Chapter 205
14.17 - Let's all stand witness to the Best Male Actor tonight—
translator: xiin
editors: alamerysl & BlueBug
By the time the first film for <Asking Heaven> was completed, Xue Ling and Su Liunian had already finished filming all four parts, and now had time for publicity events.
At this point, Xue Ling finally appeared in front of the public again. The previous popularity brought by <Lost Track> had gradually settled, but the publicity wave for <Asking Heaven> set off another big wave.
Fan Yueze created a total of four promotional trailers that covered the four different parts from <Asking Heaven>'s original novel. The film had originally started off with support from fans of the book, as well as Su Liunian and Xue Ling's fans. After including the people who had seen the promotional photos from <Asking Heaven> who were now following the progress of the film, <Asking Heaven> became the hottest film topic, and basically everyone knew that the film was about to start promotions and screening.
Xue Ling's fans shouted and begged for attention. They were really too miserable; Xue Ling was addicted to filming and always ignored them. He used to send selfies, but after switching companies, not only did he not send selfies, even his Weibo posts were all for promotions. When would he come out to chat with them?!
Perhaps it was this feeling that caused Xue Ling's popularity to soar, and his fans shouted the loudest during the first publicity event.
Xue Ling was not very interested in the publicity events, but he was acquainted with most of them and Su Liunian was there with him, so he naturally needed to appear. No matter how reluctant he was, as long as he was there, those who saw him were sent into a daze, let alone when he was actually moving. Adding on Su Liunian beside him, they became the ultimate scenery and the fans were so happy they were almost crying. Su Liunian called him a fan abuser - the fans liked him so much, but he didn't care about them at all - and forced him to blow a few kisses to them on the spot as well as promise to treat them better on Weibo in the future.
On the day of the film's premiere, the crew organized activities for them to interact with the fans online, and Xue Ling brought Su Xuanyan with him to the cinema.
Su Xuanyan had told him that this was not the first film he had acted in. He had been a director before, but since those memories hadn't been recovered yet, to him, he had only participated in shooting without ever seeing a finished product. Xue Ling was really interested in watching himself on screen.
There were several ways to enjoy films in this era. The most advanced method was to immerse oneself into the film, but <Asking Heaven> was not that kind of film, and viewers only needed to wear a pair of thin glasses to watch the big screen. Xue Ling selected a couples seat for him and Su Xuanyan, and in order not to stick out too much, he chose a relatively normal position.
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His method for hiding from paparazzi and all kinds of other people was so good that nobody recognized them until the end of the film. The audience was immersed in the plot, but Xue Ling was only partially watching the film, and spending the remaining part of his attention whispering with Su Xuanyan.
Su Xuanyan was bothered so much by him that he didn't even get a chance to watch the movie properly. Later on, the two of them gave up and simply focused on flirting quietly with each other, making the people beside them so angry that they cursed them for being a pair of dogs.
The two of them turned deaf ears to the curses.
After <Asking Heaven> finished filming, Xue Ling rested for two days before packing up his luggage to go to the set for the historical drama <Long River> as Zhu Ruoqiu wanted the cast to spend a month learning ancient etiquette before the filming. He had very high requirements for his filming, and hoped that the actors would begin to get into character ahead of time.
Fortunately, Tianxuan was generous in their investment, which allowed him to toss about like this, but most actors would not have a month of spare time to come and practice, so this cast was mostly composed of newcomers. Most of the supporting actors were experienced performers with a background in opera, and if this type of cast did not spend any time getting into shape, they would end up splitting the film into two parts, which brought more trouble.
Making this kind of decision was a relatively big challenge for both the actors and the company, but fortunately, Zhu Ruoqiu had both the belief and the ability to accomplish it, and Tianxuan had obtained approval from above to spend a lot of money on this project, so the two sides cooperated very happily, and the plan to spend a month practicing actually went through.
As the protagonist, Xue Ling needed to learn more than everyone else. Che Gongzi was a genius in various areas; he had mastered all sorts of artistic and martial skills, and he had the ability to perform well in both civil and military affairs. Zhu Ruoqiu was worried that a month's time would not be enough for him to learn it all, and told Xue Ling to learn a portion of it in advance.
Perhaps because this sense of urgency gave Xue Ling a sense of challenge, Xue Ling placed 120% of his attention on the preparation for this film. Even Su Xuanyan was too lazy to pay attention to him as he spent every day learning this and that, moving so quickly he left wind in his wake as he passed by, his entire body appearing almost transient.
Su Xuanyan hated the damned Ten Directions World even more. What 'counterattacking the entertainment circle'? It was clearly just making trouble. Based on Xue Ling's ability, he should have been able to recover his memories as quickly as Su Xuanyan. But with the Ten Directions World's decision, he had to obtain the so-called title of film emperor before he could retrieve his last tail.
Xue Ling was busy during this period of time, but in fact, Su Xuanyan hadn't been idle either. He bought a mountain with the Su Family name and relocated the villages that were settled at the foot of the mountain, using the claim that they were planning to develop the area to seal up the entire mountain. The mountain was located in a remote area that had very few people, so Su Xuanyan specifically arranged people to set up a temporarily helipad to ensure that they would be able to get here smoothly when the day arrived.
After all, with things like lightning tribulation, it was easy to accidentally destroy a city. It was better if they looked for a mountain out in the wilderness.
As long as they were busy, time would pass by very quickly. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the end of the year, and it was time for the Oscars Film Festival. The production for <Long River> was rushed and hurried, but was finally still submitted in time to be placed on trial at the last minute. No matter what the result was, they had already done everything they could.
The Oscar Film Festival was a global festival hosted by the Baili Family. This year's film festival was held in a giant theatre in Feng Country. <Long River> did not disappoint; it was given five nominations for Best Feature Film, Best Musical Score, Best Script, Best Male Actor, and Best Male Supporting Actor. Even just based on the nominations, it could be seen that <Long River> was one of the black horses amongst this year's films.
Xue Ling had acted in two movies this year. There were nominees for Best Male Actor in both <Asking Heaven> and <Long River>, but Su Liunian was nominated for <Asking Heaven> while Xue Ling had been nominated for <Long River>. If it weren't for the rules of the Oscar Film Festival that one couldn't compete against themselves for the title of film emperor and everyone could only be nominated for one film, Tianxuan would probably have nominated Xue Ling for his role as Feng Qianyun.
Other than the Best Male Actor award, Xue Ling was also nominated for the Best Newcomer Award. Shen Yue felt that he most likely wouldn't win that one, because it would make it difficult to win Best Male Actor afterwards.
It was a losing proposition to compete with Su Liunian. So far, Su Liunian had already won five Best Male Actor Awards at the Oscar Film Festival, and this award seemed to be given solely to their family. Regardless of whether it was abroad or at home, there were very few actors who could compete against them for this award and win.
Over the years, Su Liunian had a tradition of winning all the awards he had been nominated for. As a newcomer to the film industry who only had two works this year, it seemed very difficult for Xue Ling to compete with him for the Best Male Actor Award, but Xue Ling was very open-minded about it. He was seated next to Su Liunian, and even joked with him before the announcements, "I told your eldest brother before that if I could take the prize, I would get together with him. Now, it seems like there's little hope."
Su Liunian froze, then clutched Xue Ling's hand and expressed, "Little Ling, don't frighten me like that! I don't care about the award! If you really don't get it, my eldest brother will kill me!"
Xue Ling rolled his eyes, "You should find a good premise even if you're acting. When has Su Xuanyan ever treated you badly? At most, he'll take out his anger on your second brother."
Su Liunian thought about it, and realized that it was true that his eldest brother had never been fierce towards him. Even if he had really done something wrong, his eldest brother would just blame their second brother for setting a bad example. When he thought of this point, he was no longer concerned because there was someone else to take the blame. "You're right. In that case, I'm relieved."
Su Xuanqian who was sitting next to him acting like part of the backdrop, "…" His younger brother had really become more and more presumptuous recently. After spending time with Xue Ling, his temperament seemed to have turned a little more fierce. It was really true that bad habits were easy to learn.
"Next up are the individual awards ceremony. This year, we'll first start off with the Best Newcomer Award~" The host on-stage looked at the card in her hand and smiled widely, "How many powerful newcomers have appeared during this year, and what wonderful movies have they brought us? Let's take a look at the shortlisted actors.~"
Short film clips began to play on the big screen. Su Liunian leaned over and asked Xue Ling, "Little Ling, are you nervous? There are five nominations for Best Newcomer this year, but none of the other four can match up to you. You've definitely won this prize." No sooner had he finished his words when the voice of the host rang out on stage.
"The winner of this year's Best Newcomer Award is! <Asking Heaven>, Xue Ling!" Thunderous applause exploded on the spot, and the live camera turned to Xue Ling's position. Su Liunian hurriedly sat up straight, and smiled as he gave Xue Ling a hug.
Xue Ling embraced him for a moment, and then stood up to shake hands with Fan Yueze, exchanging greetings with the crew as he made his way up to the stage. Xue Ling was in a great mood as he briskly walked up onto the stage.
Holding the heavy trophy in his hand, he bowed to the stage, then curved his lips and gave the live camera a kiss before speaking, "I would like to thank the judges for their affirmation. This year has been a meaningful one for me. I have been given new opportunities, started a new life, met new people, and started a new career path. Thank you to all the people who have been around me, and thank you all for the love you've shown for a brand new me."
In the live webcast room, a barrage of comments exploded from the moment he sent his flying kiss. "Ahhhhhhh male god kissed me!!" "Let go of the man and let me join in!" "Wuwuwu I'm so happy, I got kissed!" and other similar comments were all sent into the room. Some people didn't know who he was, but after watching the barrage of comments, they more or less learned some things about him.
After a night like this, he was probably really going to obtain a new round of fans.
After making his acceptance speech, Xue Ling gave a deep bow and stepped down.
His pace was unhurried, he looked very calm and not nervous at all. Many people looked upon him favourably for that, and no matter what the award meant to him personally, the attitude he showed now was likely to allow him to make the headlines tomorrow. After all, there was very little news about him, and many journalists wanted to catch his weak points or report anything related to him.
After returning to his place, Xue Ling heaved a sigh of relief. Su Liunian handed him a bottle of water and asked, "How did it feel to go up on stage?"
Xue Ling took a sip of water and said calmly, "You can ask this question again when I've won the Best Male Actor Award. I'll tell you then."
Su Liunian tsked. He already had no feelings about winning the prize. In other words, he already had nothing to prove by winning that particular award. "I know that you're good at acting, and the script appeals to the judges more, but you're already saying this now. If you really don't get it later, won't you be slapping yourself in the face? It's better not to stand out so much."
Xue Ling adjusted his tie and watched the exciting performance on stage. "If I don't win the prize, the preparations your eldest brother spent one month making will have been in vain. He already told the helicopter to wait outside for me to finish winning the prize so that I can run away right after."
Su Liubian: "…" How come he had to bring up his eldest brother every three sentences! Little Ling, have you been possessed?!
Perhaps because he was having his face rubbed by shows of affection from other people, Su Liunian could feel that kind of sour smell associated with being slapped in the face with shows of love. He'd been wrong! In the future he would first check the situation before doing public displays of affection (〒_〒) this feeling of being blinded by these displays of love was really terrible, and in the future he would definitely pay more attention!
The awards were handed out one after another. There was no doubt about who would win the Best Actress Award. The winner was Ji Zien, who had been nominated for her role in a war movie. For some reason, when Xue Ling saw Ji Zien, he always felt as though she had a halo over her head. Although the light was dim, it was indeed a halo. He remembered that the last time he had seen something like this had been when he met Yuan Chuanbai's lover, Baili Shaojue.
At the time, he had thought that he was wrong, but the system told him that it was something called the protagonist's halo. However, their halos had been damaged by the destruction of the plot, so the light had dimmed. Otherwise, the brightness level would be blinding.
"The competition for this year's Best Male Actor is very fierce. There are veteran actors, film emperors who have won several times, newcomers, as well as old friends that have been nominated multiple times." The person responsible for announcing the Best Male Actor Award was Ji Zien, who had just won the Best Actress Award. She wore a long dress with a trailing fish tail, and her long curly hair waved in the wind. Her entire person looked noble, exquisite and elegant. "But who will be the winner of this year's trophy?~" After she finished speaking, the big screen began to show movie clips featuring the nominated actors.
The strength of nominated actors was naturally unquestionable. Everyone had excellent acting ability; the entertainment circle was not one where people could stand on the stage based on looks alone. If they wanted to win an award, they must have the required strength.
Ji Zien slowly opened the envelope she held in her hand. Her eyebrows raised slightly when she saw the name.
"Well, let's all stand witness to the Best Male Actor tonight—"