Chapter 28: Domestic Premiere

March 1st, in a small meeting room at China Film Group.

Cao Yang came over with Hou Ke. The film was set to be released tomorrow, and Han Zong of China Film Group had mentioned several times that he wanted to meet Cao Yang; today was the opportunity.

After the meeting, there were naturally some pleasantries. Mostly, Han Zong showered Cao Yang with all sorts of praise—about being young and promising, a hero among the youth, and how they must strengthen cooperation in the future.

Hou Ke smiled and said nothing.

While this meeting was ostensibly to discuss matters related to the film's release, in reality, it was mainly because Han Zong wanted to see Cao Yang.

Previously, like everyone else, he hadn't really believed that a film which won two Silver Bears was directed by Cao Yang. He had also assumed it was something Tian Zhuangzhuang had cooked up, and that Cao Yang was just a puppet pushed to the front to circumvent the ban on Tian Zhuangzhuang directing.

But after the internal screening at China Film Group, Han Zong was shocked, and two thoughts instantly occurred to him.

First, how could such a distinct auteur film possibly be Tian Zhuangzhuang’s? It was completely different from Tian Zhuangzhuang’s style; this was truly shot by that twenty-something student!

It was simply incredible; he had to win him over.

Second, where did that actress named Li Xiaoran pop out from? She was amazing! The film didn't look like acting at all; it was like watching her autobiography. No wonder she could win Best Actress in Berlin.

Han Zong was a bit unsure whether he should marvel at Cao Yang’s luck or Li Xiaoran’s luck.

He could only conclude that a suitable script had miraculously encountered a suitable actor, and they had achieved success together.

This time, the main topic was discussing the film's promotional tour—it wasn't that there were no roadshows in this era, just that the terminology was different; now they were called touring premiere events or touring screening events.

In fact, it was the same thing as a roadshow: touring for promotion, running through several major cities one by one, holding screening events and meet-and-greets at local theaters in turn, where the film's creators would meet the audience, sign autographs, and interact.

China Film Group chose seven major cities: Jingcheng, Shanghai, Jinling, Yangcheng, Shencheng, Rongcheng, and Jiangcheng. Later, at Cao Yang’s suggestion, they added Ludong Island, the film’s filming location.

No one realized yet that in a film's filming location, as long as public opinion was guided slightly, the box office could bring surprises.

Cao Yang would attend the premiere meet-and-greets in Jingcheng and Ludong Island; the other cities would be left to the main actors to handle.

The reason for choosing to go to Ludong Island was that Cao Yang still wanted to use it as a filming location, so he might as well go over and take a look.

The Jingcheng premiere was held at the Jingcheng Theater.

In this day and age, the internet was not yet widespread; online news mainly relied on a few portals, and print media was still the mainstream.

Therefore, holding touring premiere events was very meaningful; it could maximize the mobilization of the viewing audience, create news buzz, and let more potential viewers see it.

The domestic market wasn't failing; the potential market was fine. Just look at *Titanic*, look at *Hero*—which would be released next year and usher in the era of blockbusters. As long as the potential audience was mobilized and a craze was formed, the market still had great potential.

March 2nd, 5:00 PM, the invited guests began to arrive one after another.

Cao Yang, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Li Xiaoran, and Ding Jiali were there to welcome people and exchange greetings. It mainly depended on status and standing; in the film and television industry, the underlying hierarchy was still very clear.

When older generation or Fifth Generation directors came, even if they weren't very famous, Cao Yang still had to welcome them. Most of them were from the Beijing Film Academy, so sometimes one's background was also very important.

Almost everyone from the 1978 Directing Class who was in Jingcheng had come. Cao Yang had to receive them personally; after exchanging pleasantries, he would personally lead them to their seats in the venue.

The National Master also came. Although he was from the '78 cohort, he wasn't from the Directing Department, so the connection was a layer further away. Cao Yang received him personally, then let Li Xiaoran lead him to his seat, creating an opportunity for her.

Although Cao Yang knew that the National Master would likely compromise with the market and choose Zhang Ziyi, Li Xiaoran wasn't without a chance; it all depended on the box office and influence after the film's release.

Huang Lei brought "Milk Tea" Liu along. In such an occasion, he dared to bring her openly, not afraid of public opinion or what Sun Li might think.

It could only be said that the media of this era was not yet developed, nor had it faced the impact of self-media; people in the entertainment industry played much more "openly" than in later generations.

Huang Lei was not only a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy but also one of the hottest idols of the moment. Because of his status as a teacher, Cao Yang also had to step forward to receive him.

Huang Lei first offered congratulations and said many flowery words. As a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, he certainly didn't misunderstand this as Tian Zhuangzhuang's film like the outside world did. As Huang Lei's "fourth type of relationship" partner, "Milk Tea" Liu also knew very well whose film this was.

He first apologized and explained that he was preparing a new song at the time and regretted missing such a good film. If there was a next time, he would definitely turn down everything—as long as Director Cao said the word.

Well, the entertainment industry is just that realistic.

In the entertainment industry, perhaps because they have seen and played so much, many things are no longer taken to heart.

Look, "Little Cannon" Feng also came, and the key was that he brought Xu Fan with him.

He still chatted and laughed with Old Tian, even joking and teasing Old Tian about his growing prowess, winning two Silver Bears on his first try.

"Little Cannon" Feng also thought this was a film directed by Old Tian. Before seeing the film, no one had thought this was something a twenty-something student could shoot.

Beside him, Xu Fan also followed along with a smile, offering congratulations and complaining that Old Tian didn't give her a chance even when he had a good role.

"Little Cannon" Feng’s smile paused for a moment, then he returned to his nonchalant appearance.

Li Shaohong of the '78 Directing Class was a classmate of Tian Zhuangzhuang and also his close confidante. She had directed the highly acclaimed *Palace of Desire* and the critically panned *New Dream of the Red Chamber*.

She once jokingly said, "He (Tian Zhuangzhuang) just wants to fall in love with people in his films; once the film is finished, there's nothing left."

!

So, for Xu Fan to go and act in Tian Zhuangzhuang's film again, "Little Cannon" Feng wasn't entirely indifferent, right, Gangzi?

Besides the '78 cohort, there was another very famous class in the Beijing Film Academy Directing Department: the '85 cohort.

The '85 undergraduate class had 9 people; those with greater fame in the film circle included Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, and Lu Xuezhang.

Today, several people from the '85 cohort came together—four of them. Besides the three mentioned above, there was also Wang Rui, who stayed on to teach.

It’s quite interesting to mention that the instructor for the '85 undergraduate class was Xie Xiaojing, the current head of the Directing Department.

Xie Xiaojing was from the '78 cohort and was a student of Old Situ. Old Situ had taken on Cao Yang, so if this were ancient times, Cao Yang would be the junior martial uncle to Wang Xiaoshuai and the others...

Of course, that’s just a joke; we won't discuss that now.

Old Situ didn't come today. He said that when Cao Yang wins one of the top awards at the three major European film festivals, he would attend Cao Yang's premiere.

This could be considered a form of expectation and encouragement.

Besides these directors, many heads of private film companies also came, but Hou Ke didn't let Cao Yang step forward. Who knows what he was thinking? Was he afraid Cao Yang would be snatched away?

Once the time came, Cao Yang and several of the film's actors went on stage to start chatting.

This was a fixed procedure, material for reporters to write their articles: talking about the original intention of making the film, the difficulties encountered, and the interesting things that happened during filming.

Of course, these were all "scripted"; what could be said and what couldn't be said had long been decided.

What high-minded original intention could there be for making a film? It was nothing more than fame and fortune, but was that something that could be said?

As for the difficulties and interesting anecdotes, these were all things they wanted you to see, not what actually happened.

Could Cao Yang say, "I sent an invitation to Xu Jinglei, and she ignored me; I asked Huang Lei to invite 'Milk Tea' Liu, and Huang Lei didn't bother with me either"?

It wasn't that it couldn't be said, but that it was inappropriate.

If the film hadn't won an award and needed buzz before its release, many directors wouldn't mind dropping some bombshells or talking trash, and they wouldn't care about offending people they "could" afford to offend.

(End of chapter)