Chapter 752
Unprecedented and Unparalleled! The Golden Rooster Awards: A Battle of Titans!
Three days later, the nomination list for the 26th China Golden Rooster Awards was officially released.
The organizers even held a press conference, where they announced not only the nomination list but also another piece of news.
This year's Golden Rooster Awards will be held in Suzhou, a city in southern China, which is Chen Yu's hometown.
The online buzz was overwhelming.
In the past, the Golden Rooster Awards only generated some buzz through the awards ceremony, and the nominations were only watched by a few film fans; but this year is completely different. As soon as the news of the press conference being held in Suzhou came out, the whole internet was already discussing it.
After all, many people are aware of the conflict between Chen Yu and the Golden Rooster Awards last year. Although the Golden Rooster Awards eventually compensated him with a Best Actor award, and even a second one, whether he forgives Chen Yu is another matter.
"I'm so looking forward to it! This time it's being held in Suzhou, I think Chen Yu will be there, right?"
"Who knows? Jinji made a big mistake before, and our Brother Yu has already declared that he will never participate again!"
"This time is different, Chen Yu is from Suzhou..."
"Things are unpredictable, let's wait and see the nomination list first!"
"Haha, this is going to be interesting!"
"..."
Countless netizens are naturally looking forward to this news, and the Golden Rooster Awards organizers have spared no expense.
The official websites of the China Film Association and the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival are updated simultaneously.
The event was jointly reported by all social media platforms and partner media, with Variety, NetEase, and Sina also joining in.
This is absolutely the moment everyone is watching.
The fact that the Golden Rooster Film Festival was held in Suzhou, a city in southern China, deserves extensive media coverage.
Jingle Bell--
Chen Yu was sorting out some recent trivial matters; even during his vacation, he was still swamped with many things to do.
When the phone rang, Chen Yu subconsciously frowned.
It's Hao Rong.
This was the first time the two had contacted each other since the last time he was persuaded to participate in the Golden Rooster Awards.
Liu Yifei came closer, her expression showing a hint of confusion.
"Dean Hao is really determined to see the light at the end of the tunnel..."
"He had no choice; he was probably under pressure from above!"
Chen Yu shook his head and pressed the answer button.
"Chen Yu, have you seen the Golden Rooster Awards nomination list?"
"not yet……"
Chen Yu composed himself, realizing that the time was indeed almost up.
"This year's Golden Rooster Awards are quite generous, with thirteen major awards and thirteen nominees!"
"Hahaha!"
Hao Rong laughed as he said this.
Chen Yu was still a little confused, but after thinking about it, he understood what Hao Rong meant.
This year's Golden Rooster Awards presented a total of thirteen awards, including Best New Actor; while "Better Days" was nominated for twelve awards, meaning it was nominated for every award.
Chen Yu didn't know if there had ever been a film like this in the history of the Golden Rooster Awards, but this time "Better Days" was indeed a huge hit.
"I have a feeling that after this year's Golden Rooster Awards, your name and this film will become an era!"
Hao Rong said it with great certainty.
This statement carries far too much weight.
However, in some people's minds, Chen Yu was already worthy of this honor.
His debut film swept the awards at Venice, which would be a huge blow to the domestic audience; if there were some old-timers at the Golden Rooster Awards in the past, they might have made things difficult for him, but this year it was clear that they were showing goodwill to Chen Yu, giving him the green light all the way.
That's why all of "Better Days" were nominated.
Now, the Golden Rooster Awards are relying on Chen Yu to maintain their popularity, and the higher-ups should have realized that this is a point where the popularity will surpass that of the Golden Horse Awards.
Chen Yu didn't have this much influence last year, but this year is completely different.
Directors and actors are indeed different.
"The Golden Rooster Awards invited many people this year!"
"Director Zhang and Jiang Wen should both be attending..."
Zhang Yimou's film is "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," while Jiang Wen's is "The Sun Also Rises."
It's been many years since the Golden Rooster Awards have had such a strong lineup.
In fact, the Golden Rooster Awards used to produce many excellent works, but since a few old guys took over, Zhang Yimou has rarely had the opportunity to be nominated.
First, he has won too many awards; second, they deliberately blocked him from being nominated, just like they did with Chen Yu last year.
But this year is indeed a completely different one.
Not only did Zhang Yimou's "A Thousand Miles" receive ten nominations, but Jiang Wen also received eight.
"I called you just to let you know..."
Hao Rong did not put any more pressure on Chen Yu, and Chen Yu nodded: "Okay, Dean Hao, let me take a look at the shortlist!"
"Okay, then I won't bother you any longer!"
"Go for it, Golden Rooster! I have high hopes for you!"
Hao Rong laughed loudly and hung up the phone.
Liu Yifei, who was standing to the side, looked up at the person in front of her, her eyes sparkling, clearly agreeing with what Hao Rong had just said.
This era will be ushered in by Chen Yu himself in his hometown.
This is indeed a sacred and glorious moment of returning home.
There is no better version of the story...
"Director Chen, are you going back to your hometown?"
Liu Yifei looked at Chen Yu with a hint of mockery, and even quoted his famous saying: "To not return home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night!"
"Now the people of our village can see that 'Better Days' has won an award, and they will definitely be proud of you."
Liu Yifei puffed out her cheeks, becoming even more excited as if she had thought of something else.
“Grandpa had been saying that his good brothers were going to have a banquet to celebrate, and now the opportunity has come.”
Chen Yu reached out and flicked Liu Yifei's nose. This little girl really does something on a whim.
Even if they were to attend the Golden Rooster Awards, they probably wouldn't have that much time. Besides, wouldn't it be even more outrageous to hold such a grand celebration?!
Liu Yifei had already moved closer to the computer and opened the Golden Rooster Awards website.
Sure enough, what came into view was a large golden banner listing the names of the list.
Clicking on it, the shortlisted works for the thirteen awards are clearly displayed on the right.
At first glance, Liu Yifei saw four large, shining characters.
Better Days!
"Better Days" was nominated for Best Feature Film, which is also known as Best Picture. Other films nominated alongside it include Zhang Yimou's "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises," and "The Knot."
This year's Golden Rooster Awards were absolutely phenomenal.
In the past, Jiang Wen and Zhang Yimou alone were enough to generate a lot of buzz for the Golden Rooster Awards, not to mention Chen Yu as well.
Moreover, the movie "The Knot" has received high praise.
Currently, major websites and media outlets have only just learned about this year's shortlist and are busy editing and drafting news. Chen Yu has already scanned all thirteen names.
"The Youth" was indeed nominated for all of them, but as for winning an award... it's really hard to say.
"Several major awards have been won by Lao Jiang and Director Zhang!"
Best Feature Film goes without saying, with three nominees, plus Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography... Chen Yuguang felt immense pressure just looking at that list.
"Better Days" won an award at Venice, but it's really different; it could sweep the Golden Rooster Awards.
Foreigners might not understand "The Sun Also Rises," but Chinese critics are discerning and know exactly what story the film is about.
And Zhang Yimou's "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" is equally good.
Chen Yu wasn't confident enough to beat Jiang Wen and Zhang Yimou, so despite being nominated for thirteen awards, she had no idea how many she would ultimately win. "The competition for Best Actress is fierce..."
Jiang Wen's wife, Zhou Yun, was nominated, as were Yan Bingyan from "Love's Teeth" and Li Bingbing from "The Knot"... It seems that Yan Bingyan won the Best Actress award this year, and her acting skills are indeed outstanding.
This award didn't make much of a splash; Yan Bingyan beat out several others, which shows her real talent.
"Yes, I know all of these actresses!"
Liu Yifei bit her lip, looking somewhat helpless; while Chen Yu, looking at the list of nominees for Best Actor, felt that this award was probably the most certain.
The best screenwriter award doesn't necessarily go to "The Youth"; the screenwriters of "The Sun" and "A Thousand Miles" are both nominated.
Besides Chen Kun from "The Knot," there are several other lesser-known nominees for Best Actor, such as Li Yixiang from "Blind Shaft" and Qiu Lin, the second male lead in "A Thousand Miles," who was nominated for a different film.
"This year's Golden Rooster Awards are really prestigious!"
As Liu Yifei sighed, Chen Yu smiled and said, "The Golden Rooster Award will become increasingly prestigious in the future because domestic film production is increasing. With the intensification of the box office market, the annual output of the film and television industry will continue to grow!"
The competition has become increasingly fierce.
The Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards were very popular a few years ago because there were many works every year, and the nominated actors and their works were all well-known masterpieces.
However, with the decline of the film industry in these two regions, the list can only be supported by mainland Chinese films.
Nowadays, mainland Chinese films have swept across the entire mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
If the Golden Rooster doesn't rise up now, it will only be waiting for the two regions to turn around and attack it, especially the Golden Horse.
If the Golden Rooster had any intelligence, it would definitely choose some films that could generate buzz to attract traffic across the entire internet.
Regardless of whether the final awards are rigged or not, as long as people pay attention, the award's reputation will continue to grow; the Golden Rooster Awards have had a few mishaps in later years, but their fame has indeed continued to increase.
On the contrary, the Golden Horse and Golden Rooster awards have become increasingly worthless, and are now just minor awards.
This is a very basic principle.
With works and popularity, there is a future of awards.
Just like this year, when Chen Yu was looking at the list, a flood of reports had already swept in.
The moment domestic media saw the list, they rushed to report on it.
The nominations for the 26th Golden Rooster Awards have been announced, with "Better Days" receiving 13 nominations!
[Chen Yu and Liu Yifei team up; both Golden Rooster Award-winning actors and actresses are nominated!]
[A Grand Slam of Nominations! "Better Days" Sweeps All Golden Rooster Nominations!]
Chen Yu nominated for Best New Director at the Golden Rooster Awards!
The Golden Rooster Film Festival will be held in Suzhou, the hometown of the film's leading actor—a visual feast to look forward to!
[Chen Yu has confirmed his participation; has he reconciled with the Golden Rooster Awards?]
……
For a time, Chen Yu's name was featured on the front pages and in the headlines of major media outlets.
Even Jiang Wen and Zhang Yimou paled in comparison to him.
This is absolutely unprecedented.
In today's entertainment industry, he has become a mainstream figure, not just a top star.
With just a little effort, there are practically no opponents in this rank.
Including Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen.
From the outside perspective, having just won three major awards at the Venice Film Festival and then receiving 13 nominations at the Golden Rooster Awards, "Better Days" seems poised to sweep awards both domestically and internationally with unstoppable momentum.
The nomination list caused a great deal of discussion about "Better Days". The location of the Golden Rooster Awards and whether or not Chen Yu would attend further amplified the effect and heated debate.
Amidst this massive surge of popularity—
"Better Days" has reached its first stop for its global premiere!
The pre-sale results in the past few days were remarkable. While some media outlets were still claiming that the success was due to Chen Yu's popularity, "Better Days" had already exceeded 100 million yuan in pre-sales in just a few days.
It's worth noting that "Departures" had an unprecedented impact at the time, yet it only reached 9000 million views.
As for "Better Days," it was at its peak right from its debut, and even Chen Yu didn't expect things to turn out this way.
The global premiere has officially begun.
Early in the morning, Liu Yifei appeared in Chen Yu's room full of energy.
The two were already dressed and drove to the premiere venue of "Better Days"—the Huaxia Auditorium.
As Chen Yu's debut work, it naturally deserves to be taken seriously.
The venue was also booked by China Film Group, and the scale is already at its maximum. He had been preparing for this premiere for the past few days, and all the major media outlets had already accepted the invitation, in addition to a senior film critic from Starry Sky Network.
Their own Tomato.com is responsible for live streaming.
Yu Dong was still reporting the pre-sale results to Chen Yu in real time; the current results were not urgent.
After all, the midnight screening of "Better Days" will increase the number of votes.
Not only that--
Tickets for the premiere of "Better Days" have become extremely difficult to obtain.
The price of a single sheet skyrocketed to tens of thousands of yuan in minutes.
In the current climate, a premiere ticket costing tens of thousands of yuan could be used as a down payment for a house in a second- or third-tier city.
There's no way to get rid of scalpers, no matter what you do.
Where there is profit, there will be scalpers.
Everyone was naturally looking forward to it; they were more interested in seeing Chen Yu and Liu Yifei.
At this point, Chen Yu, together with Liu Yifei and the main creative team of "Better Days", arrived at the premiere screening room.
"Ahhh, Chen Yu!!!"
"Sissi!"
Screams erupted in an instant.
This screening invited a group of movie fans, who were so excited to see their idols that they were completely oblivious to the world around them.
As for Gao Jun, he had made all the preparations well in advance.
As the person in charge of several film premieres who had collaborated with Chen Yu, the following procedures were handled with ease.
"The media reporters and film critics present, as well as our film fans and followers."
"It is a pleasure to meet everyone at this sacred moment. The film that won the Best Actress and Golden Lion at Venice and received 13 Golden Rooster nominations is an indescribable masterpiece."
"I now declare—"
"The global premiere of 'Better Days' has officially begun."
"First, let's talk about the director and lead actor of this film—"
"Chen Yu!"
Wow!
Applause erupted from the audience.
Most people came to see Chen Yu and Liu Yifei this time, and it would be really exciting to see them at the premiere.
Chen Yu stepped forward.
"Better Days" is indeed of great significance to him. Compared to the premieres of countless previous works, he attaches great importance to this one.
After all, this film not only carries his hopes, but also represents the hard work of the entire creative team behind "Better Days".
My debut work is about to set sail.
The pre-sales have been quite successful so far; so everyone is naturally looking forward to its release.
"It is a pleasure to meet everyone here today!"
"Today is the global premiere of 'Better Days,' and this film is of great significance to me."
As soon as Chen Yu spoke...
The audience was already applauding uncontrollably. Many movie fans were already captivated by Chen Yu's acting skills, and they believed that this work would definitely bring them a different kind of impact.
Chen Yu smiled and looked down at the audience; the fans were still incredibly enthusiastic! (End of Chapter)