Chapter 740 A Reunion in Life (7000 words)

"We've got it."

"Lu Yanhe really did win an Oscar."

"He won an Oscar at the age of 25."

...

Domestically, there is also much discussion about it.

Too many people are watching tonight's live broadcast.

The moment Lu Yanhe was announced as the winner, dozens of film and television bloggers on Weibo posted messages almost simultaneously.

The domestic live stream was five minutes late. Those watching the live stream hadn't yet seen this scene.

Zhenhua University's official Weibo account posted an update immediately, congratulating their outstanding alumnus.

The No. 13 Middle School of Yuming City also posted an update.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that someone posted the first translated video of Lu Yanhe giving his acceptance speech.

Lu Yanhe's acceptance speech was in English, until the very last sentence, when he said "thank you again," which was in Chinese.

It went viral across the internet.

The significance of Lu Yanhe winning the Oscar this time lies in the fact that he won it cleanly.

A Malaysian Chinese-language film, featuring an ordinary Chinese character, and a straightforward public relations journey, with nothing shady about it.

...

Qiu Ling and Zhou Shuyu snuggled on the sofa, watching the projection of Lu Yanhe turning and leaving the stage after giving his acceptance speech. Although it had been a long time since she had seen this boy, at this moment, she could not hold back her excited and moved tears.

When Zhou Shuyu saw Qiu Ling's action, he immediately smiled and patted her.

Qiu Ling: "It's been so tough."

"Winning an Oscar at twenty-five, isn't that easy?" Zhou Shuyu asked with a smile.

Qiu Ling shook her head.

“If you had met him when he was eighteen, you wouldn’t have said that.”

Qiu Ling will never forget the night she first met Lu Yanhe.

The high school student who had just come out of the river, having walked a long way, was hungry and cold, his body trembling, yet he was trying his best to make himself look not so "bad".

Qiu Ling will never forget her interactions with those boys.

Although they gradually lost touch after moving away, they remained active in each other's social circles.

She keeps track of those people's activities and watches their work when they release it.

And every time she posts something on her WeChat Moments, she always receives their likes. Sometimes when she posts something about being tired from working overtime, the comments are full of concern.

Qiu Ling saw that many people online said that many celebrities delete their old contacts after they become famous.

She didn't know if it was true or false, but she didn't encounter it.

It's a bit of a pity that as their lives gradually intersected less, their contact also gradually decreased.

However, this is also a normal part of life.

Not everyone you once knew or liked can stay in the same circle forever.

Everyone has their own career, family, and life.

At least in this day and age, they can still quietly and consistently understand each other's lives.

Perhaps one day in the future, they will meet again by another opportunity.

Never force a relationship to continue. Sometimes, when feelings fade and contact decreases, it may be to build up more longing and tenderness for the next reunion.

At this moment, Zhou Shuyu suddenly remembered and said, "Oh right, wife, Xin Zixing contacted me today."

"Um?"

“Didn’t I record a lot of episodes of ‘City Travelogue’ before? Later, the show was taken over by a different person, and I didn’t participate much anymore,” Zhou Shuyu said. “She has now returned to Yemai.com, and she contacted me, saying that she wants to restart the show and invite me to come back.”

Qiu Ling's face lit up with surprise.

"Really? That's great!"

Zhou Shuyu is an associate professor at a university. In his previous program "City Travelogue", he was able to combine humanities with the program and tell stories in a simple and attractive way, which earned him many fans.

After ceasing participation in the program, Zhou Shuyu started his own social media account, where he records a short video every day and tells a little story.

He is someone who enjoys doing this.

Qiu Ling knew that Zhou Shuyu must be very happy to receive the invitation again.

Zhou Shuyu hugged Qiu Ling and said, "I really didn't expect that I would be back on this show one day."

Qiu Ling leaned on Zhou Shuyu's shoulder and said, "It's so good to have a reunion in life."

-

Lu Yanhe sat back down in his seat.

The awards ceremony is still ongoing.

In the Best Foreign Language Film category, the Oscars made a major reform to the award presentation format this year.

It invited renowned actors from the five countries/regions whose films were nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film award this year to come on stage, and each of them had forty seconds to introduce their nominated film.

Five famous actors, most of whom are very familiar faces and names to people in the film industry.

The actress representing Malaysia on stage was Qin Shulan.

The award is presented by filmmakers from the country whose film is nominated and which country wins.

Lu Yanhe thought this format was really good—in any case, this method expressed respect.

China could learn from this approach when hosting international film festivals in the future.

Unfortunately, this year's Best Foreign Language Film award went not to "Tropical Rainy Season," but to the Brazilian film "The Wild Goose Lake."

Lu Yanhe applauded them.

He turned to look at Huang Tianlin.

Huang Tianlin shook his head and said with a smile, "We'll come again next time."

Lu Yanhe reached out and shook his hand tightly.

"It definitely will."

After that, the award gained more and more attention.

Then came the technology awards.

The Oscars scheduled the various technical awards to be presented among the most anticipated awards, partly for ratings reasons. Historically, the Oscars have repeatedly proposed moving the award ceremonies for some technical awards to earlier dates instead of during the main awards ceremony for this reason, but the entire industry has resisted this practice.

Even if viewership ratings are affected, the winners in these technical categories should receive the same respect.

The film was created by them together.

No one expected that the Best Cinematography award would be a huge upset, with "Tropical Rainy Season" taking the prize.

The cinematography team for this film was also led by Huang Tianlin.

Lu Yanhe and the others practically jumped up in surprise.

A second prize!

He had initially thought that after losing in the Best Foreign Language Film category, "Tropical Rainy Season" might only be able to win one trophy tonight.

That's so unexpected.

Huang Tianlin was stunned.

He was stunned.

Until Qin Shulan patted him on the shoulder.

Is this what they call "a new lease on life after a long and difficult journey"?

The Best Cinematography award is obviously much weaker than the Best Foreign Language Film award; they are not in the same league.

But surprises are priceless.

Lu Yanhe gave Huang Tianlin a tight hug across the seat, "Hey! Stop daydreaming, hurry up and go on stage to receive your award!"

Huang Tianlin seemed to wake up from a dream at this moment.

-

Huang Tianlin held the Oscar statuette tightly, stood on the stage, and took two excited breaths.

Lu Yanhe looked at him with deep emotion.

Huang Tianlin stared in disbelief at the little golden statue in his hand, his voice trembling slightly. "Unbelievable! I actually held a little golden statue! It would be a lie to say I never thought I would get it, but honestly, I feel like I'm dreaming."

"Thank you to everyone. From filming this movie to the Oscars, these past two years have been the most dreamlike of my life. Yuan Hai, where are you? Oh, I see you! I thought we could go on stage together to accept the Best Foreign Language Film award. Well, we weren't so lucky this time, but you have to promise me that you won't be absent from any of my future films. You are my best producer. Without you, there would be no 'Tropical Rainy Season,' and there would be no me!"

Yuan Hai, who was sitting far back, smiled at him, his eyes red-rimmed. He probably didn't want to appear like this at this moment. He lowered his head and raised his hand to cover his eyes.

However, the cameras broadcasting the Oscars were still skilled and experienced enough to find an angle that captured his teary eyes.

"Thank you Yan He, Shulan, Huang Feng, thank you Wang Zixing and Meng Fan. Without you two, the Best Cinematography award for the film 'Tropical Rainy Season' wouldn't have been possible," Huang Tianlin said, turning to the two young men standing beside him.

They were both cinematographers for the film.

"Thank you, Midoriya, Schmidt, and Helena, for bringing us this miracle tonight!" Huang Tianlin suddenly cheered excitedly again. "Thank you to all the judges who voted for us, thank you!"

Sincere and emotionally charged speeches always elicit thunderous applause.

Chen Siqi said to Lu Yanhe, "That's great, there's one less regret."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

-

Every award that followed was no longer relevant to them.

When Huang Feng was introduced as the nominee for Best Actor, the loudest cheers and applause of the night erupted, without a doubt. Even the announcement of the winner didn't elicit such a commotion.

Lu Yanhe was particularly moved. Fortunately, when they saw that Huang Feng and Qin Shulan seemed to be getting attention during the awards season, they decisively pushed both Qin Shulan and Huang Feng into the awards season, which led to tonight's glory.

Huang Feng's performance during the awards season also gave "Home Alone" a particularly good opportunity to be released.

Lu Yanhe felt that there might not be a more suitable time to release it in North America.

Home Alone made Huang Feng's awards season a success, and Huang Feng's performance in the awards season also made Home Alone a success.

They truly complement each other.

A public relations path that is difficult to replicate.

Finally, when "Tropical Rainy Season" appeared in the introduction of the Best Picture nominees, as one of only two non-English films among this year's Best Picture nominees, Lu Yanhe suddenly felt what it meant to be "nominated as recognition".

This is the Oscars, an American film award, although it has been striving to reach a global audience and establish itself as a world-class award.

However, in reality, it targets films from all over the world that have achieved remarkable influence in the American film industry and the American market.

Non-English speaking films are always at a disadvantage. In this context, isn't a non-English speaking film being nominated for this award a form of recognition?

Lu Yanhe's biggest takeaway from this year's North American awards season is that the Oscars, after decades of accumulation, have achieved their current influence and industry status in North America. The most impressive thing is that every professional in Hollywood regards winning an Oscar as the greatest honor they can achieve in their job.

In fact, everyone is defending the Oscars.

Historically, those few Oscar winners who were "watered down" have faced a lack of recognition from the industry, even after winning the award. It's not that their winning an award automatically makes them white.

Actors who use unfair means to compete, such as Rooney Mara, who was very strong in all aspects back then (of course, her methods were within the rules), were clearly one of the two leading actresses in "Carol," but in order to increase her chances of winning, she changed her lead role to a supporting role and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Instead, she attracted a lot of controversy during the awards season, with many people believing that her actions were unfair to the other nominees, and ultimately she did not win.

Lu Yanhe believes that the genuine recognition and support from so many people in the industry is the fundamental reason why this award has such a dominant position in the industry.

In contrast, consider the awards in China.

Even Lu Yanhe himself had doubts, let alone others.

Of course, all the toxic elements of the Oscars are present.

Harvey Weinstein rose to fame with his PR success during awards season for "Shakespeare in Love," and afterwards, his powerful PR skills and tactics made him highly sought after throughout Hollywood.

He completely figured out the public relations rules of the Oscars, and then turned them into his own tools. Even the defense of art films and the Oscars by many people became something he could exploit.

These thoughts did not linger in Lu Yanhe's mind for long tonight.

After the Oscars ceremony, there was an after-party hosted by Vanity Fair magazine.

Tonight is not a good night for thinking things through.

-

At the Vanity Fair after-party, Zhan Yun, Li Zhibai, and Jiang Yuqian, who did not attend the Oscars ceremony, all made an appearance.

Zhan Yun appeared as the female lead in "Friends"—Maxine got the invitation to the party for her.

Jiang Yuqian received the invitation from a collaborating brand. In recent years, Jiang Yuqian has frequently appeared on the international stage, gaining extremely high exposure. With good projects to follow, brands are very happy to cooperate with her. For high-profile events like this, brands will give priority to Jiang Yuqian when they receive an invitation.

As for Li Zhibai, it was because "Buried Alive" was in the promotional period.

Parameter has decided to release "Buried" in April.

The reason why "Buried" was rushed into an April release despite its huge success at the Sundance Film Festival is because Parameter has a major film slated for release in almost every major period after April. If this film wants Parameter's full support, it has to be released in April so that Parameter can dedicate as many resources as possible to "Buried".

Lu Yanhe was very happy that he could see them that night.

It wasn't until he overheard a stranger at the party jokingly muttering to the person next to him, "It feels like Asians are going to take all the jobs in Hollywood from now on."

-

Discrimination is still everywhere.

Lu Yanhe pretended not to hear and turned to leave.

But after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped and then walked back.

He walked directly up to the person who had just spoken.

The man was stunned when he saw Lu Yanhe suddenly standing in front of him. He opened his mouth, but then stopped himself from speaking.

The person next to that man clearly realized that Lu Yanhe had heard what had just been said.

He quickly took a step back, creating distance between himself and the person, indicating that he had no connection with that person.

Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "I just heard you say that Asians are taking all the jobs in Hollywood. I, an Asian, with my scripts, production company, and funding, have launched four projects in Hollywood in one go: 'Buried,' 'Red Eye,' 'Flypaper,' and 'Speed.' Shouldn't I be providing you with more jobs? It's strange that you're not on the list of recommendations from various agents."

The man's face immediately turned bright red.

Lu Yanhe: "Capable people are creating more job opportunities. Incapable people are always complaining that others have taken their jobs away. In fact, it's not that others have taken your job away, it's that the job has rejected you."

He spoke these words without lowering his voice at all.

Many people around heard it.

Their expressions varied, but all were captivating.

“Hey, Lu.” Jack Rohn, who was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars today, walked over. He had been standing next to Lu Yanhe earlier. He put his arm around Lu Yanhe’s shoulder and said enthusiastically, “Don’t let this kind of person upset you tonight. Come on, Rollman has been saying he wants to get to know you. Do me a favor and come with me to say hello to him.”

Lu Yanhe smiled at Jack Ron and said, "Of course, no problem."

He didn't even glance at the man again, and walked away with Jack Ron.

The person stood there, feeling uncomfortable under the mocking or disgusted gazes of those around them, and quickly left.

-

Jack Ron is not American.

He is Norwegian, but has been making movies in Hollywood.

In Europe and America, apart from a few actors from countries like Britain and France, most actors have deep connections with Hollywood because their own country's film industry is often incomplete and has a small output. If they want to further develop their careers, they have to come to Hollywood.

Jack Ron is a well-known actor in the United States, now in his forties, and a very charming man.

“Congratulations!” Jack Ron said.

The two had already crossed paths many times during the awards season.

Since Jack Ron has never been among the favorites to win an award this year, it can be said that once he entered the nomination list, he had completed his awards season mission. All that's left is to keep showing up at these events to boost his fame and exposure.

Therefore, the conflict between him and Lu Yanhe was not as intense as the conflict with Uber Clark.

"Thanks."

Jack Ron said, "Don't take what that guy said to heart. He's just a bunch of losers. You're absolutely right."

Lu Yanhe: "I know, I won't mind."

“Let’s find a chance to have a drink together privately later. We can’t have a deep conversation in this kind of setting today.” Jack Ron patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder. “You’re right up my alley, Lu. We can be friends.”

Lu Yanhe smiled and nodded, saying "okay," and then added, "Of course."

-

The news of what had just happened spread quickly.

Almost everyone at the party had heard about it.

I don’t know when it started, but every American Lu Yanhe meets will very seriously emphasize that he warmly welcomes outstanding Asian filmmakers like Lu Yanhe to Hollywood.

Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.

One by one, they all started to "express their opinions".

Of course, this is a good thing.

When he ran into Jiang Yuqian, she said to him with great satisfaction, "You did a great job, you were right to confront her."

People like Jiang Yuqian, who have spent almost all of the last few years abroad, have encountered this kind of situation countless times.

Everywhere you go, there are some arrogant idiots.

However, Jiang Yuqian didn't have the same confidence to retort as Lu Yanhe. Unless it was something particularly outrageous, she could only glare at him or give him a harsh reprimand.

It's better to fight back like Lu Yanhe did.

Loser!

Lu Yanhe said to Jiang Yuqian, "After you finish filming 'Red Eye Flight,' you'll probably encounter even more people like this who are sarcastic towards you."

"Let them be sour. The more sour they are, the happier I am," Jiang Yuqian said. "What makes me unhappy is not their sourness or sarcasm, but that I don't have a way to refute them back with a clear conscience."

Lu Yanhe: "If you're not confident enough, who is?"

Jiang Yuqian said, "It's okay, you don't need to comfort me. Although I can't gain a foothold in a short time, I will firmly guard my place. I won't be driven away. As long as I stand here long enough, this place will be mine, and no one can drive me away."

Jiang Yuqian's tone was somewhat stubborn.

Lu Yanhe listened, smiled, nodded, and said, "Okay."

When he ran into Li Zhibai, Li Zhibai happened to have something to discuss with him. He said that a director wanted to meet him the next day to talk, and that the director had a role that was suitable for him.

Li Zhibai was a little unsure whether he should go.

Lu Yanhe said, "See if the director is a very famous director. If not, it's okay to meet and chat, but don't express your opinion on whether you will act in the role or the conditions for acting. Just say that you don't understand these things and that your agent should handle them."

Lu Yanhe's suggestion was not meant to discriminate against "small-time directors".

It's because Li Zhibai has attracted some attention in Hollywood thanks to "Buried Alive".

Many Chinese companies "buy shares" to invest in actors who are "about to become popular".

The same goes for Hollywood.

Lu Yanhe was afraid that Li Zhibai would be tricked by people of unknown origin.

Li Zhibai understood and nodded.

Lu Yanhe added, "But no matter what kind of film it is, I suggest you wait until 'Buried' is released before you start talking about it. The situation will be completely different if you talk about a film in Hollywood now compared to two months later."

"Okay, I understand." Li Zhibai nodded.

He smiled at Lu Yanhe.

"You said before that 'Buried' would make me a global sensation, and now it seems like there really is such a hope."

Lu Yanhe immediately said, "Then when 'Speed' is released, Yan Liang will be ten times more famous than you."

"..." Li Zhibai looked at Lu Yanhe in disbelief, "Damn, this is favoritism."

Lu Yanhe laughed.

“It’s your fault for not being able to film action scenes,” Lu Yanhe said. “However, based on my understanding of you, you just need a catalyst. After ‘Buried Alive,’ you will encounter more good projects, and they will all come to you.”

Li Zhibai raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "You finally made me famous worldwide, and you're in such a hurry to kick me to someone else? You don't need me to act in your other projects?"

“Not for now.” Lu Yanhe smiled. “Compared to my projects, I think you could make some more artistically exploratory films. The films I’m currently working on in Hollywood are all commercial films. The most stylish ones are like ‘Flypaper.’ These kinds of films don’t really suit your image and temperament. You’re more suited to films with a bit of auteurship and creative concepts.”

In Lu Yanhe's mind, Li Zhibai's unique image and temperament, as well as his characteristics in choosing films, are actually somewhat similar to John Lone's—not that they look alike, but that John Lone is the kind of person who is more charming in films with a certain artistic flair, while appearing in a purely commercial film like "Rush Hour 2" makes him look rather ordinary.

Yan Liang's image is more compatible than Li Zhibai's.

If we're talking about containers, Yan Liang's image is a larger container, capable of holding more things.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhibai said with some disdain, "I didn't understand half of what you said."

“If you didn’t understand, that’s fine. If you have any scripts you’re unsure about in the future, you can show them to me,” Lu Yanhe said. “Simply put, compared to the male leads in those youth romance movies that Lang Xia played, you are more suitable for the role of Ke Jingteng in ‘You Are the Apple of My Eye’. Compared to those stereotypical gods and immortals, you are more suitable for the chivalrous and carefree Li Xiaoyao. You are more suited to playing roles with more distinct personalities and character traits.”

Li Zhibai can't play a "common" role.

And Speed—

To be honest, in his opinion, if Keanu Reeves weren't so handsome and bursting with hormones, his character in the movie would just be a typical young tough guy, without any particularly unique qualities.

Lu Yanhe chatted with Li Zhibai for a while, and then Uber Clark suddenly came over to find him.

"Hey, Uber." Lu Yanhe's eyes lit up when he saw him, and he immediately took the initiative to greet him.

Uber Clark smiled and nodded, clinked glasses with him lightly, and said, "Congratulations on winning an Oscar this year."

Lu Yanhe said sincerely, "Thank you, I believe you will get it soon too."

Uber Clark smiled but didn't respond to that, instead saying...

"Contact me when you find a suitable role."

“Of course.” Lu Yanhe nodded, paused for a moment, and then said, “In fact, I have a role I’d like to offer you right now.”

-

I was planning to write more today.

However, it wasn't done.

The reason is...

I finally mustered up the courage to start reading the story I wrote from the very first chapter.

Then I got hooked... I used to think, how could so many people be willing to read something written like this?

Today I felt that the writing really suited my taste, and I read more than two hundred chapters in one go.

(End of this chapter)