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

Chapter 610 Something really big might happen!
The awards for Best Makeup and Best Costume Design are given out together.

Samuel L. Jackson and Naomi Watts were the presenters. After the former finished reading the winner of Best Costume Design, the latter began to introduce the films nominated for Best Makeup and Hair Design.

The nominated films began playing on the big screen.

Such eye-catching designs tend to become increasingly rare as times change.

This year's Best Makeup category didn't even have the usual five nominations; only four films made the cut: Dallas Buyers Club, Jake Gorilla 4: Bad Grandfather, The Lone Ranger, and Joker.

Clearly, the idea of ​​using blood for makeup in "Joker" left a very deep impression. The scene shown on the big screen is Arthur applying blood to his face in front of the mirror after killing his colleague.

The cheers from the audience were noticeably different from before; it was clear that most people had seen it before.

Without hesitation, Naomi Watts read out the winning entry, which was "Joker".

"See, what did I tell you? It's all just technical adjustments, and here it is."

This year is different from the time with "Sunset". Back then, we didn't have enough resources or enough reputation, so we could only focus on public relations.

If you won too many technical awards at the beginning, you might not be able to win any major awards later on.

Now, Joker is taking a more consolidating approach, and the awards it received are also very important.

If we look at past examples, it might be similar to Spielberg's "Schindler's List," or Kaspersky's "The Big Ship," or Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings."

Looking at its box office performance, it is more similar to the latter two, all relying on box office success and social influence to reach the top.

However, in terms of the number of awards, Joker is definitely not as good as the two monsters that won 11 Oscars. After all, Joker had 11 nominations and lost two. It would be quite good if it could sit at the same table as Schindler's List (7 awards).

There was originally a "12 Years a Slave" movie, but its upward momentum has been interrupted, so the only remaining big fish is "Joker".

"Dallas Buyers Club" is also good, but it lacks sufficient momentum and is unlikely to be heavily promoted.

Another possible unforeseen event is that the academy might be unwilling to promote such a work in this era.

Therefore, we need to look at these technical awards to see the academy's attitude.

"Okay, Joker has won its first technical award."

"Well done."

"Nice."

"..."

At this moment, cheers and celebrations erupted in Yan Ying's auditorium.

Knowing that everyone is concerned about this year's Oscar results, and that students and teachers are probably not in the mood for class, they simply started a live broadcast in the auditorium.

As soon as Naomi Watts read out the title of "Joker," they started cheering, even before the translation was finished.

The English word for clown is quite simple; everyone can recognize it.

Commentary from the CCTV studio came from the huge speakers on both sides of the projection screen.

"This is the first award 'Joker' has won, and although it's a technical award, it's still something to celebrate..."

"...Okay, according to the procedure, the next step should be the awarding of the Best Foreign Language Film Award. Director Feng's 'Back to 1942' is also among the nominees. Let's wait and see if it can win."

On set, Feng Xiaogang was visibly nervous. Even when the camera panned to him, he could only manage a stiff smile.

"The winner of the Best Foreign Language Film award is 'The Great Beauty'!"

Call ~
Feng Xiaogang smiled bitterly. Although he hadn't had high hopes beforehand, he still secretly hoped that a small miracle might happen.

Now my daydreams have been completely shattered.

He could only join the crowd in applauding and congratulating the victors.

While clapping, Leonardo whispered to Chen Linfeng, "I thought 'The Hunt' would win; its reviews were much higher before."

Chen Linfeng gave him a strange look.

He had heard of the film "The Hunt" in his previous life.

However, I first saw it in an online novel, where the plot involved the protagonist inviting Leonardo DiCaprio to participate in a film, and even winning an Oscar for Best Actor for that film.

"The Hunt is indeed good, but it's an Oscar, you know."

As Chen Linfeng spoke, he looked around to make sure the camera wasn't pointed at him.

Okay, I get it.

Following the foreign language film segment, Tyler Perry, as a guest, took the stage to introduce the films nominated for Best Picture this year.

This is the second time that films have been introduced. There are nine films nominated for Best Film, and three films will be introduced in each of the three stages of the ceremony.

This time, Taylor Perry's films include "Nebraska," "Her," and "12 Years a Slave."

Joker has not yet been mentioned, it seems to have been put in the last wave.

"Chen, this is a good omen." Leonardo was overjoyed.

Chen Linfeng nodded slightly.

The order in which the Oscar Best Picture winners are introduced follows a certain pattern, with the most important ones often being presented later.

While it's not entirely certain, and some films mentioned earlier have ultimately won Best Picture, the number is still relatively small.

In the 2010 competition that "Sunset" participated in, "The Hurt Locker" was the second to last winner, and "Avatar" came in last, which gives us a glimpse into the situation.

It's not a particularly accurate pattern, but it's certainly a good omen.

What followed was another boring performance, followed by an introduction of the Oscar winners for scientific and technological achievements that Chen Linfeng had specifically attended.

Next up are the best sound effects and the best sound editing, which will also be released together.

These two technical awards have nothing to do with "Joker"; these kinds of awards are mostly won by science fiction or fantasy films.

Now that Gravity is gone, the outcome is hardly a surprise.

As expected, they were all defeated by "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".

The Best Supporting Actress award went to Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave, a Black actress.

Joker had few female characters and no particularly compelling plot points, so it didn't even get a nomination.

Chen Linfeng glanced at her; Jennifer Lawrence's expression wasn't very good, and she seemed to be forcing a smile.

She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "American Hustle," and her performance was actually quite good.

However, it took her 12 years to win the Oscar for Best Actress, so it's really not easy to make a breakthrough again now.

After the Best Supporting Actress award, the atmosphere at the event began to change, as the remaining awards were all of a more significant nature.

Even technical awards, such as Best Editing and Best Screenplay, are actually related to the final Best Picture award, so they are also very important.

Allen also keenly noticed this.

"I noticed that everyone's expressions have become serious. What's going on?"

"Hey Chen, smile more, or I'll suspect you're contemplating a murder case." The audience burst into laughter.

Chen Linfeng smiled helplessly; this was a reference to Charlotte Holmes.

Although you're eager to know who will win the awards, the organizers tell you not to rush.

Cheryl Isaacs, who had just taken office as president of the Academy last year, began by introducing the Academy's film museum.

"Oh, shit!"

Countless American viewers in front of their televisions couldn't help but curse under their breath.

The person in charge of monitoring the backend data at ABC couldn't help but want to curse, as this year's Oscars viewership has broken records, just surpassing 4000 million viewers.

At this crucial stage, viewership should have seen a significant increase, but the data fluctuated wildly and ultimately didn't rise much.

Although it was just a temporary channel change for the audience, and they would probably switch back later, he still couldn't help but want to curse the organizers' families. Could this kind of segment be moved forward or cut altogether?

The boring part is over.

"Cinematographers are the technical heroes of filmmaking; their bold creativity allows us to experience the film's story as if we were there."

"Visionary, magical, and creative electricians, they piece together fragments and connect images, making everything different."

"The nominees for Best Cinematography are..."

The crucial moment has finally arrived.

Besides Joker, the films nominated for Best Cinematography this year include Prisoners, Nebraska, Inside Llewyn Davis, and The Grandmaster.

That's right, it's a movie directed by Wong Kar-wai.

Although he didn't participate in any Oscar awards, his films were indeed nominated.

Moreover, Wong Kar-wai's cinematography and visuals have always been distinctive and highly sought after by filmmakers in Europe and America. Therefore, "The Grandmaster" is a major competitor of "Joker" in this award.

However, Chen Linfeng and Cao Yu have been partners for many years and are certainly not to be underestimated.

Finally, Amy Adams slowly announced, "The winner of the Best Cinematography award is Cao Yu for 'Joker'."

"Oh hoo!"

Chen Linfeng could clearly hear the sounds coming from Chen Xinzhi and the others in the back row.

In the footage, Cao Yu strode forward, and when she reached the first row, she even gave Chen Linfeng a hug.

"Congratulations, the first Oscar photographer from mainland China."

"It's all thanks to the director!"

Cao Yu had completely lost control of his emotions at this point.

First in history!
Even if you include all Chinese people, he is still in the top three (the other one is an American of Chinese descent and the other is a Hong Konger).

Of course, they still know who they should thank the most.

If the director hadn't put in a lot of effort behind the scenes to build momentum, how could he have won the award so easily?

Cao Yu is a typical Chinese person, relatively reserved. He didn't say much in his acceptance speech, just the usual thanks, and he gave a special mention to Chen Linfeng.

The camera work was also clever; it would cut to Chen Linfeng's side every now and then.

After the photography comes the editing.

Chen Linfeng did want his films to win awards one after another, but it seems he still doesn't have the same momentum as "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which won 11 awards out of 11 nominations.

The Best Editing award went to "Dallas Buyers Club".

Is it possible that Chen Xinzhi had already won Best Editing before, and the Academy was intentionally controlling the situation?
But he had to consider another possibility.

Could it be that the Academy is pitting "Dallas Buyers Club" against "Joker"?
Seeing that "12 Years a Slave" wasn't doing so well, should they train another one?
Chen Linfeng frowned slightly, lost in thought.

However, such things are destined to remain unanswered. While he was pondering this, a segment paying tribute to veteran actors took place on stage.

Next up was the Best Production Design award, which included nominations for "Joker".

This time, its competitors are The Great Gatsby, Beautiful Scam, 12 Years a Slave, and Dallas Buyers Club.

This award was won by "The Great Gatsby" in its previous life. Now that the competition has changed, perhaps things will change?
The award presenter, Benedict, opened the envelope and handed it to Jennifer Garner, who was sitting next to him.

"Best Art Direction, Thomas Hoving, Yong Cheng, Joker".

Chen Linfeng laughed and stood up to applaud, "Things are getting better and better!"

The process of selecting an art director for the Joker film crew was quite complicated. Warner Bros. and his side each sent one person, and they coordinated to get it done.

This is different from the situation with "Sunset" back then.

Zhang Yimou is extremely accomplished in this area, and he had to admit his superiority, even harboring the intention of learning from him at the time.

So that year, the award was won by Lao Zhang and his team, including Huo Tingxiao.

Now, Chen Linfeng is almost on par with Warner in this area, so he naturally has the confidence to compete with Warner.

While pondering the behind-the-scenes aspects of winning the award, Chen Linfeng also roughly understood the organizer's intentions.

Even though they felt that "Joker" was unstoppable, they still had to pretend to be enthusiastic. At least in the year that "Sunset" won an award, those who had won awards tried their best not to give any more.

Sunset won Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actress, and Best Director.

Art direction, foreign language film, and leading actress are all easy to discuss, since the people have changed. As for the Best Editing award, Chen Xinzhi is no longer eligible.

But surely his best director career won't follow the same pattern?

Chen Linfeng was immediately startled.

Considering that the camera was constantly hovering over his head, he tried his best to control his expression and stop thinking about it. Anyway, the results would be out soon.

The stage was filled with tributes and remembrances, followed by the third and final segment introducing this year's best film.

The Joker had a huge impact; when it appeared on the big screen, the audience and guests, including those on the second floor, cheered.

The cheers reached their peak when Jessica Biel announced that Joker had also won Best Original Score.

The filmmakers present were not fools; at that moment, they all keenly sensed a possibility.

"Director Zhang, this is already the fourth Oscar for 'Joker.' With such a high success rate, is there some kind of explanation behind it?"

Zhang Yimou's expression had become serious, and Chen Kaige, who was standing next to him, also seemed a little incredulous.

"Well... I'm not sure what to say. I don't dare to make a direct judgment, but this at least represents a certain inclination of the organizers."

"The key is still the best adapted screenplay," Chen Kaige said firmly. "The winner of this award is very important."

Zhang Yimou nodded solemnly, "Indeed, if 'Joker' also wins this award, something extraordinary might happen at this year's Oscars!"

(End of this chapter)