Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 86 He cannot represent the court and fails
In the China Film Building, Zhang Qiang pushed open the door of Han Sanping's office, holding the progress report of "Crazy Stone" in his hand.

Han Sanping leaned back in his chair, holding an unlit cigarette in his hand, and looked at him: "How's the crew doing?"

Zhang Qiang sat down: "The actors have been confirmed, and Ning Hao's work is going smoothly."

"By the way, Mr. Han, did you hear about Wu Chen confronting Lu Xun at the school gate yesterday?

I had dinner with him a couple of days ago and he seemed pretty easy to talk to, but I didn't expect he was so good at arguing with people."

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping smiled softly, with a hint of helplessness in his smile, and couldn't help rubbing his temples because of the headache.

After all, Lu Xun is still his junior apprentice.

"Which side are you on?" Han Sanping glanced at Zhang Qiang curiously and turned the cigarette in his hand twice.

"To be honest, Mr. Han, I've watched Lu Xun's "Kekexili" and the documentary "The Tibetan Antelope and I" last night. I don't believe it if you say I didn't draw inspiration from it."

He spread out his hands, his meaning was obvious, he was obviously on Wu Chen's side.

"Yeah!" Han Sanping nodded without saying anything.

Things are still fermenting.

On the Internet, forums such as Tianya, Xici Hutong, and Mop have exploded.

The post "Wu Chen accuses Lu Xun of plagiarism! Big earthquake in the entertainment industry!" on Tianya Forum's "Entertainment Gossip" section has surpassed 5000 views, sparking heated discussion among netizens.

[Netizen A]: Wu Chen is really bold in speaking out! Who in the entertainment industry isn't afraid of offending others? He's the one who directly and publicly expresses his views!
Netizen B: They can film in Hollywood and go straight to Berlin. They're certainly not afraid of offending anyone. Regardless of what Wu Chen says, the crux of the matter is that Lu Xun has absolutely no way of proving his innocence. The clips in "Kekexili" and "My Tibetan Antelope" aren't exactly the same, but they're pretty close.

[Netizen C]: Lu Xun’s response at the airport was too outrageous. “I wasn’t raised to be scared” made me laugh to death. I almost wanted to cry. Why doesn’t he use his acting skills in movies?
At the same time, well-known film critics in the blogosphere have also spoken out.

Film critic "Movie Fanatic Lao K" wrote in his blog:
"Wu Chen's remarks were undoubtedly a heavy blow, making this incident the focus of attention for the entire industry.

Whether it is plagiarism or not may have to wait for the court's decision, but from the perspective of film and television creation, the questioned passages in "Kekexili" do have too coincidental similarities.

This time, Lu Xun will likely face not only inquiries from the media, but also scrutiny from both inside and outside the industry."

Another senior film critic, "Black and White Light and Shadow", said in his column:
“Wu Chen’s attitude was very tough, but his remarks were not without reason.

Originality is the cornerstone of the film industry. If a film extensively borrows existing footage during its creation, with even the storyboards, composition, and scenes being extremely similar, then the audience has the right to question it."

Faced with overwhelming coverage and discussion, Lu Xun did not choose to remain silent, but instead held a press conference the next morning.

Lu Xun stood in front of the reporters with a gloomy expression.

"I want to solemnly declare that 'Kekexili' is not plagiarized. This film was created by our team with countless efforts. During the filming, we experienced extremely harsh conditions and almost risked our lives.

If Director Liu Yujun thinks I've plagiarized, we'll see you in court!"

As soon as the words were spoken, reporters quickly took notes and flash cameras kept flashing.

A reporter stood up and asked in a booming voice, "So what do you think about Director Wu Chen's comments about you plagiarizing?"

When Lu Xun heard Wu Chen's name, he became furious.

It's this bastard, otherwise he wouldn't be so passive.

Without this bastard's interference, the heat would not have exploded to such an exaggerated level.

However, the enraged Lu Xun still remembered Lu Tianming's instructions and suppressed his anger, whispering, "Wu Chen is not a judge, and he cannot represent the court!"

After saying that, Lu Xun turned away, leaving the room full of reporters looking at each other in bewilderment.

After the press conference, entertainment media quickly reported:
Lu Xun responds to plagiarism allegations: "Wu Chen cannot represent the court."

[Lu Xun holds press conference, plagiarism controversy lingers!] Meanwhile, on the Beijing Film Academy campus, Wu Chen is leisurely writing his new script.

Pu Songri and his companions came in with a newspaper and placed it on the table. "Brother Chen, Lu Xun criticized you, saying that you are not a judge and cannot represent the court."

Wu Chen glanced at it and smiled faintly.

"If he was right, why would he hold a press conference?"

The three of them were stunned, then burst into laughter.

Wu Chen spread his hands: "I'm telling the truth."

He picked up the newspaper, glanced at it for a few seconds, and then put it down casually. "I am not the court, but the audience is."

At this time, the film industry was in an uproar because of this incident, but Lu Xun obviously planned to drag it out. After all, the appeal trial would take several months or even half a year to complete, and he could still appeal after the first trial, so he could continue to drag it out.

Everyone in the circle understood that Lu Xun was going to do this.

At this moment, a piece of news saved Lu Xun, who was being chased by reporters.

On January 27, the Oscar nominations were announced. "House of Flying Daggers" was nominated for Best Cinematography but was not nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

"House of Flying Daggers" was not shortlisted for an Oscar, and domestic media quickly reported on it extensively.

It is not surprising that when the two heavyweight words "Oscar" and "Zhang Yimou" are combined together, it attracts the attention of the media.

Many people sighed.

At this time, news about Zhang Ziyi popped up at an inopportune time.

[Zhang Ziyi received an invitation to the Oscars and readily agreed to attend!]

"House of Flying Daggers" failed to make it into the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film list, and coupled with Zhang Yimou being busy with "A One Man's Journey", the chances of him attending the Oscars were almost slim.

This also means that Zhang Ziyi will be the only domestic star at this year's Oscars, and the actors in the circle are immediately jealous, and envy, jealousy and hatred surged up all at once.

However, Zhang Ziyi did not expect that this action would cause Zhang Yi to be very dissatisfied.

On the Lijiang film set, Zhang Yi looked unhappy and directed the crew to take a break, but he felt mixed emotions inside.

This was his fifth attempt to qualify for the Olympics, but he didn't expect to even make it this time.

Zhang Weiping came over and saw Zhang Yimou's face was as red as the bottom of a pot. He cursed: "Damn it, Zhang Ziyi is really a piece of shit. He is taking advantage of the opportunity to hype himself up without even considering the time!"

Zhang Weiping looked at Zhang Yimou who didn't say anything, and quickly made a promise: "Don't be discouraged, Lao Mouzi, we are a golden pair. As long as we work together, the Oscar will be yours sooner or later.

I was wrong this time. If I had asked Miramax, the distributor of "Hero", to handle it, "House of Flying Daggers" would probably have been shortlisted.

I just want to earn more copyright fees..."

Zhang Weiping chattered endlessly, and Zhang Yimou didn't even raise his eyelids. Finally, he blew out a smoke ring and said in a low voice:
“Get ready to shoot!”

The crew started working instantly and was busy like clockwork.

In the dormitory, Wu Chen listened to Park Song-il and others discussing the failure of the Oscar, tapping his fingers on the cover of the "Black Swan" script. On the computer screen, there was heated discussion inside and outside the industry about Zhang Yi's failure to win an Oscar.

“I think it’s the cultural differences between China and the United States!”

"No, I think the main reason is that our economic strength is not enough and our cultural industry is backward!"

"The internet says that 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' has won it, and Hollywood is no longer interested in kung fu films."

The three of them chatted back and forth, but Wu Chen stared at the screen, lost in thought.
(End of this chapter)