Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 518 Battle
Sister Hong always knew that Lao Chen was a proud and arrogant person.

After "Farewell My Concubine," for some reason, it became increasingly difficult for Lao Chen's works to win awards in the three major European competitions, and even getting into the main competition became a struggle.

Unlike Zhang Yimou, who won the Golden Bear at Berlin and then went on to win many other awards at Venice and Cannes.

It includes two Golden Lions and three Jury Prizes, as well as numerous other awards.

It seems that Zhang Yimou is getting better and better, and his influence worldwide is growing.

Later, Cao Yang emerged as an award-winning machine, winning awards left and right.

But whenever this topic comes up, Old Chen seems nonchalant, and will smile calmly, saying: My work doesn't need to be understood by everyone, nor does it need those worldly awards to prove itself. Time will give the best answer...

On this point, aside from differences in personal views on matters of men and women, Sister Hong initially believed in Lao Chen.

"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..."

My life's work has been the pursuit of absolute artistic and spiritual freedom, amidst numerous constraints. You discuss gains and losses, while I interpret destiny.

The words Hong Saozi heard from Lao Chen when they first met about the "paper shackles" were so vivid in her memory that she could say she would never forget them.

Even though in recent years, when Lao Chen has frequently gone to the three major European awards, the Oscars, and even the Golden Globes to make deals, Sister Hong still believes that Lao Chen doesn't care about these worldly awards.

In Lao Chen's words, "I may not care about these things, but I have to be responsible for the crew. I do these worldly things to give an explanation to all the hardworking staff on the crew..."

At first, Sister Hong believed these words.

But in recent years, some other things have happened, and the halo of Old Chen in Sister Hong's heart has gradually faded. Sister Hong is no longer a blind little "woman" who is blinded by the "talented man".

Especially with the release of this "Some Thoughts on 'Mei Lanfang' and the Golden Rooster Awards!", even the last bit of "halo" left in Sister Hong's heart was about to be erased.

Sister Hong really wanted to laugh out loud. The award or the loss of an award didn't matter? The pursuit of absolute freedom in art and spirit?
What's the deal with these "reflections" that seem to "praise merits"?

Hahaha……

After making a self-deprecating remark, Sister Hong stared blankly at the computer screen for a while, then took a deep breath and wrote directly:
"Pieta, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, is most valuable for its extreme, almost cruel, examination of human nature and its profound exploration of it."

That is, does a person who has never experienced love possess the capacity to love? Is human nature innate, or is it constructed through relationships such as the mother-child relationship…?

As Sister Hong recalled Old Chen's interpretation of "Elegy for Christ," she wrote.

"Through its unique artistic techniques, it constructs a breathtaking world, and within this world, it conducts an extreme experiment on the nature of humanity..."

As Sister Hong wrote, she couldn't help but laugh at herself.

These were Old Chen's exact words at the time, and she just had to post them in Old Chen's thread. Thinking about it... it's quite interesting.

She concluded by writing, "In comparison, I think Pietà is undoubtedly more artistic and has a deeper exploration of human nature, so it's no surprise that it beat Forever Enthralled in the Golden Rooster Awards for Best Feature Film."

After reading it again, Sister Hong felt a sense of novelty and excitement that was beyond words, which made her legs involuntarily tighten.

She was already quite eager to know what Old Chen's expression would be after seeing these words.

Click to publish.

Sister Hong was certain that Old Chen was right now staring at this post on his computer.

Deep down, she felt an inexplicable urge to go to Old Chen's study right now and see with her own eyes Old Chen's expression after seeing her reply.

However, after glancing at her own reply, she realized that it wasn't the first one, which made her suppress her impulse and start browsing the other replies.

"The original poster overestimates 'Mei Lanfang' and thinks too highly of the poet. 'History will give the answer'? History will give you nothing! And they even use 'Citizen Kane' as an analogy. How can the original poster be so shameless?"

Pietà won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. As for Best Feature Film, Forever Enthralled was not wronged at all. There shouldn't be much controversy about this, so I won't go into it.

Even in the Best Director competition, I think Chen Shiren is not even as good as Cao Baoping, the director of "The Equation of Love and Death".

Some film critics have criticized "The Equation of Love and Death" for being too commercialized and losing its artistic expression, but I don't think so.

Is this too commercialized?

This continues director Cao Yang's experimental films, exploring the combination of artistic and commercial aspects in film!

A film can be both entertaining and thought-provoking; it can have the appeal of a commercial film while retaining the artistic quality of an auteur film.

"The Equation of Love and Death" is not only artistic, but also an art film wrapped in the shell of a commercial genre film, containing profound authorial expression. It is an experimental film with an exploratory nature, which is beyond doubt.

The most striking artistic feature of this film lies in its unique narrative structure, which cleverly blends elements from various genres.

As a romance film, Li Mi's four-year search for Fang Wen is the driving force and emotional core of the entire story.

As a crime thriller, the appearance of Qiu Shuitian and Qiu Huogui, along with plots involving drug trafficking, kidnapping, and jumping off a bridge, brings tension and uncertainty.

As an art film, it is a social realist, depicting the living conditions of marginalized people such as taxi drivers, migrant workers, and drug dealers.

Director Cao Baoping breaks down and reassembles these elements, using a suspenseful crime shell to package an ultimate love story.

This kind of genre mashup is itself a sophisticated art form, with a stronger experimental nature. It breaks down genre boundaries, allowing the audience to be overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions while trying to solve the mystery.

This creative approach, which delves into the depths of human nature and social realities within genre films, is precisely the signature artistic hallmark of director Cao Baoping's movies.

The three major European film festivals place greater emphasis on experimental films, which explore and discover more possibilities for cinema and are pioneers of innovation.

Therefore, I think "The Equation of Love and Death" is the most regrettable; this experimental film deserves the Best Director award more.

Cao Baoping smiled and read through his reply, which he had written in one go, again. It felt as refreshing as drinking an ice-cold beer on a hot summer day.

He has always felt that his film, "The Equation of Love and Death," perfectly aligns with Cao Yang's vision for experimental films, and that he deserves the Golden Rooster Award for Best Director.

As for "Assembly," which lost to "Little Steel Cannon," it wasn't due to the quality of the film itself, but rather because the judges preferred the more patriotic "Assembly."

He felt it was a great pity not to win Best Director.

So when he saw people writing biographies and expressing regret about Lao Chen's "Mei Lanfang" on the "Cao Yang Bar", he was very surprised.

"Mei Lanfang" can only be considered a work that starts strong but ends weakly. How can anyone praise it?

On a sudden inspiration, he wrote down his inner resentment without hesitation.

With his film "Assembly", Xiao Gangpao won the Best Director award, which is also his first recognition from the Golden Rooster Awards, one of the three major film festivals in China. How could he not be excited and proud?
The most important thing is.

He won the Best Director award by beating Tian Zhuangzhuang, director of Pietà, who won the Venice Golden Lion, Chen Kaige, director of Mei Lanfang, who entered the main competition of Berlin, and Cao Baoping, a professor of literature at Beijing Film Academy, who was highly regarded.

Who is Tian Zhuangzhuang? A Golden Lion Award-winning director.

Who is Chen Kaige? He's a Palme d'Or-winning director.

What about Cao Baoping? He's a professor of screenwriting at the Beijing Film Academy's Department of Literature, a true academic.

To win Best Director amidst the fierce competition from these three, Xiao Gangpao believes the value of this Best Director award is truly extraordinary.

Therefore, he not only celebrated with Xu Fan to his heart's content, but also had a deep and insightful exchange with the host.

Furthermore, ever since winning Best Director, his biggest interest has been browsing articles online that praise him, which he finds incredibly enjoyable.

No matter how high one's status or how much money one has, it can never replace the satisfaction that comes from emotional value.

As our ancestors said, "To return home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night." Similarly, a victory without applause is as desolate as wearing fine clothes at night.

"what?"

Xiao Gangpao saw a post on the "Cao Yang Bar" titled "Some Thoughts on 'Mei Lanfang' and the Golden Rooster Awards!" After reading the entire post, he felt a lump in his throat and a nameless anger rose within him. "I've never seen such a shameless person!"

Little Cannon snorted.

"History will provide the answer, you son of a bitch!"

"A production that deceives the world and steals fame. The male lead is bland and lacks any acting skills. He is like a wooden man throughout the whole film, lacking soul. He is far from the style of the master. How can this be a grandmaster?"
The film starts strong but ends weakly, feeling like it was forcibly pieced together without a smooth transition or internal emotional connection, resulting in a loose plot and a lack of staying power.

This kind of movie is supposed to provide historical answers?
Do you think history is written by your own family?

The little cannon unleashed a barrage of comments in the comments section of the post.

After finishing writing, I finally felt a bit better.

"That's fucking disgusting! People actually swear on a movie like this!"

Little Cannon muttered to himself, scrolled down with his mouse, and wanted to see the replies below.

"Pieta, the film that won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, is most valuable for its extreme, almost cruel, examination of humanity and its profound exploration of human nature..."

Upon seeing this reply, Xiao Gangpao couldn't help but smile slightly. It was a compliment to Lao Tian's "Pietà," but he wasn't angry.

My first thought was, if Lao Tian's "Pieta" is so awesome, and I beat Lao Tian to win Best Director, wouldn't I be even more awesome?
"Huh? Not bad."

Scrolling down, Little Cannon saw another rebuttal post.

"The original poster overestimates 'Mei Lanfang' and thinks too highly of the poet. 'History will give the answer'? History will give you nothing! And they even use 'Citizen Kane' as an analogy. How can the original poster be so shameless?"

Pietà won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. As for Best Feature Film, Forever Enthralled was not wronged at all. There shouldn't be much controversy about this, so I won't go into it.

Even in the Best Director competition, I think Chen Shiren is not even as good as Cao Baoping, the director of "The Equation of Love and Death"...

At least up to this point, Little Cannon completely agrees and thinks this person is absolutely right.

But the further he looked, the more uneasy he felt.

"Hold!"

This isn't a rebuttal to Poet Chen; it's clearly a lament that Cao Baoping's "The Equation of Love and Death" didn't win Best Director!

Little Cannon was about to find fault with "The Equation of Love and Death" to refute it, but then he thought about it again and realized that this was not right. Simply refuting it would be too weak.

No, I need to write my own biography!

"Director Feng's previous forte was urban comedies and New Year's films. The success of 'Assembly' marks his transformation from a successful commercial film director into an auteur director who can handle grand historical themes and show profound humanistic concerns."

The jury awarded him the Best Director award, allowing him to stand out from the competition with Tian Zhuangzhuang, Chen Kaige, and Cao Baoping. I believe this was based on the following points:
I. Successful Transformation and Control of Grand Themes: The director needs to coordinate a large crew, including the staging of war scenes, special effects, art direction, sound effects, etc., which is incomparable to the complexity of shooting an indoor comedy...

II. Localization and Anti-genre Transformation of War Films: Before this, most of China's mainstream war films were grand narratives like "The Great Battle," emphasizing strategic thinking and collective heroism, while individual characters were often more symbolic.

The audiovisual language of "Assembly" is similar to that of international war films such as "Saving Private Ryan," including handheld camerawork, realistic sound effects, and subjective shots, but its core is completely Chinese.

It doesn't merely depict the grandeur of war, but focuses on the value of individual lives within it, demonstrating the director's profound insight and innovation...

Third, precise training of the performance: The success of the film largely depends on the establishment of the character Gu Zidi.

Director Feng chose Zhang Hanyu and guided him to create a flesh-and-blood, stubborn yet great ordinary hero. This character broke the stereotype of the perfect hero. His swearing, his stubbornness, and his despair made the character incredibly real.

This also demonstrates Director Feng's ability to train actors. Gu Zidi is a flesh-and-blood character. In contrast, Li Ming in "Mei Lanfang," also based on a true story, is a stereotypical performance, a blank and empty one...

Fourth, it achieves a balance between commerce and art, continuing the achievements of experimental films: "Assembly" has both breathtaking war scenes that guarantee commercial appeal and a deeply moving humanistic pursuit in the second half.

This ability to both win box office success and provoke deep thought is a directorial skill highly valued by the judges…

five,……"

Xiao Gangpao wrote down more than a dozen reasons why "Assembly" was destined to win Best Director.

After writing all this, he still felt he hadn't said enough.

After thinking about it, he concluded:
"The reason why 'Assembly' won the Best Director Award is because Director Feng successfully managed a work that is of extremely high quality in terms of technology, narrative and ideology."

He not only captured landmark war scenes in the history of Chinese cinema, but more importantly, he imbued a patriotic war film with universal philosophical reflections on the value of life, memory and forgetting, and the individual and the collective!

I reviewed it again, revised some of the overly strong wording, and then clicked upload.

I'm satisfied and comfortable.

……

Sister Hong waited for almost four hours before Old Chen finally came out of his study.

This is why she kept calling for Lao Chen to come out for dinner.

Sister Hong looked at Old Chen with some urgency; she had also seen the countless replies under Old Chen's post.

It has to be said that "Cao Yang Bar" truly lives up to its reputation as the forum with the highest daily active users. Old Chen's post was also quite impressive, successfully becoming a viral hit.

Of course, most importantly, the comments under this post are almost entirely rebuttals, all of which are well-reasoned and supported by evidence, and many are lengthy.

There were even those who criticized Chen for seeking fame and fortune without any real talent, and questioned whether his performance in "Farewell My Concubine" was actually filmed by someone else...

Old Chen looked expressionless.

But Sister Hong knew him well; from his slightly heavy breathing, she knew he was trying his best to suppress his anger.

"Eat, eat, eat. What are you eating? You eat, I have things to do."

Old Chen left a message and walked outside, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sister Hong pouted. "Did the door offend you? Why are you taking your anger out on the door?"
However, she still felt some empathy for Lao Chen.

Before Lao Chen came out, she had read through more than a dozen pages of replies.

Among these, there are many strong explanations and rebuttals to the "paper shackles" theory.

However, faced with rapidly refreshing replies and countless sarcastic remarks, "Paper Shackles'" response was like a drop of water falling into a vast ocean, unable to make any ripples at all.

Thinking of all this, Sister Hong felt an indescribable joy.

Then, an idea began to grow from the depths of my heart, and I couldn't stop it from growing stronger.

Sister Hong didn't intend to control it either.

She picked up the phone and called Cao Yang directly.

"Hello, Cao Yang, this is Bai... cough, I'm your sister-in-law."

"Well, Old Chen stormed off just now, and I don't know what happened. I only know that he wrote a lot of things on your 'Cao Yang Bar'... Hmm, I think?"

Anyway, he stayed in the study for four or five hours, and came out fuming.

"Oh, by the way, I think his online name is 'Paper Shackles,' or something like that. Don't tell anyone, okay? It's our secret..."

As she spoke, Sister Hong suddenly realized her voice sounded a little hoarse, so she quickly coughed and said, "Actually, it's nothing, you can see for yourself. I'm just a little sad and wanted to talk to someone..."

Huh? Why am I getting tired of this again?
(End of this chapter)