The Asian Film Festival requires that films submitted for consideration must have been publicly screened for the first time between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the current year in order to be eligible for participation.
From December 2016 to December 2017, a total of 382 domestically produced films were released in Chinese cinemas. While the number of films shortlisted for the final selection seems large, it is actually not that many compared to the total number of films released that year.
Ji Juntao occupied the only chair, so Shang Yechu had to lean against her and look at the list together.
After reading it, Shang Yechu breathed a sigh of relief: "It's settled."
As an actress, Shang Yechu has a habit of watching a lot of movies. She has also made time to watch quite a few of the films released this year. She has seen all of the films that were shortlisted for the final selection.
"The Heroic Soil" is of very good quality, but its subject matter destined it to be ineligible for nomination. It's not that Shang Yechu has a prejudice against this kind of subject matter, but rather that mainstream awards have a prejudice against it.
The two films, "Athena" and "On Many Helpless Nights," are quite different. The former is overly didactic and loses the true essence of cinematic art; the latter is visually stunning, but in Shang Yechu's opinion, it is more suitable to compete for the title of "Most Beautiful PPT" than "Best Film."
As one of the organizers of the Ying Shi Film Festival, China cannot afford to make a scene. Mainland Chinese films must be nominated. It seems that this time, "The Mute Woman" is the obvious choice.
"Yes, it's a sure thing." Ji Juntao agreed with this view. "At least you'll get a nomination for Best Picture. Although that's an honor for the entire film, it's enough to enhance your reputation."
"What gilding the lily?" Shang Yechu laughed and scolded. "But why wasn't 'Drunken West Tower' nominated? That one had the best production quality. Zhan Kexiang is still as sharp as ever. I watched it three times."
"Drunken West Tower" is an ancient film, and some of the judges at the Ying Shi Film Festival don't like this kind of subject matter," Ji Juntao said simply. "Our films may not necessarily win any awards either. Most of the judges at the Ying Shi Film Awards are from Japan and South Korea, and they have a deep prejudice against Chinese-language films, especially those from mainland China. They only give out some minor awards every year. Getting a nomination is a victory."
The hierarchy of disdain within the film industry is incredibly entrenched. The notion that European films > American films > foreign films from other East Asian regions ≥ Korean films > Japanese films > Hong Kong and Taiwan films > Mainland Chinese films is equally entrenched in the minds of audiences and mainstream award judges. Shang Yechu and Ji Juntao, though dissatisfied with this situation, are powerless to change it.
Similarly, if, under such circumstances, a film can overcome numerous prejudices and win an award at the Film Festival as a mainland Chinese film, then the prestige of that award would be enough to make it stand out from the crowd and be something to brag about for a year.
However, this is just wishful thinking; both Shang Yechu and Ji Juntao know it's impossible.
Ji Juntao rubbed his hands together, eager to see what would happen after the nominations were announced tonight…
Ji Juntao fell silent, then turned to look into Shang Yechu's eyes: "Are we still going to release a press release to deny that you had plastic surgery?"
Shang Yechu lowered her eyelids, pondering the matter in her heart.
The denial of plastic surgery rumors is simply out of concern that Ru Guan TV might think Shang Yechu has an artificially enhanced face that can't even make normal expressions. However, if she receives a nomination at the Ying Shi Film Festival, then the rumors about Yechu's lack of acting skills will naturally be dispelled...
Shang Yechu gritted her teeth, hesitated for a long time, and finally made up her mind: "Let's see how the nominations go tonight. If I get a nomination, then let's not clarify for now. If not, everything will remain the same."
The nominations for Chinese-language films at the Film Festival are highly prestigious. Receiving an individual nomination means that Shang Yechu's acting skills are at least 70 points or higher. If anyone questions Shang Yechu's acting skills in the future, her fellow actresses can use this nomination to boast.
Ji Juntao laughed: "Sure enough, you think the same thing as me. You're too obscure right now, no one will listen to your clarifications. You might as well wait until you're more famous and then make a big clarification, and also show off your fans' fighting spirit."
Shang Yechu remained noncommittal: "Well, let's wait for Gu Wenhua to arrive."
Ji Juntao showed a disgusted expression: "Look at Ye Ya's fighting power. She got crushed by that old man Shi Shan's fans. I wanted to buy some water to help you control the comments, but I couldn't even find them! It's time to take them out for some training."
“It’s normal for pollen to lose to starch,” Shang Yechu said helplessly. “Besides, Shishan fans are exceptionally crazy. Don’t be so harsh on them.”
Shang Yechu and Ji Juntao had the same idea.
The "Xiao Feng Que" series targets middle-aged and elderly viewers, and its popularity on Weibo has never been significant; "Yun Qing Ji" has already finished airing, and its long-tail effect is waning; "The Mute Woman" didn't attract many fans due to its subject matter. Now is not a good time to clarify.
The best way for a celebrity to clear their name is to quickly bring up all their past scandals and dirty secrets after playing a role in a hit show.
That was when the audience loved the artist the most; the image of the artist hadn't faded yet, and he seemed utterly lovable. The audience would unconsciously believe everything he said and spontaneously try to whitewash his image.
This is a tried-and-tested, foolproof strategy in the entertainment industry, and an irrefutable truth for whitewashing one's image.
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