Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 370 Venice's "Oscars"

Cao Yang had just sat down at the awards ceremony when he suddenly felt the atmosphere in the hall freeze for a moment.

Old Tian, ​​who was sitting next to him, said softly, "Here you are."

Cao Yang glanced at Lao Tian, ​​who was now staring intently at the award presenter who had just walked onto the stage, his expression much more serious.

Cao Yang didn't know if Lao Tian was talking to himself or to himself.

Because the main event of the evening is about to begin—the awards ceremony for the main competition.

The first award presented was the Best Newcomer Award, which was like an appetizer.

For directors aspiring to win major awards at the Venice Film Festival, this award is somewhat of a double-edged sword; it might just be a consolation prize, leaving them with no other awards.

But for new actors, it is the best encouragement and recognition.

So when the presenter announced that the winner was Afsia Herci, the actress of Algerian and Tunisian descent in the French film "Mullet and Grain," the actress appeared exceptionally excited.

Abdellatif Kechiche, the director of "Millet and Mullet," only gave a perfunctory clapping, and his smile seemed somewhat forced.

The three major European awards don't offer many prizes. Generally, once you receive a consolation prize, it's extremely difficult to win any other major awards.

Unless there are some off-site reasons, such as the film festival wanting to promote you, or your film conforming to the theme of this film festival, that is, the political correctness of this film festival.

The next award presented was surprisingly a jury prize, yet another consolation prize.

Although the Jury Award and the Jury Grand Prize differ by only one word, their prestige is incomparable.

The Jury Prize is the second most prestigious award after the Grand Prize, even more so than the Best Director award. Compared to other awards, the Jury Prize is merely better than nothing.

Well, it's about on par with the Best Newcomer Award.

The award went to the American film "The Battle of Elah Valley," starring Tommy Lee Jones and Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron.

They both arrived yesterday and happened to be there to walk the red carpet at the closing ceremony.

Cao Yang couldn't help but wonder, was Old Ma trying to divide the spoils? Was he not going to let people come for nothing? Was he trying to rebuild Venice's lost reputation in the US?
The third award presented is the Best Technical Contribution Award. The presenter will usually explain that this award is given to the photographer most of the time.

This award isn't really a consolation prize anymore; it's become one of the regular awards at the Venice Film Festival in recent years.

Consolation prizes are generally not permanent awards; they are the kind of awards that are only used when needed and are not used most of the time.

After the award-winning photographers finished their acceptance speeches, the next presenters took the stage and began to talk about the importance of the script in a film.

Well, Jiang Wen might not agree with this. As long as he has a general idea, he can write a couple of pages of so-called script and then assemble a film crew.

Then, the script and dialogue are written on the spot, and ideas or inspirations are added whenever they come to mind.

For Jiang Wen, what is a script or not?
Of course, Wong Kar-wai might be even more outrageous than Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen at least had a general idea and would write two pages of script first. As for Wong Kar-wai, it didn't matter to him whether he had a script or not; even if he did, it wouldn't matter.

Who do you think will win the Best Screenplay award?

Seeing that the broadcast camera was pointed at the award presenter, Lao Tian quietly asked Cao Yang a question.

"I."

Cao Yang raised an eyebrow at Lao Tian and said with a smile.

He wondered if Old Tian would be worried if Pietà won the Silver Lion for Best Screenplay.

Old Tian didn't show any particular expression, he just pursed his lips and said, "You're that confident?"

Cao Yang smiled, that's how confident he was.

Of course, Old Ma said he had a little surprise for me. After thinking it over, the only thing that truly belongs to me is the Silver Lion for Best Screenplay, and that can only be the surprise.

Of course, there is another reason why Cao Yang is so confident.

Generally, the order of the awards ceremony is to present the Best Actress award first, followed by the Best Actor award.

Cao Yang, who was to present the Best Actress award, was notified that the Best Actor award would be presented first this year, and that he should go backstage to prepare for the Best Actress award presentation while the Best Actor award was being presented.

The key point is that after the Best Screenplay award is presented, the Best Actress award is presented next, but this year the order of the Best Actress and Best Actor awards has been reversed.

Isn't that obvious?

Sure enough, after rambling on for a while, the presenter opened the envelope and said, "The winner of Best Screenplay is 'Pieta' by Cao Yang."

"Hua Hua Hua..."

Applause erupted, much more enthusiastic than when the Best Technical Award was presented earlier.

"You're something else, kid."

Old Tian patted Cao Yang on the shoulder, but there was no need for a fake hug.

"Congratulations, Director Cao."

Fu Dalong stood up, clapping as he spoke to Cao Yang.

"Congratulations, Director Cao! I knew such a good script would win an award."

Hui Yinghong didn't shy away from the topic; she gently hugged Cao Yang and said with a smile.

"It's a pity that out of the five Chinese-language films selected for the main competition, only ours received the notification to stay."

Old Tian chuckled and remarked from the side, though it was unclear whether he was genuinely moved or simply wanted to show off.

Cao Yang pretended not to hear and went up on stage to receive the award.

As Cao Yang received the award from the presenter and delivered his acceptance speech, Fu Dalong couldn't help but glance enviously at the eloquent Cao Yang, and whispered to Lao Tian:

"Director Tian, ​​is there still a chance for us tonight?"

Hui Yinghong, who was standing next to him, seemed to have heard what Fu Dalong said. She appeared to be looking at Cao Yang on the stage, but the way she leaned towards Lao Tian showed that she was also concerned about whether "Pieta" could win an award.

Old Tian understood the two of them.

Now that we've been told to stay, who wouldn't want to win a big prize?

Fu Dalong must have secretly wanted to win the Venice Film Festival Best Actor award.

Kara Hui also certainly wanted to win the Venice Film Festival Best Actress award.

Every actor present today, without exception, hopes to win the Best Actor or Best Actress award.

Old Tian must also want to produce a Venice Film Festival Best Actor or Best Actress.

It's a pity that Venice would never award the Golden Lion for Best Actor or Best Actress after giving it the Best Screenplay award. These are fixed awards; giving two might be possible, but three is absolutely impossible.

"How would I know? I just hope they can give me another big prize."

Old Tian looked like he really hoped to win another award.

At this moment, Cao Yang finished his acceptance speech, and the whole audience responded with enthusiastic applause.

Fu Dalong and Hui Yinghong also clapped enthusiastically.

After Cao Yang returned and the applause subsided, the next award presenter came on stage. He handed the silver lion to Lao Tian and said, "Here, I'll go present this award."

Watching Cao Yang quietly leave, Fu Dalong's heart was in his throat.

There have been rumors for the past two days that Director Cao would be a presenter for the Best Actor or Best Actress award, and it turns out it's true.

According to the normal procedure, the next award is for Best Actress, and the presenter has already come on stage, so Director Cao is likely to present the award for Best Actor.

Best Actor! Venice Film Festival Best Actor!
Will Venice deliberately stage a scene where a Chinese director presents an award to a Chinese actor? Wouldn't that be a wonderful story?

Fu Dalong is quite confident in his acting skills in Pietà.

"...Next, I will be presenting the award for Best Actor..."

Fudalong was taken aback. What was going on?

The order of the awards ceremony has changed? At that moment, Fu Dalong felt a chill run down his spine. It turned out that Director Cao had gone to prepare to present the Best Actress award.

Do I still have hope?

Fudalong stared at the award presenter, hoping to hear those three familiar words from her lips.

"The winner of Best Actor at the 64th Venice International Film Festival is... Brad Pitt, for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Congratulations."

Fidelity's lips twitched slightly. He mechanically clapped along, listening intently, hoping to hear "and..."

Unfortunately, there was no tie for Best Actor tonight; Brad Pitt was the only one to win the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor award.

After Pitt took the stage, Fidelity whispered to Lao Tian, ​​"Director Tian, ​​let me see Director Cao's Silver Lion."

Lao Tian also felt a bit sorry for Fu Dalong, believing that Fu Dalong's performance in "Pieta" deserved an award for Best Actor.

Fu Dalong took the silver lion, first weighing it in his hand, then caressing it with great affection. He knew that this might be the closest he had ever been to the silver lion in his life.

At the staff's prompting, Cao Yang came out from backstage and stood in front of the microphone.

"You all know what I'm going to present, that's right, Best Actress tonight."

Cao Yang didn't waste any words and spoke directly into the microphone:

"This will be the third Venice Film Festival Best Actress winner to be born from my hands. Although she didn't become the Best Actress because of my film, I will personally hand her the Silver Lion, which represents the Best Actress award, in a moment."

Cao Yang glanced at the laughing guests below and smiled as well, saying, "So, who could it be?"

He opened the envelope, glanced at it, and without further ado, said into the microphone, "Cate Blanchett, 'I'm Not There,' congratulations."

Cate Blanchett won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival by cross-dressing as a man, which is quite interesting, to be honest.

"It's an honor to be your third Best Actress at Venice, thank you."

After Cate Blanchett came up, she hugged Cao Yang and pressed her cheek against his, whispering something in his ear with a smile.

Cao Yang smiled; this "Great Demon King" seemed to have a hidden meaning in his words.

Speaking of which, Cate Blanchett is considered one of the more age-resistant people among Europeans and Americans. She is now in her thirties and almost forty. For other white women, including female celebrities, many would look very old at this age.

Cate Blanchett, however, doesn't look that old.

Cao Yang noticed that the Australian actresses he knew who were working in Hollywood seemed to age more gracefully compared to some European and American actresses.

For example, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, etc.

“Did you find a problem?”

After the awards ceremony, when Cao Yang returned, Lao Tian whispered something to him.

"what is the problem?"

Old Tian looked up and saw that the broadcast camera was focused on the newly arrived award presenter. He then said, "Old Ma has completely compromised with Hollywood. How many awards does Venice have? You do the math and see how many awards he's given to the Americans."

Cao Yang hadn't considered this issue before, but after hearing Lao Tian mention it, he did some calculations.

The jury awarded the prize to the American film, "The Battle of Elah Valley".

The Best Technical Contribution Award went to the American film "Atonement".

The Best Actress award went to Cate Blanchett for her role in "I'm Not There".

The Best Actor award went to Brad Pitt for his role in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford".

So far, only six awards have been given out in the main competition, and four of them have gone to the Americans!
You wouldn't believe it until you did the math!

Hmm, does that seem to fit the image of Italians? Once they kneel down, it's a complete and utter act.

"There are still three big prizes left. They won't go to the Americans again, will they?"

Cao Yang said softly, somewhat uncertainly.

Old Tian scoffed, seemingly not believing it.

As if to confirm Lao Tian's "heh," the Best Director award was unexpectedly tied, with the award going to the Italian co-production "Free World" and the American film "Excerpt Revised."

Is awarding Best Director to "The Free World" an attempt to appease Europe?
Cao Yang couldn't help but think.

However, the subsequent Grand Jury Prize was once again a tie, awarded to the French film "Mullet and Grain" and the American film "I'm Not There".

Damn, Lao Ma, do you have to kneel down so completely!
(If you don't believe me, you can search for the 64th Venice Film Festival. The Grand Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Technical Contribution Award all went to the US. Only one Best Newcomer Award and one Grand Jury Prize (which was shared) went to a French film. In fact, even "Lust, Caution," which won the Golden Lion, was a Sino-US co-production, and to some extent, it was an American film.)
Venice has become like the Oscars, with almost all the major awards going to Americans.

"Ah!"

Lao Tian once again expressed his contempt for Lao Ma, saying that he despised art for completely compromising with commerce.

Cao Yang looked at Lao Tian, ​​not expecting that Lao Tian still had some reservations... Well, if the Golden Lion Award is given to you later, I hope you can still "heh" one more time.

"Did you notice that those two European art films are both about immigrants?"

Old Tian said softly.

"The Free World and Millet and Mullet?"

Cao Yang asked, "These two films, one won Best Director (a tie), and the other won the Jury Prize (a tie)."

"I watched both of these movies; they both deal with immigration issues. In 04, the European Union began to expand, and a large number of foreign immigrants who did not speak the language entered Europe."

They do jobs that European workers disdain, live hand to mouth, constantly face the danger of unemployment, yet struggle to receive fair treatment and realize the beautiful life they once longed for.

Both films share the same themes, reflecting a sense of compassion and empathy.

Cao Yang nodded. At this time, the politically correct stance in Europe was to call on the EU to formulate safeguards for immigrants in order to protect their legal rights and ensure their basic livelihoods.

Well, it's mainly about standing on a moral high ground, looking down on these immigrants, and being primarily sympathetic.

Of course, if you were to make a film like "Parasite" at this time, reflecting the social unrest caused by immigration, you would be courting death, and it probably wouldn't even make it into the main competition.

Isn't this going against the current political correctness?

"coming."

This time, Cao Yang smiled and said this to Lao Tian after seeing the award presenter come on stage.

Old Tian stared intently at the stage, his breathing a little rapid, his hands clenched unnaturally, appearing somewhat pale.

Ha, I thought you wouldn't be nervous.

"...The winner of Best Film at the 64th Venice International Film Festival is Pietà. Congratulations!"

"call……"

Cao Yang heard Lao Tian let out a long sigh of relief, his clenched hands relaxed, and his mouth stretched almost to his ears in a wide grin.

"Director Cao, Director Tian, ​​Golden Lion, we are Golden Lion!"

Fuda Long clenched his hands, looking extremely excited, and couldn't help but shout.

Kara Hui covered her mouth with her hand, staring wide-eyed ahead, looking incredulous.

"calm down."

Amid applause, Lao Tian stood up, pulled Cao Yang up, and then said to Fu Dalong and Hui Yinghong, "Come on, come on, together!"

Cao Yang stood up with a smile, and jokingly said to Lao Tian, ​​"Sigh, Lao Ma shouldn't have done that. This award was just a mess..."

Old Tian glared at Cao Yang with a smile. He understood Cao Yang's quirky sense of humor, but since he was in a good mood today, he was happy to play along.

"What nonsense! I think this year's election was quite good, especially in terms of major awards. It objectively upheld the principles of fairness and impartiality."

Okay, okay, whatever you say goes. If you say it's objective and fair, then it's objective and fair.

Haha, why aren't you chuckling anymore?

(End of this chapter)