enjoyebooks Chapter 46: Opening Ceremony
Chapter 46: Opening Ceremony
February 8, Beijing Capital International Airport.
The airport was already bustling in the early morning, with passengers dragging suitcases through the departure hall, and flight information being announced over the loudspeakers in both Chinese and English.
When Liu Yu arrived, Zhong Lifang was already waiting at the entrance of the departure hall, wearing a dark gray coat and with her assistant dragging two large suitcases. She looked more like she was moving house than attending a film festival.
"Boss, this suitcase is way too light!" Zhong Lifang frowned as she glanced at the carry-on suitcase in Liu Yu's hand.
I only brought a few changes of clothes.
"Where's the suit?"
"I'm wearing it."
Zhong Lifang looked him up and down. He was wearing a black down jacket and a white shirt, which looked fairly formal.
"Are you planning to wear this to the opening ceremony in Berlin too?" Zhong Lifang asked, sounding a little worried.
"We'll change it then."
Zhong Lifang sighed and said nothing more.
She has been working with Liu Yu for two years and has gotten used to his minimalism.
When traveling for business, I always bring only one carry-on suitcase; I'll bring as few items as possible, never more.
Li Xuejian was the second to arrive, wearing a black cotton-padded jacket, a baseball cap, and carrying an old canvas bag and a suitcase.
Liu Yu went to help him with his suitcase, but he waved his hand, saying, "No need, it's not heavy."
When Song Dandan arrived, the scene became lively.
She was wearing a red down jacket, followed by an assistant who was pushing two large suitcases with several shopping bags hanging on them.
As soon as she saw Liu Yu, she exclaimed, "Liu Yu! Why are you dressed so lightly? It's cold in Berlin! It's several degrees below zero!"
"Teacher Song, it's very warm."
"Is your coat thick enough? It looks like just a jacket to me."
Liu Yu opened his mouth but couldn't catch it; Song Dandan had already turned to chat with Zhong Lifang.
Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli were the last to arrive.
Liu Yifei wore a white down jacket, making her look like a little snowman, with only her face showing.
Liu Xiaoli walked behind, dragging a large suitcase and carrying a bag on her shoulder.
Liu Yifei smiled when she saw Liu Yu, "Director Liu, good morning."
"Good morning, have you eaten?"
"I ate it. My mom cooked wontons."
...
The group waited in the departure lounge, some chatting, some looking at their phones.
Liu Yu sat next to Li Xuejian. Neither of them spoke much; they just sat there quietly.
Li Xuejian took the thermos out of his bag, unscrewed the lid, took a sip, screwed it back on, and put it back.
Han Sanping arrived with the crew of "Peacock".
Gu Changwei was wearing a gray jacket, similar in style to Li Xuejian's hat, but in a different color.
Jiang Wenli walked beside him, wearing a long black coat, her hair tied up, looking very capable, with an expression as if she was enduring something.
Liu Yu thought to himself, she probably didn't want to come, but she had no choice.
If her husband's film is nominated for Berlin Film Festival, and she, as his wife, doesn't accompany him, the media will say that "the couple's relationship is breaking down"; if she does accompany him, the media will bring up the old stories of the "Peacock" crew and stir them up again.
No matter what I do, it's wrong; no matter what I do, I'll be criticized.
Zhang Jinchu wore a beige coat, her hair was loose, and she wore light makeup. She looked very gentle, but there was a sense of distance in that gentleness.
Liu Yu noticed that Jiang Wenli's gaze kept drifting towards Zhang Jinchu out of the corner of her eye, several times, and each time it drifted over, the muscles at the corner of her mouth would twitch slightly.
He thought to himself that the gossip from last year must have been true, otherwise Jiang Wenli wouldn't have reacted this way.
Everyone in the industry knows what's going on in the "Peacock" crew. Zhang Jinchu wanted to become a mistress and take over Gu Changwei's position. Gu Changwei couldn't resist, and Jiang Wenli caused a scene on set, making a huge fuss.
Han Sanping walked over and patted Liu Yu on the shoulder. "Liu Yu, this time we're representing Chinese cinema. Two feature films have been shortlisted for the main competition at Berlin. This is an honor for China Film Group, an honor for Beijing Film Academy, and an honor for all of you filmmakers."
.....
Boarding.
A ten-hour flight is neither long nor short.
Liu Yu took a nap, and when he woke up, the plane was already over Europe.
At 2 p.m. Berlin time, the plane landed at Tegel Airport.
Liu Yu buttoned up his coat and followed the crowd out of the covered bridge.
In the arrival hall, someone was holding up a sign that read "Liu Yu - Hearing Girl".
The man holding the sign was a white man in his thirties with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a black trench coat. He looked like a bodyguard or an agent.
Liu Yu walked over and greeted him in English.
The other person smiled and extended his hand. "Mr. Liu, welcome to Berlin. I'm David, in charge of your arrangements here."
Liu Yu grasped his hand. "Thank you, David."
Then he turned to Li Xuejian, Song Dandan and the others and introduced, "This is David, the person in charge of our trip to Berlin."
He didn't elaborate on David's identity. David was the head of the North American branch of the former Wave Pictures, and was previously a producer at MGM. He was poached by Chung Lai-Fang last year.
Liu Yu had informed him in advance of his trip to Berlin, asking him to help arrange some local matters.
David was efficient; three black Mercedes-Benzes were already waiting at the door, their bodies gleaming and reflecting a blinding light in the sunlight.
Gu Changwei and his group also had acquaintances to help them, not to mention Han Sanping, who had an overseas branch of China Film Group that was specifically responsible for this kind of matter.
Han Sanping got into another car and said to Liu Yu before leaving, "Let's have dinner together tonight."
...
The three cars left the airport and drove along the highway towards the city.
Liu Yu leaned against the car window, watching the scenery rushing past outside, and suddenly felt a sense of emotion.
This is his first time in Berlin. He had never been here in his past life, and he never thought he would come in this one.
He never imagined that one day he would be bringing a film to an international film festival.
It's not that I'm afraid to think about it, it's that I've never thought about it in that direction.
His goal has always been to make movies that audiences love to watch, make money, support the company, and support the team.
The hotel was arranged by the organizing committee and is located in the center of Berlin, not far from the main venue of the film festival.
The hotel has a very high-quality feel, with dark wooden floors in the lobby, several black and white photos hanging on the walls, and a grand piano in the corner.
The organizing committee only arranged two rooms because each film crew only had two slots.
Liu Yu slept in one room, and Zhong Lifang slept in another.
The rooms for Li Xuejian, Song Dandan, Liu Yifei and her daughter, and Luo Jing were booked in advance by Zhong Lifang at Liu Yu's request. There were four rooms, all on the same floor.
After settling his luggage, Liu Yu stood in the room for a while, looking at the street scene outside the window.
Berlin has wide streets, low buildings, and a vast sky.
He took out his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to Yan Danchen via QQ, with the caption: "Berlin, arrived."
She didn't reply; she must be filming.
Zhong Lifang knocked on the door.
"Boss, it's time to sign in."
Liu Yu put on his coat and went out with Zhong Lifang.
I ran into Liu Yifei in the elevator. She was wearing a white wool coat, jeans, and sneakers, like she was going shopping.
"Director Liu, where are you going?"
"Check-in. Are you going or not?"
"Go!" Her eyes lit up.
Luo Jing also came out of the room. "I'm going too."
The four of them left the hotel and walked along the street toward the film festival organizing committee.
The wind in Berlin is very strong in winter, and it feels like a knife cutting into your face. Liu Yifei pulled her scarf up, almost covering half of her face, leaving only her eyes showing.
Those eyes blinked over the scarf, like two black grapes.
"Are you cold?" Liu Yu asked her with a smile.
"I'm not cold," her voice came from behind the scarf, muffled.
Your nose is red.
"It's not cold."
...
The film festival organizing committee's office is in an old building, with the Berlin Film Festival flag hanging at the entrance, in blue and white.
There were already quite a few people inside, of all skin colors and languages, gathered together like a miniature United Nations.
The staff at the window took Liu Yu's information, checked it, and then wrote down his name and movie information in a notebook.
The staff member looked up and said in English, "Welcome to Berlin, Mr. Liu."
After saying thank you, Liu Yu took the document bag from the staff member and stepped aside.
The information packet contained the film festival schedule, a map, invitations, and a booklet with introductions to all the shortlisted films.
After checking in, the group stood at the entrance of the organizing committee for a while.
Chung Lai-fang took out her phone to look at the map. "There's a movie market nearby. Shall we go check it out?"
Liu Yu said he would go, Liu Yifei said she would go too, and Luo Jing said, "I'll go with you."
The film market was located in an exhibition center with a large hall.
The room was filled with booths, each representing a country or a film company. The booths were piled with posters, brochures, and sample DVDs, and people sat behind the booths, standing up to introduce the products to anyone who came to inquire.
When Liu Yu walked in, he felt like he had entered a vegetable market, except instead of vegetables, it was selling movies.
Liu Yu stopped in front of a booth, picked up a brochure and flipped through it. It had posters and synopses for several movies, some from Europe, some from Asia, and some from Latin America.
He put the brochure back and continued walking.
Chung Lai-fong followed beside him, occasionally whispering in his ear, "This one is French, specializing in art films." "This one is Japanese, they've bought the rights to a lot of Asian films." "This one is American, they make independent films, they're not like the Big Six."
Liu Yifei followed behind, her eyes darting around like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden for the first time.
After walking around, three film distributors approached me, handed me their business cards, and expressed their intention to purchase my film.
One is from Europe, one is from North America, and one is from Asia.
The European company offered the highest price, $3.2 million, to buy out the copyright and remake rights for the entire European market.
When Zhong Lifang heard the number, her eyebrows twitched slightly, but her face remained expressionless.
On the way back to the hotel, Zhong Lifang said to Liu Yu, "Three million two hundred thousand US dollars, which is more than twenty-six million RMB. Our film only cost seven million to make. If we agree to their offer, we'll earn almost four times that amount just in Europe."
She paused, "That doesn't even include copyrights in North America, Asia, and other regions."
Liu Yu nodded. "No rush, let's wait a bit longer. There are still ten days until the film festival, so there will be other opportunities later."
Zhong Lifang glanced at him and said, "Boss, you're quite composed."
"It's not that I'm patient, it's that I know the price hasn't hit its limit yet." Liu Yu put his hands in his coat pockets and quickened his pace. "Films that are shortlisted for the competition section don't have to worry about selling. Selling them now is at wholesale price; after the premiere and the word-of-mouth comes out, that's retail price. You understand the difference between wholesale and retail better than I do."