Chapter 1283 The Queen
Of course, Ning Weimin himself knew that it was impossible to expect complete confidentiality of the information.
Even though there is a confidentiality clause, there are no fewer than dozens of staff members from the two production companies involved, including board members.
With so many people, how can it be possible to ensure that everyone remains silent?
Otherwise, the gossipy news about this matter would not have been leaked out so early.
God knows which big shot is lax in speaking, or is it the little guy who wants to attract attention?
So the so-called confidentiality clause is based on the bottom line of trust, just to guard against gentlemen and not against villains.
What's more, there are some smart people who discovered the truth of the matter just by intuition. This is something Ning Wei Minsui cannot stop, so it is impossible for him to block all the interference that comes from it.
Catherine Devner was one of those extremely smart people, and her sources were earlier than most.
On May 28, she was at the officially designated hotel, drinking and having fun with several old friends from the jury.
By the way, I would like to say good things to Marcelo Mastroianni, the leading actor of the film "Dark Eyes" in the competition section of this film festival, and try to win him the Best Actor Award this year.
Unexpectedly, she learned this amazing news from a friend of the judges during the half-time chat after drinking for three rounds.
In fact, there is no need to verify whether the news is true or false, because the person who revealed the news works at the French Film Archive and is an authoritative figure in the film industry.
He never spreads unfounded gossip, as long as the news he tells must be true.
When he told Catherine Deneuve about this, his original intention was to tell her that the Asian rights to dozens of movies starring her had been bought.
After all, the two French film companies that made deals with Ning Weimin have acquired many other film companies over the years, either due to expansion needs or government requirements, and their film libraries have become quite large.
No one would believe that someone bought so many copyrights just for personal collection or personal appreciation.
So this judge is kindly reminding Catherine, hoping that she can pay attention to the Eastern film market.
He thinks that maybe soon, someone will create a good gold-making opportunity for Catherine in Asia.
Given the current dire economic situation in France and the decline of the European film industry, she might be interested.
However, the judges never expected that Catherine Deneuve would have such a big reaction after hearing the news, and she almost became excited immediately.
“What? Are you telling the truth?”
“Of course. This matter is important to you?”
“Yes, I can’t believe it. , I can’t believe it...”
Katherine muttered to herself, her expression changing from surprise to anxiety.
The judges saw her abnormal state and couldn't help but worry, "What's wrong? Catherine? Are you okay..."
"Oh, I'm fine, but I have to go, thank you..."< br>
Catherine kissed the other person's face gently, then turned and left without any regret.
Only the judges were left standing there in astonishment, silently savoring the lingering fragrance left by the "First Lady of French Film"'s red lips brushing against their cheeks, and watching helplessly the image of Catherine in a red dress. Like a beautiful elf, she disappeared from the crowd in front of him.
However, it is not easy for Catherine to leave here smoothly.
Because this party was not only full of big shots from the Cannes Film Festival organizing committee, heads of major European studios and stars, but many of these people were also her friends.
What's more, with her status in the European film industry, she is destined to be the focus of everyone's attention. It is almost impossible for her to pass through the crowd unknown and leave the scene as soon as possible.
So in fact, every person who met in the group would keep her when they found her.
And she managed to break through all the blockades and find the gate with her smile and politeness, as well as clinking glasses and drinking more than ten times.
Unexpectedly, just when victory was in sight and she was finally able to leave the reception, her arm was actually grabbed.
Then a man's cheerful voice sounded in her ears.
"Ah, my goddess, I have finally seen you! My dear, where are you going?"
Catherine turned her head angrily to look at the person who blocked her because of her failure.
Only discovered that it was his former lover, Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni.
Catherine did have a different feeling towards this man.
Not only because when she was twenty-eight, she fell in love with this man irrespective of the fact that he was already married.
Also because even after they broke up, they still maintained an emotional bond, which was an illegitimate daughter they shared.
That’s why she willingly helped this man canvass votes at this Cannes Film Festival without asking for anything in return.
To be honest, compared to her ex-husbands who had formal marriages, this man who only fooled around with her for four years gave her the most unforgettable happy time. The heaviest in terms of emotional weight.
So Catherine's brows that were already furrowed with anger turned to soften, and she tried her best to express her demands patiently.
"Marcelo, now is not the time, please let me go, I have something to deal with..."
If it were another person, there would be no such treatment, I'm afraid this time She had already been angry.
After all, the name "Ice Beauty" is not something to be hidden, and Catherine's family background and connections are enough to support her to release herself at will.
However, I don’t know if it’s because the self-proclaimed romantic Italian man always thinks highly of himself, or if it’s because his movie has received such good reviews and reputation that he feels really happy.
Of course, it's also possible that this guy had a little too much to drink, or that his relationship with Catherine was unusual.
Anyway, Marcelo Mastroianni clearly heard Catherine's request, but instead of obeying, he hugged Catherine even tighter.
"You are so bad. I have been here looking at you silently for a long time, and I only saw you chatting and laughing with other men. What? Now you still want to leave me. Stay, at least have a glass of champagne with me..."
This kind of olive oil-like love words is his specialty.
If paired with a pair of eyes that are pretending to be affectionate, as bright as glaze.
From an eighteen-year-old girl to a fifty-year-old middle-aged lady, nine out of ten will become obsessed and fall in love.
The same goes for Catherine, who had married David Bailey at the age of twenty-six.
And this was deliberately shown by Marcelo, just like the love scene in the movie, and even attracted cheers and applause from the two bystanders who just chatted with Marcelo.
“Look! What a beautiful couple! A perfect match made in heaven after a movie star and a movie star.”
“Yes, it’s really interesting, Marcelo, if you were a man, don’t let She ran away." So in such a heckled atmosphere, Marcelo became even more enthusiastic, as if he wanted to prove his charm in front of his friends.
He really clung to Catherine, no matter what she said, he would drag her life and death, not letting her go, and even wanted to kiss her.
As a result, his rogue behavior exhausted Catherine's patience and tolerance.
Unable to endure it, finally... the "First Lady" broke out.
Catherine showed her toughness and gave Marcelo a slap in the face. Then she snatched a glass of champagne from the onlooker and poured it over Marcelo's head!< br>
The cold wine flowed down Marcelo's hair and onto his face and neck. The coolness combined with the burning taste on his face was like a panacea, making Marcelo froze as if he burped.
The complacency and glibness all left him, and instead, a look of panic and confusion appeared on his face.
This is probably the first time that this Italian love saint and famous actor has been treated like this in public.
The original intention of happiness was opposite to the final result. His face was full of unbelievable embarrassment.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to call Catherine's name, but after trembling for a long time he didn't have the courage, so he just murmured.
"It's just a joke... I'm sorry, I didn't expect... It's just a joke..."
As for the two people who were heckled just now, their faces were pale, as if they themselves had been poured wine. .
Even the surrounding environment became silent.
Many guests noticed the anomaly here, turned their heads, widened their eyes, and watched what happened next in surprise.
Only Catherine raised her chin and stared indifferently at the frightened unfortunate guy in front of her.
"You asked for it!"
After a moment, he said again in a carefree and proud tone, "Are you awake now? Well, then, let go of your hand and let me go!"
< br>Following, having got rid of the entanglement, she turned around and walked out of the door without even looking at Marcelo.
Whether she has a frosty look or a righteous statement, she seems to be reminding everyone present.
Catherine Deneuve will always be Catherine Deneuve!
She is as unpredictable as the characters she plays.
Although she is indeed beautiful, she has never had the burden of beauty, and she has crazy genes.
Whoever wants to make her anxious may let you know at any time that beautiful women are not just for face.
Thanks to the fact that there were no media reporters present at the scene, otherwise such an exciting scene, coupled with some reporters' fanciful speculations, I am afraid that today's banquet incident will be enough to make the entire Cannes people, and even the entire French movie fans, They all talked about it for a year.
But then again, even though Catherine walked in such a chic and high-profile way, she is now very happy.
She had even guessed who was the initiator of the shock in the French film industry, and asked her driver to drive her to the hotel where Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko were staying.
But unfortunately, she missed it.
She came excitedly and learned a piece of depressing news from the hotel front desk with full expectation.
Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko actually left early this morning.
This left her with nowhere to talk about what she had been holding back on the road, and her mood became even more irritable.
So next, Alain Delon became the unlucky guy in the end.
Because when Catherine called him instead to inquire about the whereabouts of Ning Weimin.
This noble "Her Royal Highness", who has been frustrated many times and feels that she has been let down by her friends, all the negative emotions that came from this today have also turned to fall on him.
"I said Alan, what is going on? Has our friend left Cannes? Where is he now? How can I find him?"
"What the hell? What's going on? Who are you talking about?" Alain Delon's confused voice came from the phone. "Catherine, have you been drinking?"
"Hey, don't play dumb with me! I'm talking about Ning, our mutual friend. Now Cannes is full of rumors about what he's done. He bought all the prints of World Television Films and ImageOgana Productions Asia copyright. Oh my God, I can’t believe that I actually know all this from other people’s mouths! Don’t tell me that you don’t know this, and don’t tell me that this has nothing to do with you…”
When Catherine said this, she was shaking all over, so much so that she had to light a Ms. Saint Laurent cigarette to help calm down.
Alain Delon on the other end of the phone was greatly surprised by this.
He didn't expect Catherine to react like this.
"Catherine, don't be excited. In fact, I am just as surprised as you are. I have been kept in the dark and completely unaware, and when I knew all this, I felt equally incredible. Believe it. I assure you that this deal was actually just a temporary move, and even his wife was surprised." Alain Delon could only try his best to explain.
"I don't believe it. How could such a large transaction not be premeditated? Don't think of me as a fool!"
Katherine made a judgment based on common sense, "To be honest, tell me, for these two transactions, Ning How much did it cost?”
“You can’t help it if you don’t believe it, but what I said is the truth.”
Alain Delon’s voice always remained gentle, “As for the transaction amount, I wasn’t there, so I don’t know much about it. Anyway, it adds up to about 500 million francs!”
“Ha!” Catherine exclaimed uncontrollably. This number was far beyond her imagination.
She really didn't understand where Ning Weimin got so much money, and why he spent money on these useless copies.
Of course, what she couldn't figure out even more was why the two of them kept it secret from her.
"I really can't believe that as your mutual friends, both of you chose to hide this from me. I didn't even know he was gone! Why didn't he want to say goodbye to me? Not even a phone call to say goodbye? Did he never consider me a friend? What did I do to make him treat me like this? "
"Don't think so, Catherine. Listen to me. Say..."
Alain Delon sighed helplessly. An excited woman is already troublesome, let alone appeasing the arrogant Queen.
"My dear, what is so difficult to understand? I have to say that confidentiality is indeed necessary. If you think about it from another angle, what will happen to Ning and his wife once these things are leaked? All studios They will treat them as big fat guys and want to get involved with them in order to sell the copies of their inventory. Of course they don't want to do this. As for not telling you or having time to say goodbye, it was entirely because of an unexpected situation. Ning and I also discussed inviting you to have a reunion on the day of the closing ceremony. But unfortunately..."
"What happened?"
"His chairman also came. I know this. So Mr. Picardon hopes to meet him as soon as possible and have a good talk in person. You know, it's like a lord being summoned by the king without delay. So I helped him temporarily. I got two tickets and he left by plane at noon today. He did entrust me to take him to say goodbye. However, I am also busy with other things. Sorry, I forgot..."
< br>"So he is in Paris now? Where can I find him in Paris?"
"Hey, relax. If I tell you how to find him, then I have to know why you are so anxious to find him After all, he also asked me to help block the news. Although I can do some special things for the sake of true friends, you can’t make it too difficult for me in front of him..."
"Okay." Catherine finished smoking a cigarette and finally regained her composure. "I'm looking for him because of Yves. You know, Yves Saint Laurent has always wanted to go public, but there is still some financial problems to meet the listing standards. The indicators above. Now that my friend Yves is suffering from illness and lacks inspiration, he no longer has much capital to be as optimistic about him as before. For Yves and my own investment, I urgently need help. You really do. You should have told me earlier. If you would rather invest the 500 million... no, even half of it in Yves, then the listing of Saint Laurent might not be a problem for everyone. God knows what he has. How much money can there be in it..."