Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 345 The End
Los Angeles time, 9:58 p.m., inside the Kodak Theatre.

Marion Cotillard walked slowly off the stage, the applause still echoing, the backstage lights came back on, and a new set was set up in the center of the stage.

Last year's Oscar-winning actress, Helen Mirren, walked slowly onto the stage in a dark blue velvet gown, smiled slightly, and held up an envelope in her hand:

"Next up is Best Actor."

By this time, domestic entertainment media had already switched to new news alerts:
[Liu Yifei sadly lost the Oscar for Best Actress, which went to French actress Marion Cotillard]

[The roses bloom, but "Black Peony" narrowly loses! Liu Yifei's "first Oscar appearance" makes her the top Chinese-language film!]

[Liu Yifei missed out on the Best Actress award, but remains the first actress in Chinese-language cinema to receive a full nomination for Best Actress!]

【.】

In a Sina chat room in China, Zhang Yibai watched as Helen Mirren tore open an envelope and read out Daniel Day-Lewis's name on the screen, and couldn't help but chuckle, rubbing his forehead:

"There's no doubt about it, Daniel's class is a complete rout."

"If Daniel Bryan won Best Actor, then all the acting awards at this year's Oscars will go to European actors. Tilda Swinton is British for Best Supporting Actress, Javier Barton is Spanish for Best Supporting Actor, and Daniel Bryan is also British."

Bi Chenggong thought for a moment and then exclaimed in surprise.

"That's true," Liu Fan added, prompting a round of comments from the crowd.

However, at this moment, the host, Gu Yu, was staring at the screen like he was on a stopwatch, saying, "Now is not the time to comment on the acting awards, the important part is coming up: the Best Director award..."
I think this is director Wu Chen's second nomination.

"Yes, the first time was when 'Get Out' lost to 'The Departed,' an adaptation of the Hong Kong film 'Infernal Affairs.' I think Director Wu's loss last time was quite unfair."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yibai couldn't help but say, "Martin Scorsese actually won because of the Academy, plus his previous unsuccessful nominations, you know what I mean!"

"Haha, Director Zhang, you don't need to be so blunt, we understand."

The group burst into laughter.

"It's unlikely that a European director will win again. Of the five nominees, three grew up purely in the Hollywood system, one is from Europe, and director Wu Chen represents Asia."

"I've been nervous several times today, but what's coming is finally here."

With Martin Scorsese taking the stage, the chat room instantly exploded:
"Here it comes!! The Best Director award!"

"I want to announce now that the first director from mainland China has won an Oscar!!"

"If it doesn't work, that's okay, we're already standing here!"

At the same time, Yao Miao, the host of the movie channel's live broadcast, raised her voice slightly:
"Now, one of the world's most prestigious awards: the Best Director award, is about to be announced."

Among the nominated directors, Wu Chen, a director from mainland China, entered the competition this year with "Black Peony," becoming the second Chinese director in the history of Chinese-language films, after Li An, to compete for the Oscar for Best Director. This is also Wu Chen's second attempt at the award.

Let's look forward to this moment together.

The nominees did not appear as calm as they seemed, as the camera panned across them one by one, finally focusing on Wu Chen.

Unlike the other nominees, Wu Chen appears younger and more handsome, attracting more attention from viewers off-camera.

Liu Yifei glanced at Wu Chen gently, without saying anything, but slowly reached out and gently opened his clenched fist, palm to palm.

Wu Chenhui grasped her hand, his fingertips applying slight pressure. They didn't exchange words; everything was understood without a word.

This scene was captured perfectly.

"Envy? What else can I say but envy?"

"Wu Chen, let go of your stinky hand, and take this punch!"

"what"

Xiang Zhuo and the others in the back row prayed silently: "Chen-ge, you can do it!"

"Director Wu should have a pretty good chance this time."

Li Xiaoping, Zhang Qiang, and the others took a deep breath silently.

The atmosphere on set had become so tense that you could almost hear the echo of heartbeats between the backs of chairs.

Martin Scorsese slowly stepped into the light, dressed in a classic black tuxedo, his sideburns white, looking exceptionally dignified under the lights.

He stood in front of the microphone, winked with a hint of amusement, and chuckled:
"Do you know what? At this time last year, I had just received my first director award after forty years."

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience. The camera panned across the directors' seats. Wu Chen remained calm, but his hand gently tightened around Liu Yifei's fingertips.

"So, who will be the first to get their seat tonight?"

Martin looked down and took the envelope that was handed to him.

The stage lights dimmed briefly, revealing five nominated films:
Paul Thomas Anderson, *There Will Be Blood*.

"The Coen brothers, No Country for Old Men."

"Wu Chen, Black Peony".

Jason Reitman, Juno.

Julian Schaubel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Behind each director's photo is a key scene from their work.

Wu Chen's image is frozen on the moment when "Xu Wei in the mirror" stares at herself, the black and white contrast conveying the extreme emotion.

On stage, Martin Scorsese slowly opened the envelope in his hand, his eyes behind his silver-rimmed glasses sweeping over the name everyone had been waiting for. He gently raised his head, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, and slowly uttered:
"The winner of the 80th Academy Award for Best Director is..."

Scorsese's gaze swept across the entire arena, pausing slightly, a brief pause that sounded like a long sigh:

"Wu Chen, 'Black Peony'!"

Instantly, applause erupted throughout the hall, echoing like thunder under the dome of the Kodak Theatre, like a flame suddenly ignited, sweeping across the entire auditorium!
The camera quickly panned to the audience, instantly capturing Wu Chen's face.

He paused for a moment, but quickly smiled and stood up, greeting everyone around him with a wave of applause.

Liu Yifei immediately covered her mouth, her eyes already brimming with tears, and stood up to hug Wu Chen tightly.

"Hahaha!" Han Sanping laughed loudly, then teased, "It was almost perfect, almost!"

Xiang Zhuo and Li Qin stood up and applauded, their faces beaming with excitement.

In the live broadcast studio of the movie channel, Yao Miao spoke rapidly, her expression excited:

"Director Wu Chen won the Academy Award for Best Director with 'Black Peony,' a truly historic moment for Chinese cinema!"

In the Sina Entertainment chat room, Zhang Yibai sat up straight, so excited he almost slammed his fist on the table: "Gentlemen, does this even need analysis?"

"What's there to analyze? But with Director Wu winning Best Director, the Best Picture award should be a foregone conclusion."

"If what Professor Bi said is true, then it's already decided that 'No Country for Old Men' is going to win, since it's the most popular film among all the other nominees for Best Picture."

"I think this time it's a foregone conclusion. The four acting awards went to Europe, the directing award went to Asia, and the ultimate award, Best Film, has to stay with one of our own."

"."

Ignoring the analysis in the chat room, netizens had gone into a frenzy:
"Holy crap, this is truly a shining example of Chinese-made products!"

"Comfortable!"

"Best Director, guys! This is the first time mainland China has won one!"

"Getting up early today was definitely worth it. I was excited twice. The three-hour-plus awards ceremony was totally worth it."

"."

A round of applause erupted inside the Beijing Film Academy, with the loudest shouts coming from the cinematography department, even though there weren't many people there.

At this moment, Wu Chen walked steadily onto the stage.

Scorsese smiled and stepped forward, solemnly handing the little golden statue to him. The two exchanged a few quiet words of greeting. "Well done!"

Wu Chen nodded slightly, turned around and stood in the center of the stage.

Golden beams of light rained down on him, and the entire arena gradually quieted down.

He calmly raised his head, surveyed the more than a thousand faces below the stage, slowly raised the trophy in his hand, and smiled slightly:
"Thank you, thank you. This trophy is quite heavy. I wonder if it's because it's made of a lot of gold or because of its weight."

A few laughs immediately broke out at the scene.

"In our area, there's a saying: 'Three minutes on stage requires ten years of practice off stage.'"

As for movies, I believe many people have experienced bad movies, whether they were directed by a director, acted by an actor, or worked behind the scenes.

Oh, I might be being a bit euphemistic. To put it bluntly, I'm afraid you won't understand. That's a terrible movie, a really terrible movie.

That's like 'filming for three months, revising for three years, and then being criticized for a lifetime.'

"Hahaha"

As soon as Wu Chen finished speaking, a round of applause and laughter erupted from the audience.

Hollywood has made a lot of bad movies, you could say there are countless of them. Everyone has made at least one, no doubt about it.

"I've always felt that the profession of director is like building a bridge on a deserted land. You don't know if there are people on the other side, and you don't know if the bridge will be scenic after it's finished. You can only try to lay down the bridge stone by stone and step on it."

That's how it was when I was filming "Black Peony," but luckily, the world saw this bridge.

"Thank you to the leading lady in my life—Liu Yifei. Her performance is the soul of this film, and I am very proud to have walked alongside her."

Wu Chen paused for a moment, looked at Liu Yifei below the stage, and softly added, "If you had won Best Actress, I would have been happier than if you had won this award, but since you didn't, I can only say a few more words to make up for it."

The audience chuckled softly. Liu Yifei's cheeks flushed slightly as she clapped with a smile, her eyelashes fluttering as her eyes sparkled.

"Finally, I want to thank my crew, everyone who poured their sweat into 'Black Peony.' Your names may not appear on the screen, but you are the true soul of this film."

Wu Chen raised the Oscar statuette again, saying, "May film always be a light that illuminates people's hearts. Thank you!"

The stage lights slowly faded, and the background image returned to the silhouette of the Oscar statuette.

When he returned to his seat, the applause had not yet subsided.

"How come you're so good at talking now?" Liu Yifei gently accepted the Best Director trophy, ran her fingers around the base, and smiled.

"Don't like it? Then I'll say something normal next time?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei gave Wu Chen a shy and reproachful look: "That won't do."

As the two were whispering to each other, Denzel Washington opened the envelope and announced the winner of the evening's grand prize.

Unsurprisingly, it was won by the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men".
(End of this chapter)