The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 174 Winning an Oscar! A historic eye contact with Christopher Nolan.

……

On February 27, 2011, the 83rd Academy Awards were held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

It's only a 10-minute walk from the building where YT Pictures is located.

The team behind "Real Steel" has once again received multiple nominations, causing a sensation in the domestic media.

Best Film: Zhao Shanshan

Best Director: Lu Zhiyuan

Best Actor: Harrison Ford
Best Adapted Screenplay: Xin Yukun

Best Art Direction: Lu Zhiyuan

Best visual effect: Lu Zhiyuan

……

"Brothers, place your bets! Six nominations, one more than last year. How many awards will we win? Place your bets, place your bets!"

"Last year I received five nominations and went home empty-handed. I reckon it'll be similar this year. I'm betting on getting nothing!"

"Impossible! I think we're definitely going to win an award this year. Best visual effects? Our Yuan-ge is the undisputed winner!"

"I also think it's impossible to have nothing at all. At the very least, when it comes to art direction, no one has more artistic flair than our Brother Yuan!"

"There are artsy interpretations of 'Real Steel' online, like 'Oedipus the Great,' 'robots representing divine power,' and 'Alita the AI ​​battle angel, a Jesus Christ of the new world.' I recommend everyone check them out. I'm really dumbfounded. Is this really the same 'Real Steel' movie I watched?"

Fortunately, Lu Zhiyuan never messed up the plot; he simply imprinted his artistic flair onto the screen.

It's okay if the average viewer doesn't understand it.

Just enjoy the pure audiovisual feast, watch the robots' hand-to-hand combat, and admire the beautiful and charming appearance of Hanikezi and Reba.

I felt it was worth the ticket price.

As for those deeper artistic concepts, those are for industry insiders.

This can be considered Lu Zhiyuan's artistic guidance to people in the industry.

How are commercial films made? Previously, there was no standard paradigm in China.

The commercial filmmaking methods used by Hong Kong and Taiwanese directors have clearly been proven by the market to be outdated.

Now, renowned director Lu Zhiyuan has demonstrated his successful creative philosophy for commercial films through various exquisite visuals and metaphors.

It combines the glamour and excitement of commercial films with the profound philosophical metaphors of art films, weaving together light and shadow to create a super movie.

"Hey, when will Pacific Rim finally be filmed?"

"The casting controversy has caused quite a stir. I heard that many people tried to pull strings and get a role from Brother Yuan. I heard that only Liu Shishi succeeded!"

"Liu Shishi is different. She was the first generation of 'Road Girl'! She's our Brother Yuan's lucky star!"

"Brother Yuan is a truly considerate and loyal person. Even after becoming a great director, he still remembers to help his old friends out of the blue."

"The Tang people really ruined our Shishi."

"If I were Shishi, I would simply buy out my contract, join Yuankun Media, and open my own studio like Dilraba. That would be the only way to have a bright future."

Yuankun Media is now like a sacred place of martial arts.

Whoever gets into this company is guaranteed a superstar.

This company only has three related artists.

Reba.

Nazha.

Hanikezi.

Two of them are Hollywood stars!
Liu Shishi's fans all felt that if Tangren Media had any sense, they should have taken the initiative to terminate Liu Shishi's contract so as not to jeopardize her future.

……

Last year there were five nominations, this year there are six.

It must be said that there has been some progress.

But after looking at his competitors, Lu Zhiyuan knew very well that he definitely wouldn't win the grand prize.

Because, like the three major European awards, the Oscars pay more attention to art films and are willing to give low-budget art films some exposure.

Commercial blockbusters are already heavily promoted and have no shortage of exposure.

For a blockbuster to win a major award, it needs to be of exceptionally high artistic merit.

But obviously, this is impossible.

To achieve a balance between commercial appeal and artistic merit, a biographical film is the most likely option, offering an epic feel while also attracting a large audience.

For example, Christopher Nolan made Oppenheimer in order to win an Oscar.

But for Lu Zhiyuan, this is a black hole theme.

How could he possibly make a film about foreign historical figures? If he made a film about domestic figures, it might not pass censorship, and it wouldn't resonate with foreign audiences.

It's even less likely that the Oscars will give him an award.

Therefore, he had long understood the significance of awards like the Oscars.

The point is to participate; don't expect anything in return.

Unless he releases "Parasite," he might have a chance to compete for awards.

But it is not necessary.

Films of this kind are prone to controversy.

Secondly, winning awards depends entirely on public relations skills and the judges' tastes. Even with all the preparations, there's always a chance of things going wrong.

The effort and the reward were completely disproportionate.

Even if we take a step back and assume that Lu Zhiyuan has never won an Oscar, who would dare to deny that he is a top-notch director?
Of course, most importantly, he has already risen to the status of a top commercial director and no longer needs to be concerned about others' opinions.

He wouldn't bend down for a mere little golden statuette.

He prefers to win through fair and square box office results.

This is the right way!
After all, the evaluation criteria are very simple.

Because even a fool knows that $10 billion is definitely more than $9 million.

……

Los Angeles.

Inside a luxurious office at YT Films.

Although Lu Zhiyuan didn't come often, James decorated his office to be extremely luxurious in order to curry favor with the famous director.

They even set up a small bedroom inside.

If Lu Zhiyuan needs anything, he can call the agency at any time, and 100 beautiful female celebrities will be waiting in line for him to choose from.

"Boss, should we do some public relations?"

Tomorrow is the lottery draw and the red carpet event, and James specifically asked Lu Zhiyuan if he should do some public relations for him.

Maybe with a bit of luck, I'll win one of the big prizes?
"I want Best Director. Can you do some PR for me? I can give you a budget of $5000 million. Can you get it done for me?"

Lu Zhiyuan turned his head and glanced at James.

"Hehe. Boss, I was just joking. With your abilities, you don't need any public relations. You are the best director in my eyes!"

James chuckled awkwardly, not daring to answer the question.

How could an Oscar for Best Director be won with a commercial blockbuster like "Real Steel"?

James is well-informed and already knows that the Best Director and Best Picture awards this year will go to "The King's Speech".

This is a genuine art film; "Real Steel" simply cannot compete with it.

He said he wanted to help Lu Zhiyuan with public relations, referring to the best art direction or the best visual effects.

Unfortunately, for Lu Zhiyuan, this small prize was meaningless.

We can't let him unleash any extraordinary talent.

As for his status in the industry, he has already reached the pinnacle of commercial film directors.

In terms of star power, he is one of the strongest among the new generation.

He's only slightly less skilled than Christopher Nolan, who directed "Inception".

However, he is one of the owners of YT Pictures, and from a capital perspective, his status is much higher than Nolan's.

After all, YT Pictures is now directly competing with Legendary Pictures, and its valuation has reached $15 billion!
This is all because Lu Zhiyuan's "Upgrade," "Real Steel," and "Pacific Rim" series have created a robot universe that has brought tremendous confidence to the capital market.

After two months in theaters, Real Steel's box office finally stopped at $9.5 million, just short of breaking $10 billion!
However, even though it didn't break the $10 billion mark, it was still the third highest-grossing film worldwide in 2010.

Moreover, Lu Zhiyuan and his entire team made a fortune!
The production cost of "Real Steel" was $5000 million, and the marketing and advertising investment during the film's release period was approximately $1 million.

In total, the cost is $1.5 million.

With a worldwide box office of $9.5 million, and assuming a 40% return rate, that's at least $4 million.

Because Real Steel has a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, even surpassing its predecessor Upgrade.

The film boasts stunning visual effects, but it also fully captures the core themes of family and kinship. It even incorporates elements of internet social interaction and friendships with online friends, even if the person on the other end is a virtual character.

For young people living in the internet age, Lu Zhiyuan's cinematic narrative feels very relatable.

Therefore, DVD pre-orders are estimated to exceed 1000 million units, at around $20 per unit, which translates to sales of approximately $2 million.

The studios receive about 70% of the DVD licensing fees, which amounts to $1.4 million.

In addition, streaming media and television rights will bring them $1 million in revenue over the next 10 years.

In addition, Ubisoft's "Real Steel" console game is scheduled for release this summer.

Many of the special effects don't require us to develop them ourselves.

By simply remodeling the special effects shots from Lu Zhiyuan's movies and adapting them to the game engine, a significant amount of development time can be saved.

Ubisoft has predicted that the console game Real Steel could very well rival Transformers: War for Cybertron.

This game was released in early 2010 and sold 100 million copies in its first month. According to normal estimates, it could sell around 300 million copies throughout its entire lifespan.

Each game costs approximately $60.

In other words, the game's revenue is approximately $1.8 million.

"Real Steel" will likely achieve sales of around $1.8 million, and with the revenue from revenue sharing and previous copyright fees, the profit will be close to $2000 million.

In addition, various dolls and figurines also sold tens of millions of US dollars in the two months since the movie's release.

All things considered, Real Steel's profits should exceed $5 million.

YT Pictures will receive 40% of the total profits, which is $2 million.

Lu Zhiyuan himself owns 20% of YT Pictures and can receive 4000 million US dollars.

In addition, as the director, Lu Zhiyuan also receives 10% of the film's profits, which amounts to another 5000 million US dollars.

All the bits and pieces added together, the movie "Real Steel" earned him nearly 100 million US dollars.

Last but not least, there's one huge expense we haven't included.

The tech company founded by YT Pictures, Apple, and tech genius Palmer specializes in creating "real-view" VR gaming headsets.

Its valuation in the capital market has soared to $2 million.

If nothing unexpected happens, Facebook should acquire this company in a few years, and the final offer will not be less than $20 billion in another time and space.

YT Pictures owns 35% of this company.

The movie "Real Steel" has brought YT Pictures nearly $3 million in profit so far, with an estimated future profit of nearly $7 million.

All together, it's a whopping $10 billion!
Converted to RMB, that's equivalent to 70 billion!
Many people may not have a good grasp of what a profit of 70 billion yuan means.

Do the math.

Wanda Real Estate's total profit in 2010 was only 100 billion RMB.

Even if we only consider Lu Zhiyuan's current earnings, they are close to $1 million.

If Lu Zhiyuan's personal trademark could be listed on the A-share market, based on the A-share cultural industry's price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 30, his personal cultural value would be worth 30 billion US dollars, or 200 billion RMB!

If we follow Huayi Brothers' valuation system, with 1 billion in revenue and 10 million in profit, the market value would be as high as 120 billion.

Therefore, if Lu Zhiyuan himself were placed in the capital market, his value would be as high as 100 billion US dollars or 700 billion RMB!

That's equivalent to six Huayi Brothers!
……

At the Oscars ceremony.

As expected.

"The King's Speech" won all the major awards, just like "The Hurt Locker" last year.

How could Lu Zhiyuan possibly make a movie with this kind of taste?

However, he didn't come away empty-handed.

"Next up is the winner of Best Visual Effects... Congratulations, Real Steel!"

When the host announced the name "Real Steel," the entire audience cheered.

Especially on the Inception set, a chubby, blond, middle-aged man with a side-parted hairstyle turned around and glanced at us.

This is a typical British person.

His name is Christopher Nolan.

Inception won Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

It won two more awards than "Real Steel".

However, it lost to "Real Steel" at the box office.

"Thank you."

Lu Zhiyuan went up and gave a brief acceptance speech, which was so simple that it consisted of only two words.

What's so special about this kind of award?

Because the award wasn't given to him alone; there were several other technicians who didn't come to the event to receive their awards.

In terms of visual effects, Lu Zhiyuan was mainly responsible for the live-action shooting, while the main person in charge of the special effects shots was the technical guru, Schwarzschild.

However, Schwarzschild himself was completely indifferent to the award.

After returning to Los Angeles, James arranged for him to meet several beautiful girls in the San Gabriel Valley. He had a blast and is probably lying in a hotel somewhere right now.

However, on his way back with the trophy, Lu Zhiyuan passed by the film crew of "Inception" and made eye contact with Christopher Nolan.

It was just a very ordinary eye contact.

Lu Zhiyuan himself didn't seem to feel anything.

Christopher Nolan was probably the same. Simply put, there was some curiosity about each other.

However, after the awards ceremony, although "The King's Speech" won many awards, it did not cause any sensation at all.

The front page headlines of countless newspapers featured a single eye contact between Lu Zhiyuan and Christopher Nolan.

— [A mutual appreciation between geniuses!]

—【A time magician versus a failed artist: a fateful duel!】

— [Analyzing the commercial success of "Real Steel" and "Inception" from three perspectives.]

—【The master of virtual boundaries meets the master of robots; this round ends in a draw!】

Inception won several more awards.

"Real Steel" earned a little more at the box office.

But there is no essential difference in terms of box office revenue and awards.

We're all on the same level.

……

Hengdian.

The crew of "Scarlet Heart"

"Shishi, what are you looking at? You look like you're head over heels in love."

In this TV series, Liu Xinyou plays Ma'ertai Ruolan, who is Liu Shishi's older sister in the show.

The two of them have a very good relationship.

When we're on set, we're together all the time.

"No. I was just reading entertainment news."

Liu Shishi put her phone away.

Christopher Nolan and Lu Zhiyuan have become a legendary couple!

Both of them enjoy making high-concept films, conquering the public with ultimate audiovisual effects while also incorporating very fresh science fiction concepts into their movies.

In terms of creative concepts, the two are exactly the same.

Liu Shishi watched with great interest.

After all, Lu Zhiyuan, who has achieved such great success, used to squat with her on the edge of the field to paint, and even painted a portrait of her.

However, the three major awards—Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor—were all awarded to the director of "The King's Speech"!

Who directed this movie?
Tom Hooper?

Liu Shishi felt that she was ignorant and had never heard of this director before.

As for "The King's Speech," she hadn't seen the movie either.

Who could possibly defeat Lu Zhiyuan?

Out of curiosity, Liu Shishi turned to Liu Xinyou and asked, "Sister Xinyou, do you know Tom Hooper?"

Liu Xinyou studied at a university in Canada and knows more about the arts and culture scene in Europe and America than Liu Shishi does.

She nodded: "I've heard of him. He's a niche director who makes miniseries. 'The King's Speech' just won three Oscars!"

"Yes, that's him!"

Liu Shishi suddenly got angry: "I'm going to draw a little circle to curse him. Who told him to steal my best friend's golden statuette!"

"Are you sure they're good friends?"

Liu Xinyou smiled at Liu Shishi and gently nudged her shoulder: "The great director is incredibly talented and walks the Oscars red carpet every year. Don't you adore him?"

Does this need to be said?
Who does not like?

I clearly had a chance too!

Poor me, I'm working like a beast of burden every day to earn money, while Miss Jing Tian is leisurely going to the Xi'an city wall to intercept me last summer.

I'm furious!

However, I know that he definitely has feelings for me.

Otherwise, why would you give me such a good script?
"Shishi, the director asked me to ask you if you've been preoccupied lately. You seem distracted all the time."

Liu Xinyou glanced at her phone; there was a text message from the director.

Let her communicate properly with Liu Shishi.

Liu Shishi was originally the little princess of Tangren Media, the biological daughter of Boss Cai.

The director dared not say anything harsh to Liu Shishi.

Not to mention, Liu Shishi also landed an important role in the Hollywood blockbuster "Pacific Rim" with renowned director Lu Zhiyuan.

With Lu Zhiyuan's talent, he will definitely be able to portray the character of Liu Shishi beautifully.

Before long, Liu Shishi will take off, becoming the top actress among the post-85 generation and directly becoming the company's cash cow.

Looking at the entire entertainment industry, especially among female celebrities, her status is probably only slightly lower than Dilraba's.

“Sister Xinyou, I know I’ve been behaving strangely lately. But I can’t help it… The director wants me to play a lovestruck character, but that’s completely at odds with my own intelligence.”

Liu Shishi now feels that she is a super academic genius.

Ever since she received the script from Lu Zhiyuan, in order to play the role of a scientist well, she would hypnotize herself every day, telling herself that she was a super scientist.

He himself discovered the secret of the monster invasion of Earth.

It was also through its own intelligence that it outsmarted the super AI robot once, restoring the dignity of intelligent beings to humanity!
From any perspective, my IQ should be over 200!

Even if someone with an IQ of 200 or higher traveled back to ancient times, they wouldn't become someone obsessed with romance... They would definitely be a master strategist, crushing the intelligence of all the ancients on the floor and trampling it underfoot.

Then, single-handedly, he developed modernization and increased productivity in ancient times, landing on the moon 200 years earlier.

To achieve the great feat of having all nations pay tribute!
This is exactly what Liu Shishi believes a smart person like herself would do.

The script for "Scarlet Heart" is terrible.

It doesn't feel real at all.

"Shishi, what are you saying? Are you sick?"

Liu Xinyou stared wide-eyed at Liu Shishi, wondering if she had gone mad.
Who infected me?
Liu Shishi turned her head, a dazzling light flashing in her bewildered eyes, and asked with a smile, "Sister Xinyou, do you know why a crow looks like a writing desk?"

Liu Xinyou saw Liu Shishi instantly transform; she had just been trying to be a top student, but now she was completely love-struck.

She was somewhat speechless, and sighed, saying, "The director asked you to play a love-struck character, and aren't you feeling it now?"

"Shishi, even if you have any issues with the director, don't show them at work. Everyone else is watching. If word gets around and people say you're acting like a diva on set, it will really damage your reputation."

What do you mean by "love-obsessed"?

Liu Shishi was speechless. She gently nudged Liu Xinyou: "Sister Xinyou, answer me. Why does a crow look like a writing desk?"

"Okay, okay, I'm scared of you."

Liu Xinyou felt that Liu Shishi was a bit mentally unstable.

Faced with this situation, she echoed Liu Shishi's tone and said, "Because there's no reason why I like you!"

Liu Xinyou has also seen the movie "Alice in Wonderland".

Of course she had heard of this popular internet meme.

"That's right. I like you for no reason!"

Liu Shishi laughed and mysteriously took out a script, showing Liu Xinyou a corner of it: "This is the name of my character in 'Pacific Rim'."

Liu Xinyou, however, kept her distance and hurriedly shook her head: "You should have signed a confidentiality agreement. Is it appropriate for me to see the script?"

"fine."

Liu Shishi pulled Liu Xinyou over and sat her in a corner so that no one else could see her: "It's just this one page. Not many words. It won't reveal any secrets."

"Okay, I'll take a look. Just one look."

Lu Zhiyuan revealed a significant portion of the plot outline for *Pacific Rim* at the celebration banquet. However, this was only the plot outline and artistic conception; others couldn't simply copy it.

Just like the movie "Transformers," all the plot points are found in the animated film.

Who can film this without Hasbro's authorization?
The same applies to Pacific Rim.

All copyrights are held by YT Pictures.

If the other party manages to film the movie before Lu Zhiyuan, YT Pictures will probably have to thank them for contributing to the company's profits for free.

But this script is more valuable.

This is original work by a renowned director, and it's very valuable for reference.

"Riven. Is that your character's name in the movie?"

There is nothing to say about this.

It's just an ordinary name, but it might be some kind of metaphor from a great director.

Liu Xinyou kept it in mind and continued reading.

"Your character is a scientist who discovers a truth that even a super AI couldn't find, and finds out the true purpose of those apostle monsters as they keep approaching Antarctica?"

Upon seeing this, Liu Xinyou suddenly recalled the story in the post-credits scene of "Real Steel".

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Liu Shishi excitedly: "Your character is amazing! Her intelligence is off the charts! She defeated the super AI Alita, and that mysterious Ms. T?"

"real or fake?"

With just this premise, Liu Xinyou could imagine that the character Liu Shishi would be exceptionally outstanding.

In Lu Zhiyuan's movies, the super AI cybernetic humans are the true protagonists.

Whether it's Dilraba or not.

Jing Tian is still a good choice.

They've all been controlled by AI chips; it's like an upgraded version of humanity.

But now, Lu Zhiyuan has created a human scientist for Liu Shishi, who ultimately defeats these two AI superhumans in terms of intelligence.

How can this be?

so amazing!

With just this one setting, the character of Liu Shishi suddenly became more three-dimensional.

"The script is right here. Are you serious?"

Seeing the look of envy and jealousy in Liu Xinyou's eyes, and her shocked expression, Liu Shishi felt incredibly happy.

Lu Zhiyuan is really good to me.

Although he only got a supporting role, this simple role will definitely leave a deep impression on the audience after the movie is released.

The character of Liu Shishi was created by building upon the work of the super AI cybernetic human Alita, surpassing even the super genius with an IQ of 250!

Liu Xinyou continued watching.

Page 1 contains no main plot content and no specific dialogue.

It was just a brief introduction of Liu Shishi.

——【Riven. Raven.】

—[In Norse mythology, ravens are Odin's eyes and ears, traversing the realms of life and death. In the film *Pacific Rim*, you will embody both the roles of "Observer" and "human sage."]

—[Please remember your identity and tell the world a truth: AI may be powerful, but human wisdom should never be underestimated.]

"Ah, this..."

Liu Xinyou was just wondering why Liu Shishi had suddenly become so crazy, asking the crow why it liked the writing desk.

Now she understands.

It turns out that Lu Zhiyuan created a raven-like character for her.

An observer of the truth.

They discovered the secret behind the monster invasion of Earth.

"So, what exactly is this secret? Shishi, give me a spoiler."

Liu Shishi must have read the complete script; now she's deliberately showing off the character introductions on page 1.

Liu Xinyou was incredibly curious.

"Sister Xinyou, I signed a confidentiality agreement. I definitely can't let you know the ending of the story. I can only tell you that I'm super handsome in this!"

I absolutely adore Lu Zhiyuan!
How can he be so artistically talented?
Liu Shishi hid the script so that no one else would know.

She recently abandoned her role in the drama "Scarlet Heart" so that she could focus all her energy on the movie "Pacific Rim".

The director knew very well what she had been doing lately.

However, they dared not say anything.

Ultimately, "Scarlet Heart" is just a period drama series designed to make money, and it has nothing to do with art.

Liu Shishi, having won the Palme d'Or for Best Actress, already surpasses the limits that the ancient costume drama "Scarlet Heart" can accommodate.

But no way.

Tangren Media has limited resources, so they can't get her many good movie roles.

Now that Lu Zhiyuan has achieved success, he remembers his former good friend Liu Shishi and wants to help her out.

Liu Shishi must have been studying this role that Lu Zhiyuan gave her, working day and night without rest.

……

"Director, I can't handle it."

Liu Xinyou returned to the director and apologized, saying that she couldn't handle Liu Shishi.

Moreover, after reading just the first page of the script, she was completely captivated by it.

I really want to know how it ends.

It's estimated that in the past two days, not only will Liu Shishi be distracted, but her overall condition will also be affected.

"Xinyou, well done."

To everyone's surprise, the director praised her a few times, leaving Liu Xinyou completely puzzled.

The director pointed towards Liu Shishi and said with a smile, "Look, isn't she just in a state of maximum love-struck madness right now?"

Liu Xinyou chuckled inwardly.

If someone wrote a character like this for me and even took me to film a Hollywood blockbuster, my love-struck mind would also become maxed out!

(End of this chapter)