Chapter 340

February 18th was the closing ceremony and awards gala of the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. The date was chosen so perfectly that it happened to coincide with the first day of the Chinese New Year, meaning very few people were paying attention.

Germany is currently on winter time, which is a 7-hour time difference from China. This means that when the Berlin Film Festival was holding its awards ceremony in the evening, it was already the middle of the night in China. On such a big holiday, who would be watching in real-time?

Actually, there were some.

Xiao Gangpao was one of them.

He was cursing while refreshing the news.

By the time the Berlin awards ceremony was over, it was already nearly 4:00 AM in China.

Xiao Gangpao cursed as he closed his computer and returned to the bedroom from the study. Even after entering the room, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

"Are you sick? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night, paying attention to the Berlin Film Festival? You don't have a film participating, so why are you cursing along with it? People who don't know would think your film was participating and received unfair treatment."

Xu Fan was woken up by Xiao Gangpao. She was a light sleeper, and after being woken up, she was furious. She sat up from under the covers and unleashed a barrage of words at Xiao Gangpao.

Xiao Gangpao had a belly full of things to say and was worried about not finding anyone to vent to. Since Xu Fan was awake, it was perfect. Regardless of the time or whether Xu Fan wanted to hear it, he couldn't help but start complaining.

"Wife, do you think those people at the Beijing Film Academy are crazy? Yesterday, I heard news from inside the academy that the film *Tuya's Marriage*, shot by that Wang guy, could have won the Berlin Best Actress award, but he looked down on it!"

Xiao Gangpao smacked his lips, feeling very indignant, and emphasized again: "Looked down on it! The damn guy even looked down on the Berlin Best Actress award and insisted on going for the Jin Xiong!"

Afterwards, he showed a gloating expression.

"I didn't believe it at first. What kind of idiot would do such a thing? Hey, guess what? It's true! There really is an idiot who had a Berlin Best Actress award right there and didn't want it, insisting on daydreaming about winning the Jin Xiong!"

Xu Fan was very angry at first and was ready to give Xiao Gangpao a piece of her mind, but when she heard "Berlin Best Actress"—as an actress, these words definitely had magic for her.

"Is that true?"

Yesterday, Xu Fan had also heard Xiao Gangpao mention this. To be honest, she didn't quite believe it either. Giving up a Berlin Best Actress award that was already in hand to chase a Jin Xiong with no certainty was a bit hard to understand.

If she were the lead actress of *Tuya's Marriage*, she felt she would have the heart to eat the director alive, skin and bones.

In China today, as the number of international best actresses grows, the situation for actresses is becoming increasingly strange.

If an actress doesn't have the title of an internationally influential best actress, she doesn't have the confidence to speak up and doesn't dare to call herself a first-tier star.

At the very least, one must have the domestic "Three Gold" best actress titles or have achieved success in Hollywood to be recognized by the public as a first-tier actress.

The rules of the game are changing; you aren't considered a first-tier star just by becoming a "girl" of some director or by relying on hype.

Even an experienced actress like Xu Fan, who has a backer like Xiao Gangpao, is lamenting that the domestic entertainment industry's requirements for actresses are becoming increasingly harsh.

No one knows when this "unhealthy trend" started.

Can you believe that actresses who were once very popular, such as Xu Fan, Jiang Wenli, Chen Hong, and Xu Qing, are already tacitly assumed not to be first-tier stars?

Nowadays, there are three thresholds for first-tier stars.

Either win a best actress award at an internationally influential film festival like the European Big Three.

Or break into Hollywood like International Zhang or Pang Bing, and not through hype, but through actual works.

Or at the very least, have the domestic "Three Gold" best actress titles, and have one's acting skills widely recognized.

That is why Xu Fan thought it was so incredible that *Tuya's Marriage* gave up the Berlin Best Actress award to chase the uncertain Jin Xiong.

That was a case of China almost having another first-tier actress with a Berlin Best Actress title.

"It should be true."

Xiao Gangpao grinned. While gloating over the matter, he also felt a mix of emotions.

"I just followed the Berlin awards ceremony from start to finish. *Tuya's Marriage* didn't get a damn thing. This must mean the attempt at the Jin Xiong failed. That director surnamed Wang and that lead actress are both graduates of the Beijing Film Academy.

That grandson Cao Yang... with his status, it's impossible that the Berlin Film Festival wouldn't delegate power to him. If he said he could give *Tuya's Marriage* the Berlin Best Actress award, it was highly likely to be realized.

Taking a step back, if it weren't for that director surnamed Wang insisting on chasing the Jin Xiong, with his and the lead actress's status as Beijing Film Academy alumni, that dog Cao Yang... would have at least given some kind of consolation prize."

"Oh my, that's really a pity."

Xu Fan's expression flickered; it was unclear whether she was feeling sorry for the lead actress or for the film.

However, Xiao Gangpao had no time to pay attention to his wife's expression. After saying those words, he felt even more sour and disappointed.

He thought of *Lost in Beijing*, which won the Silver Bear for Best New Actress, and couldn't help but think more about it.

He knew the director of *Lost in Beijing*; it was a female director named Li Yu. She wasn't particularly talented, the films she had shot before could only be described as average, and she wasn't a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy...

But her film won an award!

Who can you reason with about this kind of thing?

Luck, everything is luck.

If I had known earlier that that grandson Cao Yang was going to be the chairman of the Berlin Film Festival jury, I would have filmed a movie to participate in the Berlin Film Festival too. Just thinking about it makes me excited.

As long as I entered the main competition section, with my relationship with that grandson Cao Yang... no, with my relationship with Cao Yang as brothers, he should have given me an award.

Even if it were just a consolation prize!

Xiao Gangpao isn't picky.

He'd be happy with a big award, and a consolation prize would be excellent too.

At this moment, Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but want to slap his thigh.

This is also the reason he kept cursing.

Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but want to curse again.

Cao Yang, you bastard, if you were going to be the chairman of the Berlin Film Festival jury, you should have given a heads-up! I would have risked my life, put everything aside, and made an art film!

What a great opportunity!

"Why didn't you think about filming an art film and participating in this Berlin Film Festival? What a great opportunity. Who knows if there will be such an opportunity in the future."

Xu Fan didn't know if she was doing it on purpose, but she was touching a sore spot.

She understood Xiao Gangpao and knew what his long-standing heartache was.

Xiao Gangpao shuddered, was stunned for about ten seconds, and then waved his hand decadently, "Sleepy, sleep, sleep."

Xu Fan glanced at Xiao Gangpao.

Little guy, I don't believe you can fall asleep.

Xiao Gangpao lay on the bed, having no intention of sleeping at all. He thought about a lot.

From this film festival, he thought about what happened at the Venice Film Festival last year.

Last year, he took *The Banquet* to Venice and was listed in the non-competition screening section, while Cao Yang was invited to Venice as a guest for the opening ceremony speech and as an awards presenter.

Xiao Gangpao talked a lot with Cao Yang during those few days and also discussed the new film *Assembly* that he was preparing.

In 2000, CCTV's *Oriental Horizon* broadcast an interview program titled *For That Sound of the Bugle*.

It told the story of how, during the War of Liberation, platoon leader Chang Menglan received an order from company commander He Youhai to hold off the enemy and cover the main force's retreat. He held the position waiting for the assembly bugle, but later he was wounded and passed out.

After he woke up, he was the only one left in the platoon. He had always had an unresolved knot in his heart: whether the assembly bugle had actually blown at the time, and when it had blown. This related to whether their cover mission had been completed.

If the assembly bugle had blown, it would prove that the main force had completed its retreat, and their platoon's mission would have been completed.

If the assembly bugle had not blown, it might mean their platoon had ultimately failed to fully hold off the enemy, the enemy had caught up with the main force, and the mission had not been completed.

Chang Menglan searched for his original unit countless times, agonizing over whether the assembly bugle had blown, just because he wanted to know if, under the circumstances where almost his entire platoon had sacrificed themselves, they had ultimately completed the cover mission. He wanted to give his deceased comrades an answer.

His ultimate goal was to know if the cover mission had been completed; he wanted to "tell" his deceased comrades, not really agonize over whether the assembly bugle had blown.

We cannot use today's mindset to substitute for the martyrs of that time. You must know that at that time, as long as there was such a blocking mission, the martyrs would fight to be the ones to go. This is something we cannot understand or imagine today.

Therefore, platoon leader Chang Menglan's heartache was wanting to comfort his comrades in the afterlife, wanting them to know if this mission had been gloriously completed.

After the program aired, writer Yang Jinyuan saw it and wrote a 13,000-word short story titled *Lawsuit*, which was published in the 4th issue of *Fujian Literature* in 2002 and reprinted by *Novel Monthly* in June 2002.

Zhang Guoli saw this novel and felt it was good, so he recommended it to his good friend Xiao Gangpao. Xiao Gangpao also liked it very much and had been thinking about adapting it into a film.

Xiao Gangpao is a smart man. At first glance, such an adapted film can be classified as mainstream.

As everyone knows, mainstream films are very easy to win awards at both the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers awards.

However, Xiao Gangpao had once fallen out with the Golden Rooster, and wanting to "reconcile" would require a heavyweight intermediary.

So, he found Liu Heng, wanting Liu Heng to be the screenwriter.

The shrewd Xiao Gangpao certainly didn't just find a random screenwriter.

As a screenwriter, Liu Heng is very famous; he has written many well-known works.

For example, *Ju Dou*, *The Story of Qiu Ju*, *Nothing to Lose*, *Beautiful New World*, *A Beautiful New Life*, *Son of the Emperor*, *The Knot*, and other works.

Of course, more importantly, Liu Heng is the editor-in-chief of *Beijing Literature*, vice-chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and chairman of the Beijing Writers Association.

In 2006, he was elected as vice-chairman of the China Writers Association.

These identities were enough for Xiao Gangpao to reconcile with the Golden Rooster, and it could go far beyond just reconciliation.

Some people think that Xiao Gangpao's ability to "reconcile" with the Golden Rooster and win awards was the result of Huayi's operations.

It cannot be denied that there is a part of Huayi's "public relations" involved, but wanting to truly integrate into the official circles is not something a private enterprise with some background can handle.

Integrating and being accepted for the first time is the most important thing; only then can other things be done later.

(End of chapter)