Chapter 811: Filming In The Louvre
Translator: Lan_ Editor: Efydatia
"I'm not satisfied with Qin Guan's new award. It's the Chinese Golden Horse Award. It's no American or European award. It's even inferior to an international 9A-level film festival."
"Besides, he has to share the honor with another Chinese actor. I felt wronged on his behalf."
"Please return to our embrace, Qin Guan. Please! This is unfair for you!"
Some Chinese students couldn't help but try to explain.
"The Golden Horse Festival has been taking place for over 50 years. It's very influential in the Chinese film circle. The man standing beside Qin Guan is a renowned actor named Liu Dehua. He is an older actor with more than 20 years of experience. Have you seen the film 'House of Flying Daggers'? He was the protagonist!"
"What the hell is that?"
"It's a Chinese martial arts film. Its box office sucked..."
After a heated discussion, everyone said that they thought very highly of Qin Guan's performance in "Ke Ke Xi Li".
As a result, Columbia Pictures contacted Qin Guan to get the distributing rights of the film. Qin Guan's film would be screened in indie cinemas all over North America.
Thanks to Qin Guan's appeal in America, as well as the attention the two award-winning actors received, the film made back some of Huayi's money. Actually, it had originally been created just to get an award.
In one month, the film's total box office in North America was 3.08 million, which was definitely better than "Elephant".
The hits of the video on Chinese websites were also rising. People had become very interested in the film, which was more than enough for Huayi. The money they made was like pennies falling from Heaven.
All thanks to Qin Guan!
When they came back to their senses, they realized the guy had disappeared from China. Soon, his firm released his upcoming schedule.
He hadn't returned to America, as everyone had thought. He had rushed to France instead, where the staff of Columbia Pictures would meet him.
Yes, the company had invested in him again.
The mysterious meeting was about the film "The Da Vinci Code". It was rare for a film to talk about religious beliefs so openly.
As soon as the novel had been adapted into a script, the company and Ronald William Howard, who was the director, had started being pressured from all sides. The crew had received thousands of letters of protest. Despite the threats of the Catholic union and its societies though, they had chosen to keep filming in secret.
One of the most important scenes was supposed to take place in the Louvre Museum in France, so Qin Guan had to fly to Paris to meet them. The famous painting of "Mona Lisa" was an important plot point of the film.
Meanwhile, the crew would select a French actress for their journey in France.
Qin Guan didn't understand why they were so confident until he checked in at a hotel near the Louvre. Salvador, the head of the Italian Mafia family, had invested in the film when he had found out that they needed immediate help. He had even helped them rent some important locations.
The origin of his confidence was the Asian man he had only met once before.
He had actually been searching in Italy for a long time for a good film, but his effort had been in vain. He was a picky guy, yet "The Da Vinci Code" suited his taste.
The film was full of horror and suspense, and people had to use their brains while watching it. The brave man paid no attention to its annoying religious elements.
Qin Guan didn't have to focus on the job at such an early stage. He had only one question in mind: where were the director and the producer? The crew gave him and Wang Liying a surprising answer.
"They received a call from Chirac while they had been casting actors in France."
"Chirac who? The one I have in mind?"
"Yes, the French president."
"Okay, go on."
"They will have a meeting today for about an hour. I think they will talk about renting the Louvre."
Qin Guan became nervous. "Will they lend us the original 'Mona Lisa'?"
"That's impossible! The director of the museum has come up with another plan though. They found a copy and sent it to us a few days ago. They said that it was a contribution to our film. The copy is also an antique. It's really fine, it looks exactly like the real one. Even a famous painter wouldn't be able to tell them apart."