Chapter 128
Because of the time difference, Shen Mingzheng was quite surprised when he heard the news early in the morning.
Shen Antang had a strong vitality. He was able to live so long in his previous life and was able to go on stage to receive an award when he was 100 years old. This shows that his physical foundation was very good. Although the nursing home did not take good care of him at the beginning, they definitely would not have abused him like this, but he still died like this in the end.
The person who sent the message back had always been honest in recounting the situation there, but at the last moment he added an explanation: "He seems to be very angry recently. In fact, he doesn't have to read the news from China. No one is forcing him to read it. He chose to read it himself."
On the day he closed his eyes, Shen Antang read the news about Shen Mingzheng and Su Ning for the whole morning, and saw many practitioners praising them, and then he left in the evening.
The cause of death was a sudden heart attack, but people who actually saw it said that he died of anger, and he died with his eyes open.
In the end, Zhu Lan went to collect his body, cremated it locally, and then brought the urn back and found a place for him to be buried in a cemetery in the capital.
The old man was very ruthless to Shen Anlin. He did not even find a burial place for the brother who failed to seize the throne. In the end, Zhu Lan's husband went to bury him properly. The two brothers had a deep brotherly love and also turned against each other, but in the end, it was still the same ending.
Zhu Lan still goes to sweep the graves from time to time. Her mentality has changed and she has thought a lot about this matter.
Her adoptive father and her father-in-law, these two brothers were once so glorious and so powerful in their circles, but they ended up in poverty.
The most important thing is that until now, no one has come to see them, and even this cemetery was found by Shen Mingzheng.
The victors are the winners and the losers are the losers. Others are too lazy to care about them, have no feelings towards them at all, and even want to stay as far away from them as possible.
His death did not cause much stir. The general public did not know this name, and those in the industry who knew about it just sighed a few times, and then turned their attention to other things after a few days.
This circle changes very quickly. Even if it was once glorious, it does not leave anything that will be remembered forever, so it disappears like smoke.
No matter how much wealth or power one has, one cannot bring it with him when he is born or take it with him when he dies. But some things can be left behind.
She couldn't help but think back to when old Matthew passed away. Although some people were just trying to take advantage of his popularity, the works he had produced and invested in had received widespread recognition, not to mention that his efforts at the Thorns Awards were recognized by everyone.
Obviously, his name will remain in this circle forever. Even now, some people are working on making his biography, which has received support from many people.
So Zhu Lan didn't understand what Shen Mingzheng and Su Ning did at first, but now she understands a little.
People always have to do something truly meaningful.
If you view the entertainment industry purely as a place for fame and fortune, and do everything for fame and fortune until you have no bottom line, you will eventually be abandoned by this circle.
To be fair, Zhu Lan still values money very much. The department she manages has always been the one with the highest return on investment in the company. But even with her personality, she has gained new insights in many things.
She buried Shen Antang, who gave her a life, and moved on.
In recent years, the Shen family is no longer hiding behind the scenes like before.
After Mr. Shen died, Shen Mingzheng and Su Ning spent time sorting out the Shen family's industries and investments. Some of the redundant and complicated investments were sold off neatly and efficiently, and were basically replaced with overt investment projects.
The production of good works requires a lot of money, and there are requirements for where the money is spent.
In addition to the now well-known "Hongyan Project" to support directors, there are also large projects led by them themselves, and the results of some projects took several years to gradually emerge.
For example, Su Ning and Wellington had already agreed on in-depth cooperation six years ago, which was the "Mountain and Sea" series of fantasy films.
The production process of this film was meticulously crafted, the details of the special effects were repeatedly scrutinized, and even more staff were involved. Even Wellington, who has seen a lot of big things, said that this was the project with the largest investment he had ever seen, and it was an unimaginable amount of money.
During the production process, many people were pessimistic, thinking that it was a waste of money and that the project had been delayed for too long. However, Shen Mingzheng and Su Ning were very persistent. They were so dedicated and wanted to create a benchmark work for domestic special effects.
Moreover, in the process of achieving this goal, there will naturally be benefits. Although "Shan Hai" has not been released yet, the talents and technologies cultivated by the production of this work have already begun to play a role.
The special effects company in Su'ning is not just working on this one project. With so many people in the company, many projects are being promoted simultaneously. The movies and TV series released in the past few years by Light and Shadow Entertainment are all refreshing. In the process of pursuing the ambitious goal, it is already a reward.
It was not until this year's Spring Festival that "Mountains and Seas" was officially released and met the audience.
Many people are curious and want to see what this Sino-foreign co-production, which cost billions of dollars to invest, will look like, and whether the previously released trailer that looked so good was a scam.
After all, judging from the amount of investment, it is really difficult to recoup the cost through the movie, and there is a high possibility of losing money when it is released.
But once I entered the theater and put on my 3D glasses, I knew where all the money went from the moment the opening credits started.
——What a gorgeous and expensive special effect!
The script of this play is not top-notch and still follows a commercial approach. If Su Ning were to evaluate it, he would give it a score of 70. His judgment is similar to that of the general public.
The production direction of this film is special effects. It is a new world with distant fantasy. Moreover, this artistic style with a strong Chinese style is solid in many details, which makes everyone who enters feel shocked, especially on the giant screen of the IMAX theater. When walking out of the theater, there is a feeling of coming out of a fantasy world.
In order to present the scenes, some plot time had to be sacrificed during the production process, so that the whole storyline is actually not complicated, easy to understand, and has no threshold.
Because it is a Sino-foreign co-production, the film was released at the same time abroad. Domestic audiences still think that foreigners may not like this style, but after the release, it was really well received. Wellington Company is good at this, proving that the appreciation of art is borderless.
Therefore, in this year's Thorns Awards nominations, the film for the Best Special Effects Award, "Mountains and Seas" is prominently listed and is the favorite to win the award. The technical levels of other films nominated are not on the same level as it.
As the heroine who was decided from the beginning, Ye Qiuxin came to the Thorn Awards and the red carpet again. This time she brought the younger generation from the company with her and was no longer alone.
This movie has a huge world view and many actors are involved. Young actors such as Ji Xue have many roles. The ending song was written by Bai Qinghe, and he and Li Chulin sang it together.
Su Ning has put so much thought into this, so it's natural for him to take advantage of his company's people and resources.
I still remember when I first came to the Thorn Awards several years ago, although Ye Qiuxin was nominated for Best Actress, she was still not well-known when she went abroad at that time. Many media on the red carpet did not recognize her. Compared with other candidates, she was quite deserted.
But now it's different.
The media waiting to take photos on the red carpet called out her name expertly, and the young actors and idols behind her also had a high level of fame.
This is the power of real work.
Even if the movie "Mountains and Seas" had not been released in many countries abroad, Ji Xue's previous dramas were very popular on the Internet. She has been a darling of many luxury brands in recent years, and the videos of her catwalks for brands have become popular in many countries. Compared with the attention she received in the beginning just because of her beauty, she is now more confident.
As for Li Chu's three-member idol group, music and stage are also borderless. When they came to the Thorn Awards this time, many fans flew to pick them up at the airport.
With so many celebrities coming here, their airport pick-up scene is one of the most lively.
The kids who were just in their early twenties when they first entered the circle have now grown up.
Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng did not walk the red carpet. They went directly into the backstage and met with their old friend Arnold first. Then, they glanced at the live broadcast of the red carpet from time to time while waiting.
Seeing these familiar faces from my company here, and seeing how they are handling themselves with ease amidst countless attentions, I always feel gratified.
Before I knew it, so much time had passed.
Su Ning glanced at Shen Mingzheng and found that he was also looking at him. The two smiled at each other and held hands tacitly under the seats.
After the red carpet, it was time for the awards ceremony.
The Best Special Effects Award was given earlier, and the guest who presented the award did not keep the audience in suspense. He opened the envelope, took a look, and then read out the name of the movie in a clear and loud voice.
——"When I came on stage, I had already anticipated this result. Let us congratulate Shanhai!"
The number of domestic films that have won the Thorns Awards can be counted on one hand. Among the many awards, the Best Special Effects Award is also a very important award. First, "The Book of Mountains and Seas" got off to a good start, and then "Mountains and Seas" held up.
This is obviously not the end. After this, there will be a steady stream of excellent works on this platform.
Because the Thorn Award has always been here.
When the result was announced and he officially went on stage to receive the award, it was the director of "Mountains and Seas".
There would be no problem if Shen Mingzheng or Su Ning received this award. They both have names on the crew and are real investors and producers. The person who receives the award does not have to be a director. Moreover, Shen Mingzheng contributed a lot in the actual work, while Su Ning coordinated the personnel and investment. Many shots in this movie were shot by Shen Mingzheng himself.
He was also one of the most important directors of the film, and no one in the team questioned this.
So when he was invited here after being shortlisted, Su Ninghai specifically asked him if he wanted to go up and receive the award himself?
The probability of winning the award is very high, and he will applaud Shen Mingzheng from the audience.
This question left Shen Mingzheng stunned for quite a while.
It is undeniable that Shen Mingzheng had always dreamed of ascending the podium for the Thorn Award with integrity in his previous life, and it was a wish that he could not give up.
Now he has this opportunity, right in front of him, but Shen Mingzheng finally shook his head.
Until tonight, he still had the opportunity to discuss it with the team, to regret it, and to get his wish by standing on the stage. But until this moment, the director has already stepped onto the podium to receive the award, and he still has no regrets about this decision.
Unconsciously, this was no longer what he wanted most.
On the award podium, the excited director thanked his team members, especially the company that gave him such a great opportunity. Everyone present knew the name of the company that launched this work, and he especially thanked Su Ning, Shen Mingzheng and others for their support.
At the end of his speech, the audience burst into applause.
Shen Mingzheng and Su Ning were sitting in their seats. At this moment, the spotlight on the stage was bright, illuminating the people on the stage.
Not only this movie, many people will stand here in the future, directors, screenwriters, actors... They will fight for the opportunity to stand here with their own efforts and the recognition of the audience.
Shen Mingzheng understood that he no longer needed this moment.
He didn't want Su Ning to applaud him.
Like Su Ning, he is not someone who stands in the spotlight, but someone who stands behind the scenes or sits in the audience, supporting and applauding these dream chasers.
After so many years and many twists and turns, I finally found my true home.