Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 225 The Wind Rises at the Oscars, Writing a Chapter in the History of Chinese-Language Cinema

Inside the Kodak Theater, spotlights slowly rotated on the stage, and the air seemed to freeze for a few seconds because of Wu Chen's sudden speech.

The audience, who had been applauding enthusiastically just moments before, stopped clapping.

Among the three thousand seats, some glanced sideways, some whispered among themselves, some looked towards the backstage, but most people turned their attention to the Eastern man who stood up.

The camera was fixed on Wu Chen.

An urgent instruction came through the director's headset: "Don't cut the shot! Keep showing close-ups!"

The live broadcast mishap was beyond repair, but ABC executives were now even clearer: what the global audience wanted to see was how the Oscars would handle this heavy blow.

At this moment, the control room was in complete chaos.

"Did you take the microphone away from him?"

"It's too late. His standing up is a signal. If you switch back, it's tantamount to publicly denying his doubts!"

"My God, who recorded this? How could they make such a mistake?"

"."

The commotion in the audience was still spreading, but Wu Chen did not sit down.

His eyes were clear and sharp, his voice steady as a bell, seemingly penetrating every inch of this luxurious theater:
"Infernal Affairs is a classic of Hong Kong cinema, and all adaptors should give the original work due respect."

We respect Hollywood's ability to reinvent itself, but please don't erase the name of the origin from our country!

After he finished speaking, he bowed slightly, but did not sit down.

This bow, with courtesy first and sharpness second.

Everyone knows that what's needed now is an on-the-spot response.

At this moment, applause slowly rose from the edge of the audience.

From the initial sparse applause to the cheers of the Black community in the back row and the applause from the Get Out crew, the audience was silent for a moment before bursting into a sincere yet complex round of applause.

"Wu, we support you!"

"Take back the signatures that rightfully belong to you!"

"."

The sound gradually rose.

Inside the Kodak Theater, the tension lingered, but a sense of respect was quietly returning and beginning to spread rapidly.

One-third of this year's Oscar nominees are foreigners, and we may all make similar mistakes in the future, but Wu Chen has made a good start.

The cast and crew of "The Departed" also applauded along with the cast and crew of "Get Out".

The atmosphere at the scene gradually shifted towards respect for originality after Wu Chen's speech.

Leonardo DiCaprio clapped and exclaimed, "It's hard to believe this is happening at the Oscars!"

"Indeed, but the academy made a mistake it shouldn't have made; it was foolish."

Matt Damon shook his head; now it's up to the Oscars to decide how to handle this.

Meanwhile, not far away on the set of "Babel," Brad Pitt, while clapping, couldn't help but ask Cate Blanchett, "Cate, if it were you, would you do that?"

Cate Blanchett hesitated for a moment: "I don't know, maybe, but I admire him a lot. I've known him since Sitges, and he's truly remarkable."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in Beijing.

CCTV's movie channel abruptly interrupted the live broadcast and inserted a guest commentary segment, during which several film critics' eyes turned red.

"In my 30 years in the film industry, I have never seen a Chinese director dare to speak like this at an event like the Oscars."

"On a stage like the Oscars, where the process is so standardized down to the second, a Chinese director standing up to uphold the source of local creative works is enough to be written into the history of Chinese-language cinema."

"After tonight, regardless of whether Wu Chen wins an award or not, he has already earned a place in the history of Chinese cinema!"

Meanwhile, the internet in China was in an uproar.

"Awesome, Wu Chen, you're the boss!"

"This is the bravest director I've ever seen!"

"It feels so damn good to have someone stand up for you!"

"I'll be convinced even if Wu Chen doesn't win any more awards!"

"Whether we win an award or not today is no longer important; all that matters is saying 'It belongs to us!'"

Even the usually calm China Film News broke with tradition and published a passionate, quick commentary with the headline:
[No room for ambiguity, no room for theft—Wu Chen's question: Whose shame has it revealed?]

Reporters reacted even faster, making a special trip to contact the creative team behind "Infernal Affairs".

A small recording studio in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Liu Weiqiang had just finished reviewing the film for his project when his phone started ringing non-stop.

He wasn't watching the Oscars live until the fourth phone call, when he realized something might be wrong.

A few minutes later, a Ming Pao reporter located him and Mak Siu-fai and conducted a telephone interview.

Mai Zhaohui was the first to speak, because he was watching the live stream at the time:

"To be honest, I was quite surprised when I saw that 'Japanese Infernal Affairs' segment, but what shocked me even more was that Wu Chen actually stood up and spoke out."

We are very grateful to director Wu Chen, and we hope to see more dedication and expansion of Chinese-language creative work in his future films.

Liu Weiqiang also added:

"We are not trying to take credit for 'Infernal Affairs,' but please at least remember that 'Infernal Affairs' comes from Hong Kong."

Meanwhile, on the set of "The Assassin" in Hengdian, the battlefield outside the West Gate was covered in dust and sand, with flags hanging askew, and more than ten extras were repeatedly practicing a scene of a horse charge.

Andy Lau had just finished filming a major scene, still in his armor, when his assistant quickly explained the whole story of what had happened at the Oscars.

At first, the crew members were also only vaguely aware of the situation, but after learning what had happened, they were all stunned.

Facing a sea of ​​reporters, Andy Lau appeared visibly excited:
I know about this.

Honestly, it's been many years since any of us, the people here, have said anything like that in this kind of setting.

We are truly grateful to Director Wu Chen for stepping forward. At this moment, we finally feel that we are not fighting alone.

I think this isn't just something Hong Kong people should say; it's something everyone involved in filmmaking, storytelling, and cultural activities should say: "We're not immune to being adapted; we just want to be respected."

At this time, the homepages of Sina, Sohu, NetEase, 21CN, and other websites all changed to the same headline within minutes:

[Wu Chen's speech at the Oscars questions the incorrect term "Japanese Infernal Affairs," eliciting complete silence from the audience—a live report on the 79th Academy Awards broadcast mishap!]

In the backstage control room of the Kodak Theatre, the situation was briefly paralyzed.

The headset channels were filled with a mix of shouting and emergency dispatching:
"Public relations! Public relations! Get me the official draft wording immediately; it must be finished before the next paragraph gap!"

"Subtitles are being corrected! Official statement is being prepared! We'll insert it into the live stream immediately if possible!"

The ABC senior content manager clutched his forehead and gulped down a whole glass of ice water. "We can't push ourselves. Within three minutes, we need to finalize a crisis PR draft and submit it to the control panel."

"Add this sentence: We pay our deepest respects to the original creators of Infernal Affairs."

"Okay, let's leave it to the host, Alan. Have her add this line before the next segment begins, as a formal apology, to ease the tension."

"Prepare subtitles for the broadcast to ensure that it is understood globally."

The backstage staff and the Oscars organizers were already communicating rapidly through their headsets, and some people were rushing from backstage to the stage.

Within minutes, ABC executives activated the "Live Broadcast Recovery and Handling Plan".

Meanwhile, host Ellen DeGeneres received a temporary teleprompter in the waiting area, glanced at it, looked somewhat surprised, and returned to the front of the stage.

The discussion from the audience had not yet completely subsided.

She looked at the audience and said in a solemn tone:

"Ladies and gentlemen, just now when we were presenting the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, due to a serious error in our backstage broadcasting, the original work 'Infernal Affairs' was incorrectly classified as a Japanese film."

In response, we—the Oscar organizers and broadcasting platforms—express our sincerest apologies to the creators and audiences of the original work, as well as to Chinese-language filmmakers worldwide.

She paused for a moment, looked around the room, and continued:
"Infernal Affairs is an outstanding work from Hong Kong, China. It was co-directed by Liu Weiqiang and Mak Siu-fai, and starred Tony Leung and Andy Lau. It shocked Asia in 2002 and rewrote the landscape of genre films."

It represents the glory of Chinese-language cinema and is also an important chapter in global film history.

The audience gradually quieted down.

Then, her gaze fell on Wu Chen, who was not far away:

"Tonight, a director from mainland China stood up to speak out against inaccurate statements. He said: 'I respect adaptations, but we cannot lose our rightful place in the credits.'"

We would like to express our gratitude to you, Director Wu Chen.

It is the conscience of filmmakers that allows this stage to maintain its due weight.

As soon as Ellen DeGeneres finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in spontaneous applause, which started sparsely but then grew stronger and stronger, like a tidal wave.

The applause contained encouragement, respect, and a belated vindication.

At this moment, the camera panned across Wu Chen again.

He didn't smile, but simply nodded slightly before sitting down.

The camera then quickly cut to the big names:
Spielberg nodded slightly and looked back in Wu Chen's direction.

The applause from Leonardo DiCaprio and others on the set of "The Departed" was particularly loud, and the camera also captured Martin Scorsese turning his head to greet Wu Chen.

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to settle, the music started playing on stage.

Presenter Helen Mirren readjusted her tone, her smile unchanged, but her speech slowed slightly: "Now, please welcome our winner of Best Adapted Screenplay, Mr. William Monaghan, to the stage to accept the award."

Applause rang out again, but this time, it carried a stronger sense of anticipation and waiting.

Monahan went up on stage.

He was wearing a black tuxedo, holding the Hong Kong Film Award in his hand, and his smile seemed somewhat stiff.

He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and spoke to the cameras broadcast live globally:
"First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Martin Scorsese for bringing this project to me and giving me the opportunity to reinterpret a great film. Thank you to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and thank you to Warner Bros. and everyone at Warner Bros.."

He paused, glanced towards the audience, and solemnly added:
"I must also emphasize again that Infernal Affairs is a film from Hong Kong, China, directed by Liu Weiqiang and Mai Zhaohui. My job was simply to bring it to the streets of Boston."

Thank you to Mr. Mak Chiu-fai and Mr. Chong Man-keung, the screenwriters of "Infernal Affairs," as well as the producers and agents present and absent, and all those who made "Infernal Affairs" a success. Thank you to Martin and Leo, who called each other after reading the script and said, "Let's do it!" Thank you again, Martin.

The applause erupted again, and this time it was even more enthusiastic.

The camera cuts to Wu Chen, who is seen clapping softly.

This is both an acceptance and a consolation.

Sometimes, the correction of justice doesn't require anger; it only requires someone to stand up and make it impossible for mistakes to be covered up.

“The academy did a great job with their public relations this time, but if you hadn’t spoken up, the story might have turned out differently,” Jason Blum whispered to Wu Chen.

"Hmm!" Wu Chen nodded gently. Sometimes things are just like that. If you can't stand up when you need it most, then you won't have control of the situation afterward.

If he doesn't speak up this time, and someone points out the mistake afterward, Oscar can then give vague and evasive answers, and the matter will gradually lose attention.

They might eventually receive an apology letter, but ultimately the matter will likely fizzle out.

Meanwhile, viewers in 167 countries and regions around the world heard this clarification outside the live broadcast room, sparking a global discussion:
"A Chinese director just publicly denounced the Oscars during a live broadcast. Respect!"

"This guy has guts, really. He made the whole of Hollywood owe Asia an apology."

"I first heard about Infernal Affairs from my Asian roommate, and now I finally understand why he was so angry."

"This is a historic moment."

"."

Even before the awards ceremony ended, the backstage interview areas of various media outlets were already in an uproar.

Variety reporter updated the headline immediately: [Wu Chen angrily stood up, the whole audience applauded: A "battle to defend authorship" from the East]

When he stood up, the whole world bowed its head. When he spoke, justice didn't need to shout; it resonated on its own.

A commentator from The Hollywood Reporter recorded a video commentary on site:

"He wasn't the one offended; he was the gatekeeper. The most memorable moment of tonight's Oscars wasn't the award announcements, but this statement: 'I respect adaptations, but we cannot lose our credit.'"

Wu Chen did something that many of us wouldn't dare to do.

Meanwhile, in the various screening rooms of the Beijing Film Academy on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, almost the instant Monahan finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in a tidal wave of applause and cheers.

"Wow, senior brother is awesome!"

"These are true filmmakers!"

"For us film students, it's truly worthwhile to have such senior figures leading the way!"

As Mu Deyuan listened to the cheers rising and falling around him, a long-lost smile finally appeared on his lips.

Beijing, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, 10:00 AM
Tong Gang had just finished an industry data conference when his secretary rushed over with a report on the latest online public opinion.

"Director Tong, something happened at Oscar just now, Director Wu spoke up."

"What's wrong?" Tong Gang's eyebrows twitched slightly.

The secretary placed the paper on the table. Tong Gang looked down at it for thirty seconds, then suddenly looked up: "Has the Oscars responded yet?"

"We just received the news and have publicly apologized, confirming that 'Infernal Affairs' is a Hong Kong film, and expressed our respect for director Wu Chen."

Tong Gang immediately stood up, smiling, and instructed, "Make a call to the Foreign Propaganda Department and the Information Bureau."

"understand!"

The secretary nodded with a smile.

(End of this chapter)