As April 1974 approached, Wang Xiaohu's first career harvest year since his rebirth has also arrived, because after two and a half years of hard work, he has achieved enviable and jealous results in Hong Kong and Hollywood, in Hong Kong, he has now become a well-known director, film company boss, in the film industry his status is high, is on an equal footing with Run Run Shaw and Zou Wenhuai. [Full text reading]

In Hollywood, last year, he accumulated more than 600 million North American box office with four films, which can be called the director with the highest annual output and the highest attendance rate in Hollywood.

Although he was invited by the American Academy Oscar jury, Wang Xiaohu knows very well that the only films that can be shortlisted for the Oscars are "Rocky" and "Home Alone", and only "Rocky" can really win the award. "Enter the Dragon" and "The Journey of the Warrior" will be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film if they can be shortlisted, and Wang Xiaohu did not give any hope for this, because in his memory, Brother Xiaolong's film has never won the slightest award at the Academy Oscar, or even been nominated.

Winterdur excitedly screamed on the other end of the phone for a long time, but did not hear the slightest reply from Wang Xiaohu, and screamed a little depressed at the moment: "Boss, are you still by the phone?" ”

Winterdur's sharp afterlife made Wang Xiaohu's eardrums ach faintly, he shifted the microphone to his left ear, and said apologetically: "Yes, old Wen, I'm still listening to the phone, where did you just go?" ”

"Okay, I'll repeat it again." Winterdur was a little speechless about this, he muttered a few words, his voice was already very loud: "Boss, you must rush to Los Angeles at the end of the month, Lucas and Spielberg come to the company every day to wander around, I am afraid that they will steal the Eagle Disc Gold Cup displayed in the president's office!" ”

"Eagle Disc Trophy?" Wang Xiaohu was excited, and then remembered that not long ago he was absent from the annual Directors Guild of America awards. As a friend and partner, Lucas helped him carry back the "Best Director" Xiangying Disc Trophy, which represents the highest honor for directors. For this reason, Lucas also complained on the phone: "Tiger, you are simply unconscionable, you must know that many of our directors are eager to attend such a grand ceremony, and you are absent for no reason!" ”

"You can take it if you like." Wang Xiaohu replied like this at the time, he couldn't imagine that these two guys would really go to the company to play the disc gold cup.

Since his rebirth, Wang Xiaohu has not had the slightest interest in major awards, in fact, it is true, he has always wanted to shoot movies that earn box office, and films that are not popular are not in line with his original intention, so in his eyes, whether it is the director's guild trophy or the Oscar statuette, it is just a symbol of reputation and status, and winning the award does not mean that he can earn the box office.

Isn't Spielberg the most obvious example? He has made a lot of sci-fi blockbusters and earned a lot of dollars, but his Hollywood award journey is extremely bumpy, every year he is full of confidence to hit the Best Director Award, but every time he is nominated and won other awards, so, making a fortune in a muffled voice is king, Wang Xiaohu has lacked interest in these awards from the beginning.

This is somewhat suspicious of pretending, but it is Wang Xiaohu's heart, for him, he has a lot of things that he is more interested in doing than winning the Oscar, such as fulfilling Brother Xiaolong's last wish, opening up a broad market for Hong Kong films, especially Chinese kung fu films in Hollywood, this is definitely a long way to go, Wang Xiaohu's time and space before his rebirth, many Chinese directors have paid hard sweat for this, but they have gained little, which shows that it is very difficult for Americans to accept China with 5,000 years of cultural heritage, This requires the country's prosperity as a solid backing.

But even so, Wang Xiaohu has to pretend to take it very seriously, winning the award is to improve his popularity, only when his reputation in Hollywood reaches a certain level, he can make Americans accept his style of movies.

Within 24 hours after receiving the call, Wang Xiaohu had no choice but to suspend the plan of "A Tiger" to go to Thailand for filming, and his wife Zhao Yazhi made three costumes, and rushed to Los Angeles on March 29 to participate in the world's film event - the 46th Academy Awards.

The Academy Awards, officially known as the Academy Awards for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, were established in 1927 and are held annually in Los Angeles, USA. It has been a prestigious name for more than half a century. It not only reflects the development process and achievements of American film art, but also has a non-negligible influence on film art in many countries around the world.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not a teaching and researching organization, but a guild organization of the film industry, with more than 1,000 members representing all sectors of the American film industry, as well as some of the film industry in other English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia. In a sense. It is precisely because of these thousands of members that this award is more credible. This is also the reason why the influence of the Oscars has been tested.

The Oscar selection option is a two-tier system with primary selection plus multiple options, and all films officially released in the United States between January 1 and December 31 of that year are eligible to participate. Film companies generally schedule the release of films with higher likelihood of winning awards at the end of the year. The word-of-mouth effect of the national film is very important, so that when everyone votes the next year, the film is still fresh in their memory; There is even a film that will be released in Hollywood theaters before New Year's Day, and then it will not be fully released until February and March of the following year.

These thousands of members had to choose five films from hundreds of films, and they had to be in order. This is because when counting option votes, the weight of the votes for the first and second places is not the same. In addition, voters can only vote for their own industry, that is, actors vote for actors, directors vote for directors, artists vote for artists, and only the best picture is for everyone to vote. From these ballot papers, the top five in each category are calculated using a sensitive formula, known as the list of nominees, which is generally announced in mid-February. The process of secondary selection is different from that of the primary selection, in which each person chooses one of the five names of each category.

Wang Xiaohu arrived in Los Angeles when his collaborator George. Lucas, Steven. Spielberg was already waiting at the airport, and as soon as they met, Spielberg rushed over and punched Wang Xiaohu: "Hey, I heard that you are going to give the Eagle Disc Gold Award to others, is there such a thing?" ”

Wang Xiaohu had already been mentally prepared for this, he gave Spielberg a punch back and said: "Man, if you like that trophy, it's best to prepare a large amount of cash, I won't give it away for free." ”

"Hell you!" Spielberg smiled wryly and said, "Even if I buy that thing, I don't have a sense of accomplishment, and I want to win this honor with my own hands." ”

Lucas also nodded and said: "Yes, if we buy it back with money, not only will we be ridiculed by the world, but you will also become a sensational celebrity in Hollywood, because you are laughing at the directors' guild and denying your own work." ”

"It's easy, isn't it?" Wang Xiaohu smiled and shrugged, if you think about it carefully, this is indeed an easy thing, he just wants to open the Hollywood market with "Rocky", pave the way for Stallone to become popular, and pave the way for "First Blood", winning the award is just something he does by the way.

Wang Xiaohu's words made the two future Hollywood directors almost vomit blood, they rolled their eyes in depression, if they didn't know that Wang Xiaohu was powerful, they were very likely to go up and beat up, this is simply a provocation, it's just standing and talking without backache, it's just too annoying!

"Boss, I heard that in your China, you should give out red envelopes when you encounter such a happy event." Winterdur twisted his chubby body and squeezed in, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stared at Wang Xiaohu with expectant eyes.

"Old Wen, I expected you, a miser, to say that." Wang Xiaohu said happily: "But this will not be done until the award comes down." ”

"Boss, I'll spread the word about your act of generosity to everyone." Winterdur made an exaggerated expression before he said, "But before that, I have important things to talk to you about. ”

"Is there anything you can't talk about back to the company, you know I haven't had the jet lag yet, and the damn airsickness symptoms still have some stamina." Even if Wang Xiaohu is full of words like this, he admires Lao Wen's work concept in his heart, and it is too difficult to find such a conscientious employee.

"Let me tell you." Lucas interjected: "Time magazine is coming to interview you, and I guess you'll probably be the cover character of the next issue." ”

Since its inception in March 1923, the purpose of the newspaper has been to enable "busy people" to fully understand world events, and to open up many columns, such as economy, education, law, criticism, art, people, etc., and it is the first popular journal in the United States to report current affairs in a narrative style and break the monopoly of newspapers and broadcasts on news, covering all over the world.

"Are you sure?" Wang Xiaohu subconsciously touched his nose, such a thing was simply beyond his expectations.

"Of course!" Lucas showed unprecedented excitement, he stretched out his finger and said: ""Rocky" has now won eight nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Music, and Best Supporting Actor, which fully shows that you are the biggest favorite and the biggest dark horse at this year's Oscars, and you are still a Chinese, Time Magazine will naturally come to interview you!" ”

"George, you just said that the eight items are just nominations, if I am only nominated and do not win a little golden man, I may not be the biggest favorite, but the biggest tragedy!" Wang Xiaohu behaved very calmly, "Rocky" was originally released in 1977, and won three statuettes in the 49th Oscars, this is the 46th, three years ahead of schedule, three years ahead of schedule means that there are a lot of changes in it, no one knows what the result is, after all, Hollywood has never been really fair.

Relatively speaking, Wang Xiaohu is now somewhat interested in the interview of Time magazine, because Bruce Lee appeared in Time magazine two years ago, but it was after his death, and the interview with "Black Belt" two years ago made Bruce Lee famous in the circle.

"Old Wen, what time is the interview?" Wang Xiaohu sat on the boss chair of the branch and asked a little tiredly.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Well, don't bother me until tomorrow afternoon, I need a good night's sleep."

On the afternoon of the second day, Time magazine was not the only one who participated in the press conference, but also the New York Times, the Los Angeles Newspaper, the Washington Post, and Los Angeles TV, which were jointly interviewed by five highly influential media in the United States.

In the face of so many media, Wang Xiaohu showed a very serious appearance, which made the passing Winterdur and Lucas roll their eyes, and the kid complained half an hour before the interview: "I don't like to deal with the media, God knows what embarrassing things they will ask." ”

But now, Wang Xiaohu sat there solemnly, greeting the media reporters with a faint smile on his face.

"Tiger, first of all, congratulations to you and yourself on your multiple nominations for the 46th Academy Awards." Time magazine reporter Saar first congratulated him. Wang Xiaohu replied with a smile: "Thank you for your congratulations, but I want to say that this is thanks to the Oscar judges for their faces, if they don't give grace, I, a foreigner, probably don't have such a rare opportunity." ”

Wang Xiaohu's words are half-truths and half-truths, what is called Kai'en, it is very simple, Wang Xiaohu is Chinese, in the eyes of Americans, he is a non-American person, who is not an American, they have not been really treated fairly in Hollywood. The incident of "racial discrimination" a year ago made those who heard it sigh.

"Tiger, how many awards do you think you'll win?" Editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Newspaper. Fawkes asked anxiously. I don't ask which one it is, but how many awards I have won, I don't know if this is a ridicule or a compliment to Wang Xiaohu.

This topic is a concern for everyone, Wang Xiaohu smiled and played Tai Chi: "I am just a rookie director, and I am also Chinese, as for what to get, how much to get, that should be the matter of the judges' hard work, my job is to shoot a film that impresses everyone, if you can find resonance in the film, it is my greatest contribution to the Hollywood career, and it is also the best recognition of me by everyone, isn't it?" ”

"And what do you think of the other best nominated films?" Root. Fox asked that this year's nominees for Best Picture include "Deception in Deception", "American Style Painting", "Shout and Whisper", "Golden House**" and Wang Xiaohu's "Rocky", while "The Exorcist", which was supposed to appear in history, was squeezed out by Wang Xiaohu.

"How can I say it, all the films that can be nominated are good movies, I don't want to use such boring questions to deliberately overestimate myself, in this film, I appreciate my old friend George's "American Painting" more." Wang Xiaohu smiled and recommended George. Lucas, this act of triggering the fire made Lucas cry out, so the camera immediately shifted to Lucas, and a reporter asked: "George, I heard that you and Tiger are working together on a film, can you talk about what kind of film it is?" ”

"Well, I have no comment!" Lucas spread his hands and said: "Today is an interview with Tiger, you should concentrate on dealing with him, not distracting for such a trivial matter, you must know that you still have 25 minutes of interview time today, it is urgent!" ”

Reminded by Lucas, these reporters remembered the topic, and it was still the "Time" magazine remembering Sal to ask: "Mr. Tiger before starting the formal interview, I need to talk about my own situation, I once went to China 3 years ago, and made a very detailed report on China at that time, through that report I can clearly feel China's progress, but the development of films there is extremely backward, may I ask Mr. Tiger, as a Chinese, why don't you return to your motherland?" But to start your own film career in Hollywood or Hong Kong? ”

This question is somewhat sharp, very sharp, to put it simply, this is a one-sided exaggeration of the prosperity of the United States and the prosperity of the people, directly pointing to the backwardness of Chinese mainland's development, to put it seriously, that is, Wang Xiaohu is a person who admires foreign and flattering foreigners, and does not have the integrity that the current Chinese should have in his bones, if it is transmitted to Chinese mainland, I am afraid that he will have already been buttoned up at this time with a big hat and accepted the criticism of the people of the whole country!

Wang Xiaohu narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then replied with a smile: "I am a Chinese, I love my motherland, and I also love the film industry, the reason why I started my career in Hong Kong or Hollywood, because these two places have maintained a prosperous scene, is currently the best platform to realize my film dream, if one day, the domestic form improves, I will also be obliged to invest in the revitalization of the Chinese film industry, I believe that day will not be too long." ”

After Wang Xiaohu said this, he thought of "Shaolin Temple" and Jet Li. At the same time, there was a faint sadness in my heart. Westerners believe that Chinese martial arts have magical powers and a mystical temperament. Chinese kung fu films have influenced the creation of many Hollywood directors, such as Quentin, who loves Hong Kong martial arts films. Tarantino, who rendered his understanding of Chinese martial arts with two "Kill Bill" films, deified Chinese martial arts masters, and led Westerners to reverie the Far East. Such a movie, every few years Hollywood produces several masterpieces.

China's long history and magnificent culture are a bonanza for movies, but what makes Chinese filmmakers ashamed is that many Chinese household stories have not been well explored and used, and have been made into popular movies by Hollywood. In 1987, the film "The Last Emperor", adapted from Pu Yi's "The First Half of My Life", won nine awards at the 60th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the most influential Chinese-themed film in Hollywood, and also opened the prelude to the brilliant Chinese story in Hollywood.

But what I'm really interested in is only kung fu movies

(To be continued)