Chapter 69: Bellman's Invitation

Cao Yang’s unexpected win of the Golden Lion not only shocked the teachers and students at the Beijing Film Academy, causing quite a stir, but it also left many at the neighboring Central Academy of Drama with their jaws on the floor.

The Central Academy of Drama has a directing department, yes, it does.

Well, in the entertainment industry, the Central Academy of Drama is not known for its directors, but for its actors.

Therefore, the biggest shock at the Central Academy of Drama was among the students in the acting department.

Producing two international Best Actresses in one year, what is this?

This is... a resource package dropped from heaven.

This is the great sugar daddy of actresses!

The Beijing Film Academy truly has an unbroken legacy; one generation grows old, another rises, and they are all willing to come to the Central Academy of Drama to pick actors. Director Cao, you can’t lose that tradition.

What? Liu Ye, who won the Venice Best New Actor award, is from the Central Academy of Drama? Never mind then, Director Cao must be a pure Beijing Film Academy director.

When will Director Cao grace the Central Academy of Drama with a visit? "Cao Girl" sounds pretty good.

At the same time, traditional media began to exert their influence.

"Last night, the 58th Venice International Film Festival came to a close. 'Empty House,' directed by our country's famous young director Cao Yang, swept the awards, taking home the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion for Best Actress, and the Silver Lion for Best New Actor, becoming the biggest winner."

"Following Hou Xiaoxian, Zhang Yimou, and Cai Mingliang, our country's famous young director Cao Yang has once again won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the fourth person in the country to achieve this."

"At the 58th Venice International Film Festival, which concluded early yesterday morning, 'Empty House,' directed by famous director Cao Yang, achieved a total victory, not only taking the top prize, the Golden Lion, but also helping Yu Feihong win Best Actress and Liu Ye win Best New Actor."

"One gold, two silvers, the Chinese-language film 'Empty House' takes the crown. At the Venice Film Festival awards ceremony held last night, the famous Cao Yang became the biggest winner."

"Following Gong Li, Yu Feihong has become the second domestic actress to win at Venice. Last night..."

This is the first wave, focusing primarily on reporting the news. In subsequent reports, they will definitely dig into his personal resume; that is the convention.

Compared to the internet, traditional media already had a lag.

With traditional media combined with the massive amount of online coverage, even those who don't pay much attention to the entertainment industry knew that a director named Cao Yang had won the Golden Lion in Venice.

Is the Venice Golden Lion that impressive?

Oh, only Zhang Yimou from the mainland has won it before? Then it really is a big deal.

Nowadays, there are two and a half widely recognized "big directors" who frequently appear in mainland media reports: Zhang Yimou counts as one, Chen Kaige counts as one, and "Little Cannon" counts as half.

Those who didn't know the truth looked into it a little and realized that the reason Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou are big directors is because they won top-tier awards, namely the Golden Lion and the Palme d'Or.

No matter how high his box office is, "Little Cannon" only counts as half because he has no major awards.

Then they suddenly realized, is that guy named Cao Yang also a big director now? Does that mean there's one more big director in the country?

Doesn't that make it three and a half?

"Little Cannon" expressed that he was very hurt. It’s not like anyone doesn't want to win awards; I have an artist's heart too.

Indeed, when "Little Cannon" heard that Cao Yang had won the Golden Lion, he sat there in silence for a long time.

The Golden Lion award, that’s the fucking Golden Lion. Since when was the Golden Lion so easy to win? A twenty-something youngster just casually brought back a Venice Golden Lion!

What the fuck!

The directors from the Beijing Film Academy are all crazy. Why not just film properly and develop the domestic market? Why the fuck go abroad to win some award? It’s as if the "Big Three" in Europe are so amazing.

The European Big Three... if I could win one of the European Big Three, I’d trade ten years... no, five... three years... yeah, I’d trade two years of my life for it.

Regardless of the heated discussions erupting domestically, Cao Yang was unaware for the moment; he was currently attending a private cocktail party hosted by Sony Classics.

Generally, large European cocktail parties are very cumbersome and troublesome; one must understand the etiquette, the order of the meal, the rules for taking food, and various taboos.

A private cocktail party is much more casual, with fewer people, mostly friends or acquaintances; it’s similar to a dinner party among friends back home.

The only difference might be a few more "desserts." "Mr. Cao, congratulations on winning the Golden Lion."

Bellman, one of the heads of the marketing department at Sony Classics, walked over with a glass of wine and sat down next to Cao Yang.

A European actress who had just come over wanting to meet Cao Yang left very tactfully. Before leaving, she slipped a note with a phone number and room number to Cao Yang.

Don't, I'm not that kind of person.

Cao Yang wanted to throw it away, but Bellman was right there; how rude would that be? He could only put it in his pocket for now, planning to throw it away later.

"Thank you."

Cao Yang clinked glasses with Bellman and took a sip.

"The Golden Lion is the result of our joint efforts. My success cannot be separated from the help of Sony Classics and the support of Mr. Bellman."

"This is what I should do, and it is in our mutual interest."

Bellman spoke very politely, then tentatively asked: "Director Cao, now that you have won the Golden Lion, what are your plans for the future?"

!

Cao Yang hesitated for a moment, but still said: "I have an idea, and I might film another movie before the end of the year."

The reason for his hesitation was that Cao Yang was very afraid that Bellman would offer to invest in the name of Sony Classics.

He only makes low-budget art films, he isn't short on funds, and he doesn't need to control risks. It’s a guaranteed profit, so he doesn't need outside capital at all.

If Bellman didn't know his place, and they were working together quite well, would you say yes or no?

If you say yes, it feels a bit like you're letting this son of a bitch take advantage of you.

If you don't say yes, you might need help conquering the European Big Three next time, and besides, Cao Yang is also interested in chasing an Oscar.

When he makes commercial films in the future, large investments will come with large risks. To spread the risk, he might look for some outside capital.

The reason Cao Yang said it out loud was that he had made up his mind: if Sony Classics wanted to invest, he would politely refuse, and then continue the same form of cooperation as with "Empty House." Actually, this form of cooperation is quite good; besides, he is now a Golden Lion-winning director and can command a price.

Bellman didn't mention investment at all, but asked directly: "Director Cao, have you ever thought about taking our cooperation a step further? You come to Hollywood, and we work together to produce a film that can both chase an Oscar and go to the European Big Three."

"Go to Hollywood?"

To be honest, Cao Yang was a bit tempted. These days, developing in Hollywood is highly sought after. Going there to chase an Oscar is also very prestigious; it’s a good thing that brings both fame and fortune.

The only concern is that if he goes to Hollywood now, unless he organizes the project himself to make an independent film, it is difficult to grasp the initiative. A major feature of Hollywood is the producer-centered system.

Unless you are a big director like Spielberg or Cameron, you don't even have basic editing rights, and sometimes directors aren't even allowed in the editing room afterward.

Without editing rights, it means that what you film and what you want might be very different from what is edited.

Being uncontrollable means there is a risk of failure.

This is something Cao Yang cannot accept; he cannot do things that ruin his own reputation.

"Mr. Bellman, we are on the same side, so I will speak the truth."

"I generally need to truly control the crew when I make a movie, edit the film myself, and do the post-production. I have the final say on what the finished film looks like; no one can interfere."

"You can consider this a director's confidence, at least until I fail."

(End of chapter)