Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 602 36 Stratagems: Expansion

In the afternoon, just after lunch break, Director Li entered his boss's office.

Without further ado, Director Li got straight to the point.

"You mean Xiao Chen? Well, the China Railway Corporation talked to me about this beforehand, so it was considered a notification."

"Oh, I see." Director Li breathed a sigh of relief. "You probably already know that the NED people are looking for him, right?"

“Wait a minute,” Cai said hurriedly, “How did this get involved with NED? I haven’t heard of this.”

“This morning on the phone, Xiao Chen said it himself. Not long ago, some consultant from NED contacted him and said he wanted to invite him to a gathering of Chinese people in the United States. It was an attempt to win him over.”

"What did Xiao Chen say?"

"They said they didn't refuse on the spot, but they'll find an excuse to cancel before the meeting next week."

At this point, Director Li hesitated for a moment.

Upon hearing this news, he lost his appetite at lunch.

Is Chen Linfeng trying to fool him?

"Oh, it's because the Oscars are still in the voting period."

Cai Bu didn't think too much about it. As a high-ranking member of the organization, he wouldn't just focus on the short term when dealing with such matters.

Listen to their words and observe their actions; in time, you'll always know the outcome.

Moreover, they would be more tolerant of people like Chen Linfeng and would generally not doubt them.

Seeing that his subordinates still seemed hesitant, he reassured them, "Don't rush, let's wait and see what happens. For now, just pretend you don't know anything."

How could I not be anxious?

Director Li thought to himself, "This is my precious darling. If anything happens to him, I will regret it immensely."

Having achieved his goal of the inquiry, Director Li prepared to leave.

At this moment, Cai Bu's interest in conversation was piqued.

"Actually, when I talked to the China Railway Corporation about this, we had in-depth discussions—"

Director Li was about to get off the chair when he sat back down.

"In the end, the reason I didn't tell you in advance was because Comrade Ren Xiao was a little upset."

"No, Director Cai, I always value my relationship with Xiao Chen."

After thinking for a moment, Director Li added, "Of course, it's also possible that we haven't done our job properly in some areas."

"It's not enough for you to pay attention; what about your subordinates? What about the people in other departments?"

"Besides, you have a lot of things to do all the time, can you keep an eye on everything?"

“Like this incident, if our comrades abroad hadn’t noticed the signs of trouble first, you might not have known even a month later.”

"Why are our comrades abroad able to pay attention so quickly? Is it because they are abroad and can better appreciate the importance of Xiao Chen?"

"But you're based in China, and Xiao Chen is generally easy to talk to and has a strong political stance. Perhaps this makes you less attentive?"

"This..." Director Li was speechless for a moment.

His boss's series of questions left him somewhat speechless.

Cai's tone became earnest, "Why did you specifically point out that NED's people were contacting him? Isn't this a reminder that if you don't take it seriously, plenty of others will?"

Director Li recalled the previous conversation and thought that perhaps that was indeed the intention.

Xiao Chen is usually the kind of person who says whatever comes to mind, and he's used to it. So when he suddenly made this unexpected remark, he didn't notice it at first.

He was too focused on the fact that he was in contact with Xiao Chen, and overlooked other implications.

In a sense, isn't this also what the leader meant by not giving it enough importance?

"Of course, it's possible that he didn't mean it that way and that I'm overthinking it, but regardless of whether he did or not, it at least reveals a truth: at Xiao Chen's current stage, as long as he shows even the slightest intention to communicate with the outside world, a large number of people will immediately flock to him."

"Just you wait and see, people from other American departments or organizations will definitely contact us later."

"Xiao Chen is a world-renowned artist. Unlike his colleagues in the organization, we can't force him to do this or that."

When dealing with such exceptional individuals, we must ensure our work is done properly. Since their stance is upright, we need to offer them even more encouragement, whether through moral support or other resources. We mustn't let a good deed turn into a bad one.

"In short," Cai concluded, "we cannot push our comrades who are originally loyal to us to the other side, not even to the point of leaning in the opposite direction."

"Minister Cai, I understand. We will definitely correct our working methods in the future."

"Yes, pay more attention."

Back in his office, Director Li sat in his chair for a while, lost in thought, before picking up the phone.

"Hello, is this Director Zhao from the optoelectronics department?"

--------------

In the following days, Chen Linfeng worked like a machine, operating at high speed according to a schedule, constantly shuttling between various parties, private clubs, and film set meeting rooms.

In just one week, he arranged formal meetings with Hollywood directors such as Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson, and James Cameron.

They are all top figures on Hollywood's power list, so they have quite a few things in common.

Nolan and Quentin focused on script discussions, while Peter Jackson and Cameron mainly talked about special effects and cinematography.

Chen Linfeng's abilities have improved significantly over the years, far surpassing the level he once achieved by simply "referencing and learning from others."

He can also have meaningful and engaging discussions with these top directors.

The final result was not bad. Nolan and Quentin readily agreed to vote for him in the Best Director award and were even willing to help contact friends.

Regarding Best Picture, he only secured his own vote.

Peter Jackson and Cameron were more cryptic, with the old man not giving a clear answer.

However, judging from the situation, it should be roughly the same.

Chen Linfeng was quite understanding of this result.

To be honest, he didn't have many competitors for the Best Director award, only the director of "12 Years a Slave".

Other films, such as "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Beautiful Country," while of good quality, are not particularly advantageous in terms of subject matter.

At the very least, it lacks political correctness, which is a significant disadvantage.

As for "12 Years a Slave," well, the director's experience is really not enough, and the film itself is not top-tier in terms of cinematic language.

Winning Best Picture based on political correctness is certainly possible, but winning Best Director is a bit more difficult.

The fact that the Best Director award in the previous life went to a science fiction film like "Gravity" speaks volumes.

You should know that the Oscars dislike science fiction the most.

Therefore, Joker becomes the most advantageous option at present.

Anyone can add icing on the cake, which explains why these directors are so easy to talk to. Of course, part of the reason is that these individuals simply don't think much of Steve McQueen, the director of "12 Years a Slave."

Winning awards purely based on political correctness is seen by these veteran directors as a typical crooked path.

In comparison, even Chen, an "outsider," appears quite handsome.

Moreover, given Chen's current global reputation, he is, to some extent, on the same level as these great directors.

In their view, they are the same kind of people.

It's worth mentioning that the "politically correct" reputation of "12 Years a Slave" today owes much to the efforts of the "Joker" team behind the scenes.

From the second round of voting onwards, "12 Years a Slave" launched an extremely fierce offensive for the highest award, Best Picture.

They have taken the "political correctness" card to its extreme.

Films depicting the blood and tears of American slavery possess a strong inherent emotional appeal to Oscar voters, especially among African American voters and white voters with strong liberal leanings.

It's not that white judges are more empathetic towards Black people, but rather that they are more empathetic towards the act of participating in a great event.

The PR team behind "12 Years a Slave" understood this point well, or rather, the production team was targeting this point from the very beginning of the project.

The public relations team launched a massive publicity campaign around the film's core messages, such as "revealing historical truth," "healing racial trauma," and "a warning that the times urgently need."

By early February, the media was filled with high praise for the film's social significance.

"12 Years a Slave is more than just a movie; it's a test of the American soul." (The New York Times)
"At a time when race is once again in the spotlight, this film is timely and deserves the highest recognition." (Los Angeles Times)
"Choosing '12 Years a Slave' is choosing to confront the darkest chapter in our history and choosing to move towards reconciliation." (The Washington Post)
……

On the internet, especially on platforms that focus on social issues, a wave of support has swept across the country.

A large number of related posts emerged.

“Not voting for '12 Years a Slave' is to ignore the suffering of history.”

“To reject it is to reject progress toward racial equality.”

Even more radical opinions began to emerge, such as, "The Oscars have a responsibility to correct historical mistakes, and awarding the prize to 12 Years a Slave is the only morally acceptable choice."

This strong moral pressure put immense, invisible pressure on many judges, especially those who were moderate.

Choosing "12 Years a Slave" became a "safe" option, a gesture to show that one was on the right side.

Bolton clearly sensed this shift in public relations during the process.

At that time, the issue of Chen Linfeng's identity and stance was also becoming increasingly prominent, which to some extent even slightly dampened the heat of the two issues.

This is also why Chen Linfeng is wondering whether the mastermind behind the scenes is "12 Years a Slave".

He could even clearly recall the anxious emotion Pete displayed on the phone.

"Chen, the 'race card' in '12 Years a Slave' is being played too aggressively, it's almost like they're holding the judges' conscience hostage."

"Get rid of your conscience." Chen Linfeng couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Their momentum was very effective within some of the judging circles. This is very detrimental to our chances of winning Best Picture."

Indeed, even if we knew in advance that they would play the political correctness card, and even if we had made contingency plans in advance.

But when you actually encounter it, it still feels very tricky.

In the 10s, many American award-winning works were on similar themes. The fact that the judges and academy knew they were targeting this kind of audience but still allowed them to succeed repeatedly shows that there is a pattern to this.

It is very difficult for a person to fight against the general trend.

Chen Linfeng remained silent for a while, then came up with a bold, even somewhat risky, idea.

“Pete, Burton should be here too, right? They’ve set the fire of political correctness off so high. What do you think if we give them a little push from behind and help it burn even brighter?”

"Help them?" Bolton exclaimed on the other end of the phone. "Chen, are you crazy? This will only make them even more powerful!"

“No, Bolton,” Pete, having spent a lot of time with Chen Linfeng, knew a bit about Chinese culture. “Chen, this is the legendary ‘The Art of War,’ isn’t it?”

"What art of war? That's called 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu."

Chen Linfeng corrected him, saying, "There is a Chinese saying, 'Things will turn into their opposites when they reach an extreme.' When a voice is pushed to the extreme and becomes an unquestionable 'must,' it will trigger a backlash."

“Especially for those academic judges who like to tout artistic independence, nothing is a must.”

“After all,” Chen Linfeng said slowly, “freedom is the greatest political correctness in Emily Kent, isn’t it?”

"What we need to do is make this 'must' look more glaring and repulsive, so that the judges feel like they are losing their freedom."

[12 Years a Slave must be the best film, otherwise you are all racists.]

This was a joke made by host Ellen DeGeneres at the opening of the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony in my previous life.

But Chen Linfeng can help it, making it seem less like a joke.

"Any judge who didn't vote for '12 Years a Slave' as Best Picture is a racist at heart and refuses to acknowledge America's original sin!"

"Is this kind of statement provocative enough? Or should we try something else—"

"If the Oscars don't give its highest honor to '12 Years a Slave,' it will be irrefutable proof that the award has completely lost its moral compass and surrendered to conservative forces! It will forever bear this stain!"

“OK, Chen, I get it,” Bolton couldn’t help but slap his forehead. “I think those comments that consider you an outsider are just ridiculous.”

No one understands Hollywood and the Oscars better than this strategy.

The key to this plan lies in striking the right balance: ensuring that extreme rhetoric has sufficient reach and impact to provoke widespread discussion and resentment.

And they can't leave any evidence that can be traced back to the Joker team.

All operations must pass through multiple firewalls to ensure cleanliness.

But as long as you have money, everything is negotiable.

The $1000 million Chen Linfeng gave him was far too much, just to clear his name.

Most of it was actually used to promote "12 Years a Slave".

Today, the first stage of public opinion, namely, the reverse push, the creation of extreme rhetoric, and its unlimited expansion, has been completed.

Not only in major media outlets, but also on the internet, there is a large amount of related discussion that is constantly fermenting.

The PR team for "12 Years a Slave" was not unaware of this and attempted to suppress related sentiments.

But they did too much preliminary work.

So much so that now, even the most ardent believers on the internet are turning around and attacking those who try to suppress the comments.

The trend is established.

We have now entered the second stage, which is to guide traditional media to pay attention to this "kidnapping" phenomenon.

Let more people discover this offensive behavior.

This has led to "anti-political correctness" or "freedom" becoming the current "political correctness."

(End of this chapter)