Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 283 is scheduled for release.
"Oh dear, it's a pity that director Li An didn't win Best Director. The award went to the director of 'Crash,' otherwise we would have had two Chinese people who have won the Oscar for Best Director."

In the live broadcast room of Xinlang Entertainment, the host Zeng Zixing said.

"Yes, it's really a pity for Li An. This is his second Oscar nomination for Best Director. The last one was for his 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.' By the way, this is the third time his film has been nominated for Best Picture. I wonder if he can win Best Picture next time."

Zhou Liming then added that he is a famous film critic, a graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a very active film critic in China, frequently appearing on various programs.

"Actually, I think the most regrettable thing is Cao Yang. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for three consecutive years. If he had won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay just now, that would have been three consecutive Oscars for Best Screenplay."

Cheng Qingsong, one of today's guests, said that he is a screenwriter with some fame and a well-known film critic. He graduated from the Department of Literature at Beijing Film Academy.

Although the guests are supposed to stand in a neutral position, everyone actually has their own stance, which can be subtly discerned from their words.

Perhaps because Zhou Liming studied for his MBA in the United States, his remarks were somewhat biased towards Li An, who also had study abroad experience in the United States.

He always said it was a pity that "Brokeback Mountain" didn't win any awards. He was very happy when it won Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay, and he analyzed the reasons for winning the awards.

Zhou Liming was somewhat disappointed that "Brokeback Mountain" did not win Best Director this time.

"I think it's unfair to Lee An that 'Brokeback Mountain' missed out on Best Director. He won Best Picture and Best Director at the Golden Globes, which shows that 'Brokeback Mountain' had the ability to win Best Director."

Zhou Liming paused for a moment, then continued, "There's only one major award left, Best Picture. I think that award should go to 'Brokeback Mountain'."

The host, Zeng Zixing, picked up the topic and asked Cheng Qingsong, who was sitting next to him, "Qingsong, what do you think?"

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Qingsong said, "I think it's 'Juno.' This movie has won a lot of union awards and has a very good reputation. It is said to be a humanistic and humanistic film, and such movies are easy to win awards."

“In the United States, Brokeback Mountain is also a film of humanism and humanistic concern. This film is a humanistic concern for the disadvantaged and has great representative significance.”

Zhou Liming interjected.

What does Teacher Liu think?

The host, Zeng Zixing, asked another female guest, Liu Miaomiao.

"Since Li An didn't win Best Director, I'm almost certain he won't win Best Picture either."

Liu Miaomiao said.

Liu Miaomiao graduated from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy in 78. She was a classmate of Chen Kaige and one of Lao Situ's students. In 85, she independently directed her first film, "Anecdotes of the Ocean".

Although the films she has directed in recent years have not been very famous, she is still an editor. She edited "A World Without Thieves" (小钢炮).

She is more famous in the editing industry than in the directing industry.

"Why?" Zhou Liming blurted out his question.

Liu Miaomiao glanced at him but didn't say anything.

"Teacher Liu, could you tell me why? I've noticed that many viewers of our live stream are very interested and have left messages asking about it."

"That's what the host, Zeng Zixing, said."

Liu Miaomiao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Simply put, behind this movie, it's not just about homosexuality and the gay community, but also involves many factors such as American politics."

We shouldn't think of the Oscar judges as so simple; they are influenced by powerful political, economic, and other factors, and even major film festivals around the world are affected by this.

For example, the Berlin Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival, etc.

She had intended to bring up racial factors, but she swallowed the words back.

"Okay, the award is announced. The presenter is Jack Nicholson. Some netizens may not be familiar with him. I'll mention a movie he starred in that you'll definitely know: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, starring Mike Murphy."

"That's what the host, Zeng Zixing, said."

"Ha, it's 'Juno,' congratulations to director Cao Yang, his 'Juno' has won Best Film!"

Liu Miaomiao and Cheng Qingsong exchanged a glance, smiled at the same time, and began to applaud.

Zhou Liming pursed his lips and clapped along.

"This is the second time that director Cao Yang has won the Oscar for Best Picture, which is truly remarkable! Some netizens may ask, since the director of this film is not Cao Yang, why did he win Best Picture? Let Li Ming explain."

The host, Zeng Zixing, smiled and looked at Zhou Liming.

Zhou Liming explained: "Hollywood is different from us. They have a producer-centric system, which means that the producer is the most important person in the production team. In Hollywood, it is common to change directors even when a movie is being filmed."

Director Cao Yang is the producer, executive producer, and screenwriter of *Juno*. In Hollywood, this film is entirely considered a Cao-directed film.

After saying that, he continued, "It's a pity about Director Li An. 'Brokeback Mountain' is an adaptation of a very short novel, and it is said that he noticed this novel from the very beginning."

He brought in the original authors, Anne Proulx, Larry McMurthy, and Diana O'Shanna, to work together on the adaptation.

He gave the screenwriters ample space and fully respected their opinions, which resulted in the current script for *Brokeback Mountain*.

Actually, at this point, it wasn't a big deal. Regardless of where he got the information from, it sounded quite reasonable.

However, what he said next offended people.

"There are some things I still need to say."

It's best if the director isn't credited on the screenplay. The reason the script is in this state is because the director is credited. "Hero" and "The Promise" are both credited, which probably indicates some issues with the directors themselves.

Actually, when I saw "Hero" and "The Promise", I was looking through reviews of Chinese films from the 30s and some people questioned these kinds of films.

The films of that time, and the film critics of that time, wrote about how to save Chinese cinema. I saw it by chance in the 30s, and it is very similar to what we see now.

Some directors go even further, not crediting the screenwriters but only their own names, turning the screenwriters into mere tools. I've been fooled like that before.

This might be one of the reasons why the Oscars didn't award Best Adapted Screenplay to "Juno."

After he finished speaking, the entire live stream room fell silent for several seconds.

Goodness, this statement sounds reasonable at first glance, but upon closer analysis, it directly implies the involvement of all three of China's top directors.

Especially the last sentence; he may not have meant anything by it, but people can still get a different meaning from it.

"Has Liming been so engrossed in preparing for his Oscar commentary that he hasn't been paying attention to the news lately?"

As the host, Zeng Zixing certainly couldn't let the conversation fall flat, so he quickly offered a prompt to defuse the situation:
“Sometimes when a director wants to make a movie and has a story outline in mind, he will find a screenwriter to discuss it together. It is normal to be credited, but you can’t generalize.”

He wanted to get away with it as quickly as possible.

Zhou Liming looked up at Zeng Zixing, his expression full of doubt. He and Zeng Zixing were good friends, and they had been commentating on the Golden Globe Awards together last month.

When "The Promise" was released, the two of them talked about the above viewpoint in private. Now you are saying this again. What do you mean by that?
Zeng Zixing was even more frustrated. It was fine to criticize "The Promise" and "Hero". There are plenty of film critics who criticize Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. If you don't criticize them, you're not a qualified film critic.

But bro, what did you mean by your last sentence? I can't explain it to you!
You're still looking at me with that confused, innocent look. I'm starting to wonder what you studied in the US. The Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley is a top ten business school in the US, after all. Where's your emotional intelligence?
"I remember you have published a lot of film reviews in English and are well-known in Europe and the United States. However, as a film critic, you should read more books, pay more attention to the news, and learn more about the facts."

Being a film critic may seem easy—all you have to do is write down your opinions—but sometimes you can't just make decisions based on guesswork and imagination. You still need to respect objective facts and the profession of film critic.

Liu Miaomiao's face turned somewhat unpleasant, and she spoke without any politeness.

She was most bothered by Zhou Liming's words, especially the last sentence.

She felt that Zhou Liming was subtly criticizing her junior brother Cao Yang, which she couldn't tolerate.

If it were just criticizing Zhang Yimou or Chen Kaige, she might have laughed and joined in the criticism, but Cao Yang is the face of Beijing Film Academy, the pride of Professor Situ, and her junior brother. How could she allow others to smear him?

Zeng Zixing's heart skipped a beat; the worst had happened.

He was trying to smooth things over and quickly move on from the matter when another guest, Cheng Qingsong, spoke up as well.

"Liming, I remember you seem to spend some time in the US every year. If you go again, it would be best to buy a copy of 'Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey'. It's easy for film critics to write reviews, but they still need to stay true to themselves and not spread nonsense or mislead the audience. Perhaps some netizens don't know about 'Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey'. This book is a collection of short stories that Cao Yang started writing a few years ago, and it's a bestseller in North America."

"Juno" is an adaptation of one of the short stories in the series, with Cao Yang serving as screenwriter for his own novel.

He emphasized the last sentence.

As a graduate of the Department of Literature at Beijing Film Academy, Cheng Qingsong naturally has an obligation to uphold the school's reputation.

He actually agrees with some of Zhou Liming's views, believing that directors should respect the screenwriter's script and not make arbitrary changes. Even if changes are necessary, they should be discussed with the screenwriter and reach a consensus.

He doesn't care if people criticize Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.

When "Hero" was released, he criticized Zhang Yimou.

After the release of "The Promise", he watched it once and wrote three articles overnight, criticizing "The Promise" and Chen Kaige.

He has also offered subtle criticisms of Cao Yang's films. For example, he published an article about "Nine-Tailed Fox," which is considered an experimental film, saying that the film was too commercial and lacked humanistic concern.

However, Cao Yang's talent is undeniable. As a film critic, you can criticize his films, but you cannot intentionally or unintentionally mislead the public into thinking that Cao Yang has monopolized the screenwriter's credit.

Actually, Zhou Liming was the most confused one.

He didn't think he was wrong.

The problem with "Hero" and "The Promise" is the scripts; Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige didn't tell the story clearly.

As for the poor storytelling of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," he felt that it depended on the circumstances. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was made for foreigners, so of course, American values ​​should be respected.

And with his last sentence, he was even less convinced that there was a problem.

Most Hollywood movies are produced in a streamlined process. For example, the scripts are written collaboratively by many screenwriters, and there is a dedicated script development system.

For example, in a script, some screenwriters are responsible for the creative ideas, some for the conflicts, some for the language, some for product placement, and there are even script doctors.

He felt that Cao Yang's "Juno" came about in this way.

He himself is a member of the Writers Guild of America and has worked as a script assembly line "worker," so he is very concerned about not being credited as a screenwriter.

As far as he knows, many people within the Writers Guild of America are already very dissatisfied with being "workers," and some are internally organizing to fight for authorship and higher wages through a strike, which he strongly supports.

There are now more than 6,000 Oscar voters, who are composed of different associations. For example, the Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay are largely decided by votes from the Writers Guild of America.

Cao Yang was credited as the only author of "Juno," which he considered "theft," leading him to say, "This may be one of the reasons why the Oscars didn't award 'Juno' the Best Adapted Screenplay."

He naturally assumed that the screenwriters' association within the academy had a problem with Cao Yang only crediting him, which was why they didn't vote for him.

Well, that's how it is sometimes. What you say may not seem wrong in your own understanding, but it can lead to ambiguity and misunderstandings within different value systems.

Zhou Liming isn't stupid. Cao Yang is the biggest name director in China, the face of Beijing Film Academy, and the director most valued by the higher-ups. Why would he bother offending Cao Yang?

"They're fighting! They're fighting! Haha, isn't this much more interesting than the Oscars?" one netizen commented on the live stream page.

"Could Cao Yang really be like Zhou Liming said, letting someone else write the script, then taking it over and not crediting the original writer?"

One netizen left a comment asking this question.

"Have you heard of 'Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey'? 'Juno' is a novel in it. Who knows his own novel better than Cao Yang? To say that his script plagiarized someone else's ideas is simply the biggest joke in the world."

One netizen replied.

“I studied in the United States. You may not know how expensive books are in the United States. Many textbooks cost thousands of dollars. Damn, can you imagine?”

Even for novels, a hardcover edition costs hundreds of dollars, and a regular edition costs tens of dollars. You might not have a concept of the North American bestseller list, so let me put it this way: the top fifty bestsellers earn tens of millions of dollars in royalties every year—not in RMB, but in US dollars!

"Damn, is Cao Yang that awesome?"

"Cao Yang is awesome!"

"Cao Yang won the Oscar for Best Picture again. He now has two Oscars for Best Picture and one for Best Director."

Add to that two Venice Golden Lions, a Cannes Palme d'Or, and Best Director awards at Venice and Cannes—isn't he one of the most accomplished Chinese directors?

"Upstairs, remove the 'one' from the list."

"Upstairs, you don't need to remove 'one of'; just replace 'Chinese' with 'the whole world'."

"Don't forget, Cao Yang is the best director in the world at promoting people, bar none."

"Damn, looking at it this way, Cao Yang is really awesome!"

"There aren't many newbies, I just want to ask one question, is he even better than Li An?"

"So many cows!"

"How does it compare to Jackie Chan? As far as I know, Jackie Chan has a huge influence in Hollywood."

"An actor and a director, if we really have to compare them... never mind, let's not belittle either of them. Just know this: if Cao Yang wants to make a new movie, Jackie Chan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Johnny Depp will all have to audition, understand?"

"Upstairs, that's easy to understand, Cao Yang is awesome!"

"Cao Yang is awesome!"

"Cao Yang is awesome!"

……

The host, Zeng Zixing, nervously scrolled through the comments. He was really afraid that because of Zhou Liming's words, the comments would be full of people questioning Cao Yang.

If that's the case, Xinlang Entertainment will definitely be in huge trouble, and his identity as a host and his future will probably come to an end. He might not even be able to continue in this industry in the future.

However, to his surprise, the comments section was filled with questions and criticisms, but they were all about Zhou Liming pretending to know what he didn't, and they were all about Zhou Liming trying to attract attention. Occasionally, a few people questioned Cao Yang, but they were all "educated" by others.

Zeng Zixing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the three major portal websites are filled with news of "Juno" winning the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Editing, as well as news of "Brokeback Mountain" winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score.

This incident quickly became a hot topic of discussion across the internet.

Later generations may not be very clear about the influence of the Oscars in this era. During this period, there was a special term for the Oscars: "aiming for an Oscar!"
"Striving for the Oscars" doesn't refer to the Olympics, but rather to Chinese directors aiming for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

If a film that wins the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film can be considered for an Oscar run, then the influence of other Oscar awards is even greater.

After the Oscars, Fox Searchlight threw a celebration party; everyone was happy that "Juno" won the Oscar for Best Picture.

After discussing with Cao Yang, President Jason Simmons set the release date of "Juno" for the second Sunday in May, which is Mother's Day, perfectly matching the theme of "Juno".

The second Sunday of May 2006 was the 14th, two months before its release. It was the perfect time to use those two months to promote this Oscar-winning film again.

Cao Yang continued working on the post-production of "Inception," while Fat Bing returned to China after about ten days.

During this period, she first worked as a software hardening engineer for Cao Yang, and then she would switch to a hardware softening engineer. Her engineering skills were excellent.

By May, post-production on Inception was almost complete, with only a few CG elements remaining.

However, according to visual effects supervisor Ben Snow, it could be completed in June.

Compared to "Juno," Cao Yang definitely values ​​"Inception" more, so it's time to consider the promotion and release of "Inception."

(End of this chapter)