The Film Festival Opening Red Carpet / 282. Shinji: Out of the Way, I'm About to Pull a Crazy Move!

"Shanghai's Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Lin'an's Shandong Polytechnic University, that's about it."

What university is that?

Udagawa Nao, who had never heard of the school's name before, was completely baffled.

Chapter 281 Film Festival Opening Red Carpet

The two schools that Shinji applied to were not exactly unknown; although they weren't top-tier, they were still in the first tier.

However, as Japan, Udagawa Nao only knew two or three top-tier schools in China, he naturally didn't know which school Shinji was referring to.

This is quite normal. In China, people only know about the University of Tokyo and Waseda University when it comes to Japan universities. If they know about Keio University, that's considered good.

As for why Shinji chose these two schools...

It's because Shinji's itinerary included Shanghai and Lin'an, so he decided to go along with it.

On the other hand, these two schools are, in a sense, the alma maters of the Second Master before his transmigration. He studied at these two schools for his undergraduate and graduate degrees in his previous life, so choosing these two places to give a speech is a way of promoting his alma mater.

Since I'm not going north to Beijing Film Academy or the Central Academy of Drama, it doesn't really matter where I give a speech. There's nothing wrong with satisfying my vanity a little.

After confirming the itinerary in China with Udagawa Nao, Shinji spent two more days in Shanghai.

The film festival organizing committee originally wanted to send someone to be Shinji's tour guide, but Second Master flatly refused.

It wasn't just that he felt uncomfortable having outsiders around; it was also because Shinji had absolutely no interest in those famous tourist attractions in Shanghai—he'd been there long ago.

More than visiting the Oriental Pearl Tower, Second Master was interested in the food in the hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the alleys of Shanghai.

After spending a few days in Shanghai as a "solitary gourmet," the film festival finally opened.

According to official statements, this year's film festival achieved a historic breakthrough, with the number of submitted films reaching a record high of 48.4% compared to the previous year, and online registration being adopted for the first time.

In 2006, the internet was still a very novel concept, so new that even online registration was promoted by the government.

However, compared to the registration method, the organizing committee is putting more effort into promoting the star-studded lineup of this film festival.

The official description is: This film festival's opening ceremony red carpet was a star-studded affair, boasting a powerful lineup and dazzling array of celebrities.

In Ms. Baiyun's words. "The sound of gongs and drums filled the air, firecrackers crackled, red flags fluttered, and crowds of people thronged the streets."

Shinji hand, expressed himself in a very Versailles-like manner: I don't care if these stars are big names, their movie box office will definitely not be as high as mine.

Of course, after saying this extremely arrogant thing, Shinji was given a hard punch by Sakura as a warning.

"Brother, I can't control how crazy you are at home, but if you embarrass yourself abroad, don't blame me for cleaning up the Matou Family's mess!"

Sakura's expression when she said this was even more terrifying than when she played the villain in HF, leaving Shinji no choice but to obediently nod.

Actually, Shinji's statement was a bit of an exaggeration. The red carpet lineup at this year's Shanghai Film Festival was truly impressive; otherwise, it wouldn't have earned the title of "Asia's No. 1 Red Carpet" after this film festival.

"Hello, Director Matou."

"Hello."

Shinji had just walked the red carpet into the VIP waiting area when he met the chairman of the film festival's organizing committee.

After shaking hands with this important figure, the other party took the initiative to introduce the guests present to Shinji.

Although Shinji didn't recognize many of the guests due to the Parallel world, he still saw several celebrities he recognized very well.

Seeing those once-important figures, whom he knew but who didn't know him, now shaking his hand politely, Shinji felt quite emotional.

However, Shinji has been in the entertainment industry for so many years that he has seen it all and can easily chat and laugh with these people.

Li Ri'ang, who was following behind Shinji, seemed rather apprehensive.

Old Li never imagined that just a month ago he was an ordinary office worker, and that one day he would appear in the same frame as these big stars.

"Relax," Shinji casually reminded Li Ri'ang, "You'll have plenty of opportunities to bully these people in the future."

Li Ri'ang grinned. "That word isn't quite right..."

"You understand what I mean."

Shinji chuckled.

After the conversation, Shinji realized that the filmmakers here were basically at two extremes when it came to him.

Most Director and producers are very indifferent to themselves, which contrasts sharply with the passionate star actors.

Especially those female celebrities, they acted like hungry wolves eyeing a piece of fat meat.

If we weren't walking the red carpet right now, there would definitely be plenty of female celebrities rushing up to hug each other and kiss each other on the cheek.

The reason why the female celebrities were so enthusiastic is easy to understand: they wanted to become familiar with Shinji and hopefully get a supporting role in Shinji movies in the future.

These actors are certainly not stupid. They never expect to go international through Shinji's storyline, but as long as they can play a minor role in an international film of the caliber of Fate, their value and status in China will skyrocket.

The current environment in China is not like that of 2020 or later, so the practice of shifting exports to the domestic market still has considerable potential.

Unfortunately, although Shinji understood their thoughts, he was destined to disappoint them.

Shinji believed that hiring these celebrities was simply not cost-effective.

It's not that these actors are of poor quality; after all, the stars who came before the new generation of young idols still have a certain level of basic quality. But it's really too difficult to assign roles to these actors.

If you're going to play a major role, the current film market is still mainly in North America and Europe, so hiring domestic stars won't generate any buzz.

But if you give these people too little screen time, domestic audiences will be dissatisfied, feeling that you are just going through the motions and ripping them off.

Moreover, domestic audiences pay great attention to the image of actors on screen, so you can't cast villainous roles, otherwise they will feel that you are humiliating the country and the nation.

In Shinji's opinion, the best treatment for domestic stars making cameo appearances should be like Black Widow in "Iron Man 2" or Wonder Woman in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"—their roles may not be too big, but they are full of highlights.

But such roles are extremely rare; you might not even see one in several movies.

If such an opportunity truly existed, why wouldn't Shinji use it for his new Heroic Spirit?

Therefore, Shinji decided from the very beginning that he would never make any promises to the stars at the film festival.

Even so, in just over twenty minutes, Shinji couldn't remember how many people he greeted.

Fortunately, Shinji can understand Chinese directly; otherwise, if a translator had to relay the information, he might have had a breakdown and resigned.

Actually, compared to celebrities and filmmakers, Shinji would rather communicate with government officials, and the topic of communication would naturally be the quota for imported films in China.

Shinji knew very well that starting this year, China's box office market would climb one level at a time, soaring upwards at rocket speed.

However, the number of imported films cannot change as quickly as the box office revenue. Although it increases every year, the number is far less than the growth rate of box office data.

Therefore, if they want to capture as much of the box office revenue as possible in China, they can only try to secure more slots for imported films.

Chapter 282 Shinji: Get out of the way, I'm about to pull off a crazy move!

Asking the Chinese government to increase the quota for imported films for you separately sounds far-fetched, but it's not impossible.

Because the Hollywood of Shinji's previous life had already shown him how to operate: to make 3D movies a subcategory and occupy a separate quota.

You see, in this Parallel world, the 3D technology is currently firmly controlled by Shinji's 3D without glasses. As long as the number of 3D movies can be increased, wouldn't all that money go to Second Master?

For China, increasing the number of 3D movies is also a good thing, since 3D movie tickets are more expensive than 2D tickets, and the box office figures will be even better.

It's a win-win situation for relevant departments—they can make more money and achieve political success at the same time.

Back in 2006, the authorities didn't care much about the box office figures of domestic films. As long as the total box office figures improved, that was enough to make the higher-ups happy.

Shinji estimated that he was probably the only one in the world with enough confidence in China's film market, even more so than the officials in front of him who were trying to persuade him to invest in China.

"It's a pity I can't say that to these people directly."

Shinji, well-versed in negotiation skills, knew he couldn't reveal his full optimism about the Chinese market.

Being too tolerant will only embolden the other party, and people usually don't cherish what they get easily.

In romantic terms, it's like saying, "A simp will never have a good ending."

Shinji would not underestimate this country, which is the most business-savvy in the world, and naturally maintained a certain level of discretion during negotiations.

However, this means that no results can be achieved in the short term. Shinji on the red carpet is just the beginning, and there will be further discussions between the two sides.

"I'll have the local branch office submit the proposal later."

"That's great, I'll take a look at it later."

After concluding his conversation with a high-ranking official from the relevant department, Shinji prepared to proceed to the media interview area to be interviewed by local Chinese media, as previously agreed.

Shinji, the current world box office record holder, naturally aroused great enthusiasm among reporters upon his appearance.

A female reporter reacted quickly and shoved the microphone right next to Shinji's mouth.

"Director Matou!! I'm so glad you agreed to this interview!"

Shinji realized that the female reporter in front of him wasn't faking her excitement; she was genuinely happy to be interviewed.

"I'm also very happy to see you."

Shinji smiled faintly and answered in a very gentlemanly manner.

When facing the camera, Shinji naturally toned down his playboy frivolity and only revealed his noble elegance.

The reporter, unfamiliar with Shinji, immediately showed a surprised expression upon hearing him speak Chinese: "You... you actually understand Chinese?"

"Of course, I studied linguistics, so I have some knowledge of Chinese and Chinese culture."

"Look, I even used Baji Quan as the martial art for several main characters in Fate."

If he were Magecraft from China, Shinji would definitely say that he learned Chinese while studying Fangshu. However, the reporters present were all ordinary people, so Second Master missed out on showing off.

Even so, the reporters at the scene were stunned by Shinji.

These days, there are very few foreign celebrities who can learn Chinese. In a few years, celebrities who come to China for promotional activities will be embarrassed to say they care about the Chinese market if they don't show off a few words of Chinese.

Even though Paul Rudd (the actor who played Ant-Man) had a terrible accent, he still insisted on speaking Chinese during the promotion of Avengers: Avengers 4 in China.

However, his efforts paid off. Originally a relatively minor figure among the guests, he gained immense attention for his statement, "I know my Chinese is terrible, but at least it's better than theirs (the other Avengers actors)."

Although Shinji is not a celebrity, he is still a public figure, and his impressive display of Chinese naturally caused a sensation among the reporters.

Because he's been speaking Chinese in Shanghai for the past two days, Shinji's long-standing Japanese accent has disappeared, and he's practically indistinguishable from a local now.

Fortunately, the reporters attending this level of event were all seasoned veterans in the industry. After a brief moment of surprise, the female reporter immediately chose to conduct an interview based on that point.

"Director Matou," the other person asked clearly, "When did you learn Chinese?"

"It was a long time ago. When I was a kid, I really liked kung fu and martial arts movies, but there were very few films with Japanese dubbing."

Facing these media reporters, Shinji knew exactly what to say to his advantage.

"So in order to understand Chinese movies without subtitles, I learned the language directly."

This is of course not true; the Second Master was merely borrowing the advertising slogan from Japan language school. However, this reason, which can be linked to the origins of the film, is undoubtedly excellent material.

As for the fact that most Hong Kong films are in Cantonese, that's not a big deal, since early Hong Kong films were generally dubbed in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

The female reporter interviewing Shinji was quick to seize the opportunity; she immediately asked, "May I ask what movies you've seen?"

Shinji maintained his smile, "I've seen too many movies to count, but some that stand out are the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series, Jin Yong's martial arts dramas, and the three major battles you filmed."

"Forehead..."

This time, the female reporter was truly stumped. She could understand "Once Upon a Time in China" and Jin Yong's works, but this last one was really a bit "unconventional"!

What were the specific plot points of those three movies again? I've completely forgotten...

The female reporter was secretly anxious. Although her school had organized a viewing of those three movies when she was in elementary school, she had long forgotten the plot and only remembered the names of the three major battles.

But this is the Shanghai Film Festival. It would have been understandable if Shinji hadn't mentioned it, but since he brought up the three major battles, it would have been unreasonable not to ask some related questions.

Seeing the anxious expression on the other person's face, Shinji guessed what was wrong with the reporter.

To ease the awkwardness between them, Shinji took the initiative to imitate Principal Chiang from the movie.

"No matter what, 800,000 to 600,000! The advantage is on my side!"

"..."

The female reporter conducting the interview was completely bewildered by the Second Master; it was the first time she had ever seen a foreigner even imitate such an accent.

You can't say they're very similar; they're practically identical.

Actually, it wasn't just this female reporter; the other reporters nearby were also completely Shinji 'Sparta antics.

They had considered what kind of Chinese films Shinji might like, from martial arts and fantasy films to urban films, historical films, and even romance and palace intrigue films. But they never expected that this Great Director would like classic revolutionary films.