A widower's entertainment

Chapter 455 [The Back Garden] (Please Subscribe)
Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

In the United States, Lin Youcheng has two more films nominated for Oscars, competing for Best Picture. This is undoubtedly a very impactful event. Even though he hasn't won any awards yet, it has once again proven Lin Youcheng's screenwriting talent.

The release of MGM's film "The Butterfly Effect" at this time made Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter from the East, a hot topic in the United States.

Other Hollywood film companies are naturally eager to collaborate with Lin Youcheng and continue to approach him to discuss script adaptations.

However, it is clear that with four consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and holding an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the value of Lin Youcheng's screenplay is beyond doubt and obvious to all.

Given the high quality of the script, the sincerity required to discuss collaboration naturally needs to be even greater.

Otherwise, what could they offer to persuade Lin Youcheng to cooperate?

Lin Youcheng was naturally well aware of this as well.

For Lin Youcheng, being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for four consecutive years is just icing on the cake, since it's not like he's won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the second time.

It's worth noting that even when Lin Youcheng won the Mao Dun Literature Prize for the second time with "Atonement," he remained calm. Now, being nominated again, he naturally doesn't care too much.

He knew he didn't care, but Hollywood film companies, all the producers and actors cared quite a bit, because his film scripts had been proven time and again to be genuinely strong.

No film company could ignore or overlook Lin Youcheng, the screenwriter from the East.

George, the Warner Bros. producer who is now at the courtyard house in Xinghua Hutong, is a familiar face. It is clear that Warner Bros. is quite grateful to screenwriter Lin Youcheng, after all, the very low-budget film "Coherence" really made Warner Bros. a fortune, which is why George is now in Xinghua Hutong.

Although Warner Bros. still has the script for "Interstellar" in hand, the filming and production of that movie is not simple and the investment and production costs are quite large. Warner Bros. is not in a particular hurry to push this movie forward. Of course, they are already looking for a suitable director to be in charge of this big-budget science fiction film, "Interstellar".

Clearly, Warner Bros. knew that if Interstellar had a small budget, it could easily have turned into a cheap and rough sci-fi film, and they certainly didn't want it to turn out badly.

George's trip to Beijing serves two purposes: firstly, to maintain contact with Lin Youcheng, and secondly, to continue their collaboration. If Lin Youcheng is willing, they even hope to purchase the scripts for his next five films, essentially a directorial collaboration involving the directing rights to several movies.

George, in particular, had seen the MGM film "The Butterfly Effect," which was a truly stunning sci-fi movie. He himself was shocked when he saw the ending, as the protagonist's choice to strangle himself with his umbilical cord was an unprecedented ending. The film is currently performing very well at the box office in the United States, which naturally makes George hope that it was produced by Warner Bros.

"Lin, the story of 'The Butterfly Effect' is truly amazing!"

"If you're interested in cooperation, Warner Music can offer you similar terms. We very much hope to continue our collaboration."

Lin Youcheng smiled when he heard George's words. In fact, he had heard similar things many times before, and he knew that producer George was speaking from the heart.

In truth, Lin Youcheng isn't particular about which company he collaborates with. After all, capital is profit-driven, and his current script exports and foreign exchange earnings are also due to profit and capital accumulation. Since his scripts are so valuable, it's natural to see which Hollywood film company offers the most substantial investment.

"If the opportunity arises, we can certainly cooperate."

Lin Youcheng naturally hopes that the MGM film "The Butterfly Effect" will perform better at the box office, because that would mean he could get a share of the net profit in addition to the original script copyright fee. Although the percentage is small, the better the box office, the more net profit he will get, even if the percentage is small. This is the same reason why he hopes that his published novels will sell better.

George understood Lin Youcheng's meaning. After all, Warner Bros. had collaborated with Lin Youcheng more than once, and he knew that Lin Youcheng treated all the Hollywood film companies the same way, focusing on the copyright fees for the scripts.

Of course, it's safe to say that nowadays, if Lin Youcheng were to produce a movie script, no film company would be willing to miss it, since there are other companies waiting to do so.

George naturally knew that this visit to Lin Youcheng did not necessarily guarantee that he would get the script. After all, his initial intention was simply to maintain contact with Lin Youcheng. Although phone calls and emails could also be used, visiting in person would undoubtedly show more sincerity.

Xie Shuhua knew that Lin Youcheng's movie scripts were very popular in the United States. After George left, she couldn't help but ask, "Is he here to talk about the script again?"

Lin Youcheng nodded, smiled, and reached out to take his youngest daughter, Lin Zhaoyuan, from Xie Shuhua's arms. While holding and playing with Lin Zhaoyuan, he said, "They came to me because they want to cooperate."

Xie Shuhua hadn't actually paid any attention to Lin Youcheng's script collaboration with the American film company, because the unbelievable script price was simply another world beyond her comprehension. The price was just too outrageous, and she hadn't bothered to investigate it. Instead, she said, "Now that your film has been nominated for an Oscar, they will definitely be more eager to collaborate with you."

Xie Shuhua was naturally aware that the films related to Lin Youcheng, "City by the Sea" and "Father and Son," had both been nominated for Oscars again, and she truly thought Lin Youcheng was remarkable.

This event was not only a hot topic in the United States, but the domestic film industry was also paying close attention to the Oscars.

Lin Youcheng has now been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay again, marking his fourth nomination. Moreover, even though Lin Youcheng was not nominated for Best Screenplay, both films written by him were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. This has truly amazed many filmmakers in China.

There is a strong sense of admiration for foreign things in China, or rather, a deep-seated worship of foreign culture. However, in the film industry, or rather, in the arts, the Oscars are like a second home for Lin Youcheng; he can easily get nominated. This is astonishing to many film professionals.

This is why Lin Zhaomei, as a daughter, genuinely believes that her father is truly remarkable.

Those who work in the film industry are naturally more aware of the immense difficulty involved. The Oscars are undeniably the world's most prestigious film awards, and Lin Youcheng has now been nominated for the fourth consecutive year, with each nomination being remarkably strong. The fact that two of his films are currently nominated for Best Picture is truly astonishing.

Although Tian Zhuangzhuang has been banned from directing films for ten years, he still keeps up with film-related matters and knows that Lin Youcheng's film has been nominated for an Oscar again. He truly admires him from the bottom of his heart.

"Yo-sung, his two films have been nominated for Oscars again, that's really amazing!"

Hearing Tian Zhuangzhuang's exclamation, Li Shaohong nodded and said with emotion, "Who says it isn't true? Last year, two of our films were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and this year, two more films are nominated for Best Picture. We really couldn't have imagined this before!"

Although neither "The Departed" nor "The Hunt" won the Best Picture award last year, being nominated is already quite an achievement, not to mention that "The Hunt" even had an Oscar winner for Best Actor.

Li Shaohong is very clear about Lin Youcheng's influence in the international film industry, especially in Hollywood. It's not just that Hollywood is willing to spend a lot of money to buy Lin Youcheng's scripts. For example, the fact that two films written by Lin Youcheng have been nominated for Oscars at the same time is quite rare in Hollywood, let alone the fact that this is the second time.

In the eyes of these filmmakers, the Oscars, while not the highest film ceremony in the world, are still on par with the three major European film festivals. However, the fact that a film written by Lin Youcheng was nominated for an Oscar seems to be a very simple matter, as if it were Lin Youcheng's own backyard. How could this not make them, as directors, feel uneasy?

"Yes, his movie script is really impressive."

"It seems that another movie he wrote has been released in the United States."

Li Shaohong nodded and said, "Yes, it's a science fiction film called 'The Butterfly Effect.' I heard it's quite exciting and is doing very well at the box office."

Li Shaohong naturally also pays attention to some excellent foreign films, especially those related to Lin Youcheng.

Tian Zhuangzhuang truly admires Lin Youcheng. Of course, if it weren't for Lin Youcheng, he wouldn't have served as an advisor and guided the filming of the TV series "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner." Now, seeing Lin Youcheng's film nominated for an Oscar again, he said, "He's really extraordinary."

"Of course."

In Li Shaohong's opinion, Lin Youcheng is truly the most talented screenwriter in China, bar none. After all, it's commonplace for his films to be nominated for Oscars, and he even has two films nominated at the same time, which is truly enviable.

"I just don't know when our films will be able to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film."

Although Tian Zhuangzhuang knows that awards like the Oscars also require public relations, and that in terms of artistic merit, the three major European film festivals may be even higher, it is still a pity that no Chinese-language film has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Li Shaohong knew this was difficult and required luck, so she smiled and said, "It will definitely happen in the future."

Tian Zhuangzhuang sighed briefly, then said, "Youcheng's daughter plans to apply to the film academy's directing department. Maybe she and her father will collaborate in the future and be nominated for an Oscar."

Clearly, Tian Zhuangzhuang didn't consider that Lin Zhaomei hadn't been admitted to the directing department, or that she couldn't become a director. After all, even those who didn't graduate from the directing department can become directors. For example, actor Jiang Wen didn't come from a directing background. Especially since Lin Zhaomei has a father like Lin Youcheng, in Tian Zhuangzhuang's view, Lin Zhaomei will definitely have no problem becoming a director in the future because she will have her father, Lin Youcheng, to protect her.

Li Shaohong naturally knew that Lin Zhaomei planned to apply for the directing department of Yanjing Film Academy and wanted to become a director in the future. In fact, the school knew this as well. Although it was still unknown how Lin Zhaomei would do in the exam, Li Shaohong was very clear that with her father Lin Youcheng, Lin Zhaomei could not possibly do poorly.

After all, they all have family members in this industry, so they naturally understand that this will make things go more smoothly.

"If Youcheng himself has this idea, then whoever collaborates with him will definitely be shortlisted, let alone win an award."

In Li Shaohong's view, it's not just the Oscars. For example, the film "Atonement," which Lin Youcheng and Chen Aige collaborated on, won two major awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Later, the film "Love," which Lin Youcheng and Hou Xiaoxian collaborated on, won the Golden Lion Award, the highest honor at the Venice Film Festival. Furthermore, the film "The Reader," which she collaborated on with Lin Youcheng, also earned Pan Hong the Best Actress Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Although these films were directed by the director, they naturally relied on the scripts written by screenwriter Lin Youcheng.

Films written by Lin Youcheng have been nominated for all three major film festivals. Even Hou Xiaoxian's Palme d'Or-winning film, "The Devotion of Suspect X," was adapted from Lin Youcheng's novel of the same name. This shows just how influential Lin Youcheng is both domestically and internationally.

Li Shaohong looked at Tian Zhuangzhuang and asked with a smile, "Do you think he'll win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay again this time?"

"do not know."

Tian Zhuangzhuang shook his head. He really didn't know if Lin Youcheng would win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay again. After all, the competition was fierce, and winning an award was something that could never be predicted.

"However, he had already won this award before, and even if he hadn't, he would still be just as good."

Li Shaohong said with a smile, "That's right, being nominated four times in a row is unprecedented for an Oscar."

In fact, Li Shaohong was well aware that if Lin Youcheng continued like this, being nominated for an Oscar would be like entering his own backyard. Even if he didn't win this time, he would definitely win another Oscar sooner or later.

And there might be more than one.

(End of this chapter)