Chapter 699: Too much attention
During the more than ten-day signing tour, Lin Weimin traveled to major cities in the United States. He also had to give speeches and accept interviews from time to time, and had almost no rest time.
It was already the end of November when he returned to New York.
The work schedule during my visit to the United States this time was so tight that I didn’t even meet many of my acquaintances.
As there were still two days before he returned to China, Lin Weimin planned to visit an old friend, but because he had one last interview in the morning, he could only go in the afternoon.
At nine o'clock in the morning, sunlight shines into the room through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the executive room.
The reporter who wanted to interview Lin Weimin just walked into the room. Lin Weimin looked at the other person's yellow face with some surprise.
"Hello, Mr. Lin. I am Zhang Chunru, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune."
Lin Weimin greeted Zhang Chunru warmly and asked, "Miss Zhang is Chinese?"
"That's right. My parents immigrated to the United States in their early years, and I was born in the United States."
Lin Weimin smiled and spoke a few words to her in Chinese, and Zhang Chunru answered fluently.
"There aren't many second-generation Chinese who are as fluent in Chinese as you are."
"I communicate with my parents in Chinese more often at home, so my Chinese is pretty good."
We chatted casually and the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.
The interview lasted nearly two hours. After it was over, Zhang Chunru praised: "Mr. Lin, it is a great pleasure to interview you."
"Thank you, you are also a very good interviewer." Lin Weimin said with a smile.
Zhang Chunru took out two more books from her bag, one was "Farewell My Concubine" and the other was the Chinese version of "The Ming Dynasty 1566".
"Do you still like this kind of historical novel?"
“I am very interested in Chinese history.”
After signing happily, Lin Weimin wrote down his contact information on a piece of paper.
"We are all compatriots. If you go to China in the future, please contact me and I will treat you to a meal!"
Zhang Chunru was surprised by Lin Weimin's enthusiasm. She took the contact information and thanked Lin Weimin.
After seeing Zhang Chunru off, Lin Weimin stood at the door of the room, looking at her back and sighed.
After lunch, Lin Weimin came to the San Remo Apartment.
Arthur Miller is nearly 80 years old. After not seeing him for four years, he looks much older, but he is still in good spirits.
When he saw Lin Weimin, he was a little excited and was in high spirits to talk.
In recent years, Arthur Miller has been in semi-retirement and has rarely participated in activities in the drama world.
But he has never stopped creating plays throughout his life. This year he just completed the creation of the drama script "The Last Yankee".
He also showed the script to Lin Weimin to show off. After Lin Weimin finished reading it, Arthur Miller asked him for his evaluation of the script.
Lin Weimin praised the work without hesitation, but Arthur Miller said, "Come on, I know I'm not a good writer."
He looked a little depressed after he finished speaking, "For anyone working in the arts, time is the biggest enemy."
"We Chinese have a poem that goes: Since ancient times, heroes are like beauties, and they are not allowed to grow old in the world. Just be content. You can still write at this age, while Mr. Wan has already stopped writing."
"Well said." Arthur Miller sighed, then calmed down and asked about Mr. Wan's recent situation.
The two chatted for an afternoon, and Arthur Miller and his wife treated Lin Weimin to dinner before he left the San Remo apartment.
The next day, Lin Weimin went to buy some gifts and prepared to return home the next day, but he received a call from Michael Phillips.
The crew of "Farewell My Concubine" has just arrived in New York, and the award season is about to begin.
On December 3, the first award of the awards season, the New York Film Critics Circle Award, which is also the first of the four major film critics awards in the United States, will be presented in New York. This award is one of the important indicators of the Oscars.
A set of data shows the influence of the New York Film Critics Circle Award on the Academy Awards: the overlap rate for Best Director is 28%, the overlap rate for Best Actor is 35%, and the overlap rate for Best Actress is 31%.
Although "Farewell My Concubine" has American funding background, everyone from the director, screenwriter to the actors are Chinese. It can be said to be a thoroughly Chinese-language film.
It may not have an advantage in other film critics association awards, but it is an exception in the New York Film Critics Circle.
Before 1966, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards mainly evaluated local historical legends or costume dramas, which had a lot of overlap with the Academy Awards.
But after the establishment of the American Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle gradually shifted its taste towards foreign films in order to differentiate itself from the competition and has maintained this trend to this day.
As early as mid-November, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards announced this year's list of winners.
"Farewell My Concubine" won two awards: Best Actress and Best Foreign Language Film.
The New York Film Critics Circle Awards had a total of nine awards. Except for the two awards won by "Farewell My Concubine", the remaining seven awards were divided among three films, namely "Schindler's List", "The Piano" and "Naked".
Therefore, the crew of "Farewell My Concubine" attached great importance to the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Xu Feng, Cheng Kaige and Gong Li were all present. Gong Li was currently filming Zhang Yimou's "To Live" and took a special leave to come, after all, she was given the Best Actress award.
In later generations, many people always thought that Leslie Cheung’s Cheng Dieyi was brilliant, but in fact Leslie Cheung did not win any heavyweight best actor awards for the role of Cheng Dieyi.
On the contrary, the role of Juxian played by Gong Li has a very high status in the hearts of North American filmmakers. Not only did she win the Best Supporting Actress Award from the New York Film Critics Circle that year, but in 2004, she was also ranked 89th on the list of the 100 Greatest Performances in Film History by Premiere magazine in the United States for her role as Juxian.
In today's timeline, the crew of "Farewell My Concubine" signed Gong Li up for the role of Leading Actress instead of Supporting Actress, and she successfully won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.
Around eight o'clock in the evening, Lin Weimin met with Cheng Kaige, Xu Feng and others at a high-end French restaurant in New York.
Recently, Lin Weimin has become quite famous in the United States. After listening to Michael Phillips' talk, Xu Feng and others were amazed and marveled at Lin Weimin's popularity and influence in the United States.
When Xu Feng heard that Lin Weimin was going to return to China tomorrow, she refused to agree and insisted that Lin Weimin stay for two more days to attend the New York Film Critics Circle Awards ceremony before leaving.
"You guys judge your awards, how can I help?"
"How can you not help? Just you standing there will be the best topic, and more media will report on us." Xu Feng said.
Michael Phillips also advised: "Yes, Lin. Don't underestimate your influence in the United States. Right now you and Richard Yates are at their peak of popularity. If you attend the event, you will definitely attract a lot of attention to Farewell My Concubine, which will be very helpful for the film's promotion during the awards season."
The two partners joined forces to persuade Lin Weimin, and he finally compromised.
Anyway, I have already taken such a long leave, so these three or four days won’t make a difference.
As for Old Cheng, just let him wait!
December 3, Walter Reade Theater, New York City Center.
The 59th New York Film Critics Circle Awards will be held here as scheduled tonight.
A red carpet has been laid in front of the theater, and the area where the stars will appear has been cordoned off. Outside the cordon, a large number of fans are gathering.
At the end of the red carpet is a photo booth where the stars will have brief interviews and take photos after walking the red carpet.
A few meters away was the media area, where dozens of reporters with cameras were standing ready to go.
The red carpet ceremony began at around six in the evening.
Because the winners of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards are announced half a month in advance, there were not many film crews present today, only four award-winning film crews, but there were quite a few stars present.
After all, it is one of the earliest and most important outposts of the Hollywood awards season, and movie stars, singers, and producers all appear in their best attire.
The crew of "Farewell My Concubine" appeared in the middle order. Except for Michael Phillips, an American, they all had yellow skin and black eyes, which made them stand out among the foreigners.
Lin Weimin wore a suit and mingled with the crowd, standing to the side when photos were taken.
Unexpectedly, when he was being interviewed by the host, Michael Phillips specifically cue him.
"Mr. Lin Weimin, the original author of Farewell My Concubine, also came to the award ceremony."
His words immediately attracted the flashes of many media, and reporters' cameras quickly pressed the shutters in the direction of Michael Phillips' finger.
Although today is a film awards ceremony, Lin Weimin has indeed been very popular in the American cultural circle recently. Many people who were not familiar with him before have become familiar with his name because of the recent news coverage.
Such news hotspots are naturally the focus of reporters' cameras.
Lin Weimin has never participated in an award ceremony, but he had just participated in the Shanghai International Film Festival in October. Facing many flashing cameras, he was calm and composed, and behaved gracefully.
Because of his presence, the interview, which was supposed to be only one or two minutes long, was dragged on for several minutes by the host, who asked Lin Weimin several questions.
After dealing with the host's questions, the five-member crew came to the theater.
The crew of "Farewell My Concubine" and the crew of "Schindler's List" were next to each other. Michael Phillips and Steven Spielberg are good friends, and the two of them made a special trip to say hello.
Michael Phillips introduced Lin Weimin to Steven Spielberg.
"Steven, Lin, even though this is the first time you two meet, you can be considered old acquaintances!" Michael Phillips said with a laugh.
Spielberg is the director of the film version of "The Intouchables" and he once bought the copyright to "Life is Beautiful". Although it was not filmed in the end and he turned to shoot the serious "Schindler's List", he is still a former partner.
The two of them greeted each other with a smile, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then took their seats.
As the first of the four major film critics association awards in the United States, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards is of a high standard. More than one hundred guests from the entertainment industry were present today, and several singers performed to liven up the event. The entire award ceremony lasted nearly two hours.
Since the award results were announced half a month in advance, there was no suspense in the award ceremony and the scene was harmonious.
On the contrary, during the interview session after the award ceremony, when the crew of "Farewell My Concubine" appeared in the interview area, the reporters immediately became enthusiastic.
However, the reporters neither interviewed the director Cheng Kaige nor Gong Li, who had just been crowned Best Actress. Instead, they all directed the microphones at Lin Weimin, the original author, who was deliberately standing at the edge of the interview area.
"Mr. Lin, can you tell us what you think about Farewell My Concubine winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award?"
"The New York Film Critics Circle Awards is an important precursor to the Oscars. What are your expectations for the Oscars?"
"You have a huge influence among American book fans. Do you have any plans to write some works about the United States?"
"Mr. Lin, you have won the National Book Critics Circle Award twice, but you were not shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award because of your nationality. Have you ever thought about becoming a U.S. citizen?"
…
The reporters' questions seemed normal at first, but changed as they went on. After all, they were all entertainment reporters, and their focus was completely different from the reporters from the literary magazines and serious newspapers that Lin Weimin was in contact with.
Lin Weimin answered a few perfunctorily and handed the microphone to Cheng Kaige, then ran out of the interview area amid the disappointed looks of the reporters.
More than ten minutes later, several people from the "Farewell My Concubine" crew reunited with Lin Weimin.
Cheng Kaige sighed a little. He had only heard about how famous Teacher Lin was in the United States before. After attending the award ceremony today, he finally felt firsthand how famous Teacher Lin was in the United States.
It was hard for him to imagine that a foreign writer could be so famous here.
It's so eye-catching, so enviable!
The end of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards ceremony is just the beginning. In the next two months, "Farewell My Concubine" will continue to appear frequently in major award events in the American film industry.
After accompanying the crew to the New York Film Critics Circle Awards Ceremony, Lin Weimin's mission was considered accomplished.
It's time to go home!
(End of this chapter)
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