MTLNOVEL Chapter 294: A Boyfriend Shouldn't Be Wasted
"Next, we're at the eagerly anticipated newcomer awards segment. Let's see which new faces will appear next... Please welcome the award presenters, Liu Qingyun and Qian Jiale!"
This year's Golden Image Award is hosted solo by Zheng Danrui.
Having only one host means there's less banter and comedic elements.
The task of livening up the event fell to the presenters.
The two awkwardly chatted for a while and invited all the nominated newcomers onto the stage.
An Feng, who was sitting beside Qi Hao, also went up.
The Golden Image Award has changed platforms, and the rules have altered significantly. Previously, everyone waited in the audience, and the winner went up. Now everyone goes up, probably to give newcomers more exposure.
"An Feng, is this your first time at the Golden Image Awards?"
Liu Qingyun and An Feng had little interaction, as An is a very low-key acting faction member from Xiangjiang and a film fanatic. If asked whether he appreciates Qi Hao or An Feng more, he would certainly prefer Qi Hao, rather than pick the beautiful An Feng chosen by most.
"Yes, although I often come to Xiangjiang for tourism and shopping, it's my first time attending the Golden Image Awards. I'm very glad to be here with so many film people today."
An Feng didn't seem very nervous, her demeanor was confident and graceful.
"How does it feel to be nominated? Are you very excited and nervous?"
Qian Jiale also asked from beside her.
"Of course, it's my first time being nominated." An Feng nodded and said.
"But you don't look nervous at all."
This wasn't meant maliciously, it was just normal interaction. Qian Jiale is considered the king of stunts in Xiangjiang films, mainly working as a stunt coordinator in recent years.
"I'm very nervous, but Qi Hao told me earlier that he's never won a newcomer award either, which made me feel better."
An Feng used Qi Hao as a shield.
That's what boyfriends are for...
No reason not to use him.
"Qi Hao never won a newcomer award..." Liu Qingyun was very surprised and said seriously to the audience, "That's quite regrettable. Why don't we make an exception today and also nominate Qi Hao for the newcomer award?"
"Then no one would be able to surpass him!"
Qian Jiale chimed in, not minding the topic revolving around Qi Hao, a young guy under thirty and from the mainland.
Truth be told, the admiration for strength is commonplace anywhere. Once you reach a certain level of excellence, you're the center of the world.
Nowadays, Qi Hao is pretty much in that state.
Remember, he broke the nomination record with "October Fortress." Not only did he participate in it, he's also one of the main producers.
He's in a completely different league.
Qi Hao just smiled from below; he genuinely didn't care about the newcomer award—except when completing tasks.
The two presenters interacted with the other guests again.
On the surface, one couldn't sense any exclusion of mainland film stars by Xiangjiang movie people.
The key lies in the final winner though.
Judging by the previous awards given out, the Golden Image Award's protectionism hasn't improved, if anything, it's gotten worse.
Fewer mainland stars are willing to attend the Golden Image Awards.
If it weren't for wanting to accompany An Feng on a work trip and to visit Naughty Ghost Studio, Qi Hao wouldn't be very interested in attending either.
"Are the five of you ready? We'll announce it shortly."
Liu Qingyun got to the point.
"Let's take a look at the clips of the nominees!"
Qian Jiale pointed to the large screen behind him, and everyone's eyes turned to the film clips already playing.
Which is known as the Oscar moment (highlight moment).
An Feng's highlight moment was edited into three parts: a crying scene, a fighting scene, and a scene triumphantly facing death.
It was unclear if it was out of respect for An Feng, or for "October Fortress," but An Feng's Oscar moment was done very well, better than the others.
This is... quite thought-provoking.
"The strength this year is quite evenly matched, with two boys, two beauties..."
Qian Jiale started to tease and keep people in suspense.
"And a little one." Liu Qingyun agreed.
"Who could it be? Such an important task, let's leave it to the Best Actor to announce."
Qian Jiale handed the envelope to Liu Qingyun.
Liu Qingyun won the Best Actor award at the 26th Xiangjiang Film Golden Image Awards for "I Want to Be Famous."
His experience is extremely inspiring, winning the Best Actor 22 years after debuting.
He's one of the notable acting faction in Xiangjiang.
"Alright, the winner of the Best New Actor at the 29th Xiangjiang Film Golden Image Awards is..."
Liu Qingyun opened the envelope and directly displayed it to the audience.
"An Feng!"
"Thanks to An Feng for her wonderful performances, thanks to An Feng's rare and commendable modeling for all new film performers. Any actor, with respect in their heart for acting, striving upward, can become a powerhouse."
Liu Qingyun didn't hold back his praise, explaining the main reason for An Feng's award.
Singers crossing boundaries, models crossing boundaries, TV actors crossing boundaries, sometimes even hosts cross into films.
But most crossovers treat films merely as a sidequest, showing no respect, leaving awkward roles one after another.
An Feng has starred in popular TV dramas like "Golden Family," "Heavenly Dragon Eight Books," "Chinese Paladin," and "The Return of the Condor Heroes," very well-known even in Xiangjiang.
Her entrance into the film industry was supposed to be all about her looks only, but she didn't take the shortcut, breaking the audience's preconceived notions about her, and she earned the jury's recognition. The Golden Image Award deemed this highly encouraging.
An Feng really didn't expect that she could win an award.
The so-called knowledge of oneself and the enemy ensures a hundred victories. After receiving the nomination information, she found the films of the other competitors to watch.
She didn't feel very confident.
She believed that all her competitors acted better than she did, and since she wasn't a local in Xiangjiang, her chances of winning were further reduced.
However, the Golden Image Award is not your typical unruly entity.
Well...
Actually, it's because An Feng is rumored to be Qi Hao's girlfriend, and more and more Xiangjiang filmmakers may rely on Qi Hao for their livelihood.
Qi Hao's special effects company is based in Xiangjiang and is currently one of the top special effects companies in Xiangjiang.
When he filmed "Uncle," he employed many Xiangjiang filmmakers, such as Ren Dahua and An Zhijie, fully expressing his goodwill towards the Xiangjiang film circle.
Counting further back, Qi Hao had also appeared in the Xiangjiang film "Black and White Forest."
Unfortunately, the Best Newcomer Award that year went to An Zhijie from "Young Ah Hu," preventing Qi Hao from winning the Golden Image Award for Best Newcomer in Xiangjiang.
In short, as long as you have the skills, there'll never be a lack of people wanting to establish a connection.
Amidst the enthusiastic applause of the audience, An Feng walked from the lineup of newcomers to the central position to deliver her acceptance speech.
At this moment, she certainly couldn't say, "Oh, I'm not worthy, I don't deserve it, let's give the award to someone else."
There have been refusals in the history of the Golden Image Award, but not many, just Xu Guanying from the Xu family's four heroes, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Wencai in "Mr. Zombie," but insisted that he should be the protagonist and refused this nomination.
The leading actor being nominated for Best Supporting Actor, overshadowed by Ying.
"I want to thank the committee, director Chen Delin, and Qi Hao for recommending me for this role…"
An Feng recalled the times when she was banned by Mrs. Hua, and it was Qi Hao who, under pressure, extended a helping hand to her.
Her heart was instantly filled with gratitude towards Qi Hao... and sweetness.
The acceptance speech was particularly sincere, but the people in the audience felt an inexplicable sentimentality.
Previously, when everyone saw Qi Hao standing up for An Feng against Mrs. Hua, they thought it was like attacking a stronghold with a mantis's foreleg. As a celebrity, what do you have to rival a top film company in the industry?
To stand up for a beauty, one must have the weight to settle matters.
While everyone was waiting to laugh at Qi Hao, suddenly it was revealed that Qi Hao actually held shares of Mrs. Hua, being one of her shareholders, and was ranked first among celebrity shareholders, even more than Feng Xiaogang's shares.
Yet, the public still had doubts about Qi Hao.
What good is a bit of shares, it's not like he's a major shareholder.
No one expected...
Qi Hao indeed only had a bit, but in the stock market, he was quite the playboy.
He not only had a tiny portion of Mrs. Hua's stock, but also the same amount of shares in Penguin, Sina…
In the entertainment industry, Mrs. Hua was a giant, but compared to the scale of major internet companies, she was just a junior.
For those even slightly informed, they knew Qi Hao's stocks weren't just limited to these.
Just these stocks of Qi Hao were enough to buy out Mrs. Hua, with a total wealth exceeding that of the Wang Brothers.
Additionally, he also collaborated with a Coal Boss worth billions to establish a company.
"… I know I still have a long way to go in acting, and I will work harder, hoping the film industry gets better and better."
An Feng finished her acceptance speech.
As she walked down the stage, many people shook hands with her, congratulating her.
Actually, An Feng's acting might indeed not be as good as Li Zhiteng, but it wasn't bad enough to make people criticize the Golden Image Award as unfair.
After all, the Golden Image Award had no room left for critique.
The unfairness was so prevalent that this little flaw seemed insignificant.
Moreover, the Golden Image Award gave very convincing reasons.
Encouraging cross-discipline in film acting, and even more so breaking inherent images to become a true film performer born for acting.
Nothing was wrong with that.
Especially since An Feng is rumored to be Qi Hao's girlfriend, and "October Fortress" had his investment, arranging an award was an easy task.
Qi Hao didn't shake An Feng's hand, he stood up and gave her a hug.
What's wrong with hugging your own girlfriend?
Later, when it came to the Best Supporting Actor, Qi Hao unsurprisingly defeated his competitors and won the award.
In "October Fortress," he portrayed a driver, breaking his image, pulling a rickshaw for someone, and in the end, was beaten to death by Hu Jun – winning an award was reasonable.
Subsequently, "October Fortress" swept up 8 major accolades at this year's Golden Image Awards, becoming the biggest winner, while the Xiangjiang film "Time Thieves," currently showing in the mainland, won 4 awards.
Qi Hao and An Feng winning didn't affect the locals of Xiangjiang as they won across the board.
The awards for Qi Hao and An Feng were less about giving recognition to mainland filmmakers as it was to encourage Qi Hao to produce more films in Xiangjiang, giving Xiangjiang filmmakers more opportunities.
Apart from Qi Hao and An Feng, the award list didn't include another mainland filmmaker.
Whether technical or performance awards, the winners were basically Xiangjiang's homegrown filmmakers.
In the crucial battles for Best Actor and Actress, Ren Dahua, with his performance in "Time Thieves," defeated Wang Xueqi from "October Fortress."
Honestly, Old Wang's performance was genuinely impressive.
Ren Dahua's other film "Night and Fog of Tianshuiwei" also landed him a Golden Image Award Best Actor nomination; it was once thought the two films would split votes, but fortunately, this time Ren Dahua finally reached the peak of his career.
As for the Best Actress, Hui Yinghong's win was also legendary; she was the Best Actress at the first Golden Image Awards, and after 28 years, she won Best Actress again for "Heart Demon."
Best Film and Best Director were swept by "October Fortress" and Chen Delin respectively.
Brother Chen's film, after many setbacks, not only got made as intended, it didn't lose money at the box office and won so many awards.
His life is considered fulfilled.
This trip was also fulfilling for Qi Hao; he and An Feng both won awards, and he helped Zhang Chenyu secure a job in "Dragon Gate Armor."