It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 55 Jiang Wen: "Fuck those idiot judges!"

"The new film 'When Happiness Knocks on the Door,' directed by emerging Chinese director Lü Rui, has quietly begun filming in Shenzhen, with Wang Zhiwen and Mei Ting starring..."

Huayi Brothers officially announced that director Feng Xiaogang's film "Cellphone" will be released on December 18, entering the New Year's film season.

"Infernal Affairs 3 is confirmed to be released in mainland China on December 12, starring Tony Leung, Lau Tak-wah, Lai Ming, and Chen Daoming."

"China Film Group has announced the release date for 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,' directed by Lü Rui... Starring Leslie Cheung and Mei Yanfang, with Jiang Wen, Zhang Fengyi, and Liu Yifei in supporting roles, it will be officially released on December 26."

"The cast of 'Hitch' has been revealed: Li Ming, Zhou Yun, Fan Wei, and Yu Feihong have joined the cast!"

With a flurry of announcements, the film and television industry has suddenly become lively.

All eyes are now on the Lunar New Year film season, which will begin two months from now.

With only a week between the release dates of "Infernal Affairs 3," "Cell Phone," and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," the box office battle is about to begin!
"Let's fight! Haha, that's interesting."

"This Lü Rui is really bold, daring to compete with Feng Xiaogang in the Lunar New Year film season?"

"Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers!"

"There's going to be a good show."

The surrounding chatter was incessant, making Feng Xiaogang vaguely feel the pressure approaching.

If they win, that's fine, but if they lose, where will the face of the bigwigs in Beijing's elite circles be?
So he immediately rushed back to the company and found Wang Zhonglei: "I think we should get the promotion for 'Cellphone' going first. There's no rush for 'A World Without Thieves'. Let's start filming it next year."

Wang Zhonglei readily agreed: "Okay, the company will arrange it for you."

Watching his star director hurriedly leave, he pondered for a moment, then picked up his phone and called Wang Jinghua: "Our artists haven't even landed a major role?"

"Well, we didn't land any roles. We did get a few supporting roles that gave us a chance to appear, but they were all small parts."

While replying, Wang Jinghua was also feeling very frustrated.

This audition was so frustrating. So many people went with high aspirations, but I didn't get a single one of the top three roles. It was such a waste of all my time and energy.

"alright."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhonglei frowned and fell into deep thought.

"This can't go on. We're all from the Beijing circle; we need to ease tensions... How should we bring it up?"

He had originally planned to use the opportunity of sending actors to auditions to test Lü Rui's attitude.

If we could be selected for one or two important roles, it would mean there would be opportunities for further cooperation. But as things stand, the other party's rejection signals are very clear.

……

According to the plan set by China Film Group, the promotion of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" will not start until December.

Therefore, Lü Rui was not in a hurry and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the filming of "The Pursuit of Happyness".

On the first day of filming, he set the tone for the movie for Wang Zhiwen:

"Never believe that suffering is worthwhile. Suffering is suffering; it cannot bring success, nor should it be pursued. All the protagonist's efforts are aimed at escaping and abandoning suffering..."

Suffering itself is not something to be celebrated; what is truly worthy of celebration is the mindset one adopts when facing suffering.

Faced with a wave of layoffs, the protagonist has no choice but to work hard!

Seemingly stunned by his words, Wang Zhiwen struggled to get into character during the first few days of filming.

It wasn't until the moment when Mei Ting's character, the wife, couldn't bear the poverty and chose to leave home, leaving the child alone, that he suddenly had an epiphany!

A strong will to survive burst forth from his eyes.

"I must succeed!"

The portrayal of the male protagonist in this film is extremely realistic.

When you're at your wit's end, you must rely on courage and perseverance to choose the right direction in order to make an effort.

We must never engage in empty talk about "ideals"!
The harsh reality is that ordinary people have to pay for their children's tuition, support their elderly parents, and provide a stable life for their families, all of which have nothing to do with the illusory "ideal".

Happiness is not a dream; it must be pursued and strived for with our own hands!

The filming is progressing smoothly.

Wang Zhiwen started showcasing his acting skills!

In the interview scene, he didn't wear a suit and tie like other job seekers; instead, he appeared in tattered overalls.

When the interviewer asked, "If someone came to the interview without even wearing a shirt, what would you think? And if I ended up hiring that person, what would you think then?"

In the video, he stands tall with his back straight, head slightly tilted back, fine lines around his eyes smoothing out with a smile, his gaze meeting the interviewer's directly, his tone exuding confidence and composure.
"Then his trousers must be very stylish."

This is the art of language and dialogue.

The implication is: I have good qualities, don't just focus on my flaws, you should have the ability to see the truth.

However, although he successfully secured the internship opportunity, he also found himself in a deeper vortex of hardship...

Filming for "The Pursuit of Happyness" is progressing smoothly.

In mid-October, filming for "Hitch" officially began in Shanghai.

Something interesting happened.

When faced with questions from reporters, Zhao Peng surprisingly delivered a speech demonstrating high emotional intelligence.

A reporter asked, "With Lü Rui and Jiang Wen serving as producers, and the latter even being on set the entire time, are you worried that the resulting film will have a similar style to theirs?"

The example of Lu Chuan's "Searching for a Gun" is right before our eyes, and many people are waiting to see another joke.

Faced with this question, which was clearly meant to trap him, Zhao Peng smiled and said, "Brother Rui taught me a lot of filmmaking techniques, which benefited me greatly."

Director Jiang was incredibly generous with his guidance and gave me a huge boost, so naturally, my films bear their influence!

Isn't it natural for students to imitate their teachers?
He originally wanted to use "Farewell My Concubine" as an example, but after thinking about it, he didn't dare to say it. After all, Old Chen was known for being petty.

Seeing that he was chubby and thick-skinned, unlike Lu Chuan who was thin-skinned and always cried, the reporter had no choice but to turn to Jiang Wen and set a trap. "Director Jiang, when faced with the work of director and screenwriter Lü Rui, will you make corresponding modifications and adjustments, like the rumors circulating online about the script changes for 'Looking for a Gun'?"

"will not."

Jiang Wen answered crisply and decisively.

Meanwhile, he thought to himself: What's the point of changing an investment of 1500 million? I'd need at least 3000 million before I'd even bother.
Moreover, the script for "Hitch" is very well written, and there are even corresponding storyboards.

To put it bluntly, looking at that picture, even a dog tied to a director's chair could get its hands on it and start messing around.

He believed that even if adjustments were made, there wasn't much room for further changes.

Unlike "Looking for a Gun," Lu Chuan wrote a terrible script full of loopholes. If he hadn't revised it, the script would never have been able to be filmed.

The reporters, of course, didn't believe it.

Everyone is already looking forward to the final product. When the footage is released, we'll know whether Jiang Wen was involved or not.

Just like "Farewell My Concubine".

The more Chen Kaige tries to prove himself, the more certain the outside world becomes that this film is definitely not his "own creation"!

By late October, filming for both movies had entered a stable phase.

Wang Zhiwen suffered all sorts of hardships, setbacks, and pressures.

Meanwhile, Li Ming started teaching people how to pick up girls, and also tried it out himself, creating romantic scenes with his girlfriends.

When the two production teams occasionally exchanged information, Wang Zhiwen was carrying unsold pagers in his arms, feeling extremely depressed.

While the clamor in the film industry subsided, a wave of excitement swept through the television industry.

The Su Youpeng version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" has officially premiered, and the two beauties, Jia Jingwen and Gao Yuanyuan, have stunned the entire internet as soon as they appeared!

However, many people said that the scene in the drama where Zhang Tielin hugged Tao Hong and kissed her passionately, even sticking out his tongue, had a huge impact on their young minds.

Some viewers even started confusing the channel, saying that Emperor Qianlong was traveling incognito and had expanded his business to the Yuan Dynasty.
In November, the 23rd Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival arrived as scheduled.

Mystic River has been nominated for multiple awards.

But recalling how "Gone Girl" lost to an obscure feature film last year, Lü Rui immediately lost interest in the Golden Rooster Award.

"I'm busy filming here and can't leave. Director Jiang, if there's an award, could you please accept it for me?"

"Row!"

Jiang Wenxin readily agreed.

He was, after all, the Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival last year, and he felt confident that he would win an award this year, so he went with great enthusiasm.

however……

"Damn those idiot judges! What kind of bastards are they? Are they blind?!"

On the 6th, Jiang Wen, who had just returned from the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony, arrived at the set of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" and immediately started cursing as soon as he entered.

It's one thing to not win Best Actor, but Mystic River was nominated for so many awards and only won Best Makeup.

It's an award-winning work from Venice, yet it didn't receive a single major prize! It's absolutely outrageous!
Jiang Wen was cursing and swearing, but Lü Rui was overjoyed: "Luckily I didn't go, otherwise I would have been carrying someone else's sedan chair."

Even "Hero" lost to a rural art film called "Warm," so if he went there, it would probably be even more disastrous.

"I'm not going. I'll never go again, not even if you beat me to a pulp!"

"Director Jiang, don't be angry. You know what kind of people those old men at the Golden Rooster Awards are..."

In order to prevent Jiang Wen from interfering with the filming of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door", Lü Rui coaxed him to the airport and saw him off on a plane to Shanghai.

Before leaving, Jiang Wen was still cursing: "What the hell is this crap? Good movies should be suppressed?"

The Golden Rooster Awards had just ended, and the Golden Horse Awards immediately sent out invitations.

Mainland Chinese films "Mystic River" and "Blind Shaft" were both nominated.

Back then, the Golden Horse Awards weren't like they are today, with such skewed biases, so Mystic River had a great chance of winning an award.

Moreover, this is also a good publicity channel, so in China Film's plan, Lü Rui had to make a trip there.

In order to save time, he resolutely decided:
—Hurry up with the schedule!

Wang Zhiwen had no objections whatsoever; he was in perfect condition.

As the stormy night approached, he took his son and hid in an abandoned stage amidst the demolition ruins.

Rain dripped from the carved wooden beams, and the father and son huddled under the painted "Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity" symbols.

As the camera pans across the scene, the dilapidated state of traditional buildings contrasts sharply with the dignity of their survival, subtly suggesting the changing times.

Night had fallen, the rain had stopped, and his son slept soundly in his tattered quilt, while he shielded himself from the biting cold through the hole in the quilt. The camera focused on his red-rimmed eyes and the torn cuffs of his sweater, the suffering evident in his words.

The sky cleared up a bit, and my son jumped back and forth on the dilapidated stage, saying that he wanted to be an athlete when he grew up and win glory for the country.

He instinctively spoke up in rebuttal, but then realized that it was wrong.

So he changed his tune and encouraged them, saying, "Remember this: never let anyone tell you that you can't succeed, not even me...!"

The son, looking at his father's tall and imposing figure with a bewildered expression, nodded in agreement.

At this moment, in this small world, a seed called "confidence" is taking root and sprouting.

Even if you live in the gutter, you should still look up at the stars.

It was with this belief that Wang Zhiwen finally persevered until the day of her internship assessment...

Meanwhile, the final scenes were also filmed as scheduled...

(End of this chapter)