Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 822 Nominations Set a Record

There are only two days left until the Oscar nominations are announced.

It wasn't surprising that the Golden Ball went to someone else before.

Domestic movie fans' attitude towards Li Chen is understandable.

It's clear that Li Chen is more focused on the domestic market and his pregnant wife.

As for the Oscars, for Leonardo DiCaprio, it's probably just an honor that adds to his already impressive resume.

Of course, the domestic market is also very encouraging.

La La Land has grossed over 14.5 billion yuan in its first three weeks of release, with a global box office of 5.5 million US dollars.

Hailed by The Hollywood Reporter as "the most captivating Eastern love story," Li Chen and Liu Yifei's performances also graced the cover of Time magazine, which praised them for their charm.

"Devil and Angel" and "Mr. Six," released a week later than "La La Land," saw the former stop at 6.2 million yuan and the latter at Li Yifeng, but both films still managed to earn 4.4 million yuan at the box office during the New Year's Day holiday, at least they didn't lose money.

How could this result satisfy Wang Zhonglei? It was embarrassing enough to lose to an art film, let alone to Deng Chao's "The Villain Angel".
Feng Xiaogang was so angry that he cursed Wang Zhonglei in front of him.

"Damn it, I'm not playing anymore. I don't even need him to ban me, I'll just delete my account!"

"Shut up! Can't you control your mouth? You didn't learn your lesson from '1942,' and with 'Mr. Six,' you're just indulging in your own pleasure!"

"Are you blaming me? Chung-lei?"

"Yes! I'm blaming you! I fucking signed a 10.5 billion yuan betting agreement with you! Have you forgotten?!" Wang Zhonglei suddenly exploded, roared, and slammed down the phone.

"What a piece of trash! Bah! You're not even as good as a loser!" Wang Zhonglei was still not satisfied and spat again.

Huayi's stock price plummeted, and its market value shrank so much that the two brothers' hair turned completely white.

That son of a bitch is acting like nothing happened, talking about his Weibo.

"Zhonglei, you acted impulsively." Wang Zhongjun said calmly, seeing his younger brother unusually angry with Feng Xiaogang.

"Brother, don't you even look at the current market? Wu Jing, Da Peng, Chen Sicheng, Happy Twist—aren't all these rising stars already in the billion-dollar club? And Feng Xiaogang is still trying to act tough with me! I told you back then that spending 10.5 billion was too impulsive!"

Wang Zhonglei also seems to have a problem with his elder brother, Wang Zhongjun.

Ever since that confrontation with Feng Xiaogang in the elder brother's office, the two brothers have disagreed.

Wang Zhongjun still felt that 10.5 billion was acceptable, given the current boom in the domestic box office.

Aside from the unattainable "Vientiane Island," films with budgets of 1 billion and 2 billion are emerging one after another.

If Feng Xiaogang's films gross one or two films in the next five years, they will be guaranteed to make a profit of 10.5 billion yuan.

It was just a series of coincidences; no one expected that the first-ever circuit breaker in A-share history would coincide with Li Yifeng's downfall.

Furthermore, Feng Xiaogang's online arguments with netizens on Weibo made his younger brother anxious, which Wang Zhongjun could understand.

If the younger brother plays the bad cop, then he, as the head of Huayi, has to play the good cop.

Filming for "If You Are the One 3" has quietly begun in Sanya.

At this time, the Huayi trio cannot afford to have internal strife.

-

January 15th, Beijing time, will surely be recorded in Chinese film history.

China Film Report
"La La Land Surprisingly Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars! Rongchen Pictures Creates a New History for Chinese-Language Films."

"On January 15th, Beijing time, the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards were announced. The musical romance film 'La La Land,' produced by Rongchen Pictures, directed by Chen Kexin, and starring Li Chen and Liu Yifei, unexpectedly won a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film."

"It became the only Chinese-language film nominated for this year's Oscars. What's even more remarkable is that the film was made despite the absence of its two lead actors."

"It defeated 'The Assassin' from Taiwan and 'To the Fore' from Hong Kong, making it into the final five and setting a new record for Chinese-language films in the Oscar race."

"Rongchen Pictures has become the only film company in Chinese film history to have produced two films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film!"

"As of press time, US bookmakers have adjusted the odds for La La Land to 1:3, second only to Hungary's entry, Son of Saul!"

Sina Entertainment News

"La La Land garnered eleven Oscar nominations, setting a new record for Chinese-language films! Li Chen and Liu Yifei, a married couple, were both nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress."

"January 14, 2016, reprinted from The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Daily News"

"On the evening of January 14th, local time in Los Angeles, the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards were announced in a stunning fashion."

"La La Land, a romantic musical film produced by Rongchen Pictures and directed by Chen Kexin, has garnered eleven major nominations."

"Not only did it break the record for Chinese-language films nominated for the Oscars, but it also became the first mainland Chinese film in Oscar history to be nominated for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture."

"Even more remarkable is that the lead actors, Li Chen and Liu Yifei, have both received nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, setting a legendary record as the first couple in Oscar history to receive nominations together! Here is a complete list of the record-breaking nominations!"

"Best Foreign Language Film (Submitted by Mainland China)"

"Best Picture (competing against The Big Short and Spotlight)"

"Best Director (Chen Kexin)"

"Best Original Screenplay (Li Chen)"

"Best Editing (Wang Jiawei)"

"Best Original Song (Li Chen's "City of Stars")"
"Best Actor (Li Chen, first nominee for Best Actor for crossover director)"

"Best Actress (Liu Yifei, the first Chinese actress to be nominated for an Oscar)"

Best Supporting Actress (Kara Hui, Berlin Film Festival Best Actress Winner Gains International Recognition)
Best Cinematography (Christopher Christopher)
"Best Costume Design (Laurence Xu)"

The eleven Oscar nominations for "La La Land" were like a high-explosive bomb, throwing the film and television industries in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong into complete chaos.

As is well known, due to Liu Yifei's inconvenience to travel far during her pregnancy, Li Chen accompanied his wife almost the entire time and did not go to the United States for Oscar public relations activities as is customary. Instead, he sent Chen Kexin to the United States to lead the team.

As a result, La La Land did not receive any major nominations in the earlier Golden Globe Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, and other important preliminary rounds.

Everyone thought the Oscar nomination would go to someone else as well.

However, La La Land not only beat out two other films submitted by Hong Kong and Taiwan, but also won a strong nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

It also set a record for nominations for Chinese-language films.

Even the decathlon of yesteryear, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, cannot compare.

There are no acting awards among the ten categories in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Surprisingly, three people were nominated for "La La Land." On the night the nominations were announced, Kara Hui cried, Sandra Ng cried, Chen Kexin cried, and Liu Yifei also cried.

Li Chen couldn't cry.
Americans have always been able to justify their statement: "True art doesn't need lobbying."

Moreover, La La Land has a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an average score of 88 on MetaCritic, and a 9.3 rating on Douban. Based on these figures alone, the nomination is well-deserved.

Now that they've been nominated, they need to make the necessary gestures.

After the nominations were announced, Li Chen only responded briefly through his assistant: "Thank you to the Oscar judges."

"Your response is too rigid! Watch me!" Liu Yifei, bored during her pregnancy, found her husband's response too formulaic. She then posted a Weibo post herself, along with an ultrasound image, captioned: "Baby said, if we win an award, we'll name him 'Oscar'!"

"Isn't this interesting!" Liu Yifei held up her phone, showing Li Chen her Weibo.

"It has to be you! Oscar became your son! My wife's boldness is unparalleled." Li Chen flattered his wife.

It made the pregnant woman very happy.

"Why do I feel like you're not very happy about the Best Actor nomination?" Liu Yifei sat up in bed, sensing that her husband wasn't as happy as she was, and seemed a little sullen.

Li Chen didn't hide anything from his wife: "You really are my wife, you even noticed that."

Why are you unhappy?

"Eleven nominations, that's impressive for the Oscars! As for me, although my acting skills are passable, I'm aware of my limitations. There's still a considerable gap between me and a Best Actor. I'm not Feng Xiaogang; I don't have that kind of thick skin."

Liu Yifei chuckled: "What, is my boss Li afraid that he might accidentally win an Oscar and become the target of public criticism!"

Li Chen laughed and patted his wife's delicate face: "Silly girl! If I win Best Actor, do you think you can still win Best Actress? Have you ever seen a film in Oscar history that produced a pair of Best Actor and Best Actress winners?"

Liu Yifei was taken aback: "You...you're worried that you'll steal my Best Actress award?"

Li Chen nodded: "That's part of the reason. I'm not making this movie for myself, you should know that perfectly well."

Liu Yifei pouted, feeling a pang of guilt towards her husband.

She had just misunderstood her husband, thinking he was afraid of public opinion. Now that she thought about it, she must have been out of her mind.

The word 'fear' seems to be absent from her man's dictionary.

If there really is such a thing, it's because they're 'afraid' she'll be wronged, 'afraid' she won't get the best.

Liu Yifei nestled silently in her husband's arms, nuzzling his heavy body against her, and murmured, "You're so good to me."

At this moment, Li Chen was thinking about the other competitors who were nominated for Best Actress.

Liu Yifei's Weibo post instantly went viral and became a trending topic.

In just 12 hours, everyone from award-winning actors and actresses to popular idols joined this 'naming frenzy'!
"Liu Qianqian really does pick up whoever she's talking to. The way she talks now is exactly like her senior. She doesn't take the Oscars seriously at all!" Yang Mi looked at Liu Yifei's Weibo and could only shake her head in dismay, feeling incredibly envious. She was speechless.

Liu Qianqian has actually achieved an Oscar nomination.

Even if she doesn't win an award in the end, this one achievement alone surpasses all mainland Chinese actresses.

Although Yang Mi didn't want to join in the fun, she still left a comment under Liu Yifei's Weibo post.

"His full name is Oscar, his nickname is Venice! His full name is Levi, or Levi's!"

Yang Mi replied, and Tang Yan quickly followed suit.

Now that she's separated from Rong Chen, Tang Yan feels more dependent on the company than before.

Not to mention that the company stepped in to help resolve the previous dispute with Bazaar.

The current major publicity channels are still closely linked to the company.

Especially this Douyin that my best friend invested in, it was almost like a monster from outer space that parachuted into 2015!

Her new film "Partners in Crime" just launched its Douyin page yesterday, and the CPT price alone starts at 50.

She still doesn't know how much her best friend and former boss's wife is worth.

But they must be rolling in money, otherwise they wouldn't have the confidence to name their son Oscar.

The official Oscar Twitter account even replied to her best friend.

"Important Notice: We do not provide baby naming notarization services, but we may consider adding a 'Best Second-Generation Star Award'!"

Deng Chao is good at making fun of himself: "My wife and I have decided that our next child's nickname will be 'Golden Broom,' to take a differentiated approach."

As a result, Empress Sun Li immediately contradicted her, saying, "Then find someone else to have your baby!"

Netizens are laughing so hard they can't live anymore.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who is on the other side of the ocean, also tagged Liu Yifei on Twitter.

"It's a good thing you didn't win an award for Inception, otherwise your eldest son would probably be named Little Leo or Leonardo DiCaprio! Little Leo is always a runner-up, I don't believe Li Chen can break this curse!"

Netizens were incredibly enthusiastic.

"In 2015, Xiao Gangpao starred in 'Mr. Six' and won the Golden Horse Award. In 2015, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in 'La La Land' and was nominated for an Oscar. 2015 was amazing!"

"I reckon both Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi voted for Leonardo DiCaprio!"

Liu Yifei laughed heartily: "Hey, are you going to let me go to the Oscars or not?"

This was her real desire, even though she knew she wasn't the most beautiful in this state.

But since I've been nominated, it means I might win. If I don't go, it's almost like I'm automatically forfeiting.

She has never seen an Oscar winner absent.

"You don't need to go. I'll go in your place. What's meant to be yours will be yours, and what's not meant to be yours won't be yours no matter you go. There's no need to take the Oscars too seriously." Li Chen's tone was gentle, yet firm.

Liu Yifei pouted in protest, but her protest was ineffective.

"Think about it, you didn't attend the Feitian nomination, not to mention the Golden Horse Awards, I've turned down countless award ceremonies and social engagements for you in the past six months, and now an Oscar nomination is enough to send you across the ocean?"

Liu Yifei knew her husband was right. At their current status, they should be able to do whatever they wanted, but she felt a bit like someone caught in the web of life, unable to control their own destiny.

La La Land's overwhelming nominations led to a surge in the stock prices of Yixin Media and Wanda Cinema Line.

People from the bureau, the school, and friends in the industry all called to congratulate Li Chen.

Of the eleven nominations, Li Chen alone received three, a feat unprecedented in history.

However, it is not appropriate to celebrate in a big way at this time, since it is only a nomination, not an award.

Tian Zhuangzhuang also called, but at the end of their conversation, Tian Zhuangzhuang said with a smile, "I have something to tell you. Think about it. I think it's a good thing."

"What is it, Teacher Tian?"

"The school held a meeting today, and the dean proposed in front of everyone that you be awarded the title of Visiting Professor of Beijing Film Academy. All the attendees voted in favor, and of course, I was one of them."

"Visiting professor? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

“Why is it inappropriate! You are the only director in the country to have won the Palme d'Or, the Lion, and the Silver Bear. Old Zhang was just afraid that you would refuse, so he held a meeting first to finalize the matter before asking me to talk to you.”

“This visiting professor is not like Jia Zhangke’s master’s supervisor, who has to supervise students and has rigid academic tasks.”

“If you’re willing, come visit the school. This title doesn’t even cover one position, but I think it would still be beneficial to you. Otherwise, if Lao Zhang had called me, I would have turned it down for you.”

Li Chen understood this, of course. A visiting professor could only make a brief appearance at the school each year. He didn't have a permanent position, nor did he need one; doing so would only restrict his actions.

Most importantly, it can both inject fresh blood into Rongchen Pictures and avoid academic controversies.

To avoid being criticized by those with ulterior motives for interfering with education through capital.

(End of this chapter)