Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 516 Get your wish
"The winner of the 27th China Golden Rooster Award is..."

Li Xuejian opened the envelope, said these words in a slightly hoarse voice, and then handed the opened envelope to her partner Tao Hong.

At this moment, Xiao Gangpao, with his long neck and slightly open mouth, stared intently at the envelope in Tao Hong's hand. Combined with his unique appearance, his face looked somewhat ferocious.

Zhang Hanyu was sitting next to Xiao Gangpao. He noticed that Xiao Gangpao was behaving somewhat unusually, just as CCTV's live broadcast camera seemed to be turning to "scan" the audience below the stage.

He quickly touched the little cannon with his hand.

Zhang Hanyu appears to be an introverted and low-key person, but he only became a big star in middle age, which shows that he actually has very high emotional intelligence.

Perhaps afraid of embarrassing Xiao Gangpao, he tried to make conversation by quietly asking, "Director, who do you think should win this award?"

Little Cannon was startled and realized that something seemed wrong with him.

He coughed lightly, quickly composed himself, forced an unnatural smile, and slowly leaned back, slightly stiffly, until he was against the backrest before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Zhou Xun, she... is fine."

Little Cannon didn't know what to say for a moment. He had something on his mind and didn't want to say much. He spoke somewhat perfunctorily, but also with some sincerity.

Zhang Hanyu didn't respond. The broadcast camera had already panned over, and Xiao Gangpao seemed to have recovered. He felt that he had achieved his goal.

As for who won...

To be honest, Zhang Hanyu didn't care much.

Or rather, he had no interest in thinking about who could win the Best Actress award.

He was actually only outwardly calm; deep down, he was probably only slightly less tense than Little Cannon.

"Assembly" was his first time playing the male lead, and it was also his first nomination for Best Actor at the Golden Rooster Awards.

He is already 46 years old. At this age, even if he became famous with the movie "Assembly", who knows when he will be able to play the leading role again?

If he can win the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor, then his status as a star will be secure.

Therefore, it's easy to see how much he values ​​this Golden Rooster Award.

However, although he doesn't care who wins the Best Actress award, Zhang Hanyu thinks that among the two frontrunners for the Golden Rooster Award tonight, Li Xiaoran and Zhou Xun, Zhou Xun is probably more nervous than he is.

Li Xiaoran is, after all, a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner, one of the four most outstanding actresses in China, and has the best film resources. She also has a powerful backer, so she probably doesn't care much about the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress.

But Zhou Xun is different.

Zhou Xun won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress in 05 and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress in 06. She only needs a Golden Rooster Award to achieve the "Three Golden Awards" grand slam in China.

For a female actress, winning the Best Actress award at all three major Chinese film festivals would be an extremely prestigious achievement.

This achievement may not be as well-known or influential internationally as the three European film queens, but it is not much weaker domestically.

After all, it is a Grand Slam achievement.

"The Equation of Love and Death" received four Golden Rooster Awards nominations. Since these four nominations include major awards such as Best Director and Best Actress, the film's position is quite high, right after the "Assembly" film.

Zhou Xun is quite eager to win the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress.

She is a very sensitive person, and also a very confident person.

However, she really has no confidence in winning the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress today.

The reason is simple: the competitor is Li Xiaoran, and it's also the top director Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang".

To have achieved her current status in the film and television industry, Zhou Xun has a very good understanding of some of the inner workings of the domestic film and television circle.

Furthermore, her agent is Li Xiaowan.

Li Xiaowan became Chen Huaikai's assistant when she was 22 years old. Chen Huaikai is Chen Kaige's father, and Li Xiaowan has a very good relationship with Chen Kaige.

In addition, Li Xiaowan's best friend and business partner is Li Shaohong, who was also in the class of '78. She was Chen Kaige's classmate and was also Lao Tian's goddess back then.

So how could Zhou Xun not know some of these "secrets"?

She knew very well that the director of the Golden Rooster Awards organizing committee was Cao Yang, and the director of the judging committee was Qi Jian. Both of them had very deep relationships with Chen Kaige. Cao Yang and Chen Kaige had the same teacher, and Qi Jian was Chen Kaige's classmate in 78. All of them were from the Beijing Film Academy.

After the Golden Rooster Awards nominations were announced recently, her agent, Li Xiaowan, saw that Li Xiaoran was one of her competitors and privately told her not to have too high expectations for this year's Best Actress award.

As for asking people to pull strings and get things done?
That's hilarious!
If the competitors were other people, given Li Xiaowan's connections, she would be fearless and would definitely try every means to find connections to compete with them.

But how can he compete with Li Xiaoran?

If Li Xiaoran were merely a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner, it wouldn't be a big deal.

If Li Xiaoran's only advantage is Chen Kaige and the film "Mei Lanfang", then it's nothing.

To put it bluntly, Li Xiaowan is confident that if Chen Kai finds out about this, he definitely won't say much, and might even give up helping Li Xiaoran compete for the Best Actress award.

But Li Xiaoran didn't rely on Chen Kaige.

Did they go to great lengths to pull strings and finally ask Cao Yang, the highest leader of the Golden Rooster Awards and the director of the organizing committee, to say they wanted to suppress Li Xiaoran and make her give way to Zhou Xun?
This isn't about pulling strings, it's practically suicide!

However, Li Xiaowan certainly couldn't let Zhou Xun be too negative, so she could only try to calmly tell Zhou Xun, "Don't worry, Director Cao Yang is reforming the Golden Rooster Awards. With his status and vision, he definitely won't care about a small Golden Rooster Best Actress award."

When she said that, not only Zhou Xun, but even Li Xiaowan herself didn't believe it.

Director Cao Yang's status is indeed extremely high, almost reaching the pinnacle that a filmmaker can achieve. He certainly wouldn't care about who gets the "small" Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress.

But just because he doesn't care doesn't mean Li Xiaoran doesn't care either.

If Li Xiaoran cares, then no one else has a chance.

In today's film industry, or rather the film and television industry as a whole, who can oppose Cao Yang's decisions? Who dares to oppose them? And who would be so foolish as to oppose a "minor" Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress?
However, besides Li Xiaowan comforting Zhou Xun, Cao Baoping, the director of "The Equation of Love and Death," also comforted Zhou Xun, saying: "Don't worry, Director Cao wouldn't go so far as to show favoritism for a Golden Rooster Award-winning actress. What kind of status does he have? How could he do such a thing?"
Both your performances and Li Xiaoran's were excellent. Who wins Best Actress depends on the judges' preferences; you both have a chance, so just take it easy.

In Zhou Xun's view, Cao Baoping's words were as good as saying nothing at all.

Who is Cao Baoping?
He is a professor at the Beijing Film Academy. After graduating in 89, he stayed on to teach at the academy.

Could he speak ill of Cao Yang?
Zhou Xun wore a seemingly calm smile as she waited for the winner of tonight's Best Actress award to be announced on stage.

But his mind was a jumble of thoughts about these "insider details."

However, even though Zhou Xun desperately wanted to win the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress and hoped to achieve a grand slam as soon as possible, she did not resent Li Xiaoran for "winning" the award.

This is so normal.

Whether it's the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan or the Statue of Liberty in Hong Kong, this situation is unavoidable, it exists, and it's quite common.

I've seen Zhou Xun a lot.

She herself is well aware that she didn't really win the Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actress based on her acting skills. How could that be? There were some exchanges of interests involved, as well as other factors.

There is no such thing as true fairness and justice in this world.

Achieving relative fairness and impartiality is already quite remarkable.

"Zhou Xun..."

A round of applause erupted.

Zhou Xun maintained a smile and mechanically clapped along, but her mind was far from calm; she was lost in thought and hadn't yet come to her senses. She instinctively believed that Li Xiaoran was the undisputed winner of the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress.

I clapped along for a while.

Suddenly, Zhou Xun felt herself being pushed.

Somewhat confused, she turned her head to look at Cao Baoping, the director who had pushed her.

"Congratulations! You've now become a triple crown actress, which is a remarkable achievement in China."

Cao Baoping laughed heartily, and seeing that Zhou Xun was still somewhat dazed, he couldn't help but say again, "What are you still standing there for? Go up on stage and accept your award!"

"Huh? Ah! I..."

Even Zhou Xun herself was shocked.

Is that really me? Yes, it really is me!

"Thank you, Director Cao!"

These are Zhou Xun's most genuine and heartfelt words.

Director Cao really didn't show favoritism!

Upon hearing the name "Zhou Xun," Xiao Gangpao clapped vigorously, seemingly more excited than if he had won the award himself.

I must say, Cao Yang is a real man, very generous!

I didn't follow the wrong person.

At that moment, all of Xiao Gangpao's inferiority complex vanished, and he began to feel incredibly confident. He even had a premonition that "Assembly" would definitely win both the Best Feature Film and Best Director awards.

For no other reason than his belief in Cao Yang's character and vision.

Even when the Best Music Award was presented next, "Assembly" lost to "Mei Lanfang" again, but Xiao Gangpao was not affected at all.

Then, in the competition for Best Screenplay, "Assembly" lost to "Pieta," and Xiao Gangpao remained unmoved.

Anyway, both films were written by Cao Yang, and "Pieta" won the Golden Lion and Best Screenplay Award at Venice. Beating "Assembly" at the Golden Rooster Awards was also within Xiao Gangpao's expectations.

Even when Zhang Hanyu of "Assembly" lost to Fu Dalong of "Pieta" in the Best Actor category after Best Screenplay, Xiao Gangpao still maintained a strange confidence.

Fu Dalong won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor, marking his second consecutive win.

He won the Best Actor award at the previous Golden Rooster Awards for his role in "The Dog".

Fu Dalong seemed very excited to win the Best Actor award for the second consecutive year, so much so that he kept expressing his gratitude on stage. However, his words always touched on Cao Yang, the producer and screenwriter of "Pieta", and director Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Zhang Hanyu must be disappointed.

Even though he controlled it very well, and his serious face seemed to reveal nothing, Little Cannon knew him well.

Little Cannon gently comforted him, "It's okay, you've done well. Losing to Fuda Long isn't shameful. Lao Tian's 'Pieta' delves very deeply into human nature, and Fuda Long plays a psychopath. Psychopaths are always the easiest to win awards, no matter where they are."

You have the acting skills and the image; you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future, don't worry.

Zhang Hanyu must have felt envious as he watched Fu Dalong give his acceptance speech on stage.

Whether he couldn't help it or was genuinely worried about "Assembly," he couldn't help but whisper, "Director, I just did the math, and there are only four awards left. 'Assembly' hasn't won anything yet. Aren't you worried?"

Little Cannon was taken aback. Were there only four awards left?
His heart sank at first, then he smiled to himself, and his confidence inexplicably returned.

"No rush, no rush. Don't force what isn't meant to be yours, and what is meant to be yours will come to pass."

After hearing what Xiao Gangpao said, Zhang Hanyu gave him a special look.

It doesn't seem like an excuse. Nor does it seem like he's furious; he still has a relaxed smile on his face. This... shouldn't be the case.

Zhang Hanyu still remembers that when the Best Actress award was presented, Xiao Gangpao was clearly in a very out-of-control state. Now, is she just giving up?

Oh no, maybe after the awards ceremony, Director Feng will "spit" at the Golden Rooster Awards.

This is how to do?
Zhang Hanyu couldn't help but worry.

In the past, when it came to criticizing the Golden Rooster Awards, there was really nothing that could be done about Director Feng; at most, the only thing that could be done was to limit him in terms of awards.

But things are different now. The current director of the organizing committee is Cao Yang. If he gets angry and gives a private hint, who would dare to invest in Director Feng? Who would dare to hire Director Feng to make a film?
"The winner of the Best Cinematography award at the 27th Golden Rooster Awards is... Lü Le, for 'Assembly'."

Zhang Hanyu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

We're finally open!
He turned his head to look at the little cannon.

Director Feng wasn't as excited as expected. Instead, he patted cinematographer Lü Le on the shoulder with a flourish, grinning broadly, and said, "Old Lü, I knew it was you! Haha, congratulations."

Zhang Hanyu thought about it and agreed; Director Feng really didn't need to get so worked up.

Who is Lü Le?

He was a student in the cinematography department of Beijing Film Academy in 78, and was classmates with Zhang Yimou and Gu Changwei. As early as 95, he won the Best Technical Achievement Award at the Cannes Film Festival with Zhang Yimou's film "Shanghai Triad".

Furthermore, Lule was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 96 for his film "Shanghai Triad".

He's a true member of the Beijing Film Academy, so it's normal that Director Feng wasn't excited when he won the award.

Zhang Hanyu was starting to worry about Director Feng's "big mouth" again.

"The winner of the Best Sound Recording Award at the 27th China Golden Rooster Awards is... Wang Danrong, for 'Assembly'."

Huh?
Zhang Hanyu was somewhat surprised. It was "Assembly" again?
Moreover, he won this award by beating "Mei Lanfang" and "The Equation of Love and Death". Director Feng should not be so upset now, right?
Most importantly, Wang Danrong was also the sound engineer for "Mei Lanfang". This means that Wang Danrong received two nominations for Best Sound Recording for "Mei Lanfang" and "Assembly".

With Wang Danrong handling the sound recording for both films, how did "Assembly" manage to beat "Mei Lanfang"? Zhang Hanyu thinks Director Feng should be very happy, right?

He knows Director Feng very well.

Sure enough, Little Cannon grinned and seemed very happy, which lessened Zhang Hanyu's worries.

However, his concerns were not completely dispelled.

The reason is simple: Wang Danrong is also from Beijing Film Academy, and he graduated from the Recording Department.

Director Feng still has reasons and excuses to get angry.

Zhang Hanyu prayed, hoping that one of the two final awards would go to "Assembly".

Best Director? That seems unlikely.

In Zhang Hanyu's view, the most likely winner is still Best Feature Film.

Since Cao Yang is both the producer and screenwriter of "Assembly", it seems most likely to win Best Feature Film.

However, I suppose Director Feng would be satisfied if he could win Best Feature Film?
"The winner of the Best Director award at the 27th Golden Rooster Awards is..."

Zhang Hanyu only weighed the options briefly in his mind, and he felt that Tian Zhuangzhuang was most likely to win the Best Director award.

The reason is simple: Tian Zhuangzhuang has a better relationship with Cao Yang and was Cao Yang's mentor.

It is said that the film "Pietà," which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, was specially tailored by Cao Yang for Tian Zhuangzhuang.

"Feng Xiaogang, Assembly Call".

"what?"

Zhang Hanyu's mouth was slightly open, and his stern face clearly showed four words: How is that possible?

Even though he was mentally prepared, Xiao Gangpao felt he wouldn't lose his composure.

But when his name was called out, he still lost his composure—because he unusually pursed his lips, something he rarely did.

After being shocked, Zhang Hanyu began to clap enthusiastically.

He could tell that Director Feng was very excited.

Because Director Feng's voice trembled noticeably when he gave his acceptance speech, and he thanked Cao Yang six times!

Zhang Hanyu could actually understand Director Feng's feelings at that moment.

As a director without formal training, as a commercial film director who is "despised" for lacking artistic merit, and as a director who has set box office records in Chinese cinema... For Director Feng, winning the Golden Rooster Award is, to use an inappropriate analogy, perhaps more exciting and thrilling than his wedding night.

"Director Feng definitely made the right choice in following him!"

Zhang Hanyu sighed inwardly once again.

In the end, the Best Feature Film award was not given to "Assembly", nor was there a tie as most people had imagined. Instead, it was awarded only to "Pieta".

This was something that absolutely surprised most people.

Even Xiao Gangpao was impressed. Although "Assembly" didn't win the award, he still gave Cao Yang a big thumbs up in his heart.

The reformed Golden Rooster Awards are indeed the most authoritative in the world!
(End of this chapter)