Chapter 145: "Does Having a Representative Work Matter?"

The Cannes International Film Festival ranks among the top three film festivals in the world. Whenever the opening ceremony commences, superstars from every corner of the globe gather here; it is truly a constellation of talent, with starlight shimmering everywhere you look.

To put it somewhat hyperbolically, if you were to toss a brick into the crowd at the opening ceremony, you would almost certainly hit someone with a degree of fame in the entertainment industry. Regardless of their level of notoriety, it is safe to say that just anyone cannot simply slip in.

The Cannes International Film Festival is essentially a super-enhanced version of the Chinese Golden Melody Awards, with all configurations and thresholds significantly elevated. Even the cost of purchasing a ticket just to walk the red carpet is many times higher than the price of admission for the Golden Melody Awards.

This is because the scale of these two award ceremonies is not even in the same league. The Golden Melody Awards primarily cater to audiences within China, whereas the Cannes International Film Festival faces a global audience and international media. Anything, once it carries the label "international," naturally sees its prestige skyrocket.

It is much like the difference between a local snack stall and an "International Hotel." Although the food inside might be identical, people will inevitably gravitate toward the latter, because the word "international" implies a connection to the wider world. Regardless of the actual quality, adding that label secures a sense of status and grandeur.

The most cynical aspect of this is that the more expensive the tickets to Cannes become, the more various "fake socialites" flock to them. They are desperate to pay exorbitant prices for entry just to snap photos, thereby inflating their own perceived social standing.

This is also why some so-called "international" film festivals issue awards with such negligible prestige—far inferior to domestic accolades—yet people are still eager to claim them.

In a past life, there was an example of a certain actress who, after winning a so-called "Best Actress Award at the Houston International Film Festival," promoted it wildly on social media. It was later exposed as a piece of "foreign trash" with zero credibility—an event entirely organized by Chinese individuals that merely adopted a foreign title. One could essentially buy an award with money, and it was not uncommon for seven or eight people to share the stage to receive the same honor.

The prestige of such awards is even less substantial than the "Golden Broom Awards" of the past. At least when the Golden Broom list is released, it garners genuine attention from the public. When the nominations are announced, numerous self-media outlets scramble to repost and write articles; in terms of sheer name recognition alone, it completely crushes the so-called "Houston International Film Festival Best Actress Award."

Although the connotation of the Golden Broom Award is negative, it at least encourages improvement. Wang Baoqiang, for instance, famously attended the ceremony to accept the award in person, becoming one of the few winners to ever do so—and notably, he possessed the highest profile among all the recipients.

The Cannes International Film Festival, however, faces no such concerns. With a history spanning sixty or seventy years, it has arguably witnessed the entire development of world cinema. According to incomplete statistics, a nomination in the main competition at Cannes can boost a film’s box office by at least one million, and actually winning an award can increase earnings by tens of millions.

If one were to win Best Actor, Best Actress, or the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the box office boost would likely be calculated in the hundreds of millions. This is the true weight of Cannes, a reputation earned through its own credibility. The public trusts that the festival selects high-quality films, which is why audiences flock to theaters once the results are announced.

This is also why world-class stars pursue these awards so fervently; they crave the industry-wide recognition that validates their achievements. These awards serve as a semi-official stamp of approval, providing leverage when negotiating salaries, as it signifies a profound acknowledgment of their craft.

With so many superstars gathered from around the world, there is naturally an abundance of paparazzi. Every year, these major film festivals are a carnival for them, a time when they can secure the most explosive scoops in the shortest amount of time.

Normally, they would have to fly across the globe to chase celebrities, but during the festival, they need only remain at the venue. The stars practically hand them opportunities on a silver platter, all in exchange for the accompanying exposure.

During the festival, the paparazzi congregate most densely during the opening red carpet ceremony. Nearly every media outlet qualified to shoot at Cannes gathers around the perimeter.

During the walk, the camera flashes never cease. They capture every angle, desperate to snap the most compelling shots—whether it is a moment of cinematic brilliance or a scandalous blunder, they record it without hesitation.

Thus, the red carpet becomes a stage for stars to compete in glamour. Male stars tend to exercise some restraint, but the focus is primarily on the actresses. At such times, they don their meticulously prepared "battle gowns," and some even script "accidental" falls just to draw the cameras.

Even if an actress has no representative work to speak of at the festival, as long as she is sufficiently eye-catching on the red carpet, the media exposure she gains can be quite considerable.

There was even a star in a past life who became famous solely by walking the red carpet. Her agency capitalized on this through frenzied marketing, claiming she was "going abroad to bring glory to the country." As for whether she had any actual acting credits? They never cared; it wasn't even worth mentioning. And as for the media, they cared even less. For them, whatever grabs the audience's attention is what gets filmed.