Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 409 Reluctantly
President Han has an important meeting today.

It was a meeting convened by the Film Bureau.

The main focus was on discussing and accelerating the investment and construction efforts of domestic cinema chains, while maintaining their advantages in first-tier cities and actively expanding into second- and even third-tier cities.

Furthermore, the relevant departments also discussed how to accelerate the construction of digital cinemas in rural areas.

The morning session focused on expanding domestic cinema chains, while the afternoon session discussed the construction of digital cinema chains in rural areas.

However, the matter of accelerating the expansion and approval of domestic cinema chains involves too many stakeholders, so the meeting continued until 12:30 pm.

After leaving the conference room, President Han considered it for a moment. There was still an hour and a half before the afternoon meeting. Going back to have lunch and take a short rest should be enough time.

By the time he got into the car and left the Film Bureau, it was already past 12:40.

The morning was filled with too much material to review and the discussions were quite intense, which left Mr. Han feeling a bit tired. He closed his eyes in the car, but he kept feeling like he had forgotten something.

What could it be? I couldn't quite recall it for the moment.

About five minutes after the driver left the film bureau, Mr. Han's phone suddenly rang.

He frowned subconsciously, took out his phone wearily, and saw that it was his secretary calling.

The secretary is calling at this hour, something must have happened, otherwise she wouldn't be calling at this time.

"Uh-huh?"

After listening to just two sentences, President Han immediately sat up straight, and the fatigue on his face miraculously disappeared.

"Is it accurate? Are you sure?"

President Han slapped his thigh and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Only then did he realize what he had forgotten: today was the Oscars ceremony! He had been thinking about it before the meeting that morning, but after discussing it all morning at the Film Bureau, he had completely forgotten about something so important.

Mr. Han checked the time: 12:49. Converting the time difference between Beijing and Los Angeles, it should be 8:49 PM there.

The Oscars ceremony is almost over; next up are the interviews and the Oscars dinner.

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Han took a deep breath and said softly to the driver in front, "Xiao Li, turn around up ahead and go back to the Film Bureau. We'll eat at the bureau's canteen today; we won't be going back."

He knew very well that the bureau leaders would probably not go home for lunch because of the afternoon meeting, and would most likely eat in the cafeteria—if they were going out to eat, they would definitely invite him.

It's not that President Han is bragging, but he's now the head of China Film Group, wielding considerable power. He's also Director Tong's old subordinate and partner, so it's impossible for him not to invite me when we go out to dinner.

The cafeteria is great! Mr. Han loves the cafeteria the most.

Back at the Film Bureau, President Han walked with a brisk and confident stride.

"Hey, Lao Han, didn't you go back?"

"What? You found out too? I just went out to make a phone call and found out. I didn't expect you to know before me."

"what?"

"Hey, it's just that China Film Group invested in a Hollywood movie, right? I didn't expect it to cause such a big commotion. It's all thanks to Director Cao Yang's loyalty. If it weren't for Director Cao, how would I have had the opportunity to be the producer of this movie?"

"A Hollywood movie?"

"Sigh, it's just that it won the Oscar for Best Picture, it's no big deal. I'm just a filler producer, I'm ashamed!"

Unbeknownst to him, President Han raised his voice in the cafeteria, which drew the attention of more and more people.

Of course, while President Han was saying he felt ashamed, the corners of his mouth were curled up to his ears.

"What Oscars? What's wrong with the Oscars?"

Another leader, who hadn't heard the whole thing, asked in confusion.

At this moment, President Han wanted to slap his thigh in frustration. He hated being the only one performing a solo act and loved this kind of "straight man" performance.

If the world didn't have a "straight man" (a comedian), it would definitely lose more than half of its fun.

President Han straightened up, cleared his throat, looked around, and then said with a smile:

Last year, director Cao Yang led the production of a low-budget film based on his own novel, giving China Film Group an opportunity to participate and co-produce it with Columbia Pictures.

It's that movie that caused a sensation in the US, "The Fault in Our Stars," with a total budget of...

Mr. Han originally wanted to say that the total investment was about 100 million RMB, but when he got to the point, he felt that 100 million was a bit "too big" and would be less impressive, so he didn't say RMB.

"The total investment is just over ten million US dollars. Everyone here is a professional, so they must know that this amount of money is a tiny investment in Hollywood."

At this point, he could no longer suppress his joy and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Haha, but even with a small investment, it's still a movie written and produced by Director Cao. It was released in North America last August and had a small box office hit, but not by much. It certainly can't compare to Director Cao's 'New Pirates of the Caribbean'."

"How much did it explode?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

Mr. Han waved his hand and shook his head, "Not much, not much, only 2 million in North America, oh, I mean US dollars."

At this moment, some of the state-owned cinema executives who attended the meeting, as well as some private cinema owners with abundant funds and development potential, couldn't help but smile wryly.

With a budget of over ten million US dollars and a box office of two hundred million US dollars in North America, they made a killing!

It's estimated that Hollywood might not produce even one film with such a high return on investment in a year.

Besides, didn't you hear what Mr. Han said? This is just the North American box office; the global box office hasn't been calculated yet.

"The Oscars you just mentioned..."

The leader who had just asked the question couldn't help but ask another one.

Old Han's rambling didn't even mention the Oscars.

President Han almost couldn't help but slap his thigh again.

He coughed deliberately to stop his itchy arm.

"This movie grossed $2.6 million at the box office even before it was released in most countries around the world, including China."

Mr. Han smiled and glanced at the broadcasting leader of the same rank as him before continuing, "Box office numbers don't matter. I just received news that this film won Best Picture at the Oscars ceremony that just ended!"

He grinned and sighed, "China Film Group invested in this film, but I didn't actually put in much effort. I just helped recommend some staff members, found a few filming locations, and kept an eye on the accounts and handled some minor issues."

"Sigh, I never expected Columbia Pictures and director Cao Yang to insist on having me listed as a producer. I'm so ashamed. If I had known the film would win the Oscar for Best Picture, I would never have listed it as a producer."

While saying he felt ashamed, President Han's grin grew wider and wider, especially when he mentioned "Best Picture at the Oscars," his words were forceful, rhythmic, and clearly enunciated.

Instantly, the leader who had just asked the question turned his head away, regretting that he had spoken so much.

It won the Oscar for Best Picture.

For twenty years, these mainland directors have been vying for the Oscars, yet they haven't even managed to win a Best Foreign Language Film award. And yet, they argue endlessly, even resorting to physical fights, over a single Oscar-contending film.

This guy did absolutely nothing and still won the Oscar for Best Picture. Where the hell can you even complain about that?

I used to mock this guy for following Cao Yang around and "charging into battle" for him.

What about now?
Ugh……

Given Mr. Han's age, he has already reached the limit of his current position. In fact, most people at this age have given up on the idea of ​​advancement and just hope to settle down and retire.

Now it seems that Lao Han may have "piggybacked" on the Oscar for Best Picture, but that's not necessarily the case.

Suddenly, everyone's gaze towards Lao Han changed. Regardless of what they were really thinking, at least on the surface, they were all happy that Lao Han had won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Laughter and congratulations echoed throughout the cafeteria.

While laughter and joy filled the air, Hou Keming and Xie Xiaojing were in a state of great distress at the Beijing Film Academy.

The problem is quite simple: there's nowhere to hang the banner.

Pirates of the Caribbean won several Oscars for technical merit. If it had been another director from the Beijing Film Academy, they would definitely have celebrated wildly and hung up banners.

But Cao Yang is different. To be honest, if you were to hang a banner for Cao Yang for these few "minor" Oscar-level technical awards, you would probably feel "ashamed".

Hou Keming and Xie Xiaojing weren't worried about that. In the history of the Oscars, the producer who has produced the most Oscar-winning films as an individual is Saul Zahnz.

He won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times as a producer.

The 48th Academy Awards in 1976: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

The 57th Academy Awards in 1985: Amadeus.

The English Patient won the 69th Academy Awards in 1997.

Cao Yang has already caught up with Saul Zahnz, and with this Oscar for Best Picture, he now has three.

He and Saul Zanz are the producers with the most Oscar-winning Best Picture awards.

Although the Best Picture award is nominally given to the entire film, the recipient and beneficiary is undoubtedly the producer who initiated the project.

Becoming the person with the most Oscar wins, such as Best Picture, is undoubtedly a big deal that the Beijing Film Academy will definitely put up a banner for. This is a major event, and it can even be said to be a major event that will shake the Chinese film industry.

Hollywood is, after all, a producer-centric society, meaning that the producer is the leader and soul of a film.

Therefore, the Oscar for Best Picture is Hollywood's highest award.

At the Oscars, the order of other awards, including Best Director, can be adjusted, but Best Picture is almost always the last award presented unless there are very special reasons.

Hou Keming and Xie Xiaojing were troubled by how to hang a banner for Cao Yang, given that he was the person with the most Oscar-winning films in history.

It's only been a few days, and the banner announcing Cao Yang's historic achievement of winning Best Director at all three major European film festivals is still hanging at the school gate and inside the school.

As an art school, it certainly values ​​the top three European universities more, at least nominally.

So the banner they hung up for Cao Yang last time was huge!

But now things are awkward.

We can't just take down the banner from last time, can we?

After all, it made history, so it definitely can't be taken down. Old Hou is even planning to keep it up for at least half a year.

However, as the person who has won the most Oscars for Best Picture in history, Cao Yang's banner can't be too small, right? You have to know that the actual weight of the Oscars exceeds that of the three major European awards.

The three major European film festivals are almost becoming a bellwether for the Oscars.

But even if it's half the size of the last banner, let alone the same size, it won't fit.

What a worry!
"How about we take down the banner at the main gate and make two new large vertical banners to hang on either side of the school gate?"

Xie Xiaojing suggested.

Old Hou was somewhat tempted; it was the only option he could think of.

"What about above? The banner has been taken down; it can't just be left empty, can it?"

Xie Xiaojing thought for a moment and said, "Hang it up too, still a big banner, but change it a bit. Don't write any specific content. For example, just write: 'Warmly congratulate Director Cao Yang on creating new history!'"

Old Hou imagined the scene in his mind: a large red banner above the main gate that read: "Warm congratulations to Director Cao Yang for creating a new history!"
On the left side of the entrance is a long, large red banner that reads: "Congratulations to Director Cao Yang for becoming the producer with the most Oscar-winning Best Picture awards in Hollywood history."

On the right side of the entrance, there was also a long and large vertical red banner that read: Congratulations to Director Cao Yang for making history by becoming the first person to achieve a grand slam of Best Director awards at the three major European film festivals.

Good, done!
Old Hou made the final decision.

Furthermore, he decided that he would hang it at the school gate for at least a year.

What? Red banners get dirty and change color easily?
It's okay, just replace it with a new one every month, it's no big deal.

It's no secret that Cao Yang has become one of the people with the most Oscar Best Picture awards, so almost all the news online that day was about this topic.

That evening, the evening news program "Xinwen Lianbo" devoted another 5 minutes to reporting on Cao Yang winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

This broadcast included CCTV's red carpet interview with Cao Yang, as well as comments from Oscar stars such as Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard.

Most importantly, Cao Yang's acceptance speech, especially his remarks about the Olympics, were broadcast verbatim.

A few days ago at the Berlin Film Festival, his acceptance speech, especially the one about the Olympics, was broadcast verbatim on the evening news.

The significance of this is self-evident.

This is the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious art-house film festivals. Even though its influence has declined somewhat in recent years, it is still one of the most watched film festivals in the world.

And then there's the Oscars, which have the highest global viewership. Right now, the Oscars are at their most influential, unlike later when their ratings and attention declined significantly.

It's worth noting that during this period, the Oscars once claimed to have a billion viewers.

Those at the highest levels will definitely know about Cao Yang's acceptance speeches for these two awards.

As China's most famous "calling card" to the world, hasn't it played a crucial role at this critical moment? The benefits of this positive role are immeasurable.

After Cao Yang finished attending the Oscars dinner, it was already 11 p.m. He found his car in the parking lot, opened the car door, and Eva Green was already in the car. He didn't know when she had sneaked in.

He has spent the last few days with Eva Green, exchanging ideas on acting and other skills, and is very satisfied with her performance.

Eva Green was primarily responsible for performing the other skills, while Cao Yang provided guidance.

However, just as Cao Yang got into the car, before he could even close the door, something slightly awkward happened.

Anne Hathaway suddenly appeared out of nowhere, probably waiting specifically for Cao Yang. Seeing Cao Yang get into the car, she walked over, opened the car door, and got in as well.

She wasn't a nominee today, but rather an Oscar presenter, responsible for awarding the Best Animated Feature Film.

Since collaborating with Cao Yang on "The Dirty Milk," Anne Hathaway's fame has soared, and she has landed many great roles in the past two years.

For example, the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" that I co-starred with Meryl Streep two years ago had a budget of over 30 million dollars and grossed over 300 million dollars worldwide, which was already considered a huge hit.

However, last year's film "Becoming Jane," co-starring James McAvoy, had a budget of $1500 million but only grossed $3500 million worldwide and received poor reviews, which brought her rapid rise to a halt.

Anne Hathaway desperately needs a film to prove herself and get her upward momentum going again.

In this respect, she greatly admired Eva Green, that shrewd young woman from France.

Before Eva Green starred in "Pirates of the Caribbean," the two were incomparable in terms of fame and influence.

Her salary was even twice that of Eva Green.

But what about now?
Her rise came to a halt, while that damn little brat Eva Green was asking for a much higher salary than her.

Why?
It was obviously me who came first.

So, as the Oscar dinner was about to end, she arrived at the parking lot early, intending to get back into Cao Yang's car—a gesture with a double meaning.

Anne Hathaway saw Cao Yang open the car door, and she easily opened the back door and got in.

Then, I was a little dumbfounded.

"you……"

"you……"

Anne Hathaway and Eva Green stared at each other in disbelief, neither of them expecting this situation to arise.

In fact, in Hollywood, it's perfectly normal for actresses to get into the producer's or director's car after a party.

However, it was somewhat unusual for two actresses to get into the director's car at the same time without prior communication.

Cao Yang had not expected this situation either.

He first closed his car door to avoid others seeing what was inside, then thought for a moment and said, "How about... we go to my place for a drink later?"

Cao Yang didn't mean anything by it; he just wanted to ease the awkward situation.

To everyone's surprise, after he finished speaking, Eva Green didn't say anything, but silently fastened her seatbelt.

Anne Hathaway paused only briefly before buckling her seatbelt as well.

Cao Yang opened his mouth, "I was just saying it casually, you guys are really planning to come to my place for a drink?"

Of course, as a polite and well-mannered person, Cao Yang couldn't possibly kick them out, so he suggested they go for a drink together.

(End of this chapter)