Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 219: Everything is afraid of comparison

This time Cao Yang came to the United States, in addition to attending the Oscar Awards ceremony in a few days, he also had an important thing to do.

"Juno", for which he served as producer and supervisor, wrote the script, and had the final editing rights for the film, has already been filmed and the rough cut has been completed under the "supervision" of Cheng Jianye as executive producer throughout the process.

We will just have to wait for Cao Yang to read it and then decide on the final version with the producer Fox Searchlight.

But there is no rush for this, let’s wait until after the Oscars ceremony.

This year's Oscar nomination list also includes a Chinese-language film.

That is Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers".

The North American copyright of "House of Flying Daggers" was bought out by Sony Classics. In view of the great sales of Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and Cao Yang's "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" in North America, Sony Classics has high expectations for "House of Flying Daggers".

In fact, when Sony Classics bought the copyright of "House of Flying Daggers", neither "Hero" nor "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" had yet been released.

After the two films were released one after another and both achieved very good box office, Sony Classics felt like it had won the jackpot.

It's a bit like the blind marriages of the past, when they entered the bridal chamber and lifted the bride's red veil, the groom's hands were shaking with excitement - the bride's appearance and figure were completely beyond expectations!

Therefore, Sony Classics, full of enthusiasm and expectation, scheduled the release date for the Christmas season, three weeks earlier than Cao Yang's "District 9", to avoid infighting among its own people.

Hope is always good, but reality has disappointed Sony Classics and Columbia.

Fighting against each other and killing each other is completely unnecessary.

"House of Flying Daggers" hardly made any waves, and when "District 9" was released, its box office had not exceeded 10 million US dollars even after three weeks.

Sony Classics is unwilling to accept this. The North American box office of "Hero" and "Nine-Tailed" both exceeded 50 million US dollars, so why did "House of Flying Daggers" fail?

You have to know that Sony Pictures Classics spent more than 1000 million US dollars to buy the copyright. How can it make back its money? Although "House of Flying Daggers" can be considered a kung fu movie, it is completely different from the kung fu movies that Americans like to watch.

In other words, the subsequent market will not work either.

Then we can only find a solution from other places. We can't just lose money.

After careful consideration, both Sony Classics and the producers of "House of Flying Daggers" felt that the only way out was to represent the mainland and compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

However, the first problem facing us is how to compete with "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox", which won the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival.

"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" has left "House of Flying Daggers" far behind in terms of awards and box office. This is a very difficult hurdle to overcome.

If it was another less experienced director, it would be fine, but with Zhang Yimou's influence, "House of Flying Daggers" would definitely be selected.

But the key point is that the director of "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" is Cao Yang, a man whose influence exceeds that of Zhang Yimou both at home and abroad. This makes things difficult.

As long as Cao Yang said that "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" would represent China in the competition for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, "House of Flying Daggers" had no hope at all.

Sony Classics has a good relationship with Cao Yang, but since this is a matter of interest, they are reluctant to ask Cao Yang to give up his bid for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The parties waited anxiously, but until the registration deadline was approaching, they still didn't hear about Cao Yang's registration.

Then, "House of Flying Daggers" was inexplicably chosen to represent the mainland in the Oscar competition.

Afterwards, the producers of "House of Flying Daggers", namely producers Zhang Weiping and Jiang Zhiqiang, learned some of the inside story.

Cao Yang looks down on such a useless award as the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film!
Therefore, Cao Yang has never applied to represent the mainland in the competition for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Can't see it?
Chicken ribs?

When did the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film fall to this point?

This feeling is like the "beauty" you desperately pursue, but in the eyes of others...

Alas, it was supposed to be a happy thing, but I felt inexplicably lost inside.

That's not all that made them feel lost.

This year, 49 films competed for the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and then the Oscars announced the nomination list. Among the five Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, "House of Flying Daggers" was not included.

"House of Flying Daggers" was not selected!

Fortunately, Sony Classics relied on Columbia, a big tree, and was quite supportive, nominating "House of Flying Daggers" for Best Cinematography.

I was very happy at first, but after seeing Cao Yang's "District 9" was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and other important awards...

Whether it is Zhang Weiping or Jiang Zhiqiang, even Zhao Xiaoding who was nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography, they always feel like they are neither up to par nor down to the mark.

It was as if all preparations had been made and they were about to draw their guns and engage in a melee, but the other party suddenly had his period.

Endless loss.

Ugh!
Colombia attached great importance to Cao Yang's visit to the United States. Instead of letting Cao Yang and his party book a hotel by themselves, they arranged a villa with a swimming pool in Beverly Hills for them.

It is said that this is one of the properties owned by Columbia, which is specially used to entertain VIPs of a certain status.

You can bring your family to the Oscars ceremony, and every year many celebrities bring their families to attend.

So this time when coming to the United States to attend the Oscars, Gu Changwei brought his wife Jiang Wenli, and Duan Yihong brought his girlfriend after asking Cao Yang for his opinion.

As for Mr. Han, he did not bring his family because he was afraid of the bad influence.

Cao Yangming also came alone.

In addition, Dong Xuan, one of the actors from District 9, also came along. After all, if a film crew participates in the Oscars, there can’t be no actress, right?
As for why the actress sneaked into the director's room at night, isn't it normal for the director to coach the actress on swallowing skills?

As we all know, Director Cao is good at training actors.

Moreover, one of the heroines of Cao Yang's next film "Black Swan" is Dong Xuan, which is actually a sufficient reason.

Since he is one of the leading actors in Black Swan, he must have basic knowledge of ballet, so Cao Yang of course had to check it carefully.

Dong Xuan's dance foundation is still very good. She has never given up over the years and has been practicing diligently.

Most importantly, she likes to tie her hair into two ponytails, bend down, and do some difficult moves...

This is also one of the reasons why Cao Yang likes her.

I am like a pipa slanting in your arms, letting you play the notes with your fingers.

Willows in the smoke and water in the water, with ripples all over.

After a long time, the singing stopped.

Dong Xuan curled up in Cao Yang's arms like a little bird, rubbed her face against Cao Yang's chest, and then said weakly: "Couldn't you just let me take a breath?"

Cao Yang stroked Dong Xuan's loose hair with his hand and asked with a smile: "Don't you like it very much? Who said don't stop?"

“Hmph!” Dong Xuan bit Cao Yang lightly. “You stinky man! I was praising you, why are you so ungrateful? Can’t you just not expose me and let me be reserved?

I just don't believe that you can recover faster than me?

Believe it or not, I will use all my skills to transform myself into a juicer and make you walk with the help of the wall.

Dong Xuan couldn't help laughing out loud when he thought of Cao Yang walking with his hands on his waist and leaning against the wall.

Cao Yang looked at Dong Xuan who suddenly laughed and was a little confused for a moment. What are you laughing at?

Dong Xuan quickly suppressed his unrealistic thoughts, lest he could not help laughing again, and quickly changed the subject to distract attention.

"I read The Hollywood Reporter yesterday, which listed District 9 as one of the biggest favorites for this year's Oscars, and also said that you are the strongest contender for Best Director... Are you confident?"

"I have confidence, so what?"

Cao Yang smiled and stroked the other person's smooth back, explaining, "The Oscars are different from the three major European film festivals. Here, as long as the production company is determined, there is almost nothing that cannot be done. It just depends on whether they are willing to spend a lot of money to make it happen."

"what?"

Dong Xuan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Among Cao Yang's close female companions, she is the one with the least "experience".

Li Xiaoran, Yu Feihong and Gao Yuanyuan, as people who have won the three major European Film Actress awards and have endorsed so many big brands, must have more experience in this area than Dong Xuan.

Even Pang Bing, who is more famous than Dong Xuan and has many endorsements, has much broader knowledge than Dong Xuan.

In Dong Xuan's heart, the Oscars have the same status as the three major European organizations. In fact, in terms of influence, they are more popular than the three major European organizations.

How could such a prestigious and influential film award in the world be as terrible as Cao Yang said?
Just can't imagine.

"What, you don't believe it?"

Cao Yang patted Dong Xuan's hips and said with a smile:

"Let's take a few simple examples. Titanic is a classic romance film, but no matter how classic it is, in terms of artistry, it is definitely not going to sweep the Oscars and win 11 awards at once.

How artistic would you say "The Lord of the Rings: Part Three" is? How could such a commercial film sweep the Oscars?

Let me give you another example. Have you ever heard of Gwyneth Paltrow? "

Dong Xuan thought for a moment and asked softly, "Is it the one who won the Oscar for Best Actress in 99?"

The reason why she was so impressed by this person was that Gwyneth Paltrow has been dubbed the "Water Queen" by the media since she won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Cao Yang nodded and said:

"She was competing with Cate Blanchett, who was known as the big devil, for the Oscar. Cate's performance in Elizabeth was amazing. No one thought she could beat Cate and win the Oscar."

"Isn't it normal for upsets to happen in film awards?"

Dong Xuan said weakly.

"The prerequisite for an upset is that the actor's acting skills must at least be good enough."

Cao Yang shook his head and said, "Let's put it this way. Gwyneth Paltrow's performance is very distracting. Besides, her father is a very famous producer in Hollywood, and her godfather is Spielberg."

There is another point that Cao Yang did not mention. For "Son of Sharon", in which Gwyneth Paltrow won the Oscar for Best Actress, Harvey Weinstein was one of the producers and the main controller of the film, and was also responsible for the operation of the film.

Another point is that when Gwyneth Paltrow was filming "Savon", Brad Pitt was still her boyfriend. Then Pitt went to the crew to see his girlfriend once and unilaterally announced their breakup.

Even many years later, when Harvey Weinstein was involved in a sexual assault scandal, Brad Pitt's first reaction was to say that he would kill Harvey...

I don’t know what exciting thing Pete encountered that made him still have such a strong grudge against Harvey many years later. He only dared to speak harshly after Harvey lost power.

Dong Xuan yawned and thought, forget it, he was too far away from winning the Oscars. As long as Cao Yang could win more awards, he didn't care whether it worked or not.

I did a lot of difficult moves before, so I’m still quite tired. I’m sleepy and I’m going to sleep.

As for the previous idea of ​​having Cao Yang walk with the help of the wall, forget it. She admitted that she didn't have that ability, so she decided to let Li Xiaoran, who also had a dancing background, do it.

Sometimes Dong Xuan was also a little confused. How did Li Xiaoran dance with those two big papayas? Wasn't she afraid of losing her balance when she swung them back and forth?

Humph, I get angry just thinking about this. Cao Yang is such a bastard, I don’t know if he has other beauties.

On the bright side, no matter whether Cao Yang has other beauties or not, at least he has never admitted it or said that he has a girlfriend.

Forget it, I don’t want to think about it anymore. Dreams are filled with all kinds of things, so I’d better go to sleep.

老美时间05年2月27日，京城时间05年2月28日，第77届奥斯卡金像奖在洛杉矶好莱坞柯达剧院举行颁奖典礼。

The event will be broadcast live on ABC.

In terms of time difference, the Oscar Awards ceremony will be broadcast on the morning of February 2th, Beijing time. CCTV, like in previous years, has purchased the broadcasting rights.

However, the ceremony was still broadcast live at 21:45 in the evening.

In order to give movie fans the opportunity to revisit the outstanding films that won the Oscars, CCTV Film Channel has specially designated this week as the "Oscar-winning Film Exhibition Week."

Starting from the 21st, carefully selected Oscar-winning and nominated films will be presented to the audience at 22:6 every day. This is also the first time that CCTV will broadcast Oscar-winning films in a concentrated manner.

The seven films released in these seven days are: "Meanwhile Milk", "Gone with the Wind", "Chariots of Fire", "Ben-Hur", "The Sound of Music", "The French Connection" and "District 9".

It can also be seen from this that the film channel still attaches great importance to Cao Yang. The opening movie on the first day is Cao Yang's, and the movie on the last day is also Cao Yang's.

Of course they have reasons to value Cao Yang.

Putting aside Cao Yang's influence, just because "District 9" broke the box office record and received so many Oscar nominations, the advertising space during CCTV's broadcast of the Oscars set a new record.

By the way, according to information obtained by Cao Yang, the unedited version of "Despicable Milk" seems to be broadcast.

It cannot be said that there were no cuts. Some of the too perverted shots were deleted a little bit, but those nude shots were almost all retained.

The movie channel is pretty awesome.

In addition, we have to sigh that the "Caoyang Bar" is really powerful. There are all kinds of people in it. The news that the unedited version of "Despicable Milk" will be broadcast was widely circulated in the "Caoyang Bar".

As a result, the daily activity of "Caoyang Bar" has reached a new level, and many people have expressed that they want to learn the "art" and appreciate it seriously.

Maybe when "Despicable Milk" is broadcast, it will set a new record in the ratings for the same period.

By then, Anne Hathaway's popularity in China will definitely rise to a higher level and will not be lower than any first-line international female star.

(End of this chapter)