Chapter 849 Vanished
"Not only in The Hollywood Reporter, but also in the French Cinema Review's annual list of best performances next week."
Zhang Yuezhen said happily to Chen Pinhe.
Chen Pinhe also laughed.
This is indeed good news.
Even if "The Pianist" doesn't ultimately earn Chen Pinhe an Oscar nomination, this wave of fame will still greatly help boost his profile and influence in Hollywood.
Just like the male and female leads in Celine Song's "The Past Life," they were big favorites during awards season, but neither of them received acting award nominations. However, this did not prevent them from gaining greater fame in Hollywood, and they continued to receive opportunities.
In fact, looking back further, the same applies to Joan Chen, who starred in "The Last Emperor." Many years later, in a podcast interview with Lu Yu, Lu Yu asked her, "If 'The Last Emperor' were made in today's era, do you think your performance would have been nominated for an Oscar?" Chen Chong calmly replied, "Definitely."
Times change, and so does the wind of the awards season. "Political correctness" may not be a good thing for Hollywood, but it is a good thing for those who are considered "correct" in Hollywood, because they can now sit on the table.
Even though Chen Chong didn't receive a performance award nomination at the time, it didn't prevent her from later gaining access to international opportunities.
Many times, we really shouldn't measure life by temporary gains and losses. Before Michelle Yeoh became a sensation with "Instantaneous" and swept the awards season that year, who would have thought that this Chinese action star, who is not known for her acting skills, would win the Oscar for Best Actress for such a positive role?
The same goes for Joan Chen. Nobody knows if she will encounter a project like "Instant Universe" that suits her perfectly, and then make a comeback.
In fact, Joan Chen starred in a film called *Brother* in 2024. It was a low-budget art film in which she played the mother of a Chinese-American child, delivering a very outstanding performance. After the film's release, many media outlets suggested she had a chance to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Unfortunately, the film didn't generate much buzz and ultimately failed to make an impact during awards season. This didn't diminish her recognition; if you attended the 2024 awards ceremony, you'd find she was also invited and sat in the row behind last year's Best Actress winner.
She herself has been constantly making changes.
Ambitious actors are always looking for opportunities.
Every struggle is an accumulation of strength.
Zhang Yuezhen is thinking just like that now.
Every move Chen Pinhe makes is a way of "building momentum".
-
"This can't go on." Chen Ziyan, who had received the news in advance, frowned. "Zhang Yuezhen has pulled strings with some media outlets, using a diversionary tactic to create momentum for Chen Pinhe."
Lu Qingzhen: "Will this get Chen Pinhe a nomination?"
“It may not get a nomination, but it will give everyone the impression that Chen Pinhe has made an outstanding performance,” Chen Ziyan said. “This impression can be a killer move at crucial moments.”
Some actors, relying on this impression, remain "uncrowned kings" in the hearts of the public, even without winning awards, and their status remains high.
Some actors, like Zhen Huan, rely on this kind of image to win the Best Actress award in the second year after winning the Magnolia Award for their role in Hot Mom, a title they hadn't won the previous year.
In short, this impression is to "gild" Chen Pinhe.
Chen Ziyan was not happy to see this scene.
Lu Qingzhen: "So what are you planning to do? Use dirty tricks, or what?"
"Using underhanded tactics makes it easy to get caught red-handed, so of course we have to use open strategies," Chen Ziyan said. "The movie 'The Pianist' has already become a box office disaster, hasn't it? It was released in North America, opened in more than 300 theaters, and has only grossed $130,000 so far. With such a box office performance, no matter how much the media praises it, it won't be popular during awards season."
"That's true. Box office is key. If a film doesn't even gross a million dollars, it's really hard to compete for Best Actor."
“The main focus is on the box office disaster,” Chen Ziyan said, “and then we’ll emphasize the global box office performance of ‘Windbreaker No. 1’.”
"Does this mean that Chen Pinhe and Zhang Yue really won't know that we were the ones who did it?"
“Of course we know, what do we have to be afraid of them knowing? We haven’t deliberately smeared, framed, or spread rumors,” Chen Ziyan said. “As long as we’re telling the truth, there’s no way we’ll be caught red-handed.”
Lu Qingzhen said, "Are you trying to elevate him to the pedestal of an artist who doesn't sell well?"
"Whether he's a god or not depends on whether he can actually climb up there, but at least in my eyes, he's going to be labeled as an unpopular artist, and I'll stick close to him; I can't shake him off," Chen Ziyan sneered.
Lu Qingzhen: "I heard that he has taken on a Hollywood romantic comedy film."
“There are plenty of romantic comedies in Hollywood, and just because something has the Hollywood name on it doesn’t guarantee a box office success,” Chen Ziyan said. “Not to mention, we also have ‘The Notebook’ and ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ in our own hands. We’ll see who beats whom when they go head-to-head.”
Lu Qingzhen: "That's ruthless."
"Of course, the best way is to use a successful movie like 'Home Alone' to compete with them, directly taking up their screening space and preventing them from showing in many theaters," Chen Ziyan said. "Without many theaters showing it, let's see how that movie can be a box office hit."
Lu Qingzhen: "Awesome."
Chen Ziyan said, "In this way, over time, with the burden of not being a box office success, he can only work in the independent film circle and cannot enter the mainstream. His idea of using the international route to further improve his status in China can only end in failure."
"What if you win the Best Actor award at one of the four major international film festivals?"
"The reason why the four major international film festivals have such a high status in China is because there were few Chinese people who won these awards in the past. But now that more Chinese people are winning them, they are no longer so rare, and they are just another award," Chen Ziyan said. "In recent years, haven't you noticed that there are more and more Chinese actors winning awards? In recent years, there have been more and more serious and artistic Chinese films, so there are more and more films being submitted to international film festivals for competition, and naturally, there are more and more winning awards as well."
Lu Qingzhen: "You guys are really exaggerating. Winning the four major international awards is no longer a rarity."
“Of course, I know that only a few people win awards, but as long as it’s not just a handful, then the irreplaceable status isn’t that strong, and this so-called award can’t overshadow everything,” Chen Ziyan said. “At least, international recognition and influence should be considered, right? At least now, some male actors in their forties and fifties, such as Wen Shengming, Jiang Jun, and Liu Teli, have international recognition and influence. Chen Pinhe is no longer the only actor in his age group with international influence.”
“That’s true.” Lu Qingzhen nodded. “I understand what you mean.”
“We want male and female actors of Chen Pinhe’s age to make a name for themselves internationally, one by one. Chen Pinhe’s achievements will be insignificant. The more competitors he has, the less irreplaceable his value and significance will be. It’s that simple,” Chen Ziyan said. “The reason Yan He is unique now is because there is no one else like him. Chen Pinhe wants to be unique, but I will not let him succeed.”
Lu Qingzhen gave Chen Ziyan a thumbs up.
"study."
-
The film "Calm Wind No. 1" did not perform well during the awards season in October.
Its public relations efforts have remained limited to mentions in the mass media, without receiving any substantial praise or recognition.
Midoriya's side is somewhat disheartened, wondering if they should remove it from the awards season to avoid wasting resources.
But at this very moment, "Windbreaker" received praise from a French film magazine—
A long-established French film magazine has released its list of the ten best films of the year, and "Calm Wind" has surprisingly taken first place.
This long-established film magazine may not be well-known to the general public, but it is one of the "founding fathers" of film criticism.
The lists it selects often help a film "make its mark" in film history.
The review of the film "Windbreaker" in the magazine was written by film critic Anna White, who was invited to write it.
As one of the world's most famous film critics, she is also one of the magazine's guest editors.
Anna Whitworth: "This is a well-crafted, somber, and masterful Chinese film. Its themes always revolve around justice and awakening, rather than the political stance that critics have criticized. Ninety-nine percent of a film's quality is inseparable from the actors' performances. Lu Yanhe and Wen Shengming delivered the best performances of their careers—especially Wen Shengming, an actor we were not familiar with before. I only wrote this responsibly after watching more than ten of his films."
Lu Yanhe looked at Anna White's commentary in surprise.
As I watched, I recalled the time I spent staying at her house.
Her strictness and rigorous attitude towards writing articles left a deep impression on Lu Yanhe.
In this world, how many film critics would watch a dozen movies just because of a single sentence they wrote?
Lu Yanhe specifically took this magazine to show Wen Shengming.
The magazine was in French, and they were reading the translation.
Wen Shengming asked, "Is she your friend?"
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “But I didn’t expect her to support our movie.”
Wen Shengming: "At this time, only friends will trust their own judgment of the film based on their trust in you."
Wen Shengming's statement is also very interesting.
Lu Yanhe smiled.
Wen Shengming never felt that "Dingfeng No. 1" had any shortcomings.
He firmly believed that foreign film critics were capable of recognizing the film's merits. It's just that most people lacked the courage to publicly acknowledge its goodness.
This is actually the most difficult problem that "Dingfeng No. 1" is currently facing.
Despite its outstanding box office performance and market success, it has been met with a lukewarm reception during awards season.
The lukewarm reception isn't due to controversial reviews—controversy at least indicates the film has some buzz. The problem is, it's simply been met with a cold reception.
Absolutely true.
At this point, only a friend, based on trust, would dare to openly speak up if they were certain it was a good movie.
Lu Yanhe said, "I don't know if this magazine's top ten film list will bring about any changes."
They are no longer worried or questioning whether their films are good enough.
They were just unsure how far "Dingfeng No. 1" could go.
This is due to cultural background and political stance differences.
-
However, thanks to the magazine's ranking, Midoriya finally regained some confidence and decided to try harder in public relations.
Things may change.
At this time, Liu Bige was interviewed by an American television station as the "youngest master director".
This was also arranged by Midoriya.
“Of course I’m not a master, absolutely not.” Liu Bige said right away. “I can say with confidence that I can make movies because I love movies. Every time I shoot, I bring out the greatest passion in my body and in my life. But a true master is someone who reaches the pinnacle. In this respect, I have many shortcomings.”
"Filming 'The Wind Rises' was a huge challenge for me. Lu Yanhe's aesthetic sense in film is, without exaggeration, among the best in the world. Wen Shengming is like Sandra Vivienne among American actors, among Chinese actors. I wasn't worried that the two of them would disobey me on set. In fact, every director who has worked with them would want to work with them again. They are such good actors. My concern is that my own abilities, talent, and experience may not be able to support what they, as actors, can bring to this film."
Liu Bige said, "Fortunately, the film was very well made. It has achieved nearly $200 million in box office revenue worldwide, which is a remarkable achievement. I am particularly happy that so many viewers around the world have been moved by this film and have gained new insights and passions for life."
This last sentence was something that Midoriya emphasized to Liu Bige, that he absolutely had to say.
Midoriya's current public relations strategy for "Crystal Plane" is mainly focused on its global box office performance.
—This movie has achieved extremely high box office results. Are you going to ignore that?
—This movie is loved by so many viewers around the world, are you going to ignore it?
—This movie is destined to go down in film history, are you going to ignore it?
Midoriya is using this method to repeatedly question the judges during the awards season.
A movie is a movie. Why do you have to worry about so many things that have nothing to do with the movie?
On October 25, a film critics' association announced its nominations.
After being absent and met with a lukewarm reception for nearly a month, "Calm Wind No. 1" has appeared on the list of nominees for Best Foreign Language Film for the first time.
Lu Yanhe was nominated for Best Actor, and Wen Shengming was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Chen Pinhe and "The Pianist" are nowhere to be found.
(End of this chapter)
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