Chapter 285

"Well, don't worry, I still have some influence in America, and I won't be affected by Japanese forces. Well, I will do my best regarding the Oscars~"

After Wu Yuchen hung up the phone, he exhaled lightly. Just now, a leader of a domestic department called him, the general meaning of which was to care about whether his progress at the Oscars was going smoothly, and at the same time said that he would do a good job of rear-guard work for him, so don't worry.

Wu Yuchen also knew that as his "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" won so many Oscar nominations, certain forces on the Japanese side began to jump. Not only did they protest through diplomatic channels, but they also mobilized many capitals investing in China to exert pressure.

To be honest, if it were another little director with no fame, he might not be able to withstand these pressures. It was only because Wu Yuchen's status was already relatively high, and he had invited some big leaders to watch the film at the domestic premiere a few months ago, having their endorsement, so now the pressure from all sides was withstood, and what reached him were just a few words of concern.

The Japanese side took the initiative to propose a meeting with him, but he didn't pay attention to it at all. He knew clearly what the other party's purpose in finding him was, but he couldn't agree, so meeting was purely wasting his time and energy. Isn't it better to use this time to do a few more public relations?

And recently he also discovered that some American media began to jump out and secretly whitewash the Japanese.

Actually, the way the Japanese whitewash themselves in Europe and America is also very simple, which is to talk about the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, talk about the Tokyo air raids, and describe how miserable those victims are to this day. Simply put, it is selling misery, placing themselves in the position of victims, blurring their perspective as perpetrators, and covering up the position of invaders.

Don't say, there are really many people in Europe and America who eat this set. After all, there are still many people who oppose the existence of atomic bombs today, especially when this set of rhetoric has been insisted on for decades, allowing Japan to win a lot of sympathy.

But now that the Japanese are jumping so much, Wu Yuchen won't sit still. It just so happens to take this opportunity to increase some heat for his film again!

The next day, in the exhibition hall of a certain theater, Wu Yuchen was holding a press conference. The content of all exhibitions in this exhibition hall was information, photos, and other relevant evidence about various concentration camps in China during World War II. As attached reference materials for "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas," they were all displayed.

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen's expression was serious, his eyes sharp, and he said loudly:

But some Japanese people don't think so. At this time, a Japanese person was heard shouting loudly: "You are deliberately creating conflicts, creating ethnic hatred, and destroying world peace!"

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen introduced a Chinese-American woman beside him: "This is Ms. Iris Chang. She is an expert in researching Japan's actions during World War II, once published 'The Rape of Nanking,' and also provided a lot of help for my exhibition this time."

"I just hope that everyone can face this period of history squarely, including the Japanese themselves. Only by facing this period of history squarely, using the correct attitude to face it, and accepting it, can we dissolve hatred and conflict.

The reporters present saw someone making trouble, so they were even happier, shooting at this person one after another. However, more people were concerned about Wu Yuchen, to see what reaction this great director would have to this.

This time, with Wu Yuchen, a tall person, standing in front, he believed he could share a lot of the pressure she was facing.

At this time, Wu Yuchen was sitting on the stage accepting interviews from reporters:

"In fact, I didn't plan to take these out originally. But every time I attend exchange activities or accept interviews, there are always Japanese people or media protesting, saying that I am deliberately smearing them with fabricated history. Well, now I have put all the true evidence out to prove that everything in my film is traceable and has factual basis. I hope I won't hear any related questions in the future!"

At this time, Iris Chang also said: "It is an honor to be invited by Wu Dao Yuchen. Actually, I am creating a new work, which is about the history of Allied soldiers being abused by the Japanese military after being captured, including some American veterans. I have visited many surviving old people, and just taking this opportunity of the exhibition, I will publish the materials I have visited and investigated to restore a true history!"

But she also therefore resisted the harassment from Japanese right-wing groups alone for a long time, and finally died for unknown reasons in 2004. Although it was announced to the outside world as suicide, it was actually death after disappearance. No one knew what she really encountered.

My purpose has never been to provoke conflicts and hatred between nations. Hatred and conflict will only bring more disputes, more disputes, more conflicts, and lay the groundwork for the next war."

Wu Yuchen looked at the Japanese person who popped out, and then looked at the many media reporters:

"Those who have watched my film, I think they should all know what the theme of my film expresses.

In this regard, I think Japan has not done well enough, from smearing me personally and my film, to modifying their textbooks, distorting the next generation's cognition of history, covering up past mistakes, and even maintaining the tradition of visiting the war criminal shrine for decades. Know that the blood in the hands of each of those war criminals is no less than Hitler's.

These behaviors make it very difficult for people to believe that Japan has had any real reflection on the past invasion war behaviors. They need to take a correct attitude, and they should learn from the Germans!"

The Japanese person under the stage still wanted to shout, but had already been dragged out by security.

Iris Chang was specifically invited by Wu Yuchen. In his past life, he admired her very much. She originally had a wealthy family and life, but she insisted on walking on the road of exposing Japanese crimes and made a great contribution to the voice of the Nanjing Massacre in the world.

Actually, I have many Japanese friends and people I admire, such as the film's composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Director Hayao Miyazaki of "Spirited Away," who was nominated for Best Animated Feature this year.

The flashes under the stage were clicking constantly. Actually, most Hollywood reporters were not surprised by this. It wasn't as if no one had done this kind of exhibition during the Oscar push before. These exhibitions could better help fans understand more stories behind the film.

"Wu Yuchen accuses Japan of never facing World War II crimes squarely"

Many media had already thought about how to report this matter:

"Wu Yuchen: Japanese are not as good as Germans!"

"Wu Yuchen reveals the hidden truth of World War II, Japanese are furious!"

After this small episode, reporters began to ask about recent hot topics:

"Wu, how do you view the Iraq War that may break out at any time?"

"Wu, do you think Saddam deserves to die? He also used biochemical weapons to harm civilians!"

Facing this question, Wu Yuchen had to be careful. Because the last scene of his film is the scene where the Japanese use biochemical weapons on people in the concentration camp.

And the big reason Bush shouted this time is that Saddam used large-scale biochemical weapons. To be honest, Saddam really can't be washed regarding this point. In the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, in order to end the battle as soon as possible, Saddam ordered the dropping of chemical weapons such as mustard gas and nerve gas on Iran, causing 100,000 people to be harmed, most of whom were civilians.

Ironically, in fact, many of Iraq's weapons at that time were provided by America. During the Iran-Iraq War, America was a firm supporter of Iraq and didn't mention any biochemical weapon problems internationally for 8 years. The two sides fell out because of Kuwait, and the Gulf War broke out in 1991. So even if Saddam really has weapons of mass destruction now, this is also goods supplied to him by the old Americans.

This time the old Americans want to sanction Saddam because he took the lead in engaging in oil de-dollarization and trading in Euros, shaking the foundation of the old Americans' dominance of the world, so it must be hit.

Of course, Wu Yuchen couldn't talk about these things at length. He is a director, not a military and political analysis expert, so it is not appropriate to talk too much about political right and wrong and interests.

The problem now is that if Wu Yuchen says Saddam deserves to die, then he is supporting Bush to launch a war. If he says Saddam doesn't deserve to die, then he is standing on the same front as the villain in the film he filmed. So this reporter's question really gave him a difficult problem.

Wu Yuchen thought for a while and said:

"Saddam is Saddam, and you cannot confuse him with the civilians of Iraq. I have always insisted on one point: the biggest harm in war will be a large number of civilians. It's not one or two, nor ten thousand or twenty thousand, but more than ten million or twenty million civilians will be directly and indirectly harmed by this.

I don't want the Iraq War to break out. I call on the authorities and people to pay attention to those civilians as much as possible. They are the real majority, and their voices are the ones that really need to be heard!"

He directly downplayed Saddam and always stood from the perspective of the common people to speak for them, which would never be wrong.

After the press conference, the media soon reported information about this exhibition, which also attracted a large number of fans who had watched the film to visit.

In the backstage, Iris Chang sincerely thanked Wu Yuchen: "Wu Dao, thank you very much for this film. You may not be able to imagine how much help it can bring us! The effect and influence of your film far exceed our work for many years in the past!"

In the past, if such an exhibition were held in Europe and America, the audience attracted would actually be very small. Because this is the crime of the Japanese invasion of China, what does it have to do with us Americans? Many old Americans don't care about these at all. And even those who came to visit, many were just looking at flowers on horseback, treating it as an ordinary war, and wouldn't take it to heart, maybe forgetting it after a period of time.

But this time it's different. Many fans came to see this exhibition after watching "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas." They themselves had heartache for the two cute boys in the film and had their own positions, so the impression after seeing this exhibition would be particularly profound.

This is why Iris Chang thanked Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen said to Iris Chang with a smile: "Ms. Chang, you are serious. As a descendant of China, this is what I should do. On the contrary, Ms. Chang, being able to persist in speaking out for the Nanjing Massacre for years like one day, and speaking out for the unfair treatment received by Chinese people, this really makes me admire!"

The two praised each other for a few words, and then Iris Chang reminded Wu Yuchen: "Wu Dao, I think Japanese right-wing groups will definitely continue to destroy and harass you, so please be prepared."

Wu Yuchen nodded, then laughed: "Ms. Chang, don't worry, I am determined to win this Oscar push! On the contrary, Ms. Chang, if you are still harassed by unknown people, you can contact me at any time, and I will provide help within my power!"

"Thank you, Wu Dao!" Iris Chang also felt that the pressure was greatly reduced for having Wu Yuchen, who could stand in front of her. The other party had much more energy than her.

Wu Yuchen was also prepared this time, specifically asking his agency to hire a team of bodyguards, just to prevent extremists from jumping over the wall and having any bad intentions toward him.

The Japanese right-wing forces were very angry. They also thought about doing something to Wu Yuchen, but the other party's fame and influence were too great, and doing something would have a very bad impact on Japan. But normal means were helpless against Wu Yuchen. After all, their power in Hollywood, if Sony were gone, really couldn't compare to Wu Yuchen. They could only scold Baka Baka every day, incompetent and furious.

"Wu Dao, do you think I have a good chance this time?"

The one who is asking Wu Yuchen for advice at this time is Hearing Gong Li, who rushed to America without stopping. This time, the one who won the Best Supporting Actress nomination for "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" is her, and it is also the first time someone from China has won an Oscar acting nomination, so she couldn't help but care, and flew over directly.

Wu Yuchen smiled: "There is definitely hope, but it's hard to say if it's big or not. However, human effort is the key! After you come over, cooperate with the team for public relations, then the hope will definitely be bigger. If you don't participate in any activities, then basically don't consider winning."

Hearing Gong Li also nodded. She is actually no stranger to the Oscars.

In 1991, "Ju Dou" won an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, but unfortunately, no one from the crew came. In 1992, "Raise the Red Lantern," starring Hearing Gong Li, won the nomination for Best Foreign Language Film again, and she was also invited to participate in this awards ceremony. In 1994, she came to the Oscars again because "Farewell My Concubine," starring her, won an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

To be honest, those few years were really Hearing Gong Li's peak period, almost producing masterpieces every year and producing results every year. She swept the awards in Europe, and Oscar nominations were also there every year. It was just that the public relations were poor, leading to three Best Foreign Language Film nominations without winning any.

However, now because Wu Yuchen is here, with his past results and the energy he showed, Hearing Gong Li feels that she may not have no hope this time.