A widower's entertainment

Chapter 376 [The Mad Truman] (Please Subscribe)
Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Lin Youcheng, a well-known Chinese writer and screenwriter, has had his screenplay "Every Day" nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. This has undoubtedly piqued the curiosity of many filmmakers and literary figures in China. They are curious about the story behind "Every Day" and why it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He is truly the first person in China to achieve this.

This is also because the movie "Everyday" was never released in China. Not many people in China have actually seen it. Even Hong Huang, who was mentioned by Chen Aige, only saw it in the United States. Since "Everyday" was not imported to China, there are naturally very few channels to know what the movie is about, unless pirated DVDs have been leaked.

That is precisely why these people are so curious about the story behind the film "Everyday".

As for the two films, "Atonement" and "Raise the Red Lantern," being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the same time, although they were discussed, they ultimately did not generate as much discussion as screenwriter Lin Youcheng. After all, "Atonement" was also written by Lin Youcheng, and it had previously won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Undoubtedly, although the Oscars are far removed from China, they still attract a lot of attention.

Lin Youcheng didn't care much, after all, winning an award is really unpredictable, especially the Oscars in the United States. Winning one in China is probably even more difficult than winning one of the three major European film festivals. Of course, winning an award would certainly be a happy thing.

Although Lin Youcheng didn't care, Chen Aige was quite concerned. After all, this was the same film that Zhang Yimou had been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Even if his "Atonement" didn't win, but "Raise the Red Lantern" did, it would really upset him.

This was something that not only Lin Youcheng knew, but Xie Shuhua also noticed.

Xie Shuhua said with a smile, "It seems that Chen Aige cares a lot about the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film."

Upon hearing this, Lin Youcheng smiled and nodded, saying, "How could he not care? But he probably would rather Zhang Yimou not win the award than he wins it himself."

"He had already surpassed Zhang Yimou at the Golden Rooster Awards in China, so naturally he didn't want to be surpassed at the Oscars, since the Oscars are more important."

At the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony held in Guangxi Province not long ago, "The Red Lantern" was not nominated. Instead, Chen Aige's film "Atonement" won the Best Director award, although it was a joint award with seven directors of "The Great Battle". The Best Film award was also given to "The Great Battle", which tells the story of three major battles. In addition, Lin Youcheng was nominated for Best Screenplay again, although he did not win. Instead, the award was given to the more positive "The Creation of Heaven and Earth". In fact, both of these awards prove Lin Youcheng's screenwriting ability. After all, whether or not someone wins an award really depends on the wind from above. As for Lin Youcheng's screenwriting ability, it is undeniably strong.

Xie Shuhua knew what Lin Youcheng meant, smiled, and said, "Then we'll have to see what the outcome will be. But, Youcheng, I do hope you can win the award."

Win an Oscar?

Lin Youcheng smiled when he heard Xie Shuhua's words, thinking that there might be an opportunity in the future.

It's uncertain whether he'll have another chance in the future, but for the 64th Academy Awards in 1992, Lin Youcheng had no chance.

On March 30, 1992, at the Los Angeles Music Center in California, the Academy Awards ceremony was held, and the winners of each award were announced. "The Silence of the Lambs" became the first horror film in history to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Best Original Screenplay award was not given to Lin Youcheng's "Everyday" but to "Thelma & Louise". The Best Foreign Language Film award was given to the anti-war Italian film "Mediterranean".

To some extent, some Hollywood film critics defended Chen Aige's "Atonement," arguing that the film also had an anti-war aspect and that awarding it to "Mediterranean" was too much of a political correctness decision. Of course, such voices were of no use to Chen Aige, as "Atonement" ultimately failed to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, just as it failed to win the Best Picture Award at the Golden Rooster Awards.

There's no way around it; winning an award ultimately depends on the right timing, location, and people.

However, what might be a consolation for Chen Aige is that she didn't win for "Raise the Red Lantern".

Chen Aige naturally came to Xinghua Hutong to talk to Lin Youcheng about the Oscar results, saying, "It's a pity we didn't win Best Foreign Language Film this time. I wonder when we'll win it again."

"Farewell My Concubine, make a good film. Maybe you'll have a chance later."

Lin Youcheng naturally knew that "Farewell My Concubine" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but unfortunately it did not win the award. It was also rumored that it was because of a lack of public relations that the Oscars believed that "Farewell My Concubine" did not care about the award at all.

Upon hearing this, Chen Aige said, "Then of course we must film this movie well. That Leslie Cheung is really good at learning Peking Opera, but his Peking Opera lines are not authentic enough. There's nothing we can do about it, after all, he comes from Hong Kong. Now we are trying to find someone to dub Peking Opera segments."

Lin Youcheng knew that almost all the actors in the movie "Farewell My Concubine" used their own voices, which made it sound more natural. In fact, Leslie Cheung also spoke his own lines, but most of Cheng Dieyi's lines were dubbed by Yang Lixin. He said, "That depends on whether the Peking Opera dubbing actor is willing. After all, you are going to participate in an international film festival, so it is not appropriate to put his name on the list."

Chen Aige nodded. He knew this too, but he only mentioned the dubbing of "Farewell My Concubine" to Lin Youcheng. Then he said, "I heard that Hou Xiaoxian's film 'Love' will not be able to make it to the Cannes Film Festival. It may have to participate in the Venice Film Festival in September."

When Lin Youcheng heard Chen Aige mention this, he shook his head and said, "I didn't ask Hou Xiaoxian about this. He only talked to me about the details of the movie when he called earlier. But—" "What's wrong?"

Chen Aige noticed that Lin Youcheng's tone changed, and he seemed to have thought of something, so he naturally asked him about it.

Lin Youcheng looked at Chen Aige and suddenly thought that if Hou Xiaoxian really wanted to send the movie "Love" to the Venice Film Festival, it would probably run into Zhang Yimou, who was very prolific at the time. Zhang Yimou's movie "The Story of Qiu Ju" won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and also won Gong Li the Best Actress Award. If Hou Xiaoxian's movie "Love" also went to the Venice Film Festival, then it would have to compete with Zhang Yimou's film.

I wonder if his collaboration with Hou Xiaoxian on "Love" will have any ripple effects or impact.

This thought only flashed through Lin Youcheng's mind. He didn't know what impact it would have, but if it did, there was nothing he could do. Back when Hou Xiaoxian won the first Palme d'Or in the history of Chinese-language films at Cannes with "The Devotion of Suspect X," his butterfly had already flapped its wings. Things had changed, just like Chen Aige won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival with "Atonement" and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

If Hou Xiaoxian's film "Love" were to compete with Zhang Yimou's "The Story of Qiu Ju," then it would depend on how well Hou Xiaoxian adapted the original Palme d'Or-winning "Love."

Lin Youcheng looked at Chen Aige, shook his head, and said, "It's nothing."

Although Zhang Yimou's "The Story of Qiu Ju" may participate in the Venice Film Festival, this is still a long way off and it's not going to happen until the second half of the year. He can't say for sure right now, since Zhang Yimou himself probably hasn't even said he'll be going to the Venice Film Festival.

Chen Aige didn't ask any further questions, but simply said, "Youcheng, I think if you film your script well, it will win an Oscar sooner or later."

When Lin Youcheng heard Chen Aige's words, he just smiled. Whether or not they win an Oscar, it won't change the excellence of those film scripts. They are all Oscar-worthy works, like "Atonement" and "Love".

Clearly, Chen Aige was unaware that on the other side of the world, Lin Youcheng's next Oscar-worthy film had already arrived.

Paramount Pictures bought the script for "The Truman Show" for a hefty sum, and the film adaptation was released in the United States. It was a truly amazing film, and upon its release, it instantly caused an unprecedented sensation in Hollywood.

Although Hollywood film companies had heard that Paramount Pictures had bought a pretty amazing movie script from Lin Youcheng, they didn't know just how amazing the script was.

Even now that the movie has actually been released, it's truly shocking!
Clearly, American audiences and film critics did not expect that Lin Youcheng, an Eastern author, could write such a wonderful, moving, and unbelievable story. It is truly incredible and crazy!

That's right, it's insane!
Who would have thought that in 1992, a movie would start a reality TV story? Truman, who seemed to be just an ordinary small-town resident, was actually living a huge reality TV show. He was the focus of global audiences, followed by cameras 24 hours a day, and every detail of his life was broadcast live to television viewers around the world.

Such a story is so imaginative, yet so incredibly real. Moviegoers were completely stunned by the story of "The Truman Show." It's truly hard to imagine being Truman, with your life meticulously planned and orchestrated by a group of writers, directors, actors, and producers who control the environment and characters of the entire world, leaving you in a virtual world, living entirely in a false one. It's all so terrifying and horrifying.

Fortunately, "The Truman Show" is not a thriller, but a comedy. Viewers can clearly see Truman becoming suspicious of his life and everything around him. So he begins to look for clues, trying to find out the truth behind it all. Truman begins to discover that the same people and cars are repeatedly passing by his neighborhood every day. His wife and doctor, who work at the hospital, have no medical skills at all. The places he doesn't usually go are just simple sets. Truman also discovers the film crew hiding behind the sets. Truman begins to feel scared. He decides to escape this place to find his first love and freedom.

In the end, facing the terrifying sea and the raging storm, Truman still steered his sailboat to the edge of the world, laughing as he uttered that classic line—

If I don't see you again, good morning, good afternoon, and good night!

And so, Truman finally escaped that false world!
Just like the reality show in the movie "The Truman Show," which attracted a lot of attention, the movie's release has truly caused a sensation in Hollywood!
There has never been a story like this before, where the protagonist's entire life is predetermined, restricted, and imprisoned, and he lives in this environment for 30 years without realizing it.

It's fair to say that the audience was completely stunned by this movie. They were all shocked by how bizarre the plot was. How could there be such a person? How could there be such a crazy story? But when such a story was actually performed in front of the audience, it was like a bomb suddenly exploding in Hollywood when reality TV was just beginning to develop!
That's right, it was an explosion!
It wasn't just the movie's box office that exploded; the entire topic of discussion surrounding the movie exploded!
"The Truman Show" was a phenomenal success in Hollywood. Countless film critics wrote reviews, praising and discussing the film. It not only sparked heated debates within the film industry but also had a significant impact on real-world society and culture. This is understandable, given that the film presents a virtual world controlled by a reality TV show. Truman's life is broadcast live by cameras around the clock; he has no freedom and no privacy whatsoever.

This will naturally lead viewers to reflect on personal freedom and even think about things outside the movie.

It can be said that overnight, truly overnight, film critics and audiences were discussing it wildly, and "The Truman Show" became a new cultural symbol in the United States, specifically used to describe situations of manipulation and control. Furthermore, some classic lines and scenes from the film were widely quoted and imitated, becoming part of popular culture, and began to sweep across the country like a storm.

Both within and outside the film, there are countless topics worthy of discussion: Truman's growth and awakening, the relationship between reality and fiction, free will and fate, individual rights and moral principles, and more...

Clearly, the bombshell dropped by screenwriter Lin Youcheng from the East had a tremendous impact, and the resulting storm truly affected everyone in the United States!

(End of this chapter)