Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 272 Sprinting for the Oscars

Although "The Promise" also held its premiere ceremony at the Workers' Stadium, unlike Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers," which was purely commercial, the performances in "The Promise" were all by the cast and crew, without any outside help.

There were group dances by young girls, solo dances, and a military formation dance performed by soldiers dressed in red and black armor. This was quite good and got the audience's blood pumping.

In terms of songs, there were solo performances by Nicholas Tse, solo performances by Cecilia Cheung, duets by the two, and even Liu Ye took to the stage to sing a song.

Finally, Sister Hong, dressed in the costume of a goddess, actually danced a classical dance, and at that moment she was truly breathtaking.

The biggest difference between the premiere ceremonies of "The Promise" and "House of Flying Daggers" is that "The Promise" still followed tradition, and after the performance, the cast and crew went on stage to be interviewed and talk about interesting anecdotes from filming.

After these procedures are completed, there is one more important step: showing the movie.

The movie... just as Cao Yang remembered, the colors and visual impact were truly amazing.

The striking colors of flame-like armor, white feather robes, and black magic robes create a powerful visual impact, and every frame of the grasslands, palaces, and other scenes is like a meticulously crafted work of art.

The downside remains the same: Chen's storytelling ability is indeed lacking. If Chen were willing to humbly find a reliable screenwriter, his movies would be very worthwhile.

After the movie ended, Lao Chen and the cast went on stage again for an interview.

"what do you think?"

Old Tian secretly asked Cao Yang.

"The visuals are beautiful, the effects are great, and the music and atmosphere are excellent," Cao Yang said softly to Lao Tian, ​​his eyes fixed on the stage and a smile on his face.

"Well, when we interview you later, you can't say these things. You have to think of something else to say. You're a big star, so the host will definitely ask me first. I'll just say all of these things."

Old Tian smiled and explained softly, "Well, I didn't quite understand what Old Chen was trying to say, so I can only gloss over it for now."

You are vile!
If I hadn't researched this movie before out of curiosity about "a bloody incident caused by a steamed bun," I probably wouldn't have been able to understand it today.

Ten meals.

Cao Yang opened his mouth wide.

"You are mean!"

Old Tian blurted out the words, then realized he had spoken a bit too loudly, and quickly said in a low voice, "At most three meals, no more."

"Deal!" Cao Yang replied with a smile.

Old Tian was annoyed. Had he bargained too much? Should I give him a piece of my mind?
"Director Tian, ​​could you share your thoughts on 'The Promise'?" The host asked Director Tian first, as expected.

"The visuals are extremely beautiful, the visual effects are excellent, the scenes are grand and magnificent, and the music and atmosphere are also very well done. I think this movie is very beautiful."

Old Tian added some embellishments and repeated Cao Yang's words.

Old Chen listened to Old Tian's words on stage without any particular expression. He knew Old Tian too well; this guy definitely didn't understand his art, which was why he was talking about visual effects.

Hmph, what a stupid fellow. No wonder he can only be a teacher now. He's long lost his ambition.

However, he still felt a little sorry for Lao Tian. Lao Tian was once as famous as him and Zhang Yimou. He was also a very thoughtful person. He never expected that a ban on directing would cause him to lose his spirit.

such a pity!
"Director Cao, what are your thoughts on Director Chen's 'The Promise'?"

As the host spoke, Old Chen adjusted his posture and became serious.

The actors on stage were no longer as carefree as before. Liu Ye sat up straight, leaned forward slightly, and looked in the direction of Cao Yang below the stage.

Even the incredibly popular Nicholas Tse and Pak Chik, who were at the height of their fame in Hong Kong, straightened up and looked seriously in Cao Yang's direction, no longer appearing relaxed and slouching.

Even the two actors from South Korea, despite their high status in their own countries, sat up straight and placed their hands on their lower abdomens without prior arrangement.

Cao Yang thought for a moment and then said:
"Director Tian just talked about the audiovisual aspects, so let me talk about it from an artistic perspective. 'The Promise' has avant-garde aesthetics and a kind of premonition-like metaphor. The film uses kites to symbolize the ups and downs of life and the pursuit of freedom, and explores universal themes such as desire and fate. Its artistic value does not lie in how high it flies, but in the courage to break free from constraints."

I think this is probably what Director Chen wanted to convey to the audience.

Old Chen's face was already full of smiles. He didn't expect that what he wanted to express, which none of the people he had interviewed had noticed, was actually understood by Cao Yang.

No wonder he's the teacher's last disciple; his judgment is truly remarkable.

After Cao Yang finished speaking, he suddenly realized that he had said all sorts of vague things. Old Chen probably thought he understood him, but the audience wouldn't be able to see through it.

The film presents its metaphors in such an obscure way that even many industry professionals might not be able to see them, let alone the audience. Will the audience criticize the film itself in the end?

"My view has always been that art is for the masses and should not be expressed in a very obscure way."

Director Chen's view is that he hopes the audience can discover the subtle art in the film on their own, so he deliberately hides the art. I racked my brains just now to guess this point, so please don't blame me for my poor artistic taste, Director Chen.

"Ha ha……"

Many guests, including Lao Chen and the host, laughed.

Cao Yang said that his artistic vision was not as good as Lao Chen's. Lao Chen might take it seriously, but everyone else thought he was joking.

Cao Yang smiled as well.

Alright, even I admit I was guessing, so if you're going to criticize Old Chen, please don't criticize me.

Cao Yang stayed in China for a few more days, mainly to spend time with his parents and occasionally interact with Gao Yuanyuan in Beijing a few times in the evenings, before boarding another flight to the United States.

This trip is to Los Angeles to discuss matters related to "Inception" with senior executives at Columbia Pictures, mainly concerning the production of CG.

The next day, Cao Yang was picked up by Jason Simmons, president of Fox Searchlight, who rushed to the scene after hearing the news.

Fox Searchlight began consciously promoting "Juno" in September, having the director and several lead actors appear on television programs, indicating their high expectations for the film.

After all, underage childbirth is a sensitive topic even in the United States.

Sensitive topics are more likely to become social hotspots, attract more attention, spark more heated discussions, and win awards.

Fox Searchlight wanted to ignite this topic.

Jason Simmons told Cao Yang that although the film's total investment was only a few million dollars, tens of millions of dollars had already been spent on post-production promotion, and it had also garnered considerable awards from various unions.

It was these various union awards that greatly boosted Fox Searchlight's confidence.

There are thousands of Oscar judges, but many of them also serve as judges for various union awards. In other words, a large portion of Oscar judges overlap with judges for various union awards.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Golden Globes are touted as a precursor to the Oscars. In reality, various guild awards are the real thing, but they don't have the same prestige and are willing to invest as much as the Golden Globes, so they are not as well-known.

"Juno" has not yet been released, but in order to meet the Oscar eligibility requirements, it has already had a "quiet" limited screening in a Los Angeles theater.

They managed to keep the scale to the minimum required for release, and even chose a very bad time slot, without doing any promotion, just to avoid leaks and piracy.

Jason Simmons contacted Cao Yang to discuss the final push for promotion of "Juno".

The entire cast and crew of "Juno" combined don't have as much fame and influence as Cao Yang, so in the final stages, Cao Yang will definitely have to come forward to promote the show.

Cao Yang will receive 20% of the global box office revenue and subsequent profits from the film "Juno". In addition, it is adapted from his "unremarkable" novel. If the film is successful, Cao Yang's influence will be further expanded.

For "Juno" to succeed, an Oscar is the biggest shortcut.

Cao Yang will definitely lend a hand.

(End of this chapter)