Huayu Chunqiu, starting from being adopted by a fairy mother

Chapter 462 Yu Xi's Sigh

Liu Jing and Li Xuejian have never worked together, but they have a natural connection.

Li Xuejian and Tian Zhuangzhuang are cousins, while Liu Jing and Tian Zhuangzhuang are teacher and student.

"Haha, good, good. You're the director, you're in charge." Li Xuejian laughed.

The two award presenters consciously stepped aside and gave the microphone to the award recipient.

Zhou Xun stepped back, wanting Liu Jing to speak first; this was a sign of respect and courtesy.

Liu Jing gestured for Zhou Xun to come first, a gentlemanly gesture.

"Today... today is special. I've been acting for eighteen years now. And this is my first Golden Rooster Award. And, um, I want to thank the Golden Rooster Award judges for this special gift. Tomorrow is my thirty-fifth birthday, and I hope this is..."

The applause interrupted Zhou Xun's speech, and it was clear that this actress was quite nervous.

With so many colleagues and audience members in the audience, very few people can remain calm. Even big stars, who frequently appear on screen, don't often take to the stage to give speeches like speakers do.

Many celebrities are actually quite introverted, completely different from their on-screen and stage personas.

The applause gave Zhou Xun strength, and he relaxed considerably. "For the past eighteen years, I've been working hard on filming. I hope tomorrow will be an end, but also a beginning full of anticipation. Thank you everyone."

Liu Jing fiddled with the trophy, thinking, "When will I be able to win a Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor?"

Since his debut, he has only won one Best Actor award at the Hundred Flowers Awards, but he has won quite a few Best Director awards.

He also has dreams; he wants to win the grand slam of domestic Best Actor awards, plus the three international awards and an Oscar for Best Actor.

Zhou Xun was giving his acceptance speech when Liu Jing drew lots.

Congratulations! You've won the song "Xiao". Please choose a suitable time to claim it.

"I've walked through the snow drifting over the Qilian Mountains beyond Yumen Pass. I've also walked through the wind blowing along the Great Wall. By the mountains and rivers, heroes vanished into the forest, turning into a shower of rain. Between heaven and earth, a sword cleaved through the azure sky..."

In a daze, images flashed before Liu Jing's eyes.

A chivalrous knight wields his sword, as lone smoke rises over the vast desert.

The hero is drunk, the setting sun hangs round over the long river.

White horses neigh, snow fills the borderlands.

The sound of the Qiang flute lingers, many years have passed.

"The scriptwriting department has work to do again," Liu Jing muttered.

Amidst thunderous applause, Zhou Xun took two steps back, and it was Liu Jing's turn to give his remarks.

"I've been acting for eighteen years, and this is the first time I've won a Golden Rooster Award, and it was for someone else." Liu Jing sighed, and the audience laughed. Thinking about it carefully, it was true.

"Thank you to the Golden Rooster Awards judges for their recognition, thank you to director Chen Jiashang for his hard work, and thank you to Liu Jing for accepting the award on my behalf. I am Liu Yifei, and I am very happy to stand here. Holding this heavy trophy, I have so much to say, but I can only say thank you everyone. I will work hard."

Amid laughter, Liu Jing and Zhou Xun walked off the stage.

"Next, we will present the Best Actor award. Please welcome our award presenters, Qin Hailu and Xia Yu..."

"Wooden head, if Xixi heard your acceptance speech, she'd beat you up with the trophy," Zhou Xun joked.

"We'll talk about it once the trophy is in her hands."

Back in his seat, the trophy was in the hands of his assistant, who examined it carefully, turning it over and over.

"No need to investigate, it's real." Liu Jing was baffled. It's just a trophy. As my assistant, don't act so naive; it hurts your boss's feelings.

"Boss, do you think this trophy might be something like this? They might have taken Jiang Wenli's nameplate and replaced it with the boss's wife's?" Bai Bing was examining this.

The Golden Rooster Award trophy is a statue of a proud golden rooster, over 30 centimeters tall and weighing two kilograms, which is why Liu Jing said it was heavy. However, it's not made of gold, but rather cast bronze plated with gold—it's all show and no substance.

The base has a gold-plated metal card that reads, "Winner: Liu Yifei, Award-winning film: Painted Skin, 27th China Golden Rooster Awards".

The organizing committee pre-engraved the nameplates using lasers, and the number of nameplates would be equal to the number of nominees.

After the awards were announced, staff quickly located the corresponding plaques and inserted them into the slots on the trophy base. The plaques were then handed to the presenter by a staff member, who then awarded the prizes.

This instant-set design ensures that various unforeseen circumstances can be handled. Therefore, if there are two winners, changing the winner at the last minute is not complicated at all.

"No, it's not surprising at all that Liu Yifei won the award this time." Before Liu Jing could answer, Xiao Wang turned around and replied.

Bai Bing was startled and quickly put down the trophy, as if someone was trying to snatch it.

She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "This guy has such sharp ears." Luckily, she and the boss didn't say anything inappropriate after he sat down.

"The initial choices were indeed Zhou Xun and Jiang Wenli. With the soaring box office of *The Message*, Zhou Xun gained considerable popularity. Ten days ago, in that brilliant public relations battle, Liu Yifei won both face and substance, her popularity skyrocketing. *The Sacred Flame* two years ago, *Painted Skin* last year, and *The Message* this year—three consecutive years of box office miracles. Golden Harvest has been completely reborn, and its influence in mainland China has also increased. At this point, it would be unreasonable to let *Painted Skin* go home empty-handed. The organizing committee couldn't withstand the pressure and had to adjust the awards at the last minute, giving Best Actress to Liu Yifei to prevent *Painted Skin* from going home empty-handed."

Mr. Wang sighed deeply. Fortunately, Golden Harvest was from Hong Kong, and Spring and Autumn mainly produced TV dramas. That was the only way he could console himself.

Many people know that Golden Harvest is ostensibly a Hong Kong-funded company, but its actual controller is Spring & Autumn. However, it is a fact that Golden Harvest is a flagship of Hong Kong films.

Huayi has a deep presence in the mainland market, and its two CEOs, Mr. Wang, are seasoned professionals in the Beijing entertainment circle. Their influence and reach on major domestic awards are unmatched by Chunqiu Jiahe.

If Spring & Autumn hadn't acquired Golden Harvest, allowing them to overtake their competitors, it would have taken them at least several more years to achieve their current success in the film industry.

Before acquiring Golden Harvest, Huayi Brothers did not consider Spring and Autumn a competitor. "A company that mainly produces TV dramas can't compare to us in the film industry; we're in completely different sectors."

After acquiring Golden Harvest, Huayi was waiting to see them fail. If Golden Harvest were profitable, many people would be eager to acquire it.

Little did anyone know that Huayi, like many others, underestimated the power of money. With a strong overhaul, massive financial injections, cinema reconstruction, acquisition of Mei Ah Entertainment, and channel integration, coupled with the backing of Spring & Autumn's well-established industrial chain, they managed to revitalize Golden Harvest.

The director of "Painted Skin," Chan Ka-shang, is from Hong Kong, and it was a co-production. Even with such outstanding achievements, the three major mainland film studios wouldn't let it easily win awards.

This is why Liu Jing is so concerned about the Hong Kong Film Awards reform.

Awards are honors, and he wants them.

The prize represents a chance to win a prize, which he wants even more.

"With such high box office returns for 'The Message,' Zeng Li should have received extra credit, right? Why wasn't the Best Actress award given to her?" Bai Bing wondered.

It wasn't just CEO Wang who had ears; Zeng Li was also listening and couldn't help but move closer.

"If Zeng Li was nominated for 'The Message,' her chances are very high. But she just won the Huabiao Award for Best Actress for 'Forever Enthralled,' so it's unlikely she'll win the Golden Rooster Award for the same reason. These are the three major awards in mainland China, and they all want to showcase their individuality and make their voices heard." Mr. Wang is well aware of the nature of these three major awards in China; they seem related and interconnected, but in reality, each is displaying its own strengths.

The Huabiao Award is a government award that emphasizes social benefits, prioritizing the mainstream values, cultural contributions, and industrial value of the works. The Golden Rooster Award is an expert award that emphasizes artistic value, placing extremely high demands on the directing techniques, script depth, and performance quality of the works.

The Hundred Flowers Awards are a popular award that focuses on market recognition, primarily taking into account box office data, audience attendance, and voting activity.

The three organizations share resources extensively. The nomination list for the Huabiao Awards often overlapped with the candidate works for the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, but the final winners were often different.

If a work can be nominated for all three major awards, it means that it not only conforms to the official guidelines and has been recognized by experts, but is also loved by the audience, making it an absolute masterpiece of the year.

"Mr. Wang, what about the Golden Horse Awards? Sister Xun and Sister Zeng Li have both been nominated. Will they win Best Actress?" Bai Bing continued to ask.

"The Golden Horse Awards are a monster; it's hard to guess what a monster is thinking." Mr. Wang shrugged, then, hearing the list being read on stage, his tone shifted. "Congratulations! Wu Gang won Best Actor, and Zhou Xun and Liu Yifei won Best Actress. 'The Message' can use this as a selling point; maybe it'll even boost the box office. Liu Yifei, Zhou Xun, Zeng Li, Wang Zhiwen, Fan Wei, Duan Yihong, Chen Kun, Wu Gang, and you, Liu Jing—nine Best Actor and Best Actress winners in one film! I can hardly believe it. Oh, and producer Zhang Min and assistant director Tang Wei are also Best Actress winners."

As Mr. Wang finished speaking, he suddenly lost interest in talking and became speechless.

Huayi Brothers only held a 20% stake in "The Message," while Golden Harvest was the controlling shareholder.

If this were a work by Huayi Brothers, the stock price would skyrocket after it goes public.

Director Liu Jing never expected that "The Message" would gather Best Actor and Best Actress winners. In this light, all those previous product placements seem insignificant; this year's Golden Rooster Awards were practically an advertisement for "The Message."

One Best Actor and two Best Actress winners were both actors in "The Message".

“Mr. Wang is right. Huayi Brothers also has a part in ‘The Message.’ You can’t just stand by and do nothing,” Bai Bing said with a smile.

"Of course." Young Master Wang looked away, once again envious of Liu Rijing's night. This assistant was just too alluring. He might not trust the man's character, but he couldn't help but admire his judgment. Compared to Liu Jing's women, what were he even dating?

"Brother, after I finish dealing with the IPO, let's have a good chat about Zhou Xun. I'm heading over there now, see you later." Seeing that the Best Director award was about to be presented, Little Wang quickly slipped away; he wanted to witness this moment with Little Cannon.

"Tsk tsk, boss, how are you two planning to divide Zhou Xun?" Bai Bing's expression was strange, and a bad image flashed through her mind: two men and one woman.
She shook her head. The boss was a pervert, but not an animal.

"We haven't discussed it yet, so how would we know? But there's one condition: Zhou Xun's agent must be you." This was Liu Jing's bottom line.

"Thank you, boss." Bai Bing was satisfied.

"This matter depends on Chen Kun's attitude. Zhou Xun has no idea what to do; Chen Kun is the one who makes the decisions. His contract with Rong Xinda expires next July or August, around the same time as Zhou Xun's. There's no rush; as we negotiate, a year will pass." Liu Jing's expression was subtle; the more anxious Xiao Wang was, the less anxious he became.

"Okay, boss, you can arrange it."

"What Mr. Wang said is right. Wu Gang won Best Actor, which is also a publicity point. Tell the team later and come up with a plan as soon as possible." Liu Jing instructed, "Zhou Xun is a matter for later; box office revenue is the most tangible thing."

"Hmm! Boss, the Golden Rooster Awards are nothing special. 'Painted Skin' grossed over 400 million yuan, and your acting skills far surpassed theirs, yet you didn't even get a nomination." After listening to Xiao Wang's analysis, Bai Bing suddenly felt that the major awards had lost some of their luster. Wu Gang, a character with a poker face, could win Best Actor; she felt indignant for her boss.

"You can't say that. The judges have it tough too. They have to balance the awards while also considering the audience's opinions. It's not easy for them," Liu Jing remarked.

Bai Bing and Zeng Li both glanced sideways. Damn it, you weren't saying this before Liu Yifei won the Best Actress award. You think one Best Actress award bought you off? That's so superficial.

A few minutes later, applause erupted throughout the hall, but Feng Xiaogang was not as happy as everyone had imagined.

Of the major awards, "Assembly" only won Best Director, which was far from his expectations.

The assistant wasn't too happy either; in her opinion, all the big prizes should go to her boss.

"As expected, Feng Xiaogang won Best Director. Next up, 'Under the City Wall' and 'Mei Lanfang' will win Best Film. There's no suspense at all. I won't come again next time."

You'll definitely come again next time; the film and television festival is always bustling with excitement, and you're always there to join in.

"The winners of the 27th China Golden Rooster Awards for Best Feature Film are 'Under the City Wall' and 'Mei Lanfang'." Tang Guoqiang announced the winners, and his assistant's guess was absolutely correct.

"Under the Walls" won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, and regardless of the judging criteria, it's bound to win Best Feature Film.

Double yolk eggs are common, so it's not hard to guess who gets the other one.

"Assembly" won Best Director, while "Forever Enthralled" only won Best Supporting Actor. They should at least give each other a more important award.

Congratulations! You have won "Yu Xi's Lament". Please choose a suitable time to claim it.

Liu Jing used his chance to win a prize before even stepping onto the stage.

The style of today's raffle was off; there were two ancient-style songs.

He plans to hand it all over to the scriptwriting department, and tell them to write the scripts based on the songs.

Coming to the Golden Rooster Awards and getting two chances to win prizes is definitely worth it!

But what do professional songwriters think of these songs?

Even though I'm no longer in the music scene, my legend will always live on!

I have another student, and I want her to leave behind a legend in the future.

"Thank you to the judges. It's an honor to stand here for the second time today, giving me the opportunity to represent myself. Thank you to all the members of the crew; without your hard work, there would be no trophy..."

After the Best Feature Film award ceremony, the festival flag was handed over, and the next Golden Rooster Awards will be held in Hefei in 2011.

"Boss, this year's Golden Rooster Awards were too hasty; they didn't even arrange a banquet. It's not as good as this year's Hong Kong Film Awards, which had a celebration banquet afterward."

Amidst scattered applause, the guests exchanged pleasantries and then left one by one.

Bai Bing greeted a few familiar faces, stopped trying to make her presence known, and quickly left with the boss.

Two days ago, after Xiao Dao and Bing met, the three of them lay in bed chatting, and Xiao Dao mentioned that he had eaten all the way during the roadshow.

The assistant was so jealous that she begged her boss to take her on a night tour of Nanchang.

"There's nothing we can do, the Golden Rooster Awards are broke." For the sake of the two trophies, Liu Jing didn't mind these flaws.

"Boss, you're such a mercenary person," the assistant said disdainfully.

"At least one thing is certain: Nanjing didn't even get a single nomination. For that alone, I give it a thumbs up."

"Yeah, the Golden Horse Awards actually nominated 'Nanjing,' they really have a problem with their stance..."

The shouts from behind interrupted the conversation between the assistant and the boss.

"Liu Jing, please wait..."

Bai Bing turned her head and frowned instantly. "This woman called you first, it can't be anything good. Does she want to get roasted?"

(End of this chapter)