Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 545 Best Dating Movies of the Year

"The Oscar voters, who are members of the Academy of Sciences and Technology, are nearly 94% white and 77% male. The average age of the voters is about 62, and there are more than 5800 of them, divided into 17 professional sections."

"It is worth noting that during the final voting stage, all 5800 jury members have the right to vote for Best Film. However, during the nomination stage, each chapter only nominates awards in its own professional category."

"Therefore, among these 17 sub-committees, the five sub-committees related to the six categories we are aiming for this time—Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Film—are screenwriting, cinematography, acting, directing, and producing."

"The largest group is the Actors' Association, with a total of 1300 people."

"So let's take this as an example. If I want to be nominated for Best Actor, according to the statistics of previous years, I need to get about 220 to 240 votes out of these 1300 people to ensure that I can enter the nomination list."

"That doesn't sound like much."

"But half of the 1300 actor judges were white men in their sixties and seventies. To impress them, acting skills were secondary; what mattered was the name and the qualifications that name represented."

If you're not Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, or at least in your forties, they won't vote for you even if you scream your lungs out on screen.

For me, the only option is to fight for the remaining 600-odd votes. But those 600-odd votes are being contested by at least dozens of other films. 220 votes means I need to get one-third of the judges to vote for me.

"Now that you put it that way, it sounds really difficult."

"Especially among all the awards, the Best Actor and Best Actress categories are the most fiercely competitive."

"Huh? I thought it would be the best movie."

"hehe."

"What are you laughing at? I don't know anything about this, can't you teach me?"

Chen Nuo glanced at Gao Yuanyuan.

The woman rarely spoke to him in such a coquettish tone, but at this moment, she blinked her bright eyes and looked at him innocently, so there was nothing unusual about it.

Speaking of which, Gao Yuanyuan is almost 7 years older than him, and she is already 33 years old this year. However, due to years of expensive skincare, her face still shows no signs of sagging when the sun shines on it, and she looks like she is only 25 or 26 years old.

Indeed, the idea that "money can't keep you young" is just as nonsense as "money can't buy life."

Just like at the Mayo Clinic where he is now, the cost of accommodation and treatment in a regular ward is close to $5000. However, after Gao Yuanyuan's mother was admitted, her condition, which she felt was almost unbearable in a ward that cost 500 yuan a day in China, has actually improved in just over ten days.

How so?

With Gao Yuanyuan's natural beauty, even in ten years, when ordinary chemical skincare products become ineffective, a little technological intervention can help her maintain her appearance for at least another ten years.

If it goes any further... well, forget it. Gao Yuanyuan isn't suited to become a ghastly old woman with a face full of dead flesh.

Although somewhat suspicious that the woman was feigning ignorance, Chen Nuo still explained simply, "Who can blame them when Hollywood stars make money so easily? And they're all so competitive, many of them have to pay out of their own pockets to even make it onto the shortlist. Those magazines and newspapers rely on these few months to survive each year. Do you know how much a full-page FYC ad in Variety costs these days?"

"how much is it?"

"It's about $120,000 a copy, and it gets more expensive as time goes on. Before the shortlist is announced in early January, a copy can soar to $180,000. Holy crap, that's enough to buy a house in Beijing. It's practically robbery."

Gao Yuanyuan burst into laughter, her smile clearer and brighter than the Minnesota sky. She blinked and chuckled, "Don't you think you don't know the cost of living when you're not in charge? Now you're feeling the pinch when you're paying out of your own pocket."

Chen Nuo laughed along and said, "That's kind of a feeling. Warner Bros. used to provide the funding, and I never got involved. The key is that many things can't be solved just by throwing money at them. I attended meetings with them for a few days and listened to their analysis, and it was really overwhelming."

"And then you came here?"

"Yes, I'm tired. Come and rest for a bit."

Gao Yuanyuan chuckled softly and tightened her grip on his arm.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, until they slowly walked along the tree-lined path on the south side of the Mayo Clinic. A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, casting dappled shadows, and occasionally a few rays of sunlight filtered through the branches and fell on their shoulders.

When she reached a secluded garden corridor where few people frequented, Gao Yuanyuan suddenly stopped.

She turned around, tilted her head back, her eyes clear and bright, reached out and hooked her arm around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed his lips.

For a long time, the lips are divided.

Gao Yuanyuan said softly, "You don't need to say it, I know. Thank you for coming to see me despite being so busy."

Chen Nuo said helplessly, "I really came here to find some peace and quiet."

Gao Yuanyuan said, "Okay, stop lying to me."

Since that's the case, Chen Nuo will not say anything more.

After strolling around for a while, just when he thought it was time to say goodbye, Gao Yuanyuan suddenly pulled him and said, "Come on, I'll take you to meet my mom."

“This…” Chen Nuo hesitated.

Gao Yuanyuan insisted, "My mom has been saying she wants to meet you for a long time. She said she must thank you in person. Now that you're leaving, she definitely won't let me off the hook; she'll keep nagging me for days."

Hearing this, Chen Nuo had no choice but to follow her upstairs.

He was filled with anxiety the whole way, after all, this seemed to be the first time in both his past and present lives that he had ever met the girl's parents. Liu Xiaoli didn't count.

However, Gao Yuanyuan's mother was a very gentle and kind woman, speaking fluent Beijing dialect. As Gao Yuanyuan said, she only wanted to see him to thank him in person. She seemed uninterested in his relationship with her daughter, never asking a single question. However, she was quite interested in his career, especially listening intently as he talked about the Oscars.

At the end, they even asked him when and where the first FYC ad for "DROP" would be published.

He recalled what Alison had said during her meeting with Strategy PR, the Oscar-winning PR firm.

Oh, right, strike while the iron is hot.

……

……

Upon hearing the number announced over the phone, Liam Neeson shook his head, thinking he was hallucinating due to jet lag. He couldn't help but ask, "How much did you say?"

The producer on the other end of the phone said, "4200 million."

What was our original expectation?

"5000."

“Eight million short? Jim, what happened? I worked hard over there for almost a week, and I didn’t even meet my expectations?” Liam Neeson said in his Irish-accented English. “What happened? What was happening in America while I was flying over the Atlantic? Did Godzilla land?”

"Pretty much," the producer said, then sighed and repeated, "Godzilla, pretty much."

……

When the box office figures for "Taken 2," starring Irish action star Liam Neeson, were released on October 5th, October 10, showing a gross of $4200 million on its opening day, according to BOM, the world's largest box office tracking website,
The major film companies that witnessed this were not only surprised but also somewhat disheartened.

The action blockbuster *Taken 2*, produced by a European film company, performed exceptionally well at the box office after its premiere in major European markets such as France and the UK on September 27. Building on the huge global reputation of its predecessor, it easily topped the weekend charts in several European markets, leading industry insiders to unanimously predict that its North American opening weekend would surpass $50 million.

result……

The opening weekend gross of $42 million seems like only $8 million short, but this almost means that whether the North American box office can break $100 million is now an unknown.

Warner Bros. originally had two movies scheduled for release this month: Argo and Cloud Atlas.

Upon hearing the box office figures for *Taken 2* from his secretary, Michael Slan laughed and said to the people in the conference room, "See? Ben, I wasn't wrong, was I? Now the first victim has appeared. We at Warner Bros. have worked with him twice, once on *The Dark Knight* and once on *Inception*, which tells me it's best not to go head-to-head with his movies, even if they seem harmless. So, I'm postponing the release of *Escape from Tehran* to the end of the month, really for your own good."

Ben Affleck shrugged and said, "Don't you think this is too dramatic, Michael? Could this be a trick he and Roger are playing together?"

Michael Slan laughed and said, "No, impossible. You don't know him, but I do know that it's already difficult enough to get him involved in the film's promotion. To expect him to create this kind of buzz outside of the film is simply impossible."

Ben Affleck laughed and said, "So, this is what actually happened. An arthouse film that wasn't advertised at all and only had about 1000 theaters showing, just because of one film review, 'bang!' it ruined Taken 2, right?"

Michael Slan laughed and said, "I know, it might seem a little unbelievable."

Ben Affleck said, "Just a few? Please, Michael, Roger Ebert was suddenly critically ill after he posted that film review and was in the intensive care unit. Just when the whole of America thought that old man was going to heaven, Chen flew thousands of kilometers from South Korea to Chicago to see Roger, and then, that foul-mouthed old man actually came back to life. I want to ask, is he God or Jesus Christ? If he has this ability to bring people back to life, why doesn't he become the Pope?"

Michael Slan rubbed his bald head and said, "Now that you mention it, I'm a little unsure myself."

Ben Affleck chuckled, "Come on, Michael, I don't know what he's like when he works with Warner, but this time, I guarantee it's all a publicity stunt for the movie! And I have to admit, he really succeeded!"

……

Whether it's Godzilla or Jesus Christ, indeed, when Chen Nuo went to Chicago to visit Roger Albert, the critically ill Roger Albert miraculously recovered...

This gossip, which involved getting the order wrong, was spread online by those malicious paparazzi in Chicago. Netizens, who were already deeply moved by Chen Nuo's long journey to see him, were stunned. Furthermore, the fanfare from Roger's fans stirred up a huge uproar.

If the popularity of "DROP" was originally [1] because of James Pritzker's refusal to contribute a single penny, then because of the spread of this popular gossip news on the Internet, the popularity almost immediately reached [10].

However, this was not a big deal in the first place.

Because the original base was too small, even if it increased tenfold, it wouldn't have stolen the luck of "Taken 2". However, this incident was like a fuse, directly igniting Chen Nuo's already quite large fan base.

"Chen is so hot in DROP!"

"A sexy side of Chen that you've never seen before."

"I almost had sex in the movie theater."

"Sisters, please bring your tools when you go to see this movie, otherwise you will feel very, very uncomfortable."

"The best place to watch a movie is at home, and another option is a romantic movie theater. If neither of those is available, and you're going with your boyfriend, then you absolutely must sit in the last row. I believe that if you follow my advice, you'll thank me in the end."

"Thank you."

Thank you very much.

"Haha, I really did it!"

"While I was having him do it to me, I was watching Chan and Theron flirting in the movie. OMG, that felt so good."

"Sisters, this is definitely more suitable for that moment than the scene with Edward and Laura in the sea."

"Although I don't want to say it, I really can't remember the plot. I just remember how Chen touched that Asian woman, and that stripper... OMG, it was so exciting!"

On Reddit, a post titled "Girls, did you see 'Drop'? Share your thoughts. I'll start: I was burning with passion in the theater." attracted the attention of many female Redditors, and along with the numerous comments above, it quickly rose to the top of the trending list in the movie section.

As a result, it attracted the attention of many men.

"Thank you for your suggestions, everyone. I'll book the tickets right away and take my first love to see it tonight."

"Although I hate that arrogant guy, and I think he's just a lucky clown, since you all say so... [lecherous]"

"Looks like the best date movie of the year has been born. Thank you, Chen. If I lose my virginity because of this, you'll be my benefactor for life."

"Don't go see it, guys! I just got back from the movie theater, and guess what? The last row was packed! FUCK! It was like a orgy, and my girlfriend almost broke up with me because of it!"

"Shit, you're the producer of this movie, right? Now that you mention it, I'm already opening the ticketing app."

"This movie is utter garbage! It criticizes America! If my date today hadn't gone to a hotel with me after watching it, I would definitely have given it one star on IMDb!"

"I loved this movie. The plot was great, Chen's performance was excellent, and our society is indeed a pile of shit. Also, to those couples going to the movies, could you please not desecrate such a great work! Even if you're going to do something, could you please keep it down? I was sitting in the second-to-last row, and I almost couldn't concentrate!"

Ps:

Something came up halfway through writing, I'll continue tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)