The Greatest Showman #1523 - 2 Parties

As a tourist and holiday destination, the water city of Venice thrives year-round. Even during the cold winter months, it offers warm sunshine, bustling crowds, a laid-back lifestyle, incredible food, ancient architecture, rich culture, and friendly locals. All these elements draw people to this city, where they can secretly treasure the comfort and beauty of a ray of winter sunshine in the northern hemisphere.

This allure is especially strong during the Carnival in February and the Venice Film Festival in September.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival. As a result, all activities and ceremonies have been planned with special significance. Three days before the official countdown to the opening ceremony, people from all over the world began flocking to Italy, flowing into this floating city on the edge of the Adriatic Sea.

Though the film festival hadn't officially begun, rumors and heated discussions were already brewing.

Talks swirled about power struggles within the organizing committee, about jury chair Bernardo Bertolucci's determination to support Italian films, the quality of works in the main competition, and the future direction of the festival's anniversary exhibitions.

Because this is the 70th anniversary, Italian media and film industry leaders believed it would be a memorable year. If local Italian films could win the Golden Lion, it would be a major boost for the future of the festival and the Italian film industry.

However, there were differing opinions within the organizing committee. Some argued that the festival should focus on the films themselves, not be swayed by local sentiment. They believed the festival should still judge based on quality, as it had in the past, rather than focusing solely on supporting Italian films, as Berlin had done.

In essence, the debate came down to a discussion of home-field advantage.

It's often said that Italy is like the "China of Europe," and this is not without merit. The similarities between the two countries, from culture to traditions and customs, are striking. This context frames the ongoing conversation about the future exhibition plans for the Venice Film Festival.

The festival's main competition this year is bound to attract even more attention. To celebrate the anniversary, the organizers have spared no effort, inviting many big names to join the event. Looking back, it's still unclear whether this was a blessing or a potential misstep. It could easily turn into a spectacular embarrassment if things go awry.

However, as the official event approached, the most talked-about name in the days before the festival was Renly Hall.

Andre Hamilton, head of Scotland's top whisky brand and the youngest son of the Duke of Hamilton, hosted a private party in Renly's honor. Held at his private residence, the event was meant to warm up for the global screening of Gravity.

The private party quickly became a hot topic within the European film industry.

The reason? There were only 200 invitations to the exclusive event.

While there are certainly more than 200 influential figures in the European film industry, many of the invitations went to true aristocrats from various European and Asian countries.

The guest list was a who's who of the world's elite, including royals and nobles from Sweden, Britain, France, Denmark, Arabia, and more. In other words, the party was an exclusive gathering of the most distinguished individuals—many of whom were names heard but rarely seen. With only 200 invitations available, no exceptions were made. It became clear that this was not a typical social event but an invitation to the real crème de la crème.

The competition for invitations became more intense than on Oscar night.

The elite were eager not just for networking or to broaden their horizons, but to prove their status and join the ranks of the so-called "top class." Not money, fame, or glory, but pure honor.

It was at this point that the name "Arthur Hall" first spread through the upper echelons of Europe. He was the planner of the event, holding the key to the coveted guest list. Many began to inquire about how the names were chosen—were they handpicked by Renly and Andre? Or perhaps by recommendations from insiders?

The questions swirled: How prestigious were the invitees? Were they top-tier royals or influential CEOs? Or were they more modest figures brought in to ensure the party didn't become too dull?

The buzz around Arthur Hall intensified.

Rumors circulated that black market invitations had sold for as much as 100,000 euros. But these were just rumors—those who had received invitations were not concerned with money. There was no sign of any invitations being sold on the market.

Andre Hamilton kept his word. No extra invitations were issued, despite the hype. As for the attendance of the invited guests, he didn't care much—what mattered was the exclusivity of the event.

That night, a large crowd of media gathered at the private dock of Hamilton's residence. The guests' arrivals were openly filmed, with reporters tracking each person's entry.

To their surprise, most of the faces were unfamiliar to the public. However, senior entertainment reporters could recognize that these were the true power players, the big names behind the scenes who rarely made public appearances but held immense influence in the industry.

The guests were dignified and low-key—true aristocrats who preferred to remain out of the spotlight.

Among the attendees were London's top aristocrats. For outsiders, the significance of the party and the invitations was unclear, but those within the circle knew exactly what this meant.

Though the invitations came from Andre Hamilton, the real significance was that it marked Renly Hall's first official invitation to the aristocracy as an actor, not merely as a member of the Hall family. This was a milestone in bridging the worlds of cinema and aristocracy.

The British upper class speculated on whether this meant Renly would officially rejoin London's social circles. However, their guesses were wrong—at least not entirely correct. Renly's decision to invite the London nobles was partly Andre's idea, hoping to elevate the event's caliber using his connections. But it was also Renly's idea, to support Arthur.

Renly had never explicitly affirmed this, but behind the scenes, he was doing everything he could to support Arthur, just as he had once supported Edith. For Arthur, this support was crucial.

While the aristocracy may not have valued Renly's acting career, it was clear that Renly was, and always had been, an outlier in this world.

After the private party, the details remained a closely guarded secret. Even high-profile attendees like Alfonso Cuarón, Scarlett Johansson, and Judy Dench kept quiet, offering no details when asked.

The next day, another party took place—a pre-screening for Gravity, hosted by Warner Bros. The invitees were more approachable than those of Andre's private event, but still included many notable celebrities and journalists.

This simple warm-up event, organized by Arthur Hall, would have been unremarkable by itself. But under Arthur's expert planning, it became something much more.