Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 755 Above Immortals: Immortal Above Immortals

Although the Oscars have ended, the news of Liu Yifei winning the Best Actress Oscar has spread like wildfire around the world.

Many people who didn't know Liu Tianxian or had a vague impression of her now have a deeper impression of her.

The New York Times devoted a full page to the story and featured it on its website for three days, reporting on Liu Tianxian with the core theme: "Treating acting as a lifelong faith!"

The BBC documented Liu Tianxian's acting career, describing her as having "a youthful spirit beyond her years."

Variety: "The Crowning of Asia's Most Beautiful Faces!"

Liu Tianxian's award led to a 200% year-on-year increase in sales of her special edition, demonstrating her commercial value in a very direct way!
The Guardian commented: "Her face carries the narrative weight of the character spanning 20 years!"

NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, released a comparison program, which included Liu Yifei, and called it: "The Intergenerational Transmission of Asian Cinema!"
The viewership ratings increased by 23.1% that day!

Even the Associated Press counted that mainstream media in 127 countries around the world used the same photo on their first day of reporting, namely the photo of Liu Yifei holding up the little golden statue.

A tribute video was recorded for her by 27 Hollywood stars, including Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, Lupita Nyong'o, Star-Lord, and Hendrik Willem Van Loon.

Nicole Kidman said, "She possesses a rare quiet strength, and at the Oscars, she showed women around the world the perfect fusion of grace and courage."

It can be said that Liu Yifei was a phenomenal international superstar at that time, with many mainstream media outlets around the world dedicating full pages to her coverage and numerous celebrities paying tribute to her.

Numerous overseas video platforms and portal websites are featuring Liu Tianxian's news and information prominently, reaching billions of netizens worldwide.
It's clear that the Oscars have a huge influence, creating a global cultural phenomenon that transcends cultural boundaries.

Of course, this cost money; without spending money, there wouldn't be that kind of buzz. The Oscars were just an opportunity; they definitely had to invite celebrities to boost their status, buy media coverage to create hype, and promote Liu Yifei as an international superstar.

If you don't pay anyone, they'll at most give you a written report, and that's it. Of course, there are many cases where people didn't pay anyone, but Liu Tianxian's influence is so great that she deserves to be praised by mainstream media around the world.

Her commercial value has also risen accordingly. She used to sign a two-year contract, but now she signs a one-year contract, and the price is still the same, only the term has changed, which is equivalent to doubling the price.

The city of Abu Dhabi invited Liu Tianxian to be its brand ambassador.

Of course, her achievements are not as great as Hendrik Willem Van Loon's. Van Loon had his own cultural phenomenon, namely kung fu moves, which many people imitated. Liu Tianxian, on the other hand, did not have her own phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Liu Yifei continues to trend on social media, with new and explosive terms emerging.

#Liu Tianxian said China made me who I am#
#Leonardo DiCaprio presents award to Liu Yifei#
These terms once again dominated the trending search lists, making the lists almost entirely filled with Liu Yifei's name.

Each entry has hundreds of millions or even billions of views, with total views exceeding 25 billion. The current data is not as inflated as it was later.

Furthermore, there were virtually no entries with the word "explosive" this year. Liu Yifei alone had 8 entries, while there were only 27 entries with the word "explosive" last year. Last year, there were only so many entries because Hendrik Willem Van Loon received the Academy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

Many celebrities in the entertainment industry also sent their congratulations. Huang Xiaoming posted on Weibo: "You have shown the world the perseverance and passion of Chinese filmmakers!"

Li Bailian posted on Weibo: "Oscar for Best Actress! The pride of the Chinese people! Well deserved!"

Andy Lau: "This award belongs to everyone who has worked hard for Chinese-language films."

Zhang Ziyi: "A true legend!"

Xu Guangtou: "This award illuminates the path for all Chinese filmmakers."

Deng Chao: "A tribute to those who write film history with their hard work!"

Shen Teng: "The ultimate dream of filmmakers!"

Jing Tian: "A historic moment for Chinese actors! I am honored to be a part of it today."

Almost everyone in the entertainment industry with a name posted a congratulatory message on Weibo, and even those who didn't post were compelled to do so.

After all, netizens have sharp eyes. If you don't post, they'll keep an eye on you and say things like, "You didn't post, do you have a grudge against Liu Yifei?"

Netizens were also very excited, and fans felt very proud.

"Hahaha, only I, the immortal, could win an Oscar!"

"Faye is amazing! You've surpassed Gong Li and Mandy Lieu! You deserve the title: Immortal Above Immortals!"

"Yes! You can no longer be called 'celestial'; no one in the entertainment industry can compare to you!"

"After so many years, I've finally broken through to a higher realm! Hooray!"

Netizens are also good at creating memes, directly pushing #ImmortalOnImmortal# to the top of the trending topics list. Videos of "ImmortalOnImmortal" are everywhere on Douyin, like a virus.

It's not that netizens created this meme; rather, there's an invisible hand manipulating things to push Liu Yifei to an even higher position.

Even mainstream media outlets are creating hashtags, with Chinese-language media and People's Daily launching hashtags such as #FirstChineseOscarBestActress# and #FairyOnline#.

Local media outlets followed suit, generating regional topics. Hubei Daily: #The Glory of Hubei Women#.

CCTV News' Weibo account posted a video of the award ceremony, which has been viewed over 5820 million times.

This directly helped Liu Yifei reach the top by holding up the golden statuette!

State media not only created terms and phrases online, but also followed suit, and print media also reported on it.

The Chinese community's headline read: "Liu Tianxian wins Oscar for Best Actress: The Global Impact of Chinese Cinema." The People's Daily headline read: "First Chinese to win Oscar for Best Actress, Liu Tianxian Writes a New Chapter in Chinese Cinema History."

The Guangming Daily article was titled: "A Legend is Born: Liu Tianxian's Oscar Journey Reflects the Globalization of Chinese Cinema."

That evening, CCTV's evening news program broadcast a 45-second segment featuring the award ceremony, a rare occurrence.

Of course, Liu Yifei's Oscar win has an impact beyond media and entertainment industry attention, as well as the spread and meme creation by netizens.

Meng Xianglin, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, stated at the National Film Work Conference: "Liu Tianxian's Oscar is not the end, but a new starting point for the industrialization and internationalization of Chinese cinema. The next step is to cultivate ten 'Liu Tianxians'!"

At the same time, the Film Bureau sent a congratulatory telegram to Liu Tianxian's studio in the form of an official document at the bureau-level, which began with:
"This is the first time a Chinese filmmaker has received an Oscar, and it is the highest recognition of the cultural value of Chinese films by the mainstream international film industry."

The full text of the congratulatory telegram was signed by Zhang Hongsen, director of the Film Bureau, and released to the public through Xinhua News Agency.

The Film Bureau instructed its subordinate unit, the China Film Archive, to urgently produce a special feature film, "The Oscars," to be completed within three days and distributed to cinemas nationwide for screening.

The Philippines mandated that all domestically produced films screened between March and April 2017 include a Philippine-style animated Easter egg celebrating Liu Yifei's Oscar win for Best Actress, for a full month.

A series of policies were introduced, including a special fund of 2.6 million yuan to subsidize co-productions, requiring projects to include "Chinese elements expressed internationally".

Action directors and special effects teams were selected to study in Hollywood, and the first class was named the "Yifei Class".

In the future, co-productions in which Liu Tianxian participates will enjoy the privilege of script exemption from review, simultaneous review during filming, and approval of the completed film within 7 days.

Hendrik Willem Van Loon should also have this privilege, otherwise "Railroad Tigers" would not have been released, which was when he received the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Furthermore, the Film Bureau has permanently collected Liu Tianxian's Oscar trophy, award ceremony dress, and other artifacts in the China Film Museum, where they will be displayed in a separate area.

The compilation of "The Complete Film Collection of Liu Tianxian" was designated as a "National Key Film Archive" and was funded and published by the Film Bureau.

Starting this year, the Film Bureau has established a "Chinese Film Promotion Center" in Los Angeles, the host city of the Oscars, with an annual budget of 2000 million yuan. Its primary task is to recommend Chinese filmmakers to compete for the Oscars.

The money was definitely wasted; it had no effect whatsoever, and the attempt to persuade Wu Jing later failed.

Based on Liu Tianxian's award, they demanded that the Cannes Film Festival add an "Asian Action Films" section in 2017, with China granted permanent curatorial rights.

They promoted Liu Tianxian to serve as the honorary lifetime chairperson of the Shanghai International Film Festival, strengthening her role as its "spokesperson."

The 2017 China Film White Paper listed this event as a "milestone in cultural confidence" and characterized it as "the biggest breakthrough in cultural output since the reform and opening up."

It can be said that the influence of winning an Oscar is unmatched by the three major European awards. Besides its rarity, the Oscar has an influence that transcends global culture.

The three major European film festivals are only for art films, and their audience is ultimately limited. How many ordinary people are interested in art films? They also come with that old-fashioned, didactic tone, telling you what to do.

The Oscars, on the other hand, are commercial in nature, with a wider reach and broader acceptance.

This is why the Oscars have always been considered one of the world's most prestigious film awards and the world's largest awards ceremony, although political factors also play a role.

Liu Yifei's actions have been nothing short of legendary, with overseas media bombarding her with reports and mainstream domestic media outlets like CCTV and the Film Bureau labeling her story as the largest cultural export to the world!

There's no other reason than that Liu Yifei is very savvy and has a firm stance, so the authorities are willing to promote her.

Apart from Hendrik Willem Van Loon, no other star can match her status, simply because she can remain active in the film industry for at least another two or three decades and is still making and releasing movies.

Hendrik Willem Van Loon is getting old, and his health is declining year by year. If he can't fight, his movies won't get many viewers. As for the other stars, they either lack ability or have been misled by outsiders.

With the principal backing Liu Tianxian, she is currently the only one with the ability.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian had a meal with Fang Long and Yu Xian to celebrate. After staying for two or three days to handle the funeral arrangements, they flew back to China.

The propaganda for "The Martian" can be done with a barrage of publicity; isn't that what's happening all over the world right now?

In addition, Fang Hong calculated for Universal Music the amount spent on the Oscars, which was about 1 million US dollars, almost depleting Liu Tianxian's savings.

This definitely can't be paid for through the company's accounts; they have to pay for it themselves.

"The Oscars are really too expensive. If I do it twice, I'll be broke. If I don't win, it'll all be for nothing." Liu Tianxian felt very distressed as she saw her savings dwindling.

"The money was mainly spent on publicity and promotion. You can't just be happy when you win an Oscar; you have to let the whole world know! As long as you win the award, the money is well spent."

"Look at you, you've become an immortal now." Fang Hong said, looking at her.

"Tell me honestly, did you have someone hype this up?" Liu Tianxian pressed her delicate white fingers against his nose.

“Sometimes being too smart isn’t good; it can make you unhappy,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

Liu Tianxian couldn't help but laugh, "You're too naive."

"I'm doing this to fulfill what I said back then," Fang Hong said.

The two had once discussed what the realm above immortality was. Now they had the answer: Immortal Above Immortals!

(End of this chapter)