Shattering Bingbing

"I'm done eating."

After Fan Bingbing's little assistant finished speaking, she fled back to her room.

I can't stand it anymore!

These two.

They're going too far!

In the hotel room, only Shen Shanden and Fan Bingbing remained.

Instead of the passionate scene the little assistant had imagined, the atmosphere was rather silent.

Fortunately, neither of them was a shy person.

Shen Shanden apologized, "Sister Bingbing, I wanted you to rest well before we talked, but let's clear the air now. When you called me, I had only just fallen asleep, so I was a bit short-tempered."

Fan Bingbing smiled casually and reflected, "I have problems too. I put a lot into the movie, and after finally getting into the main competition at Berlin, we came away with nothing. I was just frustrated, and I apologize to you."

The two tacitly let the matter go.

Shen Shanden had put on a good show. Coming to the airport to pick her up during the New Year, even if it was an act, demonstrated his attitude.

Fan Bingbing, whether she held any grudges or not, had to act like she didn't.

Shen Shanden's words were rough but made sense; she had no other choice.

Leaving Huayi without finding a new agency meant she was at the lowest point of her career. Apple hadn't won any awards, and due to compliance issues, its release was uncertain.

The importance of the female lead in The Grand Director had suddenly increased.

She needed a commercial film to boost her image, especially since such a film had the backing of China Film and a bigger production was coming later.

Shen Shanden held both the carrot and the stick!

Even if Shen Shanden did nothing, Fan Bingbing would have to find a way to step down gracefully.

Was she going to risk offending China Film and Han Sanping by withdrawing from the cast?

She wasn't that foolish.

Fortunately, Shen Shanden wasn't a harsh person and didn't use this to torment her, giving her a way out.

Fan Bingbing knew this wasn't something she deserved and felt grateful.

Although Shen Shanden had initially disrespected her by not informing her and including Chen Hao, who had a conflict with her, in the project, this industry didn't operate on fairness. The fact that Shen Shanden didn't take advantage of his power over her was gentlemanly.

If it were someone with a worse reputation in the industry, they might have used the situation to their advantage.

This was reality.

Shen Shanden didn't know what Fan Bingbing was thinking. After all, he was a normal person with basic morals.

Even if he was sure Fan Bingbing would cooperate, he shouldn't have said it in a hurtful way. Some things can be done but not said.

He wanted to resolve the awkwardness between them.

Only then could Fan Bingbing invest herself wholeheartedly in the role and ensure the film's quality.

Shen Shanden changed the subject, "It's not unfair that Apple lost to Tuya's Marriage."

Fan Bingbing was taken aback, "You understand art films too?"

Shen Shanden chuckled, " The Grand Director was originally an art film. My initial goal was to pursue the path of winning international awards."

"Huh?"

Fan Bingbing's mind was full of questions.

She had read the script for The Grand Director several times and it didn't have any artistic film qualities.

She asked suspiciously, "Don't lie to me."

"Why did Tuya's Marriage win over Apple?"

Shen Shanden asked back, but before she could answer, he provided the explanation: "Tuya tells the story of Tuya, who, under the hardships of life, takes her disabled ex-husband Baater along to find a new husband."

"According to director Wang Quan'an, the film's original intention stemmed from concern for grassland ecological protection, and the relocation of local herdsmen from the pastoral areas was the initial impetus for the filming."

"It uses the search for a husband to support his wife, which happened in Gansu, as the main storyline, and shifts the region from the loess plateau in the Northwest to the Mongolian grasslands."

"Distorted, unfortunate ethical dilemmas; negative environmental imagery; cessation of development; primitive landscapes."

"This theme is much more authentic than Apple! It's brilliant!"

"The Berlin Film Festival has the most perverted taste; in comparison, Apple's tone was too weak."

As Shen Shanden spoke, he felt a pang of envy.

He knew that films with such themes could win awards, but he couldn't make them.

Even if he did, they wouldn't pass censorship because Wang Quan'an had already secured the spot, had connections, was registered, and had a license.

For the same type of film, a young director like Shen Shanden would have trouble even getting it approved for filing.

"No, you... you haven't even seen the movie, have you?"

Fan Bingbing's headache worsened.

Shen Shanden said confidently, "I don't even need to watch the movie. What matters most isn't how the movie is made; it's not even that important."

"Just reading the synopsis is enough. Apple is about Liu Pingguo, the character you play, and Old An Kun, both migrant workers in BJ. The woman works at a foot massage parlor as a masseuse, and the man is a window cleaner who works at heights."

"Unexpectedly, one time, the owner of the foot massage parlor, Lin Dong, took advantage of Pingguo when she was drunk and forced himself on her. This scene was accidentally witnessed by An Kun, who was cleaning windows at the time. So, An Kun demanded compensation for his losses."

"Lin Dong's wife, neglected by her husband because she couldn't have children, proactively offered to have a relationship with An Kun. Her reason was to make her husband wear the 'green hat' too, and to have An Kun get revenge for her."

"This is quite melodramatic. A high-rise window cleaner in BJ can earn two to three hundred yuan a day, paid in cash on the spot. They get paid as soon as they finish the job."

"The owner of the bathhouse doesn't have many skilled girls working for her. He might not even earn as much as him, and crucially, he's clean."

Fan Bingbing was shocked, "You understand this too?"

"Of course, I do," Shen Shanden replied. "People working at heights, coming from the countryside, who can save money, can build a nice house and buy a decent car back home after working in BJ for three to five years."

"Overall, the rules of this land do favor diligent laborers."

"At least they don't have to sell their blood to drink coffee."

Shen Shanden offered an objective evaluation, "There's a certain flavor to Apple. It has a strong sense of misfortune. As Master Chen would say, 'On this land, for these people, their entire lives are mostly spent just getting by. So-called prosperity is merely skillful 'getting by,' and a rough path is simply having no way to 'get by.' It's basically nothing more than this.'"

"That's the basic tone."

Shen Shanden had genuinely thought deeply about the path of winning international awards.

Generally speaking, to win international awards, whether it's the film itself or what the creators say, there needs to be a sense of misfortune.

Striving with all one's might is just about living, just about survival.

There can be no happiness, no joy; no warmth of family, no sharing with friends, no friends or colleagues with shared aspirations; and certainly no glorious history, no heroic spirit, no soul-stirring moments.

To put it bluntly, one can't even have a normal life, a human life.

That's why Shen Shanden ran away; the shit was just too hard to swallow.

But he still admired those who dared to eat it heartily.

That requires talent.

Rare talent.

Shen Shanden affirmed with an appreciative tone, "In Apple, the wealth disparity, the urban-rural gap, the imbalanced development between the western and coastal regions – the director's personal moral compass is satisfied."

"The problem is, people don't like it."

It burned.

Fan Bingbing's brain was burning.

Shen Shanden's analysis was not how she understood film analysis.

It was too far off.

It was too much of a shock to her beliefs.

Where was the art, the filmmaking techniques, not even the plot?

But Shen Shanden, without having watched the movie, described it with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy, capturing its essence.

That's why Fan Bingbing found it hard to accept.

The small bumps were gone, but a larger trauma had appeared.

She felt a bit shattered.

"You say, what's the specific problem?"

Fan Bingbing wanted to know where she had lost. She felt Shen Shanden truly understood something.

Even if it would shatter the ideals she once held, she was unwilling to accept it.