Chapter 411: Congratulations, Congratulations

After understanding the script content of "Joker," Anne Hathaway ultimately chose Sophie, the female neighbor of the protagonist, Arthur.

In fact, this character can be considered Arthur's girlfriend, or she can be considered a girlfriend in Arthur's imagination; it just depends on how one interprets it.

This film is somewhat similar to "Inception" in its setup of suspense; at the beginning, when Arthur is describing his condition to his psychiatrist, the time is 11:11, and at the end in the psychiatric hospital, the time is still 11:11.

This time appears three times in the film.

Attentive viewers seeing this will very likely have questions about what is real and what is fictional, making the boundaries even more blurred.

It could even be said that the entire film is the Joker's delusion, and that would not be unacceptable.

There are many similar details in the film as well.

For example, with Arthur and his neighbor Sophie, according to the film's plot, he and his neighbor Sophie lived together, and Sophie loved him very much.

However, later when he enters Sophie's home, Sophie is clearly terrified, as if seeing a stranger.

According to the degree to which Sophie worshipped and loved him in the film, this reaction should not have occurred.

In fact, the original intention for setting up such a plot is very simple: it can blur the boundaries of the film, make the audience feel confused, and increase the topic and discussion level.

If guided well, these can even become hot topics for debate online, thereby igniting the film.

Since Anne Hathaway chose Sophie, Cao Yang thought for a moment and left the role of the psychiatrist to Fatty Bing; the screen time is not much, but it can consolidate her status and increase her prestige.

Among Cao Yang's many female friends, those who have won Best Actress at the three major European film festivals almost all develop domestically; only Fatty Bing follows a path similar to that of International Zhang.

And only Fatty Bing does not have the title of an international Best Actress.

Well, then let her act in more high-grossing films.

For the idol of the protagonist Arthur, the talk show host Murray, Cao Yang gave the role to "Old Magneto," "Gandalf" Ian McKellen.

Cao Yang had collaborated with Ian McKellen on "District 9"; he played the protagonist's father-in-law at the time, and his acting skills were still very good.

For the remaining roles, including Arthur's mother, who has a fair amount of screen time, and "Batman's" father Thomas, Cao Yang handed them over to Warner and the casting company to conduct auditions first.

Then, Cao Yang returned to the country.

When "The Fault in Our Stars" was originally released in North America and some countries around the world, the domestic side did not choose to release it simultaneously.

Although this film was making a huge stir here in the U.S. because of the "Wish" campaign, Cao Yang did not let it be hyped up on the domestic side, so the popularity was not high.

Even though Cao Yang was the producer and screenwriter, the film's director, Jason Reitman, had no fame in the country, and even the two leads were unknown young people.

Relying on Cao Yang's fame, it was possible to get a certain base of box office in the country, but it was difficult to get a high box office.

At that time, after China Film Group, Beijing Film Studio, Columbia, and Cao Yang discussed it together, they decided to wait until after the Oscars to release it.

They believed that an Oscar nomination or win could bring higher attention and topicality to the film, thereby increasing box office potential.

Sure enough, "The Fault in Our Stars" did not disappoint them; it won the Oscar for Best Picture, and on top of that, this was Cao Yang's third film to win Best Picture, and he was the producer with the most Oscar Best Picture wins...

And so, the popularity arrived.

In this era, an Oscar Best Picture is not only watched around the world, but it is also "high-end" domestically.

February 29th was a Friday; "The Fault in Our Stars" held a grand premiere in the country and decided that after the premiere ended, it would be officially released in major cities across the country.

Yes, you read that right, it was February 29th.

By the way, except for century years like 1900 and 2000 which are not necessarily so, the remaining common years are basically leap years as long as they are divisible by 4.

The director and the main actors of "The Fault in Our Stars" all came to China to promote the film after the Oscars ended.

Only Cao Yang stayed in Los Angeles for a few more days because of the matter regarding the male lead of "Joker."

It is now '08; United Airlines had not yet suspended flights from Los Angeles to Jingcheng; it would take until 10 years later to suspend them for some reason, and they would not resume until '25.

The flight Cao Yang took was exactly the direct flight from Los Angeles to Jingcheng, which only takes about 13 hours to arrive.

The premiere of "The Fault in Our Stars" attracted much attention.

Sixty or seventy media outlets, large and small, came, and CCTV broadcast it directly on the movie channel; coupled with the long red carpet, it was like a film festival.

However, after all, it was a co-production, and Cao Yang himself was not the director, so he did not agree to the proposal from Han Zong and Hou Yuan to hold the premiere at the Renmindahuitang.

In fact, this "The Fault in Our Stars" had already made China Film Group and Beijing Film Studio very satisfied; not only did it have the name of an Oscar Best Picture, but it also made a big profit at the box office.

According to the wishes of Han Zong and Hou Yuan, they wanted the film directed by Cao Yang, "Manchester by the Sea," to be released first, and then let "The Fault in Our Stars" be released later.

Cao Yang did not agree.

"Manchester by the Sea" did not lack popularity; after all, it was directed by Cao Yang and had also produced a Berlin Best Actor for Cheng Long, so the appeal was always there.

But "The Fault in Our Stars" was different; it had to leverage the influence of the Oscars when it was first released, taking advantage of the current popularity.

There was also another important reason, and that was the content of the film.

"The Fault in Our Stars" is considered an inspirational romance film, while currently, everyone generally believes that "Manchester by the Sea" is an extremely romantic love film with special significance.

If everyone watched "The Fault in Our Stars" first, they would look forward to the "love" in "Manchester by the Sea" even more.

If they watched "Manchester by the Sea" first... it is estimated that no one would look forward to love anymore, and it is estimated that "The Fault in Our Stars" would also be affected; people might not even think of it as an inspirational romance film.

Well, influenced by "Manchester by the Sea," perhaps after watching "The Fault in Our Stars," people would think it is an alternative "Butterfly Lovers."

What's more, in terms of "love" films, Cao Yang has a track record.

The original "Secret Sunshine" was also interpreted as "Sweet Sunshine," thinking it was a sweet love film—everyone who walked into the cinema with this idea would come out crying.

"Director Cao, congratulations, congratulations, you are now awesome... ah, anyone who can create history is an awesome person."

Xiaogangpao originally wanted to say "fucking awesome," but the words reached his lips, and perhaps he felt it was a bit too rude to say so, or perhaps he felt it was a bit disrespectful to Cao Yang, so he changed his words.

"Old Feng, welcome, welcome, what creating history, I am just standing on the shoulders of giants."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

"Humble, you are being humble."

Xiaogangpao grinned with a big mouth, "The Grand Slam of Best Director at the three major European film festivals, the record holder for Oscar Best Picture, which of these honors didn't create history? You are our China's number one person in film."

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it."

Cao Yang accompanied Xiaogangpao for a while and didn't stop until they were almost at the lobby, saying: "Alright Old Feng, you go in first, we'll talk later, I still have to go over there to take a look."

"Understood, understood."

Xiaogangpao said with a laugh: "You go ahead and get busy."

Not only did Xiaogangpao come, but Laomouzi also came.

However, he came in a hurry, chatted with Cao Yang for a few sentences, answered a phone call, and then left in a hurry.

With the Olympics imminent, he is now at his busiest time, and also at his most stressful time; it is obvious that he has aged and become quite haggard.

Old Chen and Sister Hong also came.