Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 113 Award Ceremony
(Read Chapter 113 first. I don’t know why the system puts this chapter first.)

2002年北平时间9月9号凌晨，意大利威尼斯时间9月8号晚。

After a ten-day "long run", the 59th Venice Film Festival finally entered its final climax.

On the sparkling water of Lido Island, gondolas swayed gently, and the red carpet began to be rolled out from the shore, welcoming one aspiring filmmaker after another.

The red carpet for the closing ceremony was much more shabby than that for the opening ceremony, because most of the people had probably already left...

Starting from August 8, Venice screened a total of 28 films, but only a few made it to the end.

Chinese-language films have had a bumper harvest this year.

Judging from the possibility of winning alone, "Gun Hunt," "Spring in a Small Town," "Beautiful Time" and "Whiplash" have all received invitations to tonight's awards ceremony.

In addition, "The Tribe" and "Dancing with the Blues" have already won the Critics' Week Special Award and the Italian Film Academy Award in advance.

Regardless of whether it was just scraps or not! Tonight, filmmakers from across Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were particularly united. Everyone encouraged and blessed each other on the red carpet and walked into the auditorium together.

The award ceremony is about to begin, and the entire Piazza San Marco is decorated in a dreamy and gorgeous way.

Equally gorgeous is Chinese film star Gong Li, who has a graceful figure and exudes the style of a leading lady.

She is the host of tonight's awards ceremony.

The show started as planned, and Gong Li still did not choose to host in Italian. She seemed to have a strong heart and never cared about the outside world's opinions.

Gong Li wore a cheongsam with a strong traditional Chinese style today. From the raised collar and tight waist, she still captured the oriental sentiment that the Western media is fascinated by.

Despite the traces of time, the beauty is still young.

The big red flowers on the cheongsam, which once had a strong ethnic and folk style, have now become exquisite embroidery.

Concubine Liu Yi could hardly contain her excitement, or rather the entire crew, including the vigorous and energetic Tian Zhuangzhuang, were looking forward to tonight's finale.

It seemed that only Boss Lu remained calm and composed.

He wasn't showing off, it was because Lu Kuan knew that all his previous plans and all the cards in his hand had been played.

From the public relations for Gong Li, to the publicity for Takeshi Kitano, Quentin Tarantino and others, to openly echoing the Hollywood-leaning film festival chairman.

And his earlier efforts to enhance the commercial nature of films and weaken their art film attributes during scriptwriting and filming.

All the cards have been played, all the moves have been worn out, let's just wait and see who wins tonight.

After the award ceremony for some minor awards was over, with some people happy and some sad, it was finally time for the more important "Against the Current" unit.

Liu Yifei's palms were sweaty. Although it was not a movie produced by her own crew, Teacher Tian, ​​as the producer of "Whiplash", was very close to them and was a kind and loving person.

She felt a sense of empathy at this moment, and was looking forward to this virtuous elder who had been banned for ten golden years to receive this honor.

Boss Lu glanced leisurely at Tian Zhuangzhuang on the side of the aisle to see what expression this fifth-generation man, who had shaved his beard specially to come to Venice, had.

It's a pity that the face with wrinkles all over it remains calm.

In comparison, Lu Chuan seemed less calm.

This is also his first movie, which has good box office performance and good reputation. Now all he needs is a decent award.

This San Marco Award will be the perfect footnote to the starting point of his career as a sixth-generation director!

The award presenter was Sophia Loren. The Italian actress, who is over 70 years old, opened the envelope gracefully without creating much suspense.

"Spring in a Small Town, Zhuangzhuang Tian!"

Lu Kuan was the first to stand up and led the crews from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong to give a warm round of applause!
Tian Zhuangzhuang smiled casually, straightened his clothes, stood up and hugged Lu Kuan across the aisle, then walked up to the stage to receive the award.

Boss Lu took out his Nokia 7650 with a sense of mischief, pointed it at the bereaved Taro, and admired his look of despair.

Concubine Liu Yi covered her mouth and laughed, thinking that if she wanted to offend anyone, she should not offend this bastard.

"Thank you, organizing committee, for giving an old man like me some comfort that I never had when I was young."

"Thank you to my actors Xin Baiqing, Hu Jingfan, and Wu Jun, and my investors. I wish Chinese films will continue to improve! Thank you!"

Next was the Special Award of the Organizing Committee, which was won by "June Snake" by the director of Xiao Ri Zao Shinomoto.

The Best New Actor Award was won by Moon So-ri from the Korean drama "Oasis".

"Now we invite American movie star Tom Hanks to present the Best Actor award!"

The first truly significant award began, and Feng Yuanzheng clenched his fists.

He had originally had no hope, but since he knew he was shortlisted, he has been restless, and not just for himself.

It is also for Ms. Mersin, who is in her sixties and is both a mother and a teacher, and is far away in Germany.

Tom Hanks is 46 years old this year, which is the prime age for a Hollywood actor.

At this age, with makeup, he can play all roles from 30 to 55, especially for such a movie star with outstanding acting skills.

His appearance received enthusiastic cheers from the audience and guests, and it seemed that even the winners of other awards might not receive so much applause.

"Who won the Best Actor award at the 59th Venice Film Festival?"

Boss Lu suddenly felt pain in his arm, and when he glanced at it, he saw Liu Yifei's nervous expression.

He angrily slapped the little girl's An Lushan claws away.

It’s not you who won the award, why are you joining in the fun!
"Hold on! Hold on!"

"The makeup artist tied my bow too tight. I need to loosen it a little."

The audience roared with laughter. Only someone from Hollywood knew how to create a show. Such a hippie-style awards ceremony was rare at the European Big Three. Feng Yuanzheng became Feng Yuandeng, his wide eyes fixed on the Oscar-winning actor on the stage.

He held his breath and felt that he had never experienced such a suffocating moment in his life of more than 30 years.

Is the hanging heart dead or alive? The answer will soon be revealed.

Tom Hanks was very satisfied with the effect of his funny act, and then he once again read out the list of winners in a serious tone.

"Who won the Best Actor award at the 59th Venice Film Festival?"

"Whiplash, Yuanzheng Feng!"

"what!!!"

While everyone was still stunned, Liu Yifei could no longer hold back her screams and stood up to applaud.

She was so happy for Feng Yuanzheng, especially that night in the square when she heard him talk about his experience studying in Germany.

I know that he is extremely eager to dedicate this award to his mentor who is far away in a foreign country.

"Xiaolu! Thank you!"

Feng Yuanzheng's eyes were already filled with tears. He no longer had the composure of a talented actor from the People's Art Theatre. He hugged Lu Kuan tightly.

"Teacher Feng, you deserve it!"

Tian Zhuangzhuang also hugged and greeted him, but when he saw Feng Yuanzheng going up to the stage, he sighed inwardly.

"Xiaolu, it's great that you can win the Best Actor award for the first time. Don't think too much about it."

Lu Kuan felt a little bitter, he understood what Tian Zhuangzhuang meant.

A masterpiece like "Happy Together" couldn't win both Best Director and Best Actor awards, let alone him.

But at this moment, Boss Lu found it difficult to suppress the glimmer of hope in his heart.

After all, he has worked hard for so long, and his efforts, planning, and scheming around winning the award have been heart and soul.

Liu Yifei didn't understand all this, but she still excitedly applauded Feng Yuanzheng on the stage and listened to his emotional speech.

Feng Yuanzheng took a long time to adjust his mood.

"I don't even know how I got here."

The audience laughed and applauded kindly.

"I want to thank my country, my parents, and my work unit, the National People's Art Theatre, for receiving this honor today."

"I have to thank my director Lu Kuan even more."

"Although he is only in his twenties, he is the most gifted and talented director I have ever met. I am so lucky to be chosen by you to star in this excellent film!"

As expected of the film festival with the longest tradition in Europe, the on-site executive director cast a perfect spotlight on Boss Lu’s face.

Lu Kuan, who was still joking and celebrating with Xiao Liu beside him, quickly managed his expression, sat up straight, and nodded gently in greeting.

Feng Yuanzheng changed the subject: "But I don't want to give this trophy to Director Lu Kuan, nor do I want to give it to myself."

He took a deep breath and said emotionally, "I would like to dedicate this award to my mentor, Ms. Mersin."

"You took a poor kid who couldn't even afford food in Germany into your home and took care of me like a mother."

"You selflessly created favorable conditions for me to focus on my acting studies."

"Without you, there would be no Feng Yuanzheng today and no Best Actor trophy today!"

"Mersin, meine Mutter, ich liebe dich!"

(German: Mersin, my mother, I love you!)
Mersin studied under Grotowski himself and is a prestigious acting professor throughout Europe.

Many audience members were moved to tears, and like the empathetic Liu Yifei, they gave warm applause to the emotional Chinese actor.

Boss Lu secretly sighed in his heart, saying that a straight heart is the way.

Only a drama fanatic like Feng Yuanzheng can devote himself so purely to acting.

Now that he has won the Best Actor award, his expectations for the Golden Lion Award are no longer so strong.

There are eight out of ten things in life that are not satisfactory, but at least I won the Best Actor award, so this trip was not in vain.

Next was the Best Actress award, won by American actress Julianne Moore.

Julianne Moore is the heroine of "Jurassic Park 2". She won her first Oscar in 15, becoming the first person in history to win the Grand Slam of three gold medals plus the Oscar for Best Actress.

The Best Director and Grand Jury Prize were won by filmmakers from Scotland and Russia respectively, followed by the announcement of the Golden Lion Award.

Of course, the grand prize will be presented by Gong Li, the chairperson of the judging panel.

She walked gracefully to the stage, opened the envelope, faced the audience, and prepared to read out the shortlisted and winning films.

In fact, by this point in the conference, some journalists and filmmakers with a keen sense of smell had already sensed that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction.

Asian films seem to be very popular, and American actresses have won Best Actress awards, but European films have won very few awards and are basically just scraps.

Boss Lu was also secretly complaining in his heart, could it be that this De Harden wanted to join forces with Cao to fight against Wu?
Asia and Hollywood jointly declare war on Venice?
You are going to rebel against Tiangang!
He looked at Tian Zhuangzhuang silently, and saw a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes.

"The nominated films are: 'Butterfield Sisters', 'Whiplash', 'Doll', 'Frida', and 'Journey of Love'."

"The film that finally won the Golden Lion Award at this film festival is!"

(End of this chapter)