Chapter 658: Chapter 481: Not Taking Advantage
Do actors necessarily have to pursue an international career?
Not necessarily, one doesn’t have to be recognized by people from other countries to be considered a good actor.
But I wonder if you’ve heard of a Spanish actress named Penelope Cruz.
You may have heard of her name, or perhaps you haven’t.
However, you probably have heard of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean," in which she acted.
You might think she became famous worldwide because of "Pirates of the Caribbean."
In fact, that’s not the case, she was already a popular actress in Spain and had won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for "Return" directed by Pedro Almodovar and was also nominated for the Best Actress Oscar that year. What does this nomination signify? If you know how much Americans dislike reading subtitles when watching movies, you’ll understand how difficult it is to be nominated for Best Actress with a non-English film.
She didn’t have to break into Hollywood, as she was the go-to actress for world-renowned director Pedro Almodovar in Spain, and a regular at the world’s top three film festivals.
It’s fine that she pursued Hollywood; by working with great directors like Woody Allen and acting in "Love in Barcelona," she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She could have continued on that path.
Already having won several Movie Queen trophies, why would she play a vase in a commercial movie?
Not just "Pirates of the Caribbean," she also acted in movies like "355."
Others can’t conclusively interpret her motives, but objectively, "Pirates of the Caribbean" introduced her to audiences around the world.
Does she want to be a globally recognized movie celebrity? Seems not. She still loves art films and has returned to Spain after "Pirates of the Caribbean" to act in many Spanish-language films, including collaborating with the ever-appreciative Pedro Almodovar.
Thus, you see her popularity increasing, more audiences getting to know her, and people starting to pay attention to a movie because of her.
When she was once again nominated for the Oscars for "Parallel Mothers," a Spanish film, you’re no longer surprised.
Because for the members of the Oscars, she is not a stranger.
She is neither those independent cinema people who are indifferent to Hollywood nor the artists who are too esoteric.
Once could be luck, but no one can say the same the second time.
Zhou Lan wants her actors to take an international route, not to have a domestic-only appeal, but as an actor, the more chips you have on your side, the greater your freedom of choice.
You often hear that an actor isn’t well-known despite good acting skills, and if they are cast in a lead role, the movie might not sell.
You also often hear that actors are constantly in a position of being selected in the market; they lack security and rarely hold initiative.
Zhou Lan hopes her actors can experience fewer moments of helplessness.
By pursuing an international career, perhaps in the future, they could also lead Chinese-language films to the pinnacle of world cinema.
Zhou Lan knows this is hugely ambitious, even more so than idealism.
But it still needs to be done.
Naturally, many people want to interview Zhou Yun, but she declined them all.
Not just her, but other main actors of "Behind the Scenes" rejected any exclusive interviews at the advice of Shi Luoqi.
What will "Behind the Scenes" achieve at Cannes? What kind of success will it find? These are the questions everyone is most concerned about, but Shi Luoqi hopes the film can maintain a bit of mystery.
This day, Zhou Yun attended the fourth script reading for "Four Killers."
The first thing everyone did when they saw her was to congratulate her.
Actually, Zhou Yun also felt that amidst the congratulatory atmosphere, there were some other sentiments.
Although she felt it, she pretended as if she hadn’t noticed.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone sat down and started the script reading.
Midway through, He Xuran and Yin Linglin got into an argument.
It started because their characters in the script are a couple who, in order to accomplish a mission, have to pretend to break up so that He Xuran could purposely get close to another woman, and during this process, they fight.
He Xuran and Yin Linglin disagreed on their interpretation of this scene.
He Xuran believed the argument occurred because Yin Linglin’s character couldn’t rationally approach the mission and was angered by He Xuran’s actions towards another woman.
Yin Linglin, on the other hand, thought her character wasn’t someone who would easily become jealous; her anger stemmed from He Xuran’s actions going too far, things that didn’t need to be done were done, hence the upset.
In the script, the specific reason for their argument wasn’t clear, only stating that the dispute was about He Xuran getting close to another woman.
"I’m not irrational. We agreed it was to complete the mission that you’d get close to that woman. If all your actions were normal, how could I possibly get angry? You’re making my character seem like someone blinded by jealousy," said Yin Linglin.
He Xuran was also unhappy, saying, "So you mean to say, under the guise of completing the mission, I did something out of bounds? I’m some lecher."
Yin Linglin shot back, "Would you men really not take advantage when given the chance?"
He Xuran laughed in disbelief, saying, "Don’t generalize us all based on your boyfriend’s bad traits."
Yin Linglin’s face turned green with rage and said, "What did you say?!"
He Xuran replied, "What, if your boyfriend didn’t like taking those small advantages, how could you have such opinions?"
Yin Linglin: "So what you’re saying is your girlfriend is the type to throw all reason out of the window and be completely lovestruck once she falls in love?"
"Sorry, I don’t have a girlfriend."
Yin Linglin, furious and unable to come up with a retort, stood up and stormed out.
Someone immediately went after her.
The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.
Zhou Yun took a sharp breath, glanced at a frowning Yao Yuanfeng, then at Hou Mengjie who remained silent, put down the script, and said, "I’m going to the bathroom."
She felt it was better to cool things down for the time being.
Say no more.
Walking through the corridor, she encountered Yin Linglin’s assistant trying to persuade her to go back.
Yin Linglin, seeing Zhou Yun, wiped her face.
Zhou Yun said nothing, nodded her head, and walked past her, proceeding down the corridor and into the bathroom.
Yin Linglin, still angry, said to her assistant, "If it had been Zhou Yun who raised the objection, would He Xuran have said those words?"