Generation Z Artists

Chapter 284 As Wild as a Hurricane
Sunday, March 23, 2003.

Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Starting in the afternoon, the area outside the theater was packed with media and audience members.

CCTV-6 dispatched an unprecedented interview team and broadcast this year's Oscars ceremony live.

However, they had to cut the camera off just minutes after they started broadcasting the red carpet show—an unknown actress with a large, muscular build was wearing a semi-sheer dress, her nipples clearly visible, and she was bending over towards the CCTV camera…

"Why is the Oscars like this?!"

The young female reporter, visiting the United States for the first time, blushed, felt disillusioned, and appeared extremely uncomfortable.

"That's how Hollywood should be."

The photographer, unfazed, pointed at the flamboyant actresses in the waiting area and confidently declared, "Someone's definitely going to fall down in a minute, sprawled out with their underwear showing, you believe it or not?"

"Pah! They've no bottom line when it comes to grabbing attention!"

The female reporter was completely disappointed, not expecting the Oscars red carpet to turn out like this.

"This is so boring... Where's Fang Xinghe? When will he appear?"

"The Hero crew? That's pretty far off, maybe third or fourth from the bottom, we still have a long way to go."

"Do we have a chance of winning the award?"

"I don't know that, but I'm thinking, since 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' won four awards last time, there's no reason why 'Hero' shouldn't win one, right?"

"That's true, there are 12 nominations, even winning half of them would be great!"

"Hey, you really dare to dream!"

"Where did I think of this? Isn't this what the whole nation is hoping for?"

Blind optimism permeated not only the scene but also the hearts of all Chinese people.

The Movie Channel's Oscar Night special previewed it like this—

Six core awards, 2 out of 6 nominations;
Six major technology awards, three of which were awarded.

The goal is to secure a 5-star rating and strive for a 6-star rating, thereby achieving a complete surpassing of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

The CCTV host was overjoyed when mentioning the core award, Best Foreign Language Film.

"No film can compete with 'Hero' for Best Foreign Language Film this year, whether in terms of commercial influence or artistic value. 'Hero' is the number one contender among all non-English films this year..."

All domestic media outlets are extremely optimistic about this, and in their discussions, they have already assumed that "Hero" will definitely win Best Foreign Language Film.

When Brother Fang found out, he was speechless for a long time.

No, where do you get such strong self-confidence?
This isn't just blind confidence; it's pure ignorance and arrogance!
Domestically, there is virtually no understanding of the situation of "Hero" in Hollywood, which is aiming for a global box office of $7 million, pushing their ambitions to the limit.

The official media are a little more modest, but the financial media, which prioritizes difficulty, are incredibly boastful.

"Hero is destined to be the biggest winner at the Oscars!"

"Hero is sweeping the global box office and will also sweep the Oscars!"

"When Heroes march into battle, not a blade of grass will survive!"

Cheng Yizhong even shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hero has no rivals at this year's Oscars. The Lord of the Rings, Catch Me If You Can, and Gangs of New York are all no match for it. If it wins less than 5 awards, it's a rigged film!"

Taking advantage of the fact that domestic audiences are unaware of the real situation, they deliberately ignored the real award favorites, "Chicago" and "The Pianist," and praised "Hero" excessively.

Essentially, this is still targeting Fang Xinghe.

If the award results are not as expected, they will definitely blame Fang Xinghe, and so on, with crazy ridicule and belittling.

If the award results exceed expectations, then the credit will go to the entire production team, and Fang Xinghe will definitely not be mentioned at all.

They're mortal enemies, that's how it is.

Now, Fang Ge is at odds with over 95% of domestic media outlets, which is very un-capitalist, but very Chinese.

Domestic media prioritize political stance over profit, unlike their American counterparts, who always prioritize making money.

If funding isn't in place, it doesn't matter if you're an ally or a friendly force; just go away and do nothing.

With funding in place, you can turn white into black in no time.

The current state of "Hero" in the United States is one of budget overruns—what kind of blockbuster does it have to be to go beyond the entertainment pages and get the political and economic media to sing its praises?

Only large ships back in the day received this treatment!

Those political and economic media outlets didn't take money from Sony or Fang Ge, but they did take money from higher-ups, and incidentally, they praised "Hero" to the skies.

Whether Wei Ping would be willing to spend that money is one thing, but the main problem is that she simply can't afford it.

But what about "Hero" now?

How the college views it is unknown to outsiders, but in terms of popularity alone, it is the undisputed number one.

A considerable number of people in the public are hoping that it will win an award, and this has even led to the creation of a fan group dedicated to "Heroes" itself, which promotes it on various occasions.

The CCTV interview team specifically focused their cameras on this group, glancing over their banners and slogans one by one.

The female reporter read out the English words one by one.

"Heroes will prevail! Justice will prevail!"

"You're not just the best movie of the year, you'll always be the best movie!"

"The Holy Monument of Kung Fu!"

"Tonight, we are all heroes!"

After the reading was finished, the hosts in the studio were so moved that they sighed repeatedly.

"Wow, the status of 'Hero' in the United States is truly extraordinary! This kind of success reminds me of when 'Shaolin Temple' was released..."

Actually, they are different. The support of the Chinese people for "Shaolin Temple" is very pure, but the support of the American people for "Hero" is not pure - the leader of that support organization must have been paid.

Fang Xinghe stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel suite, looking down at the several formations below, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.

"Chicago," "The Lord of the Rings," and "Hero"—three major hits, three distinct camps.

This kind of off-site support is meaningless for winning an award.

But it was extremely significant for subsequent screenings, so Harvey did it, Peter did it, and Sony did it too.

Nakamura keenly sensed that the BOSS's mood was somewhat fluctuating, so he stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Fang, are you satisfied with everything we've done?"

"I know you did your best."

Fang Xinghe revealed the bloody truth in a tone that was both light and heavy.

"But whether I am satisfied or not depends only on the result, not on the process."

If I can't get into the Oscars this year, my next film won't be from Sony anymore...

Fang Xinghe has been sticking to "Better Days" and has not signed a global distribution contract with any company.

Ever since "Hero" took off at the box office, his only remaining film has become a coveted prize among the six major Hollywood studios.

No one wants to wait for the results in Cannes before taking action; price is one factor, but pressure is an even more important one.

Right now, Nakamura was sweating profusely from the pressure.

"Fang Jun, despite our many efforts, the industry generally believes that this year is really not the best time."

If you are willing to give Sony another chance and release "Better Days" during the summer season, we are willing to invest more, maintain more patient public relations efforts, and develop a more targeted long-term strategy to help you win the real Oscar next year.

Even as compensation, the probability of "Better Days" winning an award is far higher than that of "Hero"...

This is a common view in the industry.

In the industry, this refers to the six major film production and distribution companies, along with the core members of various Hollywood associations.

Even though "Hero" has generated such a huge buzz, they are still not optimistic about the outcome.

reason?

The reason is that among the thousands of extremely dispersed voting judges, nearly 1000 are elderly people who neither watch movies nor read newspapers.

Harvey's work was so meticulous that he would personally deliver gifts and DVDs to their homes. Those older white men might not watch them, but when they casually voted, the most familiar name would definitely come to mind. That name couldn't be "Heroes," it could only be "Chicago."

Even The Lord of the Rings comes before Heroes – Heroes has its own source material.

While Sony's actions were effective, they were ultimately too late and too macro-level.

Even Nakamura and Jeff were unsure how much of the defeat they could recover from their 20-day effort.

The only thing they can be sure of is that if "Hero" misses out on the major awards this year, it will actually be a good thing for Fang Xinghe personally.

Having gained recognition and won over the academy's sympathy, the chances of Fang Xinghe winning the highest award for "Young You" next year, an art film entirely unique to him, will be greatly increased, at least far more so than this year.

But Brother Fang wouldn't have it.

Without even glancing at Nakamura, he calmly replied, "There will be no next year, no next opportunity. If I can't get what I want under these circumstances, then I won't come to the Oscars again for at least 10 years."

Nakamura was terrified and, with a tearful voice, pleaded, "Fang-kun, there's no need to be so stubborn!"

Fang Xinghe glanced at him, scoffed lightly, and didn't respond.

Who said I was just being stubborn?

If even with all these favorable conditions, I still can't win an award, it proves that the power players within Hollywood have quietly reached a consensus and are determined to exclude me and wage a long-term confrontation with the ideology I represent.

Why should I stoop to flattering them? The root of the problem isn't about how good "Hero" is, but rather on a higher level.

Nakamura, Nakamura, you Japanese only have tactics, no strategy; you only have details, no overall picture. Whoever comes to power is just facing a slow death, understand?
At that moment, Fang Xinghe suddenly thought of the lady who came later, and his mood inexplicably improved.

"Go do what you need to do, I'm going to put on my makeup."

After shooing away the bewildered Nakamura kid, Fang Xinghe walked into the living room and lay down amidst a barrage of praise.

The living room was packed with people.

One-third of the team consists of stylists from LV, one-third of the team consists of jewelry experts from Cartier, and the remaining third consists of a makeup team that Sony brought in from Japan.

They brought almost their entire inventory of haute couture, determined to make Fang Xinghe the most dazzling male star on the red carpet today.

But Fang Ge ultimately rejected all of them, coldly saying, "According to the original plan, wear that Warring States period robe."

The president of LV's North American region could only manage a wry smile, daring not to speak out against his anger.

He could only gently persuade her in a conciliatory tone: "SR, you are now our sole global ambassador. According to the contract, you should wear our LV haute couture at such a grand public occasion. We have specially altered several dresses for you, adding many Chinese elements..."

Fang Xinghe slowly turned his head and stared at him intently.

“I said… I want to wear that Warring States period robe.”

About two seconds later, the president was defeated.

"OK, OK, LV will always obey your will."

In the end, Fang Xinghe wore almost no makeup, only a wig and a casual Taoist-style bun, and simply put on that light blue Warring States period robe.

These aren't props or costumes used in movies; they're custom-made garments—from fine silks and satins, each unique, and only those in the know can appreciate their beauty.

Once you put it on, the flowing sleeves make you look like a fairy, your hair is slightly disheveled, your eyes are languid, and every step you take is graceful.

Cartier couldn't put any of their own jewelry on Fang Xinghe, but the sales director still exclaimed sincerely, "SR, you are so beautiful. Perhaps it's that our current jewelry is not worthy of you, rather than that you need their embellishment."

The words were quite pleasing to the ear, so Fang Xinghe turned around and gave her a smile.

"Thank you. Please keep up the good work and become worthy of me as soon as possible."

These words were not pleasant to hear, but the people present respected Fang Xinghe even more.

The LV president was even somewhat excited.

He said, "YES! This is the aura and self-awareness that our only global ambassador for LV should have! Keep it up, SR, you will be the only Eastern emperor in the fashion world!"

Look, most people in the fashion industry have a bit of a sly streak, and Brother Fang is really good at handling them.

……

At 5 p.m., it was finally the turn of the Heroes film crew to enter.

Three limousines, one after the other, carrying Wei Ping and Zhang Ziyi, Li Lianjie and Zhang Ziyi, and Fang Xinghe and Gong Li, slowly entered the venue.

When Mou Zi got out of the car, the scene erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

A surprised and sincere smile appeared on his bitter face—well, it was still a little bitter, but he had done his best.

"Director Zhang!"

Hero movie fans waved wildly at him, shouting enthusiastically.

When Li Lianjie led Zhang Ziyi onto the red carpet, the cheers reached an even higher level.

They are both very well-known in North America. Kung Fu Emperor goes without saying, and Yu Jiaolong and Fei Xue are also extremely popular.

"LEE, you played amazingly!"

"Zhang, you are the most beautiful!"

Flashes went off in quick succession; no reporter was stingy with a few rolls of film, and they took as many pictures as they wanted.

But it started intensely and ended abruptly.

After taking photos frantically for a while, the reporters collectively stopped and suddenly began frantically changing film.

Because the third limousine stopped at the end of the red carpet.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent; the audience held their breath, and the reporters were on high alert.

When Mou Zi and Wei Ping noticed the noise suddenly disappear, and saw the host who was interviewing them suddenly walk to the back, they immediately understood what was going on.

Mou Zi asked himself, "Xiao Fang has arrived? He's really popular in America!"

Wei Ping's eyes were red with envy: "Shouldn't our company sign a few promising talents? Just being a producer is too monotonous..."

Mou Zi shook his head, unusually wanting to refute him.

That's ridiculous! Can a star like Fang Xinghe be cultivated? It's destiny!
But before he could speak, he was interrupted by a sudden, explosive cheer.

"Star river! Star river! Star river!"

Cheers filled the sky, simple yet soaring to the heavens.

This was a volume that no single marching contingent could produce; it was a spontaneous cheer from the entire audience.

Even more enthusiastic were the reporters. When they saw Fang Xinghe's attire today, they completely forgot about the limitations of film and wanted to keep pressing the shutter button to capture every moment he bent down and turned his head.

"SR, look this way!"

"Give me a look, please!"

"I'm a reporter for The Washington Post, and I've written about you!"

"Oh my god! You're so handsome!"

"Smile, SR, I'm also a sky full of stars!"

Fang Xinghe actually turned his head and smiled at the reporter—and instantly the entire area was shrouded in white light. The excessively intense light noise made even the seasoned Fang Xinghe slightly uncomfortable, causing him to furrow his brow slightly before the flashes intensified...

It's definitely a vicious cycle.

Fang Xinghe didn't linger on the red carpet; he didn't need to.

However, his slightly quickened pace did not allow him to enter the venue as soon as possible. At the end of the red carpet, the host stopped him, deliberately delaying the process.

The Oscars also have ratings to strive for, and right now, it's the peak of viewership before the main course begins.

Wow! Wow!

Joan and her daughter Melissa exclaimed in surprise. The difference was that the mother was more open, while the daughter's eyes darted around, wanting to look but not daring to.

"Finally met you in person, dear Star River, you are a million times more handsome than in the movies!"

"Thank you."

"Can we take a photo together? Oh, they've been helping us take pictures, it's wonderful, I've never liked these reporters so much..."

“Then you should pay more attention to managing your facial expressions, Ms. Joan.”

Fang Xinghe displayed a kind of humor that was not deliberate, a humor that carried a clear sense of distance, yet did not make people feel awkward.

ABC is broadcasting this segment live, and Fang Ge knows exactly how to perform in this situation.

The mother and daughter laughed exaggeratedly, then each took one of his arms.

"Come on, let's talk about that question you can't escape—what are your expectations for today?"

Fang Xinghe's expression turned serious, and he openly declared his ambition.

"I returned home with all the awards that rightfully belonged to me."

"Wow! As expected of Star Real!"

Melissa called out another nickname of Fang Xinghe, then asked slyly, "What if, I mean, there are always unexpected things in the world, what if you don't get the result you expected, will you be disappointed in Oscar because of that?"

"I do not accept that outcome."

Fang Xinghe turned his head and looked at the Kodak Theater, his gaze seemingly piercing through the barriers, locking onto those little golden statues.

Then he changed to a new approach, expressing his arrogance and pride.

"Hero is a masterpiece that is on par with any of its competitors."

The only reason I'm not winning an award is my age. They say I'm too young and have plenty of other opportunities. I've heard this kind of talk too much lately. It seems to be the norm at the academy. They see this kind of suppression as a reasonable and justifiable form of training.

But I disagree.

I can lose a competition for any reason, but I will never accept being looked down upon because of my age.

A great man of our country once said: The world belongs to us, and to you, but it will ultimately belong to the young people, because the young people are like the sun at eight or nine in the morning, full of hope.

I still don't entirely agree.

I don't want an ending, I don't want a future, and I won't accept hopeful comfort.

Now, I'm going to get what's mine, tonight, at this year's Oscars, or to put it more bluntly... Best Supporting Actor and Best Foreign Language Film.

Amidst the stunned and speechless expressions of the mother and daughter, and the bewildered silence of tens of millions of viewers who seemed to be hallucinating, Fang Biwang lightly flicked his sleeves and placed his hands behind his back.

It's incredibly cool and imposing.

"The Oscars are yours, but the awards that are rightfully mine must be mine. If anything goes wrong, it shouldn't be me who's disappointed, but rather you who should reflect on who has been excluded from Fang Xinghe's artistic world?"

There was no trending topic yet, but as soon as Fang Xinghe finished speaking, it created an offline trending topic all over the world.

Who is this incredibly handsome guy, as wild as a hurricane?!
(End of this chapter)