Chapter 505 Lovers and Favors
The next morning, when Xu Kun and Yuan Li came down from upstairs fully armed, the receptionist looked at them with inquiring eyes.
Fortunately, that gaze could neither penetrate the disguises of the two people, nor could it penetrate Xu Kun's increasingly thick skin.
They got into their cars in front of the restaurant. Xu Kun took off his sunglasses, hat and scarf first, then turned on Jay Chou's "Rice Fragrance", and then slowly started the car. However, he saw that Yuan Li's Land Rover didn't move at all, and the car didn't even start.
So Xu Kun stopped the car in front of the Land Rover, lowered the window and honked the horn twice, but there was still no movement from the Land Rover.
what the hell?
He hesitated and prepared to push open the car door to take a look, but at this moment the window of the Land Rover rolled down, and Yuan Li, who had taken off her sunglasses, stuck her head out of the car and shouted angrily, "You go ahead, my legs are weak from walking just now, I need to take a break first!"
"Then drive slowly. If you can't get back to the hotel, we'll have to wait another hour."
Xu Kun inexplicably felt better and hummed a song all the way back to the city. When he passed by a newsstand, he habitually bought a bunch of newspapers and magazines and took them back home.
Probably because he didn't come back last night, this temporarily rented four-bedroom apartment was rarely quiet.
Xu Kun was too lazy to tinker with it, so he made a pot of scallion noodles, beat a few eggs, and had a simple meal with pickles and pork skin jelly, while flipping through the newspaper he had bought.
Today is the day when "Mei Lanfang" is officially released, and the front-page headlines of major media are basically related to Director Chen.
Next up is "Painted Skin," which has its premiere today.
The combination of Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun and Zhen Zidan, although not as eye-catching as director Chen's return to art films, still has considerable overall popularity.
After all the film reviews, there are the gossips that everyone likes to hear, such as "Director Xu went to Beijing Film Academy alone, and the sister group is about to expand?"
Tsk~
It sounds like he has nothing to do every day!
Below is the news of Zang Tianshuo’s first-instance verdict.
Xu Kun and Zang Tianshuo had only met once, and he had known for a long time that he was a cellmate, but when he thought about what happened back then, he couldn't help but sigh.
In just a few years, everything has changed.
After filling his stomach and seeing that it was getting late, Xu Kun decided to go to the Film Bureau in the afternoon to submit the final candidates for vice presidents.
As a result, around 12 noon, I received another call from Wang Zhongjun, saying that the venue for the celebration party had been confirmed and it would be in the central hall of the Great Hall of the People.
If it weren't for the venue, the celebration party should have been held at the end of November - now it has been moved to December 11th.
"Also, this year's Golden Horse Awards nominations are finally out, and you're on the list as expected."
Wang Zhongjun said this rather calmly. Before Xu Kun won the Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award, he certainly did not have this attitude. But now that Xu Kun has become an international actor, the Golden Horse Award is not only insignificant, but also dispensable.
However, there was quite a bit of controversy over whether or not to nominate Xu Kun. The reason why it was finally confirmed was mainly because Xiao Ma Ge was determined to ease the relationship. The Golden Horse Awards was seen as a kind of ZZ signal.
The process of submitting the list to the Film Bureau in the afternoon was uneventful.
After all, only one and a half of them were truly nominated by Xu Kun. Ning Hao was the one favored by Han Sanping, Jia Zhangke was chosen by the Film Bureau, and although Li Yu was the one chosen by Xu Kun, the position of female vice president was a mandatory requirement from above, so she could only be counted as half.
Such a product full of compromises may not make all parties particularly satisfied, but they will not deliberately target any of them.
Applying for an office at the China Film Association is rather troublesome. Given Xu Kun's current status and position, this is not a problem at all.
Not to mention that word has already spread from above that Xu Kun, the president of the Youth Directors Association, is qualified to attend the China Film Association's presidium meetings, and his status is only slightly lower than that of the vice president.
But unfortunately, the China Film Association has just held a new leadership meeting, and the new president is about to take office. The old president is now in semi-retirement, and approval of all matters has been suspended.
Xu Kun had no choice but to postpone dealing with the matter.
At half past six, Xu Kun went to Huayi headquarters to pick up Huo Siyan. This was what the two had agreed on at the premiere of "Mei Lanfang" - after all, our brother Kun is nostalgic, and any help he can give to his old lover is appreciated.
Seeing Huo Siyan's coat open, Xu Kun spread his hands and lifted it up. Seeing the low-cut evening dress underneath, he couldn't help but shook his head and said, "Don't you think it's cold in this winter?"
"Nonsense, if I don't do this, how can I publish a press release that will overshadow me?" Huo Siyan stretched her neck and carefully checked in the makeup mirror to make sure that none of the makeup on her face had been knocked off. Then she continued, "If I dress tightly, I'll be ridiculed by the media later."
At this point, she glanced at Xu Kun and said tartly, "It's true that the girl is very courageous. She stole the limelight with just two 'Band-Aids'."
Xu Kun knew that she was teasing Zhao Liying, so he started the car and said jokingly, "If you are jealous, come along. At worst, I can help you hold your skirt down from behind."
“I can’t hide this.”
Huo Siyan sighed, "I don't have that kind of ambition now. If it were six or seven years ago, I might have stolen her limelight."
It turns out that "exposure" is a sign of ambition.
Seeing her somewhat sad expression, Xu Kun smiled and said, "This is a bit unlike you. Others are still acting young girls when they are over 40 years old. How can you be so careless at only 28?"
"I've never been as famous as they are."
Huo Siyan finished speaking, and after a moment of silence, she added: "I guess I believe in fate. Maybe this is the most I will get in my life."
"Then why did you ask me to walk the red carpet together?"
"I believe in fate, but I don't accept it."
Huo Siyan said seriously: "I want to work hard for another two years. If there is no change after I am thirty, I will just find a good man to marry."
"Can you please tell me what a good man is like?"
"Anyway, I'm not like you!" Xu Kun was somewhat speechless after being told this by two women in succession. In addition, he had an appointment with someone else that night, so he took the opportunity to glare at her and said, "Then you can take a taxi home by yourself tonight. I won't serve you anymore."
"Tsk, if you don't want to serve me, then don't serve me. There are many people who want to send me off!" Huo Siyan thought Xu Kun was just joking and didn't take it too seriously.
The premiere of "Painted Skin" was held at UME International Cinema, which was officially opened in July and all its facilities are the latest.
In fact, Xu Kun was still hesitating whether to attend the premiere. After all, he didn't have much friendship with Chen Jiashang, and he wasn't even that close to Zhou Xun, who was from the same company.
Later, Huo Siyan made the invitation, and then Aunt Liu contacted him, and only then did he decide to attend the premiere.
Xu Kun handed the invitations to both of them to the staff half a street away. Soon, the director of "Painted Skin", Chen Jiashang, called him directly on his cell phone.
The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Chen Jiashang said that he was unable to come out in person, so he had sent an assistant over.
Although there was nothing wrong with what he said, Xu Kun always felt that he was treating himself as a "local gang" and was afraid that a poor reception would lead to a bloody storm.
Finally, after Xu Kun repeatedly declined, he agreed to call his assistant back.
At this time, someone ran over and knocked on the window.
Xu Kun lowered the car window and saw that it was Li Xiaolu. He quickly unlocked the back seat.
As a result, Li Xiaolu sat in the back row first, and then another man came in and greeted Xu Kun stiffly: "Hello, Director Xu."
"Who is this?"
Xu Kun turned his head to take a look, and immediately denied the possibility of him being a "boyfriend", mainly because this guy's temperament and appearance were not the type that Li Xiaolu liked.
"This is Yang Qing, also a director, and the same age as you!"
When Li Xiaolu specifically mentioned that they were the same age, Yang Qing quickly waved his hands and said, "I don't even have a real work right now, so I don't dare to be compared with industry seniors like Director Xu."
"Don't be so nervous, he won't eat you."
Li Xiaolu said casually: "I brought Yang Qing here today mainly for two reasons - first, he wrote a script that I really like. Doesn't your Youth Directors Association support new directors? It's just right to include him.
Second, if you have time, please guest star as a villain robber for us."
Hearing Li Xiaolu speak so frankly, Yang Qing admired her straightforwardness, but was also a little nervous, fearing that Xu Kun would say no.
Xu Kun didn't say "no", but asked curiously: "Didn't you say that you just wanted to be that person and didn't want to owe me a favor?"
"How come I owe you a favor?"
Li Xiaolu pointed at Yang Qing and said confidently, "I'm here to recommend talent to you. You should owe me a favor. Your Youth Directors Association has this responsibility. This is the first person to come to you. Shouldn't you help him get on the horse first and then send him off?"
"alright."
Xu Kun was just asking casually. Li Xiaolu, who rarely speaks, actually spoke up, so the thing must be done.
So he turned his gaze to Yang Qing and asked, "Director Yang, did you bring the script?"
"Bring it, bring it!"
Yang Qing was overjoyed and quickly took out the script he had with him, stood up with a hunched back and waist, and solemnly held it in front of Xu Kun.
In fact, with the participation of Li Xiaolu and the male lead, it was not difficult for him to attract sponsorship. The reason why he was not in a hurry to put together a crew was because he was counting on taking advantage of Director Xu's support.
With the participation of the popular director Xu, as long as the movie is not too bad, I'm not sure about breaking 100 million at the box office, but tens of millions should not be a problem.
This is much more powerful than just randomly attracting investment.
Xu Kun took it and flipped through it briefly, and found that it was a low-cost comedy called "Night Club", and the plot basically took place in a small supermarket.
The scene tasks are simple, just like those in a sitcom, and because it is a modern drama, the preparation is also very simple and convenient. Basically, as long as the people, money and machines are in place, the filming can begin.
This type of film is perfect for the Youth Directors Association to practice with, at least it is more suitable than the type Han Jie is going to shoot and "Charlotte's Troubles".
After Xu Kun briefly glanced through it, he said to Yang Qing, "Then let me ask a few vice presidents of the association to look at this book together tomorrow. If it can be approved at the meeting, we can discuss it in detail."
After that, he pointed at the character profile and asked, "Have the male lead and the second male lead been decided?"
"The male lead is tentatively confirmed to be Mr. Xu Zheng."
After Yang Qing finished speaking, he quickly added: "But if you have..."
"Where's the second male lead?"
"The second male lead hasn't been decided yet. I was planning to choose a young newcomer."
"If this book can be finalized, I will recommend one to you later."
"That's a good feeling!"
Yang Qing was not at all dissatisfied with being forced to join, and praised repeatedly: "Director Xu, the person you chose must be right!"
"It's not like he's a fan. He's just a kid I worked with before. He's currently studying at the Beijing Film Academy."
Xu Kun was naturally talking about Zhang Ruoyun. Just because he had queued up for his autograph last time, it was worth giving him a hand.
(End of this chapter)
