Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 408 Mentioning My Name

The order of Oscar awards is usually not announced to the guests in advance, because the order may be adjusted up to the last minute before the Oscar ceremony begins, depending on the guests or presenters.

Award presenters are usually informed in advance of the approximate time they will be on stage.

When Cao Yang was told that this year's Best Director award would be given before Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Actor, he couldn't help but think a little more.

"The Fault in Our Stars" is a project led by Cao Yang as producer and screenwriter, and the film was nominated for Best Director. As a presenter who was added to the awards ceremony at the last minute this year, he probably won't present an award to the project he led.

In other words, it's highly unlikely that "The Fault in Our Stars" will win Best Director.

The Fault in Our Stars caused such a sensation before its release, and it was also the last film that Tom Rothman led the production of before he was promoted from Columbia Pictures to Vice President of Sony Pictures Worldwide.

Given Tom Rothman's relationship with Oscar president Sid Garnier, it was impossible for such a sensational film to go home empty-handed at the Oscars.

The answer is obvious: Best Picture!
Only the Best Picture award can truly highlight Tom Rothman's personal "achievements".

This can also be seen from the order in which the awards were presented.

If the Best Director award is presented before the Best Film award as usual, Cao Yang, as the presenter for the Best Director award, would not have enough time to run back to his seat from backstage.

Only when there are two awards between Best Director and Best Film can Cao Yang have more time to return to his seat from backstage.

Backstage, Cao Yang met his old friend Martin Scorsese.

For the previous few Oscars, it was a "battle" between Cao Yang, Martin Scorsese, and Clint Eastwood.

The story was sensationalized by the media every year, which allowed the three to maintain a good relationship in private, unlike the media's portrayal of them "fighting each other" and "never speaking to each other again."

Last year, Cao Yang and Martin, in a very "tacit" manner, "encircled and attacked" Eastwood.

And just a few days ago at the Berlin Film Festival, Cao Yang chatted with Martin at a small gathering. Martin seemed a little disappointed at the time, and it was unclear why.

Cao Yang is such a nice person. The first thing he did upon seeing Old Martin was to give him a big hug.

"Martin, I'm relieved to see you smiling so happily. You didn't seem to have a good time in Berlin the other day, but thankfully it's all over now."

Old Martin was backstage chatting quietly with an Oscars staff member, who was a pretty young woman full of youthful energy.

Old Martin was mainly in charge of talking, while the girl was responsible for giggling. It's unclear what Old Martin said that made the little girl laugh like that.

Generally speaking, award presenters are usually very nervous backstage while waiting to go on stage. They almost always find themselves silently memorizing their lines, thinking about how best to deliver them.

For all major programs, there are fixed time limits for award presenters and performers.

Award presenters also have a fixed script. The humorous or joking remarks that the audience sees are mostly not improvised, but rather pre-written award speeches.

Once you have enough fame and a certain status, you can communicate in advance, find a team to write the script, and use your own script after coordination and agreement.

However, the time is fixed and cannot exceed the time given by others.

Of course, this applies to most of the guests.

For guests like Martin and Cao Yang, there is much more freedom, and the time constraints are not so strict.

They are free to improvise on stage, and the director won't remind them as long as they don't go too far over time.

Old Martin, a seasoned veteran with a special status, wasn't nervous before going on stage and even had the mood to flirt with the young and pretty staff.

However, when Cao Yang appeared, Old Martin's face immediately fell. He muttered a universally accepted greeting and then whispered:
"I knew it……"

Cao Yang asked in confusion, "What?"

"nothing."

Old Martin immediately said, "I'm very happy to be able to present this award with you."

"is it?"

Cao Yang glanced at Old Martin, but somehow he felt that Old Martin looked like he had experienced all the hardships of life and had no will to live.

Who do you think will win Best Director?

Old Martin changed the subject and asked casually.

Cao Yang thought for a moment and said, "Probably the Coen brothers."

"why?"

Martin Scorsese asked with some confusion, "Why not 'There Will Be Blood'? I actually think the filming techniques of 'There Will Be Blood' are more interesting."

I admit the Coen brothers' *No Country for Old Men* is alright, and the novel is good too, but this is for Best Director, not Best Screenplay or Best Picture.

Cao Yang laughed, mimicking Old Martin's shrug, spreading his hands and jokingly whispering:
"Perhaps it's because we're presenting the award as a pair, since the Coen brothers happen to be a pair, or perhaps it's because at the recent Berlin Film Festival, 'There Will Be Blood' lost to me in the Best Director competition."

Cao Yang was joking.

His underlying meaning was that "There Will Be Blood" lost to me for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival, and how could the ever-proud Oscars give the Best Director award to a "loser"?

Unexpectedly, after thinking about it for a moment, Old Martin actually nodded very seriously.

"What you said makes sense."

The two talked animatedly, while the Oscar staff nearby listened in stunned silence, but dared not utter a single word.

It's fine for Cao Yang to talk and complain about the Oscars with Old Martin, but if she dares to interrupt, her job will be in jeopardy.

Finally, the director's voice came through the headset, and she breathed a sigh of relief, quickly saying, "Gentlemen, please prepare to enter."

"The director is very important in a film; he is one of the soul figures of the film."

After the two took the stage, applause erupted. Once the applause subsided, Cao Yang spoke first.

"Director Cao Yang is right, especially for the films I direct. I can get rid of anyone who gets in the way of my creative process, in the name of film."

Old Martin chimed in, "And you?"

Damn, Old Martin, that's a bit harsh. How am I supposed to respond?

Cao Yang looked up at the audience and said, "I can let anyone who is beneficial to my creative work in, in the name of the film."

The applause erupted again.

Old Martin laughed along and said, "So, those directors with ideas, stick to your ideas. Maybe one day, you'll be standing here too, either as an award presenter or as an award winner."

This is a very good blessing. The presenter is usually the winner of the previous year's Best Director award, and the winner is self-explanatory.

However, if a director who hadn't already made a name for himself actually listened to Martin Scorsese's advice, the most likely outcome in Hollywood would have been that he would have been kicked out of the production team by the producer.

In Hollywood, most directors have limited power. The producer-centric system is no joke. Only those who have proven themselves more than once in terms of awards and box office can have autonomy.

"The nominees for Best Director at the 80th Academy Awards include..."

The five nominated films began playing on the big screen, and finally, the five directors were displayed on the screen. "The winners are..."

Cao Yang opened the envelope he had just received when he went on stage, glanced at it, and then handed it to Old Martin with a smile.

Old Martin took it and glanced at it, first looking at Cao Yang, before casually reading aloud, "The Coen brothers..."

In Martin Scorsese's mind, Paul Thomas Anderson was more deserving of the Best Director award, and he cast his vote for Paul.

Unfortunately, the Coen brothers were the ultimate winners.

When the Coen brothers gave their acceptance speeches, Martin Scorsese couldn't help but wonder if it was really as Cao Yang said, that the Oscars, out of pride, were unwilling to give the Best Director award to Cao Yang, a "loser."
It's really possible.

The Oscars were even unwilling to give Cao Yang another Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Old Martin glanced at Cao Yang beside him again. Poor kid...

The idea had barely crossed his mind when Old Martin almost slapped himself in the face.

When I was 65, the Oscars, out of pity for me, reluctantly "bestowed" upon me a Best Director award, allowing this old man, one of the so-called four great Hollywood directors, to live up to his title.

Why should someone like me pity someone who has won an Oscar for Best Director, two Oscars for Best Picture, two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, and one Oscar for Best Original Screenplay?
What's more, this person has just made history by becoming the only person in the world to have won the Best Director award at all three major European film festivals.

This doesn't even include the many Best Actor and Best Actress winners he has mentored.

He has also won a Palme d'Or, two Golden Lions, and a Jury Prize in Berlin...

Sigh, this is boring.

Whether or not there's an award isn't that important; having too many of those things is meaningless.

Yeah, young, beautiful, and ambitious girls are more interesting.

Look at my old partner Leonardo DiCaprio, he's living such a damn carefree life, that's what life is all about.

After thinking it through, Old Martin suddenly felt that the world had become much bigger and his mood had improved.

At Cao Yang's farewell ceremony, he didn't forget to say, "I've recently been discussing a suspense film adapted from a novel with Leonardo DiCaprio. You're an expert in this field; 'Inception' was a fantastic film. We can discuss it together sometime."

Then, he whispered meaningfully, "You know, Leonardo DiCaprio throws parties that young people like from time to time. If you come, he'll definitely be willing to make arrangements."

Pooh!
Old Martin, oh Old Martin, so this is what you're like.

Discussing film adaptations together is fine, but parties are unnecessary; I'm not that kind of person.

After coming down from the stage, the presenters cannot immediately return to their seats. They will be led by staff to walk around almost half of the theater before waiting at another door.

They can only come in when the director gives the signal and the broadcast camera switches to the stage or another location.

Meanwhile, the Best Actor award had already been presented, and the winner was Daniel Day-Lewis for his role in "There Will Be Blood".

This is his second Oscar for Best Actor. The first time was at the 62nd Academy Awards in 90, when he won the Best Actor award for "My Left Foot".

In the future, he will win the Oscar for Best Actor again for "Lincoln", becoming the actor with the most Oscar wins.

The Best Actress award went to French actress Marion Cotillard for her role in "La Vie en Rose".

It is worth mentioning that when Cao Yang served as the president of the jury at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival last year, he awarded the Jury Prize to the biographical film "La Vie en Rose".

Furthermore, after Wang Quan rejected Yu Nan's offer for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, Cao Yang gave the Best Actress award that year to Marion Cotillard.

Denzel Washington then took the stage to present the final award of the evening, Best Picture.

The outcome of this award isn't too suspenseful. The only interesting question is whether "No Country for Old Men" can pull off an upset and beat "The Fault in Our Stars" to win Best Picture.

Indeed, if "No Country for Old Men" were to win Best Picture after winning Best Director, it would be considered an unprecedented upset.

It is evident that "The Fault in Our Stars" had a tremendous impact.

As expected, "The Fault in Our Stars" beat "No Country for Old Men" to win Best Picture.

Both China Film Group and Qingdao Film Studio invested in this film, and General Manager Han also holds the title of producer.

However, President Han did not come. It wasn't that he didn't want to come, but as the head of China Film Group, he was busy with meetings everywhere after the New Year, many of which he had to attend, and he simply couldn't spare the time.

Otherwise, with such a major achievement as winning the Oscar for Best Picture, even if he was just a nominal producer, he would definitely come.

Does being a nominal producer mean you're not a producer? Does being a nominal producer mean you don't deserve to be on stage to accept an award?

Since 2005, although the Oscars have limited the number of producers who can accept the Best Picture award on stage, this number is still three.

The producers of "The Fault in Our Stars" plus President Han make up a total of three people.

President Han is probably slapping his thigh in frustration right now back home. What a great opportunity to shine, and he just let it slip away.

In fact, nominally, the Best Picture award is not given to the producer, nor to the director or production company, but to the entire crew, although the producer represents the entire crew.

Therefore, this can be considered a group award, at least nominally it does not belong to an individual.

Since the award doesn't officially belong to any individual, giving it to Cao Yang and another producer, Tom Rothman, would put no pressure on the Oscars.

After all, if you count it on an individual basis, Cao Yang has three Oscars for Best Picture, which is already a historic achievement for the Oscars.

However, this problem does not exist for team awards.

Of course, these are just some people's self-deceiving thoughts.

In media reports, the three Best Film awards won by Cao Yang's three films are undoubtedly attributed to him, and there's little objection to that.

"I'm very happy. This is the last film I made before leaving Columbia Pictures, and it's exciting to receive this award."

This is my fourth Hollywood film collaboration with director Cao Yang, but I believe this will definitely not be the last, and there will be many more exciting films to come.

Thank you again, Director Cao Yang, for your hard work and for your trust. I firmly believe you will become the greatest director on this planet.

Tom Rothman said a few words briefly.

Cao Yang said, "I am very happy that the Academy gave this award to 'The Fault in Our Stars.' It is an incredible honor and a great achievement, which embodies the efforts of many people. Thank you to the author of this wonderful novel... oh, I wrote it."

"Ha ha……"

The guests were very accommodating and laughed, then applauded again.

"Alright, enough joking around. Thank you to the academy, thank you to my alma mater Beijing Film Academy, thank you to Columbia University, thank you to my teacher Mr. Situ, and thank you to my parents."

Finally, I want to say that the Beijing Olympics are about to begin. As the chief advisor for the Olympics, I warmly invite everyone to visit Beijing. Please feel free to mention my name then, and I'll treat you to some delicious Chinese cuisine. Thank you!

Hua Hua Hua...

(End of this chapter)