Just A Notorious Fallen Idol

The Cannes Film Festival, as one of the most prestigious film festivals in the entertainment industry, garners significant attention every year.

Of course, that's for those within the industry.

After all, it's a great place for networking and business.

The average Chinese audience and netizens wouldn't initially pay much attention to this film festival held far away in Europe, unless a film won an award, which would then attract more widespread attention.

But since most of the awards that yield results are primarily for art films, the level of attention is just so-so.

Unless, one day, the director or lead actor of a film becomes famous, and people look at their resume.

"Oh! So this director won an award at Cannes, and he's a Cannes Best Actor winner. No wonder he's so amazing!"

The main effect is like adding wings to a tiger, provided you are already that "tiger."

In summary, the Cannes Film Festival has high prestige and is a significant achievement within the industry, but it doesn't generate a huge amount of traffic.

This is because the people who generate the most traffic have little to do with Cannes awards; let alone winning awards, even being nominated is a luxury for them.

Instead, it's the red carpet segment, which has little to do with awards, that sparks considerable discussion every year.

There's even a term for it: "carpet star," specifically used to mock actresses who have no real work but show up in elaborate outfits, posing provocatively on the Cannes red carpet.

And you know, despite the mockery, these people are always present on the Cannes red carpet every year.

They manage to get on the trending searches to some extent, and then they flock back the following year. After all, even bad publicity is publicity.

Some who have a shred of dignity can cite reasons like "invited by a brand sponsor," while those who are shameless will simply pay their own way, strike a few beautiful poses, and then return to release press releases like "So-and-so Amazes Everyone on the Cannes Red Carpet."

And that's that.

As for the twenty films nominated each year, the attention they receive is limited to a small group, at least during the nomination phase.

Currently, besides the filmmakers who submitted their entries, the people most concerned about which films are nominated for Cannes this year are the relevant media professionals within the industry.

For example, Wang Henshui, nicknamed Brother Shui, is a reporter for "Film Entertainment Weekly."

He was waiting for the news late at night.

The Word document on his computer had been open for a long time. Growing impatient, he yawned and idly tapped his ashtray.

He refreshed the official website of the Cannes Film Festival every so often.

However, as he was getting water, an intern working under him refreshed the page and got the results first.

"Brother Shui, the list of nominees has been released. Two Chinese films have been nominated for the main competition this year, one for the short film competition, and another for the Un Certain Regard section."

"Two for the main competition? Besides Section Chief Zheng, who else?"

Section Chief Zheng isn't a civil servant; this title is a nickname for a director named Zheng Kezhang, derived from a homophone of his name.

He is a very famous art film director in the industry, practically the top figure for domestic art films, and naturally a regular at major film festivals.

This year, he produced a rather interesting Jianghu romance film. With his reputation, it was almost guaranteed to be nominated for this year's Cannes Film Festival.

So, Wang Henshui wasn't surprised. Instead, he became curious about the other nominated director.

He hadn't heard of any other director in the film industry aiming for Cannes this year~

Without waiting for the intern to tell him, he impatiently leaned over the computer to look. "Whiplash, the director is... Youlou Bai. Who is this?"

The Cannes website clearly didn't have a Chinese version, which annoyed Wang Henshui. Where did this unknown director come from?

He hated these contestants who had no prior fame. He'd have to spend time digging up information later, and his resume would likely be empty, but he couldn't not check, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to write the report.

However, while Wang Henshui didn't recognize the name, the intern next to him's eyes had already widened!

"Holy crap, is that for real?!"

"Huh? You know him?"

"Bai Youlou!"

That name was like thunder in his ears.

Although Wang Henshui's workplace, "Film Entertainment Weekly," started with "Film," the "Entertainment" in the middle also indicated the nature of their media outlet.

When there was content about films, they wrote about films, doing something high-class.

When there wasn't, they were pretty much the same as gossip media, though they had a bit more integrity and didn't go overboard with their reporting. They basically reported whatever was available.

As for Bai Youlou... this guy had provided a considerable amount of material.

He had really helped them achieve a lot of their KPIs.

However, when Bai Youlou's name was linked to the Cannes Film Festival, it also brought a sense of disillusionment to Wang Henshui.

He rubbed his eyes and pointed at the computer screen with his finger, reading his name again.

That's right, Youlou Bai. No mistake!

The intern's words confirmed this. "Brother Shui, Bai Youlou did make a movie. The one that just aired, 'Talent Show,' he had the movie's name printed on his shirt. Let me find it! The movie is called 'Whiplash'! 'Whiplash' must be the English title, which translates to 'whip beating.'"

Wang Henshui fell into a deep confusion. This was the first time in his career that he felt the world was a bit surreal.

"What the hell? How did you, a fallen idol, suddenly make it to Cannes?"

"How am I supposed to write this report?"

I don't even know where to start!

Facing the intern's expectant gaze, waiting for him to make a decision, Wang Henshui didn't hesitate for long before making up his mind.

"Mainly report on Section Chief Zheng. Leave a little space for Bai Youlou, just a mention."

The intern nodded at first, then, with youthful boldness, added, "If Bai Youlou wins an award, should we..."

He chuckled at his own words, and Wang Henshui joined him.

Laughing and shaking his head, Wang Henshui even made a bold declaration, pointing at the computer screen. "If he wins an award, I'll eat this computer!"

Whoa, that's quite a statement!

Although the intern was laughing, he felt a bit uneasy. He wasn't a hater or a fan of Bai Youlou, but he had heard the two songs Bai Youlou wrote on the Talent Show.

The bald guy named Long Ziqiang sang songs that didn't quite suit his taste, but they were catchy and had a certain charm.

As for the song Bai Youlou sang himself, without any bias, he genuinely wanted to hear it all the way through.

This songwriting talent was something the former idol Bai Youlou had never shown before!

But seeing Wang Henshui's confident expression, the intern offered enthusiastic support, pushing away his own wild and improbable thoughts.

Even if Bai Youlou had some talent, could he really win an award at Cannes?

If he actually won, it would be an insult to the film industry.

He's just a disgraced fallen idol!

Thanks to the reader 20240326132054375 for the 300 reward. May the boss live forever.