Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 139 Public Opinion
The real protagonists pretended to be cool, and some went home, leaving behind a legend in the world.

The grievances and hatreds at the 39th Golden Horse Awards quickly fermented under the spread of countless media and on-site audiences, triggering various verbal battles on the Internet.

"Golden Horse Awards issues gag order on Lu Kuan, mainland China's talented director angrily withdraws!"

"Why did the film festival turn into a farce? Mainland film practitioners need to reflect!"

"A Golden Lion Award-winning film doesn't need the amateur Golden Horse Award's approval. Support Lu Kuan!"

The issues related to Concubine Liu Yi were undoubtedly magnified and explored.

However, at this moment, there has not yet been a large-scale attack on people in the entertainment industry in China, and any little disturbance has been suppressed and diverted by the official public opinion power of the blog network before it even arises.

Liu Yifei's speech naturally won her countless fans, and even some official media on the blogosphere forwarded and liked it, praising the innocent heart of this young actress.

[Golden Horse Awards Official]: We are very sorry that such a cultural event was ruined by Director Lu and several mainland actors. We regret to announce that you are not welcome at the Golden Horse Awards!

The official account of the Golden Horse Awards on Blog.com was immediately exposed online, which was unprecedented.

This is not entirely because of this incident, or because of how strong Lu Kuan’s appeal is, because some of their actions were indeed inappropriate.

In 1997, Leslie Cheung was nominated for Best Actor for Happy Together, but lost to Tse Kwan-ho (the Drunken Swordsman in The Legend of Sword and Fairy) for his role in The Thirteenth Son of the South China Sea.

This is understandable, but the Golden Horse Awards later exposed the embarrassment of Leslie Cheung receiving 0 votes because of a minor criticism he made in an interview.

First of all, it is difficult to tell whether this kind of news is true or false, and all the right of interpretation lies in the hands of the authorities.

Another thing is, even if it is true, you exposed it like this, and the content of the interview is obviously targeting Leslie Cheung, which is of too low quality.

It's a complete insult to this famous actor.

This time, he offended Leslie Cheung's fans.

At the 2003 Golden Horse Awards, hosts Cai Kangyong and Cheng Yuling played with memes to liven up the atmosphere. They hinted at the Best Actor award through words and interactions even though they knew it wasn't Andy Lau. In the end, the award went to the absent Liang Chaowei.

Then, King Liu awarded Ang Lee the Best Director award. The great director, not knowing whether he had taken the wrong medicine or it was the program effect arranged by the organizing committee, teased Andy Lau again.

Ang Lee consoled Liu Dehua, saying: Not winning the award isn't the most painful thing. The most painful thing is the anxious feeling of waiting to win the award, and then being made fun of.

Liu Dehua's face turned pale but he had to force a smile. Anyone could see that he was unhappy.

This time, he offended Andy Lau's fans again.

Boss Lu is an expert in online trolling and has been well-known since his conflicts with Nicholas Tse and Kent Cheung of Eagle King.

Of course, he is indispensable to this event of verbal confrontation.

Lu Kuan: My first film festival was Venice. Maybe the bar was set too high, but this Golden Horse Awards completely redefined my understanding of film festivals. How could a festival that's so unprofessional, unenthusiastic, and unfriendly actually be so popular?
The other party's response was swift: "We are deeply indignant at the insulting name given to Director Lu! This is an insult to art! We announce that we will ban Director Lu Kuan indefinitely!"

[Lu Kuan]: Don’t rush to put labels on me. People from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macau are compatriots. We are all descendants of Chinese culture. My own movie “Shoplifters” was also filmed in Taiwan. We really like the local environment, food, customs and people.

Also, there is no need for you to ban it. As long as it is my movie, I will never participate in the Golden Horse Awards again!
Now, cultural celebrities related to the Golden Horse Awards are getting restless and have started to speak out.

[Dai Liren]: The Golden Horse Awards has been around for 39 years, almost as old as Director Lu’s father. I think the value and credibility of the Golden Horse Awards are not up to be judged by a mainland director in his early twenties.

Taiwanese director [Li Xing]: The Golden Horse Awards has its own problems and should be able to accept criticism from different literary and art circles, but there is no need to condemn it all at once. This is disrespectful and irresponsible to all the behind-the-scenes staff!
There has always been a conflict between Nicholas Tse, Cheung Kin Ting and Lu Kuan in Hong Kong. Although Li Shoucheng now asks the company to put aside their prejudices, he also instructs Huo Wenxi to have more contact with Lu Kuan and handle the relationship well.

But this does not prevent them from taking advantage of Lu Kuan's online debate to find some people in the circle to give him some small public pressure.

The disturbance caused in Taiwan Province was quite serious, so Lu Kuan temporarily put down his work and returned to Peking.

In addition to the bodyguard A Fei, there were also several core members who were discovered by An Yixuan's father Wu Anguo from Xiji Animation.

In addition to building his own public opinion platform through blogs and later Weibo, creating an industry closed loop around the film industry is also a top priority.

In his vision, special effects companies, theaters, online streaming sites, ticketing sites, derivative companies, etc. are all indispensable components of this closed loop.

Especially special effects companies that can break the monopoly of Hollywood blockbusters.

This is a technology-intensive industry that must start as early as possible and transition to the self-sufficiency stage ahead of time.

As mentioned earlier, Hollywood's encroachment and plunder of the global film market has been accompanied by their technological upgrades.

From the magnificent "Titanic" in 1998 to "Avatar" in 2009, special effects blockbusters have impacted local films in various countries like a flood, exporting culture while also making huge profits.

For Boss Lu, making arrangements in the special effects industry in advance is far more than just a casual move.

But it is a person who has hidden clues and hidden veins that can determine the winner!

He made many considerations for the staffing of the special effects company which was beginning to take shape, and the main personnel composition came from several aspects.

The first step was to poach the core backbones of Xiji Animation, a leading company in Taiwan, and encourage them to settle in the mainland by offering high annual salaries and option pool rewards.

The second is the poaching of core technical personnel from Hualong Digital, a subsidiary of China Film Group, which is currently the only official film and television digital base in the mainland.

With the basic core backbone, he also needed to find a talent in administrative affairs and internal management for the special effects company. He set his sights on Xie Ning, who later became Base Special Effects.

The special effects company has participated in many successful films in the past, including "The Pacific", "Captain America 2", "Star Wars 7", and "Star Trek 3".

This time when Boss Lu returned to Beijing, he was going to first wield the hoe on the Base special effects company which had not yet been established, and then poach talents from China Film Group!

Then, I used the opportunity of attending film festivals to scout for some outstanding special effects directors abroad, and the basic framework was complete. Not to mention the long-term, I could use the special effects project of "Chinese Paladin" as a training ground.

Next year there will be Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" and Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle", both of which are special effects productions with low difficulty and suitable for companies that are just starting out.

Lu Kuan went straight to the company after getting off the plane. Xie Ning was already waiting in his office.

He is one of the only two founders of Beisi in later generations. Before entering the industry, he had extensive experience in institutional and foreign companies, and had excellent abilities and connections in investment promotion, theme entertainment and other aspects.

Later, as the vice president of Baseus, he initiated and founded the Asian Visual Preview Association and the China Film and Television Post-Production Industry Alliance. He is a rare talent.

At that time, Xie Ning was still a civil servant at the Haikou Commerce Bureau of Hainan Province. It was he who met BASEUS founder Bramble during a theme park investment promotion event last year.

Lu Kuan, the king of freeloading, waved the golden finger of rebirth and once again extended his evil tentacles to one side of the world, stealing the fortune of future generations.

"Hello, Guide! Excuse me for visiting!"

Xie Ning was wearing a formal jacket and shirt and a pair of ordinary glasses, looking like a classic bureaucrat.

Lu Kuan also stood up: "Director Xie, welcome, please take a seat."

After some pleasantries, the two of them got down to business.

"Director Lu, to be honest, I'm very surprised by your invitation, because I just received an invitation from another foreign director not long ago."

He spread his hands and smiled bitterly, "I don't even know how a mere civil servant could have been so favored by you all that I could participate in such a high-tech industry."

Lu Kuan's heart sank. No wonder Xie Ning agreed to come to Peking for a meeting so readily. It turned out that Branbo had already taken action. It seemed that he would meet with more than just his company this time.

Seeing Lu Kuan remained silent, Xie Ning turned to himself and said, "To be honest, I only have a little knowledge of this industry. Because I have been in charge of foreign investment promotion for a long time, I have met many Hollywood crews who came to Hainan Province to shoot."

"Their special effects team is very advanced. After learning about the preferential policies in Hainan Province, they all wanted to open a studio here. However, due to the lack of local talent resources, nothing came of it."

The reason why special effects companies burn money, in addition to software, equipment and consumables, is labor.

Around 2000, the average annual salary of an ordinary special effects artist in Hollywood was around $3, while ordinary special effects artists in top teams earned over $10, and special effects supervisors and special effects directors earned even higher salaries.

Therefore, this year many special effects teams have turned to establishing studios in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, the Caribbean and other regions, which not only facilitates filming but also reduces wage costs.

"Director Lu, personally, I'm willing to step out of the system and conduct more experiments and explorations. However, in the field of special effects companies... domestic companies really started too late."

Xie Ning obviously didn't have much confidence.

This lack of confidence stems from the Hollywood blockbusters whose box office records and reputations have stood in the way of the Chinese people: "Titanic", "The Matrix", and the "Star Wars" series.

Lu Kuan took a sip of water and said calmly, "Director Xie, the other person who extended an olive branch to you was the American director Bramble, right?"

Xie Ning's indifferent expression fluctuated for the first time in a few days. He didn't know how the other party knew about it.

"Director Xie, I'm a director. My next film is going to be a blockbuster with special effects. The budget is at least 3 million, and I'm going to invite Hollywood actors."

Boss Lu started to paint a rosy picture.

"Originally, I was planning to bring special effects to Hollywood. As you said, the top of the food chain in this industry is still in the West."

"However, our domestic film industry is also in its infancy. In particular, with the increasing number of large-scale productions that emphasize large scenes and intensity, the domestic special effects industry can be said to be a blue ocean.

"This year, our company's first Xianxia drama, The Chinese Paladin, will begin production, and in September, Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers will also begin filming in Ukraine. These are all partners we are in talks with."

"Legend of Sword and Fairy" is his own project, and "Ten Sides" is an investment by Jiang Zhiqiang.

"Even though we are starting late, it doesn't mean there are no opportunities. The gap is not as long as the one from primitive society to feudal society. It is just like the gap from feudal society to industrial society. What is missing is the sound of the whistle."

"Let me first introduce you to our current team members. In addition to some basic special effects artists and professional talents, we will be hiring Zhou Zhenkun from Xiji Animation in Taiwan, Huang Hongda, a visual effects artist from Hong Kong, and Chang Lin, a senior special effects artist from China..."

Lu Kuan counted seven or eight names in a row, some of whom had already agreed to participate in the establishment of the company, and some were still in contact.

Xie Ning was somewhat tempted, but due to Branbo's invitation, he couldn't make up his mind for the time being.

Lu Kuan pressed on, "Director Xie, you might also consider the invitation from the American director."

"But there's one thing you have to consider clearly: even if they set up their headquarters in China, they're still American companies. If political tensions between the two countries arise and some key equipment and technologies are embargoed, you'll be in an awkward position."

He took a leisurely sip of tea and said, "High technology should be in your own hands to ensure peace of mind."

Xie Ning's heart trembled, but his naturally cautious character prevented him from making the final choice.

The two sides exchanged some ideas on company formation and future development before saying goodbye and leaving.

Watching Xie Ning's thin back as he left, Boss Lu felt a little sad. At that time, Chinese people lacked confidence in the special effects industry.

Sun Wenwen knocked on the door and came in: "Mr. Lu, there's news from China Film Group. Mr. Han will be waiting for you in the office tomorrow morning."

Lu Kuan focused his mind, this person was the one he wanted to focus on, and this was not only for the purpose of poaching from Hualong Digital, a subsidiary of China Film.

Moreover, since most of the blockbuster films in China nowadays are either co-productions or those in which China Film Corporation has a stake, people like Jiang Zhiqiang and Han Shanping can bring business to the special effects company he has just established.

This is an important part of how he uses projects to support and train his team. Otherwise, this industry would be like a bottomless pit that sucks money and would take up a lot of his financial costs.

(End of this chapter)