Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 529 Award Ceremony
"Wu, six nominations, congratulations. How are you feeling today?"

"It was a team evening, and we all had a great time."

Do you think you can beat Avatar for the technical award tonight?

"We are prepared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth."

After Wu Chen finished speaking, the backstage staff all laughed, and even the ABC host burst into laughter.

Putting aside everything else, the technical awards for tonight's Avatar are very likely to be a foregone conclusion.

Okay, congratulations!

Upon entering the inner hall, the film crew separated because of the Oscar seating rules, where technical awards were placed at the back, while the grand prize winners sat at the front.

Wendi Deng, who was standing next to Murdoch, glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then made a point of greeting Wu Chen.

Wu Chen didn't want to talk to this ambitious woman much. After exchanging a few casual words, he returned to his seat.

"You two are very close?" Murdoch asked, somewhat puzzled.

"so so!"

"Unfortunately, he has deep ties to Universal, and also involves Paramount and Warner Bros., so the probability of him cooperating with us is very low."

Murdoch glanced at Wu Chen on his left, a hint of regret in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

His company, 20th Century Fox, produced "Avatar," which has grossed over $25 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film globally.
Matt Damon attended the Oscars with his wife and also went up to greet Wu Chen.

"congratulate."

"I only got a supporting actor award; maybe The Martian could win Best Picture!" Matt Damon chuckled.

Do you think the probability is high?

Wu Chen's counter-question immediately startled Matt Damon.

How to answer this?
"Haha, are you free in a couple of days? Come audition." Wu Chen smiled and patted Matt Damon on the shoulder.

"Of course, no problem."

David Lyndon arrived late and happened to witness this scene. When he returned to his seat, he couldn't help but whisper to Wu Chen about it.

"Yes, I'm planning to invite him to audition."

Upon hearing this, David Lyndon couldn't help but look back again, "Is he suitable?"

"It's hard to say, we'll only know after the audition."

"Um"

Just as the two were talking, the lights on the dome of the Kodak Theatre suddenly went out.
The stage curtain slowly rose, and a beam of white spotlight shone on the center of the stage.

The music suddenly begins, with brass and drums intertwining, carrying an old-school Hollywood feel.

Two figures emerged, one after the other: Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 82nd Academy Awards!" Steve Martin began, his voice loud and slightly shrill.

"Tonight, we will be awarding the Hong Kong Film Awards to the world's greatest directors and actors with superb acting skills. Of course, some people will also leave tonight questioning their life choices."

Baldwin took over the conversation.

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

The camera pans across the front row, where James Cameron of Avatar sits next to the cast, looking calm but also smiling slightly with laughter.
Kathryn Bigelow simply pursed her lips, seemingly already used to such jokes.

Oscar knows how to generate buzz; the first two shots focused on the two of them, followed by Wu Chen and the rest of the cast.

Steve Martin then changed the subject:
"We have ten Best Picture nominees this year! I have to admit, I don't have time to watch all of them, but I've seen the trailers. That's enough for me to pretend I'm knowledgeable."

"Did you know that Avatar's box office has surpassed Titanic's? This means that director Cameron has created the world's biggest love triangle by himself: him, the movie, and the wallets of audiences worldwide."

The big screen immediately switched to Cameron, who smiled and shook his head.

"Of course, this year there are also hard science fiction films like 'The Martian,' which are so realistic that I wonder if they were really filmed on Mars. Is that even possible?"

Did you go up secretly without us?

This joke, once revealed, caused the entire audience to burst into laughter again.

Immediately afterwards, all ten Best Picture nominees were ridiculed, while the live broadcast in China immediately cut to Wu Chen.

The movie channel host lowered his voice and announced, "Dear viewers, the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony has officially begun. 'The Martian' will be competing for six awards tonight. Let's look forward to it together."

The live stream page on the portal website was flooded with comments like "Go Wu Chen!"

As a warm-up, Christoph Waltz unsurprisingly won the Best Supporting Actor award at the opening, giving "Inglourious Basterds" a great start.

When the camera panned across Cameron and Bigelow, both appeared completely at ease.

Animated feature films and original songs were awarded in succession.

After several short clips introducing the Best Picture nominees, the host's tone shifted, and a prompt appeared on the screen:

Best original screenplay.

Many people in the audience straightened their backs.

In Sina's live stream, the number of comments instantly multiplied several times.

The host asked in a low voice, "Teachers, does Director Wu have a chance of winning this award?"

The guest analyzed with a smile:

"There will be some pressure from films like 'The Hurt Locker' and 'Inglourious Basterds,' but I'd say I'm in the top three, and I have a chance against them all."

"Well, Director Wu is quite competitive for this award. Writing and directing his own work gives him an advantage."

"."

On stage, Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey walked out side by side, exchanged a few jokes, and then got down to business.

Clips of the nominees began playing on the big screen in sequence: *Up in the Air*, *Inglourious Basterds*, *The Hurt Locker*, and *The Martian*.
Tina Fey tore open the envelope, exchanged a glance with Donnie, and the two looked down at the words on it.

"The Martian!"

Music burst from the stage speakers, and the entire audience erupted in applause.

Wu Chen was pleasantly surprised to hear this.

Domestic audiences were even more excited.

"Haha, now that I've won an award, at least I have a safety net and won't go home empty-handed."

"Did you see Wu Chen's expression? He seemed a bit surprised, and probably doesn't have much hope for today's award."

"Of course, let alone Best Picture, even the four technical awards are going to be taken by Avatar and The Hurt Locker. If we don't win this award, we might be bald."

Wu Chen walked onto the stage, and the little golden statue was handed to him.

“Thank you. This is such a surprise.” He paused, looked up and surveyed the room. “I thought I wouldn’t be so lucky tonight, but even though I was trapped on Mars, I was still rescued. Thank you for the rescue.”

The audience burst into laughter, and the applause grew even louder.

"I only wrote a story, but a film is not the work of one person. I thank my team, the actors, cinematographers, visual effects artists, art directors, and everyone who contributed to it."

Without you all, the story I wrote would just be a stack of papers. Thank you!

After Wu Chen unexpectedly won Best Original Screenplay, the next two awards caused emotional ups and downs for supporters of "The Martian".

Best sound editing – The Hurt Locker.

Best sound effects – The Hurt Locker.

The fact that two technical awards were won in a row caused many people at the scene to gasp in surprise.

After all, most people believe that these two awards should belong to Avatar.

Cameron sat in the audience, his smile finally fading.

The series of defeats left him with an unusual stiffness in his expression.

This director, hailed as a "tech fanatic," clearly did not expect that the sound effects aspect, which he was so proud of, would be completely ignored.

On the other hand, domestic audiences were overjoyed.

"Haha, even Avatar lost?"

"Holy crap, is it that bad? All the sound effects are gone!"

"Don't laugh too soon. Director Wu didn't win either. Does this mean the grand prize will ultimately go to Avatar?"

"."

However, Avatar did not go home empty-handed in the later technical categories; it did win Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.

"interesting."

Wu Chen sat in his seat, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair, and murmured, "Interesting."

David Lyndon, who was standing to the side, paused for a moment and turned to look at him.

"Nothing, I was thinking about Best Picture."

David suddenly realized, but his expression was somewhat strange.

The Cinematography Award has been awarded to Avatar, which has historically been a bellwether for the Oscars.

Could Cameron win the final Grand Slam title?

Domestic audiences, however, were completely relaxed.

"Goodness, all four technical awards are empty."

"I guessed it, thankfully we won Best Original Screenplay!"

Let's wait for the final Best Director and Best Picture awards.

"."

At this moment, domestic portal news feeds were pushing out one after another:
The Martian missed out on four technical awards, but has now won one out of five nominations, taking home the Best Original Screenplay award.

[Are the consecutive technical setbacks of "The Martian" and "Avatar" leaving the Best Picture award uncertain?]

【.】

Time slowly passed, and the ceremony entered its final, crucial moment.

The Best Foreign Language Film award went to Argentina's "The Secret in Their Eyes".

Jeff Bridges won Best Actor, and Sandra Bullock won Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side.

When Barbara Streisand walked onto the stage to announce the Best Director, the entire audience fell silent.

Wu Chen turned his head to the side, and David asked again in a low voice, "Wu, who do you think it could be?"

“Katherine Bigelow.” Wu Chen said almost without hesitation.

"So sure? Aren't you considering Cameron?"

"Please, if Bigelow wins, she'll be the first female director to win an Oscar. I can't think of any other possibility."

However, compared to Wu Chen's affirmation, both sides were present in the domestic live broadcast room, and the other candidates became mere background figures at this moment.

Barbara Streisand, as the presenter, slowly announced the winner: Kathryn Bigelow.

Wu Chen glanced at Cameron's expression out of the corner of his eye. The latter looked somewhat surprised, as if he had already sensed the ominous sign that was about to unfold.

The last big prize has arrived.

Tom Hanks took the stage.

"Best Picture".

Wu Chen sat calmly in his chair. In fact, apart from Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, everyone else was rather calm, and even the domestic audience laughed.

"Damn, they all know it has nothing to do with them."

"My goodness, Director Wu is so calm with his arms crossed, he doesn't look like someone who's going to win an award at all."

"Hilarious! Looks like now we just have to see who Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow really are."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Tom Hanks' voice echoed throughout the Kodak Theatre.

"The Hurt Locker"

After a brief silence, the entire audience erupted in applause.

However, this award means that this year's science fiction films have once again suffered a complete defeat and been shut out of the "Best Picture" category.

The Martian winning Best Original Screenplay was a pleasant surprise.

Avatar, with three major technical awards under its belt, couldn't go any further;
District 9 returned empty-handed.

The three science fiction films received a total of nineteen nominations, but ultimately only won four awards.
News flashes from portal websites simultaneously flooded the screens:
The 82nd Academy Awards have concluded, with "The Hurt Locker" sweeping the awards, winning five out of nine, and Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first woman in Oscar history to win Best Director!

[The Martian Wins Original Screenplay Award, Wu Chen Sets New Record for Chinese Filmmakers]

[Avatar wins three awards, Cameron loses to his ex-wife, the biggest upset of the Oscars!]

Sci-fi films suffer a complete defeat.

【.】

(End of this chapter)