Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 376 Visiting Team
On September 20th, the nomination list for the 26th Golden Rooster Awards was announced.

The release of this list has caused quite a stir in the film and television industry.

Many media outlets that followed the story were also somewhat surprised by the list.

On the contrary, the general public who saw the nomination list felt that the films nominated for the Golden Rooster Awards were no longer so "unfamiliar". At least most of the films, even if they had not seen them, had been heard of.

In reality, the nomination list this time has been "downgraded," with almost all the nominated films being films that can actually be released in theaters.

Films made by state-owned film studios for specific purposes, which were only shown in local state-owned cinemas for a short period and had virtually no audience attendance, are generally not on this nomination list.

Cao Yang's vision is to make the Golden Rooster Awards the most authoritative professional film award in China, emphasizing artistry, technical skill, and professionalism.

In other words, art films with artistic merit, or art films that are both commercially viable and exceptionally good, are more likely to win major awards.

Commercial blockbusters, on the other hand, can win technical awards.

This is somewhat similar to the Oscars.

Films with mission-driven (films made by state-owned film studios to meet their annual targets), directional, or traditional patriotic themes have a more suitable film festival waiting for them: the Huabiao Film Awards.

The Huabiao Awards, sponsored by the State Film Administration, are government awards in the Chinese film industry that recognize outstanding works and individuals who have made significant contributions to the domestic film industry.

Those films made for a specific purpose, which are basically impossible to screen nationwide and can only be shown in local state-run cinemas, or even "perfunctory" films that were shelved after filming and never intended for release, should compete for the Huabiao Award.

For state-owned film studios, whether it's the Golden Rooster Award or the Huabiao Award, they don't care as long as they win an award.

But preventing them from receiving awards is a different story; these are all political achievements.

Therefore, Cao Yang's actions actually offended state-owned film studios. Not every state-owned film studio has the ability of China Film Group or Qingying Film Studio to produce mainstream award-winning films.

However, it was Hou Keming who took the lead in carrying out this task in front of Cao Yang.

Old Hou has been doing administrative work for so many years. Don't be fooled by his seemingly open and honest demeanor in front of Cao Yang; his methods are far from simple.

Since 2005, the original Huaxia Film Huabiao Award, Xia Yan Film Literature Award, and Huaxia Film Tongniu Award have been merged and placed under the "Huaxia Radio and Television Awards," with the unified name "Huaxia Film Huabiao Award."

Furthermore, the award cycle has been changed from once a year to once every two years.

Coincidentally, the Huabiao Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards "overlap" in that they are both held in odd-numbered years, and the current dates for these two awards are not much different, one at the end of August and the other at the end of October.

So Lao Hou didn't "head-on" do this. Instead, he joined forces with some fourth and fifth generation directors, as well as veteran artists from the Beijing Film Academy, to make suggestions to the Film Bureau, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The stated purpose is to promote a more standardized, orderly, and healthy development of Chinese cinema.

This era still emphasizes learning from the advanced experiences of the West in various aspects, and Chinese films, at least in recent years, have outwardly been learning from Europe.

Therefore, if our film festival wants to become an internationally influential film festival like the three major European film festivals, it must learn to be more professional.

Films competing in the main competition at the three major European film festivals must have their premieres held there.

In other words, to enter the main competition section of the three major European film festivals, a film must not have been screened before and must not have participated in other film festivals.

The Golden Rooster should also learn from the professionalism of the three major European universities.

Of course, we must also consider the characteristics of the Oscars, learning from their strengths and discarding their weaknesses.

What are the differences between the Oscars and the three major European film festivals?

One of the requirements for being eligible for the Oscars is that a film must be shown a sufficient number of times within a specified period—a point that distinguishes it from the "exclusivity" of the three major European cinemas.

Lao Hou and his colleagues suggested that, in order to reflect professionalism, domestic awards, especially the Golden Rooster Awards, should learn from the Oscars' practice of "sufficient screenings."

We also need to learn from the "exclusivity" of the three major European awards—to participate in the Golden Rooster Awards, a film must not have participated in any other domestic awards; note, it must be domestic.

As for what happens after the Golden Rooster Awards, that's up to you; it won't affect your participation in the Golden Horse or Hong Kong Film Awards.

In fact, to put it bluntly, this rule of the Golden Rooster Awards is aimed at films that are task-oriented, have a guiding role, or are traditional mainstream films.

These films would inevitably participate in the Huabiao Awards, which are held two months earlier than the Golden Rooster Awards, because such films are more likely to win awards at the Huabiao Awards.

But Lao Hou and his group's proposal was made under the guise of promoting a more standardized, orderly, and healthy development of Chinese films. It was a grand gesture with lofty slogans, and almost no one realized that it was aimed at those state-owned film studios.

Even state-owned film studios failed to notice this.

They only participated in the Huabiao Awards for some movies, and they regretted that they could not participate in the Golden Rooster Awards.

But they never imagined that this "convoluted, bizarre, and sophisticated" rule was merely aimed at them. After all, it seemed that this rule was intended to make the Golden Rooster Awards more professional and was applicable to all films.

Therefore, some seemingly "high-level" slogans or regulations may only be for some special "trivial matter".

In this way, Cao Yang, as the one who initiated this matter, did not offend anyone, not even Lao Hou and the others.

At this year's Golden Rooster Awards, traditional patriotic films and films made for specific purposes were almost nowhere to be seen; they all went to participate in the Huabiao Awards in August.

Of course, some directors within the system, who make films that are not so mainstream or that they consider to be artistic, gave up the Huabiao Award and instead submitted them for the Golden Rooster Award.

Regarding such films, Cao Yang told Lao Hou that as long as they meet the Golden Rooster Award's eligibility criteria, they can compete fairly and no special treatment is needed.

Today is not only the day the Golden Rooster Awards announced its nominations, but also the day that the few people selected by Cao Yang from the Beijing Film Academy auditioned.

As is well known, when Cao Yang auditions actors, he values ​​whether the actor fits the image in his film most, while acting skills are secondary.

However, since the students from Beijing Film Academy who were auditioning did not know the content of the film, they had no way to deliberately put on makeup or act in a way that better suited the characters.

It's not that no one has tried to find out the film's content and the requirements for the characters.

When the four male students and six female students received the audition notice, their first reaction was almost one of disbelief, including Yang Mi, who already had a considerable reputation, and Jing Tian, ​​who had no shortage of resources.

The second reaction, of course, is for those with connections to quickly find those connections, and for those without connections to quickly find their homeroom teacher or a familiar teacher to inquire about Director Cao's new movie.

Being able to act in Director Cao's film is already one of the highest starting points for entering the film and television industry in China.

Although Yang Mi was admitted to Beijing Film Academy in 05, she had already signed with Rongxinda in 02 when she was still in high school.

Relying on Rongxinda's resources, he starred in popular TV series such as "The Story of a Noble Family" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

After entering the Beijing Film Academy, she went on to star in films and television series such as "Beijing Fairy Tale", "Wang Zhaojun", "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: Xiaoqian", and "Why Did We Meet Before?"

Rong Xinda thought highly of her and provided her with plenty of resources.

After receiving the call from the department, Yang Mi didn't waste a moment. With excitement, she called Li Xiaowan and Li Shaohong, the founders of Rongxinda.

Li Xiaowan and Li Shaohong took the call very seriously.

The task of gathering information was entrusted to Li Shaohong.

Li Shaohong is Cao Yang's senior. She was also in the 78 directing class and was one of Lao Situ's students. She was classmates with Lao Tian and Lao Chen.

As Lao Tian's confidante, Li Shaohong would definitely be the first person to call him.

His opening line was: "My Golden Lion Director, how about you do me a favor?"

Old Tian... patted his chest without hesitation and said, "Speak!"

Then Li Shaohong asked about Cao Yang's new movie, wanting to know some information, and explained that one of her company's contracted students, a current student at the Beijing Film Academy, had received an audition invitation.

She was mainly afraid that Lao Tian would misunderstand, and also afraid that if word got out, Cao Yang would misunderstand.

After all, it's normal to inquire about movie information for the company's contracted artists, but inquiring about other directors' new movies for no reason is going to offend people.

When Lao Tian heard about this, he still replied without hesitation, "I don't know."

No matter what Li Shaohong said or how she phrased it, Lao Tian would just chuckle and say three words: "I don't know."

This greatly upset Li Shaohong.

Does Lao Tian know the content of Cao Yang's new movie?
of course I know.

Lao Tian is even playing the role of the male lead's older brother in the film, and Cao Yang even discussed the film's content with him, so how could he not know?

So, as Li Shaohong hung up the phone in a sullen mood, Lao Tian still reminded her to tell the female student she signed a contract not to be shy and to just be herself.

What Li Shaohong didn't know was that Cao Yang didn't care about the female students at all. His main concern was choosing the actor for the male lead's nephew, while he left the decision of who the "nephew's" two girlfriends would be to Lao Tian.

After all, these two characters have too little screen time, so it doesn't really matter who is chosen.

Finally, Cao Yang hesitated between Chen Xiao and Zhu Yilong. Both of them had very youthful appearances, making them perfectly suitable for playing high school students. This was also related to their ages; Chen Xiao was only twenty, and Zhu Yilong was only nineteen.

However, judging by appearance alone, Chen Xiao belongs to the category of "young male leads," while Zhu Yilong's appearance is suitable for playing both "young male leads" and "rogue" characters who are both righteous and evil, as well as serious dramas.

In other words, in terms of appearance alone, Zhu Yilong has a wider range of acting roles than Chen Xiao.

An actor with a wider range of roles is still worth looking forward to.

Therefore, Cao Yang chose Zhu Yilong to play the role of the male lead's nephew.

Old Tian's choice was somewhat unexpected by Cao Yang; he decided on Yang Mi and Jing Tian.

He didn't show favoritism; his "nephew's" two girlfriends were quite different—one was quiet and reserved, while the other was a band's lead singer, who was more outgoing and charismatic.

Jing Tian looked quiet and gentle when he stood there.

Yang Mi, on the other hand, is a typical Beijing girl; with her hair tied in a high ponytail, she exudes a cool and capable vibe.

Okay, since they don't have many scenes, choosing these two shouldn't be a problem, right?
Before finalizing the male lead, Cao Yang visited the Huairou Film and Television Base.

Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang" is being filmed here, and this is also the main filming location.

"Mei Lanfang" was originally scheduled to start filming in May, but Lao Chen was not satisfied with the filming location on the Beijing Film Studio Street, so he spent money to rebuild the filming location in Huairou.

That's why it was delayed until the end of July before it was finally put into operation.

Cao Yang had several purposes for going to Huairou this time. On the surface, his purpose was to visit the set. Old Chen was his senior, so visiting the set was a normal thing.

Furthermore, when it came to casting for the role of Meng Xiaodong, Lao Chen ultimately chose Li Xiaoran, whom he believed had better acting skills, rather than Fatty Bing, who had a greater reputation in Hollywood.

Cao Yang told Li Xiaoran that he was visiting her on set.

The last objective was to talk to Lao Chen about whether Li Ming's schedule was available; this was a final attempt.

If Li Ming, the most suitable candidate, is unavailable, Cao Yang will most likely have to choose Cheng Long instead.

The Berlin Film Festival would certainly prefer Jackie Chan to play the male lead in Cao Yang's new film. Jackie Chan is a big name, and his transition from kung fu superstar to art film would generate more buzz.

Lunch time.

Old Chen, along with Li Ming, Li Xiaoran, and several heads of key departments, were in a special shed, and their meals were definitely different from those of ordinary staff.

Li Xiaoran seemed to enjoy her meal very much today, which puzzled the others.

While they were eating, Old Chen's phone rang.

He picked up the phone and glanced at it. Everyone noticed that a slight smile had appeared on Old Chen's usually stern face.

Are you coming to visit the set this afternoon?

"Welcome, of course."

"Okay, let's have dinner together tonight when we have some free time."

After hanging up the phone, Old Chen glanced at everyone present, picked up a piece of food, chewed it a few times, and after swallowing, said casually, "Everyone, please put your mind to it this afternoon and see if we can finish filming today's scenes as soon as possible."

After saying all that, he smiled and said, "Cao Yang will come to visit the set. My junior brother and I haven't gotten together in a long time, so I want to finish filming as soon as possible and have a get-together with him tonight."

Li Xiaoran smiled and took a small bite of rice. She shouldn't have eaten this bite of rice for the sake of her figure, but acting requires physical strength, and so does doing other things.

She had seen the text message Cao Yang sent her that morning, until Cao Yang said he was coming to visit her, ostensibly to visit Lao Chen on set.

Li Ming's expression shifted, and he couldn't help but think of Cao Yang's new movie. Should he take this opportunity to have a chat with Director Cao?

Sister Hong's eyes flickered, and she couldn't help but glance at A Jiao. If only Bai Zhi had been replaced by A Jiao during the casting process…

Ah Jiao was filled with curiosity and anticipation. Was the top director in China coming to visit the set this afternoon? She definitely wanted to take the opportunity to get to know him.

In short, everyone has their own plans.

When Cao Yang arrived, he was personally received by Sister Hong.

On the way to the film set with Cao Yang, for some reason, Sister Hong suddenly blurted out, "Cao Yang, do you know a photographer named Du Kefeng?"

Cao Yang was taken aback. He knew Du Kefeng and was familiar with him.

Duke Feng is Australian, a typical older white man.

However, he works in the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industry, and is considered Wong Kar-wai's go-to cinematographer. He has also collaborated with almost all the famous directors in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

He has won the Golden Cinematography Award at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Golden Horse Award for Best Cinematography and the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Cinematography multiple times, making him one of the top cinematographers.

Cao Yang glanced at Sister Hong; it seemed that Sister Hong knew something about the matter.

In the film and television industry, especially the movie industry, because there are so many handsome men and beautiful women, there may not be any excitement or novelty between the opposite sexes, so...

It's no secret.

Whether in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or mainland China, it's not uncommon for many handsome young actors to maintain close and friendly relationships with powerful figures in order to secure resources.

And there are quite a few big shots who are drawn to each other.

Yes, Lao Chen is a big shot in the film and television industry, and so is Duke Feng.

Cao Yang was still waiting for Hong Saozi to say something, but Hong Saozi changed the subject and started talking about... Zhang Baizhi instead.

She said that last month, in August, Bai Zhi gave birth to a son. After saying that, she looked at Cao Yang.

This made Cao Yang very frustrated.

What are you looking at me for?
It’s not mine.

Or are you implying something?
Otherwise, why would it be both Duke Feng and Cypress juice?

Uh, could it be that Old Chen and Duke Feng still have a mutual respect for each other?
In the evening, Cao Yang had a casual meal with Lao Chen, who had finished filming earlier, and they chatted.

According to Lao Chen, due to unsatisfactory progress, filming for "Mei Lanfang" will most likely be delayed until February of next year, which is about two months later than expected.

Upon hearing that it would be February of next year, Cao Yang abandoned his plan to invite Li Ming.

Even if Lao Chen gives me face and prioritizes filming Li Ming's scenes, at Lao Chen's pace, it definitely won't be enough time to finish filming Li Ming's scenes in less than two months.

Old Chen still has a lot of passion for the camera.

Cao Yang noticed that Lao Chen was exceptionally strict about camera presence, lighting, costumes, and props.

Even the slightest flaw, such as a button that doesn't conform to the standards of the Republic of China era, would prompt him to demand a new outfit.

Furthermore, not only was there a long preparation time for each shot, but the filming process was also very rigorous and meticulous.

He would shoot at least six takes for each shot, and even if the first two takes felt great and met all the requirements, he would still shoot at least six takes before stopping.

It seems a bit like obsessive-compulsive disorder.

At this shooting speed, it's almost impossible for Li Ming to finish filming ahead of schedule.

Forget it.

Cao Yang gave up.

Cheng Long is also a good choice, let's go with Cheng Long.

After having dinner with Lao Chen, Cao Yang went to the place where Li Xiaoran had settled down, following the address she had sent him.

That night, Cao Yang had boundless energy.

Of course, this was definitely not influenced by Sister-in-law Hong.

The main reason is that I haven't seen Da Bai for a long time and I really miss him.

Da Bai was the same; she was clearly very engaged. She ate an extra bite of rice at noon and an extra bite of rice at night, so she still had energy.

Women with physical strength are still very passionate and energetic.

(End of this chapter)