enjoyebooks Chapter 34 Ratings and Premiere
Chapter 34 Ratings and Premiere
Roger Sutherland left the terrace with a heavier gait than when he arrived.
He had assumed that this 19-year-old Chinese boy would be like other eager to break into Hollywood, demanding film contracts, money, or vague titles.
But to his utter surprise, Lin Ruiyang wanted a list of failures.
"What an interesting newcomer."
This is also how Roger currently describes Lin Ruiyang.
As for public relations related to the awards, that's the last thing he needs to worry about.
The jury president, Roland Emmerich, and one of the members, Argentine director Gabriela Tagrivani, are both long-time clients of CAA.
With Bai Ling's attitude so obvious, if he can't even win an award, he might as well find a block of tofu and kill himself.
On the morning of February 16, before the light fog had lifted in Berlin, the festival's official publication, Screen International, appeared as scheduled in the lobbies of major hotels and at distribution points in the Palais des Festivals.
It is independently scored by a jury of senior film critics from various countries, with a maximum score of 4 points.
For all the filmmakers involved in the competition, these few pages are the verdict, and also the guiding force that will determine the copyright transaction prices in the coming days.
When the fat man rushed in from outside the door, Lin Ruiyang was sitting on the edge of the bed buttoning his shirt.
He waved a program booklet still smelling of ink, his expression like someone who'd won the lottery but dared not shout it: "Old Lin—three points! We got three points!"
Lin Ruiyang took the program booklet that the fat man handed him and examined it carefully.
A score of 3.0 means that, in the eyes of more than ten top international film critics, this film has a mature artistic level, but it does not have the overwhelming feeling of directly reaching the top.
What he cares about most is media coverage.
Variety: This film demonstrates amazing control, especially the two leads—Hao Lei and Guo Xiaodong.
They delivered the most nuanced and heartbreaking performances of this year's film festival so far. They weren't acting; they were living life.
The Hollywood Reporter: Ryan Lam dissects the collapse of a family with an almost brutal calm.
Although the director is only nineteen years old, his lens reveals a soul that has weathered many storms. This is a film about actors, whose powerful performances support the entire narrative structure.
In 05, the internet was in the midst of a portal website boom. Despite the eight-hour time difference, every move Berlin made had a significant impact on the domestic film and television industry.
The homepages of China's three major entertainment portals have all been updated with the latest news from Berlin.
"Great news! Lin Ruiyang, a sophomore at the Beijing Film Academy, has given the film a 3.0 rating in the Berlin Film Festival's daily publication, currently ranking first among Chinese-language films!"
"Hao Lei and Guo Xiaodong have been praised for their superb acting skills and are expected to win Best Actor and Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival."
"The work of a second-year student from Beijing Film Academy received high praise in Berlin, with 'A Farewell' currently ranking in the top three in the program's ratings."
The Beijing Film Academy's campus forum was in an uproar the day the news broke.
A post titled "Literature Department Lin Ruiyang's Berlin Publication 3.0!" was pushed to the front page and scrolled through more than a dozen pages in just a few hours.
The discussion in the building was filled with amazement, especially when the literature students repeated the words that the directing students had previously used to look down on others, which instantly resonated with everyone.
Liu Yibing sat in his office, looking at the various reports that were coming back, a relieved smile appearing on his lips.
He picked up the phone and called an old friend who was far away in Xi'an:
"Old buddy, our literature department is probably going to produce an extraordinary person this time."
On the evening of February 16, Lin Ruiyang brought Fatty to the premiere of "The Sky Is a Cloud".
As Tsai Ming-liang led Li Kang-sheng and Chen Hsiang-chi onto the red carpet, two reporters from Taiwan squeezed to the front and shouted a short greeting in Hokkien. Tsai Ming-liang paused for a moment and waved to them.
As the credits finished rolling, the lights came on. The applause wasn't enthusiastic, but it wasn't sparse either.
Several European journalists were the first to stand up and walk out, their expressions a mixture of confusion and approval.
Lin Ruiyang had seen this kind of expression in Venice. It usually meant that the film hadn't left the viewer unmoved, but it hadn't completely satisfied either, with some parts being incomprehensible.
The following day at noon, Lin Ruiyang received a text message from Tian Zhuangzhuang. He and Liu Yibing had already arrived in Berlin; there was no need to worry about them for now.
At 5 p.m., Lin Ruiyang led the crew of "A Farewell" out of the main entrance of the Hyatt Hotel.
The red carpet was a cacophony of camera shutters, with domestic reporters shouting, "Hao Lei, look here!" International student fans holding movie posters also stopped to get Guo Xiaodong's autograph.
In contrast to the restraint shown at the media screening, this time the audience consisted of ordinary film fans from all over the world attending the film festival, and the cinema was packed to capacity.
When the lights went out, Lin Ruiyang sat in the middle of the crew. To his left was Hao Lei, who was nervously rubbing her hands repeatedly, and to his right was Guo Xiaodong, who was taking deep breaths to try to calm down.
As the plot unfolds, the argument between the husband and wife about whether to stay or leave transcends language and cultural barriers. During the final courtroom scene, when the little girl has to choose between two ends of the corridor, Lin Ruiyang clearly heard the breathing in the entire screening room seem to freeze in unison.
The moment the end credits rolled and the lights came on, the audience behind them instantly stood up.
Their applause was not a sparse, polite clapping, but a rhythmic clapping that lasted for several minutes, occasionally interspersed with shouts of "Bravo!" in German.
Lin Ruiyang stood in the center of the spotlight, leading the actors in a deep bow. As he straightened up, the lights were so bright he couldn't see the people in the back rows. He glanced in the direction he had seen Liu Yibing and the others in the crowd before entering the hall.
After the premiere ended, the noise gradually subsided.
When Roger Sutherland reappeared before him, he was holding a letter of intent.
"Lin, today's screening exceeded our expectations." Roger emphasized the word "we" slightly.
Lin Ruiyang took the contract, glanced at it briefly, and saw that it was a near-A grade.
"And here's the report you requested, from headquarters." Roger handed him a sealed manila folder.
"It includes two recently aborted science fiction projects from DreamWorks, as well as a discarded horror film prototype from WarnerMedia."
Some scripts are indeed terrible, but some... were simply born at the wrong time. I believe that with your discerning eye, you can smell the scent of money and fame in these corpses.
Lin Ruiyang took the paper bag and felt its weight.
He knew this was more than just information; it was his ticket to Hollywood fame.
"Roger, what do you think of my previous suggestions regarding public relations?" Lin Ruiyang asked in a low voice.
"Since you value acting awards more, I will have the PR team focus the reporting on the authenticity of the performances and the cross-cultural emotional resonance."
I remember there's a saying in China: "You can't have your cake and eat it too," but Lin, your ambitions are vast.
"This is all for our longer-term cooperation. I will tell you my goals after you have read the report."
Lin Ruiyang looked at the huge silver bear sculpture outside.
"Now that the seeds have been planted, let's wait and see what kind of flowers spring will bloom in Berlin."