Chapter 786 Nomination
Lu Yanhe realized that he was biased against "Mist 2".
From the very beginning, he took on this film for the sake of "box office performance," which was full of utilitarianism. Therefore, contrary to the idea of loving the house and its crows, he also felt that his performance in this film was full of utilitarianism.
But he is indeed a good actor.
Regardless of his inner thoughts or perspective on the film, he showed no slack in his performance, demonstrating absolute control in every scene.
In fact, besides him, Ryan Waters and Erin Wallace are both actors who have been nominated for Oscars. Even though they are a bit past their prime now, they still have solid acting skills.
But their performance paled in comparison to Lu Yanhe's.
Jason Porter and Wang Jiaqi were completely overshadowed by Lu Yanhe in their performances—given the nature of their characters, they were completely dominated by Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe's aura was too powerful.
“It’s good,” Lu Yanhe said. “He played such an unrealistic character very convincingly.”
Zou Dong glanced at Lu Yanhe in surprise.
This doesn't sound like something Lu Yanhe would say.
Lu Yanhe suddenly glanced at Zou Dong and gave an embarrassed smile.
Zou Dong opened his mouth, but didn't say anything for a moment. After two seconds, he added, "Well done."
Lu Yanhe was so embarrassed that he dug his toes into the ground.
"Thanks."
-
Before returning to China, "The Mist 2" had been showing in North America for nearly three weeks, with domestic box office exceeding $90 million and global box office reaching $140 million. Its overseas performance was relatively weak, which is normal for a horror thriller.
Its box office performance was outstanding, making it a standout performer in this lackluster January season.
January and February are typically the slowest months for the US film box office. Almost all major films avoid being released during these periods.
The box office success of the first installments of "The Mist" and "Home Alone" was largely due to the absence of other films during that release period, allowing them to surge like tigers descending from the mountains and sweeping across the plains.
The Mist 2 was the highest-grossing film released in January; in other words, it was also the top-grossing film in the United States in January.
This is of great significance to Lu Yanhe.
Darren Wilson said, "Yan He, your salary can be increased further. I will raise your salary offer to eight million US dollars, and the final price must not be lower than six million US dollars."
Lu Yanhe naturally listened to Darren Wilson on these matters.
"Actually, if you're willing to continue acting in 'The Mist 3,' your asking price can be raised to ten million US dollars."
In the "Mist" series, Lu Yanhe is absolutely central, and his salary would be even higher if he continued to star in films within the same series. This is normal.
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "I won't act in it for now. I already felt that 'Mist 2' was a bit worse than the first one. It didn't have a good script or a good idea. If we continue to make 'Mist 3,' the box office will only drop further. In fact, the box office of 'Mist 2' was already much lower than the first one, wasn't it?"
Darren Wilson: "That's true, but on the other hand, with the previous two films as a foundation, even if 'The Mist 3' does poorly at the box office, it won't be too bad."
“But at this stage, I don’t need a movie that doesn’t do too badly at the box office, do I?” Lu Yanhe said. “What I need is a movie that performs exceptionally well.”
Darren Wilson nodded.
He said, "By the way, Soren has contacted me and asked when you're free."
Lu Yanhe said, "Let's wait until after 'Home Alone 2' is released. You said that when it comes to negotiations, we need to find a time that is more advantageous to ourselves."
Darren Wilson laughed. "The box office success of The Mist 2 has made it a very favorable time for you to negotiate."
-
The premiere of "Home Alone 2" was a great success.
In the second part, Huang Feng leaves his home and travels alone to a hotel in a foreign country, where he encounters the two bumbling thieves again. In a shopping mall, he once again engages in a battle of wits with the two thieves.
Compared to the first part, it's just the same thing in a different guise.
However, viewers who like "Home Alone" want this effect of the same old thing in a new guise.
After the premiere, the film received a 100% positive review rating from the media.
Seeing this approval rating, everyone knows that Home Alone 2 is a sure box office hit.
It might even surpass the first one.
This movie is poised to become another huge hit.
On the day Huang Feng, Liu Teli, and Lu Yanhe returned to China, Luo Weida and his two companions also traveled to eight major voting bloc countries for promotion after New York.
Under Midoriya's arrangement, the release of "Home Alone 2" was definitely treated like a blockbuster.
Lu Yanhe did not participate in it anymore.
He hadn't been back to China for too long and wanted to go back and rest.
Coincidentally, the day he returned to his home country was the day the Oscar nominations were announced.
Darren Wilson asked him if he wanted to change his ticket and wait for the result together.
Lu Yanhe said, "Even if I get a nomination, it's impossible for me to win, right? That's an even more obscure choice than an upset. At this point, do you expect me to go through all that awards season PR stuff? So, I'm not changing my ticket. If I really get a nomination, I'll know as soon as the plane lands."
Darren Wilson was momentarily at a loss for words when asked how to respond to Lu Yanhe's statement.
Because what Lu Yanhe said... is actually quite right.
If "The Mist 2" does receive a nomination, then "a nomination is an affirmation," and it's unlikely to be another major upset.
Of course, under normal circumstances, during awards season, no nominee would consider themselves a sure thing.
This is the rule of the game. You are a player in this game, and also an NPC. If you want everyone to recognize you, you have to appear in this game and make it look lively and exciting. This is your obligation.
However, Lu Yanhe has been attending quite a few events in the United States lately, although none of them were public relations events for "Mist 2." Under these circumstances, Lu Yanhe felt he had been quite considerate, showing ample respect as a foreign actor.
It's Chinese New Year.
For Chinese people, the Spring Festival is the most important event.
Let's talk about whatever it is after the New Year.
Lu Yanhe boarded the plane, put on his eye mask, covered himself with a blanket, and lay down comfortably, ready to get a good night's sleep and shorten the distance of this long journey in his dreams.
-
Lu Yanhe really slept for a very long time.
When he woke up, the plane was already about to land.
He had never slept for so long on a plane before.
Have you been too tired lately? Haven't been sleeping well? Is your body telling you that you need to catch up on sleep?
Lu Yanhe yawned, sat up, took off his crooked eye mask, picked up the water glass next to him, and took a sip of water.
A little sweat appeared on my forehead.
Open the porthole, and dazzling sunlight streamed in.
An hour later, the plane landed.
He's back.
-
As soon as the phone's airplane mode was turned off, the notification sound rang out like a lively piano piece, clanging and ringing.
Lu Yanhe noticed some keywords among the flood of messages.
The nominees for this year's Oscars have been announced.
He actually received a Best Actor nomination this year for his role in "The Mist 2".
Having just won Best Supporting Actor last year, he has been nominated again this year.
Lu Yanhe stared at his phone, somewhat dazed.
A man sitting next to him saw him, recognized him, and said, "Lu Yanhe!"
Lu Yanhe snapped out of his daze, smiled at the middle-aged man in a suit who looked like a business elite, nodded, and said "Hello."
"So you were on this flight too! You slept for so long? I was just wondering who this person was who was sleeping all the time. They can really sleep! It's you!" He suddenly took out his phone and asked, "Can I take a picture with you? My daughter likes you a lot. If she sees a picture of me with you, she definitely won't blame me for not being able to celebrate her birthday with her this time."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Okay."
He held up his phone and looked at himself.
Thankfully, my hair didn't stick up in any mess.
He leaned close to the other person's already turned-on selfie camera, flashed a bright smile, and gave a thumbs-up.
The other person chuckled twice and said, "Thank you, big star!"
"It's nothing." Lu Yanhe smiled at him, took out sunglasses and a hat, and put them on.
-
The fact that "The Mist 2" earned Lu Yanhe an Oscar nomination for the second consecutive year has sparked huge discussions around the world.
Although it was previously said that Lu Yanhe might take a nomination spot, he had no performance in the preliminary awards, and this was a commercial horror film, so everyone thought it was impossible.
Even Lu Yanhe himself thought it was impossible.
They didn't do any public relations work, yet they still got a nomination.
An unnamed member of the Academy told Variety, "Lu Yanhe's nomination for 'The Mist 2' is surprising, but not unexpected. He's on a roll now. After 'The Mist 2' was released, many of my friends who were also eligible to vote went to see the movie and praised his performance."
Director Murken Sorge said directly: "It's great that Lu Yanhe was nominated. It's excellent. Actors in horror movies are no longer discriminated against. Anyone who has watched 'The Mist 2' seriously would not say that his performance is worse than any of the other nominees. He fully deserves this nomination!"
"In the history of the Oscars, it's not uncommon for actors to receive nominations in the acting category based on blockbuster films; there are several every year. Although 'The Mist 2' still doesn't escape the clichés of horror films, Lu Yanhe created a very different ghost image, almost unprecedented in film history." A film critic also wrote, "From a cinematic perspective, frankly, I think it's normal for Lu Yanhe's Oscar nomination to be controversial. But from the perspective of Lu Yanhe's performance, his nomination is perfectly normal."
The controversy and discussion surrounding Lu Yanhe's Oscar nomination for Best Actor for "The Mist 2" overshadowed the fact that he was also unexpectedly nominated for Best Original Screenplay for "Raise the Red Lantern".
Similarly, "Raise the Red Lantern" also received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
After returning to China, Lu Yanhe kept receiving phone calls and replying to messages, and his phone didn't stop even when he arrived at Ziyuan Bridge.
He had to turn off his phone temporarily.
The controversy surrounding the nomination of "The Mist 2" far exceeded expectations.
Clearly, even though Lu Yanhe's performance in "The Mist 2" received unanimous praise and acclaim after its release, when it came to the Oscar nomination, people wondered if a horror movie, especially a commercial horror movie, could really get Lu Yanhe nominated for an Oscar.
Fortunately, Hollywood's attitude was mainly one of "approval and support".
Indeed, Lu Yanhe's current position in Hollywood is "inevitable".
For an actor like him, the Oscars have never been stingy with their praise.
The Oscars are also a highly commercialized award.
The thousands of members who voted valued art, but they also valued business performance just as much.
Actors like Lu Yanhe, who balance artistic and commercial appeal, are exactly what they love most.
Just like Leonardo DiCaprio—everyone calls him a "bitter man," having been nominated so many times before finally winning. However, on the other hand, consider this: he's been nominated for an Oscar six times. Isn't that a kind of "favor"? As long as he performs well, he'll definitely be nominated.
In fact, Timothée Chalamet is like that now.
Last year's nominee, "The Unknown," was just so-so in terms of film quality, but his performance in the film was indeed quite good. As a result, he received a green light throughout the awards season and was directly nominated for the Oscars.
If a less "popular" or "highly anticipated" actor were cast, the film's quality might not be enough to garner Oscar consideration.
-
Many people don't understand this, but as Chinese actors, even if Chinese movie fans don't necessarily understand it either, they're happy.
Lu Yanhe is awesome, so arrogant! He even got an Oscar nomination for his role in "Misty 2". Go ahead and be jealous, go ahead and be envious and resentful!
"As long as the momentum is there, you'll be there." Chen Ziyan's conclusion on this matter can be summed up in these four words: "You've already made your mark in Hollywood. You don't need to try every means to gain attention from others anymore. You just need to keep putting on good performances to satisfy their attention."
Lu Yanhe smiled bitterly.
Chen Ziyan: "However, it's right for you to keep a low profile now, not make any response, and not start public relations immediately. The chances of winning the award are too slim, and there's controversy among the public. Being humble now will be better for your image."
Lu Yanhe: Whatever. I can't get into the kind of public relations activities I did around this time last year. I need to rest now.
(End of this chapter)
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