411 A Promotional Conference

"That is the symbol of a top model. By then, you will be the top male model in China. Maybe you could become one of the top 100 men in the fashion world. You will have a place among beauties from all over the world."

She was really ambitious. Qin Guan had better watch out.

...

As she looked forward to the future, Sister Xue still didn’t forget her aim. There were two months left before the Oscars, but the promotional conferences of the films were being held one by one since January in Los Angeles.

There were also many different previews, negotiation banquets and press conferences among film companies and stars.

Qin Guan liked the weather in LA. It was winter, yet it was still warm in the city. Even the social tension caused by Iraq had been eased. People could feel a spring breeze coming.

Director Zhang Yimou had invested a lot in that conference. Right after New Year’s, he and Zhang Weining went to Hollywood.

As the Holy Land of the film industry, Hollywood, with its history of only tens of years, was a picturesque town.

Next to the small town were large film and TV studios, where many film production companies were gathered. They composed the big Hollywood family and contributed to the success of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the US.

The award ceremony would be held at the Kodak Theater (which had been renamed Hollywood & Highland). It would continue to be the site of the award ceremony in the future. Previously, the ceremony had been held at the TCL Chinese Theater and the Dolby Theater.

There were still several days left before the selection of the films. Qin Guan was not late to the event, but the promotional staff had already finished many exhibitions and exclusive preview meetings.

Qin Guan met Director Zhang and Producer Zhang instead of idling around Hollywood like a tourist.

Film promotion in 2003 actually meant explaining the concept of the film repeatedly to everyone involved. In fact, movie critics and LA-based distributing companies knew nothing about Chinese films.

What had attracted their attention was the famous Kung Fu Star, Li Lianjie, as well as the box office success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Qin Guan’s first task was to attend the last promotional meeting before the award ceremony, with the intention to find a powerful distributing company for the film. Otherwise, their investment would be in vain.

Qin Guan was wearing his customized Armani suit. The cunning, considerate brand had prepared in advance three ordinary formal suits to serve as standbys for the different banquets he would be attending in Hollywood.

Qin Guan followed Director Zhang. The middle-aged man was a Chinese guy who looked unexpectedly handsome in his western style suit.

It was a small-scale promoting conference, so only some distributing companies with purchasing intention had been invited. They would be negotiating about the final price that day.

"Qin Guan, this is Sam, the distributing director of Miramax. Sam, this is Qin Guan, an actor in ‘Heroes’. He is a student at Columbia..."

Zhang Weining and Sam seemed to be familiar with each other.

Qin Guan smiled at Sam, "Hello, I’m Qin Guan. I am honored to be acting in a film of your company. Thank you for the opportunity..."

The old man was a typical cunning guy working in the American film industry. He shook Qin Guan's hand gently.

"Which film?"

Miramax had invested in plenty of films, including some with limited budget. It was a good method to attract an audience.

"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."

"Wow! Well done, young man! An indie film!"

Although all companies were commercialized, they actually felt a deep respect for directors and actors devoting themselves to indie films.

Director Zhang was surprised. What? Qin Guan, a supporting actor in domestic commercial films, has become an indie film hero in the US in barely half a year? The world is changing really fast!

He scanned Qin Guan from head to toe. He seems elegant and graceful. Could he act in an indie film though?

He had forgotten about the concept of aestheticism in foreign indie films. Qin Guan, Sam and Zhang had a harmonious conversation. After the conference, they exchanged contact information through their lawyers.

The publishing rights in North America belonged to Miramax. The 25-million-dollar price made it the top Chinese film.

During the following negotiations, Sam even made a joke. "Shall we change the name to ‘Zhang Yimou: Heroes’?"

They all looked into the further promotion of the film. The next day, Qin Guan returned to New York, while his babysitter left for Los Angeles, the supreme headquarters of the film circle.

She worked in Hollywood like a duck in the water. Thanks to Zhang, she got all kinds of invitations to different banquets.

Warm Southern California was far away. Qin Guan began to take exams as soon as he returned to New York.

It was worse to take the exams in New York, because of the high prices of the US. Considering this was the location of Wall Street, the competition was especially fierce there.

The application fee in the state of New York was 220 dollars, while in western parts of the country it was only 25 dollars. The exams also cost 650 dollars. Along with the fee for educational background certificates, Qin Guan spent 1,000 dollars in total.

That was pure discrimination. There were also poor people living in New York. Qin Guan could afford the cost, but he didn’t have much free time to study for the exams.

The CPA certificates were of high value, but time was just as valuable.