Chapter 283

"Oh my, Director Ang Lee didn't win Best Director; the award went to the director of *Crash*. It's a bit of a pity; otherwise, we would have had two Chinese people win the Oscar for Best Director."

In the Sina Entertainment live broadcast room, host Zeng Zixing said.

"Indeed, it's quite a pity for Ang Lee. This is his second nomination for an Oscar for Best Director; the last time was for his *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. By the way, this is the third time a film he directed has been nominated for Best Picture. I wonder if he can win Best Picture next."

Zhou Li Ming followed up. He is a famous film critic, graduated from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and is a very active film critic in China who frequently appears on various programs.

"Actually, I think the biggest pity is Cao Yang. He won Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes for three consecutive years. If he had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars just now, that would have counted as winning Best Screenplay at the Oscars for three consecutive years."

Cheng Qingsong, one of today's guests, chimed in. He is a somewhat well-known screenwriter and also a famous film critic, having graduated from the Literature Department of the Beijing Film Academy.

Although guests are supposed to maintain a neutral stance, everyone actually has their own position, which can be vaguely discerned from their speech.

Perhaps because Zhou Li Ming got his MBA in the United States, his remarks were somewhat biased toward Ang Lee, who also had study-abroad experience in the U. S.

Every time *Brokeback Mountain* didn't win an award, he would say it was a pity. When it previously won Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay, he was very happy and analyzed the reasons for winning.

This time, *Brokeback Mountain* didn't win Best Director, and Zhou Li Ming was somewhat disappointed.

"*Brokeback Mountain* missed out on Best Director, which I think is unfair to Ang Lee. He won Best Picture and Best Director at the Golden Globes, which shows that *Brokeback Mountain* had the strength to win Best Director."

Zhou Li Ming was silent for a moment, then continued: "There is one last major award left, Best Picture. I think this award should go to *Brokeback Mountain*."

Host Zeng Zixing took over the topic and asked Cheng Qingsong next to him, "Qingsong, what do you think?"

Cheng Qingsong thought for a moment and said: "I think it's *Zhu Nuo*. This film won quite a few guild awards and has a very good reputation. It is said to be a film of humanism and human concern; such films are easy to win awards."

"In the United States, *Brokeback Mountain* is also a film of humanism and human concern. This film is about human concern for vulnerable groups and has very good representative significance."

Zhou Li Ming interjected.

"What does Teacher Liu think?"

Host Zeng Zixing asked another female guest, Liu Miaomiao.

"Since Ang Lee didn't win Best Director, I can almost be certain that he won't win Best Picture either."

Liu Miaomiao said.

Liu Miaomiao graduated from the 1978 Directing Department of the Beijing Film Academy. She was a classmate of Chen Kaige and one of Old Situ's students. In 1985, she independently directed her first film, *Ocean Anecdotes*.

Although the few films she has directed over the years haven't been very famous, she is also an editor; she edited Xiao Gangpao's *A World Without Thieves*.

She is more famous in the editing industry than in the directing industry.

"Why?" Zhou Li Ming's questioning words blurted out.

Liu Miaomiao glanced at him and said nothing.

"Can Teacher Liu explain the reason? I see that the vast number of netizens watching our live broadcast are very interested and have left messages asking."

Host Zeng Zixing said.

Liu Miaomiao hesitated for a moment, then said: "Simply put, behind this film, it's not just about homosexuality and the homosexual community; it also involves many factors such as American politics.

We shouldn't think of the Oscar judges as that simple either; behind them are powerful political, economic, and... factors at play. In fact, every major film festival in the world is influenced by this.

For example, the Berlin Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, etc."

She originally wanted to say racial factors, but the words reached her lips and she swallowed them back.

"Alright, the award is being announced. The presenter is Jack Nicholson. Some netizens might not be familiar with this person. I'll mention a film he starred in, and you will definitely know it: *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*, and the lead character, McMurphy."

Host Zeng Zixing said.

"Ha, *Zhu Nuo*, it's *Zhu Nuo*! Congratulations to Director Cao Yang; his *Zhu Nuo* has won Best Picture!"

Liu Miaomiao and Cheng Qingsong looked at each other, both smiled at the same time, and began to applaud.

Zhou Li Ming pursed his lips and also followed suit with applause.

"This is the second time Director Cao Yang has won the Oscar for Best Picture; it's truly amazing! Some netizens might ask, the director of this film isn't Director Cao Yang, so why is the Best Picture winner Cao Dao? Let's have Li Ming explain."

Host Zeng Zixing looked at Zhou Li Ming with a smile.

Zhou Li Ming explained: "Hollywood is different from us. They have a producer-centered system, which means the producer is the biggest person on the crew. In Hollywood, it's common for directors to be changed even while a film is being shot.

Director Cao Yang is the producer, executive producer, and screenwriter of *Zhu Nuo*. In Hollywood, this film is completely considered Cao Dao's film."

After saying this, he continued: "It's a pity for Director Ang Lee. *Brokeback Mountain* is an adaptation of a very short novel. It is said that he noticed this novel from the very beginning.

He brought in the original author Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry, and Diana Ossana to work on the adaptation together.

He gave the screenwriters plenty of space and fully respected their opinions, which is how the current *Brokeback Mountain* script came to be."

Actually, when it got to this point, it was nothing; regardless of where he got this news, it sounded quite fair.

However, his next words offended people.

"There are some things I still have to say.

It's best for directors not to take a writing credit on a script, because once a director takes credit, the script turns into this. *Hero* also had a credit, and *The Promise* also had a credit; perhaps there are still some problems with the directors themselves.

Actually, when I saw *Hero* and *The Promise*, I was flipping through reviews of 1930s Chinese films that day, and there were also questions about these kinds of films.

The films in China at that time, the film critics of that time wrote about the same things as now—how to save Chinese cinema. It was the 30s, and I saw it by chance; it's especially similar to now.

Some directors are even more extreme; they don't even give the screenwriters credit, only their own names, making the screenwriters into tools. I've been deceived like this before.

This might be one of the reasons why the Oscars didn't give *Zhu Nuo* Best Adapted Screenplay."

After he finished this paragraph, the entire live broadcast room suddenly went quiet for dozens of seconds.

Good heavens, this passage sounded fair at first, but after a little analysis, it directly implied all three major domestic directors.

Especially the last sentence; perhaps he didn't have any other meaning, but it made people hear other meanings.

"Has Li Ming been burying his head in preparation for this Oscar commentary and not paying attention to the news lately?"

As the host, Zeng Zixing certainly couldn't let the atmosphere go cold, so he quickly gave a hint to smooth things over:

"Sometimes directors want to shoot a certain film, have a story outline in mind, and bring in screenwriters to discuss it together. Taking credit is also normal; it can't be generalized."

He wanted to quickly gloss over it.

Zhou Li Ming raised his head and glanced at Zeng Zixing, his expression full of confusion. He and Zeng Zixing were considered good friends; he had commented on last month's Golden Globes together with Zeng Zixing.

When *The Promise* was released, the two had talked about it privately, and that was the view above. Now that you're saying this again, what does it mean?

Zeng Zixing was even more depressed. It was fine to scold *The Promise* and *Hero*; there were plenty of film critics who scolded Old Mouzi and Chen Kaige. If you didn't scold them, you wouldn't be considered a qualified film critic.

But, brother, what did your last sentence mean? I can't even round this off for you!

You're still looking at me with a confused and innocent expression; I'm starting to wonder what kind of books you read in the United States. UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business is at least a top-ten business school in the U. S. Where is your emotional intelligence?

"I remember you have published quite a few English film reviews, and you have a reputation in Europe and the United States. However, as a film critic, you still need to read more books, pay more attention to the news, and understand the facts and inside information.

Although it's easy to be a film critic—as long as you write down your own views—sometimes you can't just shoot from the hip and rely entirely on imagination. You still have to respect objective facts and respect the profession of film critic."

Liu Miaomiao's face looked a bit ugly, and she said bluntly at this moment.

She was most bothered by Zhou Li Ming's words, especially the last sentence.

She felt that Zhou Li Ming was implying something about her junior fellow apprentice Cao Yang, which was something she couldn't tolerate.

If he had only scolded Old Mouzi or Chen Kaige, she might have been able to smile and join in the scolding, but Cao Yang is the face of the Beijing Film Academy, the pride of Teacher Situ, and her own junior fellow apprentice; how could she allow others to smear him?

Zeng Zixing's heart skipped a beat; the worst thing had happened.

He was just about to smooth things over and quickly move past this matter when, who knew, the other guest, Cheng Qingsong, also spoke up.

"Li Ming, I remember you seem to spend a period of time in the United States every year. If you go again, it's best to buy a copy of *Cao Yang's Fantasy Journey* to read. It's easy for film critics to write reviews, but you still have to keep your original intention and not talk nonsense to mislead the audience.

Perhaps some netizens don't know about the book *Cao Yang's Fantasy Journey*. This book is a short story collection that Cao Yang started writing a few years ago, and it's on the North American bestseller list.

*Zhu Nuo* is an adaptation of one of the short stories in it; Cao Yang wrote the screenplay to adapt his own novel."

He emphasized the last sentence.

As a student who graduated from the Literature Department of the Beijing Film Academy, Cheng Qingsong naturally also had an obligation to maintain the school's image.

He actually agreed with part of Zhou Li Ming's point of view, believing that directors should respect the screenwriter's script and not make random adaptations. Even if they want to change it, they must discuss it with the screenwriter and reach a consensus.

He didn't care about scolding Old Mouzi and Chen Kaige.

After *Hero* came out at the time, he scolded Old Mouzi.

After *The Promise* was released, he watched it once and wrote three articles overnight, scolding *The Promise* and scolding Chen Kaige.

He had also offered subtle criticism of Cao Yang's films, such as *The Nine-Tailed Fox*, which was called an experimental film. He had published an article saying that this film had a bit too much of a commercial flavor and lacked human concern.

However, Cao Yang's talent is visible. As a film critic, you can criticize his films, but you cannot intentionally or unintentionally mislead the public, making people think that Cao Yang has usurped the screenwriting credit.

Actually, Zhou Li Ming was the most confused one.

He didn't think he was wrong.

The scripts for *Hero* and *The Promise* were just not good; Old Mouzi and Chen Kaige didn't even explain the stories clearly.

As for the storytelling of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, it wasn't good either. He felt that this had to be viewed on a case-by-case basis; *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* was shot for foreigners to watch, so of course, it had to respect American values.

As for the last sentence he said, he didn't think there was a problem with it at all.

Most Hollywood films are "assembly-line" operations. For example, the script is written by many screenwriters together, and there is a specialized script development system.

For example, in a script, some screenwriters are responsible for creativity, some for conflict, some for language, some specifically for product placement, etc., and there are also specialized script "doctors."

He felt that Cao Yang's *Zhu Nuo* came out this way.

He himself had joined the Writers Guild in the United States and had been a script assembly-line "worker," so he was very sensitive about the issue of not giving screenwriters credit.

As far as he knew, many people within the American Writers Guild were already very dissatisfied with being "workers." Some were organizing internally, wanting to use strikes to fight for credit and wage increases, and he was very supportive of this.

There are now more than six thousand Oscar judges, and these judges are composed of different guilds. For example, the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay are voted on by a large portion of judges from the Writers Guild.

*Zhu Nuo* only credited Cao Yang, which he considered "theft," which is why he said, "This might be one of the reasons why the Oscars didn't give *Zhu Nuo* Best Adapted Screenplay."

He took it for granted that the Writers Guild within the Academy had an opinion about Cao Yang only crediting his own name, which is why they didn't vote for him.

Fine, sometimes it's just like this: the words you say, according to your own understanding, don't have any problems, but within different value systems, ambiguity will arise, and it will cause misunderstandings.

Zhou Li Ming isn't stupid. Cao Yang is the biggest-name director in the country, the face of the Beijing Film Academy, and the director most valued by the authorities. Why would he be bored enough to offend Cao Yang?

"They're fighting, they're fighting, haha, isn't this much more interesting than the Oscar ceremony?" some netizens commented below the live broadcast page.

"Cao Yang wouldn't really be like what Zhou Li Ming said, letting others write the script and then grabbing it for himself without giving others credit, right?"

Some netizens left messages asking.

"Look up *Cao Yang's Fantasy Journey*; *Zhu Nuo* is a novel from it. Who could know their own novel better than Cao Yang? Saying his script occupies other people's creativity is simply the biggest joke in the world."

Some netizens replied.

"I'm studying abroad in the United States. You might not know how expensive books are in the U. S.; many textbooks are even thousands of dollars. Damn, can you imagine?

Even for novels, hardcover editions cost over a hundred dollars, and regular editions cost tens of dollars. You might not have a concept of the North American bestseller list. Let's put it this way: the top fifty on the bestseller list have annual copyright income in the tens of millions—not RMB, but dollars!"

"Holy crap, is Cao Yang that awesome?"

"Cao Yang is awesome!"

"Cao Yang has won the Oscar for Best Picture again. He has two Oscar Best Pictures and one Best Director.

Plus two Venice Golden Lions, one Cannes Golden Palm, and Venice Best Director and Cannes Best Director. Is he one of the most powerful Chinese directors?"

"To the person above, remove the 'one of'."

"To the person above, it's fine not to remove 'one of', just change 'Chinese' to 'in the whole world'."

"Don't forget, Cao Yang is the director who is best at promoting people in the whole world, bar none."

"Damn, looking at it this way, Cao Yang is indeed awesome!"

"A newbie here, just want to ask, is he even more awesome than Ang Lee?"

"Much more awesome!"

"How about compared to Cheng Long? As far as I know, Cheng Long's influence in Hollywood is very large."

"One is an actor, one is a director. If you have to compare... forget it, let's not belittle anyone. You just need to know that if Cao Yang wants to shoot a new film, Cheng Long, Leonardo, and Depp all have to obediently audition. Understand?"

"To the person above, easy to understand, Cao Yang is awesome!"

"Cao Yang is awesome!"

"Cao Yang is awesome!"

Host Zeng Zixing flipped through the messages with anxiety. He was truly afraid that because of Zhou Li Ming's words, the comments would be full of people questioning Cao Yang.

If that were the case, Sina Entertainment would definitely get into huge trouble, and his status as a host and his future would likely come to an end, and he might not even be able to survive in this industry in the future.

However, contrary to his expectations, there were questions and scolding in the comment section, but they were all questioning Zhou Li Ming for pretending to know things he didn't, and all scolding Zhou Li Ming for grandstanding. Occasionally, there were a few who questioned Cao Yang, but they were all "educated" by others.

Zeng Zixing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, on the three major portal websites, there was nothing but news about *Zhu Nuo* winning the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Editing, as well as news about *Brokeback Mountain* winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score.

For a time, the entire internet was buzzing about this matter.

Perhaps later generations aren't very clear about the influence of the Oscars in this era; there was a special term for the Oscars in this stage, called "Chong Ao" (Charging for the Oscars)!

"Chong Ao" doesn't refer to the Olympics, but to domestic directors charging for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

If even an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film could be called "Chong Ao," let alone the influence of other Oscar awards.

After the Oscars ended, Fox Searchlight specifically held a celebration party. Everyone was very happy that *Zhu Nuo* could win the Oscar for Best Picture.

President Jason Simmons, after discussing with Cao Yang, set the release date for *Zhu Nuo* on the second Sunday of May. This day is Mother's Day, which perfectly fits the theme of *Zhu Nuo*.

The second Sunday of May 2006 was the 14th. There were still two months until the release, which was just enough time to use these two months to properly promote this film that had won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Cao Yang continued to invest himself in the post-production of *Inception*, and Fan Bingbing returned to China after staying for about ten days.

During this time, she first served as a software hardening engineer for Cao Yang, and later would transition into a hardware softening engineer; her engineering technical skills were excellent.

By May, the post-production of *Inception* was almost finished, with only a few places needing CG left to be completed.

However, according to visual effects supervisor Ben Snow, it would be completed in June.

Compared to *Zhu Nuo*, Cao Yang certainly valued *Inception* more; it was time to consider the promotion and release of *Inception*.

(End of chapter)