Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 506 Nomination List
Although many of the location shoots for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 involved filming in the Caribbean region, the actual filming period there was not very long.

Most of these live-action shots are only used for large scenes in movies. Some scenes use them as backgrounds for compositing and adding backgrounds using CGI technology.

The real major project in filmmaking is motion capture and scene compositing in a built soundstage, also known as green screen.

Almost half of the shots in both films were filmed in front of a green screen.

The magnificent scenes depicted in the film were somewhat comical when actually filmed in front of a green screen.

Actors stand in front of a green screen, performing in certain fixed locations without any props, as instructed by the special effects team. It looks quite comical.

Anne Hathaway's "vacation" here with her best friend Emily Blunt was short, lasting only about ten days before she went back.

During this time, Emily Blunt saw Cao Yang several times, but hesitated to speak, probably because Anne Hathaway was there, so she didn't say anything.

She waited until the day before she was to leave, taking advantage of Anne Hathaway's absence, and finally found an opportunity.

"Director, did you know that Annie has a boyfriend?"

Emily Blunt said in a low voice.

Cao Yang was taken aback, somewhat confused about Emily Blunt's meaning.

He didn't pay much attention to the fact that Anne Hathaway had a boyfriend; their relationship was quite clear, and they were both aware of it.

"Director, what I want to say is that I also have a boyfriend, and after this vacation with Annie, I'm getting engaged to him."

After speaking, Emily Blunt looked intently at Cao Yang, her large eyes seeming to speak volumes, silently yearning for something.

After hearing Emily Blunt's words, Cao Yang felt somewhat confused.

He understood what Emily Blunt meant.

But, but!
what do you mean?
What kind of person do you take me for?
Although my surname is Cao, I am not necessarily a descendant of Cao Cao, so how could I possibly inherit some of his glorious traditions?

Don't you have a huge misunderstanding about me?
"Emily, you might have some misunderstanding about me, I'm not..."

Before Cao Yang could finish speaking, Emily Blunt, probably having seen Anne Hathaway approaching from a distance, quickly said:
“Annie told me something, um, about her and Eva, I know Eva has a boyfriend…”

Cao Yang was dumbfounded.

My first thought was, why does his mother, Anne Hathaway, tell everything to her best friend?
Is this something you can share with your best friend?

My second reaction was, "Oh no, my reputation is ruined. I wonder who Anne Hathaway told about this rather private thing. She's such a big mouth!"
How can you say anything to outsiders?
The third thought is whether or not to "silence" them!
Of course, killing someone to silence them is impossible, but finding a way to keep them quiet is still possible.

"Emily, you... Annie really shared this with you?"

Cao Yang asked helplessly.

"There are others, um, about hardness and time..."

Emily Blunt glanced in the direction Anne Hathaway had come from, then subtly glanced down at Cao Yang before speaking quickly.

Damn it!
Forget it, let's just kill them to silence them!

Cao Yang only knew that Anne Hathaway had a big mouth, just on the surface, but he never imagined that it was more than just on the surface!

We really should shut her up more often!
"This kind of thing... well, it's a matter of personal privacy, you shouldn't tell anyone or gossip about it, I..."

Cao Yang rambled on for a while, not knowing what to say next.

Damn it, Anne Hathaway is such a big mouth!
He had heard before that women would say anything to their best friends, and their chat content would definitely be rated 18+. If it were made public, it would absolutely scare them to death.

But you can talk about your boyfriend, is it appropriate to talk about our purely platonic relationship?

The special envoy was also involved in her "comrade-in-arms" Eva Green. How can you just make things up like that?

"Yes, yes, I'm not a big mouth, I promise that."

As Anne Hathaway approached, Emily Blunt stood up, ready to greet her.

However, before leaving, she turned back and quickly whispered, "What they can do, I can do too."

What can you do?
Nima!

I……

Ugh!
On the night before Anne Hathaway left, Cao Yang gave her a severe and forceful lesson for a long time.

Furthermore, after considering Emily Blunt's words, he called Eva Green over and asked her to help him teach Anne Hathaway a lesson.

After all, Eva Green was also a victim, wasn't she?
Cao Yang spent about forty days filming on several small islands near the Caribbean Sea, and now he will be returning to the Disney studio for further filming.

The real challenge lies ahead, and it's also where the actors' skills will be put to the test.

After all, it's easy to burst into laughter when performing in front of a green screen.

However, Cao Yang wasn't worried about that.

He has so much immersion in his role that he can't possibly use it all up; it wouldn't be difficult to add it to all the main actors.

The actors gained a deeper immersion into the role, and even when performing in front of a green screen without any props, they could get into character instantly and act with great dedication.

Just as Cao Yang returned to Los Angeles, he received a call from Xiao Gangpao.

Today is September 8th, Beijing time. The 27th China Golden Rooster Awards announced its nomination list.

This year's Golden Rooster Awards were held according to Cao Yang's wishes. Those films from local state-owned factories that were only shown once in local cinemas failed to be successfully submitted for the Golden Rooster Awards.

According to the latest regulations of the Golden Rooster Awards, those films do not meet the nomination criteria in certain aspects.

Furthermore, restrictions were placed on the personnel of the selection committee.

Many people who try to use their seniority to interfere will not be included in the selection committee's list, no matter who pleads for them or who they approach.

Some Hong Kong films and actors have also been subject to restrictions.

These are all provisions that were officially written into the Golden Rooster Awards rules this year.

To ensure that these rules were truly implemented, Cao Yang had the documents stamped not only by the Film Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, but also by the Optoelectronics Department. Furthermore, Cao Yang went to the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to have the department's stamp affixed.

Cao Yang simply refused to believe that some people would dare to disrespect him and bypass the Optoelectronics Department and the Propaganda Department for a mere Golden Rooster Award.

If someone truly possessed such great ability, they wouldn't necessarily desire a Golden Rooster Award.

The Golden Rooster Awards are held every two years. According to the regulations, Cao Yang's "Affection for the Seaside City" and "Like Father, Like Son" both meet the participation rules for this year's Golden Rooster Awards.

When he first registered, Hou Yuan specifically asked Cao Yang if he wanted to participate.

There was a reason why Director Hou asked that question. Regarding the Golden Rooster Awards, Cao Yang only set the general direction; the specific details were still handled by Hou Keming and others.

Hou Yuan knew that if Cao Yang's "Like Father, Like Son" and "Love in the Seaside City" were also nominated for the Golden Rooster Awards, and Lao Tian's "Saint's Lament" also met the eligibility criteria, how could the awards be judged?
These are three films that have won the highest awards at the three major European film festivals: Berlin and Venice.

Let's have a fair selection process; I doubt anyone else will even get the top prizes.

But if we don't give them an award, wouldn't that give others something to criticize and make it seem unfair?
Therefore, Cao Yang's "Like Father, Like Son" and "Affection for the Seaside City" were not submitted for the Golden Rooster Awards.

In other words, the Beijing Film Academy or Hou Yuan value domestic awards, which Cao Yang certainly wouldn't care about, and the main actors in the two films also don't care much about them.

Old Tian originally wanted to cancel his registration, but he was dissuaded by Cao Yang and Hou Yuan.

So far, Lao Tian only has one Venice Golden Lion to his name. In terms of domestic awards, he can't compare to Zhang Yimou, let alone Chen Kaige.

Therefore, it would be better to let Lao Tian participate in the film festivals that are available.

The reason Xiao Gangpao called Cao Yang was to share good news with him.

His collaboration with Cao Yang on "Assembly" garnered nine nominations this time, including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actor, Best Music, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound Recording!
That's nine nominations!

Because "Assembly" is a male-dominated film, it received nominations for almost every award that met the criteria, except for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

Upon seeing the nomination list for the Golden Rooster Awards, Xiao Gangpao, even though he had somewhat anticipated it, still felt dizzy and overwhelmed with excitement.

For him, this year... no, from the moment he officially decided to "join forces" with Cao Yang and collaborate on "Assembly," he felt that he had made the most important and correct decision of his life.

"Assembly" allowed him to surpass Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, setting a new box office record for Chinese-language films in China.

Although this record was broken this year by Cao Yang's "Like Father, Like Son", just over two months later, "Tangshan", which he collaborated on with Cao Yang, once again set a new box office record for Chinese-language films.

And this new record is absolutely phenomenal!

At least for Little Cannon, that was a box office he could only dream of.

7.1 billion!

After more than a month of screenings, the box office for "Tangshan" finally settled at 7.1 million yuan.

That’s 7.1 billion!
It almost broke the Chinese box office record set by Cao Yang's "Joker"!

This isn't just a box office record for Chinese-language films; it's the second-highest box office record for all films released in China, including those from Hollywood and other countries!

Second only to "Joker" which ultimately grossed 7.8 million yuan at the domestic box office.

With box office numbers reaching this level, a score of 7.1 and 7.8 seem quite similar.

Of course, it's just that the numbers aren't large.

In reality, the difference is 7000 million.

So far, this 7000 million yuan box office is enough to surpass the box office of 95% of domestic films.

However, Xiao Gangpao is already very, very satisfied with the box office of 7.1 million.

Despite some media reports that the reason why "Tangshan" was able to achieve such high box office results was due to Cao Yang's influence.

Some media outlets reported that the high box office was due to the coincidence between the film's initial planning and the Wenchuan earthquake, which created nationwide fame, more important than any publicity.

Some media outlets reported that the high box office was due to Gao Yuanyuan's large fan base and the fact that she has made few films, so fans were particularly looking forward to the Cannes Best Actress's film.

Some media outlets even suggested that the reason was because many local businesses and organizations had booked the entire event...

But Little Cannon doesn't care about any of that—my fucking movie grossed over $1 million, I hold the record for Chinese-language films, and I'm number two on the all-time domestic box office chart!
Besides, my second place is highly prestigious, because the person ranked above me is the most outstanding director in the world!

Little Cannon just wants to shout that classic line at the domestic film industry, including Hong Kong and Taiwan: Who else!
Well, in Xiao Gangpao's understanding, Cao Yang doesn't belong to the domestic film industry; Cao Yang belongs to the world.

This year has truly been the peak of Xiao Gangpao's life.

This has just boosted the box office of Chinese-language films to a level that seems to have no ceiling, at least that's what he thinks.

Next, the issue of awards, which had been a source of anxiety for him, also saw a breakthrough.

The nine nominations for "Assembly" at the Golden Rooster Awards made Xiao Gangpao feel like he had reached the pinnacle of his life this year—if he could finally fulfill his long-held wish at the awards ceremony on October 17.

At this moment, Xiao Gangpao was so excited that he wanted to kowtow to Cao Yang; it was the highest way he could think of to express his respect.

After hanging up the phone with the rambling, excited, and incoherent Xiao Gangpao, Cao Yang couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

He didn't expect the little cannon to get so excited.

It's just a Golden Rooster Award, isn't it? This is just a nomination, why are you getting so worked up?

Actually, before Xiao Gangpao called... well, to be specific, five days ago, Cao Yang already knew the nomination list for this year's Golden Rooster Awards.

He personally selected this list.

The jury provided two lists. On the other list, "Assembly" received only six nominations, while on this list, it received nine.

After comparing the films on the nomination list and considering the reasons given by the jury, Cao Yang ultimately chose the film "Assembly" which received nine nominations.

It was not that Cao Yang acted out of personal favoritism.

Rather, this list is more impartial.

"Assembly," adapted and produced by Cao Yang himself, is exceptionally excellent in every aspect compared to the other films participating in this year's Golden Rooster Awards.

Pietà, which won the Venice Golden Lion, only received five nominations: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.

Another hot contender for this year's Golden Rooster Awards is Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang".

"Mei Lanfang" received seven nominations, including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Sound Recording, Best Art Direction, and Best Music.

While the narrative of "Mei Lanfang" may be controversial, the actors' performances and the audiovisual presentation are undoubtedly superb.

To Cao Yang's dismay, although he had tried his best to avoid appearing at the Golden Rooster Awards, both "Assembly" and "Pieta" received nominations for Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay.

Both awards were submitted to Cao Yang, because he was the producer, supervisor, and screenwriter of both films.

He can't very well not nominate "Assembly" and "Pieta" for Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay just to avoid having his name appear at the Golden Rooster Awards, can he?
The adapted version of "Assembly" is very well-told and its historical accuracy makes it a very good story. It would be unreasonable not to give it a nomination for Best Screenplay.

"Pieta" not only won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, but also won Best Screenplay. Does the Golden Rooster Awards think it can be different and not give "Pieta" the Best Screenplay award?
Cao Yang received nominations for both "Assembly" and "Pieta," both for Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay.

So, there was no other way; Cao Yang ended up appearing on the Golden Rooster Awards nomination list in this manner, even though he had tried his best to avoid it.

(End of this chapter)