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

Chapter 611 Ascending to the Highest Hall (5K)

"What does Director Zhang mean?" Xiao Sa couldn't help but want to confirm further.

"This means that 'Joker' may be the biggest winner."

Chen Kaige couldn't help but interject, "Think about the past Oscars, those classic films that won many awards all had this kind of momentum."

As a renowned director and a member of a privileged family, Chen Kaige has always been outspoken.

"Joker is already showing that potential."

"Is it possible that we win a lot of technical awards in the beginning, but end up winning very few key awards later on?" Xiao Sa didn't want the audience to have too high expectations in advance, so he lowered his expectations a bit.

“The kind you’re talking about also exists,” Chen Kaige nodded. “So the key now is to look at the adapted screenplay. Among the nominated films for this award are ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’ Both of these competitors are very good films.”

If I could win an Oscar for adapted screenplay, the situation would be much clearer.

Zhang Yimou helped explain, "Awards like Best Screenplay or Best Editing are often there to highlight the big awards that follow. After all, winning a big award means that it has achieved excellence in many aspects. It's impossible to just give away a big award without any substance."

"That's right. Just like last year's Best Picture winner, Argo, which also won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing, the Oscars have a pretty clear pattern."

"But Joker didn't win Best Editing before," Xiao Sa said with a troubled expression, "Could it be...?"

"This may be related to the fact that Chen Xinzhi had already won an award when he filmed 'Sunset'."

Zhang Yimou, who experienced it firsthand, remembers it clearly: "The Oscars generally don't give the same person two awards in quick succession."

"According to this logic, wouldn't Director Chen's Best Director nomination also be in danger?"

"It's hard to say." Zhang Yimou shook his head and didn't continue.

He did feel that the chances were not very high, but considering his good relationship with Xiao Chen, he should still show more confidence.

Chen Kaige, on the other hand, is genuinely confident: "It's really hard to say. Sometimes, a particularly outstanding work, especially with the current momentum of 'Joker,' could very well break through these unspoken rules in key awards..."

While the discussions were in full swing in the CCTV backstage studio, the awards ceremony was officially entering its most crucial stage in the lobby of the Dolby Theatre.

Penelope Cruz and Robert De Niro took to the stage together to present the awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.

First and foremost, it's the best adapted screenplay.

In fact, it's hard to say whether the script for the movie "Joker" is original or an adaptation. After all, the Joker's character background and ultimate personality are roughly clear, but the story and background of the characters in the movie are completely new.

However, considering that the Joker is a household name as a supervillain, classifying him as an original character is indeed not quite appropriate.

As Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige discussed in China, this year's award for adapted screenplay seems to have determined a lot, and many filmmakers present also saw the clues.

Therefore, when the nominated works were presented, everyone gave them a lot of face and applauded and cheered enthusiastically.

Penelope Cruz calmly opened the envelope and read, "The Oscar winner is Chen Linfeng's 'Joker'."

It's still pronounced in a clumsy pinyin, but Hollywood filmmakers have gotten used to his name, even taking into account the custom of having his Chinese surname before his given name.

Although his speech was strange, it sounded like celestial music to his ears.

"Ahhh-"

Liu Qianqian stood up excitedly, "Xiaofeng, this is your award."

Haha, nice.

Chen Linfeng couldn't help but laugh out loud; he rarely showed his emotions like this.

He got up and carefully hugged Sissi, then turned around and gave Leonardo a bear hug.

"Chen, congratulations."

"Happy together."

"Congratulations, Chen." "Congratulations."

Some of the filmmakers sitting in the front row couldn't resist taking a few extra steps to join in the celebration.

In their view, tonight will most likely become a showcase for the legendary director Chen Jinsheng.

In the future, the scene of him winning the award may become a classic moment, so it will be hard for anyone to resist taking a chance to join in.

In other words, the screenplay adaptation award was a small prize, and some filmmakers were seated a bit far away; otherwise, far more people would have come up to celebrate.

Thank you, everyone.

Chen Linfeng gave them a polite hug, then turned and went up on stage.

Taking the trophy from Robert De Niro's hand, I weighed it in my hand; it still had the same weight I remembered.

After walking up to the stage, his emotions had calmed down, and his expression became peaceful.

After all, the Best Adapted Screenplay award itself isn't that important; given his current status in Hollywood, it's at most just icing on the cake.

"Thank you to the organizers for giving me this award. In the eyes of the world, I may be more of an actor or director, but I have always remembered that in the early stages of my life, I was actually an author and screenwriter. I am very happy to receive the Best Screenplay award. It is a pity that there is no Best Novel award at the Oscars. I really wanted to win this award."

Laughter erupted from the audience to show their respect.

Chen Linfeng began the thank-you segment:
"Thank you Jeff Jones, Walter Hamada, and Selholms from Warner Bros. DC division..."

He listed several people, saying, "We've had a lot of conversations about the Joker's character story."

“Thank you, Sisi,” he switched to Mandarin, “she gave me a lot of support. I also thank my parents, brother, and family for their support, which is the source of my inspiration…”

It was a very standard speech. After finishing, Chen Linfeng didn't linger and stepped down from the stage decisively.

On stage, the two guests continued presenting the award for Best Original Screenplay.

This award was given to The Dallas Buyers Club.

Chen Linfeng couldn't help but frown, feeling somewhat worried. Was the academy trying to maintain a balance?

If I remember correctly, this award was given to "Her" in my previous life.

But he wrote "Her" into a novel 10 years ago, and it is now known worldwide.

Even if the story content is not the same, many of the settings are similar.

In this situation, the script would likely be rejected outright as a poor imitation, let alone appear at the Oscars.

Now that "Dallas Buyers Club" has won Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor, its threat level has greatly increased.

Clearly, the other filmmakers were also somewhat confused, wondering whose show it was tonight, and there was a slight commotion in the audience.

After that, there's no further procedure. Following the Best Screenplay award is the Best Director award.

Angelina Jolie and Steven Spielberg made an appearance.

Chen Linfeng was somewhat surprised; he hadn't known that Steven had also participated in the awards ceremony.

"The nominee for Best Director is—"

""clown""

"12 Years a Slave"

"The American Scam"

"Nebraska"

"The Wolf of Wall Street"

The nominated films appeared one by one on the big screen, and then the screen began to split to show footage of the five nominated directors.

Everyone remained very calm.

"So, the Oscar winner is—" Spielberg paused, then looked at Jolie beside him, "Why don't you announce it?"

"No, you do it."

“OK, the Oscar winner is—” he drawled.

Damn it, this old guy is torturing me.

Chen Linfeng cursed inwardly, but on the surface he had to appear calm and composed.

"Chen Linfeng!"

The whole place was excited!

All the guests stood up and applauded.

Unexpectedly, this year's Oscars really pulled off something big.

Everyone still clearly remembers the scene when Chen won Best Director a few years ago.

It caused a sensation at the time, after all, it was quite surprising that such a young Best Director winner was Chinese.

Now, something even more astonishing has happened: in just a few years, he has won twice.

Considering that "Joker" is indeed a classic film that cannot be ignored this year, and that it is a monster that has entered the ranks of the highest-grossing films in film history, people can't help but feel that it is not too exaggerated.

At this moment, they all thought of past cases, such as "The Great Ship" and "The Lord of the Rings," each of which broke the rules.

While Chen Linfeng was celebrating with the guests around him, CCTV's backstage studio was broadcasting the moment the award was announced.

A moment later, Xiao Sa excitedly said, "Director Chen has won the Oscar for Best Director again!"

"This is a miracle!"

"At the same time, he also set several records, including the shortest interval between winning the Oscar for Best Director, the youngest second-time Oscar winner, and winning two consecutive Oscars for two different films..."

Xiao Sa recited the various historical records set by this award, much like reciting a menu, while also emphasizing the extraordinary significance of this award.

All of this content was prepared in advance. When he was preparing it, he thought it was unlikely he would actually read it aloud, but just to be on the safe side, he did a lot of research. Who would have thought Director Chen would be so amazing, actually managing to do it?

Thinking of this, Xiao Sa recited with even more enthusiasm.

Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige were somewhat silent. Although they had prepared themselves mentally before coming, they still felt uneasy seeing a junior surpass them.

I thought you'd be fine, but you're just too good.

Zhang Yimou, in particular, has held the top two spots among Chinese directors since "Sunset Gone North," or rather, he is tied for first place.

The person standing at the same height as him was undoubtedly Chen Linfeng.

But he only enjoyed it for a few years before it was all gone?

Zhang Yimou is well aware that winning one Oscar and winning two are completely different concepts.

Especially since they won the award together for "Sunset".

That made the little golden statue seem less solid, but this one is different; all the glory belongs to Chen Linfeng alone.

Hey~
Zhang Yimou sighed softly. There was nothing he could do; he simply couldn't compete.

If the two top domestic directors were already in this state, the emotions of the two directors present at the scene must have been even more complicated.

Feng Xiaogang stared in disbelief as Chen Linfeng walked onto the stage.

What's the point of this for him?
This doesn't feel like reality.

Zhang Guoli, Chen Daoming, and others in the back row were discussing among themselves, lamenting that the domestic film and television industry would soon be dominated by a single entity.

This is an Oscar for Best Director, twice!

In this situation, qualifications and such are completely useless.

Wang Jiawei, who was a little further away, was glad that he was wearing sunglasses, otherwise he would have been caught on camera and his jealous gaze would have been easily exposed.

It wasn't that he was making a fuss; he was genuinely envious, jealous, and resentful.

Director Chen, you're truly a genius!

The camera was also very skillful; during Chen Linfeng's time on stage, it occasionally cut to the audience, mostly focusing on the Chinese filmmakers and capturing their shocked expressions.

At this moment, Chen Linfeng on the stage took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down.

"Chen, congratulations."

"Thank you, Steven, for your help."

Chen Linfeng whispered a few words to him, then took the trophy from Angelina Jolie.

"Congratulations, Director Chen."

"Thank you."

The two award presenters stepped aside, and the spotlight now belonged to this young man.

"I really didn't expect to receive this award."

Chen Linfeng made no attempt to hide his surprise, even though this award was the main reason for his public relations efforts.

"I am very grateful to the judges for their recognition of the film, and I also thank the audience and movie fans for their love of the film. The success of 'Joker' today would not have been possible without everyone's support."

After saying a few words, he switched to Mandarin, "At the same time, I have received the support from my fans in China. Thank you. I know that many people are watching the broadcast right now, and I am very happy that I have not let you down."

Then came the routine thank-you segment, which Chen Linfeng delivered in a formulaic manner, concluding the remarks segment.

Back in his seat, he was still unable to calm down.

This award felt especially special because he genuinely felt that his life's ideals were gradually being realized, and the thought of this possibility made him even more excited.

It's not that he values ​​the Oscars themselves that much.

His later experiences told him that the Oscars would gradually decline.

However, Oscar-winning works from the golden age are undoubtedly of high quality, which greatly contributes to their historical status.

Moreover, such a historical status is recognized worldwide.

Even from a later domestic perspective, a director who has repeatedly won Oscars from Hollywood professionals in the present era truly has that kind of spirit.

In particular, he is not a filmmaker who relies on filming the rise of a poor and backward China, which sets him apart from other Chinese filmmakers.

This makes winning the award all the more precious.

These are all medals that future supporters can use to boast about.

His mind was wandering to all sorts of random thoughts, so much so that he didn't even notice that the Best Actress award had already been presented on stage.

This award was won by Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine).

Soon to come is the most anticipated event in Hollywood and even across the United States: Best Actor.

Leonardo DiCaprio's "Joker";
Christian Bale's *American Hustle*;
Bruce Dunn's *Nebraska*;
Chiwetel Ejiofor's *12 Years a Slave*;
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club.

Everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for the result to be announced.

Jennifer Lawrence, as the award presenter, was not playful; she readily opened the envelope and then looked surprised.

"The Oscar winner is—Leonardo DiCaprio, the Joker!"

The entire stadium erupted once again. For many ordinary spectators and their families who came to the event, Leonardo DiCaprio was undoubtedly a superstar among superstars.

Moreover, the news about whether he could win the award had been so hyped up that it was hard not to notice.

Upon hearing the winner's name, Leonardo felt his heart leap into his throat, yet he also found it hard to believe, having been disappointed far too many times in the past.

"Chen, is that me?"

"That's right, it's you, Leo, you're an Oscar winner."

Upon hearing this unequivocal answer, Leonardo finally realized what was happening.

Then he suddenly jumped up, first grabbing Qianqian's hand and shaking it vigorously, then hugging Chen Linfeng tightly.

"Chen, thank you, I really have to thank you."

"Haha, congratulations! Go up and get your little golden statuette!"

Soon, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared on stage, took the Oscar from Jennifer Lawrence, raised the trophy high, and roared silently.

Everyone understood that he had been pursuing this all these years, and they all applauded.

Hollywood is a place to pursue dreams, and Leonardo DiCaprio's long-awaited success perfectly aligns with their values.

"First of all, I must thank Chen. Without him bringing me into this project, I might still be chasing it all the time."

Leonardo looked at the trophy in his hand with emotion, "Over the years, I've told myself countless times, if it's not going to work out, then so be it. After all, even if you win an award, you won't get much more money, right?"

At this point, perhaps triggered by some emotion, his eyes became a little moist, and he raised his hand to wipe them.

“But when I wake up in the middle of the night, I always feel resentful. Why should I give up? Why can others do it but I can’t? Let’s try again, even if it’s just once.”

"After stumbling and falling all the way down, I finally managed to hold it in my hands."

"Oscar, I've won you over, and I've conquered myself!"

This speech was so beautiful and inspiring that the guests in the audience all stood up and applauded.

"In addition, I would like to thank Martin, Toby, CC..."

At ABC's data monitoring center, the head was pleasantly surprised to see that viewership had surged to over 4600 million at that moment.

"Nice, Leonardo, you deserve the award, haha."

Feeling confident about his bonus this year, the person in charge happily opened a can of Coke and began to drink it with relish.

After Best Actor, it was time for the grand prize, Best Picture, which we waited three hours for.

Previously, the three presenters had already introduced the nine nominated works, but it's definitely worth showing them again now.

Once we reached the final rounds, the situation was already quite clear.

The filmmakers present all knew it was either "Joker" or "Dallas Buyers Club".

So far, the biggest winner is undoubtedly "Joker," which won both Best Director and Best Actor.

However, it wouldn't be surprising if the Academy, for the sake of balance, awarded Best Picture to "Dallas," given that it had already paved the way for Best Screenplay and Best Editing.

Therefore, the cheers from the audience were most pronounced when these two works appeared on the big screen.

The presenter for Best Picture was Martin Scorsese.

The organizers really put a lot of thought into it.

Chen Linfeng clearly remembered that the presenter of the award in his previous life should have been Will Smith.

It's a tradition for Black people to present awards to Black people, including the previous Best Director award, where the male presenter was the first Black actor to win an Oscar. This time, however, the presenters were all different.

With Martin on the field, it's really hard to guess who will receive the award.

Unlike Spielberg, Martin wasn't childlike at all; after saying a few words, he started opening the envelope.

Then, a look of surprise gradually appeared on his face. "The Oscar for Best Picture goes to 'Joker,' produced by Chen Linfeng, Walter Hamada, and Fengmei Sun..."

This caused a global uproar.

(End of this chapter)