Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 206 Golden Globe Nomination, Instinct
In December, Beijing was already deep winter. The wind was biting cold, and when it whistled past, it often carried a few yellow leaves, stinging people's faces.

But at this moment, the heat of the film and television industry stands in stark contrast to the temperature.

At the end of November, "A Battle of Wits" and "The Knot" fired the first shot in the New Year's film season, with posters everywhere and slogans louder and louder, as if breaking 100 million yuan at the box office was already a sure thing.

However, in reality, the box office figures were lower than the previous one. The former only made around 5 million on its opening day, while the latter only made around 3 million. It didn't seem like they could break 100 million at all.

Zhang Weiping chuckled at this, clearly looking down on the previous films as mere rubbish, and then began to shout:
"Zhang Yimou is still the star of the Lunar New Year film season!"

"Curse of the Golden Flower should easily surpass 300 million yuan."

"."

Han Sanping's expression was not good.

Of the major films released during this year's Lunar New Year season, China Film Group only participated in and promoted one: the patriotic film "The Knot."

However, given the current situation, China Film Group is likely to stumble this year, and it may become the lowest-grossing Lunar New Year film during the season, a stark contrast to its resounding success last year.

The tens of millions of yuan spent on advertising will also go down the drain.

After "The Knot" reached 20 million in box office revenue, every step forward became extremely difficult.

How's the advertising going?

"Mr. Han, we've already made arrangements with CCTV. They'll be providing rolling coverage these days, but 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is only a few days away from its release."

Gao Chengsheng immediately responded.

Han Sanping felt a headache coming on. Needless to say, the focus was now definitely on "Curse of the Golden Flower".

"By the way, any news about Ning Hao lately?"

Han Sanping suddenly felt that the old-school directors were not very effective in commercial films. He found Yin Li to make this kind of mainstream commercial film, but as a result, let alone a return, it was a pipe dream to break even.

Fortunately, China Film Group is not just a company that only cares about making money.

"Director Ning is writing a script, and there has been no news for several months."

"Yeah, I'll call and ask when I have time."

On the evening of December 14th, "Curse of the Golden Flower" was released as scheduled.

On its opening night, the box office exceeded 1500 million!
The news caused an uproar across the entertainment news section:

[Zhang Yimou returns; "Curse of the Golden Flower" premieres with a whopping 1500 million yuan!]

[The King of Domestic Lunar New Year Films! "Curse of the Golden Flower" Sets New Year's Box Office Record in Half a Day!]

[Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li, the "Emperor and Empress" duo, are back on screen!]

【.】

Just as the entire mainland was swept up in the fervor of "Curse of the Golden Flower," the Golden Globe nominations were announced on December 14th, US West Coast time!

Some mainland media editors who had been camped out on the Golden Globe Awards website had been waiting for a long time.

"Come out?"

"Not yet. Is there really any hope for Wu Chen's 'Escape from Get Out'?"

"Wu Chen's 'Get Out' should be a sure thing, right?"

"They definitely have a chance. They've made predictions in North America many times. They're the frontrunners this year. I just don't know how many nominations they'll get."

Just as everyone was discussing, someone shouted:

"Refresh, it's out, it's out! Holy crap, the Golden Globe Awards have gone mad!"

A crowd instantly gathered around to watch as actors Jessica Beer, Rosario Dawson, and Matthew Perry, along with Philip Burke, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, announced the nominations at a press conference held at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.

The film "Babel," directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, garnered seven nominations.

However, below it is Wu Chen's "Get Out," which received a total of six nominations:
Best Picture in a Drama, Best Director, Best Actor in a Drama, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score.

"I am not wrong, right."

"Six nominations, second place."

"Look, are 'Curse of the Golden Flower' and 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' on the nomination list for Best Foreign Language Film?"

Because the Golden Globe Awards are not awarded to one country, both of Zhang Yimou's films were actually nominated for this year's Golden Globe Awards.

I checked, but it doesn't seem to be there.

"No need to pretend anymore, it's definitely not here."

"."

In an instant, half of the domestic entertainment pages that had been dominated by "Curse of the Golden Flower" were torn apart to make way for the Golden Globe nomination for "Get Out".

Wu Chen's "Get Out" sweeps the Golden Globe nominations with six awards, while "Curse of the Golden Flower" goes unnominated.

[With its focus on Asian directors and Black issues, can "Get Out" become the biggest winner at this year's Golden Globes?]

Following Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Li An, Wu Chen is now challenging for the Golden Globe Awards, marking another shining moment for Asian directors!

【.】

The domestic film and television industry was also in an uproar:

"Six nominations? Really?"

"Holy crap, that's outrageous, six nominations."

"Could Wu Chen actually win an Oscar?"

"."

Many directors in the industry couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, mainly because Wu Chen was too young to have already won an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

It's important to know that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's selection is the world's highest-level media film criticism award, and it's the most prestigious and influential of all the preliminary rounds, often referred to as "the first indicator of the Oscar's success."

The "spoils" distribution in the past two years has been even more Oscar-worthy than the Oscars themselves.

However, compared to the complicated feelings of those in the industry, netizens have a much simpler perspective.

"Damn, that's awesome!"

"What a pity, why is there still no news about its import? I want to see what kind of movie Wu Chen made."

"I feel like I have a chance. I'm sure I can win one or two out of six awards!"

"."

At this moment, many professors from the Beijing Film Academy's Department of Photography were grinning from ear to ear.

"Old Mu, I also taught Wu Chen for a semester, so theoretically I deserve some credit for it." "Get lost! That was a substitute teaching!"

"Haha, Old Mu, could you have trained such an outstanding disciple all by yourself? Unity is strength; this is a collective achievement."

"You bunch of shameless people," Mu Deyuan laughed, gesturing around the room. "If the nominations had been announced two weeks earlier, would that last meeting have even been necessary?"

"Makes sense!"

"."

Compared to the festive atmosphere in the photography department, the directing department felt a bit sour and uncomfortable.

I heard the photography department is having a dinner party tonight.

"Let's get together, we can get together if we want!"

"What are you all talking about? I heard Lu Xun's 'Nanjing! Nanjing!' is still stuck in production."

"Don't mention that thing. He's useless at everything. Aren't the other students in the department better than him?"

"."

At that time, in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

CNN, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter had already sent out notifications immediately.

[Wu Chen's social thriller "Get Out" has garnered six Golden Globe nominations, becoming one of the biggest favorites at this year's awards!]

[Get Out is poised to disrupt the awards season landscape!]

The Black community celebrated in a massive wave.

Large crowds gathered in front of screening rooms in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and other cities.

Wu Chen received a ton of congratulatory calls and messages on set, both from domestic and overseas sources.

James Wan called at just the right time, not only to congratulate him, but also to mention the horror film that Wu Chen had discussed with Lionsgate last time.

"Director Wu, it's a pleasure working with you!"

"It's a pleasure working together. I'll send you the script as soon as possible."

"For the issuance, which company should we approach, Universal or Lionsgate?"

"We'll discuss it later; we'll choose whichever has the lowest issuance fee."

James Wan listened with envy; this was the confidence of a great director. However, he was also curious about what kind of pure horror film Wu Chen wrote.

"Hopefully it's not a purely Eastern-style horror film, that won't be popular in North America."

Wen Ziren thought to himself that if that was the case, he would either have to personally intervene to make the changes, or he would have to politely decline.

At the same time, Chen Kaige looked at the report with a complicated expression and sighed softly.

At the Golden Globe Awards, besides him, Zhang Yimou was also just a little short of winning one, which is something he has always been proud of.

After all, his "Farewell My Concubine" not only won the Palme d'Or but also the Golden Globe in the United States, and it was only a fraction away from winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film that year.

Chen Hong was well aware of Chen Kaige's inner turmoil. After all, if Wu Chen won the award, Chen Kaige's only remaining special status in the industry would be the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Fortunately, the Palme d'Or is hard to win, and as long as it doesn't come from within China, Chen Kaige is the only one.

She knew she had to coax him at this point, so she said softly:

"Director Wu's film was shot in the United States, so it's definitely easier to get nominated and win awards compared to other domestic films. Otherwise, why has Director Zhang Yimou tried so many times without winning?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Kaige immediately felt relieved and nodded slightly.

"Haha, filming in the US definitely had some advantages, but you can't deny that the movie is actually pretty good."

When Chen Hong turned around, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

The industry discussion has been heated these past few days, but Wu Chen's life remains a monotonous routine, consisting of nothing but sleeping and filming, with no interviews conducted.

However, tonight was an exception. Taking advantage of finishing work early, he and Liu Yifei quietly went to a nearby movie theater.

The fact that "Curse of the Golden Flower" raked in 9600 million yuan at the box office in its opening week is truly terrifying, directly breaking the opening week box office record of 7500 million yuan set by Wu Chen's "Now You See Me".

"Is it pretty?" Liu Yifei asked, gently pinching Wu Chen's arm as he stared intently at the large, white figure on the screen, her lips pouting.

"It's alright, big and white!" Wu Chen replied with a smile.

"Still talking, still talking!"

Liu Yifei gently pinched it again.

"hiss"

Wu Chen wondered how this little hand could be so powerful without using any force.

"The plot isn't good," Liu Yifei said softly, leaning on Wu Chen's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's really just so-so, its reputation might collapse."

Just to the left front of the two, a couple, perhaps bored, gently brought their heads together and their lips touched.

A series of "tsk tsk tsk" sounds quietly arose.

Because it was a weekday, the movie theater wasn't very full, and that couple was the only ones left in that row, so they were naturally unconcerned.

Liu Yifei's face flushed slightly as she leaned on Wu Chen's shoulder, her round eyes consciously looking at him.

Wu Chen chuckled and said in a low voice, "How about we learn from them too?"

"You bad thing," Liu Yifei gently grasped Wu Chen's hand, the fine downy hairs trembling slightly, but she shook her head and murmured, "People will see us at the movie theater."

"Oh!" Wu Chen chuckled softly, then whispered in his ear, "Shall we go somewhere else?"

Wu Chen's warm breath made his already slightly red ears blush even more, radiating heat.

"Don't speak, close your eyes!"

Inside the car, two figures were entangled together, hidden in the darkness, with only occasional soft sounds.

"Pig's trotters!" Liu Yifei whispered, gently leaning against Wu Chen's chest, tilting her head back, and looking at Wu Chen with a wary expression.

Wu Chen looked at his restless right hand:

"It's not my fault, it was instinct."

"."

(End of this chapter)