Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 356 Cross-Strait Debate, Guest Stars Gather

"41 is Li An."

"He's 41?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly, a mixture of surprise and unease.

"Is it too high or too low?" another person asked hesitantly.

"Who knows? This ranking is really interesting. I suspect TotalFilm did it on purpose."

“Look down here, Wu Yusen is 85th and Wong Kar-wai is 94th.”

Where is director Zhang Yimou?

The editorial office fell silent for a few seconds.

The mouse scrolls back to the top and then slowly scrolls down line by line.

Several editors huddled together, staring intently at the long list with blue background and white text.

"No."

"I've checked three times already, and neither is director Zhang Yimou nor director Chen Kaige."

The crowd looked at each other, unsure whether to be shocked, bewildered, or delighted.

The release of the list was a godsend for traffic.

It's worth noting that the ranking of the 100 greatest directors in history compiled by the authoritative British film magazine TotalFilm is a rare systematic ranking of directors in recent years.

The main reason is that mainstream media around the world rarely conduct systematic rankings of "directors," making them even rarer than actors, films, and box office rankings.
"Come on, hurry up, revise the title five times for me, we'll send it to the portal later."

Meanwhile, in another space, the lighting was warm.

In the study, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei were looking at the computer screen together. The light shone on her profile, casting a slight shadow on her eyelashes.

"That's strange," Liu Yifei said, frowning slightly as she lay beside her boyfriend, "I didn't see Director Zhang's name just now. Why didn't he go in?"

Wu Chen glanced at it and exhaled:

"This so-called 'Total Film' focuses on popular British and American films, aesthetic directors, and the auteur film tradition. Director Zhang suffered a great loss in this regard."

He knew the limitations of the list as soon as he looked at it.

The history of world cinema is already filled with countless outstanding directors, making it difficult to standardize the criteria for selection. While ranking by box office revenue is relatively straightforward, as it reflects actual box office earnings, this is less of a factor.
This is why film and television magazines and media outlets haven't done this kind of ranking for so many years.

"Ignore this list."

Liu Yifei rested her chin on her hand, staring at the screen. She glanced at Wu Chen and then said:

"But the rankings are finally out. Didn't you see how excited Jason was on the phone just now? I feel like the media will be very excited."

Wu Chen remained silent. He knew that the appeal of this list to the media and movie fans was self-evident. Comparisons between countries and between people were inevitable among movie fans.

"."

Indeed, as Liu Yifei said, the domestic media is in an uproar.

The portal website's homepage is entirely composed of titles, displayed line by line:
[Wu Chen ranks 40th on the list of the 100 greatest directors of all time, surpassing Li An—Why is Zhang Yimou absent from the list?]

[Top 100 Directors of All Time: Wu Chen Makes the Top 50, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige's Absence Sparks Controversy!]

[Four Chinese directors made the list, with Wu Chen ranking highest—Zhang Yi's omission sparks heated discussion among film fans!]

It's past 10 p.m., which isn't considered late.

Forums, Baidu Tieba, and Douban are buzzing with hot posts, and comments have already exceeded the page fold line:

"Wu Chen's selection is quite understandable, given his soaring international influence in recent years, but I really didn't expect Zhang Yi to be left out."

"That's right. When it comes to Chinese films, who doesn't know Zhang Yimou? It's really strange that he can't even make the top 100."

"Although it's a bit strange, the good thing is that Wu Chen is number one in China. The mainland didn't lose to Taiwan and Hong Kong this time. It's just that his ranking with Li An is a bit interesting!"

"."

Netizens have all noticed it because they are so close, practically right next door.

Chen Kaige, who had just finished filming "Mei Lanfang," was at home when he learned about the list and was indignant about not being included.

How is it possible that even Wu Yusen was nominated, but he wasn't?

This is really unreasonable.

Fortunately, many media headlines were defending him and Zhang Yimou, and the online discussions were intense, which made him feel much better. He decided to go in and see if many netizens would still think he deserved to be selected. However, what Chen Kaige saw almost made him faint.

The comments that immediately catch the eye are all about why Zhang Yimou wasn't nominated.
On March 27, the clouds over Beijing were scattered by the cold wind of early spring, and the trees along the roadside showed light green buds.

The online buzz continued from last night, but most importantly, CCTV.com also gave a brief report: [British film magazine selects 100 greatest directors of all time, Hitchcock ranks first!]

The news immediately sparked a wider wave of discussion.

However, the Taiwanese media seemed to be holding their breath, as if they were particularly unhappy about Wu Chen in front of Li An.

The United Daily News published an article titled: [Is the new generation pushing the old one aside, or is the storm too big? — Commentary on Wu Chen's ranking as the 40th "Top 100 Directors"]

The text remains understated:

"Director Wu Chen is young but has already produced several excellent works. However, he ranked 40th, surpassing Director Li An, which surprised many film fans in Taiwan."

We are certainly happy to see Chinese-language films shine, but the criteria for judging the list are inevitably open to interpretation.

The Times supplement is even more obvious:
"Director Li's works often win over audiences with their deep emotions and their observation of the subtleties of human nature; while today's 'rising stars' mostly rely on genre packaging and box office success. Whether they are more 'amazing' than 'profound' remains to be seen."

These kinds of words, though spoken in a refined and literary style, are actually quite cryptic and veiled in sarcasm.

Even so, it was enough to cause an uproar in mainland media.

"Damn, it's just that he ranked one place ahead of Li An, why are you being so sarcastic?"

"Damn it, do you think we're nobody if we don't fight back?"

In the afternoon, the Southern Metropolis Daily was the first to speak out:
"We certainly respect director Lee An's achievements; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Wedding Banquet are both classics."

However, we must also recognize that Wu Chen represents the most internationally influential auteur directors in contemporary Chinese cinema on this list. This is not luck; it is the answer given by the times.

The Beijing News's cultural commentary section featured the headline: "What they wrote in film history, Wu Chen is writing about the present."

The two sides went back and forth, with netizens offering their support in the comments, while industry insiders also suffered, receiving numerous calls from the media for interviews.

However, none of the interviewees mentioned the rankings. Instead, they praised the directors who made the list, expressed their regret that directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige were not selected, or commented on the selection criteria of TotalFilm magazine.

"Damn, these media outlets are so shady these days. To be honest, I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing and offending someone. Wouldn't that be an unnecessary disaster?"

Ning Hao expressed his frustration over the phone, saying that the media was difficult to deal with.

These rankings are the most annoying thing, because some people value fame more than profit.

"It's not that bad!" Wu Chen shook his head.

"What do you think? Who among you can afford to offend? Only you and Director Zhang. It doesn't matter if I say something slightly wrong, but as for the others, who knows? Hehe."

"But you have a press conference tomorrow, and you're the main person in charge, so you definitely can't avoid it this time." Ning Hao smiled.

However, compared to the back-and-forth exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the silence of the South Korean film industry is what is truly embarrassing.

No South Korean directors made the list; they were all absent.

On the Korean online forum, movie fans were in an uproar, and the insults they hurled were incredibly harsh:

"What is this? Four from China, four from Japan, and zero from South Korea?! These South Korean directors are disgusting."

"Where is director Park Chan-wook? Haven't you seen 'Oldboy'? You damn British guys."

"This list is more embarrassing than the Oscars. Why isn't Wu Chen from our country?"

"They've all gone to make those damn bad movies; it's normal that they're not around."

Some were angry, while others were self-deprecating.

However, Wu Chen and Liu Yifei quietly and discreetly traveled at this time.

Christian Bale, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, and Gong Li will be arriving in Beijing today.

That evening, Wu Chen hosted a banquet for the four of them, since they had all come to make a guest appearance because of him.

Even the best relationships require reciprocity; it's always necessary to exchange pleasantries.

Of course, such a large gathering couldn't escape the paparazzi's notice. After dinner, the group was photographed and the images were featured in various entertainment news reports.

[Wu Chen hosts a banquet to entertain Hollywood cameos from "The Martian"; Bale, Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, and Gong Li arrive in Beijing!]

[The Martian All-Star Press Conference Confirms Liu Yifei and Wu Chen Had Dinner with Christian Bale, Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, and Gong Li, and They Were Chatting and Laughing Throughout the Meal]

【.】

(End of this chapter)