Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 81: Lost the Selection? So What if I Steal Your Award?
The bet between Wu Chen and Feng Xiaogang was like a stone thrown into a lake, causing ripples in the film industry.

As soon as the exchange meeting in the Beijing Film Academy auditorium ended, the editorial offices of major media outlets in Beijing became noisy the next morning.

Reporters were busy writing, the sound of keyboard tapping was endless, and the headlines were more eye-catching than the last:
Wu Chen's Big Bet on Feng Xiaogang: 21-Year-Old New Director Challenges Veteran Director!

[Bet on a cameo? Can "Buried" make it to the Berlin Main Competition?]

From "The Dark Side" to "Buried," what's Wu Chen's confidence in completing a film in 15 days?

On online forums, netizens are discussing it, and the comment section is very lively:
"If Feng Xiaogang loses, I've already imagined what it's like to play a supporting role, haha!"

"It's impossible to lose, right? A film shot in 15 days can be shortlisted for three major international film festivals now. I can't believe it's so outrageous."

"I think there's a chance. Wu Chen probably has some confidence to say that, though I don't know where that confidence comes from."

"Will 'Buried Alive' work? I bet Wu Chen will fail this time."

The various discussions are more exciting than the movie itself.

Just as the noise was still subsiding, a sudden article broke the news that a total of 20 films were shortlisted for the main competition unit of this year's Berlin Film Festival, but Gu Changwei's "Peacock" was not on the list.

The article even cites “informed sources” as saying:
"After watching The Peacock, the Berlin Film Selection Committee was confused by the plot where the younger brother poisons his mentally retarded older brother and could not understand the meaning at all."

What’s even more outrageous is that Wu Chen’s “Buried Alive” was also rumored to have “failed to pass the screening.”

Once this news was posted online, it became a hot topic on TV and radio news programs. Gu Changwei and Wu Chen, who were still kept in the dark, received a series of comforting calls from friends.

Hu Jing and others called one after another, their tone anxious:
"Director Wu, there's talk online that Buried was not selected for the Berlin Film Festival. Is that true?"

Wu Chen was stunned, then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Sister Jing, where did you hear that? 'Buried Alive' is still in post-production in Hollywood and hasn't even been submitted for review. How could it have been rejected?"

"But what's said online sounds like the truth, and it's being spread in many places."

Wu Chen rubbed his brows helplessly: "Rumors are like this, the more they spread, the more they seem to be true.

If there is any news, you can check it on the Berlinale official website. Please check the official website more often. My film is still in post-production and the film has not been submitted yet."

Another person who is also in a state of panic is Yang Jinsong, the publicity director of Poly Huayi.

He was bombarded with calls from reporters and was breathless, clarifying again and again:

“Peacock was rejected? Fake!

The invitation letter from the organizing committee had been sent to the company a long time ago. "Peacock" was among the first batch of 11 competition films announced, and it is currently the only Chinese-language film shortlisted.

As for "Buried Alive," it hasn't even been submitted for review yet, so how could it be rejected?"

After hanging up the phone, Yang Jinsong sighed.

Fortunately, after the official website of Berlin updated the first list of shortlisted competition films and received a clarification letter from Poly Huayi, this ridiculous rumor came to an end.

However, the bet between Wu Chen and Feng Xiaogang, coupled with this blunder, has led to a sharp increase in the attention paid to this year's Berlin Film Festival in China.

Many people are eagerly awaiting the final list at the end of the month and the film festivals in February.

The storm has subsided and good news has come from Hollywood.

The National Society of Film Critics Awards were announced, and Zhang Yimou won the Best Director award for "House of Flying Daggers".

The media rushed to report:

Zhang Yimou has won another National Society of Film Critics Award. If she continues to win the Golden Globe, an Oscar is not out of the question!

House of Flying Daggers aims for a Golden Globe, is an Oscar nomination a possibility?

I don’t know why, but ever since Li An’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Chinese films seem to have developed an inseparable “Oscar complex”.

Of course, there is another very important reason, which is:
Chinese films have won all the most important awards in the world, but they have never been able to make a splash at an American commercial award like the Oscars. The harder they fail to win, the harder they try to win, even at the cost of huge resources.

In the past two years, the leading figure Zhang Yimou has been fighting again and again with a tenacious attitude. He has used "Chinese Kung Fu" as a stepping stone for two consecutive years and has been persistently striving for an Oscar.

Including "House of Flying Daggers", this is Zhang Yimou's fifth shot at an Oscar. Many people are watching to see whether he can hit the bull's eye.

"That's strange, Brother Chen, why do you think Senior Brother Zhang is so persistent?"

In the evening, the four people in the dormitory were lying in bed and talking about this topic, and Park Songri asked curiously.

Including Xiang Zhuo and Chu Tianshu, three pairs of eyes looked over.

Wu Chen leaned against the headboard and said calmly:

"It's simple. Venice, Berlin, Cannes, Tokyo, and other A-level film festivals around the world, Brother Zhang has achieved great success in both acting and directing, but this Oscar is the only one he won."

After Wu Chen finished speaking, the three of them fell silent.

The more you can't get something, the more you want it. This is not to prove anything, but rather human desire.

At the same time, in an old house in Beijing, Lu Xun was reading a clarification message with a gloomy and unhappy expression:
"Damn, how could this news be fake?"

He thought that the news that "Buried" was not selected for the Berlin Film Festival was true, which made him happy for a while. However, he was only happy for one day when the news was clarified.

"There will be one more nomination for the Directors Guild Awards in a few days." Lu Tianming said lightly.

"Who else?" Lu Xun was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "Could it be Wu Chen? Has he joined the association?"

"Well, Zhang Huijun submitted an application for him, and since this is the first Directors Guild Awards, Wu Chen is definitely going to be in. I'm afraid you'll have to compete with him for the Best Young Director Award."

Lu Xun curled his lips: "Is he considered a young man?"

Lu Tianming was confused after hearing this and glanced at Lu Xun speechlessly.

No, you don’t even dare to argue with Wu Chen about this?
On January 11, the first China Film Directors Guild Awards was grandly held at the Beijing International Convention Center.

As the first ceremony, 170 directors gathered together. Almost all directors who had important matters were present, except Zhang Yi who was really unable to make time.

Star actors such as Ge You, Liu Dehua, Zhou Xun, Li Binbin, Xu Jinglei, Xu Fan, Li Xuejian, and Fu Biao gathered together, making the red carpet star-studded.

There are a total of six major awards in this year's association awards, and Wu Chen, who just joined the association, was nominated for one of them: Best Young Director Award.

The scene looked joyful, but a closer look revealed the seating arrangement:

Those who graduated from Beijing Film Academy gathered together, while the directing department and the photography department formed their own factions.

In this whole place, those who graduated from serious colleges seemed to be a large group.
Wu Chen took a few glances at the famous things here and was still amazed.

Mu Deyuan was chatting with people one by one in the hall. There were so many people coming, including a group of friends who had not seen each other for a long time, so naturally they needed to reminisce about the past.

Ning Hao arrived early. Since he hadn't sat down yet, he found Wu Chen and chatted with him. Suddenly, he touched his arm and said, "Junior brother, look?"

Wu Chen looked over as Ning Hao instructed. There was nothing special. The people who came were Jiang Wen and Sun Zhou. They looked at Ning Hao in confusion.

It seems like he's asking if it's good for two grown men to walk down the red carpet?
"No, look behind the red carpet." Wu Chen looked over again, and finally behind Jiang Wen, Xu Jinglei and Han Sanping appeared arm in arm.

At this time, Xu Jinglei was only in her early thirties, with a mature aura like a peach, and her every frown and smile revealed her mature charm.

"Your taste is not very good." Wu Chen complained softly.

Ning Hao chuckled, "You're still too young." Then he asked quietly, "Wang Shuo and her broke up last year, right?"

Wu Chen nodded: "Yeah."

At this time, Han Sanping noticed the two people and immediately said to Xu Jinglei, "I'll introduce two people to you."

Xu Jinglei followed Han Sanping's gaze and suddenly her eyes lit up with interest. "Brother Han, are you introducing me to this famous talent?"

"Yeah!" Han Sanping replied softly, suddenly becoming alert. He knew the character of his best friend Wang Shuo's ex-girlfriend, so he immediately whispered a warning:
"Don't cause any trouble for me. He's the darling of Beijing Film Academy."

Xu Jinglei covered her mouth and chuckled:
"I see. He's still my junior brother after all. But talent is indeed the most charming thing. He doesn't know how many women he will charm."

Han Sanping felt a headache when he heard this.

Wu Chen and Ning Hao saw the two people coming over and called out, "Boss Han, Sister Jinglei."

"Let me introduce you to Xu Jinglei. She's actually your senior. Wu Chen, you're up for the Best Young Director award tonight. She's a strong contender, and she's even had two films nominated."

Han Sanping introduced it happily.

"No, my two movies are not as good as my junior brother's one. I feel like I'm just a runner-up tonight." Xu Jinglei said with a smile.

As soon as she looked at the shortlist, she knew that with Wu Chen on the list, she would most likely not win, not to mention that there was also Lu Xun who had won the Golden Horse Award.

Han Sanping then talked about what he had been doing recently: "You've been in the news a lot lately. Is the post-production for 'Buried Alive' finished?"

"We'll need two more weeks to catch up with the Berlin cut."

As soon as Wu Chen finished speaking, Xu Jinglei took over with curiosity: "Junior brother, can we enter Berlin?"

"That's not certain. Director Feng and I were just having a small bet."

"Feng Xiaogang, haha, what an ungrateful person."

When Wu Chen mentioned Feng Xiaogang, Xu Jinglei sneered, obviously she was very disdainful of Feng Xiaogang, and there was something hidden in her words.

Wu Chen and Ning Hao were about to prick up their ears to listen to the gossip, but unexpectedly Han Sanping snorted coldly, and Xu Jinglei shut up tactfully.

"Ning Hao said that the script has been revised. He will come to my place in a couple of days. We can discuss it and if there are no problems, we can finalize it and start filming as soon as possible after the New Year."

Han Sanping quickly brought up the main topic, and Wu Chen and the others nodded when they heard it.

Han Sanping hurriedly took Xu Jinglei to another place, fearing that she would say something more.

The award ceremony started on time at 8 o'clock. Wu Chen sat back in his seat and was arranged in the third row. Wu Chen took a look and saw a familiar person, Feng Xiaogang.

Dude, how come you are doing so badly? A billionaire director can’t even sit in the front two rows.

Wu Chen couldn't help but want to laugh.

At this time, Feng Xiaogang was also very aggrieved. Not to mention the first row, which were all directors of the previous one or two generations, such as Xie Fei and Wu Tianming, and they were all there in terms of age and seniority.

But in the fucking second row, Jiang Wen, Zhang Yang, Lu Xuechang, Jia Zhangke and others were all sitting there.

As the award ceremony progressed, Wu Chen always felt that a pair of eyes were staring at him. After looking for a long time, he found that it was the group of people in the same row who graduated from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy. Lu Xun cast a resentful look at him from time to time.

"."

"Best Young Director."

The host stood on the stage, looked down at the entry in his hand, and a professional smile appeared on his face:
"This year, a number of outstanding directors of the new generation have emerged. With their talent and hard work, they have injected new vitality into Chinese films.

The nominees are: Xu Jinglei from "Dad and I" and "Letter from a Stranger", Lu Xun from "Kekexili", and Wu Chen from "The Dark Side".

There was thunderous applause from the audience, and the camera swept across the seats of the nominees.

Xu Jinglei smiled slightly, her temperament calm;

Lu Xun sat upright, but his fingers unconsciously clenched his trouser legs;
Wu Chen just nodded slightly, his eyes as calm as a deep pool, and he seemed to not care about the result at all.

The host paused, opened the envelope, and suddenly raised his voice:
"The winner of the first China Film Directors Association Best Young Director Award is Wu Chen, for "The Dark Side"!"

The whole audience was shocked and the applause was thunderous.

Wu Chen slowly stood up, straightened his collar, and walked towards the stage at a leisurely pace.

The light shone on him, outlining his young yet calm features.

Below the stage, Lu Xun's face instantly darkened, his hands clenched into fists, a hint of unwilling resentment flashed in his eyes, and his gaze was fixed on Wu Chen's back.

If Wu Chen hadn't suddenly joined the association and disrupted things, this award would definitely have been his.

Feng Xiaogang, who was sitting in the same row, had a smile on his face.

Well, it’s good for Wu Chen.

The more you give, the better!

After all, the two of them have a bet.

Zhang Huijun, as the award presenter, walked onto the stage, holding the trophy with a pleased smile on his face: "Congratulations!"

Then he handed over the heavy trophy and patted Wu Chen on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Dean Zhang." Wu Chen took the trophy, turned to face the microphone, and said in a low but clear voice:
"I would like to thank the Directors Guild, the school, my family, my teacher Mu Deyuan, and everyone on the crew. 'The Dark Side' is the starting point of my directing journey, and this award means a lot to me.

I will continue to work hard and live up to everyone’s expectations.”

After finishing his brief speech, Wu Chen bowed slightly, and the audience burst into warm applause again.

Mu Deyuan, who was sitting in the second row, leaned back in his chair very comfortably, enjoying the many gazes.

Jiang Wen, Zhang Yang, Senior Lu and others crossed their arms and looked at Wu Chen, who was a generation younger than them, with curiosity.

There was a hint of curiosity in Zhou Xun and Li Binbin's eyes.

There were many media outlets that night. Not only did CCTV Movie Channel participate in the broadcast, but Sina also made a special page for the event. The news spread quickly.
[Chen Kaige's impromptu speech at the awards ceremony: Eyes that silently watch!]

Tian Zhuangzhuang won the Best Director Award for "The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Durham"!

[Wu Chen won the Best Young Director Award for "Dark Side"! ]

(End of this chapter)