Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 396 The Award That Will Never Be Absent

"...Following the box office and critical success of 'Inception' last year, director Cao Yang's new film 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' has once again embarked on a global journey with its imaginative story and positive word-of-mouth."

As of press time, this unique fantasy blockbuster has grossed $3.4 million in North America, $4.2 million domestically, and $8.1 million worldwide in 24 days since its release, once again…

Chen Kaige closed the newspaper, and Sister Hong next to him quickly took it, folded it neatly, and put it aside, unable to help but sigh:

"Cao Yang is getting more and more impressive. His last film, Inception, grossed $9 million worldwide. This pirate movie is expected to reach $10 billion."

Then, she couldn't help but purse her lips, recalling those two days in Los Angeles, the "Bai Juice"...

Chen Kai lit a cigarette. Hong Saozi glanced at him, but still took an ashtray and pushed it in front of Old Chen.

"Cao Yang has also gone down the wrong path..."

Old Chen said something that might have been inappropriate, perhaps because he felt he was also "deeply involved" in the vortex of commercial films and was still struggling.

He paused for a moment, then thought that as Cao Yang's senior brother, there was nothing inappropriate about saying these things.

"Cao Yang has a very high sensitivity to art films and is good at training actors. Now he is diving into Hollywood and focusing on making commercial films. This is a waste of his artistic talent."

He should simply calm down and focus on making films of considerable artistic value for the country and its people; only then would he not have wasted his talent.

Sister Hong rarely contradicted Lao Chen, but upon hearing his words, she was somewhat dismissive.

Didn't you, Chen, also make "The Promise"? Why can't Cao Yang make "Inception" and "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

Besides, both Inception and Pirates of the Caribbean were critical and commercial successes, at least more so than The Promise...

Didn't Cao Yang recently film an art film in China?

Sister Hong didn't directly refute Old Chen, but she still made a roundabout way of saying it.

"Given Cao Yang's current influence, the fact that he's still thinking about making art films shows that he hasn't forgotten his original aspirations."

Old Chen stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said:

"I haven't paid much attention to that movie of his. It's called 'Love in a Seaside City,' right? Judging from the title, it's a romance film. Can a movie like that really delve into human nature? I still hold the same view: romance films don't belong to art films."

Sister Hong wanted to refute it.

However, recently, Lao Chen was busy filming "Mei Lanfang". She was interested in developing her career as a producer, so she followed the crew throughout the entire process, taking care of every little detail and learning the work of a producer. She really didn't know much about the content of "Love in the Seaside City".

"Romance films can also become classics. Isn't Titanic one such film?"

After saying that, Sister Hong mentally prepared herself: I'm not refuting Old Chen, I'm just stating a fact.

Didn't your film "Mei Lanfang" also include quite a few love scenes?
Of course, Sister-in-law Hong didn't say the last sentence.

Old Chen didn't say anything about Sister Hong's "rebellion".

Although he was somewhat dismissive of the idea that Titanic had become a classic film, he couldn't bring himself to refute it.

After all, this movie is not just about high box office; it also swept the Oscars and numerous other awards. You can disagree in your heart, but saying it out loud will be seen as arrogance.

"You can't just look at box office numbers when it comes to movies; if you do, you'll go down the wrong path."

Old Chen smacked his lips and emphasized, "Cao Yang still needs someone to be by his side to remind him at all times, otherwise young people are most likely to get lost in the smugness of high box office returns and never listen to other people's opinions again."

"I go!"

Sister Hong almost blurted it out, but thinking about it, it was impossible.

She couldn't help but recall her experience with "cypress juice" and rubbed her legs together.

"Old Chen..."

After saying that, she looked at Chen Kai with her big, watery eyes, and anyone could understand what she meant.

"We'll be moving to another location for filming tomorrow. You've been working so hard lately, so please get some rest."

Old Chen patted Sister Hong's hand, not saying he refused, but his meaning was clear.

However, perhaps feeling that sitting there wasn't quite right, he subconsciously wanted to find something to do as an excuse, so he went to the study, turned on the computer—well, pretending to deal with some work-related matters.

Sister Hong looked at Old Chen's retreating figure, forced a smile, and her expression was somewhat unnatural.

She glanced at the bathroom, wondering if she should take a shower and relax a bit, when she heard Old Chen exclaim "Huh?"

Hong's wife thought something had happened, so she quickly went into the study and saw that Lao Chen was reading a news article about the groom's entertainment.

"...Due to the writers' strike, the 65th Golden Globe Awards did not hold an awards banquet, but instead held an unprecedented press conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel."

This year's Golden Globe Awards had no red carpet, no awards ceremony, no dinner or party, only an awkward press conference where the host announced the list of all the award winners.

It is worth mentioning that this year's Golden Globe Awards were boycotted by the Screen Actors Guild, with no stars in attendance, including all the award winners.

According to sources, this year's Golden Globe Awards, which had no gala dinner and broadcast, suffered a loss of up to $8000 million, not including some potential losses.

The following is the list of winners for the 65th Golden Globe Awards...

Hong's sister-in-law finally understood why the usually composed Old Chen was so surprised.

This is the Golden Globe Awards, an American film and television award. Regardless of the award's authority, in terms of influence alone, it is considered the second most influential film award in the United States, after the Oscars.

Didn't you see that the direct economic loss from not holding the awards banquet was as high as $8000 million?

The Golden Globe Awards, a prestigious award with immense influence, was forced to announce its winners via a press conference due to a writers' strike, a fact that would surprise anyone.

"Didn't they say a while ago that the Foreign Correspondents' Club was in talks with the Screen Actors Guild?"

Sister Hong recalled the news from a while ago and couldn't help but say something.

Old Chen squinted, not looking at the computer screen. He didn't pay attention to the list of winners below. Relatively speaking, who won the award wasn't news; the fact that the Golden Globe Awards were forced to be held in this format was the real global news.

"Well, so they didn't reach an agreement. Hehe, the biggest problem now isn't the Golden Globes, it's the Oscars in a little over a month. If they get boycotted by the Screen Actors Guild then, we'll see what's going to be like."

"No way?"

Sister Hong exclaimed in surprise, "Is the Screen Actors Guild going to boycott the Oscars again?"

"Nothing is impossible. Before today, who could have imagined that the Screen Actors Guild would actually boycott the Golden Globes in response to the writers' strike?"

I reckon that as long as the writers' strike continues, the Screen Actors Guild, for their own interests, will also dare to boycott the Oscars. We'll see.

Old Chen took out another cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag. He felt a mix of emotions.

To be honest, Lao Chen looks down on the Oscars and Hollywood blockbusters.

In his mind, only the three major European film festivals, especially the Cannes Film Festival, are the temple of world art and the place where artists gather.

Hollywood and the Oscars are nothing but monsters and demons who only pursue profit.

Of course, Lao Chen also admitted that he had once longed for the glamorous world of Hollywood and had thought about trying his luck there.

But he had his own reasons for all of this.

He had already won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was originally planning to pursue higher artistic goals, but he didn't expect that the three major European film festivals have been going astray in recent years - they are all openly or covertly catering to Hollywood!
Since the three major European powers are all going along with it, Old Chen naturally wants to go and see what's going on.

Although his attempt to break into Hollywood failed, Old Chen believed he had come to understand the true nature of Hollywood, which is why he called it a place full of monsters and demons who only pursued profit.

But if he could really establish himself in Hollywood...

Old Chen still felt a little melancholy thinking about how his first attempt at Hollywood ended in failure.

"what?"

This time, it was Sister Hong who made the sound.

She scrolled down the webpage with her mouse, her mouth agape, and she couldn't help but raise her voice to say:
"The Fault in Our Stars won Best Picture, Pirates of the Caribbean won Best Original Score, and Pirates of the Caribbean won Best Foreign Language Film!"

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Old Chen couldn't help but cough repeatedly; Hong Saozi's words had choked him with smoke. He pushed Hong Saozi aside, stared at the monitor screen again and again, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart, just like when he first heard that Cao Yang had won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for "The Dirty Milk".

"The Fault in Our Stars" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. The winner was Cao Yang, who was the initiator and producer of the film.

Cao Yang won an award... Although I just said that Cao Yang took the wrong path, this slap in the face came too quickly, but it's not uncommon for Cao Yang to win an award, so let him win it.

This is the Golden Globe Awards, not the Oscars... Old Chen tried to comfort himself.

The key point is that Pietà won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film!

Before Chen won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, he thought that the only people in China who could compare to him were Zhang Yimou and Tian.

But after he won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Lao Tian was banned from directing for some reason. In his mind, he no longer regarded Lao Tian as a rival, but just an old classmate who was taught by the same teacher and had a fairly good relationship with him.

But who would have thought that this old classmate, whom he no longer considered a rival, would suddenly win the Golden Lion at the 64th Venice Film Festival in 07?

With this Golden Lion, Lao Tian now has at least the qualifications to compete with him in terms of awards.

When Lao Chen heard the news that Lao Tian had won the Golden Lion, he comforted himself, saying that Lao Tian had just gotten lucky and only won the award because of Cao Yang's help...

Well, let's not even talk about domestic awards and some frivolous ones; we even have a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In the blink of an eye, that son of a bitch, Lao Tian, ​​has won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film!
Damn it!

For a moment, Old Chen didn't know who to blame.

Sister Hong secretly glanced at Old Chen, who was sulking. Knowing Old Chen's temper, he was going to stay sulking for a while.

She didn't expect the slap in the face to come so quickly. The film that Cao Yang initiated, produced, and wrote won Best Picture, and another film that he produced and wrote also won Best Foreign Language Film for Lao Tian.

The key point is that the movie is currently showing and is a global hit, with the box office expected to reach $1 billion, which is a billion dollars!

It's much more than the total annual box office revenue of domestic films.

Sister Hong had heard Old Chen say that the total box office in China in 2006 was less than 30 billion yuan, and the figures for 2007 had not yet been released, but it was highly likely that it would not exceed 35 billion yuan.

In other words, the box office revenue of Cao Yang's one film may be more than the total box office revenue in China in 06 and 07 combined.

In addition, his fierce determination towards "cypress juice" is truly impressive; he's quite the man!
Cao Yang...

Sister Hong squeezed her legs together again.

"Go to sleep early, we have to move to another location for filming tomorrow. I'm going to wash up now."

Sister Hong quickly left the study, pursed her lips again, and unconsciously squeezed her legs together a little tighter.

Inside the study, Old Chen nodded unconsciously, then frowned. The words sounded familiar.

For the world, the fact that the Golden Globes were forced to forgo the awards banquet and instead hold a press conference to announce the winners was definitely big news, attracting far more attention than the winners themselves.

However, for the domestic audience, the list of winners has become a major news story that has garnered significant attention.

The media began to rush to report on it.

For a time, the Golden Globe Awards press conference, Cao Yang and Lao Tian winning awards, and the global box office success of "Pirates of the Caribbean" became hot news topics.

These things are being discussed everywhere.

Portal websites, print media, online forums, and various online communities, etc.

Especially in the "Cao Yang Bar", some people have listed the awards and box office achievements that Cao Yang has received so far.

Most people are aware of the awards, and many have even compiled statistics on them, since Cao Yang debuted in art films and is known for his skill in directing actors.

But when everyone's attention was drawn to Cao Yang's box office figures, they couldn't help but widen their eyes and show expressions of disbelief.

These days, directors whose domestic box office exceeds 1 million yuan are extremely rare. Of course, this 1 million yuan is not in US dollars, but in RMB.

Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" grossed 2.9 million yuan in China last year, along with other blockbusters like "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers." Adding all his other films and their global box office, the total box office just barely exceeded 10 billion yuan.

To date, only Zhang Yimou's films have grossed just over 10 billion yuan in mainland China. The total box office of films like "Little Cannon" and Chen Kaige has not yet reached 10 billion yuan.

On the other hand, what about Cao Yang's total box office revenue?

"The Dirty Milk" grossed $1.46 million in North America and $2.84 million worldwide.

District 9 grossed $230 million in North America and $4.68 million worldwide.

Inception grossed $4.02 million in North America and $9.2 million worldwide.

Pirates of the Caribbean 24 days after its release, and not yet at its final box office, the film has grossed $3.4 million in North America and $8.1 million worldwide.

These four films alone have grossed nearly $25 billion, and when you add Cao Yang's many other award-winning Chinese films, the total box office exceeds $27 billion.

Keep in mind that when "The Dirty Milk" and "District 9" were released, the exchange rate against the US dollar was around 8.

Even if we convert it at the current exchange rate of 7.3, that's still 197.1 billion RMB!

A director with a budget of 200 billion!
This term initially only gained traction on online forums, but the "200 billion yuan director" title was so eye-catching that, without anyone noticing, the media began to report on it extensively.

From the Golden Globe Awards press conference on January 13th to the 18th, almost all the news was about Cao Yang.

On the 18th, the 58th Berlin International Film Festival announced the final list of films entering the main competition. Among the 26 films in the main competition, three are Chinese-language films.

These are Wang Xiaoshuai's "Left Right", Hong Kong director Du Qifeng's "Sparrow", and Cao Yang's "Love in the Seaside City".

For a time, Cao Yang was once again repeatedly mentioned by the media.

What's interesting is the Hong Kong media.

Because Jackie Chan had previously criticized them, when his film "Seaside City" was selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival, they only mentioned it briefly in a minor detail.

The Hong Kong media focused their coverage on Du Qifeng, praising him to the skies.

Du Qifeng has indeed been quite impressive these past two years.

In Hong Kong, commercial films are very popular, and while there are directors of art films, they are not many.

There used to be Wong Kar-wai who could hold his own, considered a major director of art films in Hong Kong, and had won the Best Director award at Cannes. As for the three major European awards, he never won them.

If Wong Kar-wai had won the top prizes of the three major European awards, he would definitely have been hailed as a "god" in Hong Kong.

However, Wong Kar-wai's output is too small. It has been several years since "2046" in 04, and he has not produced a single Chinese-language film.

At this moment, Du Qifeng stepped forward, took over the "banner" from Wang Jiawei, and began his journey to conquer the three major European universities.

In 2006, Du Qifeng's film "Exiled" was nominated for the main competition at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, but did not win an award.

In 2007, at the 64th Venice International Film Festival, Du Qifeng's film "Mad Detective" was nominated for the main competition, but did not win an award.

Perhaps feeling that the Venice Film Festival lacked "vision," Du Qifeng turned to the Berlin Film Festival this time, and his film "Sparrow" was selected for the main competition of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival.

With Du Qifeng having at least one film nominated for the main competition at the three major European film festivals every year for the past few years, how could the Hong Kong media not be excited?

This has happened for three consecutive years!

Even if you don't win an award, just making it into the main competition is a remarkable achievement.

Because the Hong Kong media deliberately ignored the fact that Jackie Chan's film was also nominated for the main competition, and focused all their attention on Du Qifeng.

One can imagine that if Du Qifeng could win even a "small" award at this year's Berlin Film Festival, the Hong Kong media would dare to haile him as a great art-house director like Wong Kar-wai.

"Director Cao, congratulations! Congratulations on the global success of 'New Pirates of the Caribbean', congratulations on your total box office exceeding 200 billion, and congratulations on 'Love in the Seaside City' being nominated for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival."

Da Tiantian called Cao Yang.

When Cao Yang received Da Tiantian's call, he remembered that she had bought "advertising" rights. The company had invested 2000 million yuan just to get some exposure, and they had promised to take her to press conferences and film festivals.

Let's go to Berlin together then.

(End of this chapter)