Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment from the Oscars

Su Chen held his phone in his hand, looking down at the brown-covered notebook on the table. He thought of his grandfather—Su Zhigao's father, an old worker who had spent his entire life in a printing factory. When he was a child, his grandfather had taken him to the factory to watch typesetting, telling him that every character had its own weight. His grandfather had never seen his films; he hadn't lived to see Su Chen get into the Beijing Film Academy, passing away the year before Su Chen received his acceptance letter. He gripped the phone, a lump forming in his throat. After a moment, he spoke.

"Dad, is Mom home?"

"Yes. Wiping away tears beside me."

Wu Qingfang's voice came from the other end of the phone as she snatched the receiver—"Son! That nomination, your dad was watching the live broadcast on TV the whole time, from beginning to end. I called him to eat breakfast but he wouldn't budge!" Su Chen heard his father mutter "Don't talk nonsense" beside him, and a smile finally appeared on his lips.

He hung up the phone, stood up, walked to the window, and drew back all the curtains. The Los Angeles sun had already risen behind the Hollywood Hills, its golden rays bathing the palm trees, the distant traffic on the highway, and the storyboard drafts he'd left unfinished on his desk the night before. He stood by the window for a moment, then returned to his desk, picked up his pen, and added another line below his Oscar nominations in his notebook—"February 12, 2001. Four nominations."

The reaction from domestic media was even more intense than Su Chen had anticipated.

CCTV devoted nearly three minutes of its morning news to reporting the Oscar nominations, cutting from footage of Su Chen receiving the Palme d'Or at Cannes to clips of You Benchang's performance in "Amour," and then to an official still from "Juno." The anchor's voice was unusually excited: "Our young director Su Chen's 'Amour' has received two nominations today at the 73rd Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor. This is the third time 'Amour' has received recognition from a top international award, following its Palme d'Or and Golden Globe nominations for Best Foreign Language Film. Meanwhile, another film directed by Su Chen, 'Juno,' has also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score. This is the first time in Chinese film history that two films by one director have received four nominations at the same Oscars."

The People's Daily prominently featured the nomination news on its front page, with the headline "Chinese Film Receives Four Oscar Nominations, Su Chen Makes History Again." The introduction stated, "From the Berlin Silver Bear to the Cannes Palme d'Or, from the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film to now four Oscar nominations, this 18-year-old Chinese director is proving with one film after another that Chinese stories can win applause on any stage of the world." The article specifically mentioned You Benchang's Best Actor nomination—"The 67-year-old veteran actor You Benchang, for his role as Liu Jianguo, a retired music teacher in 'Love,' became the first Chinese actor to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. You Benchang's famous 'slap scene' in the film was praised by the jury members as 'conveying the deepest emotions with the smallest movements.'"

The Guangming Daily's headline leans more towards a cultural perspective: "From the Palme d'Or to the Oscars: New Coordinates for Chinese Cinema." The reporter wrote in the article: "Su Chen's success is no accident. From *Black Coal, Thin Ice*'s gaze upon humanity amidst industrial ruins, to *Amour*'s reflection on aging and dignity, and then to *Juno*'s keen capture of the struggles of youth—this 18-year-old director's filmography has already demonstrated an astonishing breadth of subject matter and depth of humanism. He has proven through film that Chinese directors can not only make Chinese stories for Chinese audiences, but also stories that resonate with the world."

Yin Xue of the Beijing Youth Daily wrote a column titled "The Man Behind the Four Nominations." In the article, she recalled her first interview with Su Chen at Cannes: "When I asked him about his feelings on winning the award, he was silent for a few seconds and then said, 'I want to dedicate this award to my two leading actors, Teacher You Benchang and Teacher Wu Yanshu. They used their entire lives to help me complete a 90-minute film.' At that moment, I knew that this young man was not someone who would be blinded by awards. He was too clear-headed, more clear-headed than an eighteen-year-old. Perhaps it was this clarity that allowed him to make the leap from Berlin to Cannes and then to the Oscars in just two years—because he never regarded awards as the end, but only as a place for people to stop and catch their breath."

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Sina.com prominently featured the headline "Su Chen's Four Oscar Nominations: A Nationwide Frenzy!" on its entertainment channel homepage. Forum posts garnered over a thousand replies within two hours of the nominations announcement. One user, "Beijing Film Academy Student," posted, "I Attended a Lecture by Senior Su Chen at My School," writing: "Last month, Senior Su Chen returned to Beijing Film Academy to lecture to graduate students. The lecture hall was packed. Someone asked him how he makes films in Hollywood, and he said, 'A good story doesn't need to explain its nationality.' Now, his two films have received four Oscar nominations in the same year. Four. When I sat in the last row of the lecture hall listening to him say that, I thought it was just feel-good rhetoric. Now I believe it." In the comments, someone asked what the senior looked like, to which he replied: "Wearing a gray overcoat, the cuffs were frayed. He didn't look like an Oscar-nominated director; he looked like someone who had just come from the library to finish homework."

On Sohu.com's forum, a user named "Movie Maniac" posted a long thread titled "What exactly did Su Chen do right?" The post analyzed, "He doesn't choose the most profitable subjects, doesn't follow trends in making commercial blockbusters, and doesn't care about the preferences of film festival judges. He only does one thing—films people. 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' is about broken people, 'Amour' is about people at the end of their lives, and 'Juno' is about people who are accidentally hit but refuse to be victims. He found a narrative method that doesn't rely on any cultural symbols, focusing the lens on the essence of humanity. This is the fundamental reason why he received four Oscar nominations—not because he filmed Chinese stories, but because he filmed stories that people from any country can understand." Someone replied, "Was 'Night at the Museum' made because he wanted to prove that he could also make things that make people laugh?" The original poster replied, "Yes. An eighteen-year-old has already made four completely different types of films: crime, old age, youth, and fantasy comedy, and each one has reached an award-winning or box office level. This person doesn't play by the rules, but every card he plays is a royal flush." ​​This reply was liked over three thousand times, and someone commented, "Are you Su Chen himself?" The original poster replied with a smiley face.

People are also discussing You Benchang's Best Actor nomination. A netizen with the ID "Ji Gong Will Live Forever in My Heart" posted: "When I was a child, I watched You Benchang play Ji Gong and felt that he was Ji Gong himself. I haven't seen him much for decades and thought he had retired. But today he was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars! At sixty-seven years old! His first time playing a leading role in a movie! An Oscar nomination! What kind of script is this? This is a script that only exists in movies!" In the comments, some people posted photos of You Benchang on the stage when he was young, and others dug up old video screenshots of him playing Zhou Puyuan in "Thunderstorm". Someone replied: "Su Chen dug out a forgotten old actor and gave him a role that the whole world remembers. This is more touching than winning an award."

Meanwhile, "Night at the Museum" also brought good news during its Chinese New Year release. On its opening day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, it grossed over 18 million yuan nationwide, breaking the record for the highest-grossing opening day for an imported film during the Spring Festival. CCTV's movie channel, in a special report on the third day of the Lunar New Year, combined the film's box office success with its Oscar nomination, with the headline "Su Chen Achieves Double Success: Hollywood Fantasy Comedy a Hit During Spring Festival, Art Film 'Love' Aims for the Oscars." The report interviewed several audience members leaving the theater. A seven- or eight-year-old boy excitedly shouted to the camera, "When the dinosaurs came to life, I dropped my popcorn!" His father, standing beside him, added with a smile, "I enjoyed it very much myself; I never expected historical figures arguing to be so funny." Another middle-aged woman said she brought her grandson to see the film, but while he only laughed a few times, she laughed from beginning to end.

During the Spring Festival, "Night at the Museum" continued its run in theaters nationwide, grossing over 50 million yuan in its opening week and nearly 80 million yuan in its first two weeks. Han Sanping, in his office at China Film Group, received numerous requests from theaters across the country to add more screenings. He told Su Chen on the phone, "The Spring Festival box office champion is a sure thing. There's always been a demand for family-friendly comedies among domestic audiences, but this film you made is different from other domestic comedies—it's not a farce, it's a movie that can genuinely make both children and adults laugh. This type of film is extremely rare in China. There shouldn't be any doubt that it will ultimately gross over 100 million yuan."

Ultimately, *Night at the Museum* grossed 103 million RMB in its six-week run in China, becoming the highest-grossing film during the Spring Festival that year and the first imported family comedy to break the 100 million RMB mark in the Chinese film market. This figure was phenomenal in the 2001 Chinese film market—the total national box office that year was only a little over 1 billion RMB. For an imported film to achieve over 100 million RMB meant it was among the top-grossing films in the country that year. On the day the film surpassed 100 million RMB, Han Sanping sent Su Chen a fax with only one line: "It's over 100 million. From now on, China Film Group will give your films priority in screenings. This is a promise."

Los Angeles. On the day the nomination results were announced, Margaret from Sony Music Classics sent an email to Su Chen with the subject "Public Relations Strategies for Oscar Foreign Language Films and Best Actor". The email body was brief, containing only a few key points: "This year's foreign language film competition is fragmented, with no clear frontrunner. 'Amour' is the only film nominated with both the Palme d'Or and Golden Globe recognition, which is our core selling point. However, the average age of Oscar voters is relatively high, creating a certain cultural barrier for Asian films. Therefore, we need to do three things over the next three weeks: First, increase screenings—voters must see the film in person; second, strengthen media exposure—get Yu Benchang's story featured in more American media outlets; third, focus on the voter groups in New York and Los Angeles, as their votes carry the most weight. As for Best Actor, Yu Benchang's nomination is a historic breakthrough in itself, and winning would require a miracle—the current frontrunner is Russell Crowe's 'Gladiator'—but the nomination is enough. We will use the angle of 'being nominated for his first leading role at 67' for a media campaign, at least ensuring that Yu Benchang's name is remembered."

Su Chen replied to the email: "Agreed. I'll arrange the screenings. Professor You is flying to Los Angeles next week; you can arrange the interview time."

Jason brought the Sundance submission confirmation letter for "Juno" to Su Chen's room. The submission deadline was before the Oscar nominations were announced, and at that time, no one knew if "Juno" would receive an Oscar nomination. However, Jason prepared all the submission materials in advance as requested by Su Chen and sent them to the Sundance organizing committee four days before the deadline. The premiere date on the confirmation letter was January 28th, exactly two weeks after the Oscar nominations were announced.

"Double insurance," Jason said. "An Oscar nomination is icing on the cake, and Sundance is the Mecca for independent films. Two tracks pushing forward. The ideal result is an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay plus the Sundance Jury Prize—no one in the independent film industry has ever won both at the same time."

"Now we're just waiting for feedback from the Sundance premiere." Su Chen leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, which were sore from staying up all night editing.