1634 Award
One by one, the prizes were distributed.
The audience felt drowsy listening to the host's beautiful Italy and the occasional English spoken by the guest on stage.
He had no choice. He could barely understand a few words in English, but he could not understand anything about Italy.
The crew was a little sleepy. Only Zhu Xiaoce, Lu Zhiyao, and a few other people were still watching expectantly.
After the previous experience, everyone knew that anyone who was notified to come to the award ceremony would basically be rewarded.
It was just a bigger or smaller problem.
However, given everyone's expectations for the movie 'The Future You Choose', winning a small award was equivalent to not winning.
They had to get a huge award that had enough weight, such as the Best Actor or the Golden Lion Award. That would be a historical breakthrough for everyone.
The production team had also supplemented their knowledge about the Venice Film Festival before they came.
This was the film festival with the longest history in the world. It was the first film festival to be established.
As the pioneer of the film festival, the Venice Film Festival had a deeper history and a core of culture that it insisted on.
Simply put, the Venice Film Festival was more personal and encouraged innovation; it encouraged bold experiments in visual and auditory languages; and it placed more emphasis on the ideology of the film.
On top of that, the Venice Film Festival was more biased towards Asian movies. It also placed more emphasis on Chinese movies. Many Chinese movies were favored by the Venice Film Festival. Two of them won the Best Film Golden Lion Award. Another director won the lifetime achievement award of the Venice Film Festival.
On top of that, the Chinese judges had a certain amount of influence in the Venice Film Festival. They also met with a few Chinese judges when the production team arrived. Everyone had high expectations for the movie 'The Future You Choose'. They hoped that he could continue and surpass the success of 'Tomorrow is Beautiful'.
After all, these two movies had certain similarities in terms of theme and story. 'The Future that You Think About' could be regarded as a comprehensive version of 'Tomorrow is Beautiful'.
The crew yawned and chatted as they walked past the prizes one by one. That was because the first few prizes were boring. What's more, they did not mention the name 'The Future You Choose'.
Huang Sibo felt bored as well. After all, the only people on stage to receive the award were the director and actors. It had nothing to do with him, the person-in-charge.
He had come to the film festival purely as a calefare.
At that moment, he suddenly felt Lu Zhiyao, who was sitting on his left, tense up. He heard the second half of the English award.
"…for Lu Zhiyao!"
Huang Sibo might not have heard Lu Zhiyao's name but Lu Zhiyao's pinyin was already displayed on the big screen.
Now, nearly 90% of the actors and directors in the mainland used pinyin as an English name. This was also a sign that cultural confidence was increasing.
What was more important was that the order of name and surname would not be reversed.
Lu Zhiyao's award was displayed on the big screen.
Of course, he was the best male actor. He could not win other prizes afterall.
Lu Zhiyao had already buttons up his suit jacket gracefully. He stood up and went on stage.
The crew of 'The Future You Choose' immediately flared up and applauded warmly with the audience. This award was a pleasant surprise.
"He really won the Best Actor. He can finally be said to be a true movie king now!"
"Indeed, the prizes that we won previously were all local. They are not as good."
"Sigh, isn't it reasonable for Lu Zhiyao to get the best male actor in our movie based on his acting skills?"
Lu Zhiyao came to the stage and said in Chinese, "First, I wish everyone good night. This is the first time I came to the Venice Film Festival. I did not expect to obtain this honor. It makes me feel very honored."
"I especially thank the judging panel for giving me this honor. I also want to thank my director, all the staff, and my fans. This movie is a test for me and a huge opportunity…"
After thanking all the important people, Lu Zhiyao changed the topic.
"I also have to thank the film's investor and the highest producer, Boss Pei. Boss Pei is my true confidant that found me. It was under Boss Pei's guidance that I could continuously temper my acting skills through various characters and finally obtain the recognition of the world."
"In the movie 'The Future You Choose', the acting skills that I have accumulated have finally obtained the best display stage. I hope that I can contribute more exciting performances to everyone in the future and shape more classic characters. Thank you everyone again."
The interpreter at the side translated Lu Zhiyao's words into Italy, and the audience applauded again.
Lu Zhiyao returned to his seat. The crew congratulated him one by one, their faces brimming with happiness.
"Alright, the international movie king deserves it! Once we win this award, we'll have made enough money to come to this film festival."
"Indeed, with the Best Actor, we would have enough topics to talk about when we get back. The box office would definitely not be low when we get back and release the movie with just the movie king's performance and our story."
"This trip was worthwhile, this trip was worthwhile."
Everyone read Lu Zhiyao's trophy and were very satisfied.
After all, even though the Best Actor award was a personal honor, it was also the honor of the entire production team of this movie. After all, without a good story, it would be very difficult for actors to win the Best Actor award no matter how they performed.
He had to rely on the plot to produce good acting skills.
The goal of the production team participating in this film festival was achieved. They would win a more important award like the Best Actor after all, not an unimportant small award.
After the excitement, the production team fell into a weak state.
At the Best Director Award, Zhu Xiaoce had sat upright. However, the results were not given to him. That made him a little disappointed.
It was not only because their own prizes had failed, but also because the bigger the award, the lower the chances of winning.
Finally, the award ceremony reached the final segment. Even the Silver Lion Award had been awarded. The name 'The Future You Choose' still did not appear.
At that moment, everyone in the production team was feeling conflicted. They felt like employees who had not won a small award at the end of the annual meeting.
On one hand, he felt guilty. He felt that it was unlikely that the biggest award would end up in his hands. However, there was a strong sense of anticipation in his heart.
It was either a hasty end or a huge win. This feeling was too exciting.
For the production team of 'The future you choose', it would be considered passable to bring back the best male actor. This trip was not wasted. However, this award was still a little disappointing.
After all, the crew felt that the movie 'The Future You Choose' was good in all aspects. It could be said to be perfect. It was reasonable even if it won the Golden Lion Award.
The host spoke a bunch of words in Italy and then looked at the guest presenter across the stage. The general idea was to ask him to reveal the final prize.
The guest presenter was a charmingly naive fatty and a world-renowned director.
He smiled and said, "Let me tell you the name of the award."
"Zhu xiaoce, for the 'Tomorrow You Championship'!"
Everyone immediately applauded and cheered.
Zhu Xiaoce's heart finally relaxed. What followed was pure joy.
The music sounded. Zhu Xiaoce calmed himself down amidst the warm applause and cheers of the audience. He pretended to be very calm and slowly walked onto the stage.
Zhu Xiaoce took the highest award from the white-haired old judge on stage—a small golden Lion with wings.
After about two minutes of long photography, Zhu Xiaoce carried the golden Lion to the podium. The warm applause gradually subsided.
Zhu Xiaoce adjusted his microphone slightly and said the award-winning phrase that he had repeated many times in his heart.
"First of all, thank you to the judges for your recognition and love of this movie. 'The Future that You Choose' is a movie that gathered the hard work of the production team. It is filled with deep meaning and rich imagination. At the same time, it is rooted in reality and absorbed precious nutrition. To me, he is a deep mark in my entire director career. He also used this opportunity to break through himself and challenge the higher art palace."
"I want to thank all the crew members, my cute actors, and the audience who have always supported us…"
"On top of that, everyone in our production team has to thank Boss Pei. Your spirit has given this movie a soul. Real life events have given the movie flesh and blood. This movie would not have been born without you."
"Therefore, this award is the result of all of us, including all the fans who support Tengda Corporation, working hard together. I am willing to share this honor with you."
"Thank you everyone!"
There was another round of applause.
At the same time, various news reports were sent back to China. Domestically-produced movies had won the highest award of the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Lion. This was definitely a sum that everyone deserved to make famous in the film industry.
…
…
September 8th, Sunday.
The moment Pei Qian woke up, he quickly took his cell phone to check on the situation of the Venice Film Festival last night.
He felt conflicted.
As a friend, he actually hoped that Zhu Xiaoce and the others would be able to get a small award. For example, the best male actor and the best director, such an award was actually acceptable.
After all, these people were indeed hardworking in filming movies. They deserved the award.
It was fine as long as it did not cause the box office to become popular.
Unexpectedly, Pei Qian received several notifications as soon as he switched on his cell phone.
"Domestic film won the Golden Lion Award for Best Film in Venice for the seventh time!"
"Lu Zhiyao receives the best male actor, the movie king is finally crowned!"
"Director Zhu Xiaoce: Thank you, Boss Pei, for giving the movie its soul!"
