The film that helped Gao Yuanyuan compete for the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film

Chapter 490 The film that put Gao Yuanyuan up for the Berlin Film Festival's Best Actress award (Bonus Chapter 7)

When Gao Yuanyuan arrived at Ziyu Villa, Zheng Hui was in his study looking at the film schedule and interview arrangements sent from Venice.

Manchester by the Sea and Closer were both shortlisted for the main competition, and the schedule for the next few days was packed.

The film festival's official screening times, media screenings, interviews, red carpet schedule, and interview outlines submitted in advance by several European and American media outlets were all laid out on the table.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Gao Yuanyuan standing at the door.

Zheng Hui put down the documents: "Is the interview finished?"

"Um."

"Did you ask me?"

"I asked."

"What did you say?"

"Cooperative relationship".

Zheng Hui smiled and said, "You guys are all pretty good at passing the buck."

Gao Yuanyuan walked in and sat down next to him: "So, what do you want me to say?"

"Say whatever you want."

Zheng Hui reached out and pulled her over.

She sat down on his lap, rested her face on his shoulder, and remained quiet for a while.

Zheng Hui looked down and asked, "How is Auntie?"

"That's great," Gao Yuanyuan said happily. "This morning she even said she was going to cook porridge for my dad."

"What did the doctor say?"

"Take your medication on time, have regular check-ups, and avoid infection. From now on, I'll have my check-ups done in Beijing, send my medical records over, and they'll check the results in the US. If there are any problems, I'll fly back."

"I'll have someone arrange it."

Gao Yuanyuan did not respond immediately.

She leaned on his shoulder and after a while spoke, "Brother Hui."

"Um?"

I'd like to take on a few endorsement deals.

Zheng Hui looked at her: "Zhou Lin didn't give you the contract?"

Gao Yuanyuan took a document out of her bag and placed it next to him: "Here, it was sent by President Li."

Zheng Hui took it and opened it.

The top one is Chanel.

Ten million RMB per year, two-year contract.

The endorsement scope mainly covers image cooperation in China, with some rights to use print materials in Asia, but it is not a global endorsement, nor is it a full-fledged Asian brand ambassador.

This price is already very high for domestic female stars, but in Zheng Hui's eyes, it can only be described as reasonable.

Gao Yuanyuan is quite popular in the country.

The box office success of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" and the music video for "Just the Way You Are" gave her some international recognition. Coupled with her relationship with Zheng Hui, brands were willing to pay a premium for this kind of exposure and buzz.

However, she has very few international works.

Cannes red carpet, Golden Globe and Oscar shots, and music videos for Zheng Hui's English albums can all increase exposure, but they can't truly turn her into an international film star.

Luxury brands value stories, as well as awards and international recognition.

Fan Binbin was able to get a higher profile because she had the North American promotion for "My Sassy Girl" and "John Wick", the global release of "Hero", and a continuous stack of Oscar red carpet and fashion public relations opportunities.

Gao Yuanyuan is still one step away from success.

Zheng Hui closed the document: "The conditions are acceptable."

Gao Yuanyuan looked at him and said, "I want to take it."

"Then I'll accept it."

"If there are any suitable opportunities later, I'd like to take them too."

Zheng Hui understood the implication in her words: "Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic?"

Gao Yuanyuan said, "I asked doctors and people in the industry."

"My mom's surgery, including the initial tests, waiting time, medical plane, apartment, nursing care, and subsequent medications, will cost at least five or six million US dollars, right?"

Zheng Hui looked at her: "Who told you that?"

Gao Yuanyuan looked at him: "I'm not stupid. If you don't tell me, can't I ask?"

Zheng Hui said, "This is not something you need to worry about."

"But that's my mom."

Gao Yuanyuan said very seriously, "I can't pretend nothing happened. I only have a little over 30 million RMB right now. It's not enough in US dollars."

Zheng Hui frowned: "So you want to pay me back by taking on more endorsements?"

"Um."

Gao Yuanyuan continued, "I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, but my fame came from you, 'Those Years'."

You filmed it, you edited the music video, and the reason I was able to get such a high endorsement fee is because you pushed me to this position.

Then I'll take this money back to you, it's like transferring money from one pocket to another.

"But this makes me feel a little better."

Zheng Hui reached out and touched her hair: "You don't need to calculate it that way."

"I want to calculate it."

"Yuanyuan".

Gao Yuanyuan looked at him and said, "Let me finish. I don't mean to cut ties with you, nor do I think that once the money is paid back, we're even. It's not like that."

Zheng Hui listened quietly to her.

She said, "I just wanted to do something. During those months in the United States, I sat in the hospital every day, watching doctors and nurses come and go, watching my mother wear an oxygen mask, and looking at those bills and documents. I was actually very scared."

"I know you have money, and I know you can solve a lot of problems. But the more I know you can solve them, the more I blame myself for being unable to do anything."

"My mother survived because of you. This debt of gratitude is so great that if I do nothing, I will feel like there is a stone weighing on my heart, getting heavier and heavier, until I can't even breathe."

She chuckled as she said this, "So let me pay back a little, even if it's just to make things a little easier for me."

Zheng Hui looked into her eyes. This woman could accept his help and rely on him in her most desperate moments, but she was unwilling to be just someone who was saved forever.

He said, "Okay, you can pay it back if you want, six million dollars, right?"

She nodded: "Mm."

"OK."

Gao Yuanyuan, however, seemed a little uncertain: "You're not going to turn around and send the money back, are you?"

Zheng Hui smiled: "No."

"You can't give me a house, funds, or stocks under other pretexts and then secretly make up for it later."

Zheng Hui chuckled: "You've blocked all my way out."

I knew you would do this.

"Then you know me quite well."

"certainly."

Zheng Hui leaned over and bit her lip.

She laughed and dodged, saying, "Director Zheng, please respect your co-stars."

"Do my co-stars still sleep in my bed at night?"

"This is a role that involves in-depth communication."

Zheng Hui was amused by her, and after laughing, he suddenly asked, "Would you like your endorsement fee to rise even faster?"

Gao Yuanyuan looked up: "What do you mean?"

"Chanel is offering you ten million a year, not because you're not pretty enough, nor because you're not famous enough, but because you're lacking a real international film award."

Gao Yuanyuan paused, then asked, "An award?"

"Um."

Zheng Hui said, "If you can win a Best Actress award at one of the three major European film festivals, Chanel won't just offer you a collaboration in China. At the very least, you can negotiate a core endorsement deal in Asia, or even something more prestigious."

Gao Yuanyuan looked at him: "You want me to try for Best Actress?"

"I have that idea."

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes widened slightly.

Best Actress at three major film festivals.

If she wins Best Actress at one of the three major film festivals, what does that mean?

This means that now, all the high-end luxury brands' Asian and even global brand ambassadors are lining up to work with her. The price increase isn't just doubled; it's jumped to a whole new level.

"Are you serious?" Gao Yuanyuan's voice was a little tense.

"When have I ever not been serious?"

"What kind of movie are you talking about?"

"A woman went to another country. She went there because of a relationship. A relationship that caused her pain."

"She wandered around that unfamiliar city, met some people, and talked to some people. During the day, she pretended that nothing was wrong, but at night she faced those emotions alone."

"Throughout this journey, she gradually accepted the things in this relationship that she couldn't change."

"There will be some scenes between us in this movie."

"It's not exactly the same. I'll change it, I'll adjust it, to make it look fictional. But the core, that emotion, that psychological process of experiencing betrayal, struggle, and choosing to stay—is real."

After watching it, viewers might feel it's an elaborately crafted story. But if someone knew the truth about our relationship, they might feel it's actually true.

"This blurring of the lines between reality and illusion is precisely the greatest strength of this film."

"Can you deny that it's true?" Gao Yuanyuan asked.

Zheng Hui said, "Of course, the story is fictional. The characters have no direct correspondence with real people. Any interpretation is a projection of the audience's own feelings. These arguments will always hold true."

Gao Yuanyuan thought for a moment: "Then why include our own things?"

"That way you can play yourself."

"The highest level of acting is not just performing, but bringing the performance to life."

When a character's emotional experiences highly overlap with the actress's own, the actress doesn't need to construct or imagine; she simply needs to open herself up and let those real memories and emotions flow naturally.

"That sense of realism is something that no acting technique can imitate."

Gao Yuanyuan realized: "The woman I played in that movie... was myself?"

Zheng Hui looked at her and said, "It's a part of your own experience, magnified, given another name and another background."

"You know what it feels like to be deceived, you know what it's like to face that person every day after choosing to stay, you know what it's like to be torn between anger, grievance, resentment and deep love."

You have all of these things.

"All I have to do is bring these things out."

Gao Yuanyuan recalled that afternoon in the Cantonese restaurant, listening to Fan Binbin recount everything. The feeling of the sky falling, the suffocating sensation that made it hard to breathe.

She recalled the days that followed, pretending nothing had happened during the day, and lying alone in the dark at night after Zheng Hui fell asleep, her eyes wide open until dawn.

She recalled the moment on set of the wedding scene when she saw Zheng Hui staring blankly at her in her wedding dress. Was what was in his eyes real or fake?

She remembered the song "Guest".

Even though three years have passed, even though she has made the choice to stay, these memories remain buried there, pressed beneath the surface of daily life. They haven't disappeared, they've simply settled.

Now Zheng Hui tells her: Take these things out, put them in front of the camera, and let the whole world see them.

Gao Yuanyuan looked at him: "If I act in this movie, aren't you afraid people will find out?"

"What did you figure out?"

"I can tell this is real."

Zheng Hui smiled, a smile that held both helplessness and composure: "I said, you and I can both deny it. A thousand people will read it and there will be a thousand interpretations."

Some people think it's true, some think it's fiction, and some think it's a mix of truth and fiction. This ambiguity isn't a weakness; it's armor.

"Will this movie win me Best Actress?" Gao Yuanyuan finally asked.

Zheng Hui said, "It's highly likely. The judges at the three major film festivals love this kind of thing the most—authentic, unedited female characters."

Sexual emotions.

You're not acting out a role; you're exposing your own wounds to everyone. Judges can spot that immediately.

"With proper public relations efforts, the chances of winning an award are not low."

Gao Yuanyuan said, "I'll act."

"No regrets?"

"What's there to regret?" Gao Yuanyuan retorted. "You said this movie would win me Best Actress. If I win Best Actress, my endorsement fees will go up, and I can pay you back faster."

As she said the last sentence, the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.

Zheng Hui paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Okay," he said.

Gao Yuanyuan asked, "When will we film?"

Zheng Hui said, "No rush. Let's finish up with the Venice Film Festival first. After we're done in Venice in September, I'll take you to Germany to film."

"Germany?"

"The story is set in a small seaside town in Europe. I plan to submit it to the Berlin Film Festival. Filming in Germany will be a plus. Anyway, any foreign city is fine."

Gao Yuanyuan thought for a moment: "The Berlin Film Festival—isn't that next February?"

"Yes. Next February. Filming will be completed in September this year, post-production will be done in October and November, and then it will be sent to Berlin. There is enough time, plenty of time."

How long is the filming period?

"It's very short," Zheng Hui said. "This film doesn't need big scenes or complicated staging. It's basically about a woman walking, stopping, and thinking in a city."

The amount of filming is not large, but it requires a high density of emotional expression. It can be completed in two to three weeks at most.

Gao Yuanyuan didn't reply; instead, she gripped his hand a little tighter.

After a while, she said, "You said you'd add some things from our past—what would you add?"

Zheng Hui said, "It's not decided yet. You can read it after I finish writing it."

"Brother Hui."

"Um?"

"The woman you mentioned—what choice did she make at the end of the movie?"

Zheng Hui said, "She chose to go back."

"Go back to find that person?"

"Um."

Gao Yuanyuan didn't say anything more. Seeing that it was almost time, she got up to prepare dinner.

Zheng Hui stopped dealing with the matter; his mind was preoccupied with that movie that didn't even exist yet.

"A Night Alone on the Beach".

In a previous life, this was a film by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, for which Kim Min-hee won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The magic of that movie lies in the fact that it is not a good movie in the traditional sense.

The plot is very simple, even weak.

An actress leaves for a foreign country after her affair with a married director is exposed. She lives alone in a seaside town, meets some people, and has some seemingly insignificant conversations.

Then I went back to South Korea, met some more people, and said some more things.

If you look at the script alone, this movie is bland and boring.

But when the audience learned about the real-life background, that Kim Min-hee and director Hong Sang-soo did indeed have an illicit affair, and that this relationship had subjected her to immense public pressure, everything on the screen suddenly felt different when they watched the movie again.

Every pause where a character seems about to speak, every bitterness behind a nonchalant smile, every nonchalant evasion when a character faces a question—the audience can't tell what's acting and what's real.

This gap between reality and fiction creates a unique viewing experience. It transcends traditional narrative films, becoming a prism that reflects the unsettling boundary between reality and fiction.

The Berlin judges were struck by this. When Kim Min-hee stood on the podium, no one knew whether her tears were the joy of an actress or the release of a real woman.

Zheng Hui plans to transplant the story, replacing the one about a Korean director and a Korean actress with his own story with Gao Yuanyuan.

What has Gao Yuanyuan experienced?

She experienced the devastation of discovering that the man she loved had another woman by his side, and she also experienced that afternoon when Fan Binbin sat across from her and exposed everything.

She went through anger, self-doubt, resentment, soft-heartedness, compromise, and finally, her choice.

These things are a million times more real than any dialogue written by a screenwriter.

All he had to do was build a framework and put Gao Yuanyuan inside. He would guide her, allowing the emotions that had been building up for three years to flow naturally in front of the camera.

Gao Yuanyuan is not a good actress, at least not now; she has not received systematic training in method acting or experiential acting.

But she has one thing that no amount of training can give her: she has real experience.

And this movie only needs this one thing.

As for public relations, the Berlin Film Festival's jury leans towards the left, social issues, and female narratives.

A young Chinese actress delivers a natural performance in a film about women's emotional dilemmas, a narrative that inherently carries the added weight of topicality and political correctness.

Furthermore, with Zheng Hui's name listed as the director, this project is feasible.