Chapter 223: The "Two-Handed Arrangement" Award Belongs to the Artist...

Many people probably associate "beauty" with "brainlessness," so much so that they forget that Li Sishi emerged from four beauty pageants that particularly valued "both beauty and intelligence."

After being subtly mocked by Li Sishi through a historical analogy, these ill-intentioned reporters finally realized that the young girl in front of them was not a pushover they could easily manipulate. So, they quickly put on a few thick-skinned laughs, a necessary tactic for reporters, and turned to surround another newcomer, Hou Yaoxin, whose award was also quite "controversial."

Of course, Hou Yaoxin was also from Taiwan and was one of their own, and she also had a powerful music mogul as her backer. So they knew their limits when they were trying to block her, and they weren't as aggressive as they were when they faced Li Sishi.

Seeing that she was no longer the center of attention, Li Sishi strolled over to the dining table, grabbed a glass of juice, and sipped it: No wonder Kong Wei didn't like coming here even though the film policy had been relaxed.

If the Golden Phoenix Awards in mainland China are a niche circle of intellectuals, and their judging criteria are ambiguous due to excessive influence from human and institutional factors, then the Golden Lotus Awards in Taiwan are seemingly fair and open, but in reality, they are full of "tricks" that make non-local filmmakers unhappy, both before and after the awards ceremony.

However, to put it another way, although these award ceremonies are currently competing to be the worst, at least because we are still in the golden age of film, based on a large number of good movies, these award ceremonies, each with its own selfish motives, have not yet become as outrageously bad as they will become in the future.

While there are controversies surrounding some award winners, those who are clearly mediocre are not to be promoted. Most of the controversies revolve around the idea that there is no first place in literature but there is in martial arts, or the debate between commercial box office and artistic merit.

Therefore, even though the three major film awards are not very fair in reality, they still maintain a certain level of influence on the surface. Artists who want to pursue a career in acting have to work hard to compete for one of these awards.

This award is not only an affirmation of one's acting skills by industry insiders, but also a reference standard for investors when making investments.

Aside from those true veteran actors who are wholeheartedly dedicated to their art, other "artists" have to consider the fame and fortune brought by the three major awards—after all, the awards belong to the artists themselves, while the money belongs to everyone.

Bosses and investors may not care whether you've won awards or how many awards you've won, but they will definitely care whether the movies you make can make money.

Therefore, under this premise, awards such as "Best Actor" and "Best Actress" are meaningless.

The titles such as "Best Supporting Actor" and "Best Newcomer," which can be prominently displayed on movie posters for pre-release promotion, are one of the key factors for the fame and fortune that artists and actors receive after competing for awards.

Li Sishi is the kind of artist who craves both industry recognition and fame and fortune. So while she may not be as ecstatic as veteran actors who focus solely on their art when she wins an award, she is genuinely happy, feeling that she has accomplished another goal on her to-do list. Her current market value has also increased accordingly because of the award, bringing her one step closer to her status as a "legendary Best Actress"...

While sipping her drink and lost in thought, Hou Yaoxin, who had finally escaped the reporters' entourage, suddenly appeared in front of her and said that she really liked Li Sishi's movie, saying that her performance in the movie was exceptionally delicate and moving.

It was clear that Hou Yaoxin's words were not just empty flattery, but came from the bottom of her heart. Li Sishi thought about it for a moment and then roughly figured out why Hou Yaoxin liked "The Voice of Dreams" so much: people always feel a special kind of touch when they see things that are similar to themselves.

Unlike the romantic storyline in "The Voice of China," where the male and female leads, despite their age difference, have no romantic entanglements, Hou Yaoxin's relationship with her music mogul mentor, Cheng Xing, was rumored when Cheng Xing had already been married for many years and had a wife and children.

Therefore, despite the numerous rumors circulating about them, the two are currently in a state where they are attracted to each other but cannot forget their responsibilities.

The award-winning song "Crazy for Love" is a "heartbreak song" that Cheng Xing specially wrote for Hou Yaoxin. It served as her debut and representative work in the music industry, and while protecting her career development, it also metaphorically told her about his final decision.

As an outsider, Li Sishi couldn't say much about this situation where someone wavered but ultimately managed to stay true to themselves: In any case, there are no eternal enemies or friends in the world. Sometimes you're destined to be together for a while, and sometimes you're not, so you part ways. In short, you have to act according to the situation.

Faced with Hou Yaoxin's overtures, she naturally couldn't give her a cold shoulder. Maintaining social etiquette, she simply chatted for a few minutes and exchanged a few words with her. The subsequent award ceremony blessings completed the uneventful acquaintance.

Not long after Hou Yaoxin left, Rong Juezhang came over with Tang Jingwen in his arms: "You've managed to hide away so peacefully, while I had to help deal with the reporters over there..."

"Has Hanyou left so early?" Li Sishi looked at the two of them and wondered.

"Sigh, it's rare that you nominated him for a supporting role, but he still didn't win an award this time, plus..."

"His schedule is tight, which is why he's so quick to come and go." Tang Jingwen spoke as directly as ever, but added, "However, before he left, he asked me to thank you."

Although Li Sishi's decision to apply for the Best Supporting Actress award was a safe one after discussion, Shang Hanyou still owed her a favor to some extent: given Li Sishi's performance and the connections she had, even if she didn't win the Best Actress award this time, getting a nomination was a sure thing.

However, according to the "unspoken rules" of the awards ceremony, if Li Sishi applied for Best Actress and was nominated, then the chances of the Best Actor nominee from the same film winning would be reduced accordingly. Therefore, when Li Sishi told him that she would apply for Best Supporting Actress at this year's Golden Lotus Awards, Shang Hanyou was quite happy and grateful.

However, he still failed to win a Best Actor award this time. Even the "consolation prize" of Best Supporting Actor was given to "Man in His Forties" because "Man in His Forties" had already won both Best Actress and Best Film. Therefore, a major award had to be "shared" among local Taiwanese films and filmmakers.

This outcome left him feeling disappointed and helpless, and he was also too embarrassed to meet Li Sishi, so he quickly slipped away after the awards ceremony, making an excuse about being busy...

“It’s not that bad…” Li Sishi sighed.

Speaking of which, apart from her, a reborn person with a cheat code, the other three people present—Rong Juezhang, Shang Hanyou, and Tang Jingwen—are all capable individuals who don't quite know how to manage awards.

Of course, given their individual personalities, even if they are fully aware of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, it would be difficult for them to let go of their innate pride. The former two have a certain "aloofness" that is unique to actors, while Tang Jingwen has always been "aloof" in every aspect. She does not want to rely too much on behind-the-scenes maneuvering, but wants to compete for awards entirely based on her own strength.

6

This is actually a good quality, and all three of them are able to rely on their own strength to crush all unfounded unspoken rules most of the time.

However, even though they are all so powerful, in today's profit-driven entertainment industry, they are bound to suffer some minor losses in certain competitions.

"Actually, it's mainly because I've become indifferent to it all. I've won most of the awards I could, so I'm too lazy to compete anymore," Rong Juezhang chuckled. "If I were your age, I would definitely agree to fight for it by any means necessary. But now, I'm too old, and I don't have the energy to compete anymore..."

He sighed and groaned, his baby face belying his age, even though Tang was as aloof as ever.

Jingwen couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

Amused by the interaction between the two, Li Sishi raised her glass and clinked it with theirs, wishing each other better futures. The turbulent awards ceremony finally came to an end with the clinking of glasses.

Then Li Sishi hurriedly returned to Hong Kong that night. After briefly handling her own affairs, she officially joined the crew of "People in the Jianghu".

Because most of the filming took place in the early hours of the morning, the opening ceremony and blessing ritual had been arranged with the crew before she went to Taiwan. There was no need to worry about any traditional ceremonies; she would just notify them when she returned and then go directly to the designated time and place.

Director Liu Jixiang, like the previous chubby director Huang Zheng, is very good at controlling costs and adjusting efficiency. Therefore, he had arranged the schedule with Li Sishi well in advance. They would start filming some of the male lead and supporting male scenes first, and then arrange for the female lead's scenes to be filmed after Li Sishi returned from Taiwan.

After all, if Li Sishi were to win any award from Taiwan, it would be something she could use for publicity—Liu Jixiang, who can collaborate with the chubby director Huang Zheng to start a company, is definitely a business genius.

Moreover, this guy is not only a business genius but also a sucker for good looks, especially for people like Cheng Erjian and Li Sishi. This time, he's managed to snag these two favorites.

He was incredibly energetic when filming, and even after several days of all-nighters, he showed no signs of fatigue from excessive sleep deprivation. The group of young men next to him who were also going to act didn't seem to have as much energy as him...

Even Cheng Erjian, who usually seizes every spare moment to play video games, is now sitting quietly in a folding chair, resting. You can imagine how much they've been working hard these past few days.

"Wow, it's rare to see you so quiet." After finishing her makeup, but the venue wasn't ready yet, Li Sishi casually went over and patted him.

"Shh—" Cheng Erjian quickly made a shushing gesture to her. Combined with his particularly majestic and domineering dragon tattoo that covered most of his chest, he inexplicably had a weird cute feeling of a big bad wolf trying to be cute.

Seeing that he wasn't just "quiet" but "well-behaved," Li Sishi was about to tease him a bit more when Cheng Erjian quickly pulled her closer. Then, he cautiously looked around before quietly explaining the real reason why he was being so quiet and unusually dedicated to his work today—

“It’s a fake painting,” Cheng Erjian said, pointing to the dragon painted on his chest.

Then Cheng Erjian pointed to the various tattoos on the extras wandering around: "They're really tattooed..."

To save money, the director found that all the extras in these "Young and Dangerous" movies waiting to start filming were "real" actors he got from some unknown channel. He didn't charge them any extra fees and they even brought their own lunch boxes!