Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 232 Oscar Manipulator!
After returning from his trip, Wu Yuchen first visited the set of "Spider-Man." Filming had already begun there, and as the producer, Wu Yuchen naturally wanted to check on things. Actually, he had been talking to Kevin Feige every day while in China to stay informed about what was happening on set, so he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the place.

After he arrived, he mainly communicated with director Sam Raimi and several other producers, discussed some problems they encountered, explored some doubts and confusions about the shooting plan, and came up with solutions.

Afterwards, he went to DreamWorks, mainly to cooperate with DreamWorks on some promotional work for "The Pirate King". "The Pirate King" has already started its pre-release promotion, but on a small scale, because Hollywood's focus is entirely on the Oscars. Even a large-scale promotion now would be less effective. Wu Yuchen is only filming some promotional clips to be used when the large-scale promotion begins.

Of course, he didn't forget to keep in touch with Glazer after returning, and he went to the set that had been built for "A Beautiful Mind" every day. In fact, everything was basically in place now, just waiting for him, the director. After Wu Yuchen finished dealing with the other two matters, the "A Beautiful Mind" crew officially started filming.

The filming schedule and arrangements were set in advance. Because Russell Crowe, the male lead, was still lobbying for the Best Actor award for "Gladiator," the scenes being filmed now were those of other supporting actors.

Wu Yuchen originally thought that Russell Crowe, the male lead, would not return until after the Oscars ceremony, but he didn't expect that he would join the crew shortly after March.

"Director, I heard you really need me~" Russell Crowe joked as he approached, showing no sign of his disappointment at not winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.

"Wow, Russell, you've really given me a big surprise!" Wu Yuchen said with a smile. This meant he joined the crew more than half a month early, saving him a lot of time.

Russell shrugged. "I was afraid that if I didn't come soon, Director Wu, you'd kick me out of the crew. But I need to take two days off at the end of the month to go to the Oscars. I'm sure you can understand."

Wu Yuchen nodded with a smile: "Of course."

He had just thought about it and roughly understood. The Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony had ended yesterday, and the Oscar voting was also nearing its end. There was no point in doing public relations after the voting ended, so Russell came to the set early.

Russell didn't immediately start filming after joining the crew, but instead did preparatory work first. Wu Yuchen would also communicate with him privately to improve their relationship and facilitate future cooperation.

"Hey Russell, how about it? Feeling confident?"

Russell, of course, knew that Wu Yuchen was asking about this year's Oscar for Best Actor, so he smiled and shook his head:

"The Oscars are indeed not that simple. It's a bit of a shame that I didn't win the Screen Actors Guild Award this time, but fortunately Benicio Del Toro wasn't in the running for Best Actor, otherwise we would have had another headache."

This year's Screen Actors Guild Awards didn't go to Russell Crowe for Best Actor; it went to Benicio Del Toro for *The Web*. However, the reason Russell isn't disappointed is that Del Toro didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He submitted his nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but because his screen time was insufficient, even if he had won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, it wouldn't have posed any threat to Russell Crowe's Oscar race.

Wu Yuchen smiled at Russell Crowe and said, "Russell, your performance in Gladiator was fantastic. With DreamWorks' help this year, you have a great chance."

"Thank you, Wu. But with Tom Hanks around, no one can say they're confident."

This year, Russell Crowe's biggest threat is still Tom Hanks, a two-time Oscar winner. It's common knowledge that the Academy favors Tom Hanks, just as much as it dislikes Tom Grimm. Many are now saying the Academy will give Tom Hanks his third Best Actor award.

Russell then smiled and said, "But compared to me, I think Ridley has a bigger headache."

Wu Yuchen knew that Russell Crowe was referring to Ridley Scott, the director of "Gladiator," who was also nominated for Best Director at this year's Oscars. However, compared to the Best Actor award, the competition for Best Director at this year's Oscars was truly exciting.

Ridley Scott is also a top-tier director in the United States today, and he is very experienced, with representative works such as Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, and Alien.

After the release of *Gladiator*, many people declared Ridley Scott a shoo-in for Best Director this year. However, the situation continued to change. First, Steven Soderbergh emerged, entering the competition with both *The Web* and *Erin Brockovich*, achieving the same double nomination as Wu Yuchen last year. Then, Li An appeared, winning Best Director at the Directors Guild Awards.

However, given the precedent of Wu Yuchen winning the Guild Award and receiving two nominations last year but failing to win an Oscar, neither Li An, who won the Guild Award, nor Soderbergh, who received two nominations, dared to say they were guaranteed an Oscar this year. Ridley Scott, naturally, is also taking this very seriously, working tirelessly on public relations and campaigning, making this year's Best Director award still the most suspenseful.

The day after Russell Crowe joined the cast, the second male lead also joined. The reason he joined around the same time is because he was also nominated for Best Actor at this year's Oscars, Ed Harris, for his role in "The Painter Pollack."

Upon joining the cast, Ed Harris greeted Wu Yuchen and immediately shook hands with Russell Crowe. This indicated that although the two would be rivals at the Oscars in two weeks, they would still work together amicably on the set of "A Beautiful Mind."

They're both professional actors, so they can tell the difference. But even if there's some competition between them, Wu Yuchen isn't worried, because their characters in the film already have a tense relationship.

This shows that the main actors in "A Beautiful Mind" are all true acting talents, so Wu Yuchen doesn't need to worry about training them.

Two weeks later.

"Alright! Let's call it a day!"

Wu Yuchen also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they finished filming this scene today, which was just in time to move to another location. He would let the crew move to the next scene in the next two days.

That evening, in the room, the leading lady, Jennifer Connelly, dressed in a black evening gown that revealed her fair shoulders and sexy cleavage, gestured to Wu Yuchen and asked:

"Honey, how about this one?"

Wu Yuchen looked her up and down with great interest, then said, "Very beautiful. You will be the most beautiful and charming woman at tomorrow's awards ceremony!"

That's right, Jennifer Connelly, the lead actress in "A Beautiful Mind," will also be attending tomorrow's Oscars because she has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Jennifer Connelly smiled upon hearing this, then touched her clothes and said, "I feel a little tight. I'm not going to eat tomorrow; I'm going to diet all day."

Dieting is one of the things many female celebrities do when attending the Oscars. The Oscars red carpet is an annual event, and nominees like Jennifer Lawrence may even walk the stage to accept an award. Therefore, they are particularly concerned about their figure after wearing the gown, afraid of showing any flaws.

Some people's bellies get bigger after eating a little bit of food, so for female celebrities who need to wear dresses and show off their figures, dieting has become a must for attending the Oscars. Some even start not eating or drinking a day in advance, at most just drinking a little water to moisten their throats.

This isn't just about body shape; it's also about avoiding needing to use the restroom after walking the red carpet tomorrow. Compared to men's suits, it's quite troublesome for female celebrities to use the restroom while wearing gowns.

Then Jennifer Connelly looked up at Wu Yuchen and asked, "Honey, will you be there to cheer me on tomorrow?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and walked towards her: "Of course, but I think I can give you a little encouragement now~"

"Oh no! Wu, you'll get your dress dirty!" Jennifer Connelly exclaimed immediately upon feeling Wu Yuchen's movements.

"Oh, baby, no, don't you trust my skills?" Wu Yuchen didn't stop what he was doing.

“Please, you’ll wrinkle it, let me take it off first,” Jennifer Connelly pleaded.

"Hehehe, what's the point of taking it off!" Wu Yuchen grinned mischievously as he stepped forward.

……

On March 25, 2001, the 73rd Academy Awards were held in Sacred Heart Cathedral, and Wu Yuchen was sitting in the cathedral at that time.

He's not here to support Jennifer Connelly at the Oscars; he already did that last night.

If he could, he would like to continue filming "A Beautiful Mind." However, the male and female leads, as well as the second male lead, all came to attend the Oscars. Wu Yuchen had already filmed all the scenes that needed to be shot except for theirs, so he could only let the crew rest for two days and simply came to attend this year's Oscars as well.

As for his status as the participant, just look at the people sitting next to him. To his left is Steven Soderbergh, the director of "The Internet," and to his right is Li An, the director of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Both of these films were invested in by his Miracle Pictures, so of course he could come if he wanted to!

The cast and crew of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" also included Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi. When they took their seats, Zhang Ziyi tried to be sneaky and sit next to Wu Yuchen, but Li An immediately pulled her up and pushed her aside. Having worked together for over half a year on set, he knew what kind of person Zhang Ziyi was. He'd let it slide in private, but at such an important event as the Oscars, she actually wanted to steal his spotlight?
Seeing that Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung had already taken their seats, and there were no more seats in that row, Zhang Ziyi had no choice but to move to the back row. Watching the three directors, Li An, Wu Yuchen, and Soderbergh, chatting and laughing together, Zhang Ziyi was unwilling to miss a good opportunity to build rapport, but there was nothing she could do.

"Best Art Direction... Congratulations, Tim Yip!" The award presenter, the beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones, announced the first award winner of the day, and the audience applauded.

The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon crew was especially delighted, as they won the first award at this year's Oscars. This was a great start for them, which is considered a good omen according to Chinese customs!
After Tim Yip gave an impassioned speech, Nicolas Cage took the stage to present a highly anticipated award, Best Supporting Actress, which made Jennifer Connelly quite nervous.

She was already nominated last year for "The Sixth Sense", and with another nomination this year, her chances of winning should be greater than last year!
However, the result disappointed her: "Best Supporting Actress... Marcia Guy Harden for 'The Painter Pollack'!"

But as the camera panned across the candidates, Jennifer Connelly had to maintain a polite smile and applaud them. After a moment, she turned her gaze to Wu Yuchen, who was sitting not far away. It seemed that if she wanted to win an Oscar, she would have to put in even more effort with him.

Jennifer Connelly is currently starring in "A Beautiful Mind," an Oscar contender. She has confidence in Wu Yuchen and believes he can get her nominated again. She'll have to ask him to invest more in her public relations efforts, otherwise she might end up in the same situation as she is today.

She could just buy him a few more dresses to play with, and even if he wanted something more exciting, it didn't matter. She'd already failed twice in a row at the nomination stage, so close yet forced to watch the Oscar go to someone else. She didn't want to experience it a third time!

The third award was presented by Russell Crowe: "Best Editing... Stephen Millian for 'The Unique Network'!"

Wu Yuchen clapped happily again. Now "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Dupin Network" each won an award, making it 1:1.

Following that were several awards for Best Short Film and Best Costume Design, Angelina Jolie went on stage to present the Best Supporting Actor award: "Best Supporting Actor... Benicio Del Toro for *The Unique Web*!"

This award is undisputed, after all, he already won the Guild of America Best Actor award for this role, so this nomination for Best Supporting Actor is almost a certainty.

Wu Yuchen was still smiling. "Dupin Network" scored another point, and it was a significant one, putting it ahead of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Following that were several awards, including Best Sound Editing, and then a song and dance performance. This time, the performers were several dancers dressed in ancient Chinese costumes, and the singer was none other than Coco Lee!

This marks the first time a Chinese-language singer has performed at the Oscars. Coco Lee wore a red cheongsam, showcasing Chinese elements, and sang "A Love Before Time," the English version of "A Love Before Time."

Wu Yuchen sat quietly in the audience, appreciating Li Wen's singing skills, which were quite impressive. She also had a great stage presence and a commanding aura, able to hold her own in the crowd.

And Coco Lee's performance seemed to be a premonition, as the next presenter, Julia Roberts, announced: "The winner of Best Cinematography is... 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' Peter Pau!"

The "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" crew cheered again, and Wu Yuchen clapped and nodded. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" adds another point, making it 2-2.

After several awards, including for documentaries, the male and female leads of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Leung Ka-fai and Michelle Yeoh, took to the stage as presenters for Best Visual Effects. This made Zhang Ziyi envious and jealous. How wonderful it would be if she could stand on the Oscar stage and under the spotlight!

The award for Best Visual Effects was given to Gladiator, and Wu Yuchen applauded and offered his congratulations. Now he and DreamWorks are friendly partners!

With Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh taking the stage, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon indeed won another award: "Best Original Score... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tan Dun!"

Wu Yuchen thought to himself, 3:2, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has scored another point and overtaken Dupin Network. His two sides are really neck and neck!

Finally, as the awards ceremony entered its second half, the Best Foreign Language Film award, which "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" had been eagerly anticipating, arrived.

According to Wu Yuchen, the Best Foreign Language Film award this year is still a foregone conclusion. None of the competitors are as good as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" should easily win this point.

as predicted.

"The winner of Best Foreign Language Film...Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!"

Wu Yuchen stopped clapping and stood up to hug Li An, saying, "Director Li, congratulations on winning the Academy Award!"

"Thank you, Director Wu! Thank you!" Li An patted Wu Yuchen happily.

Meanwhile, the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon crew was also jubilant. This is an Oscar, and although it's not the first Chinese-language Oscar, its prestige and influence are unmatched by any other award!

The crew members hugged each other in celebration. After Li An hugged several people, he went up on stage. Zhang Ziyi was also very happy; her work had won an Oscar! She wanted to come over and hug Wu Yuchen and Li An, but unfortunately, she was sitting in the back row and couldn't go forward.

By the time Li An stepped onto the stage, everyone had already sat down.

Li An held the Oscar statuette in his hand, then took out a piece of paper from his suit pocket and began to read it aloud:
"Thank you to the committee for awarding Best Foreign Language Film to 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' thank you to my producers Jiang Zhiqiang and Xu Ligong, and thank you to all the actors and staff who put in so much effort, thank you..."

This time, Li An wrote a string of names on the slip of paper, which he had prepared in advance, for fear of forgetting them when receiving the award.

After he finished speaking, he put away the note and looked down at the audience:

"At the same time, I would like to express my special thanks to director Wu Yuchen. The filming of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was extremely difficult. Without his help, there might not have been this movie at all. I am very grateful!"

Finally, this is an honor for Chinese-language films, thank you!

After Li An finished speaking, he smiled and walked off the stage, and a round of applause rang out in the audience.

At the same time, ABC television, which was broadcasting live, also turned its camera on Wu Yuchen because of Li An's speech. He was seen smiling and clapping.

Many viewers are already quite familiar with Wu Yuchen, after all, he has created high-grossing films in recent years, especially last year's "The Sixth Sense", which left a deep impression on many people. He also stepped onto the Oscar stage last year and won an Oscar.

At the same time, Li An's words also caught the attention of many actors, directors, and producers present. It seems that the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is inseparable from the support and help of the top director Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen simply smiled faintly, while silently noting to himself that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was leading "Dupin Network" 4-2. He glanced at Soderbergh sitting next to him, thinking, "Why don't you hurry up and catch up!"
The next award, Best Original Song, went to legendary American singer Bob Dylan. And right after that was the highly anticipated Best Actor award!
Although the camera focused on all five nominees, everyone's attention was drawn to Russell Crowe and Tom Hanks. As the presenter announced the award, Russell Crowe was extremely excited, but he still remembered his image as a mature man, suppressing his excitement and then politely embracing the people around him.

Wu Yuchen shook hands with Russell Crowe, who was passing by, and congratulated him. After watching him walk onto the stage, he realized that most of this year's Oscars seemed to have something to do with him.

The next award, Best Actress, was also a dream come true for Wu Yuchen, who successfully went on stage to accept the award. Wu Yuchen also congratulated Soderbergh beside her, as this was a major award won for his other film, "Erin Brockovich".

Following that, "Best Adapted Screenplay Winner... Stephen Gaghan for *The Unique Network*!"

Well, Dupin Network has caught up by one point, making it 4:3.

When it came to the penultimate award, Best Director, the entire audience held their breath, especially Li An, Soderbergh, and Ridley Scott.

The result was announced by Tom Cruise: "Best Director... *The Web*, Steven Soderbergh!"

Wu Yuchen thought to himself that it was a 4-4 tie, then stood up again and gave Soderbergh another hug, congratulating him. As for the heartbroken Li An on the other side, he couldn't care less.

Soderbergh acted quite pretentiously when he went on stage, holding the trophy up with his eyes closed for several seconds, which drew another round of applause and laughter from the audience before he finally began to speak:

"...

Yes, I want to thank you, Wu. When I was rejected for investment, you saw the potential in "Dupin Network" and generously supported it, which led us to where we are today!

As Soderbergh spoke, the live broadcast camera once again focused on Wu Yuchen, who was sitting upright with a faint smile on his face.

At the same time, everyone's attention was focused on Wu Yuchen. This was not the first time he had been thanked today. There was also Li An who had given him a special thanks earlier!

Actually, it wasn't just Soderbergh and Li An; some of the winners of "The Unique Web" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" had already mentioned thanking Wu Yuchen. But hearing it from the two directors themselves made an even deeper impression on everyone present.

Those who are paying attention in the audience have noticed that "The Unique Online" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" together won a total of 8 awards today, including many prestigious awards such as Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor!

Many Oscar losers and aspiring actors have a strong memory of Wu Yuchen and Miracle Films.

People have gained a new understanding of Wu Yuchen's influence and power. Although he did not attend the Oscars this year, his company helped two films win numerous awards.

What is this? This is the Oscar promoter!
(End of this chapter)