Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 126 Literature Department Alumni Shine Internationally

The next morning, as the Toronto sunlight streamed through the hotel curtains, the first batch of lengthy reviews of "Dallas Buyers Club" swept across the North American film industry.

Variety was the first to publish the article. Todd McCarthy almost scrapped his original review and completed a final draft at 3 a.m.

The article begins with only one sentence: "This is not a film about illness that tries to elicit sympathy, but a film about dignity..."

A masterpiece exploring prejudice and the will to survive.

He then devoted a great deal of space to Lin Ruiyang's directing techniques.

"The most common mistake young directors make is being too eager to prove their skills; Lin, on the contrary, chooses to let the camera step back and let the characters speak for themselves. He rejects cheap sentimentality and moral judgment, thus giving his films an almost documentary-like power of authenticity."

The article concludes without reservation: "Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto delivered the most noteworthy performances of the year, along with this young director who is proving his creative consistency with his third feature film."

Kirk Honeycutt, who followed closely behind in The Hollywood Reporter, also gave it extremely high praise.

"Matthew made the most dangerous gamble of his career, but he won. As for Jared Leto, he almost made the audience forget the actor himself."

David Danby of The New Yorker maintained his usual restrained tone, avoiding excessive use of exaggerated adjectives: "What's truly memorable about the film isn't the disease itself, but the humanity that refuses to relinquish dignity in the face of illness."

Roger Ebert, known for his rigorous and critical approach, updated his column overnight on the online edition of the Chicago Sun-Times. This film critic, who has battled illness for many years, gave it a rare four-star rating and wrote his signature comment: "Great films never try to convince you of anything; they simply throw you into the situation and show you how imperfect people struggle to survive. Ryan Lam did just that. Tonight, I give this young man and his powerful cinematography my sincerest double thumbs up."

Compared to professional media, ordinary viewers reacted more directly. The film festival's official website ratings rose steadily, and before midnight, it had already entered the top ranks of this year's screenings.

Many viewers who managed to snag tickets spontaneously left messages on blogs and forums: "It's been a long time since I've seen everyone stand up and applaud together in a movie theater."

"Get your tissues ready, but don't expect it to be tear-jerking; it really hits you when you look back on it later."

"Matthew McConaughey should thank Lin Ruiyang, because this role may have changed his entire career."

On Rotten Tomatoes, an internet film review benchmark, "Dallas Buyers Club" received a 93% fresh rating from the first 52 reviewers, with an average score of 8.1.

On MetaCritic, a media review website known for its professionalism and rigor, the film opened with a solid score of 84.

High score.

After all, a few traditional media outlets with conservative stances, such as The New York Observer, did give it glaringly low scores and criticized Lin Ruiyang's shots for lacking the humanistic concern that traditional American popular dramas should have.

However, these critical reviews did not cause much of a stir. On the contrary, their existence made more industry insiders feel that this was a realist film with genuine authorial expression.

The Los Angeles Times' film column quickly commented: "Some criticize it for not being sentimental enough, but it is precisely this restraint that prevents the film from producing cheap tears."

Premiere magazine used a rather sensational headline: "Has the first real Oscar contender of the year emerged?"

If we consider the awards as a long marathon, then *Dallas Buyers Club* has already made a near-perfect start in Toronto. It possesses almost all the elements favored by the Academy: a true story, social commentary, breakthrough performances by the actors, and mature directing.

As media reviews continued to grow, an interesting phenomenon began to emerge at the film festival: many audience members who were unable to secure tickets for later screenings started contacting Searchlight and the organizing committee in hopes of increasing the number of screenings.

The phone in the searchlight office had been ringing non-stop since morning. The secretary, carrying the latest statistical reports, strode into the conference room, her expression revealing undisguised excitement.

"Peter, seven overseas distributors have already applied for additional screenings, and more than a dozen media outlets have requested interviews. In addition, the organizing committee is also asking if we would be willing to add a public screening."

Peter Rice took the document, glanced at the densely packed list, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Just before its premiere, many people worried that this realistic film about AIDS patients was too dangerous and would have limited market acceptance. But overnight, the tide turned completely.

After a moment's thought, he shook his head: "Increasing the number of screenings is fine, but not too many."

The staff member in charge of publicity nearby looked puzzled: "With such high demand right now, isn't this the perfect time to expand our influence?"

Peter explained, "Things are valued for their scarcity. The reputation at film festivals is like the tide; it rises too quickly and recedes just as easily."

We need to keep everyone feeling hungry, rather than satisfying everyone at once.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, several veteran journalists sat together at the Toronto International Film Festival's media center, and their discussion almost exclusively revolved around "Dallas Buyers Club."

"Have you noticed something interesting?" someone said, flipping through the day's newspaper. "These days, very few people discuss whether a movie can make money; everyone's talking about how many nominations it will get."

Another person chimed in with a laugh: "Because box office is the distribution company's business, while awards are the topic film festivals love to talk about the most."

"I care more about the director," a commentator from the UK said, putting down his coffee.

"Three consecutive feature films, with completely different themes and styles, yet all maintaining an extremely high level of completion. Directors like this are often more anticipated."

Do you think he will become the next Li An?

"No." The man shook his head. "At least so far, he seems to be going his own way."

On the other hand, Matthew McConaughey experienced firsthand what it meant for an actor to become famous overnight.

Before breakfast was even finished, the agent called: "Matthew, don't agree to anything right now, and don't meet with anyone easily."

The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Paramount, New Line Cinema, Focus Features, and two independent labels all want to meet with you. In addition, two scripts have directly increased their quotes by thirty percent."

Matthew paused for a moment, then chuckled: "They weren't like this before yesterday."

"Before yesterday, they saw the male lead of a romantic comedy; after today, they see a different actor."

Similarly, Jared Leto's situation is also changing.

Music media outlets began reporting on his performances, while film critics included his name on their shortlists for Best Supporting Actor. Some journalists who previously only saw him as a rock star now had to re-evaluate his identity as an actor.

Some even joked, "Maybe at next year's awards ceremony, we'll see Jared receiving an award in a suit, instead of singing with a guitar."

In the afternoon, Lin Ruiyang had just finished his last round of interviews and was about to return to his hotel when his phone suddenly vibrated.

It's a news push from Europe: The winners of the 63rd Venice International Film Festival have been officially announced.

He opened the page and quickly saw the familiar film title in the Golden Lion Award section.

Without any hesitation, he edited a text message and sent it: "Senior, congratulations, well deserved."

The other party replied in less than two minutes.

On the screen, Jia Zhangke's words revealed a sincerity unique to him: "Stop trying to sweet-talk me. I heard all the commotion you caused in Toronto, right here in Venice. No wonder you're from our literature department. I'll fly over with my film to the festival in a couple of days, and we'll find a place to have a couple of drinks then."

"See you in Toronto then, I'll treat you to a welcome-back dinner."

After sending the text message, Lin Ruiyang put his phone back in his pocket, stood in front of the hotel, looked at the Toronto afternoon streets, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

This year's Venice Film Festival has come to a close, and the glory that belonged to our senior has finally settled. But in Toronto, everything is just beginning.

Back in the suite, Peter Rice, who had just arrived, was still tirelessly answering the phone.

At this time, Toronto was becoming a hot commodity in the eyes of Hollywood's major bookmakers. Although "Dallas Buyers Club" would not officially have its long-term North American platform release until around Thanksgiving in November, this perfect start had already made the major theater chains smell the double scent of box office success and acclaim.

In the operation of independent films, the box office figures for each theater in November are the first shot fired in the Oscar public relations campaign. As long as the numbers for the first few theaters are explosive enough, the 500 core arthouse cinemas across the United States will be begging for searchlight copies in December.

"Ryan," Peter said, hanging up the phone, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, "Landmark Theatre, New York."

Both the chief managers of Theatres and Arkwright in Los Angeles have expressed their support. They promised that as soon as our copy arrives in the second week of November, it will be immediately allocated to top-tier art-house theaters, with a guaranteed 24/7 running schedule!

"Peter, the promises of theater managers are as unreliable as the vows of Hollywood actors. The current scarcity marketing is working, but a two-month time gap is too long. What we need to do is turn this fire that's started in Toronto into a slow-burning fuse, burning all the way to the November opening."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked tentatively.

"Materials were airdropped to specific locations. After the Toronto event, the marketing team was notified to send copies of the documentary about Matthew Critics' 50-pound weight loss for the role to key judges of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and various leading film critics' associations. No need to wait until October..."

"The film will be released in a month, and we want to make an impression of the actors in their minds before they even vote."

"Also, have Matthew and Jared turn down all unimportant fashion parties. For the upcoming media interviews, have them wear their most casual clothes."

We want the next two months for all the mainstream American media to refer to them as two madmen who tortured themselves to the point of being skeletons for the sake of cinematic art. Hollywood doesn't believe in tears, but they absolutely cannot deny the blood and flesh an actor sacrifices for a great performance.

"As you wish, Director," Peter said seriously.

The artistic storm of the Venice and Toronto prelude has swept into the domestic film industry along the ocean currents of time.

Early this morning, Sina Entertainment's front page headline was changed to eye-catching bold red text: "Beijing Film Academy Literature Department alumni shine internationally! Jia Zhangke wins Golden Lion at Water City, Lin Ruiyang's new film triumphs in Toronto, foreign media rave about a perfect start!"