Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 691 Oscar? There's a pattern! Ma Xun unleashes a combo! Inception, charge!

If it were a purely domestic film, Ma Xun wouldn't have bothered with any Oscar-nominated plot.

He understands this all too well; it's a waste of time.

Ma Xun is a big boss who makes hundreds of thousands a minute, so his time is really precious and he can't afford to waste it.

However, Inception is different.

Ultimately, this movie is just a Hollywood blockbuster in disguise, and it was very successful at the box office and also very successful in terms of word-of-mouth.

However, before February, Ma Xun's plan to win an Oscar was only at the memo stage.

The memorandum, literally translated, means "don't forget," implying that Ma Xun didn't take it too seriously.

There's no way around it, there are many details involved that I have to mention.

In the original timeline, although Nolan has many fans in China, it can be said that he is the most popular international director among Chinese moviegoers since 2008.

However, Nolan is not actually that popular in Hollywood.

The most obvious example is the Oscars. Other aspects are actually not too bad, but just take a simple look at Nolan's Oscar record... it's simply appalling!

In short, Nolan had never won an Oscar before 2020!

So, what happened after 2020? ... In fact, those familiar with Hollywood should have noticed something: he made a movie called "Tenet," and who was the male lead in that movie?

Hehe, Denzel Washington's son!

Denzel Washington, despite being Black, wields immense influence in Hollywood, particularly in the awards, that is unparalleled.

Many bigwigs always say that America is not a society based on personal connections and does not require connections or background... Bullshit!
That's because you don't have access to the social dynamics and personal connections in America! They completely shut you out when it comes to that level of networking and personal relationships!
The truth is so cruel.

Even Nolan has to pull strings, and he has to pull strings with Black people, otherwise there's no way to get ahead.

Many movie fans say that his "Interstellar" was very well made, but when you look at the Oscars, it was a complete failure. The key point is that last year's "Gravity", which is also a science fiction film, won several major awards.

Those who say these awards are based on merit can really shut up.

Back to the present, Ma Xun's "Inception," although it brought in Martin Scorsese and Satoshi Kon, is indeed derived from Nolan's original "Inception."

Ma Xun vaguely remembers that this movie was indeed nominated for an Oscar and received many nominations, seemingly the most nominated movie.

However, in the end, he only won a few small prizes.

This was a real slap in the face. They won several small prizes, but nothing for the big prize. You can imagine how embarrassed Nolan must have felt at the time.

Following this logic, it seems that Ma Xun's "Inception" is also destined to fail to win any major awards.

That is indeed a possibility.

Moreover, due to the voting process issues of the American Oscars, Ma Xun didn't pay much attention to it at first.

The Oscar voting process is as follows.

At the beginning of each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sends voting letters to its members, who then vote and reply to the letters.

But this is only the first round.

The first round basically determines which films will be shortlisted.

In February or March, the association will send out voting notices again, and this time the vote will be the final result.

The deadline for voting, which is to mail this letter back, is around early March or early April.

This year, the final voting notice will be issued in early February and the deadline will be in early March.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approximately 5000 members, though the exact number is constantly changing. The majority are Americans, but there are also many globally renowned artists and celebrities, such as Zhang Yimou, who is also a member and can vote, though he usually abstains from voting.

In the United States... actually, many of them are people of color, mostly Black, because Black people are not only very good at acting in Hollywood, but also very good at Black music.

This is why Hollywood has become increasingly entrenched in its political climate in recent years, and why Denzel Washington has such a significant influence.

And our film "Inception" was indeed nominated for multiple Oscars after the first round of auditions.

However, at the Golden Globe Awards this January, Inception was basically just a runner-up.

There's no way around it, there are two truly impressive American movies this year.

Avatar, The Hurt Locker!
Skillful!

These two movies are indeed connected, though of course, it has nothing to do with the plot.

Avatar was directed by James Cameron, while The Hurt Locker was directed by Bigelow.

Bigelow is a woman, and also James Cameron's ex-wife.

As one of the world's most successful commercial directors, James Cameron has certainly been married quite a few times. Moreover, looking at his history of marriages and divorces, especially the ending of his divorces...

This guy was a top-notch manual laborer for the first half of his life!

Each of his ex-wives took a large sum of money, including that 'Sarah Connor'.

Fortunately, James Cameron is quite a money-maker, and he's also had some good luck. Titanic made him a legend, and Avatar is even more interesting.

It was another collaboration with 20th Century Fox, but this time 20th Century Fox seemed to have learned its lesson. Before the film's release, they still felt that the film was unlikely to make money, so they sold part of the distribution rights, this time to James.

As a result, this famous director became incredibly wealthy.

His current wife is also quite good; she has been living with him all this time.

If the situation were reversed, and James were still that truck driver, then given his marriage and divorce... he would most likely be a homeless person on the streets of Los Angeles right now.

Let's not dwell on that and get back to the present.

Our film "Inception" was basically a runner-up at the Golden Globe Awards in January this year.

Avatar and The Hurt Locker are indeed two very powerful films.

Especially "The Hurt Locker," which is practically a major American patriotic film in the US!

Ma Xun also knew, of course, that the male protagonist who defused various bombs in Iraq later became Hawkeye and joined the Avengers... cough cough, that's just a joke.

To be fair, Jeremy Lin is a pretty good actor, and he's also a very upright person.

But we can't keep being runners-up forever!

It's now confirmed that our "Inception" has been nominated for multiple Oscars, and this time, we can't afford to be a runner-up again.

Actually, this matter has something to do with Martin Scorsese.

“Mr. Ma, Director Satoshi Kon and I still agree that Inception is an absolutely fantastic film and deserves an award! Besides, we can't let that couple keep winning awards, can we?”

Clearly, director Martin Scorsese is very angry.

The loss at the Golden Globe Awards must have been a blow to this renowned director.

Although Avatar is indeed a very powerful film, and it was a huge success at the Golden Globes.

This film won both Best Picture and Best Director.

However, the film that followed closely behind was The Hurt Locker!
Martin Scorsese is, after all, a world-renowned director and a regular at the Golden Globes and Oscars, so he certainly has a lot of connections.

So he can get his hands on this internal data, and right now, The Hurt Locker is gaining momentum!
America's patriotic blockbuster is truly deserving of its reputation.

Ma Xun has completely grasped the mindset of director Martin Scorsese, so his method is...

"I'm sure director Martin must know a lot of people who have the right to vote."

First, they need to get a feel for Martin Scorsese.

Doesn't that mean you have to use your network of contacts?

Martin initially put on an act, saying, "We can't artificially influence the voting results."

Go ahead and talk nonsense!
This vote is actually the easiest to manipulate.

Ma Xun said directly, "That would be a difficult situation."

Martin immediately changed his tune, "Everyone has some good friends, right?" Okay, he has some votes, that makes things easier.

Ma Xun then reassured Martin, "I do have some methods, but they are quite expensive."

Translated: There is another way, but it's costly.

Martin was both relieved and anxious, saying, "This is your film after all. You can stand there and accept the award; the whole world can see it."

It's as obvious as day.

Ma Xun didn't say much more, "I'm not really interested in becoming famous."

Martin could only say, "If this movie wins a major award, it will definitely sell very well on DVD."

Actually, we're currently negotiating the copyright, and we've got the price figured out quite well.

Ma Xun bluntly said, "You want to win Best Director?"

Martin, the great director, smiled and said nothing more.

However, Ma Xun said, "It's difficult, but for other awards, we can go on stage together."

That means there's still a chance to win this big prize!

Director Ma was pleased, though he also had other interests at stake.

For example, his salary will be higher in the future, and he will also have more power. After all, Hollywood directors don't necessarily have editing rights. In addition, he also wants a share of the copyrights.

Ma Xun didn't say anything; he would give what he was entitled to and wouldn't give what he wasn't entitled to.

As for his method... it's actually not difficult at all.

Not long after, in the last few days of February 2010.

A giant billboard near Beverly Hills in Hollywood has been replaced with a still from the movie "Inception".

Meanwhile, several television stations in Los Angeles featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, and Satoshi Kon on talk shows.

Furthermore, on American online platforms, especially on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, the positive reviews for Inception have increased significantly.

Furthermore, discussions about "Inception" have increased on online communities such as Twitter.

This series of moves... are actually all about creating momentum!

But don't underestimate it, this was used in the later film "Parasite".

So, is that all?

of course not!
Ma Xun also visited a pair of brothers.

The Weinstein brothers!

"Hey! Mr. Ma, our old friend."

"Haha... my old friend, it's been a long time."

When Ma Xun met the Weinstein brothers, they were as close as brothers.

But in reality, they had a rather unpleasant falling out due to a conflict of interest, and hadn't had any contact for quite some time.

And this time...

"Mr. Ma, let me guess, is it about the movie 'Inception'?"

Harvey was very direct; he really wasn't going to waste any time.

Ma Xun laughed heartily, "Of course." He didn't intend to hide it.

It would be best if we could finish this quickly.

But Bob, who was standing nearby, said, "But it's already the end of February, and many people have already voted."

Ma Xun was even more blunt: "Who are you kidding? I bet there are still a lot of members who haven't sent their letters yet."

Yes, I know a thing or two about this, you two brothers don't think you can fool me.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Bob could only smile and remain silent.

Most people won't mail their votes back right away, so it's better to just give up.

Sending it back late makes it seem like I've at least given it a serious evaluation, right?

Harvey, the older brother, laughed. "Mr. Ma, let's be frank. We can help you, but the conditions are..."

Ma Xun interrupted abruptly, saying, "This film, Inception, is a Sino-US co-production, and this model is quite good; we can do it too."

Indeed, this condition brought smiles to the faces of the Weinstein brothers.

Let them discuss the details of this Sino-US co-production.

So, what kind of bait could possibly catch these two guys?

"As you know, Mr. Long's influence is enormous..."

Big Brother Dragon?
Ma Xun had barely started when these two couldn't resist joining in.

"Emei spirit!"

"That's fantastic! If it's Mr. Long, then that's wonderful!"

These two guys couldn't hold back; this is a clear sign they've taken the bait.

Ma Xun had actually been prepared for this; he was also trying to lure in a powerful figure like Long, and this project was...

"Several years ago, an auction attracted a lot of attention: the heads of the twelve zodiac animals..."

It's a bit difficult for Ma Xun to explain, but the project is quite obvious.

The Twelve Zodiac Animals!
The Weinstein brothers didn't think much of it and immediately agreed.

There's nothing wrong with this project!

This story has historical elements, real-life auction stories, and... well, there's a lot more.

The key is being able to find Big Brother Long.

This is great!
"Mr. Ma, please rest assured."

"We will definitely lobby more members."

These two were quite restrained in their words; they were practically saying outright that they would definitely vote for them.

Seeing how enthusiastic these two were, Ma Xun couldn't suppress the smirk on his face.

Finally got fooled!
"Chinese Zodiac" is a pretty good movie. The key point is that in this movie, you white people are just robbers!
……

March 7, in front of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

The red carpet was laid out, the cameras were ready, and there were countless reporters and countless flashes of light.

The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony has officially begun!
"Now, let's welcome the creative team behind Inception!"

The Oscars have on-site hosts, and they are quite professional.

Let's walk down the red carpet!
Ma Xun's performance was quite interesting.

He was wearing a bespoke suit, and he was tall and handsome, so I won't say more.

The key is the two beauties by his side.

Scarlett Johansson looked incredibly sexy in a white dress.

Yan Danchen wore a black dress, and her figure was just as stunning.

Ma Xun, standing to the left and right, wow! It's the envy of everyone!
(End of this chapter)