Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 281 A Little Life of Wanting to Stir Up Trouble
After receiving a satisfactory answer from Spielberg, Wu Yuchen left with a smile on his face.

With "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" vying for an Oscar, his goal was to win Best Director.

In terms of timing, location, and people, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" has advantages in both aspects.

The opportune moment is the Iraq War currently brewing between George W. Bush and the Black House, which is fueling anti-war sentiment in Hollywood. Anti-war films will undoubtedly have a significant advantage in this year's Oscars.

The key element is Wu Yu-chen himself. His network has been expanding steadily over the past two years. He's collaborated with DreamWorks and Universal on *The Pirate King*, co-produced *Spider-Man* with Sony, and made *The Hours* with Fox. Warner Bros. is also in talks with him about the *Batman* project. Through the profits from these projects, he's made many people his stakeholders, which subconsciously makes Hollywood studio executives with voting rights lean towards him.

At the same time, Wu Yuchen is no longer an Oscar newcomer. He has already made two attempts for the Best Director award, and although it is regrettable that he failed twice, it has also earned him points, which will make many judges have some psychological bias when they think of him.

The only thing "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" lacks is location; it's a Chinese-language film, not an English-language one, making it virtually impossible to compete for Best Picture these days.

Some might say that "The Last Emperor" won Best Picture, but please note that although the actors in "The Last Emperor" are all Chinese, it is an English-language film, not a foreign language film. The actors speak English directly, and their dialogue is in English during the performance. Therefore, this film was competing for Best Picture, not Best Foreign Language Film.

In other words, unless Wu Yuchen is willing to have "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" filmed and released in English, it has no chance of winning Best Picture. This is the current unspoken rule in Hollywood.

This is certainly unacceptable to Wu Yuchen. Although a significant reason for making this film was to win an Oscar, it was also a film dedicated to China. It was to represent China on the international stage and raise awareness of the persecution suffered by China during the War of Resistance against Japan, so that more people would pay attention to this history.

The director of "The Last Emperor" is Italian, but Wu Yuchen is a native Chinese. How could he turn this movie into a purely English film? Why did he go through all that trouble to make it?

The first foreign language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars was Parasite in 2020. By then, the social and Hollywood environment had changed significantly, and the voices of ethnic minorities had risen considerably.

At the same time, the Oscars' global influence has significantly diminished compared to its peak. Whether it's "Parasite" winning Best Picture or Michelle Yeoh's first Oscar for Best Actress, these are both signals the Oscars are sending to the world, demonstrating their openness and inclusivity.

The main purpose is actually to attract more attention and traffic from Asians, since traffic means lots of green dollars!
However, the Oscars are currently at the peak of their influence, so there is no need for them to do so.

On the other hand, Wu Yuchen just won the Best Picture award last year with "A Beautiful Mind". Unless the film is unparalleled in every aspect this year, he will basically have no chance of winning the Best Picture at this year's Oscars.

Therefore, Wu Yuchen has never held out hope of winning the Oscar for Best Picture with a Chinese-language film; his initial goal was the Best Director award.

……

Marilyn is a fan of Wu Yuchen, and has been for a long time. She had already been paying attention to Wu Yuchen since "The Night of the Comet" before he entered Hollywood, and she realized that she liked his work when he was filming "Run Lola Run".

Actually, compared to Wu Yuchen's commercial films, Marilyn prefers his art-house movies, such as *Love*, *The Sixth Sense*, and *A Beautiful Mind*, believing these films resonate more deeply with her. Yes, she's essentially an American art-house woman.

This time, Wu Yuchen's "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" received high praise at its premiere, with many film reviews praising it. This naturally aroused Marilyn's desire to watch the film, so she dragged her friends across most of the city to queue up for tickets at one of the few theaters that were showing it.

Marilyn and her friend entered the theater laughing and chatting, but when they came out, their eyes were red and swollen, and they kept wiping away tears with tissues.

"Director Wu is so cruel! Why couldn't he give the cute little angel a better ending! Xi Xi is so cute and kind, I will never forget his pure and innocent eyes..." the friend cried.

Marilyn then said, "While you're grieving for Xixi, please don't forget Xiaochun. He shouldn't be treated differently just because he's a child from a concentration camp. And there are everyone else in the camp; they are all equally innocent."

My friend was stunned for a moment, then covered her mouth and said, "Oh my god, I really feel ashamed. All my attention was on Xixi!"

Marilyn remarked, "I think this is also a deeper meaning that Director Wu wanted to convey. Xi Xi is very pitiful, but did those people in the concentration camp deserve to die? Even if Xi Xi is rescued, who understands their tragic fate, and who cares about it?"

After listening, my friend nodded vigorously and said:

"The culprits behind all this are the aggressors who started the war—the Japanese! My God, if I hadn't seen this movie, I would never have known that the Japanese had committed such heinous acts! They are no better than Nazia of Germany!"

Marilyn felt the same way. She was a young American born in the 80s. Although she had heard of the Pearl Harbor attack and knew that Japan was a war criminal country in World War II, she knew nothing about Japan's past actions.

On the contrary, because Japan has been subservient to the United States for decades, her impression of Japan is mostly based on the games she has played and the movies she has watched: the adorable Pikachu, the super plumber Mario, the wealth of the Japanese people as the richest country in Asia, and their politeness and meticulousness...

But now, through this film, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," although there are no bloody scenes in the movie, the whole film tells the story of the crimes against humanity committed by the Japanese.

What Marilyn wants to do most right now is go home and search online to find out if the adorable Xi Xi, Xiao Chun, and the other people in the concentration camp actually existed in history.

If that's really the case, then for the sake of lovely Xixi and Xiaochun, she will promote "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" to everyone around her. This is the only thing she can do for the two little angels in her heart!
……

"Wu, Nicole, Jennifer, look here!" In the camera's view, Wu Yuchen stood in the middle, flashing a bright smile. On either side of him stood two stunning beauties, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Connelly, both dressed beautifully and giving a charming smile towards the flashing lights.

Half a month later, following "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," Wu Yuchen is attending the premiere of "The Hours" with two women. He had promised the two women, so naturally he wouldn't go back on his word.

At the premiere, many reporters also asked questions:
Nicole, are you going to try your luck at the Oscars again this year?

"Of course, the Oscar is the goal of every actor!"

"Jennifer, between you and Nicole, who is the lead in this movie? What do you think of Nicole's performance?"

Jennifer Connelly smiled slightly: "Nicole did a great job, but my role wasn't any less than hers."

"Wu, what's your assessment of their performances?"

Wu Yuchen remained composed despite the many gazes upon him: "This film can be summed up in one sentence: three women make a drama. Whether it's Nicole or Jenny, they're both fantastic. As for who's better, I think that's a question only the Oscar judges can ponder."

For "The Hours," he offered Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Connelly the same assistance, helping them apply for Best Actress and also doing public relations for them afterwards. Whether they win or not really depends on themselves.

"Wu, you have two films vying for Oscars this year. Which one will you focus on?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Boy in Striped Pajamas and Hours are both my works, so there's no distinction between them. Besides, these two films express different themes and will have different audiences, so they don't compete with each other much."

Wu Yuchen was telling the truth. He had already divided the two films, targeting different awards. "The Hours" was aiming for Best Actress, and that was the direction of its promotion and marketing. Of course, at this stage, the goal for both films is to secure as many nominations as possible.

At that moment, a voice among the reporters shouted:
"Director Wu, regarding your film 'The Boy in Striped Pajamas,' some Japanese groups have already lodged protests, saying that you have portrayed Japanese people in a negative light. What is your opinion on this issue?"

Upon hearing the question, Wu Yuchen turned to look at the reporter, who had an Asian face and was possibly an American of Japanese descent.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "I don't think there's anything controversial about 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.' During World War II, Japan, as the aggressor, pursued fascism and committed unforgivable crimes against China, the whole of Asia, and even the whole world. This is an ironclad historical fact!"

The man immediately added, "But regarding the concentration camps described in your film, the Japanese side believes that they are completely fictitious and fabricated by you!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen's expression immediately turned serious, and he couldn't help but shout:

"Completely fictitious? To date, many former concentration camp sites still remain on Chinese soil, such as the Fengtian POW camp, Lushun prison, Weixian concentration camp in Shandong province, Jinan concentration camp, Shimen concentration camp, and the Pingfang 731 site, among others. Many of these camps held not only Chinese prisoners but also prisoners of war from the United States and Russia, as well as compatriots from North Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia."

These sites, photographs, and evidence are all well-preserved; some elderly people who suffered in concentration camps are still alive. How can this be denied?

If Japan can still try to justify this, it proves that Japan has never reflected on its past acts of aggression!

These words left the reporter speechless, his face turning pale and then red. Meanwhile, many other reporters around him were also taking notes of Wu Yuchen's words and had already come up with headlines: "Japanese reporter denies war crimes, Wu Yuchen angrily rebukes him on the spot!"

Wu Yuchen then softened his tone: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the premiere of 'The Hours,' so please focus your conversation on 'The Hours.'"

Wu Yuchen had anticipated that the release of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" would cause protests in Japan, but he didn't expect the little guy to be so shameless, even denying the existence of concentration camps and saying that he made it up!

Wu Yuchen thought to himself, since Xiao Rizi is so shameless, then he won't give them any face either. Once the Oscar nominations are announced, he'll make Xiao Rizi "look good"!
……

Meanwhile, at the Sony Building, Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony North America, was on a phone call:
"Stopping 'The Boy in Striped Pajamas'? Wu Yuchen? I don't recommend doing that."

Yes, I refuse. I am responsible for the performance of Sony Columbia and Sony North America. Wu is currently Sony's most important partner. Why should I fall out with him?

Is it all because of this one movie? Do you know how much profit Spider-Man has brought us at Sony? If Wu and Marvel cancel Spider-Man, how much money will Sony lose?

"Do as you please, I'm only responsible for the company's performance!"

After saying that, Howard Stringer hung up the phone and gave a disdainful smile. Did a Sony director from Japan think he could boss him around?

Although he is an American and an employee, he is currently the head of Sony North America, and is likely to become the head of the entire Sony empire within the next two years. He also has the strong support of the current head of the Sony Group, Nobuyuki Idei. Therefore, he doesn't care about the noise from others; he knows that his strength lies in achieving results.

Howard was very clear-headed; for a professional manager, making money was the top priority. If you couldn't make money for the company, everything you did was wrong. Only by making money for the company would your future be bright!
Spider-Man is currently Sony Columbia's most profitable project, and they simply won't allow anyone to ruin this money-printing machine that they've worked so hard to create!
(End of this chapter)