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

Chapter 57 Golden Horse...Returning in Glory!

Upon landing in Taiwan Province, the minibus rolled through the streets of Taipei, the rustling sound of passengers looking down at their newspapers filling the air.

The entertainment section's headline page is densely packed with several familiar names:
Huang Jianzhong, director of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer"; Zhang Jizhong, producer of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"; Yu Min, director of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"...

Every line of the headline is packed with explosive details!

The 18th-tier actress surnamed Zhang made a detailed exposé with pictures and text, a timeline accurate to the second, and even claimed to have audio recordings as evidence.

If you don't move, it will be a blockbuster!
Lu Rui closed the newspaper and subconsciously made a "tsk tsk" sound.

This woman is the first in the industry to tear down the veil of unspoken rules. Regardless of her motives, her courage is truly remarkable!
And then there's Huang Jianzhong, who truly deserves to be the fourth of the four "aviators" in the industry.

Lu Rui couldn't help but mutter to himself, "He's 62 years old, and he still has the ability to fly two planes at the same time? He's definitely a real pro!"

"Even rabbits know not to eat the grass near their burrows, so what the hell did this guy do? He promised to give us resources and then went back on his word, and then someone exposed him? Ugh! That's disgusting!"

Jiang Wen grumbled and threw the newspaper aside, his face full of disdain.

As a fellow professional, he knew better than anyone that once such a scandal broke out, the entire director community would be stigmatized.

Seeing the heavy atmosphere inside the car, Liu Yifei curiously reached out to grab the newspaper on the floor.

But the next second, Lü Rui quickly grabbed him and said, "Kids aren't allowed to look."

"I'm almost an adult!" she retorted defiantly, and made a face at Lu Rui when he wasn't looking.

"Xixi, be good!" Liu Xiaoli scolded softly.

"Slightly~"

Liu Yifei stuck out her tongue and retreated to her seat, putting on her headphones and continuing to fiddle with her MP3 player.

Liu Xiaoli also held a newspaper in her hand. The more she read, the more alarmed she became, and she secretly vowed to protect her daughter.

This industry is too chaotic. If something really happens, it will be too late to regret it.

The hotel we stayed at was arranged by the Golden Horse Awards organizers.

Everyone arrived safely, completed the formalities at the front desk, and headed towards the elevator.

However, just as they approached the elevator, the car door suddenly slid open, and two people stepped out.

Their eyes met, and both of them were slightly taken aback.

Lu Rui recognized the young man among them as Wang Baoqiang!

That honest and simple face is highly recognizable.

As for the person next to him, although he looked familiar, he couldn't quite remember him for a moment.

"Director Li." Jiang Wen extended his hand and introduced him to everyone, "Li Yang, the director of 'Blind Shaft'."

"Hello, Director Li."

Everyone greeted him.

Li Yang, who is only 44 years old this year, already has gray hair at his temples, but his smile is very hearty: "What a coincidence, you are also here to participate in the competition?"

Lu Rui nodded and added, "Mystic River has been nominated for several awards."

"Hey! Look at my memory..."

During the exchange of pleasantries, Wang Baoqiang timidly greeted them, his eyes revealing the awkwardness of someone new to such an occasion.

As the elevator doors slowly closed, Jiang Wen looked at the floor numbers and sighed, "Li Yang has had it tough too. He was banned from directing for five years after filming 'Blind Shaft'."

As he spoke, he chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Same as me, but I'll be unbanned in a year and a half."

He was banned from directing films for five years because of "Devils on the Doorstep".

Upon hearing this, Lü Rui joked, "Then can you start preparing for your new project in advance?"

It was supposed to be a joke, but Jiang Wen suddenly fell silent.

For the next two days, he didn't even leave the house, and no one knows what he was studying in his room all by himself.

However, Lü Rui was not idle.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" has been confirmed for release in Taiwan, so he still needs to carry out some promotional activities there.

Dong Ping has a very wide network of connections; he's the one who arranges all the events here.

It wasn't until the 13th, just before the Golden Horse Awards ceremony was about to begin, that everyone returned to the hotel, changed into their formal attire, and prepared to walk the red carpet.

"Senior, the ratings for 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' are off the charts!"

On the way to the Municipal Arts Center, Liu Yifei chattered away.

Since its premiere on the 11th, the average viewership rating of each episode of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" has soared to 7%, with a peak of 10%, receiving rave reviews and firmly ranking among the top hit dramas of the year!

Lu Rui smiled and gave her a thumbs up: "Congratulations, Miss Wang Yuyan."

"Hehe~"

Liu Yifei smiled, her eyes crinkling.

She's in a really good mood right now.

Due to the immense popularity of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," Tangren Media, which had previously refused to budge, finally agreed to discuss the lead role and contract with Liu Xiaoli.

Of course, signing with Tangren is definitely out of the question; their contracts are too outrageous!

Tangren Media wanted to promote a new talent, so they gave the male lead role to Hu Ge.

Now, Liu Yifei is the most popular person in the entire crew, and her influence is soaring.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is about to be released, and if the box office results are good enough, it will be Tangren Media that is anxious.

……

It's well known that people from Taiwan are very sarcastic and witty.

Lü Rui was naturally aware of this as well.

But to his surprise, the male host on the red carpet also spoke in a effeminate tone.

"Welcome to the cast and crew of 'Mystic River': Lü Rui, Jiang Wen, Zhang Guorong..."

Boom! The applause on both sides of the red carpet was very enthusiastic, mostly for Leslie Cheung, who is very popular in Taiwan.

In contrast, Lü Rui and Jiang Wen are less well-known here.

"Wang Yuyan!"

Someone is calling out Liu Yifei's character name.

"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" also aired on this TV station and achieved extremely high ratings, ranking first in its time slot at 8 pm!

She smiled, revealing her two little tiger teeth, and waved in response, "Hello everyone~"

The group entered the venue smoothly.

Looking around, I saw many familiar faces.

As competitors tonight, the cast of "Mystic River" and the cast of "Infernal Affairs" met in the front row.

"Hello Director Lü, hello Director Jiang."

In such situations, the director's role takes a much higher place than that of the actor.

Tony Leung, Lau Tak-wah, Ng Yan-tsu, Simon Yam, Sandra Ng, Lam Suet, Kara Hui, Donnie Yen, and others all respectfully came to greet Lü Rui and Jiang Wen.

Although everyone present was older than Lü Rui, no one dared to be presumptuous in front of him.

Although he looks young, he has won two major awards, the Silver Bear and the Silver Lion, and his presence is by no means weak.

Of course, where there are smart people, there are also idiots.

For example, idiots like Huang Qiusheng and Du Wenze who roll their eyes at mainland actors will get their comeuppance sooner or later!
The award ceremony was hosted by Tsai Kang-yung and Cheng Yu-ling.

The former is a famous host and commentator in Taiwan, while the latter is a double winner of the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. She has many representative works and is a great actress, but she has rarely appeared in public in recent years.

Without "Mystic River," this year's Golden Horse Awards might have truly been dominated by Hong Kong films.

After all, Infernal Affairs is truly amazing!
But even Infernal Affairs wouldn't dare claim a sure win against Mystic River, which won both the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Silver Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival.

"Best Supporting Actor: Leslie Cheung (Mystic River)!"

"Best Actor: Jiang Wen, Mystic River!"

"Best Director: Lü Rui, Mystic River!"

Although Mystic River lost to Infernal Affairs in the Best Feature Film category, it successfully won three major awards: Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor, and Best Director.

After Jiang Wen and Zhang Guorong finished their acceptance speeches, Lü Rui went on stage and accepted the Best Director award from Zheng Yuling.

At that time, the Golden Horse Awards were still the benchmark for Chinese-language films, so they were quite prestigious.

Moreover, Lü Rui had snatched this trophy from Liu Weiqiang and Mai Zhaohui, so he was still a little excited.

Zheng Yuling asked with a smile, "You won the Best Director award on your first Golden Horse Awards. I wonder what Director Lü thinks?"

Lu Rui calmly replied, "I'm very happy. Thank you to the jury for their recognition. I will continue to work hard and make more high-quality works... Please also pay attention to my new movie, 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,' which will be officially released on December 26."

After delivering his acceptance speech, he held the trophy, turned around, and left the stage.

Seeing him return, Jiang Wen, holding the Best Actor trophy he had snatched from Tony Leung and Andy Lau, chuckled and joked, "Hey? Advertising your new film at the awards ceremony, you're pretty cool."

"Just something I said offhand."

The awards ceremony continued on stage, and the entire cast and crew of "Infernal Affairs" went on stage together to accept the Best Film award.

However, Lin Jianyue, who was sitting not far away, was not in a good mood.

"Infernal Affairs" was produced by Media Asia Films, a company he controlled.

His goal this time was to sweep all the major awards, but unexpectedly, Mystic River intervened and snatched away many of the big prizes.

He glanced back at Lü Rui, who was chatting and laughing with Jiang Wen, and frowned inwardly.

The competition is not over yet!

"Infernal Affairs 3: End of Infernal Affairs" officially hit mainland theaters yesterday, grossing nearly 10 million RMB on its opening day!

If this can be maintained, the profits will certainly be substantial.

But the thought of competing with Feng Xiaogang's "Cellphone" and Lü Rui's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" made him somewhat worried.

After all, the latter two are also formidable rivals!
After the Golden Horse Awards ceremony concluded, Lu Rui did not linger in Taiwan. The following morning, he led everyone back to the capital to continue promoting "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".

When he landed at the Capital Airport, the headlines on major domestic portals and entertainment newspapers had changed from the Zhang Yu incident to the triumphant return of "Mystic River" from the Golden Horse Awards.

"Following the Silver Bear at Berlin and the Silver Lion at Venice, director Lü Rui has once again won the Golden Horse Award for Best Director!"

"Jiang Wen's acting career highlight! He beat Tony Leung and Liu Dehua to win the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor!"

"Mainland actor Wang Baoqiang won the Best Newcomer Award for his role in 'Blind Shaft'..."

……

Three days passed quickly, and "Infernal Affairs 3" generated wave after wave of excitement during the Lunar New Year film season with a box office of HK$1875 million, equivalent to RMB 1989 million.

On the 15th, the movie "Cellphone" held its premiere in the capital.

When discussing box office competition with "Infernal Affairs 3" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," Feng Xiaogang stated:
"Movies are meant to take money from the audience's pockets, not from each other's directors' pockets... I've won the Lunar New Year box office championship for several years before, so I'm confident I can win it again this year!"

When asked if the character Yan Shouyi, played by Ge You, was based on Cui Yongyuan, he immediately defended himself, saying:
"Men have many dreams. The story in 'Cellphone' is just putting many examples of life and men's dilemmas onto Yan Shouyi. Please don't take it personally."

He spoke with a righteous air, but Cui Yongyuan was deeply troubled by it and immediately published a long article of more than 10,000 words, angrily denouncing Feng Xiaogang for being shameless!
The back-and-forth between the two sides actually fueled the movie's growing popularity.

On the 16th, at the invitation of the Central Academy of Drama, Lü Rui led the main creators of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" to the Central Academy of Drama to carry out exchange activities and share creative experiences.

To everyone's surprise, when the group arrived at the entrance of the Central Academy of Drama, they encountered a very embarrassing scene.

"Look! There's a fight!"

Liu Yifei's exclamation attracted the attention of everyone on the bus.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a boy kick a girl to the ground, straddle her, and beat her face repeatedly!

"Huh?" Jiang Wen squinted and observed for a moment, then said in surprise, "This... isn't this Zhang Guoli's kid?"

(End of this chapter)