Chapter 850 The Truth Behind the Street Interviews
"It's just a meaningless prize." Even though she said that, Chen Ziyan couldn't stop smiling.
Lu Qingzhen: "It wasn't easy, but the situation has finally changed."
“But this movie still needs continued promotion,” Chen Ziyan said. “We need to constantly remind people that even if they don’t want to see this movie, they have no choice but to see it, to constantly remind them, ‘Don’t you want to vote for this movie?’”
Lu Qingzhen: "What are your plans next?"
Chen Ziyan said, "To create momentum."
"Hmm?" Lu Qingzhen said, "Are you going to find someone with influence in Hollywood to speak on behalf of 'Windbreaker No. 1'?"
Chen Ziyan shook her head.
"We learned our lesson before. If we ask them to directly promote 'The Wind Rises,' it could easily get them into a political controversy. That's why we've kept quiet. We need to change our approach," Chen Ziyan said. "The acting skills of Teacher Wen and Yan He are beyond question. Our previous public relations strategy was always to ensure everyone's success, so we played the film's quality card. We should focus on the actors' performances themselves. This is the best way to avoid controversy in our publicity."
Lu Qingzhen understood.
Simply put, it means avoiding the points that people are concerned about and focusing on the points where everyone has reached a consensus.
Chen Ziyan's public relations strategy seems to be "abandoning the Best Foreign Language Film award to protect the acting award."
Of course, it could also be described as a strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".
Use performance awards to increase everyone's recognition of "Dingfeng No. 1".
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“I like ‘Dingfeng No. 1’. I watched Lu Yanhe grow up. He is a very sensible child. I heard that he got into the best university in China through his own efforts. Oh, I really hope that my child can have such academic achievements.”
On this day, a video of a Black woman being interviewed on the street suddenly went viral on social media.
The reason was that the Black woman suddenly started wiping away tears as she spoke.
The reason it became so popular is that everyone questioned whether the scene of him wiping away tears was staged.
Even some people in Hollywood believe that this was Lu Yanhe's public relations tactic this year, but he didn't play it well, made it too obvious, and messed it up.
That's not actually the case.
Chen Ziyan almost thought that the people from North America had messed things up and deliberately staged this whole thing.
After investigation, it was found that the video had nothing to do with Lu Yanhe's publicity or public relations teams.
So who filmed this video? And why is it so poorly made?
Chen Ziyan immediately turned her gaze to Zhang Yuezhen and Chen Pinhe.
Is this clumsy performance of praising Lu Yanhe something they're using to attack him?
The person who posted this video on social media is a Chinese American.
He is also a minor internet celebrity with over 100,000 followers.
However, after investigating, Chen Ziyan discovered that this person was not actually a hater.
He is indeed a fan of Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe has watched every movie that was shown in North American theaters.
His homepage shows movie tickets or photos of him in the theater.
Even when "Road to Glory" was being shown, he drove to cinemas more than 20 kilometers apart to see it.
Chen Ziyan frowned in confusion.
Could it be that this real fan orchestrated this interview video to promote Lu Yanhe?
Online mockery of Lu Yanhe is increasing.
Lu Yanhe's acting skills are highly praised, both domestically and internationally.
Even the most talented person will be ridiculed if they are suspected of staging the whole thing.
—Because even if you don't want to do it, there will still be applause, but you insist on arranging for shills, which makes you look terrible.
Chen Ziyan, speaking from her own perspective, first gave an interview to Variety, stating, "This video was not produced by us. We have contacted the person who released the video, and we will explain the specific situation to everyone after we understand the details. In fact, although Lu Yanhe very much hopes that his performance in 'Dingfeng No. 1' will be seen by everyone, his current focus is on filming his new film 'Zhou'. In order to fully immerse himself in the performance, he has turned down all the previous publicity and public relations activities, which were originally scheduled for him to participate in the awards season public relations activities in North America."
The implication is that Lu Yanhe doesn't care much about his performance during the awards season. If his own people don't do public relations, why would he need to use such methods to attract attention?
Chen Ziyan's response did convince some people that the video was not the work of Lu Yanhe and his team.
Especially some industry insiders.
Indeed, given Lu Yanhe's current situation, there is absolutely no need for him to do this.
Why bother?
On the set of "The Boat", Luo Yuzhong said, "I've noticed that every time I film with you, you encounter some trouble."
Lu Yanhe said, "Yes, it's very annoying."
Wang Biao said, "Actually, it's not that every time we film, it's just that Brother Lu's troubles never stop."
Luo Yuzhong: "Is it still like this now? He's not the same person he used to be, yet so many people are still causing him trouble?"
“With fame comes trouble,” Yu Mengling said. “Xiao Lu has too much work. I see him on the trending topics almost every week. Usually, it’s something serious, like what clothes he wore today or what picture he posted tomorrow. Look, the reason he was on the trending topics a few days ago was that ‘The Wind Rises’ was selected as the top film of the year by a French magazine. And what was that? Oh right, Xiao Lu is confirmed to return as the lead actor in ‘Friends’.”
Yu Mengling laughed.
"With more things to do and more work to do, troubles are inevitable."
Luo Yuzhong: "It's strange, you're basically on the trending topics every other day. Why don't people get tired of seeing your stuff? People usually advise actors to keep a low profile, reduce their exposure, and maintain the freshness of their roles, but it seems like that's not necessary for you."
“That’s what superstars are like,” Wen Shengming said with a smile. “Once an actor becomes a superstar, you can’t expect him to bring the audience something new. Instead, you have to see what kind of charm he can give to the character with his every move. If you still try to play a character with the old-fashioned style, the result will probably not be very good.”
Lu Yanhe quickly smiled and waved his hand.
"I'm not a superstar, Teacher Wen, you are."
“Excessive humility is arrogance,” Wen Shengming said. “If you’re not a superstar, who dares to call themselves a superstar?”
Lu Yanhe immediately replied, "Li Zhi dares to do it."
Luo Yuzhong laughed and scolded, "That shameless guy, even if you praise him as the most handsome man in the universe, he will still nod and accept it without any shame."
"How do you two maintain your friendship?" Yu Mengling laughed. "It feels like his personality is very different from yours."
“They are all essentially the same,” Lu Yanhe said. “People who are fundamentally different will never become friends.”
"What is its essence?" Yu Mengling asked curiously.
"The official explanation is that it's a love for the performing arts," Lu Yanhe said calmly.
Yu Mengling gently rolled her eyelids.
She's someone who rarely rolls her eyes.
She would only do something like that if the relationship were really close to that extent.
Lu Yanhe continued, "Privately speaking, the three of us are people who refuse to give up on the world, refuse to be satisfied with our current life situation, and never want to stop."
Yu Mengling's eyes widened.
Her eyes gleamed slightly.
"That's such a romantic way to put it."
"ah?"
“It’s the ultimate in romance,” Yu Mengling said. “Aside from in movies and TV shows, I’ve never heard anyone say such passionate and cheesy things to me in front of me, but I don’t feel embarrassed at all. Lu Yanhe, what you said really touched me.”
Lu Yanhe: "I never thought that saying such things would be considered romantic."
Yu Mengling asked, "Isn't it romantic?"
Lu Yanhe smiled.
"Truly romantic," Lu Yanhe thought. Refusing to yield to this vast world—what else could this be but romanticism, or perhaps a more realistic form of realism?
The person who posted the street interview video is named Mark Yang.
This is the Chinese name he gave himself.
Three days after his interview video caused a huge uproar, he updated with another video.
She was still that same black woman.
The Black woman stood in front of the camera, nervously clasping her hands together.
She said, "I am not an actress... When I last gave this interview, I never expected my answer to cause such a big controversy and bring so much trouble to Lu Yanhe. I feel very sorry."
The Black woman choked up again as she spoke, tears welling up in her eyes.
"The reason I couldn't control my emotions last time was because... Lu Yanhe was actually an actor my son admired. My son was the same age as Lu Yanhe, but he died last year because of gang warfare..."
The Black woman covered her face with her hands and wept uncontrollably.
A voice behind the camera said "OMG," it was a young man's voice.
Those familiar with Mark Yang's account will recognize his voice.
After a while, the video switched to a different view.
A young Chinese face appeared in front of the camera.
It's Mark Yang.
"Everyone, I have very mixed feelings right now. Ever since I posted a video about a street interview the day before yesterday, which caused a lot of controversy, I've been trying to find this woman. Because the last video really wasn't scripted or staged by me. I've been doing street interviews for many years, and many people have been following this account for a long time, so they should know my style. However, I wasn't sure if the woman was acting, so I've been trying to find her for the past two days. Just now, I found her and asked her if she had seen the controversy online about her 'acting.' She said she didn't know what was going on. After I showed her the video, she said it wasn't like that, and then she offered to record another video to clarify the matter."
Mark Yang sighed deeply.
“If I had known the reason, I would never have asked the old lady why.” He scratched his hair. “These past two days, I have been subjected to a lot of questioning and attacks. People say that Lu Yanhe’s team asked me to direct and act in this play, and that the actors I found were not professional enough and acted too fake. This video is an explanation and response.”
...
After the video finished playing, Lu Yanhe exited the full-screen mode that had been used to open the video, feeling a pang of sadness.
Unexpectedly, the truth of this matter is like this.
In fact, almost no one expected that the truth behind this matter was like this.
The main character in this matter is no longer Lu Yanhe.
The video of her response also garnered a high number of views. Lu Yanhe had initially worried that many would still question the veracity of the Black woman's response, but this time that wasn't the case. Most people generally accepted that what the Black woman said was true.
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This way.
Zhang Yuezhen quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She almost, almost got eliminated.
Two American media outlets had contacted Chen Pinhe, wanting him to comment on the matter.
Zhang Yuezhen had already had someone write a response and sent it to Chen Pinhe.
It was so close, so very close.
The call was scheduled for three hours later.
If the phone interview had taken place a few hours earlier, they would probably be the ones feeling awkward at this point.
Their response was full of veiled criticism of Lu Yanhe and contempt for his "self-directed and self-acted" behavior.
While feeling fortunate, Zhang Yuezhen's anger flared up again.
Why does Lu Yanhe always seem to encounter these kinds of things?
Now, because of this incident, many people have developed sympathy and goodwill towards Lu Yanhe because of the attacks he was previously subjected to.
Zhang Yuezhen was even a little worried that this incident might help him gain sympathy points during this awards season, which would be terrible.
Judging from the current situation, although Chen Pinhe has received some praise from the media and magazines, too few people have seen the film "The Pianist," and the mainstream North American critics have not included Chen Pinhe in the nominations for this year's Best Actor award.
They can basically be eliminated in advance.
Zhang Yuezhen did not give up on public relations because even if she couldn't get the final Oscar nomination, the exposure she gained in the early stages did indeed increase Chen Pinhe's profile in Hollywood.
This will attract the attention of many producers and directors to the actor Chen Pinhe.
In fact, that's how director Isaac Asimov's new film came to us.
Zhang Yuezhen really didn't want Lu Yanhe to get the opportunity and actually make a name for himself in "Dingfeng No. 1" after Chen Pinhe was eliminated.
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That day, Darren Wilson called Lu Yanhe.
He came to suggest that Lu Yanhe change his nomination to Best Supporting Actor.
“If you change your nomination to Best Supporting Actor, your chances of getting a nomination will increase significantly. This year’s Best Supporting Actor award is a big battle, and there hasn’t been a clear winner yet,” Darren Wilson said. “According to our information, the winners of the Best Supporting Actor awards at the upcoming Critics’ Circle Awards will be different, and there’s no definitive winner.”
Lu Yanhe asked, "What about Teacher Wen?"
“Change Wen Shengming to a 'reporting master',” Darren Wilson said. “Although this would essentially eliminate him from the competition, his current situation is already unclear, let alone becoming a 'reporting master'.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment.
"If Professor Wen reports his marriage, will his future situation be clear?"
“So-so,” Darren Wilson said. “He’s an outsider to Hollywood, and Windsor One isn’t a blockbuster film, so it can’t save him. Right now, there are very few people willing to vote for him. But you’re different. There are a lot of Academy members who are very willing to vote for you. Your base is big enough. As long as you choose the right project, your chances of getting a nomination are very high.”
Lu Yanhe hesitated for a long time, unsure of what to choose.
He made a phone call to Chen Ziyan.
Chen Ziyan said, "Even a nomination is very prestigious. If you actually win it, it will be your third Oscar nomination, and your third Oscar nomination before the age of thirty. That's a very impressive achievement."
“But for me, it doesn’t really mean that much,” Lu Yanhe said. “For me now, an Oscar nomination, especially one I’ve just had, just makes my invincibility a little stronger, but in any case, I basically have no chance of winning.”
“Yes,” Chen Ziyan said. “Winning an award is basically out of the question. Even getting a nomination is so difficult now. There’s nothing we can do. ‘Windbreaker’ is a Chinese-language film.”
"Why not go all out to get Wen Zhang? Maybe, just maybe, he can get a nomination," Lu Yanhe said. "If he does get a nomination, it will be a huge benefit for him when he gets roles internationally in the future."
"Yes, the Oscars have a great influence in Europe and America, especially in the United States, where Hollywood is a place that pays a lot of attention to the Oscars."
Lu Yanhe said, "Why not give it my all? I'll still submit my application. If I really can't make it onto the shortlist, then so be it."
He thought to himself that if he really wanted to collect Oscars in the future, he had many scripts of Oscar-winning movies, and he could use his connections to get the best roles in them.
There's no need to care about this one opportunity.
Chen Ziyan: "You can decide for yourself."
Lu Yanhe: "I've made up my mind."
Chen Ziyan: "Okay, since you've thought it through, let's do it your way."
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
"Your trust and support for me right now are making me a little nervous. What if I make the wrong judgment?"
“You’re overthinking it. When I say do what you’ve decided, it’s largely because I don’t think your decision is wrong,” Chen Ziyan said. “When I really think you have a problem, I will definitely stop you and make you pull back from the brink.”
Lu Yanhe smiled.
Darren Wilson, who had been working in Hollywood, couldn't understand Lu Yanhe's decision.
Why?!
This is an Oscar nomination!
Are you even willing to give up on this?
Are you really going to just hand this over to someone else?
Darren Wilson really wanted to fly to China, rush up to Lu Yanhe, and shout, "Why?"
However, he held back.
(End of this chapter)
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