the vice dean and the head of the Youth Film Studio.

Many times he didn't have much responsibility and was slick in his dealings.

But the Old Hou now showed another side.

Is this probably because the position is different, and the way of looking at problems is also different?

Fulfill the duties of one's position.

Some people can really grow and change.

"Don't worry, Dean Hou, I know what to do," Cao Yang promised.

The afternoon meeting was not attended by everyone from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, but only by members of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee's review panel.

Cao Yang, the chief consultant, was, to put it bluntly, the chief consultant of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee's review panel.

But with Cao Yang's fame and influence, giving him only the title of chief consultant of the review panel seemed inappropriate. The Organizing Committee also wanted to use his influence to form a business card for the outside world, so they blurred it a bit.

The afternoon meeting was a briefing session to announce some principles and confidentiality issues.

Finally, the meeting unanimously passed an appointment: Cao Yang was appointed as the chief consultant for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

And the duties of the chief consultant for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics were explained.

Simply put, you can question and give opinions on all programs of the opening and closing ceremonies, but you have no right to interfere with the chief director's decisions.

If you have doubts about certain decisions of the chief director and give reasonable suggestions, but the director still does not adopt them, you can discuss this matter at the Olympic Organizing Committee meeting.

It sounds a bit like the meaning of an ancient imperial supervisor, but without the power of decision, it counts as an error-correction mechanism.

Returning in the evening, Cao Yang was called over by Old Situ again.

After eating a home-cooked meal at Old Situ's house, the teacher and student sat on the sofa and chatted.

"Sigh, no one expected you to win so many international awards. If we had known you had this ability, we would have planned it in advance.

Win the Berlin Golden Bear and Cannes Golden Palm first, and with Marco Mueller's relationship, it would be much easier for you to win the Venice Golden Lion, and you could more easily achieve the European Grand Slam. It's a pity..."

Old Situ said with a smile. It wasn't teasing his beloved student; this was his true thought.

Cao Yang also shook his head with a smile. At that time, how could he have thought so much? Being nominated for the main competition unit of the three major European festivals was already an amazing thing; how could he dare to plan awards?

Then Old Situ changed the subject.

"Tomorrow is the first round of the Olympic chief director selection. As the chief consultant, what are your thoughts?"

"Four words: Judge impartially!"

"Good!"

Old Situ slapped the table. "This is my student. No matter who is running for director, no matter how close or distant they are, as long as the proposal is not suitable, let them go play with eggs!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 262 =====