New Age Artists

Chapter 606: Humiliation of Zhang Yimou

This is the big Eastern country.

Netizens complained about the Spring Festival Gala together.

Criticism of the Spring Festival Gala has been strong since 10, and has increased significantly this year, with people believing that the quality has declined.

In the big Western country, the winter in Los Angeles is as thin as a layer of frost.

Jia Yueting flew here from afar with Zhang Zhao, president of LeTV Pictures.

Looking at the Santa Monica Mountains in the distance, looming in the gray sky, Jia Boss laughed at himself and said, "Mr. Zhang, thank you for accompanying me on this trip. It's freezing cold in Los Angeles during the New Year."

Zhang Zhao was formerly the president of Guangxian Pictures. He came to LeTV last year and founded LeTV Pictures as CEO and executive director: "I also think this is a good opportunity."

Boss Jia nodded and said, "There are currently six major domestic film and television companies: Santong, Huayi, Bona, Guangxian, Wanda, and LeTV. Santong is the only one in the market, Huayi is a long-established brand, Bona has official resources, Guangxian also has its own media resources, and Wanda has cinema chains and is negotiating to acquire AMC Theaters in the United States."

"We at LeTV Pictures want to be the leader, aiming for number one, and we must make the first shot a success."

Boss Jia has great ambitions, otherwise he wouldn't have missed out on the New Year's Day and come to Los Angeles.

After analyzing the "golden partners" of Shuang Zhang, we found that the conflicts between them are huge, very big.

Fifteen years have passed since the cooperation began in 96, and many contradictions have accumulated, reaching a critical point of explosion.

Zhang Weiping likes to interfere with the content of Zhang Yimou's movies. In "Curse of the Golden Flower", he forcibly added Zhou Jielun to play the role of the second prince, which resulted in the original actor Huang Xuan being replaced and the script being forced to be revised.

"Three Shots Surprise" was originally a serious suspense film, but because Zhang Weiping insisted on introducing Zhao Benshan's team and Xiao Shenyang, it eventually became a "weird comedy".

The key issue was still a conflict of interest. Boss Jia spent a lot of money to buy the information.

After learning about it, he had great respect for Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou is really patient!
Zhang Weiping did not pay Zhang Yimou's director fee for a long time, and it was not until 10 that he paid the remuneration for five films between 02 and 09. The average annual salary was only 110 million yuan, which was seriously inconsistent with the hundreds of millions of box office revenue he created.

Needless to say, the cost of "The Flowers of War" is claimed to be over 6 million yuan, but obviously no money will be given to Zhang Yimou.

There is also an old story that Zhang Weiping and his wife once tried to sow discord between Zhang Yimou and Gong Li, spreading rumors that Gong Li had cheated on her, which indirectly led to their breakup.

Zhang Weiping controlled the film distribution rights through New Picture Pictures and forced investors to sign him as "producer" without actually investing any money, "making money out of nothing."

Films such as "Hero" and "Under the Hawthorn Tree" were all invested in by others, and Zhang Weiping was only responsible for distribution and sharing the profits.

At the same time, Zhang Weiping obstructed Zhang Yimou from setting up an agency company and even asked his daughter Zhang Mo's company to be affiliated with New Picture, intending to fully control Zhang Yimou's career.

When Boss Jia learned the news, he was completely numb.

If it were him, he would have hacked Zhang Weiping to death long ago.

Not only him, even Zhang Zhao felt a little numb.

Even people in the circle never thought that the two Zhangs would cooperate in this way.

Zhang Weiping simply treated Zhang Yimou as a slave and took advantage of him.

Moreover, Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping do not have a formal contract. No one may believe it if we tell them, but that is the case.

The two people cooperated based only on verbal agreement and did not sign a formal contract.

How much Zhang Wei gives to Zhang Yimou depends entirely on the other party's character.

Boss Jia felt it was ridiculous, but at the same time he saw a huge opportunity.

There is not even a contract. As long as Zhang Yimou agrees, there is almost no cost, at most a signing fee. LeTV can afford it and is willing to pay it.

I just wanted to meet Zhang Yimou, but the other party was unwilling to meet.

Lao Mouzi has a bit of the style of the ancients, so Boss Jia came here in person.

He wanted to take a gamble and see if he could find an opportunity.

Zhang Zhao reminded: "The chances are slim right now. We can meet first, preferably in front of Zhang Weiping. This guy is very unruly. If we put pressure on him, he will definitely tighten his control over Zhang Yimou, and the rift between the two will get bigger."

Boss Jia understood what Zhang Zhao meant. "The Flowers of War" was still striving for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. Since "Hero", there has been no film from the mainland nominated for an Oscar for Foreign Language Film in ten years.

"I think the chances are great." Boss Jia said in high spirits, "What if 'The Flowers of War' doesn't even get a nomination?"

The conflict between "The Flowers of War" and the two Zhangs has been exposed. Without being nominated, the relationship between the two Zhangs will deteriorate rapidly, and their progress in chasing Zhang Yimou will be a big step forward.

Now LeTV is chasing Zhang Yimou, and he is also worth chasing. Huayi had Feng Xiao just now, and now LeTV has a trump card to win over Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Zhao shook his head: "It's not like there won't be any nominations. This drama will be very much to the liking of some judges."

Boss Jia smiled and said, "I'll just take a gamble. If I lose, it doesn't matter. If I win, I'll win big."

“Not even a nomination?”

Wisher Avenue in Beverly Hills.

Home to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A man in his forties came, wearing a windbreaker and with a unique temperament.

Senior executives of the Oscars organizers include current Academy Chairman Tom Sherak and Executive Director Dawn Hudson.

Tom Sherack's term will end in August this year, and Dawn Hudson took over from Bruce Davis who retired in May last year as executive director, actually exercising the duties of CEO.

The man in the trench coat who was speaking looked at Dwayne Hudson, who in turn looked at Tom Sherak.

In name, as the organizer of the Oscars, the Academy is fully responsible for the organization, voting and announcement of nominations, and its Awards Committee oversees the fairness of the nomination process.

The entire process must be fair and just, and the president of the college will not receive any salary for four years.

In a capitalist society, if one does not make money on the surface, there must be more money waiting behind the scenes, or there is something more important than money.

Tom Sherak said: "The votes were very low in terms of procedure. The competition was fierce this year. There were 63 films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to Iran's "A Separation", there were also highly acclaimed works such as Canada's "Mr. Raza" and Belgium's "The Diehards."

"Moreover, the international distribution and public relations of The Flowers of War were inadequate, and the promotion in North America was limited, and the scale of its release was small, with only more than 30 theaters."

The man in the windbreaker had no expression on his face: "I will reply as you said?"

"Yes." Tom Sherack said unafraid, "We have to ensure the fairness of the award. Besides, I understand the psychology of people from outside the civilized world chasing Oscars better than you do. The less you give them, the more obedient they will be."

Only when the cold person left did everyone in the room breathe a sigh of relief.

Executive Director Dawn Hudson asked nervously, "Is this okay?"

Since Reagan, Hollywood has had increasingly close ties with certain powers.

Today, the relationship is even more complicated. Both the previous president and the current president have their own spokespersons in Hollywood.

Tom Sherak smiled and said, "Don't worry, we are determined to defend our independence."

He blinked and said, "Don't you think it's interesting? The other side should be celebrating the New Year. Wouldn't it be more interesting if we don't nominate them? Let them blaspheme themselves."

The people in the room laughed. Enticing them to film self-abuse was one level of contempt, mocking them for deconstructing serious history was another level of contempt, and not even giving them a response was a third level of contempt.

Of course, everyone in the room also understood that this was just an excuse. If it comes to domestication, it should be nominated, or even given an award. It can be manipulated, but it is in the interests of the country, not the interests of individuals or ethnic groups.

Tom Sherak was openly Jewish and was active in the Jewish community throughout his life, supporting the Jewish Boys and Girls Clubs and charitable projects in Israel.

The subject matter of "The Flowers of War" determines that it would be best if there weren't even a single ripple.

By suppressing "The Flowers of War", he could also gain the friendship of Sony, killing two birds with one stone.

January 1th, 24: p.m. US time, : p.m. China time.

The cold night wind blew through the palm trees in front of the Dolby Theater, and the rustling sound was like a knife cutting through tense nerves.

The crew of "The Flowers of War" sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel, staring at the live broadcast on TV, waiting for the nominations to be announced.

Zhang Yimou looked at the mist condensing on the glass, and vaguely saw the golden outline of the blurred "Hollywood" logo.

After his activities in the United States, especially his failure to win the Golden Globe Awards, which is a precursor to the Oscars, Zhang Yimou's expectations of winning an Oscar have dropped a lot.

But it is impossible to say that he has no idea at all, even though he was scolded by Shen Santong and was embarrassed, but that was Oscar.

People of Shen Santong's age would never understand what the Oscars mean to him.

Jiang Zhiqiang whispered, "The nomination is definitely a sure thing."

He got assurances from Commissioner Smith, and many of his good working relationships also gave hints.

"The Flowers of War" is no worse than "Lust, Caution", from the ruins of Nanjing city to the cosmetics of Qinhuai River, from the stained windows of the church to the singing of the young girl.

Zhang Weiping also smiled and said: "Nomination is already a victory. Our mainland has not been nominated for ten consecutive years. Lao Mouzi's name has knocked on the door of the Oscars three times, and this is the fourth time."

After he sprayed Shen Santong, he hit the iron plate hard.

The problems between him and Zhang Yimou were exposed, which was his Achilles' heel, and his temper became much calmer.

Zhang Yimou has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film three times: "Ju Dou" in 1991, the 63rd Academy Award, "Raise the Red Lantern" in 1992, the 64th Academy Award, and "Hero" in 2003, the 75th Academy Award.

After "Hero", the mainland has not received any nominations since then.

This year, "The Flowers of War" represented mainland China in the competition for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and participated in the 84th Academy Awards.

The middle-aged representative in the corner did not speak, but just listened.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Academy President Tom Sherak and actress Jennifer Lawrence announced the 84th Academy Awards.

Foreign language films are not very important and were announced in the first few.

Iran's "Nader and Westminster: A Separation", Belgium's "The Diehards", Israel's "Footnotes", Poland's "The Darkness", and Canada's "Teacher Lazar".

There is no "The Flowers of War".

The film that received the most nominations this time was "Hugo", with 11, followed by "The Artist" with 10 nominations.

The Oscars' operation is very mature, with dedicated live television broadcasts.

When the crew of "The Flowers of War" saw the result on TV, the scene became quiet for a moment.

Not even a nomination.

The people from China Film Corporation still didn't say much and left the hall to write a letter to notify people in China.

"Now that the results are out, I'll go upstairs to rest." Zhang Yimou remained silent.

Zhang Weiping said harshly: "It must be the result of Sony and Columbia's boycott of The Flowers of War. Sony is the distributor of A Separation in North America. They are launching this to beat us!"

Jiang Zhiqiang was numb: "Brother, I'll go ask again if there is any problem."

"Why are you asking? Isn't it embarrassing enough?" Zhang Yimou suddenly shouted, scaring everyone.

Zhang Yimou often loses his temper on the set, but he is rarely seen like that in his private life. Even Zhang Weiping was shocked.

Ignoring everyone, Zhang Yimou walked towards the room by himself, and Zhang Mo followed him.

Zhang Yimou didn't know how he returned to the room. He had a lot of thoughts in his mind. Shen Santong's theory on costume blockbusters kept coming to his mind.

I suddenly remembered the scars left on the actors' necks by props during the filming of "Curse of the Golden Flower". Such a grand and heart-stirring movie "Curse of the Golden Flower" failed overseas.

At that time, he didn't care about Shen Santong's remarks, nor did he care about the fate of "The Promise". Deep down, he was a proud man.

I thought the tide of costume films had receded, but I didn't expect that Hollywood had already built a glass curtain wall on the beach.

They all look the same, but when you get closer, you realize they are different and you can’t get past them.

The English poster of "The Flowers of War" flashed through his mind again. Christian Bale occupied two-thirds of the screen, and the slit of the cheongsam of the Qinhuai River woman was like a mouth cut by scissors, mocking him wantonly.

The metaphors woven in the light and shadow of the church's stained glass and the priest's motivation for redemption fit so well with the Western narrative of "awakening" that all these "intentions" now become a great mockery of him.

Thoughts were swirling in my mind, and I flashed back to those days.

I don't want to think about it, but the memories that I can't escape come in. The younger me was setting up a camera in the sorghum field. In the camera, Gong Li's smile seemed to burn the whole sky. She thought he was omnipotent, and how did they lose each other in the end?
Was "Hero" worthy of nomination back then? Wasn't it also a commercial film?

There is some truth in what Shen Santong said, the timing is indeed right.

The WTO collapsed, so joining the WTO was probably a sweet treat for the Chinese film market?

It is possible that Harvey's distribution operations were carried out after knowing the results in advance.

According to Shen Santong's rhetoric, the prosperity of costume blockbusters is just a sugar-coated bullet of cultural colonization, and the same is true for the Oscars.

So ridiculous, yet inexplicably fitting.

A feeling of humiliation grew deep in Zhang Yimou's heart.

This was unprecedented because he knew that "The Flowers of War" was meant to please the audience and win awards.

Zhang Mo poured a glass of water and asked carefully, "Dad, are you okay?"

Zhang Yimou looked unhappy. She had never seen her father like this before.

"It's okay, you should go to bed early." Zhang Yimou took a sip of water.

He was upset, or even a little devastated. He wouldn't be like this if the movie simply didn't win an award.

If The Flowers of War is really a good movie, any boycott will be useless.

But the movie did not go exactly according to his ideas. Someone told him to hype up the sex scenes from a commercial perspective, and someone told him to create a white savior based on the awards he won.

Then the sex scene made him so unpopular that he didn't even get an Oscar nomination.

I really felt devastated.

(End of this chapter)