Huayu: Enjoy Yourself

Chapter 52 The Sudden Golden Rooster Invitation

Besides the publicity, Chen An received another message. .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤° 69𝔰𝓗𝔲𝓧.¢𝐨ᗰ °¤*(¯´★`¯)*¤°•.

This year's Golden Rooster Awards sent an invitation to Chen An.

To be honest, Chen An didn't really want to go, not because he looked down on the Golden Rooster Awards.

Rather, it's likely that the Golden Rooster Awards don't think much of him, and if he goes, he'll just be there to keep them company, so it's better not to go at all.

"Brother Chen, you still have to go," Han Sanping, who was sitting next to Chen An, advised him.

Chen An sighed helplessly, "What's the point of going? To be a sex slave?"

"You can't say that. After all, it's our own award, so we should still support it." Han Sanping had no choice; he couldn't get involved.

They were all veteran professionals, some of whom had retired.

"I support them, but will they support me?" Chen An had some understanding of the Golden Rooster Awards.

As the only film award held every two years, this alone makes it quite bizarre.

He would rather believe that he would have won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last time than believe that he would actually win the grand prize.

Back when Jiang Wen returned, "In the Heat of the Sun" won numerous awards at the Golden Horse Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor, as well as several other awards.

Although Chen An isn't the type to care a lot about face, if you go there and end up with nothing, where will Chen An put his face?

It's not that they're incapable of doing it.

You said that domestic directors like to explore human nature and like to film rural and dark scenes.

The Golden Rooster Award had no impact?

He just won Best Director at Cannes, the first award for a Chinese-language film, and then returned to China and received no awards at all.

It is not impossible.

Because it was released hastily, it was not shown in Taiwan, nor was it submitted for the Golden Horse Awards.

"I haven't even submitted anything and they've already shortlisted me. What's the meaning of this direct notification?" Chen An asked Han Sanping.

As for the Golden Rooster Awards, Chen An hadn't even submitted his application, yet he was nominated on his own. Chen An didn't understand what that meant, and now the announcement had already been issued.

Han Sanping has already notified them, including the Beijing Film Studio.

Han Sanping was also a little confused: "After all, you are qualified to be shortlisted, and it's possible that they are planning to reserve an award for you."

Besides considering seniority, the Golden Rooster Awards are also notorious for their ruthless distribution of prize money.

Having worked in the industry for so many years, he had some understanding of the situation, so he didn't submit the film through the Beijing Film Studio.

But now that he's nominated himself, he doesn't understand it.

Chen An has no expectations for awards. "Run Lola Run" is a very novel film even abroad, both in terms of subject matter and structure.

Let alone in China.

Having no other choice, Chen An finally agreed after repeated persuasion from Han Sanping.

If you really take me completely seriously, I'm not going to fight you anymore!

12 month 16 day.

In eastern Guangdong, there is a market known for its "Shadowless Foot" style of kicking.

Han Sanping came in person this time, bringing Chen An and the "Run Lola Run" crew to the Golden Rooster Awards.

"Director Chen, as the youngest nominee at this year's Golden Rooster Awards, you've been nominated for three awards: Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Are you confident of winning big?"

On the red carpet, a reporter asked Chen An, who was wearing a suit, a question.

Facing the camera, Chen An leaned closer to the microphone: "There's no question of confidence or lack thereof. I'll leave everything to the judges; my opinion doesn't count."

He then stopped answering and gave the spot to the lead actress, Ning Jing, who was also nominated for Best Actress.

In addition, another of her film crews also received a nomination for "Red River Valley," but she chose to follow Chen An's crew.

Although Jiang Wu did not receive a nomination, he still came with the crew.

This event is not just about the Golden Rooster Awards, but also the 6th China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, which includes not only the Golden Rooster Awards but also the Hundred Flowers Awards.

However, although the Hundred Flowers Awards, along with the Golden Rooster Awards and the Huabiao Awards, are known as the three major awards in mainland China, they each have different focuses.

The Hundred Flowers Awards can be considered a popularity award, the Golden Rooster Awards are popular film awards, and the Huabiao Awards are known for their trophies.

Before entering, I also met some veteran directors whom I had never met before, such as Xie Jin, one of the "Three Xies," a legend in Chinese cinema.

However, the film "The Opium War," which was nominated this time, suffered a major setback, with the huge production cost resulting in a failure.

Upon seeing the old man, Chen An still took the initiative to greet him.

I didn't expect the other person to recognize me, but they didn't say anything and said we'd talk again next time.

Once inside, the program team arranged for us to sit in a relatively forward position, in the second row.

"Brother Han, did the production cost of 'The Opium War' really reach 100 million?" Chen An asked Han Sanping curiously while watching the program on stage, sitting in his seat.

Han Sanping kept his eyes fixed on the stage and replied, "Not quite there yet, but almost."

Hearing him say that, Chen An roughly understood and was quite impressed.

In this era, Chen An wouldn't even dare to dream of such a high-cost endeavor.

No wonder you looked so worried when we met.

After the awards ceremony began, the Hundred Flowers Awards were presented first, and Ning Jing won the Best Actress award for "Red River Valley," just like in her previous life.

Chen An also clapped and congratulated him from below.

However, when it came to the Golden Rooster Awards, Chen An won the award not long after, and the situation did not unfold as Chen An had anticipated.

First, he won the Best Screenplay award, something Chen An hadn't expected; he hadn't thought he could beat "Leaving Lei Feng's Days".

After taking the stage, Chen An delivered his prepared acceptance speech: "Thank you."

Everything was prepared in advance; I thanked everyone.

After stepping down from the stage, Han Sanping clapped and congratulated her with a smile: "It seems things won't turn out as you thought. Congratulations!"

"I was overthinking it. I should thank Brother Han for his advice," Chen An said with a smile to Han Sanping.

Having already won one of the nominated awards, Chen An won't be left empty-handed and humiliated.

Not long after, "Run Lola Run" won another major award. When one thing didn't work out, another did. Ning Jing won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress for her role in "Run Lola Run"!

It's the first time in history that two actresses have won Best Actress at a single Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival!

Ning Jing happily stood up and hugged the crew. Chen An also stood up and clapped to congratulate her: "Although it wasn't Cannes, you still won Best Actress, and you even won two at once! Congratulations, Sister Jing!"

"I should thank you for casting me. Of course, it would be even better if I could win the Cannes Best Actress award, hahaha," Ning Jing said with a smile before turning around and going on stage to accept the award.

This award did not diminish her hard work at the time; after filming, all she wanted to do was lie in bed and not go anywhere.

After Ning Jing went on stage, she politely thanked Chen An, and also thanked him for not killing her on set. If it had been cut a few more times, she would have wanted to jump into the sea and end it all.

His joke caused everyone present to burst into laughter, and Chen An could only awkwardly clasp his hands in apology.

Nothing changed after that. The film that won the most awards was "The Opium War." It was a box office failure but a success in awards. However, Xie Jin's face still showed the same melancholy as before.

Best Director goes to Wei Lian for "The Great Turning Point," and Chen An is just as good, awesome!

Films featuring large-scale mise-en-scène are indeed a strength of the older generation of filmmakers; such directors are almost extinct in later generations, which is also related to the times.

At this point, they were using real troops; what could you possibly compare to their world's number one army?

No amount of extras or special effects will help.

After the awards ceremony, Chen An and Han Sanping attended a celebration banquet together, even though Chen An didn't win any major awards.

But none of that matters to him. He doesn't care as long as you don't pull any dirty tricks on me. Otherwise, he'll just follow Feng Xiaogang's example and start firing directly.

Everyone, stop playing!

As for awards, you're not one of the top three, so you can't make money from them. The reason the top three are the top three is because they can actually make money.

The same goes for the Oscars; winning an Oscar can cause box office revenue to skyrocket.

But for Ningjing, it was a great success.

At the banquet, he thanked Chen An profusely, constantly offering toasts until Chen An was overwhelmed and had to repeatedly decline.

"No, Sister Jing, I have things to do. My new movie is about to be released, and I'm busy. I really can't drink."

"You're such a big man, always dawdling. Never mind, I'll call you next time since you're busy." Ning Jing said this, but he didn't complain.

After saying that, he didn't offer any more toasts and went to find someone else.

She was indeed quite happy today and planned to drink until she dropped, which was also related to her philandering older brother, Jiang.

Liu Xiaoqing, as expected of Brother Jiang's first love, knows him very well. She directly overturned the table with a do-or-die move, telling Ning Jing that everyone should stop playing!

I'm begging you, I know you're all incredibly capable and possess extraordinary skills, but please stop going around talking about Yu Feihong all the time. I've specifically avoided mentioning her at all, yet you guys still go around spreading misinformation.

(End of this chapter)