Chapter 529: One, Two, Three

North American time, 4:00 PM on February 24th.

Wei Jin and Ceng Li began preparing to walk the red carpet, together with La Vice Chairman and the rest of the film crew, including Jin Zhiwen, who was nominated for Best Original Score, and Dong Jinsong, who was nominated for Best Cinematography.

This year, Wei Jin and Li An had a total of 15 nominations; lifting the Little Golden Man was basically a certainty, with the only difference being how many they would take home.

Therefore, domestic public opinion was very focused on this; not only did the Movie Channel secure the broadcast rights, but Sina launched an online live stream, and there were also quite a few domestic media outlets present at the scene.

Generally speaking, Oscar public relations strategies usually lean toward the major awards, but Wei Jin was different this time; all 8 of his nominations were the focus of his PR efforts.

Because for Wei Jin, nominations for technical awards were extremely rare; if he missed out this time, he didn't know when he would have another chance.

Come to think of it, in his past life, 《Dixing Yinxing》 had a full 10 nominations, which even included Best Actress.

But now, because it was adapted into a Chinese-language film and released a year early, the competitors had changed, leaving only 8 nominations, and it was unclear how many they would actually win in the end.

However, it was precisely because of the early release that the box office results were even more impressive than in his past life.

Otherwise, after global audiences had been bombarded by Hollywood visual effects blockbusters, it would be hard to say whether it could have achieved its current results.

The so-called "a drink and a peck, all is karma."

While lost in thought, it was already time for Wei Jin and his group to walk the red carpet.

Today, Ceng Li was wearing a white, off-the-shoulder, sleeveless, slim-fitting gown, with a style similar to a plain qipao.

The form-fitting cut and the high-slit design, paired with a pair of high heels in the same color, perfectly outlined her proud figure.

In Ceng Li's words, this was called "winning at the first strike."

Different from her usual big waves, Li Jie chose to pin her hair up today, paired with platinum diamond-fragment ear chains; she had a full "imperial sister" aura, appearing both noble and exuding a hint of sexiness.

Wei Jin's styling was relatively simple, a vintage double-breasted slim-fit suit, but relying on his tall and upright stature, standing together with Ceng Li, they could be called a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.

The moment the group stepped onto the red carpet, the flashes never stopped, and Ceng Li also performed very appropriately, with the full aura of a Cannes Best Actress.

Soon, Wei Jin and his group entered the Kodak Theatre and, under the guidance of the staff, found their own seats.

This was the third time Wei Jin had come here, and the treatment was somewhat different from the previous two times.

As the film crew with the most nominations this year, their seats were arranged in the core area in the middle-left of the first row, and to their right were several Hollywood A-list stars nominated for acting awards.

And a bit further to the right of this group was the crew of 《Life of Pi》.

Wei Jin saw Li An and his wife; both sides nodded to each other in acknowledgment, as the competition between everyone tonight would be quite intense.

"Xiao Jin, Director Li An's wife is so ordinary."

Wei Jin understood the meaning behind Ceng Li's words and nodded: "Mm, they met when they were nobodies, and Ms. Lin has always been very supportive of Director Li; they are indeed a model couple in the entertainment industry."

"It's quite enviable."

Wei Jin reached out and interlaced his fingers with Li Jie's small hand, leaning slightly to whisper in her ear: "Li Jie, twenty years from now, in the eyes of the world, we will be like this too."

The great beauty did not speak, but the slightly upturned corners of her mouth exposed her true thoughts.

The scene of the two whispering to each other was captured by the live broadcast camera at the scene.

At this time, it was morning in the country, and many people in the industry were also paying attention to this awards ceremony.

Watching Ceng Li on TV, whose aura reached over two meters tall, sitting in the golden zone with Wei Jin, many actresses secretly shed tears.

This woman was already thirty-six years old, yet she still looked like a young woman in her prime, with skin so good it seemed to glow; no wonder Wei Jin was so infatuated with her.

Wanting to make progress is really hard. At the Dolby Theatre, as host Seth MacFarlane took the stage, this year's Oscar ceremony was about to begin.

This guest host, who started out as a North American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer, had a quite humorous style, and his opening monologue livened up the atmosphere very well.

Subsequently, the host invited the opening guest William Shatner to the stage, and the two performed a live two-person talk show and sketch, and the awards ceremony officially began.

The first award presented was Best Supporting Actor.

When he heard the name read by the presenter, Wei Jin couldn't help but mourn for Leonardo in his heart.

The result was no different from the Golden Globe Awards; it was that supporting actor from 《Django Unchained》—Christoph Waltz.

Wei Jin looked toward the back right and, sure enough, saw that the disappointment on Leonardo's face was hard to conceal.

But it was always a happy thing for a film crew to win an award; Leon still had to maintain his composure, forcing a smile while hugging the winner and applauding—it was truly too painful.

Immediately following were the awards for Best Animated Short Film and Best Animated Feature Film; apart from the nominated crews, the other crews didn't care much.

Wei Jin was no exception; he sat there, carefully playing with the great beauty's slender jade fingers, very focused.

The awards segment was interspersed with performances, and soon twenty minutes passed; it finally reached the technical awards, and Wei Jin perked up at this moment.

For Best Cinematography, 《Dixing Yinxing》 and 《Life of Pi》 were both nominated; the first round of competition between the two sides officially began.

The presenter was also an old acquaintance, Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. and Captain America Chris Evans; Wei Jin had known them since 《Now You See Me》.

The gold content of the Best Cinematography award was not low, and often it was a bellwether for Best Film, so the nominated crews all began to get nervous.

"The winner of the Best Cinematography award is..."

As Downey opened the envelope, the screen began to scroll, and the hand Ceng Li was holding Wei Jin's with gradually tightened.

Three years ago, Downey brought good luck to Wei Jin, helping him take home the Oscar Best Screenplay; could it continue this time? "Congratulations, Claudio Miranda, 《Life of Pi》!"

A bad start; Wei Jin was a bit disappointed, but thinking about it, he could understand it to some extent.

Compared to 《Life of Pi》, although the cinematography of 《Dixing Yinxing》 had technical breakthroughs, it relied more on props and equipment and had little to do with the level of the cinematographer himself.

It was just a pity for Old Dong, who had looked forward to it for so long, so while the guest on stage was speaking, Wei Jin turned his head to offer a few words of comfort.

Unexpectedly, Dong Jinsong was quite optimistic: "It's okay, President Wei, following you, there will be a chance sooner or later, hehe..."

"Mm, good mindset; perhaps we can come again next year."

Wei Jin's words were not purely comfort; the cinematography of 《Nomadland》 was a true test of skill, and Old Dong's chances of winning were actually quite high.

Just as the two were talking, the next award began to be presented on stage, which was still related to 《Dixing Yinxing》.

"The winner of the Best Visual Effects award is..."

Captain America Chris Evans, known as the "King Oyster Mushroom," looked at the card in his hand, his mouth slightly upturned.

"Congratulations, Liu Jianguo, 《Dixing Yinxing》!"

"Yeah, we're on the board!"

The words had barely fallen on stage when the film crew began to cheer, immediately followed by congratulations: "Old Liu, congratulations."

Liu Jianguo, who was in charge of the crew's special effects, beamed: "Hahaha, thank you, thank you everyone." "Old Liu, is your speech ready? Don't go up there and embarrass yourself like Jin Zhiwen, haha."

Wei Jin teased with a smile, causing Jin Zhiwen to flush red and look extremely embarrassed.

"Boss Wei, don't worry, I've memorized it many times, no problem."

"Mm, go on, go enjoy your moment of glory."

Liu Jianguo's speech was by the book; from the nation down to the film crew, he didn't miss a single person who deserved thanks.

Of course, the person he emphasized thanking was still Wei Jin, his boss and mentor.

A deeply moving speech made several Shanhe Media employees in the audience curse inwardly: You thick-browed and big-eyed Old Liu, being so sycophantic, how are the rest of us supposed to perform later?

When he returned to his seat, the Little Golden Man and the certificate were passed around for everyone to play with; everyone wanted to touch the trophy.

The awards ceremony on stage continued.

After five consecutive minor awards—Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary Short Subject, and Best Documentary Feature—a big one finally arrived.

Best Foreign Language Film was, unsurprisingly, taken by the Cannes Palme d'Or film *Amour*, which had swept major film festivals this year.

Best Sound Effects and Best Sound Editing were split between *Life of Pi* and *Gravity*.

In fact, during the first dozen years of the Oscar, there was only one sound category; it was only after the field was subdivided later that it became two.

The former is like the conductor of a musical, while the latter is like the composer providing the musical score.

The person who received this award was the sound editor from Shanhe Ink, Liang Yusheng.

It is said that when his father was young, he was a martial arts fan and liked the old master Liang the most.

It's a good thing he was born a boy; if it were a girl using this name, it would really be a bit strange.

Perhaps because Liu Jianguo had set the example, the sound editing part had nothing to do with Wei Jin, but as the boss and director, he was still fiercely thanked by Liang Yusheng.

This immediately raised the intensity, and the competition began to heat up.

At this time, the live streaming rooms back home were also very lively.

Two films had taken four awards, three of which were honors that Chinese people had never received before; it was truly joyful.

After the Best Supporting Actress award was taken by Anne Hathaway, the second round of competition between *Gravity* and *Life of Pi* began.

"The winner of the Best Film Editing award is..."

Watching Sandra Bullock standing on stage as the presenter, Wei Jin felt a bit emotional.

The original lead actress of *Gravity* was indeed her; now that she was presenting the relevant award for the film, it really felt like a twist of fate.

Just as Wei Jin was thinking this, Sandra had already announced the answer.

"Yin Tao, *Gravity*, congratulations!"

"Boss Wei, it's us, it's us, I've won an Oscar Little Gold Man, hahaha!"

Just like Wei Jin's other films, he had also shouldered a lot of the editing work in this film, but this award was specifically for the editor.

At this moment, this middle-aged editor named Yin Tao was riding the coattails of success, so excited that he was incoherent.

"Don't be too excited, take a deep breath, and perform well on stage."

Wei Jin smiled and patted Yin Tao on the shoulder, feeling very happy himself; perhaps in two years, there would be one more person who could help vote.

At this moment, the hosts of the Movie Channel back home, the audience in front of their TVs, those watching the Oscar live stream via the internet, and the netizens discussing the awards ceremony on Weibo were all very excited.

*Gravity* had 8 nominations and had already won three, matching the record of *Brokeback Mountain* from 7 years ago and also refreshing the number of Oscar awards Wei Jin had won in the past.

Moreover, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, two major awards with high technical content, were both with the Chinese crew; perhaps the final Best Picture award would also be born between *Gravity* and *Life of Pi*.

Because since the 1980s, almost all films that won Best Picture included these two major awards.

However, Wei Jin was very clear in his heart that whether it was *Gravity* or *Life of Pi*, the probability of winning Best Picture was far too small.

Aside from the nationality issue of the two, more importantly, there was no precedent for a science fiction film, or rather a visual effects film, to win.

Next, the crew's luck was not bad.

They didn't win Best Production Design, but the following Best Original Score award was won.

Jin Zhiwen was prepared this time; although his English level hadn't improved much in a short time, his mental fortitude was much stronger, and he finally didn't stumble through it.

As Jin Zhiwen returned to his seat, the crew members played with the Little Gold Man, and there was another round of cheering.

*Gravity* had 8 nominations, had already gone through 6, and had won 4, currently leading this year's Oscar.

Li An, on the other hand, was not so lucky; his nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay was taken by *Argo*, and his nomination for Best Original Song was snatched by *Skyfall*.

Theron, who was presenting on stage, looked at the *Life of Pi* crew with some pity; they had already gone through 5 nominations but had only taken home 2 Little Gold Men, which was truly quite miserable.

After another performance, the Best Actor and Actress awards arrived.

Sometimes one must admit that Oscar public relations are truly necessary.

Generally speaking, the gold content of the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor and Actress in a drama is higher than that of the musical or comedy category.

Therefore, the Best Actor at this Oscar was still taken by the Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a drama, Daniel Day-Lewis.

But when it came to Best Actress, it was different.

Jennifer Lawrence, with the help of Harvey's public relations, successfully took the crown of Oscar Best Actress.

This time, Jennifer Lawrence's speech seemed even more arrogant, stating directly on stage:

"Thank you, Harvey, for clearing away all my competitors."

This blunt speech made many guests and attendees in the audience frown; it really lowered the class of the Oscar Best Actress.

Therefore, the applause from the audience also seemed sparse.

However, everyone didn't pay too much attention to it; the main event—the Best Director award—had arrived.

If the Oscar Best Picture award usually still considers various external factors, then the Best Director award appears much purer.

Therefore, the five nominated crews all fixed their gazes on the small card in the hands of the presenter on stage.

Tonight, who will it ultimately go to? (End of chapter)