Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 285 Reprimanding the Little Life

"Yes, don't worry, I have some influence in America, so I won't be affected by the Japanese. And I'll do my best regarding the Oscars."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuchen let out a soft sigh. It was a call from a leader of a department in China, who was inquiring about his progress at the Oscars and assuring him that they would provide support and assistance.

Wu Yuchen also knew that with his film "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" receiving so many Oscar nominations, certain forces on the other side of the world started to get agitated, not only protesting through foreign teachers, but also mobilizing a lot of capital investing in China to put pressure on them.

To be honest, if it were a relatively unknown director, they might not have been able to withstand this pressure. It's only because Wu Yuchen has a relatively high status now, and he had already invited some high-ranking officials to watch the film at the domestic premiere a few months ago, that he was able to withstand the pressure from all sides. All that came to him was a few words of concern.

The other party proactively suggested meeting to discuss the matter, but he completely ignored it. He knew perfectly well what their purpose was in contacting him, but he couldn't possibly agree. Therefore, meeting them would be a pure waste of his time and energy. Wouldn't it be better for him to use that time to do more public relations work?

Moreover, he recently discovered that some American media outlets have started to subtly whitewash Xiaozhi's life.

In fact, the way Westerners whitewash their image is quite simple: they talk extensively about the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Tokyo air raids, and describe how miserable the victims are to this day. Simply put, they play the victim, placing themselves in the position of victims, obscuring their past as perpetrators, and concealing their stance as aggressors.

Believe it or not, quite a few people in Europe and America actually buy into this narrative. After all, there are still many people who oppose the existence of atomic bombs, especially since this argument has been persisting for decades, allowing Japan to gain a lot of sympathy.

However, with his life so turbulent, Wu Yuchen won't sit idly by. He'll take this opportunity to generate more buzz for his movie!
The following day, in an exhibition hall at a cinema, Wu Yuchen was holding a press conference. All the exhibits in this hall consisted of materials, photographs, and other related evidence concerning various Japanese concentration camps in China during World War II. These were displayed as supplementary reference materials for the film *The Boy in the Striped Pajamas*.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was sitting on the stage being interviewed by reporters:
"In fact, I didn't originally plan to bring these things out. But every time I attend an exchange event or give an interview, there are always Japanese people or media protesting, saying that I am deliberately smearing them with fabricated history. Well, now I will present all the solid evidence to prove that everything in my film is historically verifiable and based on facts. I hope that I will not hear any more questions about it in the future!"

Then, Wu Yuchen introduced a Chinese woman next to him: "This is Iris Chang. She is an expert on the atrocities committed by Japan during World War II. She published 'The Rape of Nanking' and provided a lot of help for my exhibition."

Iris Chang was specially invited by Wu Yuchen. He admired her greatly in his previous life. She had a privileged family and life, but she persisted in exposing the crimes of Japan and made great contributions to raising awareness of the Nanjing Massacre around the world.

However, she also faced harassment from right-wing groups in Japan for a long time, and finally died in 2004 under mysterious circumstances. Although it was announced as suicide, she actually died after disappearing, and no one knows what she really went through.

With Wu Yuchen, who is tall, leading the way, it's believed that he can alleviate a lot of the pressure she faces.

At this point, Iris Chang also said, "I am honored to receive the invitation from director Wu Yuchen. Actually, I am currently working on a new project about the history of Allied soldiers from various countries being mistreated by the Japanese military after being captured, including some American veterans. I have interviewed many surviving elderly people, and I will take this opportunity to publish the materials I have collected through my interviews and investigations in order to restore a true history!"

The cameras were flashing incessantly from the audience, but most Hollywood reporters weren't surprised. Holding exhibitions during a film's Oscar campaign isn't uncommon; these exhibitions help film fans learn more about the stories behind the movies.

However, some Japanese people didn't see it that way. At that moment, a Japanese person shouted loudly, "You are deliberately creating conflict, inciting ethnic hatred, and undermining world peace!"

The reporters present were even happier to see someone stirring up trouble, and they all took pictures of the person. However, most people were focused on Wu Yuchen, wondering how the famous director would react.

Wu Yuchen looked at the Japanese person who had suddenly appeared, and then at the numerous media reporters:
"Those who have seen my movies should know what the themes of my films are."

Actually, I have many Japanese friends and people I admire, such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, the composer of the film, and Hayao Miyazaki, the director of "Spirited Away," which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year's festival.

My aim has never been to incite conflict and hatred between ethnic groups. Hatred and conflict only lead to more disputes, more disputes, and more clashes, sowing the seeds for the next war.

Then Wu Yuchen, with a serious expression and sharp eyes, said loudly:

"I just hope that everyone can face up to this history, including the Japanese themselves. Only by facing up to this history, confronting it with the right attitude, and accepting it can we resolve hatred and conflict."

In this regard, I think Japan has done far too little. From small-scale attacks on me and my films, to larger-scale revisions of their textbooks, distorting the next generation's understanding of history, covering up past mistakes, and even maintaining the decades-long tradition of visiting shrines dedicated to war criminals. It's important to remember that each of those war criminals shed no less blood than Hitler.

These actions make it hard to believe that Japan has truly reflected on its past acts of aggression. They need to adopt the right attitude; they should learn from the Germans!

The Japanese man in the audience tried to shout, but he was pulled out by security.

Many media outlets have already decided how to report on this matter:
Wu Yuchen: Japanese people are inferior to Germans!

Wu Yuchen accuses Japan of never acknowledging its war crimes during World War II

Wu Yuchen reveals hidden truths about World War II, infuriating the Japanese!

After this little incident, reporters started asking about recent hot topics:
"Wu, what is your view on the Iraq War, which could break out at any time?"

"Wu, do you think Saddam deserved to die? He also used biological weapons to harm civilians!" Wu Yuchen had to be careful with this question. Because the final scene of his film depicted the Japanese using biological weapons against people in concentration camps.

One of the main reasons cited by US President George W. Bush this time is that Saddam Hussein used large-scale chemical and biological weapons. Frankly, Saddam Hussein has no way to deny this. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, in order to end the fighting as quickly as possible, Saddam ordered the use of chemical weapons such as mustard gas and nerve gas against Iran, resulting in the deaths of 100,000 people, most of whom were civilians.

Ironically, many of Iraq's weapons at the time were actually supplied by the United States. During the Iran-Iraq War, the US was a staunch supporter of Iraq, and for eight years, it never raised the issue of biological or chemical weapons internationally. The two sides fell out because of Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War in 1991. So even if Saddam Hussein did possess weapons of mass destruction, it was supplied to him by the US.

The US is sanctioning Saddam Hussein because he spearheaded the de-dollarization of oil and the use of the euro for transactions, which undermined the foundation of US global dominance and therefore had to be dealt with.

Of course, Wu Yuchen cannot talk about these things in detail. He is a director, not a military and political analysis expert, and it is not appropriate for him to talk too much about political right and wrong and interests.

The problem Wu Yuchen faces now is that if he says Saddam deserves to die, it would mean supporting Bush's war; if he says Saddam doesn't deserve to die, it would mean siding with the villain in his own movie. So, the reporter who asked this question has really put him in a difficult position.

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and said:

"Saddam is Saddam, and you cannot confuse him with Iraqi civilians. I have always maintained that the greatest victims of war are large numbers of civilians. Not just one or two, not even ten or twenty thousand, but ten million or even twenty million civilians who will suffer direct and indirect harm as a result."

I do not want a war to break out in Iraq. I urge the authorities and the public to focus their attention on civilians as much as possible; they are the majority, and their voices are the ones that truly need to be heard!

He simply glosses over Saddam Hussein, while consistently speaking out for ordinary people, which is never wrong.

Following the press conference, the media quickly reported on the exhibition, which attracted a large number of movie fans who had seen the film to visit.

Backstage, Iris Chang sincerely thanked Wu Yuchen: "Director Wu, thank you so much for your film. You probably can't imagine how much it has helped us! The effect and influence of your film far exceeds what we have done in the past many years!"

Normally, if such an exhibition were held in Europe or America, it would attract very few visitors. This is because it concerns Japan's war crimes against China; what does it have to do with us Americans? Many Americans simply don't care. And even those who do visit, many will just glance at it, treating it as just another war story, and won't take it to heart, perhaps forgetting about it after a while.

But this time is different. Many film fans came to see this exhibition after watching "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". They already had a feeling of sympathy for the two cute boys in the film and had their own biases. Therefore, their impression of this exhibition will be particularly deep.

This is why Iris Chang thanked Wu Yu-chen.

Wu Yuchen smiled at Iris Chang and said, "Ms. Chang, you flatter me. As a Chinese person, this is what I should do. On the contrary, Ms. Chang, you have been able to speak out for the Nanjing Massacre and for the unfair treatment of Chinese people for many years. I really admire you!"

The two exchanged a few compliments, and then Iris Chang reminded Wu Yuchen, "Director Wu, I think the right-wing groups in Japan will definitely continue to sabotage and harass you, so please be prepared."

Wu Yuchen nodded, then smiled and said, "Ms. Zhang, don't worry, I'm determined to win the Oscar this time! As for you, Ms. Zhang, if you are still being harassed by unknown people, you can contact me anytime, and I will provide any assistance I can!"

"Thank you, Director Wu!" Zhang Chunru felt much less pressured by the appearance of Wu Yuchen, who was able to stand up to her. The other party had much more power than her.

Wu Yuchen came prepared this time, and even had his agency hire a team of bodyguards to prevent extremists from making any desperate moves or having any ill intentions towards him.

The right-wing forces in Japan were furious. They had considered what to do to Wu Yu-chen, but his fame and influence were too great, and doing anything would have a very negative impact on Japan. However, normal methods were ineffective against Wu Yu-chen; after all, their power in Hollywood, without Sony, was simply no match for him. All they could do was curse and rage in frustration.

……

"Director Wu, do you think I have a good chance this time?"

The person consulting with Wu Yuchen at that moment was Gong Li, who had rushed to the United States without stopping. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," the first time a Chinese actress had been nominated for an Oscar, so she couldn't help but care and flew over immediately.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "There is definitely hope, but it's hard to say how high it is. However, it all depends on human effort! If you come here and work with the team on public relations, then the chances will definitely be higher. If you don't participate in any activities, then you can basically forget about winning an award."

Gong Li nodded as well; she was actually quite familiar with the Oscars.

In 1991, *Ju Dou* received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, but unfortunately, no one from the film crew attended. In 92, Gong Li's *Raise the Red Lantern* received another nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and she was invited to the awards ceremony. In 1994, she returned to the Oscars for a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for her starring role in *Farewell My Concubine*.

To be honest, those years were truly Gong Li's peak period. She produced excellent works and achieved great success almost every year. She swept awards in Europe and received Oscar nominations every year. However, her poor public relations resulted in her failing to win any of her three Best Foreign Language Film nominations.

However, with Wu Yuchen on the team now, given his past achievements and the energy he has shown, Gong Li feels that she may not be without hope this time.

(End of this chapter)