Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 473, Section 471: Such Packaging

The moment Wang Sheng accepted the trophy at the Kodak Theater, time had quietly jumped to the afternoon of March 24th across China.

Tencent Technology Co., Ltd.

The editorial team responsible for the news channel and QQ pop-up push notifications were already on high alert.

They kept a close eye on the latest news from overseas news agencies, portals, and special correspondents in Los Angeles.

The moment the Oscars website updated the winners list and confirmed "Night at the Museum - Best Visual Effects," the editor-in-chief practically shouted, "It's confirmed! It's out! Push it across the board!"

next moment--

The QQ client, used by tens of millions of users online at the same time, started flashing almost simultaneously.

A news pop-up with a striking gold border forcibly occupied a corner of the screen:
[Breaking News! A Historic Breakthrough for Chinese Cinema! Director Wang Sheng's "Night at the Museum" Wins the Best Visual Effects Award at the 75th Academy Awards!]

Below the title is a snapshot of Wang Sheng holding an Oscar trophy and standing in front of a microphone, with the magnificent stage of the Kodak Theatre in the background.

On the side of the image, there is also a montage of cool special effects shots from "The Museum," showing the Terracotta Army coming to life and dinosaur skeletons chasing each other.

Almost simultaneously with the explosion of the QQ pop-up, Tencent's homepage instantly switched to its front page headline, with huge banners and bold red headlines occupying the most prominent positions.

The special inner pages were launched quickly, integrating award news, Wang Sheng's acceptance speech (in Chinese and English), exciting movie photo galleries, behind-the-scenes production tidbits, as well as "Oscars popular science" and "Wang Sheng's Hollywood conquest history".

"Push! Push it through all channels! Qiuqiu.com, Qiuqiu Games pop-ups, portal banners... I want everyone in the country with internet access to know this news within half an hour!" A Tencent representative shouted into the phone, his voice hoarse with excitement.

This is the first globally significant and positive explosive news that Tencent has achieved since its deep partnership with Wang Sheng, and the resulting traffic and brand enhancement effects are immeasurable.

The effect is immediate.

In what seemed like an instant, this good news swept through China, which was still in the PC Internet era, at the speed of a bit stream.

In the computer labs of various universities, after the constant chime of QQ notifications, there was a moment of silence among the students, followed by a huge burst of exclamations and discussions.

"Holy crap! Oscar! Wang Sheng is awesome!"

"The Museum won an Oscar? Really?"

"Look at the pop-up ad on QQ! Pictures don't lie!"

"Damn, I knew the special effects in this movie were amazing! Even the Americans are impressed!"

In the city's office buildings, white-collar workers who were engrossed in their work were drawn to a news pop-up, and whispers quickly broke out in the offices.

"Wang Sheng? Is he the director of 'The Museum'? He won an Oscar?"

"Best visual effects...that's really high quality!"

"This really makes the Chinese people proud!"

In internet cafes scattered throughout cities and towns across the country, this scene is even more spectacular.

Almost all the computer screens were flashing the same news pop-up, and the sounds of battle in games and dialogue in movies were temporarily drowned out by the heated discussion about the Oscars and Wang Sheng.

The network administrator had to shout to maintain order.

Following closely behind Tencent, major portal websites such as Sina, Sohu, and NetEase also quickly followed suit, treating the news as a headline, even though they were a step behind.

Traditional media were slightly slower to react, but the phones in the newspaper's editorial department were already ringing non-stop as the duty editors urgently changed the layout, preparing to replace the newspaper with this "bombshell" for tomorrow morning's release.

Online forums and BBS were in an uproar.

On platforms like Maoyan Movies, Tianya Community, and Xici Hutong, the film and television sections and gossip sections refresh posts at a speed comparable to the speed of light.

"Witness history! A Chinese film wins its first Oscar for technical excellence!" "Who says we can't create top-notch special effects? 'The Museum' is proof!"

"Wang Sheng is a good person to get along with; if something happens, he'll really be on the Oscars!"

"From 'Shaolin Soccer' to 'The Museum,' Sheng Ying is defying the odds!"

"I'm so moved! I always thought the Oscars were something I couldn't achieve, but now one of our own people has stood on them!"

National pride was ignited at this moment and spread and burned in the virtual space at an unprecedented speed.

For most Chinese netizens in 2003, and even more so for the general public, the Academy Awards still held a sacred aura.

That is the pinnacle of honor in the world film industry, a symbol of Hollywood's "cultural hegemony," and a hall of fame that countless filmmakers dream of but can never reach.

They neither know nor care how much money (such as the $1.5 million in public relations fees invested by Wang Sheng) and connections are needed to operate this prestigious institution. They are unaware of the tastes and preferences of the Academy judges and the factions within it, and they have no idea about the natural barriers that commercial genre films face when competing for major awards.

In their simple understanding, winning an Oscar is equivalent to being recognized as the best in the world and to bringing glory to the country.

This outburst of emotion coincided perfectly with the historical context of China at that time.

China officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001.

By March 2003, more than a year had passed.

"Accession to the WTO" has been given extremely high expectations. It means deeper integration into the globalization process, broader markets and opportunities, but it is also accompanied by concerns about intensified international competition.

In the past year or so, while ordinary people have certainly felt some changes brought about by market opening (such as more imported goods), their feelings about the concrete, visible, and proud "achievements" that "accession to the WTO" can bring are not particularly strong.

There is an underlying social need for landmark events that can prove "we have not only entered, but we can do it".

A film directed by a Chinese director, incorporating elements of Eastern culture, produced within the Hollywood industrial system, and achieving huge commercial success in the global market is already a remarkable achievement in the cultural field since China's accession to the WTO.

Now, this film has won the Academy Award, one of the highest technical honors in the global film industry!
This is no longer just an honor for the film industry; it has been instantly elevated to the national level and the height of cultural confidence.

It is like an outlet for emotions, igniting and releasing the expectations accumulated after China's accession to the WTO, the anxiety of wanting to be recognized by the world, and the sense of pride deep in the national blood!
"Look! Films made by Chinese people can also win Oscars!"

"This is the result of joining the WTO! Our culture can also succeed when it goes global!"

"Hollywood is no longer an insurmountable peak!"

Such arguments resonate in every corner of the internet.

At Shengying Media's headquarters in Jingxin Building, the front desk phone was ringing off the hook.

The media requested interviews, partners sent congratulatory messages, and some excited citizens even ran down to the building to get a closer look at the company that had created a "miracle."

Of course, amidst the boiling public opinion and official affirmation, there were also calm and even dissenting voices.

On a niche intellectual forum, someone also raised the question:

"It's just a technology award, is it really worth all this celebration?"

"The Oscars are just a tool for promoting American culture. Do we really need to idolize them so much?"

"Isn't there some kind of capital operation behind this?"

But these faint voices were quickly drowned out by the nationwide jubilation.

At this moment, the people need such a hero, and the country needs such a representative figure.

(End of this chapter)