[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta":3,"chapter-the-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta-the-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta-chapter-105":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Playboy of Huayu: How Did a Celestial Immortal Transform Me?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2297731,4495,"Chapter 105: Avant-Garde Tea Party","the-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta-chapter-105",105,"\u003Cp>As if by coincidence, following the example of the white woman just now, another white man who looked like a thin bamboo pole soon came over to show his press pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Kuan patted Liu Yifei on the forearm, signaling her to interpret for Gong Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had brought her along specifically for socializing and getting her face known, and since Liu Yifei’s English was fine, this was the perfect time for her to be useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Gong Li was the jury president for this year’s festival; even if she had a million curses in her heart, she could only maintain a smile to cope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sending off the last reporter, this film queen grabbed her wine glass and gulped it down, a great way to quench her thirst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yifei, your English is so good, and you look so young?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young girl said naively, \"Sister Gong Li, I spent a few years in America, so I can speak a little English.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Kuan added, \"She just got into the Performance Department at the Beijing Film Academy this year and is still in the learning stage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His own cultural course results had also been released in late July, and with the immense effort Fan Bingbing had put into helping him, he had managed to pass by a narrow margin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two were now classmates in the same year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Gong Li was suspicious, she didn't ask further, and everyone turned to chat about the Chinese-language films competing this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A total of seven Chinese-language films were shortlisted for Venice this year, but only *Whiplash* from the mainland entered the main competition section.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang’s *Springtime in a Small Town* and Lu Chuan’s *The Missing Gun* both entered the \"Upstream\" section.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other four were all from Hong Kong and Macau; it could be said that Chinese-language films were relatively on the decline this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lu Tianmin contacted me; his son Lu Chuan arrives tomorrow, along with Wang Xiaolei from Huayi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huayi was the financier for *The Missing Gun*, and they were following along to market and sell the film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang laughed, \"I had a heavy drinking session with Jiang Wen a few days ago, and it turned out he caught a bad cold and couldn't come.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thought stirred in Lu Kuan’s mind; enemies often cross paths on narrow roads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xiaolei had previously come up with a vicious scheme for the young scion to intercept *Chinese Paladin* and lay a hand on Liu Yifei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Added to the matter of Lu Changchun, the heart-stricken Boss Lu had already begun to suspect if it was instigated by that scumbag Liu Zeyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scumbags recognize scumbags; one look is all it takes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you offend the abbot, you can't leave; if you offend Boss Lu, you won't end up well!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang nodded silently; he had come on this trip, of course, to help boost the score for *Whiplash* in front of Gong Li, the jury president.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li mentioned that Lu Tianmin and Huayi had also contacted her, though she didn't say the next sentence out loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the meaning was self-evident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being fellow countrymen, she would certainly do her utmost to help Chinese-language films reach the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But first, they had to be worthy of it; as jury president, she couldn't just arbitrarily dictate things, especially now that she was facing such immense public opinion pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the producer, for Tian Zhuangzhuang to be willing to step forward and negotiate with Gong Li was already contrary to his indifferent nature, so he just smiled and didn't mention it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among smart people, where is the need to spell every sentence out so clearly? Doing so would only make things awkward for everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Kuan didn't mind; winning an award would naturally be best, but even if they didn't win, they wouldn't lose money given the film's quality and Zhou Jielun’s popularity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn't even counting the advertising revenue and the breach-of-contract fees from Xie Tingfeng and the others!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The film festival was set to open tomorrow evening, and Gong Li had a lot of work to attend to, so the group politely took their leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sea breeze brushed coolly over the three as they walked back to the hotel; Lu Kuan draped his suit jacket over Liu Yifei and chatted idly with Tian Zhuangzhuang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Lu, actually, you could have waited for Cannes next year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Kuan understood what he meant; he was worried that the tone of *Whiplash* didn't fit the film festival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three major European festivals each had their own style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Berlin leaned toward politics and social issues; it was called a political reformatory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Venice leaned toward art and the avant-garde; it was called an avant-garde tea party.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cannes leaned toward a combination of commerce and art; it was called a gimmick auction house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A literary yet commercially-inclined film like *Whiplash* was undoubtedly best suited for Cannes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, from the perspective of selling films, Cannes had the world's largest film trading market; even though Venice was honored as the world's first film festival, it couldn't compare in this regard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But clearly, Boss Lu had also considered this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not believe that *Whiplash*, which had been modified by his own hands and achieved a certain balance between art and commerce, would be without achievement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Tian, have you noticed that there is a big difference in this year's Venice?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The posters hanging at the entrance of the celebrity hotel we just passed, and the red carpet preview for tomorrow, all conveyed a lot of information.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang was taken aback: \"You mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Liu, let me test you. Which stars did you see on the posters just now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Yifei hugged Lu Kuan’s oversized suit jacket tight, still playfully stepping on his shadow under the streetlamp; she put on a thoughtful look when she heard this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Gwyneth, and... I don't really recognize the others.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang suddenly realized: \"Hollywood?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to say much about Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harrison Ford was the lead in *Star Wars*, *Blade Runner*, and *Indiana Jones*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gwyneth was the lead in *Emma*, *Shakespeare in Love*, *Iron Man*, and *The Avengers*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, there is one Little Liu didn't recognize: that oldest Italian actress, Sophia Loren.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Yifei said in surprise: \"Is it her? Italy's eternal goddess?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, she was also the first foreign film queen in Oscar history; in other words, she also carries the Hollywood label.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Tian, don't you find it strange?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang laughed: \"Now that you mention it, it is quite strange. Since when has Venice been so welcoming to Hollywood people!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Friends familiar with film know that Venice is the most anti-Hollywood of the three major festivals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2001, the slogan for Venice was \"Down with Hollywood Imperialism.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2003, the slogan for Venice was \"60th Anniversary of Declaring War on Hollywood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what about 2002?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was called \"Embracing Diversity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was that the Venice Film Festival president changed to Moritz de Hadeln in 2002.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that Harden who was drained dry by the Kardashians, but the former Berlin Film Festival president, de Hadeln.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the first foreign national to serve as president in the history of the Venice Film Festival and pushed through a series of bold reform plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This included inviting Gong Li to serve as the jury president for this year and inviting a host of Oscar-winning actors and actresses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was, of course, also in Boss Lu’s calculations; after all, the president and the jury were announced months in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, the narrative art and lens language of this originally literary-leaning *Whiplash* had already been altered by Lu Kuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason he had looked for Xie Tingfeng before, and later for \"traffic\" stars like Zhou Jielun and Liu Yifei to star in it, was to strike a balance between commerce and art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the original film was already a darling of America's Sundance and the Golden Globe Awards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This could be considered a small push along the current.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking all the way to the hotel where they were staying, Lu Kuan wanted to send Liu Yifei upstairs first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, the young girl insisted on staying, and very cutely ordered lemonade for the two of them, sitting to the side with her hands supporting her chin, eyes wide open, listening to Lu Kuan ramble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boss Lu didn't bother with her; it was good for her to see the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I feel that the variables for this year's Venice are huge; purely literary and avant-garde films might not be popular, so I rushed to catch the last bus.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Zhuangzhuang habitually wanted to touch his beard, but forgot that he had already shaved it off himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Yifei interjected: \"Then with Sister Gong Li there, don't we have a great chance?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Kuan shook his head with a smile: \"The jury president has a say, but it is definitely not as big as you imagine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The rules for the award competition at Cannes and Venice, although it is one vote per person on the jury, are a bit similar to the domestic system.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Democratic centralism!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1542,"2026-06-20T06:05:17.358Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","68933896c3e543a2c6ef27213f341daa754211dfe0bea049c1ced9b1c1d403d0","the-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta-chapter-106","the-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta-chapter-104",343,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-playboy-of-huayu-how-did-a-celestial-immorta-cover.jpg"]