Chapter 699: Won an award, actually won an award! (7600-character update)

At the subsequent media press conference, Lu Yan He, Huang Feng, Huang Tianlin, as well as producer Yuan Hai, Qin Shulan who played the mother, and Han Yu Jiang who played the female neighbor with a romantic connection to the older brother in the film, all attended together.

Lu Yan He was the only well-known actor in the crew, so naturally, he received the most focused questions from the media.

This film was very popular with the media.

Because it was simple enough, yet had enough rich details for everyone to savor.

Often, when people evaluate whether a film is a good film, it is at the very moment the film ends, whether an indescribable feeling surges in their hearts—

Whether it is the belief that this world has become better, a sharp sense of having the truth laid bare, or the feeling of returning to a certain stage in one's own life with one's heart peeled open.

When this moment arrives, what others say actually becomes less important.

Of course, not every film is applicable to this rule. But "Tropical Rainy Season" is undoubtedly very applicable.

In the film, Lu Yan He's screen time suddenly became that of a proper lead. Of course, it was certainly not as much as Huang Feng's, but it was definitely no longer just a label-like character.

Some media asked about this.

Huang Tianlin replied: "In the initial script, it wasn't like this. It's just that during editing, I gradually realized that I wanted this film to be as simple as possible, to subtract elements and information as much as possible. So, in reality, after the older brother left home, we originally filmed a lot of plot, but I didn't put it into the film."

"Is this because you wanted to highlight Lu Yan He as much as possible?"

"No." Huang Tianlin shook his head. "Until last night, he still thought he was just a supporting role. In fact, he only filmed with our crew for less than ten days. However, his performance content exceeded my expectations, and unexpectedly, it fit my later thoughts on this film. So, his screen time was actually preserved to the greatest extent; only a few scenes with Han were cut."

Lu Yan He smiled.

"Why were those parts cut?" a media outlet asked.

Huang Tianlin explained: "Because I hoped to reduce the older brother's image in terms of lust, and highlight his own sense of bewilderment and contradiction."

The media then asked Lu Yan He: "Why did you decide to participate in this film at the time?"

"Because I had filmed a lot of commercial films at the time, and as an actor, I was a bit tired of it. I wanted to find a film that could focus on a character's inner world and the emotional relationships between people. It just so happened that the theme of this film, family affection, was something I hadn't filmed before. The script's approach—not catering to the currently popular themes and concepts, but more like a description of family relationships from the last century—really moved me."

"We heard that at the beginning, your relationship with the director was a bit strained?" a media outlet asked with a smile. "Can you tell us about it?"

Lu Yan He and Huang Tianlin looked at each other.

Lu Yan He deferred to Huang Tianlin, signaling for him to speak.

Huang Tianlin thought for a moment and said: "This is my fault. I was just a little-known director, but he was a big star in the film industry. At the time, I was very worried that such a big star coming to play a supporting role had other motives. Otherwise, why would he come to play a supporting role—"

The scene erupted in laughter.

Lu Yan He also laughed, making a helpless gesture.

"I am very grateful to him." Huang said, "When I deliberately provoked him, trying to force him to leave my film, he very frankly told me his thoughts and was also very considerate in forgiving my very impolite offense toward him. He truly has the tolerance of a great actor. Moreover, during the subsequent filming process, he didn't have any star airs at all. I mean, in terms of eating, dressing, living, and traveling, there were no special treatments. So, even now, I still have that doubt: why did he come to play a supporting role?"

Lu Yan He: "Oh, look, I acted well enough, so you couldn't bear to cut my scenes, and so I ended up acting as the lead."

The whole venue burst into laughter.

"In all seriousness, my willingness to play a supporting role stems from my first film work, 'Sanshan'. That was a film where I only made a guest appearance for one night. In the film, I only had ten minutes of screen time, but for that one scene, very luckily, I was recognized by the whole world at the Xitu'er Film Festival." Lu Yan He said, "So, I know very clearly that the amount of screen time, lead or supporting, will not affect an actor's presence. In this film, whether it's Teacher Qin Shulan who played my mother, or Han Yu Jiang who had a secret relationship with me, you can all see how outstanding they are. I want to be an actor who can be remembered even with just one shot."

Applause broke out.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to say: directors from all over the world are welcome to send me scripts. Whether it's a lead or a supporting role, as long as it moves me, the pay or the distance is not a problem." Lu Yan He said.

The response and evaluation of "Tropical Rainy Season" in Xitu'er even exceeded that of "Raise the Red Lantern".

Especially the media evaluation—

Obviously, although "Raise the Red Lantern" was full of critical spirit and had high artistic value, in terms of the film's theme itself, "Tropical Rainy Season" had higher acceptance.

The daily bulletin ratings came out, and "Tropical Rainy Season" ranked third among the screened films, with a score as high as 3.1.

The media all said that this year's Xitu'er had ushered in a great year.

At this point, one-third of the main competition unit films had not yet been screened.

Lu Yan He was very helpless.

It seems that it would be a bit difficult for "Raise the Red Lantern" to compete for the top prize this year. It depends on the judges' tastes and what role Liu Bige can play in the jury.

The Xitu'er trip ended, and Lu Yan He set off to return to the country.

Everyone in the "Tropical Rainy Season" crew also returned.

Wang Zhong stayed in Xitu'er.

Five days later, the Xitu'er Film Festival closed.

If there were awards, the film festival would recall the crew.

Lu Yan He said to Chen Bige with a smile: "You might as well just ask the crew for a few more days off. Your buzz for Best Actress is so high this year."

Chen Bige: "I'd like to, but what if I ask the crew for leave and then don't win an award? I wouldn't know where to hide my face."

Lu Yan He didn't expect Chen Bige to worry about this.

"Besides, asking for five days off in one go? Counting the return, that's six days. The pressure on the crew would be so great that everyone would be sticking pins in a voodoo doll of me." Chen Bige rolled her eyes. "One must have self-awareness."

Lu Yan He's two films both had daily bulletin ratings above 3 points, and both were works with high buzz for awards this year. Such a rare achievement, when transmitted back to the country, made everyone's reaction become ordinary; they just felt that if it was Lu Yan He, then it was normal.

However, four days later, Lu Yan He suddenly received a call from Huang Tianlin.

Huang said that the Xitu'er Film Festival had recalled the "Tropical Rainy Season" crew.

Immediately following that, Lu Yan He received a call from the film festival's artistic director, Wintour Robe.

"Lu, I hope you can come to the closing ceremony with the crew."

Lu Yan He was stunned.

Lu Yan He did not find it surprising that "Tropical Rainy Season" could win an award and be recalled.

However, Wintour Robe specifically called him to invite him to attend the closing ceremony.

This—

Could it be—

Lu Yan He's heartbeat accelerated a little.

No way, right?

Lu Yan He said: "Mr. Robe, I am actually in the crew. I came over a few days ago and have already asked the crew for leave. Can Director Huang Tianlin represent the crew to go back?"

He was testing the waters.

Wintour Robe said: "Lu, if possible, you should still try your best to come back and attend this time."

Lu Yan He understood.

At this moment, he felt quite calm, feeling nothing in particular.

"I understand. I will go and communicate with the crew to see if it can be coordinated." Lu Yan He said, and after finishing, he added, "Thank you, Mr. Robe."

"Lu, you are an actor who was recognized by the whole world from our Xitu'er. We hope to share every key glorious moment of your future with you."

"This leave must be granted!" Chen Ziyan stormed directly to the "Seventeen Layers" set. "I've already had them book your flight. It's an 11 PM flight tonight, with a layover in between, but this ensures you arrive in Xitu'er three hours before the closing ceremony starts."

Lu Yan He: "Incredible, it was not in my expectations at all."

"Huang Tianlin finally did one good thing." Chen Ziyan's joy was not concealed at all; even her hair strands were radiating joy and excitement. "In the end, you actually became the lead of this film."

Lu Yan He: "Took advantage."

"It's him who took advantage of you." Chen Ziyan said immediately. "No wonder Xitu'er would pay attention to this film and select it for the main competition unit right away. Generally speaking, a director's work usually starts from other units first."

Many directors' works, if they are shortlisted for the Xitu'er Film Festival for the first time, are usually in other competition units, rather than starting directly in the main competition.

At the time, Chen Ziyan felt that because Huang Tianlin's directorial debut was highly acclaimed at the Toronto Film Festival and had fame in Europe and America, the Xitu'er Film Festival selected "Tropical Rainy Season" for the main competition right away. Now it seems, if one says it had nothing to do with Lu Yan He's performance, Chen Ziyan would not believe it even if she died.

—You are an actor who was recognized by the whole world from our Xitu'er. We hope to share every key glorious moment of your future with you.

Wintour Robe's words were clearly expressing something.

Although it was more likely that he said this deliberately after knowing something, in order to get closer to Lu Yan He at this time, and to make Lu Yan He feel that Xitu'er treated him with favor.

Regardless, the fact that someone was willing to say such things to Lu Yan He showed that Lu Yan He was different to them.

And contrary to Lu Yan He, Chen Bige, who was not on the list of buzz for Best Actor this year, did not receive an invitation to be recalled.

The "Raise the Red Lantern" crew received one, but Chen Bige herself did not.

For this reason, Lu Yan He actually felt quite embarrassed deep down.

When he asked the crew for leave, he didn't say he had received a separate recall call from the artistic director, only saying that both films had been recalled, so he still had to go.

The crew naturally agreed.

No one else noticed anything, only Chen Bige was very sharp and asked privately: "Is it because you're going back to hold a victory celebration?"

Lu Yan He said: "If so, can you help me hold it?"

Chen Bige smiled generously and nodded. "Okay, I'll organize it."

Lu Yan He finished work at 8 PM and rushed to the airport to catch the flight.

He traveled and rushed all the way, not daring to delay for a moment.

Finally, one hour before the closing ceremony started, Lu Yan He arrived in Xitu'er.

It was still two hours later than the estimated arrival time.

He arrived at the scene dusty and tired, without even time to do any styling.

In the car that picked him up, he changed into a tuxedo and then simply tousled his hair.

Wang Biao was almost driven crazy.

Today, Lu Yan He was highly likely to go on stage to receive the most important Best Actor award of his life. Wang Biao did not want this moment to be left with an unkempt and inappropriate image of Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He himself felt it was okay.

Although there were dark circles under his eyes and a pimple on his forehead, looking in the mirror, he was still handsome.

He took a deep breath.

Nervous, expectant, yet afraid of disappointment—

What if the award he gets in the end isn't that one?

He certainly knew that compared to Best Actor, the top prize of Xitu'er had higher gold content.

But for him, at the current stage, the Best Actor award was definitely more precious.

He was really afraid of coming with expectations and returning with disappointment.

In the past two years, he had won two major awards: the Golden Globe and the Hexi Film Festival Best Screenplay. However, Lu Yan He knew that it wasn't his merit; to be precise, for him, that was the Best Plagiarist Award.

Only acting—

Yes, in this world, among all the worldly achievements he had attained, only two were accumulated by himself: one was his college entrance exam score, and the other was acting.

"Road to Glory" helped him win a domestic Best Actor award, which was the only Best Actor award he had won; his international Best Actor count was zero.

Now, it was possible to break this zero. And it was a film like "Tropical Rainy Season", a film that no one was optimistic about from the beginning, a director without much fame, and a crew without any other actor with international fame besides him. Such a film, if he could win an award in the end, this feeling was not only that his own acting was recognized, but also that his vision was recognized.

This feeling was a double pride.

—Yes, the roles and scripts he chose, even if they didn't meet anyone's expectations, the facts proved that his vision was right, it was correct!

Lu Yan He realized his emotions were a bit agitated and quickly restrained himself, suppressing his excited and agitated emotions.

Calm.

It cannot be too visible on his face.

Fortunately, although the Xitu'er Film Festival closing ceremony was broadcast globally, it wouldn't be like those large award ceremonies where a separate camera was set up for nominees when each award was announced.

Fortunately, the film festival didn't play that way.

Otherwise, Lu Yan He felt that he might really not be able to restrain his disappointment if he didn't win an award.

Because he really came with high hopes—

This was a separate recall.

When Lu Yan He walked onto the closing ceremony red carpet, the Chinese media at the scene all showed expressions of extreme surprise.

This was a scene beyond their expectations.

Before this, no media had received news that Lu Yan He would attend the closing ceremony.

And everyone was an old hand; since Lu Yan He and Chen Bige were still filming on the "Seventeen Layers" set and hadn't returned, it meant that neither of them was related to the Best Actor and Best Actress awards that everyone was most concerned about.

Even if the "Raise the Red Lantern" crew received a recall and Director Wang Zhong confirmed he would attend the closing ceremony, this meant that Chinese films would definitely win awards. But for the public, especially the mass media, stars were definitely more attractive and had more news heat.

Especially since Chen Bige was the hottest candidate for Best Actress this year, and the one competing with her was the lead actress of an Iranian film. All media said that Best Actress could only be decided between the two of them. But Chen Bige did not appear.

As a result, Lu Yan He suddenly appeared now.

This scene made everyone watching the Xitu'er Film Festival live broadcast suddenly perk up with surprise.

Everyone knew that if one appeared on the closing ceremony red carpet, it was highly likely to win an award.

This was an iron rule of international top film festival closing ceremonies.

If Lu Yan He didn't have an individual award, what was worth him making a special trip from the country again?

Instantly, the news of Lu Yan He appearing on the Xitu'er Film Festival closing ceremony red carpet hit the hot search lists of major domestic social platforms.

"The Xitu'er Film Festival has always been recognized as the highest hall of art films among the four major international film festivals. Previously, Director Wang Zhong won the Best Director award for 'Sanshan', and since then, no Chinese-language film has won an award at the Xitu'er Film Festival. This time, Director Wang Zhong brought 'Raise the Red Lantern', written by Lu Yan He and starring Chen Bige, to be shortlisted for the main competition unit again, and it is highly likely to win an award again. Let us wait for the good news."

The movie channel temporarily inserted such a live news segment.

It was during the commercial break between two films.

After two commercials, the movie channel inserted another news segment.

It was still the same host as before.

"Just now, Chinese filmmaker Lu Yan He walked onto the red carpet of the Xitu'er Film Festival closing ceremony. He personally has two starring works shortlisted for the main competition unit of this Xitu'er Film Festival: one is 'Raise the Red Lantern', directed by Wang Zhong and written by him, and the other is the Malaysian Chinese-language film 'Tropical Rainy Season', in which he stars. However, this time, he did not walk the red carpet with any crew, but alone. This is a bit inconsistent with the common form of closing ceremony red carpets. It is reported that Lu Yan He took temporary leave from filming to rush here, mainly because he received a separate recall call from the Xitu'er Film Festival artistic director, Mr. Wintour Robe. This means that he is highly likely to win an individual trophy."

"Lu Yan He once won the Best Screenplay award at the Hexi Film Festival, one of the four major international film festivals, for the film 'Love Letter', won the Audience Choice Award at the Hexi Film Festival for the film 'Rouge', and won the Best Screenplay award for a musical/comedy series at the American Golden Globe Awards for the sitcom 'Friends'. At the same time, the film 'Late Spring', in which he starred, won the Jury Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival main competition unit, and the film 'Road to Glory', in which he starred, won the Best Film award at the Venice International Film Festival Horizons unit. He is the most eye-catching face of Chinese-language filmmakers in the international film scene in recent years."

The movie channel directly listed Lu Yan He's representative film works and international awards in a chart, clearly showing the achievements he had made over the years.

In addition to what the host read out, there were many other awards.

Then, this chart went viral online.

No way, the track record was too strong.

In the past five years, killing gods when meeting gods, killing Buddhas when meeting Buddhas, the identity of actor plus screenwriter made the awards in his hands heavy, and no one could dispute anything.

The expectation was suddenly raised.

After Lu Yan He returned and entered the inner venue, he went to greet Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong looked at him with surprise.

Huang Tianlin did too.

Now they all knew that their films would definitely win awards, just not which ones.

And Lu Yan He would definitely win an award, just not which one.

Either the Best Screenplay award for "Raise the Red Lantern", or the Best Actor award for "Tropical Rainy Season", or one of the works would win the Best Film award.

The occasion here was not as socially intense as other award ceremonies.

The color tone of the entire venue was dark blue, and the light was soft.

The members of the jury all went on stage under the introduction of Wintour Robe and sat on the stage. They would sit on the stage throughout the whole process, presenting and witnessing these awards one by one.

Lu Yan He saw Liu Bige.

Liu Bige was sitting among the judges in a suit and tie, looking serious and quite handsome. Several women around Lu Yan He specifically looked at him several times.

Lu Yan He originally thought he could see some signals from Liu Bige's face—

Although he had been holding back from sending a message to Liu Bige to ask what his situation was.

But nothing could be seen on Liu Bige's face.

Lu Yan He couldn't help but feel nervous, uneasy, and even subconsciously wanted to shake his legs, but fortunately, he immediately restrained this impulse.

There was no one else beside him.

His seat was arranged in the second row, sitting alone.

Wang Zhong and Huang Tianlin were in other places.

This made Lu Yan He unable to find anyone to talk to.

The awards were presented starting from some unimportant ones.

Unexpectedly, among the first few awards, there was a Best Cinematography award given to "Tropical Rainy Season".

Huang Tianlin, as the film's director of photography and chief cinematographer, went on stage to receive the award.

Lu Yan He could see that he was a little disappointed.

He certainly didn't think this award was bad; as a director who could win an award upon his first nomination, his luck was already very good. However, after receiving the recall invitation, knowing he would win an award, he must have thought that perhaps he could win a bigger one.

In fact, the Best Cinematography award was already a very high honor for "Tropical Rainy Season", a work that saw the big through the small.

The biggest advantage of this film was obviously the cinematography part.

Lu Yan He applauded happily.

Then, he heard Huang Tianlin thank him again in his acceptance speech.

Lu Yan He smiled happily and gave him a thumbs up.

Afterward, the Best Screenplay award was given to the French film "Flandy's Epitaph", and the Special Award was given to the Indian film "A Woman".

What surprised everyone was that both the Best Screenplay and Best Director awards were given to Christian Mosan for the American film "Bell".

Generally speaking, it is rare for a film to win two important awards at the same time.

However, this also made Lu Yan He breathe a sigh of relief and become even more breathless and focused.

Subsequently, Best Actress was given to another seed candidate of this year, the actress of the Iranian film "Divorce".

Then, Best Actor—

Lu Yan He had been secretly taking deep breaths, keeping himself calm.

Damn it!

This award mechanism was too annoying. It was different from those awards where the result was completely unknown. At this time, he knew that the winner should, with high probability, be himself, but the hammer hadn't fallen, so he couldn't settle his heart; instead, it made him even more nervous.

"'Tropical Rainy Season', Lu Yan He!"

He heard a clumsy Chinese pronunciation read his name.

Afterward, Wang Zhong and Huang Tianlin stood up at the same time, looked at him, and applauded for him.

Lu Yan He was dizzy for a moment, and then he reacted.

He subconsciously clenched his fist and squeezed it hard.

He squeezed all the excitement he couldn't suppress into this fist.

Lu Yan He walked onto the stage amidst the applause and attention of the crowd.

Only then did Liu Bige give him a "knowing smile".

Dog.

Would it kill you to give him a hint earlier?!

Making him nervous and expectant for so long!

Lu Yan He took a deep breath and took his trophy.

"Please allow me to take a deep breath, please allow me to seriously look at this trophy." Lu Yan He restrained the excitement in his voice and said to everyone, then seriously looked at the trophy in his hand. "It's simply incredible that I can win this trophy while I am still so young and handsome. Thank you, Xitu'er, for stopping me from becoming ugly and fat in order to win an award—thank heavens, it's not that one has to abandon one's image to win Best Actor."

Wang Zhong sighed in admiration and laughed along with everyone, applauding.

Why could this guy come up with fresh tricks every time he gave an acceptance speech? Both sincere and humorous.

"Thank you, Director Huang Tianlin. If you hadn't edited me from a supporting role into a lead, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to win this trophy." Lu Yan He shook his head, feeling emotional. "Film is indeed the art of the director. The director determines the fate of everyone in a film. However, the fate of an actor is in his own hands, because excellent directors will be handled by excellent actors. As long as you are good enough, a director who doesn't like popular stars will also break his own principles for it."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

The behind-the-scenes story of "Tropical Rainy Season" had actually been widely known by everyone through the reports of various media in the past few days.

Lu Yan He took a deep breath.

"Xitu'er is truly my lucky place, especially the lucky place where I appeared in a film as a supporting role. Five years ago, the first film I appeared in, 'Sanshan', made me recognized by the world here. In that film, I only had ten minutes of screen time. Five years later, 'Tropical Rainy Season' made me win Best Actor. I didn't calculate the length of my screen time, but fortunately, the judges won't judge the quality of a performance by calculating the length of an actor's screen time."

"The change of light and shadow is the eternity of the moment, the moment of eternity, and performance is the spiritual touch iterated by countless moments. For me, 'Tropical Rainy Season' is an unexpected joy on my acting path. For 'Tropical Rainy Season', I hope Xitu'er can become the starting point for it to be recognized by audiences all over the world. Its emotions are enough to transcend language, and my face, the skin color of the characters, to touch the depths of everyone's soul. I also hope this is the reason I won Best Actor. Thank you."

After Lu Yan He finished speaking, he proudly raised his trophy to the audience, showed it, bowed slightly to the jury to thank them, and went off stage.

"Twenty-four-year-old Xitu'er Film Festival Best Actor!"

"The second youngest Best Actor in the history of the Xitu'er Film Festival!"

"American Green Valley Film Company has bought the North American distribution rights for 'Tropical Rainy Season' and will lobby for Lu Yan He for next year's Academy Awards!"

"Lu Yan He's acceptance speech moved the whole world!"

"What the hell?!" Chen Ziyan waved her hand. "Which media reported that last one? Hurry up and take it down! What kind of disgusting stuff is that? Don't use this kind of chicken soup for the soul headline at this time!"

She directed the publicity and public relations department to do publicity immediately, and at the same time, monitored the public opinion situation in all aspects, resolutely cracking down on anyone who popped up at this time to attack Lu Yan He with the rhetoric that "overseas film festivals only give awards by smearing China".

Chen Ziyan's heart was flying at this moment.

Won an award, actually won an award!

"Ah—" Suddenly, Lu Qingzhen screamed.

"'Raise the Red Lantern' won the top prize, the Best Film award! This is the second Chinese film to win the top prize at the Xitu'er Film Festival! It has been thirty-five years since the last time it won the top prize!"

The whole venue erupted in surprised cheers after Lu Qingzhen's words.

Chen Ziyan didn't care about her image at this moment and shouted a loud "Yes!". ===== CHAPTER 700 =====