novellhall Chapter 16: Other People's Geniuses
Chapter 16: Other People's Geniuses
The closing ceremony and awards ceremony were on the same day, and the Berlin Film Festival officially ended in the afternoon, with the Palais des Festivals closing.
This film festival is destined to be a topic of great interest among the Chinese people.
In terms of feature film awards, another director from mainland China has won one of the three major European awards. Although the film market is gradually being dominated by commercial films, these art-house awards still occupy a mainstream position.
As for short films, Gu Qing's Golden Bear Award was the first short film award in mainland China.
Most importantly, Gu Qing is only twenty-three years old! He has already won an award at such a young age, and no one can know what he will achieve in the future.
"A 23-year-old Golden Bear winner has unlimited potential for future achievements. What am I doing at my age? Still carrying a camera."
"It's a short film Golden Bear, not in the same league as a feature film, so don't confuse them."
"Forget about feature films or short films, let me ask you this: isn't this award the same as the Golden Bear for feature films? Isn't it the Golden Bear Award?!"
"Judging from the old man's description, this seems to be a sci-fi short film, a time loop? I'd like to see it."
"At least it's not some arthouse film that won an award. It's sci-fi thriller, a great movie! I want the DVD, I'll pay a lot!"
"This type of sci-fi film only has a future if it's made in foreign countries. If this film were made in China, it would probably be criticized to death."
"What's it to you if art-house films aren't good? Domestic or foreign films? Good films will always be appreciated!"
"Isn't that Ning Hao next to him? What's his relationship with this director?"
"Fan Binbin is so beautiful."
The domestic chat environment is like this: from any given issue, it will always inevitably lead to discussions about evidence, and sometimes even something risqué.
But no matter how you put it, the topic always gets blown up.
It was especially infuriating when foreigners questioned the film's quality, arguing that China didn't have any good science fiction films. But upon closer reflection, they were right.
However, Gu Qing's performance did not disappoint. Just because it didn't happen now doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. Besides, you can't question whether the only student who got a perfect score cheated, can you?
Whose work did you copy? I'm asking you.
If you have that ability, why don't you bring out the copy you were plagiarizing?
Besides Jing Tian, who has been paying close attention to Gu Qing, Han Sanping from China Film Group also follows the story and is even aware of the reviews of "The Dilemma" at the Berlin Film Festival.
"Good lad, you really didn't disappoint me, you actually brought home a Golden Bear."
Han Sanping sat in front of his computer, reading the report, and was overjoyed. He never expected that playing chess would actually bring such an unexpected reward.
Perfect timing, he's a commercial film director, so he doesn't have to worry about so many things.
Aside from these two, the students from the Beijing Film Academy's photography department were perhaps the ones who felt the most complex emotions about Gu Qing winning the award.
Previously, many students privately mocked Gu Qing for making a short film. They said that even the orthodox students hadn't made a short film, and Gu Qing, from a self-taught college, dared to sign up for a film festival.
To everyone's surprise, he actually managed to get it done.
The most important question now is whether or not to hang the banner.
Fortunately, the leaders of Beijing Film Academy no longer need to worry, as the neighboring School of Photography has already been accepted.
Congratulations to Gu Qing, an outstanding graduate of my photography academy, for winning the Golden Bear for Short Film at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival!
The dean of the photography department is already considering whether the department should reopen a course. With Ning Hao in the past and Gu Qing in the future, they might just become the top-tier major at Beijing Film Academy!
The new round of art exams is just around the corner, and maybe it will bring in more students for the academy.
Photography Department: !!!
Increase funding! We absolutely must increase funding!
Photography students are required to submit a short film each this semester, and they must film it carefully and upload it to the school.
Gu Qing never imagined that his actions would lead to changes in the academy.
At this point, he was being offered money by people so eagerly that he was overwhelmed by the choices.
While winning awards can increase a film's value, the film itself has commercial attributes and is undoubtedly a hot commodity.
Films like Wang Quan'an's "Tuya's Marriage" can make money, but not too much, because it's an art film.
Of course, with the endorsement of the Golden Bear, there will be no shortage of buyers.
Gu Qing's predicament is packed with commercial and award-winning elements.
Many film distributors have offered their prices, which are now far higher than the usual Golden Bear short films.
"Gu, $120,000 is my bottom line."
"Mr. Harvey, I need to reconsider this."
After politely declining the dinner invitation, Gu Qing rubbed her eyes.
The other party was the notorious owner of Max Films, and many newcomers had suffered at his hands.
It's fine to have him act in movies, but asking him to do this kind of commercial collaboration is really baffling.
The bidding, negotiation, bargaining, and bottom line involved are all things he is not good at.
Ning Hao has already taken Xing Aina to Hollywood for their honeymoon. Even if she were still here, she probably wouldn't be good at this kind of thing.
Having no other choice, he turned to Chen Zhou, hoping he could help.
"Haha, I knew you'd come looking for me."
Tell me your demands and bottom line, and I'll talk to you.
Chen Zhou laughed and accepted the request.
Anyway, China Film Group was going to buy a batch of films at the film festival, so it was a convenient thing to do. The most important thing was to make a good impression on this Golden Bear director with unlimited potential.
China Film Group was very efficient. While Gu Qing was still out buying sausages, Chen Zhou told him that the matter had been taken care of.
The purchaser was Lionsgate, the studio behind "Saw," which acquired the North American film and television rights for five years, including DVDs, for $450,000.
There was no mention of adaptation rights. In Hollywood, you can find scripts like that if you want to.
Many blockbuster movie scripts are even products from ten years ago; it's just that no one knew they would succeed until the moment of success.
"Gu, are you interested in making a movie in Hollywood? I can approve anything under five million dollars."
"You should know James Wan. His 'Saw' series was a huge hit. Your styles are very similar, so I'm sure you'll have an interest in exchanging ideas."
"Hollywood is the paradise of science fiction movies."
"Thank you. I've always longed to be a part of Hollywood, but I don't have that plan right now. My country needs me."
As Gu Qing signed his name on the contract, the bearded man opposite him extended an olive branch at the opportune moment.
Although Gu Qing is a newcomer, the script and filming techniques of "Dilemma" are clearly not the work of a novice. It is obvious that a genius is a genius from the start.
To his surprise, Gu Qing refused.
Gu Qing isn't stupid. If it were a few years ago, during the period of domestic market development, it would have been perfectly acceptable for him to go to Hollywood to gain fame and experience.
Now that the mainland market is open, why bother running around?
Furthermore, what can a five million dollar project accomplish, especially under the rules of Hollywood?
John Woo went abroad for a trip and suddenly had a breakthrough.
"I thought you were going to try your luck in Hollywood."
Chen Zhou said, seemingly somewhat surprised.
"The domestic market will always be my base. Besides, a Golden Bear winner who doesn't have a single feature film would be a laughing stock."
"Haha, you're even making fun of yourself now. With this start, you're already ahead of who knows how many people."
Gu Qing smiled and continued with her own business.
After the North American rights were sold, several groups of distributors came to Europe, and finally, the rights were sold as a package to the German television station Arte for 150,000 euros.
Lionsgate wasn't wrong; Hollywood, with its deep pockets, truly is a paradise for filmmakers.