CHAPTER 337: CHAPTER 333 THANK MYSELF (REQUESTING MONTHLY TICKETS)

In the following days, "Hello! Mr. Tree" was screened several more times at the Venice International Film Festival.

There were even additional screenings.

Of course, such art films are well received in Venice, but they don’t have such a good market back home.

The first-day box office was over three million, but by the second day, it fell by over two million, and the second day was Saturday. Even after various interpretations by critics on the third day, it didn’t exceed three million.

The first week’s box office was eight million.

Everyone generally complained that they couldn’t understand it at all, and didn’t know what the director was trying to express.

Actually, eight million in the first week is already pretty good.

According to Han Jie, this film getting any more than five million was Qi Hao pulling a miracle.

Now with an eight million box office, plus various copyrights and bonuses, breaking even has become very simple.

On the premiere day of "Heaven-Reaching Empire," Qi Hao also showed support.

This film is indeed a commercial film.

Then, there’s been an old problem with Xu Ke’s movies; he seems to struggle to achieve thorough and coherent scripts.

What disappointed Qi Hao even more was that this movie didn’t have the martial world.

It’s just a suspense thriller.

However, the core reasoning parts were extremely simplistic, with no layers, no echoes, and no unexpected twists, just revealing the truth through "seeing" and "telling," leaving the audience without the fun of solving a mystery.

A martial arts film without the martial world can only be categorized as an action film.

Though Hong Jinbao’s action design is still dazzling, none of the fights were particularly memorable.

The effects hyped during the promotional phase weren’t as good as imagined.

One could even say they’re not as good as the "Swordsmen of Mount Shu" from ten years ago.

Ten years!

Can’t you guys make some progress?

It’s fair to say that special effects are still a long way to go.

Qi Hao decided that if he won Best Actor and got more Apple stock, he’d use some for a mortgage loan to spend on special effects.

To heck with it, maybe go to Hollywood and acquire a few major special effects companies.

As an Apple shareholder, there’s nothing he can’t buy.

During this Venice International Film Festival, besides occasionally walking around with An Feng, most of Qi Hao’s time was spent watching movies.

He attended two film salons and gave an exclusive interview to an overseas film journal.

Qi Hao’s extensive knowledge once again amazed foreign media.

By now, even those with outdated information know that Qi Hao isn’t a graduate of a prestigious school.

He didn’t even attend a formal high school.

Moreover, he didn’t come from a wealthy family with numerous tutors pouring in knowledge.

It all relies on himself!

Those who fawn and flatter focus on his wealth, while those who are lofty and proud focus on his talent.

This year’s Venice International Film Festival, Qi Hao, this Huaxia filmmaker, brought many surprises to everyone.

He’s gradually receiving celebrity treatment.

It’s not that he’s vain; it’s actually for the task. No one knows what tasks the system will issue in the future.

If he needs to become a judge at the three major European film festivals, then participating in events now to build networks becomes essential.

Otherwise, preparing last minute would be too troublesome.

After mingling for a few days, the domestic box office reached ten million, and it’s finally time for the awards ceremony in Venice.

Everything is set for reaping the results.

The red carpet remains lackluster.

Yet, festival chairman Marco Müller waits at the entrance for guests, making people feel this old-school gentleman is indeed very affable.

He’s always taken care to ensure Chinese win awards.

And Qi Hao subtly expressed to him that he loves movies, is a passionate fan of art films, and has quite a bit of money he wants to invest in them.

It’s not really deceitful.

If a little investment can earn favor from these elite filmmakers and for Huaxia, why not?

Section Chief Jia took quite a bit of money from others.

Whether this money purely supports films or has some other attached demands is unknown.

Of course, Qi Hao definitely won’t snatch away Guo Jia’s livelihood.

The most important thing is still his own interests.

The system surely won’t only issue Best Actor tasks; without surprises, Best Director, Golden Lion/Bear/Palm, these might all become system tasks.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have any decent tasks left.

Awards ceremony began soon after, starting with other categories, then the main competition units.

The first award in the main competition unit is the Best Debut Film Award, which was won by Selenius for "Majority".

Qi Hao once very much hoped to win this award.

But ultimately didn’t gamble on the odds of the Three Major European Film Festivals.

Next is the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Marco Müller, the festival’s host, invited Quentin, a member of the jury, to present the award together.

The playful Quentin shouted as he took the stage:

"My beloved Wu Yushen!"

He is a fan of Hong Kong films, having watched countless films and often expressed his respect for Wu Yushen publicly.

Subsequently, Wu Yushen took the stage accompanied by Xu Ke.

Xu Ke improvised lines from their classic collaboration, "Heroic Bloodshed", to pay tribute to Wu Yushen,

"I’m fighting for my pride not to prove I’m great, but to tell people, I only want what’s rightfully mine."

As Wu Yushen took the stage, prolonged applause lasting several minutes erupted, the audience stood up to honor this film master.

After giving a speech in English, Wu Yushen also expressed his thanks in Mandarin and Cantonese to his friends and audiences from the mainland, Xiangjiang, and Taiwan, saying, "I will not forget everyone who supported me during my struggles and under pressure."

The Best Cinematography Award went to Russia’s "Silent Soul".

The Best Screenplay Award went to "Sad Trumpet Tune".

These can be considered deserving, no less.

However, when the special Golden Lion Award, traditionally seen as having a "balancing" effect, was presented by Quentin to Monte Herman, the response on stage was somewhat sparse.

It’s clear, Quentin’s first feature film "Drowned Dog" was produced by Herman, who guided Quentin into the world of filmmaking.

Today’s accomplished Quentin gave this impromptu Golden Lion to the mentor who led him into filmmaking, which is understandable emotionally, but raises doubts in terms of the competition’s results.

After all, Herman’s "Path to Nowhere" is genuinely not considered a good film.

The film structure is somewhat loose, overly realistic, and not lively enough.

The plot isn’t impressive, with many details laid out only to end up, like the film’s title, going nowhere, resulting in an abrupt, blunt, but unsurprising conclusion.

The two main storylines are intertwined in a somewhat trivial and chaotic manner, and the way these fragments are gradually woven together in the second half can’t be described as clever.

Following the announcement of Ariane Labed winning Best Actress for "Attenberg", it finally came to the Best Actor award, which Qi Hao was most concerned about.

By the way, Qi Hao thought French actress Yaima Torres should have won Best Actress for her brilliant performance in "Black Venus".

Ariane Labed, who won Best Actress, was born in 1984, three years younger than Qi Hao.

Perhaps due to nervousness, Qi Hao’s mind wandered quite a bit.

There were still several major awards to follow, like Best Director, Silver Lion Award, and Golden Lion Award, but Qi Hao wasn’t concerned with these; he only cared if the Best Actor would be awarded to him.

Public relations efforts didn’t necessarily guarantee winning an award; it’s not a straightforward transaction.

The jury could not give any guarantees either.

Everyone was doing public relations.

"Next is the most exciting moment for male actors..."

After some idle talk, award presenter David Strathairn finally got to the point.

He was the Best Actor at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival, winning for George Clooney’s "Good Night, and Good Luck".

"The 67th Venice International Film Festival... Is it the 67th? Haha, let’s see who today’s lucky winner is... Oh, a Huaxia person, let’s congratulate Mr. Qi Hao from ’Hello! Mr. Tree’."

Applause erupted much more enthusiastically than for the Best Actress award.

Qi Hao did not lack competition.

Vincent Gallo in "Necessary Killing" received wide acclaim.

In the film, he doesn’t speak a single line, carrying the film alone in silence with powerful presence.

A formidable opponent indeed to Qi Hao.

However, Qi Hao’s performance was equally outstanding.

In many media reports, both Qi Hao and Vincent Gallo were highly competitive contenders for Best Actor.

Qi Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

Tongzi, the task you’ve given me is secure!

Setting aside the task, winning such an award in such a setting was very gratifying for Qi Hao personally.

Hundreds of days and nights of training had real significance at that moment.

Qi Hao openly kissed An Feng and then confidently walked up to the stage.

"Thank you all..."

When delivering his acceptance speech, Qi Hao used Mandarin.

In such a formal occasion, Mandarin should be used, representing the face of the Huaxia People.

There were interpreters at the scene anyway.

"Thanks to director Han Jie, thanks to everyone in the film crew... Thanks to my fiancée An Feng for her companionship throughout... And also, thanks to myself. Over the years, I’ve been through a lot, often wanting to give up on acting, but I’m glad I didn’t give up. I love movies, I love acting, and I hope I can surpass myself in the future!"

Very seldom seen, this guy actually thanked himself at the award ceremony.