Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

After the Golden Camera Award, all the pre-dinner desserts were served.

Everyone instinctively sat up straight, their eyes fixed intently on the stage.

Next up is the main competition section.

The first award presented was the Jury Special Award.

In fact, Cannes is quite adept at dividing the pie, even having three types of jury awards: Special Jury Prize, Jury Prize, and Grand Jury Prize.

Only the Jury Prize carries enough weight.

With the deal with MK2, Zhuang Huai'an wasn't worried about leaving empty-handed, but the name read out by the presenter on stage still left him a little bewildered.

"Best Screenplay at the 55th Cannes Film Festival, *The Hunt* (Ann)!"

What the hell!

Zhuang Huai'an cursed inwardly, "Did Leo mess this up?"

Best screenplay is good, but I want the grand prize!

The crew members also looked somewhat serious. Although they had only participated in domestic film festivals, all crows are black, and Cannes might also pull off some shady moves.

Zhuang Huai'an went on stage to accept the award and gave the same speech as before, but the applause from the audience lasted for a full three minutes before it stopped.

The crew members below looked delighted. One reason was their genuine admiration for the young man, and the other was that he had already won Best Screenplay, so he couldn't possibly compete with them for other awards, could he?

Katie O'Tinnin won the Best Actress award, and the film's title is quite interesting: "The Man Without a Past".

The members of the various film crews, who were initially quite happy, froze with joy when they heard the name of the Best Actor on stage.

"The Best Actor award at the 55th Cannes Film Festival goes to Lu Kai and Wang Zhiwen for their roles in 'The Hunt'."

When the award presenter spoke in broken Chinese, Wang Zhiwen thought he had misheard until Wang Hongwei and Jiang Wu patted him on the shoulder, and he realized what was happening.

"His performance was profound and restrained, perfectly portraying a man consumed by despair. Congratulations, Wang Zhiwen!"

Upon hearing his name called again, Wang Zhiwen took a deep breath, stood up, hugged the crew members, straightened his Zhongshan suit, and gracefully walked onto the stage.

"Thank you to the film festival and the organizing committee for the recognition. As an actor, it is already an honor to be able to stand on the stage of Cannes."

Wang Zhiwen's magnetic voice resonated throughout the auditorium through the microphone, "Thank you, Director Huai'an, for giving me the opportunity to star in such an excellent film. Thank you to my alma mater, Beijing Film Academy, for your nurturing, and thank you to my employer, Huaxia Drama Academy, for your support..."

When you win an award, you just have to thank this person and that person.

With the trophy in one hand and the certificate in the other, Wang Zhiwen returned to his seat beaming, and everyone passed him around for a while.

"Wow, Zhiwen, you're amazing!" Old Wang gave him a thumbs up and said with some emotion, "The last time someone won this award was Ge You. Now that you're back in China, let's see who dares to say that our Beijing Film Academy can't produce actors!"

Wang Zhiwen smiled. He didn't know how to respond to that. Although he was a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, he taught at the Central Academy of Drama, so he couldn't comment on either side.

"It's a bit of a pity..." Wang Zhiwen stroked the trophy in his hand and looked at Zhuang Huai'an with some regret.

Everyone understood what he meant; most film festivals wouldn't award multiple major prizes to the same film.

Today they won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film, Best Cameraman, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor in a row, so they're basically out of contention for the rest of the season.

"One should know how to be content," Old Wang said with regret, but fearing that his good disciple's Dao heart would be damaged, "Huai'an is still young. This time he has returned with a full harvest. There will be other opportunities in the future."

No one was discouraged after hearing this, after all, Lao Wang was right, and even if "The Hunting" didn't win an award, Zhuang Huai'an was still worthy of being called the number one new generation director in China based on the two awards he won for "The Tuner".

The process continued, and soon we reached the penultimate stage: the Jury Prize. This award, like the Palme d'Or, is given to the entire crew, but its prestige is second only to the Palme d'Or.

Zhuang Huai'an had given up hope of winning the award, but when he saw that the presenter was Yang Ziqiong and that she even glanced at him, he was inexplicably moved.

Could it be that...?

"The winner of the Jury Prize at the 55th Cannes Film Festival is," Michelle Yeoh announced with a smile in Chinese, "the film *The Hunt*. Congratulations to director Zhuang Huai'an!"

Boom! The entire auditorium erupted in cheers!

I've said this production crew's name five times tonight!

Some of the older filmmakers looked at Zhuang Huai'an with complex expressions. This young man was truly remarkable…

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Five awards! Awesome!"

Ning Hao was going crazy, jumping up and down with excitement. Wolong and Fengchu stepped forward and hugged Zhuang Huai'an, while Wang Zhiyong was on the verge of tears.

"Good disciple!" Old Wang and Jiang Wu stepped forward, each pushing aside one of the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick, and excitedly patted Zhuang Huai'an on the shoulder.

"Junior brother, awesome!" Wang Zhiwen said with a joyful smile, giving a thumbs up.

Zhuang Huai'an was also somewhat dazed. He subconsciously looked at the back row and saw Leo standing on his seat, clapping wildly and laughing loudly.

"I...I'm awesome!"

Zhuang Huai'an gave himself a thumbs up and walked onto the podium once again.

After handing him the trophy, Yang Ziqiong gave him a hug and whispered, "Director Huai'an, congratulations."

"Thank you, Sister Ziqiong."

"Well deserved."

After the two separated, Zhuang Huai'an took a deep breath, stood in front of the microphone, and after giving the usual thanks to the people he wanted to thank, continued:

"Compared to the awards I received on stage before, I prefer this one in my hand because it represents the jury's overall recognition of the film."

Once again, I would like to thank my alma mater, Beijing Film Academy, and all the senior students who worked behind the scenes. In my heart, Beijing Film Academy is the best film school in the world!

Thank you, Mr. Zhuang Kaixuan, my father. Dad, your son has not let you down!

Zhuang Huai'an bowed deeply to the audience below the stage.

Thunderous applause erupted. Members of various film crews had all seen the movie "The Hunt," and had to admit that they were indeed a bit lacking in competitiveness.

An expert can immediately tell whether a film is good or bad, and whether it reflects a director's ability.

One can only say that perhaps I was born at the wrong time.

Old Wang below was overjoyed after hearing his good apprentice's words. Just for those words, Zhang Huijun had to personally light a cigarette for his old man!

"He's only 19 years old..." Jiang Wu sighed. It's not that he hasn't seen geniuses before; his own older brother is one. But to achieve this at Zhuang Huai'an's age, the future is truly unimaginable.

The Palme d'Or was won by "The Pianist" this year, but with "The Hunt" in the running, Universal probably paid a heavy price.

After the closing ceremony, Zhuang Huai'an led everyone to the subsequent banquet, where Han Sanping was already waiting.

"Good lad! You're really something!"

Han Sanping's eyes were full of admiration as he patted Zhuang Huai'an on the shoulder: "After this film, who in the world won't know you?"

"Mr. Han, you flatter me," Zhuang Huai'an raised his glass and clinked it with his. He was about to say a few polite words when he saw Leo winking at him from a short distance away.

Han Sanping saw it too. He smiled knowingly and turned to find Lao Wang and the others, figuring there would be plenty of opportunities to talk in the future.

Leo, holding a glass of champagne, teased, "Ann, are you satisfied with the gift MK2 gave you?"

"That's fantastic! To be honest, Leo, I thought my Cannes trip would be complete after winning the Best Actor award."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled and clinked glasses with him, "You always manage to come up with something new for me."

"This is MK2's sincerity. Although the quality of the hunt is very high, we would rather invest in you personally."

Leo took a sip of champagne and said somewhat discontentedly, "Our main targets were the Best Actor award and the Palme d'Or, but Universal went too far. I felt it wasn't worth competing with them for a while, so we set our sights on the Jury Prize, with an additional Best Screenplay award."

After hearing his explanation, Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat glad that he had been so farsighted. If he hadn't partnered with mk2, how could he have made such a fortune?

Given his current situation, money is a minor matter compared to winning an award.

Moreover, the hunt sold for 400 million dollars.

How much was the total investment for this film? It cost RMB, but made a fortune!

The meaning is different!