Chapter 943: Arriving in the Capital
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Beijing Capital International Airport.
After several hours of flight time, the domestic flight that departed from Binhai City landed smoothly on the airport runway.
Zhang Zian grabbed his suitcase and alighted from the plane. He immediately felt that the air in the capital was different from the dryness of Binhai City. It was always dry and rainy during the spring in northern, inland cities. However, the air quality wasn’t bad and there was no scent of the famous Manchu Han Imperial Haze…
Except for Famous, the other elfins were all kept in Zian’s phone. After all, they were on a small and shabby domestic flight. There weren’t even have young, blonde, busty, and long-legged flight attendants. Even Richard was not interested in taking the plane, although Sihwa, on the other hand, had wanted to take a seat, which was obviously impossible. That would be like shipping a salted fish by air. The moment they reached the capital, it would stink.
The pet shop and the aquarium were entrusted to the care of the staff. Anyway, they had grown from rookies that stuttered when handling customers into experienced salesmen. There would be no problems even if he was away for a longer period of time––or it might be more appropriate to say that after he left, they would be able to have their own fun.
The only thing that Zhang Zian was worried about was the traffic safety problem. He had repeatedly reminded them to pay attention to their safety when they drove or sailed, and he told them not to go too far offshore. If they missed the whales, there would always be another chance.
The crew had arranged for a person to pick them up, so after getting in the car, Zhang Zian went straight to the airport cargo road and found the shipping counter of the airline to which the flight belonged. He then used his ID card to process the pet collection procedure.
Probably because of the large amount of passenger traffic at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the process time for procedures was extremely slow. It took two hours just to get Famous out. By that time, both Zhang Zian and the crew had almost lost their patience.
Fortunately, Famous had previously experienced a longer flight, so it drank less water this time. What was it going to do if it embarrassed itself in front of the media?
After much difficulty, they finally left the airport with Famous, only to be caught in traffic congestion at the airport expressway. They couldn’t even see the end of the jam, and the road was completed congested. Every car moved forward at the pace of a crawling snail and time was slipping away by seconds and minutes. The congestion made many people frustrated, and Zhang Zian couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t easy living in a large city. It was no wonder there were many more people in large cities that had road rage.
A few hours after leaving the airport, Zhang Zian finally arrived at the hotel where the crew was located.
The Beijing International Film Festival carried the name of the “capital,” which made it sound very grand because in general, anything that was involved with the capital was always of a higher class. However, it was just a very young film festival founded in 2011, and it was only in 2013 that they started giving out awards. Therefore, the influence of the festival was really limited and was not even close to the top festival in China.
During the Berlin Film Festival, the whole of Berlin was filled with a carnival-like atmosphere, and posters of the film festival could be seen everywhere on both sides of the road. Fans queuing up to buy their tickets were everywhere and the silly look of the Berlin bears was unforgettable. Even tourists who had come to visit were deeply influenced by the scene.
In contrast, the atmosphere of the Beijing International Film Festival was less lively. Aside from a sign on the door of the hotel that indicated that it was the designated hotel for the festival, no other signs for the film festival were seen along the way. It seemed like there weren’t many locals interested in how long the film festival would be held, and there wouldn’t even be any relevant reports on the news app until the second day after the festival closed. It was also on that day that people realized that it was already over.
In addition, like other film festivals, the Beijing International Film Festival had also stipulated that films were only eligible to be included in the main competition unit and participate for the awards if it was their world premiere. However, due to the existence of the censorship system, even for the award-winning films at the Beijing International Film Festival, they were not guaranteed to be released in China. That was another reason why the Beijing International Film Festival was less attractive to foreign film dealers. The foreign films that did participate in the selection were all by actors and directors who had not been heard of before.
Since Dog Warrior had already made its world premiere in Berlin, it did not comply with the relevant regulations, so Dog Warrior and Famous had no right to participate for the awards of the Beijing International Film Festival. It could only be shown as a screening film.
In fact, even if it was able to participate for the awards, the chances of an award being given to a dog at the Beijing International Film Festival was very slim. Director Feng Xuan’s choice to participate in the Berlin Film Festival was a gamble that turned out in their favor.
Even so, the Beijing International Film Festival was still good for publicity, and it was also the last film festival before the release of Dog Warrior.
The crew had a room booked for Zhang Zian. They had also notified the hotel in advance about Famous and its special identity, otherwise the hotel would not have allowed it to come inside.
Zhang Zian was taken to his room, where he placed his suitcase down, and then he took Famous to Feng Xuan’s room.
“The big star is here! Welcome, welcome! Everyone’s already here. We were just waiting for you!”
“Sorry to keep everyone waiting for such a long time. There was heavy traffic on our way here.” Zhang Zian smiled and apologized.
Feng Xuan’s room was very lively. There were a lot of people gathered together, and all of them were part of the crew and production team. There were more people on the trip compared to the number of people who went to the Berlin Film Festival. After all, it was within the country and the cost was low. When everyone saw Zhang Zian and Famous, they all enthusiastically applauded.
As they looked at all the familiar faces, Zhan Zian and Famous couldn’t help but recall those days and nights they shared during the filming process, and the countless times they had to brave the wind and snow as they spent hours just to get the perfect shot. There was also the battle of wits with the pyrotechnician Guan Biao and the Tibetan Mastiffs. Thankfully, all their hard work was finally being rewarded.
Feng Xuan smiled and sat in the center of the room. Everyone else was seated around him on the floor because there weren’t enough chairs. Zhang Zian and Famous found an empty spot and sat down.
The lead actor, Lin Feng, and the production director, Nie Yuan, were both not present. They were most likely trying to avoid the awkwardness of seeing Famous. Zhang Zian pretended not to notice, so he didn’t ask where they were.
Everyone started to share their own experiences and stories over the past six months. After all, they were all working in the same industry so they could exchange information, such as which company wanted to film what movie, which director was currently searching for lead actors, which crew was currently recruiting staff… All sorts of information was passed around from everyone’s mouth. Those who had worked in support roles wanted a chance to take up a lead role, while the assistant directors hoped to be the director the next time. Those working in the film industry had no fixed salary, and how much they could earn relied heavily on information, hard work, and luck. If no one wanted them, they could only stay at home.
Zhang Zian was the only person who was not in the same industry, so he didn’t get involved in their discussion; however, he laughed as he listened to them like they were all spreading gossip.
There were also a few people who provided him with information, like which director was raising funds for an animal movie, what dogs they required, and so on. Zian
took down all the information, and as for whether or not to participate in the filming, Famous took great care not to do anything that could compromise its reputation.