Chapter 382: Art-House Films Are Having a Hard Time

Aside from the Best Picture award, which came as a surprise and was considered an upset, the other awards at this year's Golden Rooster Awards were within reason.

Cao Yang's "Black Swan" received six nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay.

It took home four major awards—Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography—making it the biggest winner.

Jia Zhangke's "Still Life" had four nominations but only won Best Screenplay; it missed out on Best Picture, which many had favored.

This left Jia Zhangke feeling a bit dejected.

Wang Quanan's "Tuya's Marriage" could also be considered one of the winners, as it defeated two Golden Lion-winning films, "Black Swan" and "Still Life," to take home Best Picture.

The seven technical awards—Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, Best Sound Recording, and Best Music—did not see any upsets.

These seven awards were taken by the four major productions "Curse of the Golden Flower," "The Banquet," "A Battle of Wits," and "The Promise," which met expectations; after all, these films were all very well-made in terms of costumes, makeup, props, and visuals.

Overall, this year's Golden Rooster Awards were a great success.

This could be seen from the feedback on the following day.

The viewership ratings for the broadcast on the movie channel reached the highest in the history of Golden Rooster Awards broadcasts.

Audience feedback was also very positive, with many leaving comments online saying that they finally "understood" this year's Golden Rooster Awards, and the winning films were no longer those obscure movies that no one had heard of.

In fact, the main reason for the high ratings of this year's Golden Rooster Awards was the participation of many big directors and stars, something everyone knew from the very beginning.

But the subsequent audience feedback was what Cao Yang, Old Hou, and Old Han valued the most.

Fortunately, the restructuring of this year's Golden Rooster Awards did not disappoint; it was a good start and laid a solid foundation for the future.

After the Golden Rooster Awards, Cao Yang took Cheng Long and a few others to Canada; "Manchester by the Sea" was expected to film there for 10 days, with most of the scenes featuring Cheng Long.

Old Tian actually wanted Cao Yang to stay for two more days before going to Canada; "Pieta" was set for a nationwide release on November 1st, and he wanted Cao Yang to stay and attend the premiere before leaving.

Cao Yang refused without mercy.

Just kidding, "Love in the Seaside City," also known as "Manchester by the Sea," still had to participate in the Berlin Film Festival next February.

It was already the end of October, and with time tight and the task heavy, they definitely had to work overtime to finish filming, handle post-production, submit for review, and so on. What if they missed the Berlin Film Festival?

Of course, this was just Cao Yang's superficial excuse.

The real reason was that Li Xiaoran, Gao Yuanyuan, Dong Xuan, Fatty Bing, and Yu Feihong had all sent messages to Cao Yang, saying they would be in Gusu for a day tomorrow.

Heh, Cao Yang just laughed.

Do I not know what you mean? Isn't it just that you want me to accompany you... all tomorrow? Do you think I have the ability to clone myself?

Forget it, forget it.

Laozi does not have the ability to clone himself, so how could I possibly treat you all equally?

Time to slip away.

The film is behind schedule, the studio in Canada is already booked, the staff there are already in place, and there's the Berlin Film Festival next February... and so on, and so on; anyway, these were all passable excuses.

Then, to show his "sincerity," he specifically called each of them to ask if they wanted to go to Canada with him.

Li Xiaoran, Gao Yuanyuan, Dong Xuan, and Fatty Bing all had work to attend to and definitely couldn't go to Canada with him. As for Yu Feihong, she could go if she wanted; as the film's lead actress, no one would think twice about her tagging along.

Fortunately, everyone's work had been scheduled long ago. If it were just a day or two, it might have been fine, but going to Canada was definitely not a one- or two-day affair, so no one went.

Even Yu Feihong, who had no scenes to film in Canada, decided not to go after some consideration—because of the added acting immersion experience, she felt lost every day and liked to stay home alone, wallowing in self-pity.

Cao Yang actually genuinely wanted Yu Feihong to go; Yu Feihong's state was not right, and he was very worried that she would have problems.

Before leaving for Canada, Cao Yang specifically set aside an entire evening to accompany Yu Feihong.

He really regretted it a bit now, feeling that the acting immersion experience shouldn't be used this way. If he really wanted actors to "go god-mode," he could add it gradually when they had scenes to film.

For example, when filming Yu Feihong's scenes, he could add the "just right" amount of immersion the night before, but when filming scenes where she needed to "explode" with emotion, he could add more.

The benefit of doing this is that even if more immersion was added, after the emotional release during the "explosive" scenes, the adverse effects of the immersion outside of the acting would likely be minimized.

Sigh, the development of the acting immersion experience is still not quite there.

Next time, try to change the previous crude method—although directors often treat actors as "tools," they shouldn't be treated as non-humans.

Hmm, next time, try to treat them as human beings.

Due to the tax credit policy in Quebec, Canada, many Hollywood film companies love to film on location there.

Because of this, quite a few studios have been built there.

The one Cao Yang chose was Columbia's studio there.

Actually, it would be fine not to rent the studios already built by those big production companies; one could rent private houses and renovate them for filming.

However, while this method looks cheaper than renting a studio, in practice, it is not only not cheaper but also adds countless troubles.

For example, it takes time to find a suitable house, and the owners might not be willing to rent it to you for filming.

In addition, you have to find local workers, actors, and rent filming equipment and gear. If filming requires closing a road, you also have to report and apply to the city hall—approval takes time, and even if approved, you can only film during specified hours...

It's all just trouble.

Renting a studio is much simpler; you can renovate it yourself to look however you need, or you can entrust them to deliver the finished product.

Or, if the requirements aren't too high and there's no special symbolism needed, you can choose existing streets or houses and just move the appropriate furniture into the rooms.

Furthermore, extras, special guest actors, and filming equipment are all available there.

Because it's a studio, closing a street for filming only requires coordination; it has nothing to do with the city hall, so there's no need to apply or report to them.

Another important point is that renting a studio saves a lot of time by avoiding so many hassles.

Moreover, given Cao Yang's relationship with Columbia, filming at their studio not only comes with a discount but also guarantees other aspects, making communication and coordination incredibly fast.

Most importantly, Columbia can apply for tax credits on his behalf, which not only saves a lot of trouble but also maximizes the use of the tax credit policy.