A widower's entertainment

Lin Zhaomei's short film "Destiny" won the Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Although it was only a short film award, it can undoubtedly be recorded in the school's history. After all, this is the first Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival for Yenching Film Academy. Even if it is far from the Golden Bear, it is still a record.

The school will pay more attention to Lin Zhaomei's short film award, but domestic and foreign filmmakers will undoubtedly pay more attention to Lin Zhaomei's father, Lin Youcheng's, Oscar award.

Even filmmakers in China know that "The Sixth Sense" was very popular in the United States, a box office hit, and won many awards, especially the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, which was given to Lin Youcheng. Although this was not the first time Lin Youcheng had won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, it undoubtedly shows how good the script of "The Sixth Sense" is.

While the Golden Globe Awards may not be as prestigious as the Oscars, they are still very important film awards in the United States. The Best Picture in the Drama category was not awarded to "The Sixth Sense," but rather to "Sense and Sensibility," which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. It's worth noting that in another timeline, the Best Screenplay award was also given to "Sense and Sensibility." The fact that it was awarded to "The Sixth Sense," a thriller, speaks volumes about the excellence of its script.

Of course, this also owes much to Warner Bros.' public relations efforts.

In Lin Youcheng's view, the Oscars ceremony now depends on how well Warner Bros. handles the awards for "The Sixth Sense".

At least Sense and Sensibility won't be competing with The Sixth Sense for the Best Original Screenplay award, because Sense and Sensibility was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.

With the Oscars ceremony approaching, Warner Bros. extended an invitation to Lin Youcheng to attend, clearly because Lin Youcheng had a strong chance of winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay again. However, Lin Youcheng declined the invitation.

As for Lin Youcheng's absence from the Oscars ceremony, it's fair to say that filmmakers both domestically and internationally have become accustomed to it. After all, Lin Youcheng had been nominated four times in a row and won an award once, but he never attended. Even if he has a chance to win the award again, his absence from the ceremony is not particularly surprising.

Of course, Chen Aige still didn't quite understand. He was very clear about how popular Lin Youcheng's "The Sixth Sense" was in the United States and how likely it was to win another Oscar.

“Hey you, you went to the Berlin Film Festival before, why didn’t you go to the Oscars? Your movie won a Golden Globe, you really have a good chance of winning an Oscar.”

Upon hearing Chen Aige's words, Lin Youcheng waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's alright. If we really need to take more, we'll just ask them to collect it for us."

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Chen Aige shook his head. Knowing Lin Youcheng's temperament, he said, "The Berlin Film Festival invited you to be a jury member, but you didn't go. This time, the Cannes Film Festival invited you to be a jury member, and you still refused?"

Lin Youcheng was invited to serve as a jury member for the main competition section at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Hearing Chen Aige's words, Lin Youcheng understood what Chen Aige meant. He knew that Chen Aige's "Temptress Moon" was going to the Cannes Film Festival, and if Lin Youcheng could serve as a jury member in the main competition, he would naturally speak up for his film.

However, Lin Youcheng shook his head and said, "I'm not the chairman of the judging panel, there's no need for me to go."

Well, that's Lin Youcheng's opinion. He had been invited several times before, but he had declined them all.

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Chen Aige was momentarily speechless. Although in his opinion, it was not unusual for Lin Youcheng to serve as the chairman of the three major film industry juries, given his current status in the film industry, it was still rare for a screenwriter to serve as the chairman of a jury. More often, screenwriters also served as directors.

Lin Youcheng was well aware of this, but he also knew that many people had different identities. For example, producers had served as jury presidents, but some had also worked as directors. However, this did not mean that they had not worked as directors. For example, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who later became the jury president of the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival, was also a screenwriter and cinematographer. His screenplay for "Winter Sleep" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Even further back, Alexander Payne, the president of the main competition jury at the Venice Film Festival, was a veteran screenwriter who won two Academy Awards for his screenplays. Incidentally, Suso Cecchi Damico, the president of the main competition jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1980, was also a screenwriter and the first female president of the jury at the Venice Film Festival.

All of this undoubtedly demonstrates that the president of the jury for the main competition section of the three major film festivals is not necessarily an actor; he or she can be another filmmaker, provided that the president of the jury has a certain influence and status in the film industry, or that his or her works are substantial.

It's worth noting that actress Kristen Stewart, known for her role in Twilight, also served as the president of the jury for the main competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, making her the youngest president of the jury in the festival's history.

If Lin Youcheng is indeed not the chairman of the jury and therefore does not attend, then without a doubt the three major film industries will have to seriously consider it. Given Lin Youcheng's current status as an international screenwriter, there would be absolutely no problem with him serving as the chairman of the jury.

After all, Lin Youcheng's screenplays for films like "Atonement," "The Reader," and "Love" have all won awards at the three major film festivals. Not to mention "The Truman Show," which caused quite a stir at the Oscars and the global film market, as well as his previous Oscar-nominated films such as "Every Day," "The Departed," "Seaside City," "The Hunt," and "After This Our Exile," and now "The Sixth Sense" is even more amazing.

Chen Aige looked at Lin Youcheng and said, "If you had said this to the people at the three major film festivals earlier, they would have definitely invited you to be the chairman of the jury long ago."

Lin Youcheng smiled, seemingly unconcerned, and said, "We'll talk about it later. If the timing isn't right, I'll refuse."

In fact, some film and television awards in China have invited Lin Youcheng to serve as a judge. As long as the word gets out that Lin Youcheng will only serve as the chairman of the judging panel, he will definitely be invited in China as well. There is no way around it because Lin Youcheng has a very high status in the Chinese film industry. He is the number one screenwriter in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and this is not just a casual saying.

Lin Youcheng is the only screenwriter in the world to be nominated for an Oscar five times in a row, making him the first person in the history of the Oscars to achieve this feat.

Now it all comes down to whether Lin Youcheng, this screenwriter from the East, can win another Oscar and tie the record held by other screenwriters at the Oscars.

In fact, Lin Youcheng didn't care much, because in his opinion, even if he didn't win an award this time, there would be plenty of time and he would definitely have another chance. Moreover, even if he didn't win an award, it wouldn't be surprising that the film was excellent.

While Lin Youcheng didn't care, the Hollywood news media were very interested in this matter and were eager to know if Lin Youcheng would tie the Oscar record and win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay again.

Although the Best Original Screenplay award doesn't garner as much attention as the Oscars for Best Actress and Best Actor, or Best Picture, Hollywood is naturally paying close attention to Lin Youcheng, the Eastern screenwriter, who has been nominated five times in a row. Not to mention, "The Sixth Sense" is a film that the United States really loves.

Amidst this intense scrutiny, the Oscars ceremony proceeded as scheduled. While *Braveheart*, a box office flop, was the biggest winner, taking home five awards including Best Picture and Best Director, *The Sixth Sense*, unlike films from another timeline, didn't garner numerous accolades, only winning Best Original Screenplay. This popularity, especially among American audiences, sparked considerable debate in the US, with some even expressing dissatisfaction, arguing it was unfair to *The Sixth Sense* and the Academy for its dominance over thrillers.

"The Sixth Sense shouldn't have won just one award for Best Original Screenplay!"

"Compared to the box office failure of 'Braveheart,' it became the biggest winner at the Oscars!"

"Eastern screenwriter Lin Youcheng wins another Oscar for Best Original Screenplay!"

"The Sixth Sense received a lukewarm reception at the Oscars, only winning the Best Original Screenplay award!"

"The Academy should take thrillers seriously, and The Sixth Sense is not just a simple thriller!"

"The Best Picture award should go to Sense and Sensibility!"

……

These news reports and discussions continued.

However, there is no doubt about Lin Youcheng's Best Original Screenplay award. Both American audiences and Hollywood film critics believe it is well-deserved. The screenplay for "The Sixth Sense" should have won the Best Original Screenplay award.

Undoubtedly, regardless of what happens in the United States, the news that Lin Youcheng has once again won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay is truly a cause for celebration throughout the film industry in China.

Lin Youcheng has won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the second time!
This news astonished many domestic filmmakers. Those who had longed for the moon abroad saw that someone from overseas believed Lin Youcheng's script was better, and such a result naturally drew widespread amazement.

Besides Warner Bros. informing Lin Youcheng of this good news, many friends and acquaintances in China also sent their congratulations.

The Beijing Film Academy was naturally paying close attention to this news. Lin Youcheng's daughter had just won the Best Short Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and now Lin Youcheng had won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Holding another Oscar statuette in his hand was truly remarkable.

"Zhaomei, your dad is really amazing!"

"Yes, this is his second Oscar! He truly is the top screenwriter in China!"

Even if Lin Zhaomei didn't want to talk about her father specifically, how could she not be mentioned when they were both in the film industry and her father had won such an important film award?

It's fair to say that the Academy of Film Sciences is currently discussing how "The Sixth Sense" won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Hearing her classmate's words, Lin Zhaomei could only smile. Of course, she knew how powerful her father was. No one knew better than her just how powerful he was. There might be some people at school who hadn't seen the movie "The Sixth Sense," but she had read the script a long time ago and had been shocked by the story.

In Lin Zhaomei's view now, there is absolutely no problem for the script of "The Sixth Sense" to win the Best Original Screenplay award.

Of course, Lin Zhaomei was well aware that even if the work was excellent, winning an award was not so easy, especially since her father was not a native-born American. To win this award in Hollywood, and to win it for the second time, was extremely difficult.

If it weren't for the solid script, even if Warner Bros. wanted to do public relations, it would have been difficult to win. Otherwise, why didn't they win other film awards? It's because the script is genuinely brilliant.

"Now he is not only the top screenwriter in China, but also the one who has won the Oscar for Best Screenplay twice, which is quite rare in the Oscars."

"It should be a tie!"

"To be nominated five times in a row and win two Oscars is truly remarkable."

……

"I will tell my father. Thank you for your love and congratulations!"

Lin Zhaomei didn't say much about the praise for her father, but she was very proud and honored. She didn't think that her classmates always regarded her as Lin Youcheng's daughter. She knew how capable her father was, and all she could do was to walk well on the path of directing.

To be honest, she had thought to herself that it was fortunate her father hadn't won a directing award, otherwise being under the insurmountable mountain of her father would have really put her under immense pressure.

The discussions among these film school students were quite heated. There was no way around it; the fact that Lin Youcheng had won another Oscar was already quite astonishing. Lin Youcheng had already won an Oscar for "The Truman Show," a first in the history of Chinese-language cinema. Now, Li An, another prominent figure in the Chinese-language film industry, had not yet won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, while Lin Youcheng had already won two Oscars. How could this not cause a stir in the entire Chinese-language film industry?

This is truly a source of pride for the Chinese-language film industry! (End of Chapter)