Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 104 Defeat (4K views, please vote)

Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles.

The 63rd Golden Globe Awards ceremony is being held in the Grand Ballroom.

At a round table at the back of the banquet hall, Chen Kaige sat with a glass of champagne in his hand, but showed little interest in tasting it.

Beside him, Chen Hong was dressed to the nines, her face adorned with an impeccable social smile. But her fingers, hidden beneath the folds of her long dress, were unconsciously and gently fiddling with the strap of her evening bag.

Tonight, their film "The Promise" has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

For Chen Kaige, this awards ceremony across the ocean was not just a simple journey to win an award, but also a holy war to prove his innocence.

"A bunch of mediocre people who don't understand what true poetry is or the mysteries of fate are."

From the very first day he arrived in Hollywood, Chen Kaige said this to Chen Hong more than once, his tone carrying an almost tragic and aloof air.

In the public discourse in mainland China, he felt like a lonely prophet, nailed to the pillar of shame by the audience he wanted to enlighten.

Therefore, he placed all his hopes on Hollywood and on the judges of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

He stubbornly believes that only this group of elites with a global perspective can truly understand the philosophical discussions in "The Promise".

"Kaige, relax. The core judges of the Foreign Correspondents' Club were very nice to us at the reception the day before yesterday." Chen Hong turned her head slightly and whispered in Chen Kaige's ear.

She knew her husband all too well; beneath his straight back lay an extremely sensitive and proud nerve, one that could snap at any moment during this awards ceremony.

Chen Kaige nodded slightly, picked up the champagne in front of him, and took a sip: "I'm fine. Truth is often lonely. Like when 'Farewell My Concubine' was in Cannes, they only understood Cheng Dieyi at the last moment. When the West faces a true Eastern epic, it needs time to develop a sense of awe."

At that moment, the stage lights suddenly dimmed. The presenters walked onto the stage, and clips of the Best Foreign Language Film nominees began playing on the big screen.

The films submitted by China include "The Promise," Hong Kong's "Kung Fu Hustle," France's "Merry Christmas," South Africa's "Gangsters," and Palestine's "Heaven Now."

When the vividly colored scene of Jang Dong-gun running wildly through a herd of cattle in "The Promise" flashed across the Hollywood big screen, Chen Kaige's Adam's apple bobbed subtly. He slightly raised his chin, trying to make himself appear as if he were looking down on the masses rather than awaiting judgment.

In his view, Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" was nothing more than a cheap, market-driven spectacle, lacking any real artistic merit; while the films from Europe and Africa were politically correct but lacked epic grandeur.

In terms of both visual splendor and philosophical grandeur, tonight's trophy should rightfully belong to his film, *The Promise*.

The winner of the 63rd Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is—

'

The sound of the award presenter tearing the envelope was amplified by the microphone and clearly rang throughout the banquet hall.

Chen Kaige's hands clenched slightly on his knees.

"Paradise Now, Palestine!"

A thunderous applause erupted in the grand banquet hall, and people at the surrounding tables rose to congratulate the award-winning film crew.

On the round table in the middle and back, the flow of time seemed to be infinitely stretched and frozen in that instant.

Chen Kaige's smile froze for a moment, then the meticulously crafted smile returned perfectly to his face.

As he gracefully joined the applause, he looked at the cast and crew representatives walking toward the stage with an extremely calm, even slightly compassionate gaze.

"In the end, it's still a political vote." Chen Kaige's words revealed no emotion.

"Hollywood has ultimately fallen short; they need to use an award to pay for the situation in the Middle East, which has nothing to do with art itself."

Chen Hong gently patted the back of his hand without saying a word, but the gloom in her eyes lingered. The setback at the Golden Globe meant that their public relations strategy of "using international honor to bolster domestic public opinion" had failed at this moment.

The celebrities in the grand ballroom were still cheering for the Palestinian film crew.

Chen Hong sat upright in the chair. She could clearly feel that the occasional glances from around her had lost some of their previous politeness and gained a touch of Hollywood realism and indifference.

Hollywood has never lacked ambition, nor has it lacked outsiders who come knocking on its door with huge sums of money.

But before the results are in, the so-called "Eastern Master" is nothing more than a wealthy exotic figure in the eyes of these Hollywood film producers.

Just as Chen Kaige was trying his best to control his facial muscles and convince himself with a long-winded theory of political voting, Zhang Ziyi, wearing a striking red dress, sat down in the position directly opposite the main stage.

Sitting beside her were Hollywood godfather Steven Spielberg and Rob Marshall, director of "Memoirs of a Geisha".

As the nominee for Best Actress in a Drama Film tonight, she truly hit the core of Western aesthetics and topics with "Memoirs of a Geisha," a film that sparked huge controversy and attention worldwide.

Even though the film, in which a Chinese-American actress plays a Japanese geisha, has received mixed reviews, no one can deny that Zhang Ziyi's current momentum in Hollywood is unmatched by other actresses of the same caliber.

As Chen Kaige's gaze swept over Zhang Ziyi's spirited profile, a subtle darkness flickered in his eyes.

Once upon a time, these young actors, who were skilled on the international stage, would greet him with utmost respect.

Director Chen.

What made Chen Kaige feel even more frustrated was that Zhang Ziyi was not only a highly anticipated favorite to win an award tonight, but also a heavyweight award presenter specially invited by the organizing committee.

As the ceremony entered its second half, the atmosphere reached its peak.

The big screen began scrolling through the nominees for the most prestigious and fiercely contested award of the night—Best Director.

Amidst the intense attention, Zhang Ziyi gracefully walked to the center of the stage.

"Now, let's take a look at the list of nominees for Best Director at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards." Zhang Ziyi's voice clearly resonated throughout the venue through the microphone.

Then, clips of the nominations began playing on the big screen: George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck," Steven Spielberg's "Munich," Peter Jackson's "King Kong," Woody Allen's "Match Point," Fernando Meirelles' "The Constant Gardener," and Li An's "Brokeback Mountain."

On stage, Zhang Ziyi smiled and bent down to open the golden envelope in her hand.

She took a deep breath and, in an extremely loud and clear tone, even carrying a hint of resonance characteristic of the Chinese people, loudly proclaimed the name: "The winner of Best Director is—Li An, for *Brokeback Mountain*!"

Boom! Hundreds of top Hollywood executives and stars in the audience stood up in an instant!

In the center of the stage, Zhang Ziyi held the heavy golden trophy high, his eyes gleaming with an unusual light.

When Li An walked up to her, Zhang Ziyi, who is known for her haughty marketing, actually slightly bent her knees and handed the trophy to Li An with both hands in a respectful manner, almost like a junior meeting an elder.

The two then embraced tightly, and this scene of "Chinese people presenting an award to Chinese people" instantly became the most historically significant moment of the 63rd Golden Globe Awards.

"Thank you, thank you everyone."

That night at the Hilton Hotel became Li An's coronation ceremony. Best Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Director, Best Drama Film... Brokeback Mountain swept the awards season with a terrifying display of four major awards.

Chen Kaige, sitting in the back, was frozen in a near-suffocating state. Looking at Li An on the stage, an overwhelming sense of absurdity and frustration suddenly welled up within him.

This is an extremely cruel contrast.

"Kaige...should we leave first?" Chen Hong looked at her husband's face, which appeared somewhat ferocious under the red and green spotlight, and whispered her advice.

She knew Chen Kaige's pride all too well. Staying on set to watch Li An's investiture of the gods was tantamount to a public execution for Chen Kaige.

Chen Hong's words made Chen Kaige fall silent for a moment.

On stage, Li An was still giving his acceptance speech. Spotlights, applause, and flashes were all focused on the man in the black tuxedo.

After a long while, Chen Kaige slowly stood up.

"Let's go." His voice carried an indescribable weariness.

Chen Hong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. What she was most worried about was not losing, but losing too badly.

Fortunately, Chen Kaige managed to maintain his dignity in the end.

The two left the banquet hall through a side door, followed by thunderous applause. At that moment, the Golden Globe journey of "The Promise" officially came to an end.

As the night in Los Angeles gradually faded, it was dawn in China across the ocean.

The Golden Globe Awards results instantly transformed into a Category 12 media storm that swept across the entire internet.

Domestic netizens are currently in a frenzy of parodying "The Promise," and the Golden Globe results have undoubtedly provided the most powerful fuel for this frenzy: "The Promise suffers a crushing defeat at the Golden Globes, the pedestal of the master has completely collapsed!"

"Stephen Chow's 'Kung Fu Hustle' narrowly lost, Chen Kaige's 'The Promise' became a runner-up, and a 300 million yuan investment went down the drain!"

"Look at Li An's towering mountain, then look at Chen Kaige's single steamed bun—that's the difference!"

Inside the hotel room, Chen Kaige trembled with anger as he looked at the dense, malicious comments on his computer screen.

*Bang!* He slammed his hand on the table, abruptly stood up, and roared at Chen Hong, "Narrow-minded! Ignorant! What do they know about *The Promise*? I think until their aesthetic sense improves, no one will be able to understand the avant-garde nature of *The Promise*!"

Chen Hong looked at her somewhat hysterical husband and sighed softly to herself.

She stepped forward and gently hugged him from behind, trying to soothe his proud soul, which had begun to despair, with her own body heat.

The dust had barely settled from the Golden Globe Awards when time flew by amidst countless controversies and war of words.

Before we knew it, it was January 31st, the day the Oscar nominations were announced.

It's 5:30 a.m. Los Angeles time.

A large number of reporters had gathered outside the academy headquarters, with cameras set up all over the street and rows of television broadcast vans parked there.

For the entire film industry, today marks the official announcement of the final battleground. Countless film companies, public relations teams, producers, and actors are awaiting the final result.

Meanwhile, some people in the domestic film and television industry also stayed up all night, and various media outlets had prepared different articles, just waiting for the starting gun.

At 8:30 a.m., the college president officially stepped onto the podium and began announcing the nomination list.

Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay... one award after another was announced.

And the name "Brokeback Mountain" began to appear again and again.

As the list continued to grow, the press section began to stir.

Because everyone realized one thing: this year's "Brokeback Mountain" is even more powerful than expected.

When the final results were announced, the entire audience gasped in surprise, with "Brokeback Mountain" leading the Oscar race with eight nominations.

On the other side, Chen Kaige sat quietly in front of the hotel television, staring intently at the screen.

Chen Hong stood behind him, her hands resting on the back of the sofa, even her breathing unconsciously becoming softer.

The screen was displaying the updates for technical and major supporting actor awards. As "Brokeback Mountain" churned through the nominations like a bulldozer, Chen Kaige's gaze grew increasingly profound.

"Next, we announce the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film..." The presenter's voice made Chen Kaige straighten his back instantly.

On the big screen, five movie titles appeared one after another: South Africa's "Gangsters," Palestine's "Paradise Now," Germany's "Sophie Sauer: The Last Days," France's "Merry Christmas," and Italy's "Don't Say."

The list ends here; "The Promise" is not included.

Not only did it not win the Best Foreign Language Film main competition, but it didn't even receive a technical nomination for Best Cinematography or Best Costume Design, which the PR team had previously speculated it might win.

Everything fell apart; a complete and utter failure.

Chen Kaige froze, and the atmosphere in the room grew cold again.

"Still didn't get in." Chen Hong broke the silence in a low voice, her tone revealing undisguised disappointment.

The Golden Globes can still console themselves with political votes, but now even the Oscars are shutting them out, which means that the North American public relations path for "The Promise" has been completely dead.

However, the heavy blow Hollywood dealt to the Chinese community tonight seems to extend beyond just "The Promise".

The images on the television screen continued to scroll, and soon came to the most anticipated core acting award—Best Actress.

Right after the Golden Globe Awards, domestic media were still praising Zhang Ziyi, believing that her Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for "Memoirs of a Geisha" had already put her in the core of the Western mainstream film circle.

Countless Chinese movie fans are eagerly anticipating Zhang Ziyi's next step and hoping she will receive a highly prestigious Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

On television, the guests began to loudly announce: "Liss Witherspoon's 'Going Forward,' Felicity Hoffman's 'Trans-America,' Charlize Theron's 'North Country,' Judi Dench's 'Mrs. Henderson's Theatre,' and Keira Knightley's 'Pride and Prejudice.'"

All five names were given by people with uniformly white faces.

There is no Zhang Ziyi.

Furthermore, the names of Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh also completely disappeared from the subsequent list of Best Supporting Actress winners.

The Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood expressed their stance in this way: they have no say in the nominations for technical awards, but in the most fundamental performing arts, these Asian actors in kimonos simply do not qualify for the core of mainstream white aesthetics.