Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 471 Six times zero
Li Qiutang ultimately decided not to attend the Hong Kong Film Awards, despite "The Invisible Guest" being nominated for six awards.

Of course, the shortlisted representatives will still go.

Before the film crew went to Hong Kong, Huang Xiaoming made a special trip to see Li Qiutang.

Li Qiutang said to him, "This is your first time being nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards, so do your best."

Huang Xiaoming knew in his heart that there was a 99.99% chance that he wouldn't win the Best Actor award, but there was still a 0.01% chance. Besides, it would be good to go to the Hong Kong Film Awards to make some connections.

But his hesitant manner made Li Qiutang feel that he wanted to talk to her about more than just the Hong Kong Film Awards.

"Anything else?"

"It's nothing," Huang Xiaoming said meaningfully. "Some things don't need to be taken to heart; they'll all pass."

Li Qiutang laughed and said, "What did you say?"

"It's nothing," Huang Xiaoming said. "I'm a few years older than you. Some things can be endured and will pass if you just bear with them."

“I still don’t understand what you’re saying.” Li Qiutang then gave him the order to leave. “If you have nothing else to do, hurry up and prepare for your trip to Hong Kong tomorrow. You don’t need to worry about me.”

"Alright, I'm leaving then." Huang Xiaoming didn't say anything more.

However, on the night before their departure, the crew learned that Xi Meijuan's travel permit had not been issued and she would not be able to go.

This was a mistake made by Qiu Tian. Since the decision was made to send the male and female leads, Xi Meijuan should have been notified to apply for the travel permits earlier. Why check them only right before departure?

But what's done is done, and that's all we can do.

However, Xi Meijuan also understood that this award was unlikely to be given to her. She was already so old, and although she wanted to win an award, there was really no need for her to go to Hong Kong to make a name for herself. She valued mainland film awards more. Besides, going to Hong Kong was quite troublesome. If she could go, she would; if she couldn't, she wouldn't.

She was very satisfied with the critical and commercial success of "The Invisible Guest".

Therefore, among the cast members of "The Invisible Guest" who walked the red carpet at the Hong Kong Film Awards, only Huang Xiaoming was a familiar face to the audience.

This was his first nomination for the Hong Kong Film Awards. On the red carpet, he was asked a less-than-friendly question by the host: "You've played so many domineering CEOs before, but people always say you're greasy. In 'The Invisible Guest,' you played a CEO again. How did you overcome the greasy feeling?"

Huang Xiaoming genuinely didn't expect the host to ask such an unfriendly question, which was quite a direct challenge. However, he was still able to handle it and replied, "Whether it's greasy or not, as long as the audience likes it, I can act it."

The host then asked, "What are your special feelings about being nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards for the first time?" A standard question.

Huang Xiaoming replied with a standard response: "Being shortlisted is already a great honor, and I'm very excited."

The host then started stirring things up: "You've attended so many film awards, winning the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor and the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor. Now that you're at the Hong Kong Film Awards, which one do you prefer?"

Huang Xiaoming paused for two seconds, glanced at the host, his smile vanished, and thought to himself, "Has the other person lost their mind? It's just a red carpet event, I should just get through it and be done with it, why do they have to make such a fuss?"

So Huang Xiaoming, unusually sharp-tongued, replied to the host, "I really liked the Golden Rooster and Golden Horse awards. I would also like the Hong Kong Film Awards if they gave me one." The host, clearly not expecting Huang Xiaoming to be so blunt, quickly smiled and said, "Then I wish Brother Xiaoming good luck tonight, thank you."

Release them immediately.

Xiao Ming will certainly not achieve good results tonight, and neither will the "Invisible Guest" crew.

Best costume design went to "The Golden Era", best editing went to "The Crossing Part 1", best actor went to Liu Ching-wan, best actress went to Zhao Yanzi, best director went to Hsu An-hua, and best film went to Hsu An-hua's "The Golden Era".

The Invisible Guest received six nominations and received zero nominations.

Li Qiutang belatedly realized that it wasn't until she received the list of winners the next morning that she understood: "So that's why Xiao Ming knew he wouldn't win but still went all the way there. It turns out Zhao Yanzi went."

Few people in the entertainment industry know that Huang Xiaoming's true love was actually Zhao Yanzi.

Returning to the Hong Kong Film Awards, Li Qiutang didn't think she could win an award beforehand, but seeing what the Hong Kong Film Awards did, she still had something to say. The other awards were fine, but why was the Best Editing award given to "The Crossing"?
A film was so long that it had to be released in two parts. The first part was a box office and critical failure. How could it win the Best Editing Award?

Most importantly, the production company had previously stated that director Tsui Hark would personally edit the next installment, implicitly acknowledging that the previous film's editing had problems.

Even Zhang Ziyi, the film's lead actress, expressed on Weibo that it was unbelievable that "The Crossing" had won an award.

Like the Golden Rooster Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards are criticized every year.

"This year's Hong Kong Film Awards stage abandoned the elegant and sophisticated style of the Oscars, instead piling up a bunch of blindingly bright LED screens in the background. But even though the same images were repeatedly shown, the entire awards ceremony still made the audience drowsy—the reasons are simple: first, there were no good films, and second, there was no suspense. This is not only an embarrassment for the Hong Kong Film Awards, but also an embarrassment for Hong Kong cinema and Chinese-language cinema."

"The inclusion of 'The Invisible Guest' in this year's Hong Kong Film Awards list was initially thought to be a sign of the awards' openness and inclusivity, but 'The Golden Era' became the biggest winner, which shows that some judges still intend to stick to the Hong Kong flavor. However, the Hong Kong Film Awards, which favors the 'Hong Kong flavor,' doesn't have many purely Hong Kong films to uphold this year, and there will be fewer and fewer in the future."

"This year is the last year of Gordon Chan's term as chairman. His perseverance has not brought the Hong Kong Film Awards back to life. Next year, Derek Yee will take over as chairman. He is also a staunch advocate. What lies before Derek Yee is still a mystery."

"The Invisible Guest" received six nominations but none were accepted, making it arguably the most unfairly treated film last night. Many netizens took to Weibo to express their grievances for the film.

"If you can't afford to play, then don't play. Six attempts and zero wins, how can you even be so shameless?"

"Director Li was right not to go; it's better not to go for such a ridiculous award."

"Giving them six nominations was definitely an attempt to lure Director Lee into supporting them, but Director Lee didn't take the bait at all. When the Hong Kong Film Awards saw that Director Lee wasn't falling for it, they simply didn't give them any awards. It's a pity for Xiaoming, who went there all the way and wasted a whole day."

But Li Qiutang doesn't really care much about the Hong Kong Film Awards, though it's quite unfair that she was nominated six times and won none.

He's currently bragging at the Beijing Film Festival, sharing his company's experience in supporting young directors and outlining his future work plans.

"...There are many stories we want to film, but most of them are still in the creative stage. At present, the most important thing is the post-production work of 'Mojin: The Lost Legend'. ...I wish we hadn't set the release date in advance. It made our post-production time very tight, but there's no way around it. That storyline is fixed there, and you have to complete it."

"The script for 'The Butterfly Lovers' is not finished yet. I just had a meeting with our screenwriters a few days ago, and it will take a long time. It will definitely not be the same as the traditional Butterfly Lovers story, or it could be completely different."

(End of this chapter)