Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Meryl Streep wasn't wrong.

Many Hollywood big shots, either present at the event or watching on television, had already placed Nicole Kidman on their "untouchable" list.

The Oscar ceremony continued, but almost no one was paying attention to the awards anymore, except for the winners. Everyone else seemed distracted.

Soon, after the minor awards passed, the next important one of the evening would be presented—the Best Foreign Language Film award.

Two years ago, Ang Lee won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with his martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This not only earned him immense prestige but also a hefty sum of money and opportunities to direct Hollywood blockbusters.

This inspired other directors to follow suit, trying to make a run for the Oscar.

Tonight, another director had brought a grand martial arts production to this year's Oscars, hoping to win the Best Foreign Language Film award.

That's right—Zhang Yimou's Hero.

The film was distributed in America by Miramax.

Harvey Weinstein helped promote Hero, boosting its publicity for this nomination.

Unfortunately, Harvey spent most of his time and resources on "Best Picture" and "Best Director," given that Chicago was his real priority.

Hero's team was new to Hollywood's ecosystem. They didn't understand the importance of public relations, and believed that the Oscars were a fair and unbiased competition, simply waiting for the ceremony.

Without proper PR or media coverage, Hero lacked the influence it needed. In fact, before the Oscars, the film hadn't even been released in America.

Those who loved martial arts films in America never had the chance to experience Hero before the event.

Lacking widespread societal impact and support, Hero couldn't replicate the success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

At Zhang Yimou's table, the conversation had stopped about Nicole's "confession," and everyone was nervously watching the stage.

Zhang Yimou only learned about the importance of PR in Hollywood after arriving in America, but by then, it was too late.

He felt a mix of nervousness and hope, imagining the judges might still choose him despite the lack of proper PR, but also knowing that the possibility was slim, leaving him in great inner conflict.

Zhang Weiping quietly reassured him: "Don't worry. Even if we don't win, it's no big deal. At least we've been nominated. That's already a huge honor."

It was Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou's "honeymoon period." One focused on directing, the other on marketing. They were collaborating harmoniously.

The presenter for Best Foreign Language Film—Salma Hayek (Mexican actress, starred in action film Desperado)—stood on stage, reading the list of nominees: "The nominees for Best Foreign Language Film are Amores Perros from Mexico; Hero from China; The Man Without a Past from Finland; The Barbarian Invasions from Canada; and The Paradise Hotel from the Netherlands."

"These are all outstanding films. They represent different cinematic styles from various parts of the world. Unfortunately, only one can win." She opened the envelope and continued, "And the winner is… The Barbarian Invasions, congratulations to director Denys Arcand!"

Before the Oscars, the North American media had already given a reserved but positive evaluation of Hero: "It's a beautiful film."

The media had widely predicted that The Barbarian Invasions would win, given its politically correct themes.

The film depicts African men helping Jews, Englishmen helping Jews, and ultimately, grateful Jews giving up well-paying jobs in Europe to return to Africa, helping to build a poorer region.

Every aspect of the story catered to the Oscar voters' preferences.

After all, many of the voters were Jewish!

Martin glanced at the Hero team, feeling a bit regretful.

Compared to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Zhang Yimou's Hero still carried a strong Eastern cultural atmosphere.

While Hero did have some resemblance to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in certain aspects, Zhang Yimou was a true filmmaker and couldn't achieve the same level of Western assimilation that Ang Lee did.

Although Ang Lee was born in Taiwan, he had lived in America for nearly twenty years and was thoroughly Westernized—he was often referred to as a "banana"—yellow on the outside, but white on the inside.

Even the script for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was first written in English and then translated into , which made some of the dialogues sound awkward to audiences, almost theatrical in nature.

Later, another director, surnamed Feng, tried to imitate this style and made a misguided film called The Banquet, which turned a fine film into a Shakespearean drama. It failed to resonate with both and Western audiences, truly a case of "painting a tiger but creating a dog."

Simply put, Ang Lee made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for Western audiences and didn't consider viewers, with many of the film's techniques and details catering to Western tastes.

In fact, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon initially performed poorly at the China box office. It wasn't until the Oscar win and the subsequent media hype that the box office began to rise.

Though it's hard to admit, many Chinese people at the time had a somewhat slavish admiration for the West. (TL/N: Tf you mean it's hard to admit? Retarded Author)

Even so, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon only earned about 15 million at the Chinese box office.

By comparison, Hero should have far exceeded Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the Chinese box office, despite the criticism it faced in China. There's no denying that Hero ushered in a new era for Chinese cinema.

Steve Martin continued cracking jokes on stage, but after telling a couple of jokes that he found unfunny, Sean Connery made his way up.

At 73, Sean Connery still exuded his gentlemanly charm with every movement.

However, most of the people in the audience knew that this so-called "gentleman" persona was a carefully crafted marketing image.

Behind the scenes, this old white man was rude, foul-mouthed, abusive, and violent towards servants—he was truly a despicable elder!

He was about to present the Best Director award.

Harvey grew tense. Although he had spent most of his resources on Best Picture, that didn't mean he had abandoned the Best Director race.

"The nominees for Best Director are: Martin Scorsese for Gangs of New York; Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Stephen Daldry for The Hours; Roman Polanski for The Pianist; and Rob Marshall for Chicago."

In the original timeline, Peter Jackson hadn't been nominated for Best Director.

But this time, thanks to Martin's influence, he had received a nomination.

In Martin's view, The Two Towers, the most iconic installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, deserved to win a major award.