Chapter 19: Flying to Venice

Everyone in the class knew that Qiao Shan and Cheng Sheng were very close friends.

Naturally, the air was filled with congratulations.

Even people from the neighboring classes came over to congratulate Qiao Shan.

"Director Cheng Sheng is truly incredible; a historical film actually received so many nominations."

"I did the math—there are five in total. I wonder how many awards he'll actually win."

"Su Chang is nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival; Zheng Guolin and Fu Delong are nominated for Best Actor, plus there's Best Director and Best Picture."

"That's terrifying! This is Director Cheng's first film, yet he's achieved such proud results."

"Director Cheng Sheng is going to be famous this time. Those people who refused to act in his movies are probably regretting it so much they want to commit suicide!"

"I'm so envious of Senior Sister Bai Baihe; she gets to walk the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival. An opportunity like this might only happen once in a lifetime."

"One movie, and both male leads are nominated for Best Actor—that's the truly terrifying part!"

"And there's the female lead too!"

"Regardless of whether Director Cheng Sheng wins an award, I doubt anyone would object to him calling himself a 'great director' now!"

"Object my ass! If they're so capable, let them do it!"

"Hehe, I really want to see those people online who didn't think much of Director Cheng Sheng. Their faces are probably being slapped hard right now!"

"Especially Feng Dapao. I'm really curious to see what kind of expression he has on his face right now."

*Bang!*

He didn't know what kind of expression he had, but at this moment, Feng Dapao felt like killing someone; he kicked a nearby trash can flying.

If he weren't on a film set, he would have likely cursed wildly.

An unknown brat actually thought he could climb over his head—it was pure wishful thinking.

Being nominated isn't the same as winning.

A Chinese historical film—do those foreigners even understand it?

They must just want to use that kid's movie to boost the prestige of other films.

Yes, that's it.

Those foreigners just want to use this method to disgust Chinese cinema.

Damn you, Cheng Sheng.

You are shaming the Chinese people.

When you come back from Venice empty-handed, just watch me blast you to pieces.

...

The Venice Film Festival starts on September 1st and ends on the 11th.

Coincidentally, this was the same day the school semester began.

However, Cheng Sheng could no longer worry about the start of school.

Generally, film festival crews need to arrive in Venice three days in advance.

On August 27th, Cheng Sheng led his massive team to the airport to meet the Coal Boss, and then they chartered a private plane directly to Venice, Italy.

The Coal Boss paid for the charter, so Cheng Sheng and the rest of the crew were essentially hitching a ride.

By the time they arrived in the floating city of Venice, there were only three days left until the opening ceremony.

Cheng Sheng's group was too large to stay in the hotels arranged by the official film festival staff.

Instead, the Coal Boss directly rented an entire floor of a hotel specifically for the group's accommodation.

*The Coal Boss is truly extravagant,* was Cheng Sheng's honest thought.

The man invested so much money into the film but never questioned how it was spent or what the final product looked like. He had only two requirements: help promote his mistresses and let him show off his prestige.

Now, Cheng Sheng had fulfilled both.

Although the Coal Boss's mistresses were not the leads, Cheng Sheng had arranged for them to play concubines in Emperor Yang Guang's harem.

Women capable of being a Coal Boss's mistress were all beautiful; playing imperial concubines was a perfect fit.

Using beauty to entertain, Cheng Sheng simply had them play their natural selves. Even without the immersion of a set, their natural charms made it effortless.

After resting in the hotel for a day,

The next day, Cheng Sheng originally intended to go to the film festival venue alone to network and see if he could sell the film.

To his surprise, two tag-alongs followed him: Qiao Shan and Zeng Li.

As Cheng Sheng's best friend, it was fine for Qiao Shan to follow, but what was the deal with Zeng Li?

Instead of going shopping with the other women in the crew, why on earth was she following him?

However, since she had already followed him, Cheng Sheng couldn't exactly send her back.

He could only take her and Qiao Shan along to try their luck at the festival venue.

Cheng Sheng had immense confidence in his film, after all, the script was generated by the Simulation Panel.

If they filmed according to the script, there would definitely be no issues. Cheng Sheng believed his film was second to none.

But this was a Chinese historical film; he wasn't sure if foreigners would understand it.

This was likely the first time in history someone intended to sell a Chinese historical film to foreigners!

With an investment of 100 million, it was impossible to break even through domestic box office alone in 2004.

The only possibility for breaking even, or even making a massive profit, was to sell the overseas distribution rights during the film festival. This was the primary reason for Cheng Sheng's trip to Venice.

Why did so many domestic "art film" directors want to bring their works to film festivals?

While winning awards was important, selling the film was equally vital.

A significant portion of domestic art film directors produced works that could not be released in cinemas. What were they supposed to do? Spend money to film for their own eyes?

Of course not. The main goal was to profit from selling overseas distribution rights.

A typical example was Jia Zhangke.

The art films he made rarely passed censorship, and even if they did, they had almost no box office in mainland China; nearly every film was a loss.

Logically, such directors should have been unable to find investors.

In reality, there were plenty of people willing to invest in him.

And he himself made a lot of money.

As for why?

Because his films, regardless of whether they won awards, could often be sold at high prices after a trip to a film festival.

Not only could they break even, but they often turned a huge profit.

Since the film festival had not officially begun, there were few crews present, and those who had arrived were mostly there to use connections to sell their films.

"Hi, are you Chinese?"

As Cheng Sheng was wandering aimlessly with Zeng Li and Qiao Shan, someone suddenly called out to them in English from behind.

The three of them turned around to see that the person calling them was actually a blonde beauty.

"Holy crap, Scarlett Johansson! My goddess!"

Qiao Shan shouted immediately.

Cheng Sheng recognized her too.

She was a global goddess.

Known worldwide for her unique charm, diverse roles, and excellent acting, she was hailed as one of the most influential and sexiest actresses of the contemporary era.

Having officially debuted in '94, her acting skills had always been recognized by everyone.

Especially last year, as Scarlett began transitioning into adult roles, she earned two Golden Globe nominations for the major drama *Lost in Translation* and the romantic biopic *Girl with a Pearl Earring*.

*Lost in Translation* also won her the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, making her the first actress to win the award based on her voice.

In *Lost in Translation*, she played a young woman accompanying her husband in Japan, where she met a movie star in Tokyo and shared a subtle friendship.

In *Girl with a Pearl Earring*, she played the model for the Dutch painter Vermeer, developing an indescribable connection with the artist.