Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 414 Sharing the Joy
After reading the script for "Joker", Anne Hathaway ultimately chose Sophie, the female neighbor of the male protagonist Arthur.

This character can be interpreted as Arthur's girlfriend, or as the girlfriend Arthur imagines, depending on how you interpret it.

This movie is somewhat similar to Inception in its suspense setup. At the beginning, when Arthur is describing his condition to the psychiatrist, the time is 11:11, and at the end, in the mental hospital, the time is still 11:11.

This time appears three times in the movie.

Attentive viewers might see this and wonder which parts are real and which are fictional, making the line even more blurred.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to say that the entire film is the Joker's delusion.

There are many similar details in the movie.

For example, Arthur and his neighbor Sophie. According to the movie's plot, he and Sophie lived together, and Sophie loved him very much.

However, when he later entered Sophie's house, Sophie was clearly terrified, as if she had seen a stranger.

Given the extent to which Sophie idolizes and loves him in the movie, such a reaction is inappropriate.

Actually, the original intention of setting up such a plot was very simple: it could blur the boundaries of the film, make the audience wonder, and increase the topic and discussion.

If guided properly, these issues can even become hot topics of online debate, thereby igniting a buzz around the film.

Since Anne Hathaway chose Sophie, Cao Yang thought about it and decided to give the role of the psychologist to Fat Bing. The role wouldn't be big, but it would solidify her status and add to her prestige.

Of Cao Yang's many female friends, those who won Best Actress awards at the three major European film festivals almost all developed their careers in China. Only Fan Bingbing followed a similar path to Zhang Ziyi.

Only Bing (Fat Ice) doesn't have the title of international Best Actress.

Well, let's let her act in more high-grossing movies then.

The male protagonist Arthur's idol, talk show host Murray, was given to Cao Yang by Ian McKellen, who played "Magneto" and "Gandalf".

Cao Yang worked with Ian McKellen in District 9, where he played the male lead's father-in-law, and his acting was quite good.

For the remaining roles, including Arthur's mother, who has a fairly significant amount of screen time, and Thomas, the father of "Batman," Cao Yang handed them over to Warner Bros. and the casting agency for auditions.

Then, Cao Yang returned to China.

When "The Fault in Our Stars" was released in North America and some other countries around the world, it was not released simultaneously in China.

Although the movie caused quite a stir in the US due to the "Wish" campaign, Cao Yang didn't allow it to be hyped up in China, so it didn't generate much buzz.

Even though Cao Yang is the producer and screenwriter, the director of this film, Jason Reitman, is not well-known in China, and even the two male and female leads are relatively unknown young people.

With Cao Yang's fame, it's possible to achieve a certain level of box office revenue in China, but achieving high box office revenue is quite difficult.

After discussing it together, China Film Group, Qingdao Film Studio, Columbia Pictures, and Cao Yang decided to wait until after the Oscars to release the film.

They believe that Oscar nominations or wins can bring greater attention and buzz to a film, thereby increasing its box office potential.

As expected, "The Fault in Our Stars" did not disappoint them, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. In addition, this was Cao Yang's third film to win Best Picture, making him the producer with the most Academy Award-winning films...

And that's how the hype started.

In this era, the Oscar-winning film not only receives worldwide attention, but is also considered "high-class" domestically.

February 29th was a Friday. "The Fault in Our Stars" held a grand premiere in China and decided to officially release the film in major cities across the country after the premiere.

Yes, you read that right, it's February 29th.

2008 was a leap year, and a leap year has 366 days, so February had an extra day, with 29 days.

Incidentally, aside from centennial years like 1900 and 2000, which are not necessarily leap years, most other common years that are divisible by 4 are leap years.

The director and main actors of "The Fault in Our Stars" all came to China to promote the film right after the Oscars.

Only Cao Yang stayed in Los Angeles a few days longer because of the Joker movie.

It's 08 now, and United Airlines hasn't stopped its direct flights from Los Angeles to Beijing yet. It will take 10 years before it stops for some reason, and it won't resume service until 25 years later.

Cao Yang happened to be on a United Airlines direct flight from Los Angeles to Beijing, which only took about 13 hours to arrive.

The premiere of "The Fault in Our Stars" was highly anticipated.

Sixty or seventy media outlets, large and small, attended, and CCTV broadcast the event directly on its movie channel. With the long red carpet, it felt like a film festival.

However, since it was a co-production and Cao Yang himself was not the director, he did not agree to President Han and President Hou's suggestion to hold the premiere at the Great Hall of the People.

In fact, China Film Group and Qingdao Film Studio were very satisfied with "The Fault in Our Stars". Not only did it win the Oscar for Best Picture, but it also made a fortune at the box office.

According to President Han and Director Hou, they wanted Cao Yang's film "Love in the Seaside City" to be released first, followed by "The Wrong Star".

Cao Yang did not agree.

"Love in the Seaside City" has never lacked popularity, after all, it is directed by Cao Yang and launched Jackie Chan's Berlin Film Festival Best Actor award, so its appeal has always been there.

Unlike "The Fault in Our Stars," which was released earlier, it needed to leverage the influence of the Oscars and capitalize on the current buzz.

Another important reason is the film's content.

"The Fault in Our Stars" is considered an inspirational romance film, while "Love in the Seaside City" is generally regarded as an extremely romantic love story with special significance.

After watching "The Fault in Our Stars," viewers will have even higher expectations for the "love" in "Love in a Seaside City."

If people watch "Love in the Seaside City" first... then probably no one will look forward to romance anymore. "The Fault in Our Stars" will probably be affected as well, and people might not even think of it as an inspirational romance film.

Well, influenced by "Love in a Seaside City", after watching "The Fault in Our Stars", I might feel that this is an alternative "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai".

Moreover, Cao Yang has a history of involvement in "romance" films.

The film "Secret Sunshine" was originally interpreted as "sweet sunshine" and considered to be a sweet love story—those who went to the theater with this idea all came out crying.

"Director Cao, congratulations! You're amazing now... Ah, anyone who can make history is an amazing person."

Xiao Gangpao originally wanted to say "That's awesome!", but when the words were about to come out, he probably felt that it was a bit too rude, or perhaps he felt that it was a bit disrespectful to Cao Yang, so he changed his words.

"Old Feng, welcome, welcome. What do you mean by making history? I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

"I'm being modest, that's not true."

Little Cannon grinned widely, "A grand slam of the three best directors in Europe, the record holder for the Oscar for Best Picture, which of these honors didn't make history? You are the number one person in Chinese cinema."

"I dare not accept such praise, I dare not accept such praise."

Cao Yang accompanied Xiao Gangpao for a while, stopping only when they were almost at the lobby. He said, "Alright, Lao Feng, you go in first. We'll talk later. I still need to go take a look over there."

"understand."

Little Cannon laughed and said, "You go ahead and get busy."

Not only did the little guns come, but Zhang Yimou also came.

However, he came in a hurry, chatted with Cao Yang for a few words, took a phone call, and then left in a hurry.

With the Olympics just around the corner, this is the busiest and most stressful time for him, and he looks noticeably older and more haggard.

Old Chen and Sister Hong also came. "Cao Yang, congratulations! You're really something now. Have you become distant from your wife because of your great achievements? You even avoid Old Chen and me when you see us?"

Sister Hong joked with a smile, as if there was a hidden meaning in her words.

"Hey, Sister Hong, what are you saying? How could I dare?"

Then, Cao Yang complained to Lao Chen, "Senior brother, look at what Sister Hong said. I just had a few words with Director Xiaoshuai, and when I saw you and Sister Hong coming over, I immediately let Xiaoshuai go in first."

I came to greet you and Sister Hong without a moment's delay. Sister Hong is clearly trying to sow discord between us; you can't fall for her tricks.

"Haha."

Old Chen chuckled twice, patted Cao Yang on the shoulder, and said, "Not bad, you did very well and didn't disappoint your teacher."

Alright, Old Chen is putting on airs like the senior disciple.

If it were in the past, Sister Hong would definitely have given Old Chen a piece of her mind and told him not to take advantage of her.

However, today, Sister Hong covered her mouth and laughed, without reminding Old Chen next to her, and said, "Okay, okay, I'm not joking with you anymore."

Then, in a serious tone, he said, "Junior brother, congratulations, you haven't disappointed Teacher Situ."

After speaking, he leaned forward and gave Cao Yang a polite hug, which seemed perfectly normal.

However, Cao Yang heard her whisper in his ear, in a voice he could barely hear, "Congratulations to you, Bai Zhi..."

Cao Yang almost reflexively pushed her away.

Damn it, Sister Hong, Old Chen is right here. What are you trying to do?
"Senior brother, Sister Hong... come on, I'll take you inside."

Cao Yang didn't dare to talk any longer, and led the two directly to the lobby before quickly leaving.

Old Situ won't be coming today. He's already made plans with Cao Yang to attend the premiere of Cao Yang's film, "Love in the Seaside City."

As for a foreign film, especially one not directed by Cao Yang, he wouldn't come.

Lao Tian came with Ning Hao.

"You've made quite a big deal out of this, with so many people. Why didn't you find a bigger venue? Even if you don't go to the Great Hall of the People, the Workers' Stadium would have been fine."

Old Tian observed for a moment and then asked.

"Little uncle."

Ning Hao called out with a grin from the side, but Lao Tian pretended not to hear and didn't say anything.

Cao Yang nodded to Ning Hao and walked with Lao Tian, ​​saying, "There's no need. In my opinion, we can just find any movie theater, no need for a premiere, and just release it while the Oscars are still going strong."

He then shook his head and continued, "But President Han and Director Hou disagree. Qingying Film Studio and China Film Group both invested, and President Han is also the producer. Think about it, such a big political event... how could it be released hastily?"

Old Tian chuckled and said mysteriously to Cao Yang, "Guess who will be so upset they can't sleep these days after the Oscars?"

"Ok?"

"Ha ha……"

Old Tian burst into laughter again.

"Don't be fooled by Xie Xiaojing and Hou Keming's excited and happy appearance. In their hearts, they are probably filled with regret."

You know, this movie won the Oscar for Best Picture, and Han Laosan from China Film Group was listed as a producer, but those two guys weren't.

Old Tian had a gloating expression on his face.

"Whether or not the producer is credited usually doesn't have much impact, but if it wins the Oscar for Best Picture, then the impact is much greater."

Let's not even talk about political achievements. Personally speaking, having an Oscar-winning film producer on your resume and having invested in a film that won an Oscar are completely different things.

Cao Yang thought about it and agreed with what Lao Tian said.

If Lao Hou were a producer and had an Oscar-winning film, combined with his current political achievements, he might be able to advance even further.

As for Xie Xiaojing, although Cao Yang's relationship with him is not as close as Lao Tian's, they are both Lao Situ's students after all. If he wins the Oscar for Best Picture, and if Lao Hou is promoted, he is the most likely successor.

However, Lao Xie's disappointment may be less than Lao Hou's. He is the director of Qingying Film Studio, which invested in "The Fault in Our Stars". Regardless of whether he was listed as the producer, his achievements are certainly considerable.

Of course, that's true, it's understandable for Xie Xiaojing to be listed as a producer, but it seems too deliberate for Lao Hou to be listed as a producer.

Mr. Han will definitely be at the premiere of "The Fault in Our Stars".

The impact of this film on President Han exceeded Cao Yang's expectations.

From the moment President Han entered with a radiant face, gave Cao Yang a big hug, and said "thank you" three times in a row, you could tell how excited he was.

"Are you getting promoted?"

Cao Yang couldn't help but ask a question.

If President Han is to be promoted, it depends on where he goes.

Going to the Film Bureau would be helpful to Cao Yang, but to be honest, it wouldn't be as helpful as his current position as chairman of China Film Group.

The Film Bureau, whether in terms of position or influence, dares not mess with Cao Yang.

Cao Yang is at the vice-ministerial level, and the head of the Film Bureau is also at the vice-ministerial level, the same rank as Cao Yang.

In terms of position, Cao Yang works for the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and his superior department is the Publicity Department.

The chairman of China Film Group is different.

This is of practical help to Cao Yang, and Cao Yang can also do some substantial things through China Film Group.

If given a choice, Cao Yang would prefer that Lao Hou join the Film Bureau, Xie Xiaojing go even further, and Lao Tian concurrently serve as the director of the Qingying Film Studio.

"No, no."

President Han waved his hand, but his joyful expression didn't seem to indicate that he hadn't been promoted.

"Well, I'll still be in this position, but, well, I'll probably add a parenthesis after my title."

Then, he quickly added, "The final document hasn't been issued yet, so don't spread it around."

Cao Yang nodded in understanding.

Parentheses? That indicates what level of enjoyment is being received.

The final file hasn't been downloaded yet?

That means it's already decided, but the process is still underway.

"Congratulations, senior brother."

Old Han is also considered a student at Beijing Film Academy; he was in the cadre training program.

"Congratulations to you, congratulations to you."

(End of this chapter)