Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 535 Visiting the Set (33)

"12 Years a Slave" is directed by Steve McQueen and produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Plan B!

Plan B is Brad Pitt's company, which produced films such as *The Tree of Life* and *The Departed*.

They later co-produced "Selma", "Moonlight", and "The Big Short".

Received numerous Oscar nominations…

Brad Pitt really knows Oscar's taste!
It's "12 Years a Slave"!

The history of Black slavery is an unavoidable theme in American films—the debate between abolition and slavery, and the racial issues that arise from it, constitute almost half of American history.

The title "12 Years a Slave" alone won half of the Oscars!
Unless the movie is exceptionally bad—Spike Lee's movies are just awful—there's no reason why "BlacKkKlansman" wouldn't win a major award under the prevailing political correctness climate.

You should know that the plot of "BlacKkKlansman" is about the KKK—the KKK is a notorious white supremacist organization in American history.

A Black director made a film about the KKK, and this Black director was also a leading figure in the American Black Civil Rights Movement.

Even a passable piece of work is guaranteed to win a major award…

Unfortunately, "BlacKkKlansman" doesn't even pass muster!

Good heavens, this is absolutely terrible.

And yet, they still gave out a bunch of nominations…

Returning to *Dallas Buyers Club*, this film performed well during the North American awards season, winning and receiving a total of 57 awards and nominations at various award ceremonies, including the Golden Globe Awards, the Rome Film Festival, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Writers Guild of America Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Most of them were acting awards!
The Oscars are union awards… voted on by all members of the Motion Picture Union!
If someone wins an acting award voted by the Screen Actors Guild, it's almost a sure thing they'll win an Oscar...

Of course, there are exceptions. Demi Moore won three bellwether awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, before losing to Mickey Madison…

The four major indicators: Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globe Awards, British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), and Critics' Choice Awards…

Returning to Ji Xiang, Shen Yan asked with some curiosity, "Why do you follow Dallas Buyers Club?"

"I'm hoping to win an Oscar!"

Shen Yan couldn't help but retort, "...Let's not even talk about whether we can get it...Even if we do, so what? It's an American movie, what does it have to do with us?"

"Don't you have an Oscar obsession?"

Shen Yan shrugged: "No..."

"Then you should invest in this movie!"

"...Make money, and incidentally, build a reputation..." After a pause, Shen Yan explained, "If a movie wins an Oscar, its DVD rights and streaming rights will be worth a different amount... This movie can earn at least twenty million US dollars!"

"To build a reputation?"

"Building a reputation is for making more money..."

"You never thought about winning an Oscar?"

Shen Yan nodded: "I've thought about it... and I think my chances of winning an Oscar are higher than a Golden Rooster Award!"

“Pfft…cough cough…”

Upon hearing this, Ji Xiang nearly spat out his food and couldn't help but say, "Don't joke around. If you're willing, I can arrange for you to study at the Beijing Film Academy anytime..."

"Study?" Shen Yan sneered. "What can the Beijing Film Academy teach me?"

"It...may not teach you much, but it will make it much easier for you to win awards in the future!"

Shen Yan shook his head: "If I give in, I will despise myself..."

"Then... never mind."

"...After you finish eating, is there anything else you need?"

"It's alright now..."

"It's alright, you can go back now. Don't keep me from my vacation!"

"Okay," Ji Xiang nodded, then remembered something: "Oh, right, there's something I turned down for you!" "What is it?"

"The Spring Festival Gala...they wanted to arrange for you to sing on the same stage as Lee Min-ho...but I refused!"

"…Thanks."

"No need to thank me... It's nothing, we're not some Tom, Dick, or Harry who can stage an accident for us!"

Oh, Li Min is preparing to develop her career in China. She's signed with Huayi Brothers, and Feng Xiaogang is directing this year's Spring Festival Gala…

Then you'll understand!

This year's Spring Festival Gala almost turned into Huayi Brothers' annual party...

But why would they invite Shen Yan and Lee Min Ho to sing together?

Huayi Brothers are truly shameless.

Ji Xiang completely ignored them, making it clear: 'Either you sing solo, or don't use us at all!'

……

For the next few days, Ji Xiang really didn't bother him...

Shen Yan changed his itinerary and prepared to go to Northeast China to experience the iron pot stewed goose and the Northeast bathhouse.

Then I received a call from Shishi.

She's filming in Beijing!

"The TV series 'One Servant, Two Masters' is being filmed in Beijing? Oh my god, isn't it in Shanghai?"

"...right in the Zhujiang Imperial View residential complex in Beijing..."

BJ Zhujiang Dijin residential area has been the filming location for many urban dramas, including "Struggle," "Marriage Defense," and "Men's Gang," meeting the needs of urban themes.

In this upscale residential area, Tang Hong, played by Yan Ni, lives in an apartment that is over 500 square meters...

She's definitely a rich woman!
"Why didn't you tell me... I would have come to visit the set!"

Shen Yan simply drove to the filming location of "One Servant, Two Masters"...

Like "Mr. Right" and "My Physical Education Teacher," "One Servant, Two Masters" is a male-oriented, middle-aged and elderly Mary Sue romance drama...

There's always a bunch of women who are either rich or beautiful... who shamelessly fall for the male lead!

I don't know what's so good about the male lead...

"One Servant, Two Masters" is alright, at least the male lead drives a luxury car. "To Be a Better Man"... he's a cook who looks like Sun Honglei, why do all the women love him?

But these kinds of dramas all have very good ratings...

This indicates accurate positioning!

However, "One Servant, Two Masters"...

Casting Zhang Jiayi as the male lead was definitely a poor choice, given the budget. To be honest, Zhang Jiayi is undoubtedly a good actor, but casting him in such a popular, charismatic role…

Isn't it too much of an overestimation of his good looks?

Moreover, the character is not well-developed. Yang Shu, played by Zhang Jiayi, seems honest and kind, but he lies back and forth between two women and makes up a bunch of high-sounding reasons for himself, such as feeling that he is not good enough for Tang Hong (Yan Ni), feeling that Gu Jingjing (Liu Shishi) is like his ex-wife, and not having had time to tell Gu Jingjing his true identity, etc.

That's complete bullshit!
However, the plot later on, things were mostly resolved—Gu Jingjing became friends with Yang Shu after learning his true identity, and then, through a series of coincidences, had multiple encounters with him, ultimately even playing a role in facilitating Tang Hong and Yang Shu's marriage…

Shen Yan couldn't possibly come empty-handed... After thinking it over, he specially ordered six whole roasted lambs and a truckload of watermelons, and then arrived at the "One Servant, Two Masters" film crew openly and legitimately...

Oh, the director of "One Servant, Two Masters" is Liu Jin, and he and Zhang Jiayi are definitely good friends—from "Cliff" to "One Servant, Two Masters" to "White Deer Plain" and then to "A Better Life," Zhang Jiayi is the male lead in almost all of Liu Jin's TV series.

Shen Yan arrived at the film set and was naturally welcomed...

Putting aside his popularity, the six whole roasted lambs alone show his sincerity, and there's even a truckload of watermelons!

(End of this chapter)