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

Chapter 696 Setting Off Again (33)

Chen Sicheng had obviously also seen the Golden Rooster Award nominations…

Something naturally came to mind: "Aren't we going to give out a prize this time?"

"It's obvious!"

Shen Yan shrugged: "The nominations for Best Film and Best Director went to 'The Martian,' which clearly means they don't want to give me those two awards... I reckon Best Film will most likely go to 'Wolf Totem,' and Best Director will go to Tsui Hark!"

"What about Best Actor? You're the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor!"

"It's no use! The Best Actor award will definitely go to Zhang Hanyu!"

Chen Sicheng glanced at the nomination list…

That's pretty much what he analyzed!

I couldn't help but curse, "This is outrageous! The Venice Film Festival's prestige..."

Shen Yan chuckled: "Black Coal, Thin Ice didn't even get a nomination!"

"...There's a Best Editing nomination!"

"What about the Berlin Twins...?"

"Black Coal, Thin Ice" received no nominations, and "The Piano in a Factory" didn't get many either...

In comparison, Shen Yan at least got a nomination!
Nominations that were destined to win awards were deliberately ignored.

Otherwise, why wasn't "Burning" nominated for Best Picture and Best Director?

What? The judges of the Golden Rooster Awards actually dared to do this?

Haha, they managed to nominate Bao Beier for Best Actor in "When Larry Met Mary," beating Andy Lau and Wang Qianyuan in "Saving Mr. Wu," and then replace Bai Baihe's nomination from "Go Away Mr. Tumor" with "Monster Hunt"...

The purpose is self-evident!

Take down the strongest one...

Noticing Chen Sicheng's indignant expression, Shen Yan smiled and said, "It's already very good. At least they gave us a nomination. If they're ruthless enough, they might not give us a nomination at all, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Chen Sicheng sighed, "Alas, the mainland Chinese film market is already the second largest in the world, but it doesn't have the awards that match it..."

"From the year the Lumière brothers invented cinema, as a new thing, cinema experienced a period of rapid growth. Georges Méliès, Edwin Porter, and David Griffith all contributed to its development. However, in the mid-to-late 30s, cinema had reached a dead end in terms of narrative methods. Then... a great man appeared out of nowhere, Orson Welles saved cinema with Citizen Kane, allowing it to move from the classical to the modern."

"Non-linear narratives have been widely popular, extending the life of films for decades, and this is still the approach we're using today..."

At this point, Shen Yan sighed: "Things from decades ago are inevitably a bit outdated, which makes audiences lose interest. Over time, they degenerate into so-called cinematic universes that are either sequels, remakes, or just repackaged versions of the same thing..."

"With the impact of games and streaming media, how long can movies possibly last?"

Chen Sicheng shook his head: "...Let's not even talk about art forms, which are so far removed from reality. Less than 10% of domestic films tell a story clearly, with some ups and downs, some highlights, and make people laugh, cry, or empathize. This is my direct feeling after watching movies for more than ten years. There are just too many bad movies!"

Shen Yan laughed: "At least the worst hasn't happened yet!"

"The worst?"

"By buying box office numbers, hiring people to inflate ratings, and hiring a bunch of online trolls to hype it up, you can create a movie with great ratings and high box office returns, but just plain unseen..."

"Buying your own box office tickets?"

"If you have a movie theater, you can inflate box office figures yourself. It's not expensive anyway. It's just a matter of transferring money from one pocket to another. You only need to pay 8.3% tax... which means you can inflate box office figures by 830 million!"

Chen Sicheng was stunned: "...There can't be such a thing, can there?"

"...Guess how much 'Monster Hunt' grossed? How many cinemas does Edko Films have in mainland China?"

"How many?"

"Including Broadway, Paragon, Edko Films, and ACM Cinemas, there are about seventy cinemas. Assuming an average of six screens, that's 420 screens. With an average of 120 people per screen, and screenings every day without interruption, 12 shows a day, that could increase box office revenue by 21.8 million... Sure enough, he wouldn't do it that obviously, so even if he reduced it by 80%, it's still 423 million!"

Chen Sicheng was surprised and followed up, saying, "423 million is enough to get other cinemas to schedule screenings!"

"Yes...the film market is booming right now; as long as there are screenings, there will be audiences..."

"...But one day, the audience's aesthetic sense will mature..."

“That’s right,” Shen Yan nodded, “They’ll think domestic films are boring. No matter how much you hype them up, they won’t buy a ticket!” Chen Sicheng swallowed hard: “Really…”

"Therefore, we need to maintain our reputation and build a loyal fan base!"

“…I understand!”

"Is Baoqiang's leg better?"

"That's about it,"

"If 'Detective Chinatown' is to be made into a series, it can't do without him... Why don't you ask him to turn his salary into investment..."

Chen Sicheng nodded: "Okay, I'll try to persuade him!"

“Uh,” Shen Yan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then, as if remembering something, said, “Make him sign it himself, not his wife!”

"His wife? What happened?"

"Nothing's wrong, but something just feels off!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Sicheng gave Shen Yan a deep look…

……

People in the entertainment industry are very superstitious!

In industries where effort and results are not closely related, metaphysics becomes very popular.

Shen Yan has had a very smooth career since his debut and has never failed!

Many people say he's raising a ghost, and some even speculate that he has a system...

Okay, the system is exaggerating a bit!
However, many people firmly believe that he must have something special...

Chen Sicheng had heard a little about it, which is why he gave Shen Yan a deep look…

Actually, the production schedule for "Detective Chinatown" is quite tight. Filming started on September 15th, and the film is scheduled for release during the Spring Festival next year, which is February 8th...

From production to release, it took less than five months.

Given the amount of information in "Detective Chinatown," a single directing team would need at least three months to film it...

So, we filmed in groups, and Rao Xiaozhi also filmed some scenes.

We guarantee a two-month shooting period, and we'll get this movie done!
That means the movie won't be finished until mid-November.

It's quite suitable. After completion, Shen Yan immediately went to North America for the two-month awards season!

As for "Operation Mekong," this film is scheduled for release on December 3rd, serving as the opening film of the Lunar New Year season…

It was originally planned to be released during the National Day holiday.

It's not quite suitable. On one hand, the filming schedule is too heavy, and Shen Yan doesn't have time for promotion; on the other hand, this year's National Day holiday film season is too crowded...

Okay, most importantly, "Never Say Die" is making its way into this year's National Day holiday film season!

This movie is specifically designed to take down "Lost in Hong Kong"...

"Lost in Hong Kong" will be released on September 25th, and "Never Say Die" will be released on September 24th!
Yes, *Never Say Die* isn't a classic, it's just average, but compared to *Lost in Hong Kong*, it's much better…

With three films to his name—"Goodbye Mr. Loser," "Duckweed," and "The Martian"—Shen Teng's status is now vastly different from what it used to be.

Oh, he played a supporting role in "Never Say Die"...

But so what? Essentially, it's still Happy Twist vs. Xu Zheng!

The last direct confrontation was between "Goodbye Mr. Loser" and "Breakup Buddies," with the former grossing 16.6 billion yuan and the latter 6.78 million yuan, a difference of nearly one billion yuan...

What will happen this time?

At the end of August, Shen Yan set off for Shuicheng again...

La La Land has been selected for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival.

(End of this chapter)