Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 517 Paper Shackles

This year's reformed Golden Rooster Awards disappointed many who were hoping to see a failure.

They didn't see what they wanted to see, but instead saw many changes they didn't want to see.

Most importantly, after the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony, both online discussions and official media outlets such as print media expressed their affirmation and appreciation for the changes made to this year's Golden Rooster Awards.

In particular, several authoritative state media outlets, some of which even published commentary articles, discussed the country's economic development, the rise of domestic commercial films, and the rapid growth of the box office market.

Then, the conversation shifted to keeping pace with the times, discussing trends of the era, objective trends, and innovation, finally culminating in the inevitability and rationality of the Golden Rooster Awards' reform...

CCTV then released the viewership figures for this year's Golden Rooster Awards broadcast. Compared to the previous Golden Rooster Awards, the viewership growth was quite astonishing, increasing by 260%.

Of course, this growth looks very impressive, but it's not so shocking when you calculate it.

The 260% figure means that the viewership increased by 2.6 times compared to the original base.

If anyone knows the previous viewership ratings for the Golden Rooster Awards, the impact of a 2.6-fold increase in viewership from that meager base will be even less significant.

However, this growth rate is still quite astonishing, considering that the Golden Rooster Awards used to have very stable viewership.

The online discussions are mostly positive.

In the past, after the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony, the most common reaction online was "?".

Because I can't understand it.

Because I haven't seen it.

Because it's highly controversial.

This time, the online comments were much more normal.

For example, in the "Cao Yang Bar", there was a post jokingly saying that he finally understood the Golden Rooster Award.

Surprisingly, this seemingly ordinary rant and joke post received a lot of recognition and became a trending topic. Even the poster probably didn't expect this.

Of course, there are still some controversies.

Li Xiaoran, one of the four leading actresses in China, initially rose to fame as a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner. She is a recognized acting talent, and coupled with her sexiness and beauty, she has a large number of die-hard fans.

Furthermore, her performance in "Mei Lanfang" was quite good. If you only watch the first half of the movie, it is actually quite "divine".

While Zhou Xun is also known for her acting skills, "The Equation of Love and Death" did not perform well at the box office, with a total box office of less than 1500 million yuan, resulting in limited influence. Those who have seen the movie certainly cannot compare with "Forever Enthralled".

At that time, although piracy was rampant, very few people, apart from true fans of the actors or directors, would specifically seek out resources to watch a purely domestic art film.

Viewers who watch pirated movies online are either drawn to blockbusters or breakout films, or they are drawn to films that are tempting.

For a film like "The Equation of Love and Death," which doesn't rely on sex appeal or big production value, there aren't many people who would actually go looking for pirated copies just because of Zhou Xun.

Therefore, at least in the "Cao Yang Bar", there are still many fans who feel sorry for Li Xiaoran, which leads to more debate.

These are all normal debates; differing opinions are normal. However, very few people claim that there are behind-the-scenes manipulations at film festivals.

Actually, Chen Kaige was also feeling uncomfortable after the awards ceremony.

In his imagination, the winners of this year's Golden Rooster Awards were all "his own people".

Cao Yang's two films, which won Best Director and Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, have opted out of this year's festival, making "Mei Lanfang" the most competitive film.

However, given that Lao Tian's "Pieta" won the Golden Lion and was competing with "Mei Lanfang", he believed that he should be able to win Best Feature Film and Best Director with Lao Tian respectively.

As for the little cannon... who is that?

How could he possibly take a small cannon seriously?

The awards ceremony started as he had envisioned.

Mei Lanfang won almost all the first few awards. Although it missed out on a few later awards, it didn't matter much. The most important thing is to look at the two biggest awards.

However, when the Best Director award was unexpectedly won by Xiao Gangpao, Lao Chen felt a chill in his heart, as if he had a bad premonition.

He immediately began to complain in his heart. What was Cao Yang thinking? Wasn't he supposed to be carrying out restructuring?
What was changed?
How come someone like Xiao Gangpao, who has a "self-taught" approach, won Best Director?

Giving him one or two symbolic awards is already giving him too much credit; how could we possibly give him a major award like Best Director?

Old Chen felt that he would probably have to share the best feature film with Old Tian—everything has been reformed, why are they still having a double winner? It really shouldn't be like this.

That really shouldn't have happened.

This year's Golden Rooster Awards did not "disappoint" Mr. Chen; there were indeed no tie winners.

But Old Chen would prefer a double-yolk egg.

Mei Lanfang didn't even win Best Feature Film!

Old Chen was very unhappy.

Very unhappy.

It's one thing to not win an award at the Berlin Film Festival, but how dare they refuse to give a major prize at the less prestigious Golden Rooster Awards?
How did Cao Yang get his hands on him?

What's wrong with that bastard Qi Jian?

Although in terms of the number of awards, "Saint Sacrifice", "Assembly" and "Mei Lanfang" all won three awards at this year's Golden Rooster Awards, making them seem like winners.

But sometimes it's not about the number of awards you receive.

Pietà won Best Feature Film, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.

"Assembly" won Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Recording.

What about "Mei Lanfang"? It only got Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, and Best Music.

Is this comparable?

However, with Lao Situ present at the awards ceremony, along with Cao Yang and many other senior alumni from the Beijing Film Academy who had taught Lao Chen, Lao Chen didn't dare to show any displeasure.

His personality is somewhat arrogant, which he gradually developed after winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes for "Farewell My Concubine," but that doesn't mean he has low emotional intelligence.

During an interview, a reporter asked him what he thought about "Mei Lanfang" becoming one of the biggest winners tonight, and whether he was particularly satisfied with this year's Golden Rooster Awards.
Old Chen immediately wanted to slap this bastard across the face; he was definitely doing it on purpose.

However, Lao Chen ultimately held back and did not leave without giving an interview.

He made no mention of whether he was satisfied with the Golden Rooster Awards, nor did he share his thoughts. Instead, he kept praising Wang Xueqi's acting skills, who won Best Supporting Actor for "Mei Lanfang," and Li Xiaoran's acting skills.

They also kept expressing their regret that Li Xiaoran didn't win the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress.

Old Chen had his own ulterior motives for saying that. Since he was dissatisfied with Cao Yang's reform of the Golden Rooster Awards, he wanted to make things difficult for Cao Yang. In his mind, since Cao Yang had given the Best Actress award to Zhou Xun, he would praise Li Xiaoran's acting skills as much as possible.

I don't believe it. Could it be that Li Xiaoran doesn't have some thoughts about winning the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress?
If you have any ideas, go and cause trouble for Cao Yang!
Of course, this small action alone is certainly not enough to quell the anger in one's heart.

This year's Golden Rooster Awards are seen as a sign of the Beijing Film Academy's restructuring and full-scale efforts, involving the entire academy. It's really not appropriate for Lao Chen to do anything openly.

Because no matter how you look at it, he is a member of this system.

Offending an individual is one thing, but offending the entire system... Old Chen isn't stupid.

He recalled his disgusting experience after the release of "The Promise" and the online parody short film "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun".

Normally, he disdains arguing with people; it's too beneath him. But online, not to brag, but given his understanding and knowledge of movies, writing a well-reasoned post anonymously is a piece of cake for him.
Who can be your opponent?

Old Chen spent an entire day writing several thousand words, and after some minor revisions, he finally completed what he considered his "work of appeal."

I read it several times, and the more I read it, the more satisfied and excited I became. It is truly a masterpiece that expresses my true feelings!

Why are you suddenly so happy?

When Sister Hong saw Old Chen come out of the study, she was taken aback.

After returning from the awards ceremony, Old Chen had a sour face. Of course, Sister Hong knew why Old Chen was like this, but she didn't offer any comfort, nor did she try to cheer him up, and she didn't show any sympathy.

In short, she was a bit fed up and too lazy to act anymore.

For the sake of the children, let's just make do like this.

"Hey, do you know which is the biggest website or forum for discussing movies online?"

Old Chen didn't respond to Sister Hong, but instead asked a question.

Sister Hong was a little confused, wondering why Old Chen was asking this.

But I do know about it, and I often pay attention to it, quietly.

"'Cao Yang Bar' is the most active place in China for discussing film and television."

Sister Hong's voice became slightly more impassioned.

Old Chen frowned slightly, then said nothing and returned to his study.

Hong's curiosity was piqued. She originally wanted to go with Lao Chen to the study to take a look, but Lao Chen simply closed the door, leaving Hong outside.

Sister Hong pursed her lips, thinking, "They're being so secretive, there must be some unspeakable secret behind it."

She thought about it and figured that Old Chen would most likely go to "Caoyang Bar" to do something. Since that was the case, she decided to go to "Caoyang Bar" and stake it out to see if she could "catch" Old Chen.

So, Sister Hong went to another study, where there was a computer that she usually used.

After turning on the computer and entering the "Cao Yang Bar" forum, Sister Hong specifically looked at the posts that had been made in the last two minutes. Most of them were about the Golden Rooster Awards, but none of them seemed to be posted by Lao Chen.

Red Sister-in-law would sometimes read the posts, sometimes refresh the page, and sometimes keep an eye on what was happening outside.

Old Chen didn't come out of the room, and Sister Hong didn't notice anything unusual.

Did he not go to "Caoyang Bar"?
She waited for almost half an hour, and Sister Hong was about to give up when she refreshed the page again, and then her eyes lit up.

"Some thoughts on 'Mei Lanfang' and the Golden Rooster Awards!"

This is far too obvious.

Sister Hong suspected that this was written by Old Chen.

She glanced at the poster again; it was a newly registered member.

Did Old Chen spend half an hour fiddling around before finally managing to register successfully?
Sister Hong glanced at the poster's name again, which read... "Paper Shackles"?
Now, Sister Hong was even more certain that the "paper shackles" belonged to Old Chen.

The "paper shackles" are something Sister Red will never forget.

In 1994, just a few months after winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Chen was riding high.

At a party, when Old Chen said this in front of her:
My life's work has been to pursue absolute freedom of art and spirit, even amidst numerous constraints. You are discussing gains and losses, while I am interpreting destiny.

Worldly judgments, the gains and losses of awards, and even all external constraints will be seen by me as "paper shackles" that seem easy to break but are actually incredibly heavy...

Hong Saozi admitted that, for her at the time, who was 26 years old, Lao Chen's words really gave her a sense of "a talented man and a beautiful woman"!
She was completely smitten!

regardless of costs.

Keep in mind that Old Chen had only won the Palme d'Or a few months ago. With the Palme d'Or as a halo, who wouldn't be confused when he said such poetic things?

Therefore, Sister Hong was quite certain that this "paper shackles" belonged to Old Chen.

Some thoughts on "Mei Lanfang" and the Golden Rooster Awards!

Lately, in the quiet of the night, I sometimes recall the moments I had while watching "Mei Lanfang." It was more than just a movie; for me, it was a dialogue with an era and a soul.

Mr. Mei's life was a life dedicated to the pursuit of artistic freedom.

He broke the old shackles of the lowly status of actors and established a new temple of national artistic dignity.

Director Chen Kaige is trying to capture this kind of 'god' in his films—the absolute freedom that bursts forth from absolute constraints.

……

Some say that his "Farewell My Concubine" is his swan song.

However, I believe that "Mei Lanfang" is a more serene and introspective inquiry into art, life, and "how to become an immortal person" that he made at the age of fifty.

Mr. Chen Kaige stripped away the intense, dramatic flair of Cheng Dieyi, choosing instead the understated grandeur of Mei Lanfang, as pure and refreshing as tea. His struggles were not outside the play, but within it; his radiance was not a burning flame, but a gentle, warm glow.

Therefore, when the gains and losses of a trophy are discussed by people, I am calm, but I can't help but feel a little regret and heartache.

What I regret is not the lack of personal honor for Mr. Chen Kaige.

What I regret is that the Golden Rooster Awards may have missed an opportunity—an opportunity to affirm the alternative possibilities of Chinese cinema beyond grand narratives and commercial trends.

An Eastern, subtle, and tranquil aesthetic exploration; a Chinese-style answer to the question of 'how to write biographies of giants of Chinese culture,' unlike any Western biographical film.

Film is an art of storytelling, but at a higher level, it is an art of creating atmosphere.

The film "Mei Lanfang" creates an era, a spiritual realm. It may not be visually appealing, but it should be captivating enough to be appreciated over time.

History will prove the value of a work.

Citizen Kane also failed to win an Oscar back then, and who remembers what the Best Picture winner was that year?
Time is the fairest, but also the cruelest, judge.

Therefore, I firmly believe that "Mei Lanfang" is a heartfelt gift from Mr. Chen Kaige to Chinese cinema.

It may not have met the standards of judgment at the time, but the artistic path it explored and the cultural dignity it upheld will eventually be mentioned by future generations.

The Golden Rooster Awards have their own selection criteria, and history will provide its own answer.

I have full confidence in the latter.

Gain and loss are determined by fate; the mind remains unchanged.

The awarding and losing of prizes are merely an echo in the background of the times.

It's a pity, a regret!

Sister Hong was dumbfounded.

This this……

Can you really boast like that?

How arrogant and conceited must one be to write such eloquent words?

(End of this chapter)