A widower's entertainment

Chapter 399 [Joyful News] (Please Subscribe)
When Lin Youcheng told Leslie Cheung that he would write a good script and a good role for him, he wasn't just saying it casually. He was genuinely thinking about having the opportunity to work with Leslie Cheung in the future. As for whether the script and role could change Leslie Cheung's final choice, he didn't know, since some choices are ultimately his own.

There are still nearly ten years until 2003. These ten years may have an impact, or they may not. No one can say for sure.

Lin Youcheng didn't pay much attention to this matter, because with the end of the year approaching, the most important thing was to have a family reunion on New Year's Eve.

On January 22, 1993, the eve of the Lunar New Year, a day for family reunion, Xinghua Hutong was brightly lit, with festive New Year couplets posted, exuding the joy of the New Year.

As always, the eldest brother Lin Youcai and his family came to Lin Youcheng's house for New Year's Eve dinner. Lin Youcheng also specially invited his parents-in-law from Tianjin to Beijing to celebrate the New Year together.

The children were all watching the Spring Festival Gala with great enthusiasm. Lin Youcheng, Lin Youcai, and Xie Zelin were also watching the Gala and chatting.

"I heard from Shuhua that you'll need to hire someone else for this place next year."

When Lin Youcheng heard his elder brother Lin Youcai ask this question, he nodded and said, "Yes, Aunt Song is getting old, and her family's situation is better now. I thought it would be better for her to go back and rest. I naturally couldn't keep her here any longer, so I gave her a big red envelope. We do need to find another caregiver later, but Shuhua said it's not necessary, as there's nothing to do at home."

Although the children are older now, and Lin Youcheng and Xie Shuhua can manage on their own, Lin Youcheng still feels they need to hire a nanny, since they are not short of money. However, it is clear that a suitable nanny is not easy to find.

However, Lin Youcheng's side is not in a hurry. For example, this year's New Year's Eve dinner was prepared by both families together, and Lin Zhaoxi's children also helped to prepare it, making it very lively.

Lin Youcai listened to Lin Youcheng's words and was just chatting casually. He wouldn't interfere or make decisions for Lin Youcheng's family, since he knew that Lin Youcheng really didn't lack the money to hire a nanny.

"Business is very good, we might need to hire someone next year."

Fang Mei, who was talking to Xie Shuhua not far away, heard Lin Youcai's words and couldn't help but turn around and say, "Why invite anyone? The two of us are enough."

Clearly, Fang Mei was also thinking that she would rather work harder herself than spend money to hire someone.

Lin Youcheng smiled and didn't make the decision for Lin Youcai. He just said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, if your restaurant business gets better and better in the future, and you open a few more chain stores in Beijing, you will definitely need to hire people."

Fang Mei couldn't help but smile when she heard this. They hadn't thought that far ahead, but the small restaurant's business had really been good over the past year. Having stayed in the capital for almost two years, Fang Mei naturally felt that coming to the capital from Decheng was the best thing that could have happened.

Xie Zelin watched the brothers Lin Youcheng and Lin Youcai chatting and felt quite pleased. His gaze then fell upon the children, all of whom were large families with siblings. He thought that Xie Shuhua was all alone and might not be as happy without siblings. Suddenly, he whispered a question to Zhang Aiqin beside him.

"Mom, what are you and Dad talking about?"

When Zhang Aiqin heard Xie Shuhua ask this question, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "We always say that it's more lively to have a large family during the New Year. We just don't know when you'll be able to add another member to the family."

Xie Shuhua didn't expect her mother to say this. She glanced at the children who were watching the show and hadn't noticed. Just as she was about to say something, Lin Youcheng interrupted and said, "Dad, Shuhua and I will try to give you another grandson this year."

In fact, Xie Shuhua and Lin Youcheng never intended to stop having children. After all, Lin Youcheng had specifically prepared a courtyard house and a house. They just let things happen naturally.

Xie Shuhua didn't expect Lin Youcheng to say that so directly. Although they were all family, she was still a little embarrassed and punched Lin Youcheng lightly.

Fang Mei, as the eldest sister-in-law, said with a smile, "Then we must hurry!"

The family was filled with laughter and joy. The children stayed up late to celebrate the New Year and received lucky money. It was a very lively and joyful time of the New Year.

The courtyard house remained lively for several days after the Spring Festival. Although the eldest brother Lin Youcai and his wife Fang Mei returned to their small restaurant, Lin Zhaoping and Lin Zhaoan also stayed at the courtyard house. Xie Zelin and Zhang Aiqin did not rush back to Tianjin and stayed at the courtyard house for a few more days before returning to Tianjin.

The joyous occasion wasn't over yet. Just as Leslie Cheung had mentioned, good news arrived: two films written by Lam Yau-shing were both nominated for Oscars.

Hou Xiaoxian's film "Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, while "The Truman Show" received eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Effects, and Best Cinematography, making it a very strong contender.

Most importantly, at the recent Golden Globe Awards ceremony, "The Truman Show" also won Best Comedy Film. Although Lin Youcheng, an Eastern screenwriter, was nominated for Best Screenplay, the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay went to Bo Goodman, the screenwriter of "Scent of a Woman." Moreover, the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film was awarded to the French war romance film "Indochine."

Even so, Lin Youcheng's nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars again, and the fact that he is involved in two other films, is undoubtedly quite remarkable.

The film industry in China naturally paid attention to this amazing news and discussed it extensively. Director John Woo, who is based in Hong Kong, even called Lin Youcheng to congratulate him. It is clear that John Woo really admires Lin Youcheng. As a mainland screenwriter, Lin Youcheng has written two films that have been nominated for Oscars. This is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement, which is the most important reason why John Woo wanted to get to know Lin Youcheng.

It's because Lin Youcheng is just too strong!

Not only Wu Yusen, but also Hou Xiaoxian and Chen Aige called to tell Lin Youcheng the good news, as if they were afraid that Lin Youcheng would not know.

In fact, Paramount Pictures informed Lin Youcheng of the good news after the Oscar nominations were announced, and sincerely invited him to attend the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood, stating that he had a very good chance of winning the Best Original Screenplay award. However, Lin Youcheng didn't seem particularly interested.

Chen Aige clearly did not expect that Lin Youcheng would not attend the Oscars ceremony this time either. After all, it is the Oscars. Although Lin Youcheng was nominated for Best Original Screenplay last year, "Everyday" obviously did not have the same momentum as "The Truman Show". Even though Chen Aige was in China, he knew that "The Truman Show" had a very high chance of winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

"Yoo-sung, are you really not planning to attend the Oscars ceremony?"

Lin Youcheng didn't expect Chen Aige to come directly to Xinghua Hutong to ask him about this matter. She really cared about him. Moreover, after seeing his children, she spent several red envelopes. Even if he gave Arthur double the red envelopes in the future, he would definitely not lose money.

"You came all this way just to ask about this?"

Seeing that Lin Youcheng didn't seem to care much, Chen Aige couldn't help but say, "Youcheng, you really don't know, Hong Huang told me that your chances of winning the award this time are really high. 'The Truman Show' has received a very good response overseas."

Upon hearing Chen Aige's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "The probability is very high. The Golden Globes still haven't awarded me the Best Screenplay award."

"This……"

Chen Aige was instantly speechless by Lin Youcheng's words.

Lin Youcheng smiled. He knew that there was a longing for foreign countries in China, with people thinking that foreign countries were very powerful, especially for awards like the Oscars. This kind of worship would likely continue for a long time to come, and it might only gradually fade away when China's strength truly became greater.

Although Lin Youcheng knew that Chen Aige was right, just as the Paramount Pictures producer had told him, he had a high chance of winning the award, and it would be even better if he could attend the awards ceremony in March.

Lin Youcheng was aware of this as well. Paramount Pictures was definitely working on winning the award. Although he didn't know exactly how much they had spent on public relations, it must have been a lot. After all, The Truman Show had earned Paramount a lot of money, and winning the award would bring even greater benefits to Paramount, allowing them to make even more money.

As for the Best Original Screenplay award for Lin Youcheng, he feels that his chances are quite high.

Although this screenwriter, being of Asian descent, might be considered an Asian by Hollywood filmmakers, Lin Youcheng's work speaks for itself. He has previously been nominated for an Oscar, and this time, in addition to the highly imaginative comedy "The Truman Show," he also wrote the screenplay for "Amour," which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Such talent speaks for itself.

Although Lin Youcheng didn't win Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes, it doesn't mean he won't win the Oscar either. After all, the Golden Globes are just a precursor and indicator for the Oscars. The Golden Globes are not the Oscars. If the winners of all awards were predicted by the Golden Globes, how could the Oscars possibly agree?

Sometimes, the Oscars even deliberately align their winners with the Golden Globe winners.

After the Golden Globe winners were announced, Paramount Pictures and producer Freeman told him that many film critics believed Lin Youcheng's "The Truman Show" would win the Best Screenplay award, especially since Lin Youcheng had two other films nominated as screenwriter, including "Amour," which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Many Asian filmmakers in Hollywood even spoke out in support of Lin Youcheng, the Asian screenwriter, criticizing and mocking the Golden Globe judges for being too rigid and ignoring the artistic merit of "The Truman Show" by awarding the Best Screenplay award to the drama "Scent of a Woman." They argued that "The Truman Show" is nominally a comedy, but its artistic merit is by no means inferior.

Some Asian filmmakers even considered this discrimination and brought it up without hesitation.

This sentiment is quite strong in Hollywood as well. Naturally, there are many different opinions about the award winners. However, regardless of the circumstances, "The Truman Show" is an absolutely outstanding film, and Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter from the East, absolutely deserves the Best Screenplay award. This is a consensus among many film critics.

Lin Youcheng was aware of this, but he still didn't have much intention of attending the Oscars ceremony. He said directly, "If the Oscars really give me this award, I will receive it even if I don't attend the ceremony."

Lin Youcheng suddenly thought that he had been winning awards abroad, especially the Oscars, but he had never attended them. Whether he was awarded or not, he didn't care. In a way, this showed his attitude. As for whether an artist could win an award or not, it depended on nationality and whether he needed to attend the award ceremony, that was the Oscars' business.

When Chen Aige heard Lin Youcheng say this, she felt that it made sense. After all, when "Atonement" won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Lin Youcheng was not present at the award ceremony. However, Chen Aige still felt that Lin Youcheng should have attended the award ceremony.

“Youcheng, if you win an award at the Oscars, it will be a record-breaking thing, it’s really awesome, and you should be there to witness this historic moment.”

Lin Youcheng smiled, knowing what Chen Aige meant, and said, "Whether you're there or not doesn't matter."

Chen Aige could also see that Lin Youcheng really had no intention of going to the United States to attend the Oscars ceremony. He just felt that Lin Youcheng's opportunity was too good, and the calls for him to win the award were really high. It would be a real pity if Lin Youcheng didn't go to the awards ceremony to accept the award, after all, this was the first time such an event had happened in China.

If Lin Youcheng really wins an Oscar, it will be something that makes the entire domestic film industry extremely proud.

Of course, for Lin Youcheng, a domestic writer and screenwriter, to be nominated for an Oscar again is already quite impressive and something to brag about.

It's not just Hollywood that's eagerly awaiting the Oscars; the entire Chinese film industry is also waiting to see if Lin Youcheng, the Chinese screenwriter nominated twice for Best Original Screenplay, will win the award!

I'm really looking forward to it!

(End of this chapter)