Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 469 Celebrity Party
"You're wrong. 'Slumdog Millionaire' didn't sweep the awards. In terms of the prestige of the awards, it was 'Joker' that swept almost all the major awards."

When Cheng Long heard Steven Spielberg recite "Joker," he burst into laughter, clapping as he spoke to Zhou Liming.

Zhou Liming previously favored "Slumdog Millionaire," believing the film might sweep tonight's awards and become the biggest winner.

Little did anyone know that "Slumdog Millionaire" held out for four-fifths of the Oscars ceremony, but in the final few awards, the tide turned and it almost became a one-man show for "Joker".

"I was wrong too."

Before Zhou Liming could speak, Hong Huang spoke first, saying, "I only thought that 'Joker' might win Best Actor, I didn't expect it to win both Best Director and Best Picture."

After Hong Huang finished speaking, Zhou Liming said, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have applied my past experience to 'Joker.' This year is too special."

The Oscars represent the aesthetic of middle-class American intellectuals, who are actually quite naive and conservative in character.

In terms of form, they like to see unconventional things, hoping that directors will go against the grain and gamble, and hoping that films will portray people and things they are unfamiliar with.

But they were ultimately conservative; any story needed a happy ending, and from that perspective, *Slumdog Millionaire* perfectly suited their aesthetic. Crucially, the film also embodied the 'American Dream.'

"Economic crisis?"

Hong Huang asked.

"Yes, we all overlooked one problem, which is that we didn't take the economic crisis into account."

Zhou Liming explained: "The economic crisis in the United States is much more serious than we imagined. The root cause is the bankruptcy of their credit economy and the bursting of the housing bubble, which is why it is called the subprime crisis."

The consequence of the subprime mortgage crisis was that a large number of middle-class people who owned property went bankrupt, and even those who did not go bankrupt were certainly still traumatized by the crisis.

Therefore, these people's views have definitely changed, and their aesthetic sense has certainly changed accordingly.

In fact, from an artistic point of view, "Slumdog Millionaire" is not as artistic as director Danny Boyle's earlier film "Trainspotting", and it is even less comparable to "Joker".

Losing to "Joker" is a good thing; it means the Oscars are no longer biased towards so-called targeted or politically correct films, and it's a good thing that cinema is returning to its artistic merit.

"Okay, first of all, congratulations to Director Cao. This is another remarkable achievement. I've done the math, and 'Joker' has won five awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Makeup."

Director Cao has once again set a record, surpassing Saul Zainz and Kathleen Kennedy to become the producer with the most Academy Awards for Best Picture, while Zainz and Kennedy each have won three.

"That's what the host, Zeng Zixing, said."

Applause erupted in the live broadcast room, with all the guests clapping.

Typically, within minutes of the end of the Oscars ceremony, winners, nominees, and other invited guests move from the awards venue to the banquet hall for the final part of the Oscars celebrations—the Oscars dinner.

Calling it an Oscar dinner is too general. Next door, Vanity Fair hosted an Oscar Night party that took place simultaneously with the Oscars ceremony, which was also broadcast live.

This unofficial banquet, also known as the Oscars Dinner, primarily invites big stars who were not invited to the Oscars ceremony, as well as social celebrities. It is a highly representative "luxury" banquet.

It's said that if a celebrity isn't invited to the Oscars or the Vanity Fair's Oscar Night party, it means they're not famous anymore.

Therefore, an invitation to an Oscars night party is said to have been sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

The official dinner held after the Oscars ceremony is formally called the Governor's Dinner.

The Governor's Dinner is an integral part of the Oscars ceremony, especially for the winning filmmakers, who consider it a must-attend event.

The reason is simple: the Oscar statuette received at the awards ceremony was a replica, not the real thing, and it didn't have a name engraved on it. It would be replaced with a real one with an engraved name at the governor's dinner.

Typically, after attending the Governor's Dinner, even though it's already 23:30 PM, some of the stars who have received Oscar nominations or wins, along with other currently popular guests, still have to rush to the Vanity Fair Oscar Night Party.

On the day of the Oscars, the stars attending the Oscars, especially the actresses, start by getting up early in the morning to put on elaborate dresses, and dare not eat or drink anything all day. After attending the governor's dinner, they still have to go to the Oscars night...

The whole process takes at least fifteen or sixteen hours, and you'll be exhausted.

Cao Yang didn't have so many concerns. In the past, he would usually just attend the governor's dinner and then go home. Even though he was invited to the Oscar Night party every time, he almost never went.

Why are so many celebrities so keen to attend the Oscars night party?

Because this is not a simple party that lasts for ten hours or so; just like the name of the organizer, Vanity Fair, it is a true Vanity Fair.

Coming here doesn't just mean you're famous; many endorsement and job opportunities are negotiated or agreed upon here.

Even superstars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, and Tom Cruise certainly don't need to look for work opportunities here.

However, if tomorrow's reports say that they did not attend the party, it would be fine if they had work to attend. But if they were not unable to attend due to work commitments, the public will wonder if they have lost popularity or if something has happened to them.

The Vanity Fair Oscar Night party is slowly becoming a standard for measuring a star's popularity, which just goes to show how magical the film and television industry is.

Cao Yang once again became the focus of attention at the governor's dinner.

However, what made Cao Yang a little uneasy was that, probably because he had once again made Jim Carrey an Oscar-winning actor, there were far more male actors greeting him, and male actors around him who were simply watching him, than female actors.

Furthermore, several well-known and handsome male actors have even hinted that they could offer something in return…

This made Cao Yang even more uncomfortable.

After quickly eating something, before the banquet was over, Cao Yang, having "exchanged" the little golden statue with his name engraved on it, took Pang Bing and fled the governor's banquet as if escaping.

Damn it, he could understand if one or two male celebrities gave him hints, but so many people giving him hints was unbearable.

Cao Yang began to reflect on whether he had been too "high-profile" in Hollywood. He was clearly best at training actresses, so why were the ones who won Oscars in Hollywood all male actors?
Johnny Depp's two Best Actor awards, Mark Ruffalo's Best Supporting Actor award, Jim Carrey's Best Actor award... No wonder so many actors gave hints; this really does seem like a "troublemaker"!

Especially Depp's performance in "Pirates of the Caribbean"—he was such a sissy, he looked weird and abnormal.

"Hey, wait for me, wait for me."

Just as Cao Yang led Pang Bing out of the banquet hall, he heard a shout from behind.

He turned around and saw Anne Hathaway, lifting the hem of her fishtail skirt, running towards him with comical little steps.

"Honey, where are you going?"

Anne Hathaway was a little out of breath. She had barely eaten all day and had been jogging for a while, making her feel like she was about to starve and die of thirst.

Fat Bing glanced at Cao Yang with a half-smile and said, "Annie, we're going back to rest. Want to come along?"

Fat Bing was actually just trying to play a joke on Anne Hathaway.

Cao Yang will accompany her to the Oscars Night party. This year, she received an invitation to the Oscars Night party, and she originally planned not to go, but after Cao Yang found out, he decided to go with her.

This touched Pang Bing deeply, and she decided that she would definitely reward Cao Yang double when she got home that night.

To everyone's surprise, Anne Hathaway turned to look at Cao Yang with a look of astonishment after hearing what Fat Bing said, then asked with a smile, "Honey, did you convince Fan? She's willing to be with me..."

Cao Yang felt incredibly awkward. He could chat and joke around with these foreigners occasionally without any problem, but he still respected Pang Bing and the others.

He didn't dare let Anne Hathaway continue, and quickly said, "I was just kidding. We're going to the Oscars, you're going there too, right?"

“Oh? Oh, yes, yes, me too, right, I was just kidding,” Anne Hathaway quickly said.

"Okay, Annie, I know you're joking. Let's go."

Fat Bing linked arms with Anne Hathaway, then smiled at Cao Yang and said, "Let's go, Director Cao, let's go together. Don't you like going together? What are you standing there for?"

Fat Bing decided that when she got home that night, she would punish Cao Yang even more severely; he had really gone too far.

The Vanity Fair Oscar Night party, also known as the Celebrity Party, means that, apart from sponsors and company executives, almost everyone else who attends is a big star.

Even so, Cao Yang's arrival still caused quite a stir.

First, executives from major film companies and big stars came to greet him one by one. Then, stars who were not so famous but knew or had worked with Cao Yang came over to say hello.

As for those minor actors who bought invitations for a small amount of money, they wanted to come, but it wasn't their turn, nor were they qualified to come.

Besides celebrities, Cao Yang also ran into a few old acquaintances.

The group included Thomas Tull, founder of Legendary Pictures; Jason Simmons, president of Fox Searchlight Pictures; Martin Claire, president of Sony Classics; and Kevin Tsuhara, senior vice president of Warner Bros.

In addition, outside this group of people who were forming a small circle, Cao Yang also spotted Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company.

He seemed to be excluded from this small circle.

Cao Yang wasn't so familiar with the remaining senior executives of the company.

In short, the film company executives who come here are either executives from the six major Hollywood companies who are in charge of specific films, vice presidents of large companies, or CEOs of small companies.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this celebrity party hosted by Vanity Fair has become a must-attend event for A-list stars; for the six major Hollywood studios...

Well, apart from Warner Bros.' Senior Vice President Kevin Tsuhara, Cao Yang didn't see any of the other six top executives.

"Congratulations, you are the brightest star tonight."

Jason Simmons, president of Fox Searchlight, walked over to Cao Yang with a wine glass in hand, clinked glasses with him, and said with a smile.

"Don't say that, Jason. I was almost defeated by your 'Slumdog Millionaire' tonight, by just a hair's breadth."

Cao Yang picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and continued, "Congratulations to you, Jason. You won five out of nine awards for 'Slumdog Millionaire,' making you the biggest winner tonight."

"Ha, don't say that, my dear director. Although 'Slumdog Millionaire' has won as many awards as 'Joker,' it can't compare in terms of prestige."

Jason Simmons shook his head with a smile.

Jason Simmons didn't seem disappointed at being defeated by Cao Yang's "Joker".

It makes sense, considering that Jason Simmons probably wouldn't have been happy with winning five awards if he hadn't known that "Slumdog Millionaire" would have won a total of seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

After all, Jason Simmons and Cao are old acquaintances. Cao Yang had previously worked with Fox Searchlight on "Juno," which won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Editing under Fox Searchlight's guidance.

"I really envy Warner Bros. for getting so lucky. They collaborated with you and produced two hugely successful films, especially 'Joker,' an art film that grossed $15 billion. You have no idea how much of a shock it was to us at the time."

Jason Simmons glanced at Warner Bros. Vice President Kevin Tsuhara and said to Cao Yang with a smile, "My dear director, I sincerely hope we will have the opportunity to work together again, and I will definitely make sure the terms are satisfactory to you."

"Yes, Jason, I think there will be opportunities in the future."

After Jason Simmons left, Thomas Tull, the founder of Legendary Pictures, came over. He was a bit more dramatic, laughing heartily as he gave Cao Yang a light hug and said:

"Oh my God, look who this is! Our director who won everything at the Oscars tonight! Congratulations, you are the greatest director in the world."

"Ha, Thomas, thank you for your kind words. I believe that day will come."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

Foreigners don't really understand humility. The more humble you are, the more they might think you're guilty. That's their logic.

"No need to be modest, Cao, I think you are right now."

Thomas Tull said.

Look, that's what foreigners are like. Cao Yang didn't deny it modestly, but instead postponed the "greatness" a little, and the foreigners thought he was being modest.

Thomas Tull then added, "Yesterday I checked on the progress of our collaboration on 'The Hangover.' According to the director, he has done a rough cut of the film according to your requirements, and it's just waiting for your final decision."

"Yes, Thomas, I already know. I'll follow up in a couple of days."

"No rush, no rush, Cao, this matter is not urgent. Anyway, there is still a lot of time before our original release date, so you don't need to be too anxious."

At this point, Thomas Tull deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Cao, you know, in 2005 we at Legendary Pictures signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to co-finance 40 films, and The Hangover was one of them."

"Cao, are you interested in getting involved? I can guarantee you that if you participate, I can give you an extra two percent of the profits from Legendary Pictures. You can consider my proposal."

Cao Yang was taken aback and looked at Thomas Tull. Was this an invitation for him to get involved?

That's the opposite, right?

You're clearly trying to offer two points as a price to get involved in my collaboration with Warner.

It's as generous and magnanimous as they say.

Cao Yang dares not speak for other things, but if he were to announce that he could get involved in his film with an extra two points, Hollywood film companies would be scrambling to get in.

"Director Cao, it's been a long time."

After Thomas Tull left, Wendi Deng, a woman who could be said to have maximized her own advantages, came to Cao Yang's side with a wine glass in hand.

"Oh, Ms. Deng, I didn't expect to run into you here. It's been a long time."

This woman is really something else. She attends almost every party that's even remotely high-class. Does she feel that her status as the wife of the News Corporation boss is insecure and wants to integrate into the so-called high society as soon as possible?
"Congratulations to Director Cao on your great Oscar victory. You are the most talented director I have ever seen."

Deng Wendi said, "By the way, I have a great project recently, which is the novel 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan' by American-Chinese writer Lisa See. I want to launch this project and adapt it into a movie. Director Cao, are you interested?"

"As for the actors, that's easy. You can choose the actors you need, and I'll fully support you. Don't worry about the investment either; I'll figure something out."

Hearing Deng Wendi's words, Cao Yang wanted to laugh. "Do you think that just because you're Murdoch's current wife, you can use the power of 20th Century Fox?"

No, you can't.

You're just trying to use someone else's strength against them.

"I'm sorry, my schedule is full for the next two years, there's really nothing I can do."

Cao Yang refused without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)