Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 217 The Feud Begins, Nobody Will Have an Easy Time

In Huairou, early spring has not yet awakened, and the chill of winter is still strong.

The clouds hung low, and the filming location was shrouded in a light mist. In the distance, the pine and cypress trees were edged with silver by a thin layer of frost, as if draping the entire set in a silent veil of coldness.

Footsteps echoed outside the studio as production crew hurried back and forth, delivering tea and moving lighting equipment; everything proceeded smoothly and as usual.

Wu Chen stood behind the monitor, his gaze fixed on the bronze mirror in the set, which had been adjusted to the optimal angle.

However, remembering the bad news Jason Blum mentioned yesterday, and checking the time (it was already past 10 a.m.), there was still no news from Universal or Jason Blum.

However, at 11 a.m., Wu Chen's eyes widened slightly, because Jason Blum sent him a message asking him to check his email when he had time.

After finishing work at noon, Wu Chen finally had time to open his emails and check the news reports.

You wouldn't believe it when you looked, and what you found shocked you.

Several media screenshots appeared on the screen one by one.

As the most valuable nomination, the media war among the five Oscar Best Picture nominees has already begun.

[Little Miss Sunshine is too frivolous; it's just a packaged "independent film illusion"!] —The Washington Post

[Babel is a collage of social fragments, not a film, but a depiction of loss!] — Chicago Tribune

[The glorification of Iwo Jima is a whitewashing of the true suffering of war!] — The Guardian North America
[Infernal Affairs: A gangster fairy tale disguised in a sophisticated guise, beautifying the truth and profiting from exposing others' vulnerabilities!] — Los Angeles Times column commentary

[Get Out: Manipulating racial sentiments, attempting to gain sympathy through fear!] — New York Times commentary section
Wu Chen quickly browsed through several long articles and discovered that this media war was no longer limited to the quality of the film; even the actors' backgrounds, the director's style, and the production company behind them had become targets of attack.

Even some of the support for Get Out has been used against it, with some claiming that the film "harvests social issues through emotional blackmail" and is a "popular thriller political illusion."

Even more outrageous is that supporters of "Little Miss Sunshine" have even alluded to "Babel" as a "multilingual cultural exploitation project".

In an instant, people of different races, families and systems, war and class, magic and reality, all became stones thrown at each other.

The discussion surrounding the Oscars in North America has exploded, with daily comments increasing more than threefold.

"You saw it?" Jason Blum was clearly still awake; Wu Chen had just called when the call was answered.

Wu Chen chuckled and shook his head: "Just finished watching it. It was a very exciting media and public opinion battle!"

"The most exciting part is yet to come."

This is just the beginning of the media war. What follows will be a battle between the film's supporters and detractors, and that's when you'll see how North American fans clash – it'll be really interesting.”

Jason Blum smiled and said, "You may not know this, but the 'fan war' between Brokeback Mountain and Crash last year was still being mentioned by North American media this year."

"A shepherd running naked, white people's introspection soup, and a gay-themed ad campaign jointly run by Vanity Fair and The New Yorker"

Wu Chen was also experiencing the Oscars for the first time, and he listened intently as Jason Blum talked about the stories and gossip from before.

Just thinking back, it seems like I'm going through the same thing, and I'll have to join his story from now on.

At this time, some reports from foreign media criticizing the situation were also reprinted in China. Netizens on Tianya Movie Forum, Douban Group, and entertainment sections of major portals also started reading the gossip, and the comment sections were particularly lively.

"Holy crap, it's even better than last year's 'Brokeback Mountain'!"

"Wow, that's awesome! They've turned the Oscars into a political intrigue film."

"Babel has started to smear Get Out. I suspect that the production company behind it sent someone to release the article."

"They're all aggressive players, really going at it like they're fighting tooth and nail, which is quite different from the domestic arts and culture scene."

"."

The competition in North America was still raging, and Wu Chen was amazed by the emails that Universal and Jason Blum sent him from time to time, but his main focus remained on filming "Black Peony".

According to the plan, filming should have wrapped up before Lunar New Year's Eve on February 17th. The footage already shot has been sent to China Film Group's post-production base for editing and processing to ensure the progress of post-production and the quality of the final film.

Just as February began, the filming of "Lust, Caution," which had been in a closed state for several months, finally opened its doors yesterday to allow over a hundred media outlets from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas to visit the set.

After filming a group scene, Li An, along with lead actors Tony Leung, Tang Wei, and Wang Lihong, dressed in costumes, appeared on Jinling West Road, a 1940s-era replica built at a cost of 3000 million yuan. Reporters swarmed around them, and naturally, the questions inevitably turned to the Oscars.

"Director Li An, this year's Oscar race is even more intense than in previous years. As last year's big winner, what are your thoughts on this year's nominated films?"
Which work did you vote for?

Li An smiled, his gaze falling on a corner of the set not far away where a scene of Jinling streetscape was being recreated, and his tone was gentle:

"This year is very exciting and hard to predict. The quality of the nominated films is very high, and it's difficult to know the final result until the very last moment."

As for my vote, I can only say I cast it for my favorite movie.

This airtight answer left the media slightly disappointed.

The interview ended as usual, and the cameras began to roll back, but an unexpected scene instantly went viral.

Li An seemed to sense the chill of the streets of Nanjing in February. He bent down to zip up his coat, but it got stuck. Tang Wei, who was next to him, immediately bent down at a full 90 degrees and earnestly and "thoughtfully" zipped it up for him.

Within three minutes, the zipper was finally "solved".

This scene left the reporters and media present speechless, but the next second they were so excited they almost shouted out.

He took a series of quick, sharp shots.

By evening, the news of "Lewinsky scandal" had broken through the encirclement of Berlin and the Oscars, becoming a new hot topic of discussion.

"A publicity stunt, a blatant publicity stunt."

"Ah, this is truly enjoyable. I wish someone could gently zip up my zipper like this."

"Go wash up and go to bed. You think you're Director Wu?!"

"."

Filming location in Huairou, during an evening break.

The crew members are discussing this latest gossip.

As a result, a loudspeaker in the photography team cheerfully announced this.

"Cough cough cough, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't give me any random ideas."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen coughed a few times, already sensing a pair of eyes staring at him from not far away.

"Director Wu, that's not what we meant!"

"Director Wu, it's definitely not what you think. We were just giving an example."

"."

"Shut up, your silence is the best clarification." Wu Chen patted his forehead, looking helpless, which made the entire crew burst into laughter.

Just then, Liu Yifei sent a message via QQ.

"Hmph, do you also like someone to zip up your clothes for you?"

After reading the message, Wu Chen looked up and saw Liu Yifei smiling brightly at him from a distance, with a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

Even though it's only about ten meters away, they insist on talking to each other through the penguin; this kind of "remote flirting" has a unique meaning.

Wu Chen looked at the penguin chat window again, a slight smile curving his lips. He moved his fingers and typed a line of text:

"I generally don't let anyone touch my clothes."

"Alright, you pass." Liu Yifei smiled as she read the reply. Just as she replied, she saw that Wu Chen had added another message:
"Except for the pretty ones!"

"You're done!"

Liu Yifei stomped her foot on the spot and glared angrily at Wu Chen.
(End of this chapter)