Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 753 Best Actress

As they were talking, the music started, and the red curtain on the stage slowly rose, revealing a large golden statue, about two meters tall, standing prominently at the back of the stage.

Then host Jimmy Kimmel and a group of dancers of different colors (white, black, and yellow) came on stage and danced and sang energetically.

So excited were the people in the front row that Halle Berry, Isabelle Huppert, Captain America, Shirley, Scarlett Johansson, and others got into the groove, and the entire audience stood up and swayed to the music and dance.

This forced Fang Hong and the others to stand up and clap along with the rhythm.

The event was highly interactive and very celebratory, not at all serious, and quite lively.

Of course, there were also shots of Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian, which made a group of viewers in China very excited.

The constant barrage of "Liu Tianxian, Liu Tianxian" on social media was simultaneously broadcast live on Mango TV in China, as they had purchased the rights, although the broadcast time differed from that in the United States.

After the dance ended, the audience sat down again, and host Jimmy Kimmel began his stand-up comedy routine, eliciting bursts of laughter from the audience from time to time.

This person is also a comedian.

"What are they laughing at?" Fang Hong asked Liu Tianxian, tilting his head.

"He was making fun of people, mocking Matt Damon for wearing a braid and filming a period drama in China, and saying that 'The Great Wall' lost 80 million US dollars, publicly ridiculing Zhang Yimou," Liu Tianxian translated.

"Luckily, Zhang Yimou didn't come. If he had, how would he have put his face?" Fang Hong said.

"Ah."

Liu Tianxian nodded and said again, "Now he's making fun of Amazon again, and Bezos is there too."

Fang Hong looked back and saw a bald Bezos at the very back.

As for the jokes, Chinese people don't understand foreigners' jokes, so they don't find them funny.

"The host is making fun of Aunt Meryl Streep again," Liu Tianxian said before she could finish.

Meryl Streep stood up, bowed to the audience, and the entire audience immediately stood up, applauding thunderously.

This caused Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian to get up again, mainly because everyone around them was getting up, and they had no choice but to get up as well.

"This woman is like an empress, with 21 Oscar nominations and 15 Best Actress Oscars. She's unparalleled. You, Liu Tianxian, need to work harder." Yu clapped his hands, urging Liu Tianxian to strive to surpass him.

"No matter how hard I try, even if I'm completely drained, it won't work." Liu Tianxian felt that it was too much to ask of her.

"Let the principal drain you dry," Yu Xian laughed.

"Go to hell." Liu Tianxian rolled her eyes at him.

After the thunderous applause subsided, the audience returned to their seats to listen to the host's continued banter.

"Last year we were criticized for being racist, but not this year. This year, our Oscars have been infiltrated by people who are different from us."

Black people saved NASA's *Arrival*; white people saved the jazz classic *La La Land*; Asians saved Mars with *The Martian*.

As soon as the host said this, the director immediately switched the camera to Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong, indicating that they were about to be discussed.

Liu Tianxian knew the camera was on her, so she acted normally, but she was actually quite excited inside.

She is being watched by hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.

"The Martian is a special movie. The lead actress is a Chinese girl who acted in the entire film all by herself." The host paused at this point.

The audience looked blank, as if they didn't know anything.

"You haven't seen this movie, right? It's okay if you haven't. It's a good movie, otherwise it wouldn't have been nominated. And the lead actress is an angelic figure. I'm not talking about angels, but that's what Chinese audiences call her."

The host's jokes drew laughter from the celebrities present, some of whom could see Liu Yifei's face on the big screen.

Some people turned to look at Liu Tianxian, wanting to see what she looked like; of course, some of them had seen Liu Tianxian before.

Liu Yifei has a full forehead and rosy, fair skin, which is quite in line with Western aesthetic standards.

Her rosy cheeks were a sign that Liu Tianxian was blushing; being stared at by so many people must have made her feel embarrassed.

Fang Hong, standing next to him, was much more relaxed, though he simply couldn't understand what the babbling was all about.

"And the director of this play is a guy called Principal. I don't know why everyone calls him that. Maybe he likes to preach. There's a long history, and there are always a few people who like to talk about history and then teach other countries how to govern." The host joked about Fang Hong and mentioned politics in passing.

They can make fun of even the president at will, and they can talk about political topics off the top of their heads.

The applause and laughter continued throughout the event.

Fang Hong, however, seemed unresponsive, looking completely bewildered.

"I'm talking to you." Yu patted him on the shoulder.

"What did they say about me?" Fang Hong asked, puzzled.

"You say you like talking about history only because our country has a long history," Yu Xian said.

"Oh," Fang Hong replied indifferently.

Liu Tianxian didn't speak, but she listened attentively.

After the host finished teasing the two, he delivered a high-sounding introduction, talking about enjoying the Oscars, and then reviewed the glorious history of the Oscars before the awards ceremony officially began. The audience below also became more serious, no longer laughing as much as before; the earlier teasing was just a formality of going over the important film nominees.

The Martian received six nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Actress.

Apart from Best Actress, the other awards were all minor.

However, these six items are not many; many movies have twelve or thirteen items, such as "La La Land".

The first award presented was for the Best Supporting Actor nominations. The presenter was last year's Best Actress winner. She said a few words on stage before announcing the winner, who was a supporting actor in the film "Lion".

The awards presented afterward were for Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, and Best Hair Design.

The award presenter strode onto the stage with an air of indifference.

The entire Oscars ceremony lasts three hours, with song and dance numbers in between, and the host occasionally coming on stage to say a few words, so there can be a wait before the important awards are presented.

Fang Hong couldn't understand what they were saying, so he seemed rather bored.

After the documentary was presented, the US also adopted a sentimental, patriotic approach, bringing up a NASA employee who was nearly ninety years old and in a wheelchair.

Some people at the scene were moved to tears and stood up again, forcing Fang Hong and his group to stand up once more.

At that moment, he felt that the Oscars were nothing special, much like the ones in China, all about formalism, just with more fancy tricks.

Next, smaller awards such as Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Effects were presented, which were won by other films.

"The Martian" was also nominated, but did not win any awards.

After the awards ceremony, a video of Hendrik Willem Van Loon receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Council Awards was played on the Oscar screen, along with a presentation of his previous achievements.

He stood up and applauded again to pay tribute to the three lifetime achievement award recipients. At this moment, Hendrik Willem Van Loon smiled and looked very proud.

The Best Supporting Actress award went to "Fences," for a Black woman.

To Fang Hong's dismay, the entire audience stood up again and again, leaving him speechless: "Black people have to be paid tribute to? This is too politically correct."

"Oh, just bear with it," Liu Tianxian said.

“You won this time, so we won’t come again next time. All you do is greet these foreigners. Our domestic award ceremonies are so much better; we just quietly walk through the whole process,” Fang Hong said.

"I don't know if I'll be able to get it yet," Liu Tianxian said.

After the song and dance numbers, the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography went to "La La Land," leaving "The Martian" empty-handed once again.

The awards were all minor ones, with Hollywood stars and celebrities taking the stage one after another to present awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Animated Short Film. There were too many to list.

It took more than two hours just to finish awarding these young players.

"The Martian" has not won any awards so far, not even minor ones, including Best Adapted Screenplay. It also failed to win any of its other five nominations, and can only pin its hopes on Best Actress.

As the awards ceremony progressed, Liu Tianxian became increasingly tense.

After nearly two and a half hours of presentations, the Best Director award was finally given out, which went to "La La Land".

This film has already won four awards.

Next came the Best Actor award. After reviewing the process of previous Best Actor winners, the Best Actor award was presented.

This award was won by Manchester by the Sea!
Next, only the last two awards remain: Best Actress and Best Picture.

First up was the Best Actress award. As usual, after a review of the previous Best Actress winners, Leonardo DiCaprio, the previous year's Best Actor, presented the award.

After he said a few words on stage, several nominees appeared one by one on the big screen, the first being Isabelle Huppert in "Elle";

The second film is "Love" starring Nega; the third film is "La La Land" starring Emma Stone; and the fourth film is "Florence Fever" starring Meryl Streep.

Each film features memorable scenes with the female lead, and the fifth film is "The Martian" starring Liu.

The clip shows Liu Tianxian wearing a spacesuit, sitting on a rock, gazing at the starry sky alone on the desolate Mars.

That sense of loneliness and the desire to survive is very infectious.

Each time the name of a movie is revealed and a clip of one person appears, the camera simultaneously shows a shot of the movie's female lead.

They all looked serious and nervous, especially Liu Tianxian, whose palms were sweaty and she was extremely nervous, her heart pounding.

Fang Hong also perked up and reached out to hold her hand tightly.

This made Liu Tianxian feel as if she had gained power!
"The winner of the Oscar for Best Actress is..." Leonardo DiCaprio paused, then took a card out of the envelope.

This meal made the other female lead competitors even more nervous and serious, while Aunt Meryl Streep was quite relaxed.

Liu Tianxian was trembling, her heart was about to jump out of her chest, and she simply couldn't control herself.

Even with a man giving her strength, she couldn't control herself.

"Liu from 'The Martian'!"

(End of this chapter)