Chapter 204: Friend of American Women

"... Whether it's the Golden Globe Awards or the Oscars, or our country's Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, for an actor, they are actually just some external things. They can only prove some past achievements. Besides..."

Chen Nuo was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, speaking seriously on TV.

However, the owner of the big-screen TV didn't intend to let him continue.

The screen flashed, and that face that made Wang Zonglei feel disgusted disappeared.

"Brother, I said it earlier, this idiot going on this show is definitely just to show off. Hehe, listen to his tone, he really thinks the Golden Globes and Oscars are all his, and the Americans have no chance."

Wang Zongjun lit a cigar unhurriedly and said slowly: "Let's not mention the Oscars for now. As for the Golden Globes, according to news from the US, isn't that exactly the case?"

Wang Zonglei was choked upon hearing this, muttered through gritted teeth, and said with a vicious expression: "Brother, if you ask me, let's first expose his affairs with Fan Binbing and that Gao Yuanyuan. Give him some trouble. I really feel uncomfortable seeing him so triumphant."

Wang Zongjun said expressionlessly: "That would only alert the enemy. With his current momentum, what trouble are these scandals? How could they possibly move him? He might even be hoping we help him stir it up."

"So what if he hooked up with Gao Yuanyuan and Fan Binbing? Even Liu Yifei—so what? Not to mention we don't have hard evidence now, even if you had someone take hard evidence, so what?"

"That Hong Kong woman Wen Yongshan is devoted to him, doesn't even take roles; will she come out and say he's messing around?"

"As long as Wen Yongshan doesn't go against him, when the time comes, Chen Nuo will issue a statement saying they broke up long ago and he's just dating as a single person now. What can you do to him? Hehe, it's not like we haven't used this trick before."

"What's more, if Wen Yongshan really wants to fall out with him, so what? Which of his fans can stand Wen Yongshan? They aren't married; at most, it's just a young person's romantic affair. If the newspapers scold him twice, it will at most hurt his skin, not shake his foundation."

Wang Zonglei said angrily: "Brother, according to you, we have no way to deal with him?"

Wang Zongjun said with a cold expression: "Still the same saying, hit the snake at its seven-inch mark; we must take Chen Nuo down the same way he rose."

Wang Zonglei said thoughtfully: "How did Chen Nuo rise... of course, by winning awards... So, brother, you mean we still have to start from the US side?"

Wang Zongjun nodded heavily and said: "Exactly. Don't underestimate this person Harvey Weinstein. He is a character in Hollywood. His Miramax has been founded for nearly 20 years; although it's not on the scale of the Big Six, this person is very capable when it comes to winning awards. Even better than the Big Six."

"He wants us to provide some dirt on Chen Nuo, especially involving racial discrimination, gender discrimination, or something like violence or drugs—all things Americans are most taboo about. That means Harvey is truly determined to make that kid return empty-handed at the Oscars."

"So, don't look at Warner backing him now... The Golden Globes are one thing. The Oscars won't be that easy."

Wang Zongjun shook the ash off his cigar into the ashtray and continued: "Especially if we help him on the side."

"Must help, definitely must help!" Wang Zonglei shouted, "Now it's spreading outside that their 'The Message' is determined to compete with our 'Assembly.' If he wins an Oscar, that would be terrible."

Speaking of "Assembly," Wang Zongjun couldn't help but have a headache and couldn't help cursing: "Yes, there's also 'Assembly'... damn it."

How could he not curse?

They rushed to launch the big project "Assembly" and invited so many domestic big shots and young actors.

They used Huang Xiaoming, who had recovered from illness, to play the third male lead, and replaced the originally scheduled male lead Zhang Hanyu with Tong Dawei, who had strong momentum and a more pleasing appearance, letting Zhang Hanyu play the second male lead, and then invited Chen Daoming and Zhang Guoli to join.

The purpose was precisely to use "Assembly," which had the same theme, a larger investment scale, and a stronger cast, to break Chen Nuo's golden body!

This time, Wang Zongjun was originally full of confidence and determined to win.

He even went so far as to expose his own shortcomings, saying that "The Message" was originally favored by Huayi, but was snatched away by Huanxin Company, publicly tearing off the mask, and he was in the right.

As a result, who in the entire entertainment industry wouldn't give him some face?

Finally, looking at the cast that "The Message" scraped together, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Huang Bo, Duan Yihong, Yu Hewei—what kind of bullshit are they to deserve to act in a movie?

Using Liu Yifei and Fan Binbing as the two female leads is even more laughable.

Wang Zongjun thought at the time that Chen Nuo was probably smooth sailing all the way and was too inflated and floating. He didn't understand the domestic film market at all.

Fan Binbing is fine; she can be considered a white-eyed wolf raised by Huayi, and she has a little box office appeal.

Liu Yifei?

A TV star who hasn't come out to act for so long—hehe, does he really think domestic people are willing to pay to enter the cinema for an outdated vase role?

Just wait to die!

Moreover, there is the sniping of their carefully crafted "Assembly" with huge investment.

Wang Zongjun could be said to have full confidence that this time he could make Chen Nuo lose everything, and settle the score with interest!

But he didn't expect...

"'The Message' final role confirmed: Jiang Wen flew to Hengdian today and officially joined 'The Message' crew. When asked about the role, he shook his head and didn't speak, revealing a mysterious smile."

"Wong Kar-wai secretly arrived in Hengdian, claiming to be the producer of 'The Message,' laughing: 'Looking forward to opening up different careers in the future.'"

"Korean Blue Dragon and Baeksang double Best Actress Jeon Do-yeon whirlwinded to China, appeared in Hengdian, in a hurry throughout, staying for only one day, confirmed to be a guest appearance in 'The Message'."

"Korean Chungmuro's number one male star Choi Min-sik will play an important role in 'The Message,' arriving in Hengdian with Bong Joon-ho, Lee Chang-dong, and others to join 'The Message' crew."

"Heavy news! Takeshi Kitano admitted in Japan today that he will play a Japanese officer invading China in 'The Message,' and said that a movie is just a movie, hoping the public will look at it rationally."

During those days in the first two months, one heavy bomb after another blasted him until he was dizzy.

Although they were all guest appearances and not important roles.

But just by these names, it's really like the famous line in Zhao Benshan's sketch: what else do you want?

He, Wang Zongjun, really didn't understand why these people gave Chen Nuo so much face after just one day and two nights at the Sheshan gathering.

Could it be that there is really some magic in that person?

As a result, what was originally a sure thing turned into an evenly matched situation, making him feel uneasy.

Fearing that the nightmare of "The Banquet" would descend again.

"Brother, then what do you say we do? The things the Americans want, according to what we currently know, we really don't have. That kid, besides liking women, doesn't seem to have anything else to expose." Wang Zonglei's words woke him from his contemplation.

Wang Zongjun was silent for a long time, thinking about a lot in his mind, and suddenly made up his mind, sneering coldly: "He doesn't have it? Who says he doesn't? If he really doesn't have it, then we'll help him create some!"

After telling the media and the public on "A Date with Lu Yu" that in fact, Golden Globes and Oscars are all foreigners' awards, and although they are goals, they are not worth publicizing.

If one day he is lucky enough to win a Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Award, that would be the greatest honor of his life. After that, Chen Nuo's life finally returned to a period of calm.

The post-production of "The Message" was in full swing, but it was already nearing the end.

During this post-production stage, the person Chen Nuo wanted to thank most was not Ning Hao, nor Gao Qunshu. And certainly not himself, who didn't care about anything.

It was Wong Kar-wai.

In fact, in his previous life, Chen Nuo vaguely felt that Wong Kar-wai had a faint sense of ancient chivalry in his bones.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so much time and energy to make "Ashes of Time," a film with a martial arts background, so poetic and picturesque.

In this life, the deeper his interaction with Wong Kar-wai, the clearer this feeling became.

In Cannes, although he didn't win Best Actor because Wong Kar-wai was showing off, didn't Wong Kar-wai himself not win Best Director?

Logically speaking, people didn't owe him anything.

But Wong Kar-wai didn't think so.

This time he came to be his producer, didn't mention a penny of remuneration, and never even asked them for money for the hotel travel expenses every time he came.

Afterward, not only did he help a lot during the filming, but he also forcibly corrected the shortcomings of the two directors who were too frugal with film, which led to the loss of some film quality.

In the last month or two, he was truly stationed in Beijing, working on post-production in the editing room with Ning Hao, Gao Qunshu, and others.

Truly supervising the production until the last moment, until the film took shape.

Truly worthy of the name of producer.

As a result, Chen Nuo knew that he owed a huge favor this time.

It wasn't something that could be solved by a 7-figure red envelope.

For Director Wong's next film, as long as he asks him, let alone filming for a year or two, even if it takes 10 years, if he doesn't support it to the end, it wouldn't be right.

On November 31st, the Golden Globe nomination list on the other side of the Pacific was released and spread to China.

And at this time, the post-production of "The Message" was almost finished.

The final nomination list was exactly the same as what Lori Eisner said, not a single bit off, except that there was one more British powerful actor, Geoffrey Rush, on the list.

However, looking at the five male stars in Best Supporting Actor.

From the US to China, to the UK, France, Japan, and South Korea, the tone of all major mainstream media was almost identical. This time, the battle for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and even the future Oscars was only between two people: one was Chen Nuo, and the other was the 2005 Oscar Best Actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Chen Nuo also attached great importance to this chubby blonde man. In order to figure out the competitive situation, he specifically got "Doubt," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, through Lori Eisner to watch.

Only after watching did he realize, good guy,

this film of theirs is the authentic award-chasing film, right?

Just look at the cast and crew list inside.

Besides Philip Seymour Hoffman, the female lead is even more awesome—Meryl Streep.

This woman, who would later be known as the greatest American actress, was nominated for an Oscar 21 times as of 2024.

That is to say, she lived for fifty or sixty years, and 21 years were spent as a guest at the Kodak Theatre. Absolutely unprecedented and unrepeatable.

Similarly, the second and third female leads were also regulars at American awards ceremonies.

Amy Adams and Viola Davis.

They would respectively become the Best Actress at the 72nd Golden Globes and the Best Supporting Actress at the 74th Golden Globes and 89th Oscars in the future.

Isn't that awesome?

Seeing this lineup, Chen Nuo's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

After watching the whole film, he immediately knew that Harvey Weinstein, the guy who treated the Oscars as his backyard, would never let him off this time.

Even Warner, which was biting people everywhere like a mad dog for his Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor, couldn't make Harvey Weinstein give up.

Because, having gathered such a lineup and spent so much money, they must have been prepared to impact the Oscars from the beginning of production.

Secondly, this film was too damn ugly; it could be said that besides the actors' acting, it was worthless.

Dull and boring, it could make people fall asleep directly.

Even at the level of art films, it belonged to the kind that was ugly to death.

If it couldn't win an award, then it was over.

It would definitely be smashed in their hands, and not only would it definitely lose money, but it would definitely not be a small amount. After all, there were so many stars in the film, and they all needed real money to be invited back.

People of this era might not know much about what kind of breed Harvey Weinstein was, but Chen Nuo knew too damn well.

When he was finally imprisoned, there were more than 80 female stars who accused him of sexual assault, and who knows how many didn't stand up.

Among them were many first-line stars and even Oscar winners.

His history of sexual assault could be called the history of the rise of American film women.

Compared to this real bulldozer, Chen Nuo could call himself a chaste virgin.

After the Golden Globe nomination list came out, Lori Eisner also reminded him of this on the phone.

The public relations for the Oscars had just begun, Warner was cheering for him, but Miramax had no movement yet, and who knows what kind of crooked ideas they were playing.

Therefore, Lori Eisner said that even if he was far away in China, he must be careful and not cause any trouble at this critical moment.

Finally, Lori Eisner also attached another piece of good news.

Now the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild in the US were on strike, making a mess with the major film companies, and it was in full swing. It looked very likely that the Golden Globes would cancel the awards ceremony for the first time in history this year and directly announce the winners.

Therefore, it was very likely that he could win the Golden Globe while sitting at home, saving him the trouble of running back and forth.

This was indeed good news for Chen Nuo.

At least this confirmed that he could participate in the final exams this year and didn't have to shamelessly ask for leave for missing exams.

"Chen Nuo, I'm a reporter from NetEase Entertainment. What is your opinion on the nomination list for this Golden Globe Awards?"

"Chen Nuo, I'm a reporter from Sina Entertainment. Philip Hoffman mentioned in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter yesterday that you will be his biggest opponent for the Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor this time. Do you think he's right?"

"Chen Nuo, I'm Sohu Entertainment. I heard that the Golden Globe Awards ceremony meeting is to be canceled. Do you feel regret about this?"

"I'm a reporter from Tencent Entertainment. Miramax CEO Harvey Weinstein recently claimed in an interview that your acting in Joker is absolutely overrated. What do you think about this?"

"Chen Nuo, I'm a reporter from Hong Kong Wen Wei Po. Recently, some rumors have appeared on the Hong Kong internet saying that you used drugs to get inspiration during the process of playing Joker. Is it true?"

"Chen Nuo, I'm..."

"Chen Nuo..."

Once the Golden Globe winner list came out, Chen Nuo's quiet life during this period was gone.

On December 1st, he went to stand at the new Li Ning flagship store in Beijing.

After the event, under the escort of many security guards, he used all his strength to break through the surrounding circle of reporters and sat in the nanny car.

After getting in the car, he looked out the window and didn't speak for a while.

Qi Yuntian rarely had free time today and also came to this event with him.

Seeing his strange appearance, he couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"

Chen Nuo turned his head and said: "Are there any rumors about me on the internet in China recently?"

Qi Yuntian thought for a while, "The public opinion monitoring on the company's side has always been done. At least in the report given to me last week, there was nothing abnormal."

Chen Nuo said: "Just now I heard a Hong Kong reporter say that there are rumors on the internet there that I took drugs to play Joker."

Qi Yuntian was stunned and hesitated: "Actually, similar rumors have appeared one after another in the past few months, um... do you think there is a problem this time?"

Chen Nuo nodded: "Yes, I think the reporter's question just now was a bit strange."

"Think about it, if it were just some groundless rumors on the internet, he shouldn't have come to ask me in person. However, he actually asked. After asking, he said it was just some rumors. This is somewhat contradictory."

"The feeling it gives me is that he is laying some groundwork. What he wants is my attitude of not responding. Preparing for the story he will fabricate later. And the things he fabricates, I think it is very likely related to drugs."

Qi Yuntian listened solemnly, "I understand, I will let the people in the company check it out."

Everyone knows that in China, nothing is more serious than this.

If someone really makes small moves on this and blows things up. Even if they don't succeed in the end, it is very likely to splash dirty water on him that he can't wash off.

Everyone in the car was Chinese and knew the nature of this. Even though Linghu never spoke while driving, he suddenly spoke at this time: "Chen Zong, I want to say two things."

Chen Nuo immediately said: "Brother Chong, go ahead."

Linghu said: "Chen Zong, to be honest, have you ever taken drugs in the US?"

Chen Nuo said categorically: "Absolutely not."

Linghu observed Chen Nuo's expression in the rearview mirror and continued to ask: "In those internet rumors, it says you took drugs when you went to the US to film—how long ago was that?"

"Um... I went to the US in June last year."

"Then when did you come back, Chen Zong?"

Testing memory and such, this was a bit difficult for Chen Zong.

Chen Nuo coughed lightly and turned to look at Qi Yuntian.

Qi Yuntian said without hesitation: "Returned to Hong Kong on December 2nd last year."

Linghu didn't speak for a moment, but suddenly stopped the car on the side of the road, then turned his head and said to the two of them with a very solemn expression: "Chen Zong, Qi Zong, my suggestion is, why don't we go to the police station now?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 205 =====