Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 598: Time and fate
Inside the banquet hall of the Hilton Hotel, Christian Bale casually found an empty seat at Wu Chen's table and sat down.

Before the ceremony officially began, it was common for acquaintances to visit each other's tables and chat.

Shortly after, Scarlett Johansson walked over with a glass of champagne, her signature red lips shining brightly under the lights.

"Wu, congratulations! I hope it's another fruitful night."

"Thank you!"

Wu Chen smiled and nodded.

Scarlett then turned to Keira Knightley, her eyes filled with sincere congratulations: "Keira, you look absolutely gorgeous tonight. Good luck."

Beneath this congratulation, however, a hint of barely concealed envy flashed by.

Nina, the character in "Black Swan," is undoubtedly a frontrunner for Best Actress this awards season. She had competed for the role before, but fell just short.
With these mixed feelings, Scarlett Johansson smiled gracefully and turned to leave.

Nolan and Wu Chen then resumed their casual conversation with Bell.

"I heard you took on a movie role?" Nolan asked curiously.

“Yes, ‘The Flowers of War’.” Bell nodded. “He also gave me a lot of information about that period of history, and I’m looking at it every day now.”

After he finished speaking, he looked at Wu Chen and said, "Oh, Zhang said that you would come to dinner with us that day."

"Haha, there's nothing I can do, the promotion for 'Black Swan' just happened to clash with it. We'll find another time when you come to China to film," Wu Chen explained with a smile.

As the group chatted, the atmosphere suddenly became less relaxed and more somber.

Host Ricky Gervais stepped onto the stage, and his signature witty opening remarks officially kicked off the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

"Last year was a year dominated by Facebook and swans."

His usual sharp and sarcastic remarks drew laughter from everyone in the room.

The laughter at the table where the "Social Network" was playing sounded somewhat polite but forced.

Seeing this, Nolan leaned closer to Wu Chen, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "You know about the Directors Guild thing?"

However, the atmosphere on the Social Network's side wasn't so relaxed; upon hearing this, they simply smiled politely.

"I understand. Weinstein is making big moves." Wu Chen was naturally aware of this.

He was also a member of the DGA, and Rebecca Sarkin had already told him over the phone that Weinstein was currently conducting a frantic phone campaign to win votes.

"Then you'd better be careful, but of course I'll have my chance too."

Nolan didn't forget to give himself a buff even while reminding himself of the reminder.

The Directors Guild Awards are one of the most important indicators of the Oscars. If something goes wrong here, "The King's Speech" might stage a complete upset.

"So I'm waiting too."

Wu Chen's meaningful words made Nolan's eyes narrow and he fell into deep thought.

The ceremony officially began, and the first few TV and film awards, neither too big nor too small, were presented without much fanfare.

The atmosphere at the banquet gradually heated up with the help of alcohol and delicious food, until the first major film award—Best Supporting Actor—was presented.

When the presenter announced "Christian Bale, The Fighter," the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

This result was well-deserved, and Bale's performance in the film was truly stunning.

There were no upsets.

"Yes, Bell deserves it."

Wu Chen nodded in response to Nolan's discussion.

The Fighter crew erupted in cheers. After Bale went on stage, he thanked director David O. Russell and his family, his words concise yet sincere.

Wu Chen and Nolan also stood up to offer their blessings.

The award's outcome seemed to set a "normal" tone for this unpredictable night.

The Best Original Screenplay award, which followed immediately, was won by Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of "The Social Network," without any suspense. His machine-gun-like acceptance speech drew a burst of good-natured laughter.

In the Best Original Score category, the epic score of *Inception* ultimately lost to the classical and elegant melody of *The King's Speech*.
Nolan simply shrugged, gave Wu Chen a "as expected" look, and raised his glass in a gesture of approval.

Losing these two awards essentially ends his journey at tonight's awards ceremony.

Meanwhile, "Black Swan" also lost an award first.

In the Best Supporting Actress category, Mila Kunis lost to Melissa Leo for "The Fighter".

When the camera panned across her, Mila's eyes visibly dimmed.

"This isn't your fault; you were just a little unlucky."

Wu Chen offered a word of comfort.

Mira breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then looked at Keira Knightley and Wu Chen, clenching her fists: "Director, Keira, it's up to you two."

"Director, Kayla, it's up to you two."

As the ceremony progressed, the atmosphere gradually reached its climax.

The Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Film and the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film were awarded to Annette Bening for "The Problem Isn't with the Kids" and Paul Giamatti for "Barney's Life," respectively.

The moment has finally arrived to present the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

The nominees' video messages began playing on the big screen.

Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice;
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole;
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone;
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine;
Keira Knightley, *Black Swan*.
The camera cuts to Wu Chen's table, where Kayla nervously grasps Mila Kunis's hand, her palms already sweaty.

On the other side, Shu Chang lay in bed, staring at the screen on her computer that resembled the scene in "Black Peony," and couldn't help but ask:

"Sissi, how did you feel at that time?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei blinked, racked her brains to recall, and finally blushed.

"I think I fell asleep that day."

"Oh, yes."

Shu Chang remembered and gave Liu Yifei a rather strange look.

"What are you looking at? Don't look! Watch the live stream!"

Liu Yifei turned Shu Chang's face directly towards the screen.

Meanwhile, in the live stream, film critics were already making their final predictions: "The competition for Best Actress in a Drama this year is actually quite predictable. Keira Knightley's performance in 'Black Swan' is phenomenal, and her advantage is very clear."

This reminds me of Director Wu's "Black Peony" from a few years ago. Liu Yifei was also a strong contender at the time, but unfortunately, she ran into Julie Christie of "The Dark Side" at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

A veteran actor in his sixties delivered the best performance of his career; it was all a matter of timing and fate. Tonight, Kayla was clearly much luckier.

At that moment, award presenter Robert De Niro opened the envelope, glanced at it, smiled slightly, and then clearly read out the name:

"The winner is Keira Knightley, for *Black Swan*!"

"boom!"

A suppressed cheer erupted from the corner where the Paramount PR team was located.

A calm and satisfied smile appeared on Wu Chen's face.

At this moment, Keira Knightley's eyes welled up with tears, and she was almost speechless. She turned to Wu Chen, her voice trembling, and said, "Director, thank you."

"Go!"

Wu Chen nodded upon hearing this.

"It's such a pity, Crystal back then," Nolan said quietly to Wu Chen as he watched Keira Knightley lift her skirt and walk onto the stage.

"There's nothing we can do; what's done is done."

Wu Chen was also at a loss. Sometimes, winning an award depends not only on yourself but also on your competitors.

Keira Knightley had already accepted the trophy, her voice trembling slightly: "Oh my god, thank you, thank you Hollywood Foreign Press Association."

Making this film was an indescribable journey; it shattered me and then rebuilt me. I must thank my co-star Milla, and everyone in the crew. But most importantly, I want to thank Wu.

Her gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Wu Chen.

"He pushed me to my physical and mental limits, and he showed me a side of myself I had never imagined. This award doesn't just belong to me; it belongs to the obsessive, fragile, and beautiful 'black swan' that we created together."

Thanks! "

It has to be said that Keira Knightley's acceptance speech was prepared.

The camera was already pointed at Wu Chen, who smiled and nodded slightly.

The applause of the audience was thunderous.

Meanwhile, the banquet continued, and after a brief respite, the atmosphere shifted to the second and most crucial turning point: the Best Director award.

On the big screen, close-ups of the five nominees were shown in turn:

David O. Russell, Tom Hooper, Christopher Nolan, and tonight's two biggest rivals for the time being.
David Fincher and Wu Chen.

The camera switched back and forth between Finch and Wu Chen's faces, trying to capture any hint of tension.

Finch remained expressionless, while Wu Chen wore a faint smile and even raised his glass to the camera.

The presenter was last year's Best Actress winner, Sandra Bullock.

She opened the envelope, and the entire room fell silent instantly.

"Can it be done?"

"After listening to Teacher Bingcheng's advice, tonight might be a little challenging."

"It would be great if we got it, but it doesn't really matter if we don't. Director Wu seems to have won it twice already!"

"."

Comments flashed by rapidly in the live stream.

The media present were also curious about who would receive the award, or whether there would be another upset, with "The King's Speech" taking the prize.
The winner is
David Fincher, *The Social Network*!

The moment the results were announced, two barely audible sighs rang out simultaneously from Wu Chen's table, one from "Black Swan" and the other from "Inception".

The next second, a scene that surprised everyone appeared.

Wu Chen and Nolan exchanged a glance, then raised their hands in unison and gave each other a high five, as if offering each other silent comfort.

This scene was captured precisely by the media's cameras.

Viewers who were initially a little disappointed in front of the live stream suddenly couldn't help but laugh when they saw this scene.

"No, what do Wu Chen and Nolan mean?"

"Haha, giving each other a high five to encourage one another, right? Let's keep up the good work next time?"

"This is bad, this is a bit much! Shameful applause?"

"I laughed so hard; I almost choked on my soy milk for breakfast. This happened so unexpectedly!"

"."

Netizens burst out laughing before the live stream, as did Shu Chang and Liu Yifei inside the villa.

Shu couldn't help but sing.

"No, what's going on with your Wu Chen? If you didn't know, you'd probably think he and Nolan were the best director."

Liu Yifei scratched her head, she was also a little confused, but seeing that Wu Chen didn't seem upset, she felt much more relaxed.

Although Wu Chen told her yesterday that the chances of success tonight were slim.
On stage, David Fincher's acceptance speech was very short.

Wu Chen looked at him, thinking that the other man was probably still thinking about the producers' union and the directors' union.

"The King's Speech" was already aggressively pressing from behind the scenes.
With the Best Director award concluded, the ceremony came to a close.

In the Best Picture category for Drama, scenes from all five films appeared one by one.

Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The King's Speech, and Social Network Wars.
However, at this moment, many viewers stared intently at Wu Chen's table, because this table happened to be the one with nominations from both sides.

After announcing The Social Network as the winner, the camera immediately switched to Wu Chen's table.

However, the two of them didn't react much, but just applauded enthusiastically, which made the viewers in front of the live broadcast sigh heavily.

The 68th Golden Globe Awards ceremony has now come to a complete end.

Crowds flocked to the celebration parties hosted by various film companies.

In the crowded corridor leading to the party venue, Paramount and Sony Classics were heading in the same direction.
(End of this chapter)