Chapter 365: Old Ma's Strategy

"A grand gathering of Chinese filmmakers in the Water City!"

A photo posted by Sina Entertainment, along with its caption, instantly ignited the internet.

This photo captured a scene of a dinner party, where a round table was filled with Chinese filmmakers.

Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if those sitting there were just some lesser-known filmmakers, but the key was that almost everyone seated there was a director familiar to the public.

Looking at the photo, sitting directly opposite the camera position was Cao Yang, the most famous and influential director in the country.

To Cao Yang's left sat Old Situ, the jury president of the 64th Venice Film Festival, and to Cao Yang's right sat Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Next to Old Situ was Jiang Wen, next to Jiang Wen was the Xiangjiang film director Du Qifeng, next to Du Qifeng was the Taiwan director Li Kangsheng, and next to Li Kangsheng was the Taiwan director Chen Yili.

Next to Tian Zhuangzhuang was Lv Le from the Class of '78 Cinematography Department, next to Lv Le was the previous Venice Golden Lion winner Jia Zhangke, next to Jia Zhangke was Zhuang Yuxin, and next to Zhuang Yuxin was Du Haibin.

The caption from Sina Entertainment served as an explanation for these Chinese directors dining together.

Cao Yang was the producer and screenwriter of the film "Secret Sunshine," which was selected for the main competition section, and he was also a special guest of the Venice Film Festival; according to internal news from Venice, he might be presenting an award to the Best Actor or Best Actress of this year.

Old Situ was the jury president.

"Secret Sunshine," directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang, was shortlisted for the main competition section.

"The Sun Also Rises," directed by Jiang Wen, was shortlisted for the main competition section.

"Fiction," directed by Lv Le, entered the Horizons section.

"Useless," directed by Jia Zhangke, also entered the Horizons section.

"Mad Detective," directed by Xiangjiang director Du Qifeng, was added to the main competition section at the last minute after "Lust, Caution" was kicked out of the main competition section.

"Help Me Eros," by Taiwan director Li Kangsheng, was shortlisted for the main competition section.

"Teeth of Love," directed by Zhuang Yuxin, was shortlisted for the main competition section.

"Blood Brothers," by Taiwan director Chen Yili, entered the Midnight Screenings section and was also selected as the closing film.

"Umbrella," directed by Du Haibin, entered the Horizons section.

(Those who think this is exaggerated can search for the 64th Venice Film Festival; there were indeed 8 Chinese-language films participating. Aside from Old Tian's "Secret Sunshine" and "Teeth of Love," the remaining 7, plus "Lust, Caution," is not an exaggeration at all, including Old Situ's role as jury president.)

Since taking office as the chairman of the Venice Film Festival, Marco Mueller has only done two things:

First, for the sake of the film festival's influence and attention, he completely compromised with Hollywood; every year, an American film must win a major award, no longer just empty slogans.

Second, he has supported Chinese-language films and Chinese filmmakers, especially with a significant bias in awards. The reason for this is probably that he studied in China, likes China, and has many friends in China.

In the original timeline, he was the one who awarded the Venice top prize, the Golden Lion, to Chinese people for three consecutive years.

"Is Old Ma really letting you be the presenter for Best Actor or Best Actress?"

After the party ended, Old Tian asked Cao Yang.

When Cao Yang first arrived yesterday, Old Ma joked about letting Cao Yang be an award presenter, and Old Tian thought he was just kidding.

The ten-day film festival was already more than halfway over; at this point, the award presenters must have been decided long ago, so how could they let Cao Yang replace someone else at the last minute?

Cao Yang shook his head and said with a smile, "Not the presenter for Best Actor."

"Oh, I knew it."

Old Tian nodded, indicating he understood; he was purely curious about the matter.

"Old Ma is letting me be the presenter for Best Actress."

Cao Yang waited until Old Tian finished speaking before saying this.

Old Tian's eyes widened, "You brat, are you playing with me?"

"Haha..."

Cao Yang laughed, and then explained to Old Tian:

"Old Ma has it tough too. To increase the attention and influence of the Venice Film Festival, he really exhausted all means. As a result, not many of those Hollywood superstars showed up at the opening ceremony, which really hurt Old Ma."

Afterward, he whispered to Old Tian, "Especially those two Hollywood stars with the best chances of winning Best Actor and Best Actress—they didn't even think about coming. There are also quite a few films selected for the main competition where the leads didn't show up either."

Old Tian was stunned. The amount of information in Cao Yang's words was too much, and he didn't know what to ask first.

How do you know who has the best chance of winning Best Actor and Best Actress?

How do you know those Hollywood stars don't plan to come to Venice?

How do you know so much news?

Do you already know who the awards belong to?

"The ones with the best chance of winning Best Actor and Best Actress are Hollywood stars?"

Old Tian tried his best to suppress his curiosity and followed up on Cao Yang's words.

Cao Yang nodded and said, "Isn't that obvious? You know what Old Ma is thinking. Now, to get global attention and maintain influence, he can only compromise with Hollywood as much as possible and try to attract big stars.

Unfortunately, in previous years, the Venice Film Festival kept playing Hollywood stars—promising big awards to lure them in, only to then claim they were resisting Hollywood and giving them nothing... so now the consequences are showing.

The 'boy who cried wolf' has been shouted too many times, and credibility is severely lacking. Now that he really intends to give out awards, others won't come."

Old Tian thought about it; he really hadn't seen many Hollywood stars on the red carpet at the opening ceremony. Most of those walking the red carpet were still Europeans and Asians.

Come to think of it, there were quite a few American films selected for the main competition this time—a full 8 of them. This was unimaginable in previous years, as there were only 21 films in the main competition in total.

Italy itself only had 4 films selected, and two of those were co-productions with other countries.

Hmm, and 5 of them were Chinese-language films.

By this count, the United States plus China plus Italy made a total of 17 films selected for the main competition, leaving only 4 films for the rest of the world.

Of course, it looks like there were more than 4 left for the world and Europe, because among the 4 Italian films, 2 were co-produced with other European countries, and among the 8 American films, 2 were also co-produced with Europe.

Otherwise, Old Ma's extreme approach would definitely have been blasted by the European media.

Old Tian began to understand why Old Ma insisted on having Cao Yang as an award presenter.

"Old Ma released the news that you are the presenter for Best Actor or Best Actress just to attract those Hollywood stars who might win?"

Old Tian asked Cao Yang in a low voice.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly; the influence of this brat Cao Yang is truly immense now. Old Ma actually used him as "bait" to attract Hollywood actors and actresses to Venice.

Will those who had previously decided not to come show up after hearing that Cao Yang is the presenter for Best Actor or Best Actress?

Most likely, yes.

This is an opportunity to meet Cao Yang and get involved with him. As long as one can meet him and get involved, it's always better than having no chance to meet or collaborate.

You have to know that even in Hollywood, Cao Yang rarely attends events and almost never goes to parties. Aside from making movies, he rarely stays in the United States, and many Hollywood stars have no chance to meet him.

Old Tian glanced at Cao Yang and couldn't help but sigh again. This brat is becoming more and more remarkable; even big Hollywood stars have to watch his face.

He suddenly thought of a very interesting promotional interview video that can still be seen online. A while ago, when Cheng Long returned to Xiangjiang to promote "Rush Hour 3," it was probably because the box office of "Rush Hour 3" in North America was constantly being suppressed by "The Fault in Our Stars," which annoyed the Xiangjiang media.

Some media outlets wanted to make up for it in other ways.

So, a reporter asked:

"Jackie, according to reliable sources, you can get a 15% share of 'Rush Hour 3,' while Cao Yang can only get 13% of 'Inception.' Both are A-list productions. Does this mean your status in Hollywood is much higher than Cao Yang's?"

Old Tian wanted to laugh just thinking about Cheng Long's expression at the time.

Cheng Long was clearly stunned, his eyes wide as saucers, looking at the reporter who asked the question; it took him a full twenty seconds to react.

What's interesting is that his first reaction wasn't to scold the reporter, nor was it to answer the question.

His face turned visibly red, and he hurriedly said to the camera, "Director Cao Yang is the director I admire most and the director I respect most. He is also one of the most influential and highly regarded directors in Hollywood."

Afterward, he glared at the reporter for a full few dozen seconds before saying:

"What I get is also called gross, but the full term is 'first dollar gross,' also known as first-dollar gross box office.

You can understand it as the portion the studio gets after subtracting the theater's share from the film's box office revenue, and I get a share from that.

Actors in Hollywood who can get a share are either first-dollar gross or profit-sharing.

But Director Cao Yang gets 'gross,' the full term is just 'gross,' which is a share of the total box office. It's not the same concept as what I get at all, okay? How can my 15% be compared to Director Cao Yang's 13%?

I can tell you responsibly that there are probably no more than 5 directors in Hollywood who can get 'gross.' Do you understand Director Cao Yang's status now?"

After explaining all that, Cheng Long probably still didn't feel it was enough, and asked loudly and angrily, "Do you understand now?"

Old Tian poked Cao Yang's arm and asked very curiously, "Is there no one in Hollywood who dares to offend you now?"

Cao Yang was stunned. Where did this come from?

Could it be that Old Ma's crazy move made Old Tian think of this question?

He hesitated for a moment and asked back:

"Why would the companies or actors who have worked with me want to offend me? Isn't it fun to make money working with me? Isn't it happy to win awards working with me? Do they hate US dollars?

As for those who haven't worked with me yet, why would they want to offend me? Don't they want to work with me in the future? Do they have a grudge against US dollars?"

One difference between the US and the domestic scene is that as long as you can make them money, politics and other factors are not taken into account, at least for now.

Perhaps in another ten years or so, the US will be ruined, and they will be willing to earn less or no money for the sake of some "correctness."

On September 4th, the premiere of Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises" was held. He specifically sent an invitation to Cao Yang, and Cao Yang definitely had to go.

This film was the first movie Jiang Wen shot as a director after being banned from directing for six years, at least in name.

Jiang Wen's fame in Europe is still very high, and the premiere was very lively.

Moreover, among the three actresses in the film, besides Jiang Wen's wife Zhou Yun wearing a tube-top long green dress, Chen Chong and Kong Wei were dressed quite boldly.

One wore a light green long dress with a corset, but the back was completely exposed.

One wore a white long dress with thin straps, not only was the back completely exposed, extending down to the butt crack, but the two pieces of fabric covering the chest in the front were also not large, and the two figure-eight-shaped spheres were quite eye-catching.

Cao Yang recognized this actress wearing the white figure-eight... long dress.

When Cao Yang first got into the Beijing Film Academy, he was quite curious about the Class of '96 performance class, which was two years ahead of him and became famous in later generations, so he specifically went to see them.

Besides Little Swallow, the chubby Yan Danchen, He Lin, and others, the Class of '96 also had a girl with a big mouth, making anyone who looked at her for the first time look at her mouth first.

That was Kong Wei, one of the leading actresses today.

I have to say, some actresses are truly daring in how they dress.

"Director Cao, it’s been many years, you still remember me, right? I remember before your sophomore year, you came to our class quite a few times."

It’s no wonder they say actresses have the advantage when it comes to socializing; Kong Wei directly hooked her arm through Cao Yang’s, and her figure-eight-shaped spheres inadvertently brushed against his arm several times.

"Oh, Weiwei, you know Director Cao? That’s great, look after Director Cao well for me, make sure he’s well taken care of; Director Cao is our honored guest."

Jiang Wen said in a loud, booming voice.

"Hee hee, don't worry, Director Jiang, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Kong Wei said with a smile.

"Hello Director Cao, I am Chen Chong, very happy to meet you."

Chen Chong, on the other side, walked over, reached out her hand, and said.

Cao Yang took the opportunity to break free from Kong Wei’s hand, shook hands with Chen Chong, and said with a smile: "Hello."

He could tell that Chen Chong and Kong Wei were at odds with each other; it seemed the saying "three women make a drama" was proving its worth even more.

"Director Jia, you’ve been here a while?"

Cao Yang saw Jia Zhangke not far away, quickly greeted him, then gave an apologetic smile to Kong Wei and Chen Chong before walking toward Jia Zhangke.

Sigh, sometimes the thing you fear most is meeting actresses who know you and are overly enthusiastic; if they use their feminine advantages to deliberately reminisce with you while ignoring your status, it really is a headache.

"What, run into trouble?"

Jia Zhangke asked with a soft laugh: "Is there someone who can actually make you stumble? That’s truly rare."

Cao Yang sighed and said: "From our school's '96 acting class, we met a few times back when we were students..."

He then shook his head with a bitter smile.

Jia Zhangke laughed, wearing an expression every man understands, and teased: "Understood, understood, couldn't develop a relationship back in school, now they want to get into your... film."

Cao Yang looked at Jia Zhangke with some surprise; he hadn't expected that Old Jia, who usually seemed so serious, actually had this side to him.

After attending the premiere of *The Sun Also Rises*, Cao Yang exchanged thoughts with Jia Zhangke, and sure enough, Old Jia also understood this film that reflected the various extreme states of human desire.

However, Old Jia held reservations about Jiang Wen’s stylistic approach, believing that this unconventional filming style was a bit too casual and might leave people feeling confused.

Fine, if even Old Jia says Jiang Wen’s narrative is too casual, it seems Jiang Wen really does have an excess of desire for expression and is too self-indulgent.

Because Cao Yang arrived in Venice too late, he only managed to catch the premiere of Jiang Wen’s *The Sun Also Rises*, and didn't even make it to the premiere of *Pieta*.

September 8th, the Venice Film Festival reached its final day.

Ma Ding came specifically to find Cao Yang, excitedly telling him that for today's closing ceremony red carpet, many Hollywood stars who hadn't come before had specifically rushed over.

He even specifically mentioned a few names.

For example, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Brody, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, George Clooney, Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and others.

These were all the lead actors from the several American films shortlisted for the main competition unit.

It seems Old Ma’s "crooked strategy" had indeed been effective.

(End of chapter)