Chapter 106: Fame Rises, Whether or Not to Win an Award Is No Longer Important

The Oscars have become a way to market movies, and the publicity activities in the process are no different from political propaganda. Movie companies hire Oscar public relations, just like political campaigns hire political consultants.

In American political campaigns, directly slandering opponents is a tacitly accepted strategy.

In this regard, Hollywood seems to be more respectful and will not be as ruthless as ambitious politicians.

After the "A Beautiful Mind" incident last year, Hollywood studios have learned lessons from the incident and are more cautious in "blacking". It is generally difficult to see who is behind the scenes.

For example, among the nine works nominated for the best film in 2014, "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Blue Jasmine" have the most criticisms, the former because of the content, and the latter because of the director's character.

Carefully tracking the sources of information from all parties, it is difficult to determine whether this is "black public relations" against the film, and it is even more difficult to determine the mastermind behind the scenes.

This time, Lu Ping'an encountered the same thing. It is almost impossible to determine who is the mastermind behind the scenes in a short period of time.

In this regard, Hollywood is not as "bold" as its political "teachers".

The problem is that the public relations behind the Oscars has a long history and is no longer a secret to the American media or the public. Why should it be allowed to exist?

This is the same as political campaigns. "Public relations" represents the will to campaign and the spirit of winning.

Although there may be deviations in the application process, the lack of public relations shows that there is not even the most basic competitive attitude, which will be regarded as an unqualified competitor in the United States, which advocates free competition.

This is the situation that "Hero" is facing now.

Not doing much public relations, lying flat, seeking to obtain "fair, should be given, and not giving is not knowing the goods" votes with the quality of the work and the appeal of Chinese culture, and then winning the award, this is impossible.

So unless you don't want to win the award, since you want to win the award, you have spent money, and you are in the United States.

Then make good use of the rules here.

So what Lu Ping'an has to do next is not to clarify to everyone "whether I can paint or not", but "I want to tell everyone that I came to America just to win an Oscar!"

Clarification is also public relations, public relations is hype, hype is election!

After the direction was set, Dell's public relations team started working at full capacity.

Lu Ping'an was also willing to spend money. With a budget of more than 1 million, he had only spent 300,000 in the past six months, of which nearly 200,000 was the prize money for "Memories" in 23 awards.

This means that he has only spent more than 100,000 yuan so far, and the capital cost is quite small. Now that he is richer, he has no worries about the future.

Dell began to contact the media and TV stations, Hu Qingquan also began to contact various contacts in the United States, and Lu Ping'an himself also began to contact various contacts, the most important of which was Wattsberg.

At the same time, he was also preparing various painting tools.

It is now more than 11 o'clock in the morning.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the first wave of work was ready.

At 3:30, Lu Ping'an set up a stall in the busiest square in Los Angeles.

At the same time, the first wave of reporters who arrived also began to interview.

At this time, some people began to gather around the square.

Although the American people do not like to watch the excitement like the Chinese, there are still people who like to watch.

Facing this, Lu Ping'an was not afraid at all. Facing the camera, Lu Ping'an began the first stage of clarification.

"Some people say that I can't draw, and that my "Memories of the Brick House" was shortlisted for the Oscars by cheating. Today, I will draw it for you!"

As he said this, he asked the female reporter who was interviewing to sit in the model position.

Then he picked up the charcoal pencil and simply sketched the shape, and then began to wipe the drawing paper.

When drawing a portrait sketch, what can produce the best effect and the most efficient? The answer is naturally charcoal pencil.

Charcoal pencil is dark enough, labor-saving, and can be quickly formed, much faster than ordinary pencils.

With a swipe, the light and dark come out.

Then he used charcoal pencil, eraser, tissue paper, etc., and then he adjusted the details, added some highlights, made the eyeballs lively, and made the whole face more three-dimensional and full. After more than ten minutes, a lifelike three-quarter profile portrait was completed.

It looks a little rough when viewed up close, but the effect is excellent when viewed from a distance.

Such paintings are considered excellent exam works for those who are very knowledgeable. For artists, they are naturally some works with a sense of craftsmanship, but it is not easy to get rid of the craftsmanship of sketches.

So now this painting is indeed quite qualified and meets the sideline of a film director.

Lu Pingan once again thanked the days when he went out to set up stalls with the studio owner.

He did it for art, and he did it for survival.

He spent a winter vacation and learned many advanced techniques of street painting and sketching from him.

Although it is a little unfamiliar to use now, with the dexterous hands strengthened by "eleven years of experience in physical special effects", the current works seem to be better than his peak at that time.

This is naturally "awesome" to so many ordinary people at the scene.

It is also naturally excellent to the level of jaw-dropping in the TV camera.

At least people really saw Lu Pingan draw it from scratch in a very short time.

This feeling is like watching the painting videos in short videos later, blinking, eh? How did you draw it?

Then the comments below were full of "I've learned nothing"

"Wow, this is exactly like me!"

The female reporter gave him sincere praise, obviously he didn't know much about it.

He signed his name and said, "For you."

"Thank you!"

The female reporter expressed her sincere gratitude again.

Being good at painting is one thing. Lu Ping'an is a popular Oscar-nominated director and an artist from the East.

No matter how bad his paintings are, they are worth collecting.

After finishing one painting, Lu Ping'an continued to say to the camera: "Now that I have finished one painting, they may say that I have practiced for a long time and specialize in painting this lady. Now I will just pick someone on the street."

After saying that, Lu Ping'an invited a passerby, who was a white man.

The white guy was not afraid at all and came up to greet Lu Ping'an happily.

"Hello, Lu, your movie is great, I am your fan."

"Thank you, if you have a chance, go to the theater to watch my Oscar short film, called "Memories of the Brick House."

"OK, I'll go in a while."

For fans, Lu Ping'an naturally has to pay more attention.

So the colored pencils can be used.

Half an hour later, the white guy was very happy, and the crowd at the scene was getting bigger and bigger, and then everyone praised.

Lu Ping'an proved himself again.

Simple clarification, so far, it is almost enough.

But in Dell's plan, this is far from enough.

So next, the second stage begins.

Soon, the second wave of media and the first wave of celebrities also arrived.

During the Oscars, Los Angeles is not short of celebrities.

The first one to come was Jake Gyllenhaal.

He played in the American version of "The Tuner" and is now a little famous. Next, Lu Ping'an will work with him on the newly purchased script movie.

So Wattsberg called, Gyllenhaal himself was also very interested, and then came.

With celebrities present, this "show" has attracted more attention.

The two chatted briefly, and then Lu Ping'an did the same.

In less than 20 minutes, Gyllenhaal held his own portrait and stood with Lu Ping'an in front of the camera.

Gyllenhaal said: "Those who say Lu can't draw should really come and see it. This is a work of art."

"Thank you, Jack."

"Lu, your "Memories of the Brick House" is really great, I wish you success!"

"Thank you!"

Hollywood actors are better at saying good things.

There is no question of whether you will be discriminated against if you are Asian.

At present, China and the United States are still in the honeymoon stage, and Chinese culture is still a trend in the United States.

The cheongsam dress of the heroine in "Spider-Man 1" is an example. Now it has become one of the first choice dresses for many female stars at dinner parties.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language last year, which is somewhat complementary to this.

Even if there is no such factor, Lu Ping'an is now a director of popular works in Hollywood. Now he is related to the Oscars. Generally, celebrities who want to get some popularity will think about getting some of the heat.

This is mutual exposure, which has advantages and no disadvantages.

So after Gyllenhaal finished, another celebrity came.

Those who are not familiar but familiar are: Julian Moore. Dell said that this is the nominee for Best Supporting Actress this year. This time it is also mutual hype.

Familiar ones are: Jet Li, David, Danny Grover, all of whom are friends.

There is also a small surprise. The 18-year-old Black Widow also came.

She is now a little famous, but there is still a long way to go.

Now there is a chance to get an Oscar, and she came as soon as her agent said, anyway, in Los Angeles.

Lu Ping'an calmly finished painting for her.

Black Widow, like other celebrities, also praised Lu Ping'an in front of the camera.

After simply painting five or six people, it was 5 o'clock in the evening.

The second stage was over.

But it was not over yet. After all, if you want to hype it up, you have to do it on a big scale.

And since it was a publicity painting, you naturally couldn't always paint Western paintings, you had to have some Chinese characteristics.

The two-meter-long rice paper painting had been unfolded at this time.

Hu Qingquan said that it was provided by a local Chinese businessman, and it was not easy to buy in general.

Let's put aside the thanks in advance, now it's more than half an hour before the sun sets.

This time is a bit rushed, but it's enough!

Then, Lu Ping'an was seen sweeping the paper with a big brush under the crowd and more cameras that had just arrived.

It looked like he was painting randomly, and it felt like he was mopping the floor.

But this is what Chinese painting is about.

It doesn't matter how good you are at laying out the shape, but only the flavor of rendering.

Hu Qingquan understood this point, so the ink was mixed just right.

With one stroke, those who know the subject can already see that this is exactly the trend of the mountains in Hollywood.

After the painting was finished, Lu Pingan used a towel to absorb water layer by layer on the "mountains", and suddenly, a landscape painting with different distances and nearness appeared.

The eyes of the onlookers lit up.

What kind of miracle is this?

This is similar to the first time Lu Pingan saw the Chinese painting method.

The feeling of artistic conception is secondary, the main thing is that this painting method is really magical and casual.

Other paintings, such as sketches, are all very rigorously perfected little by little with a pen.

Chinese painting is open and closed, but also delicate, with a splash, and then gently modified, the effect comes out.

But in this way, Chinese painting is indeed more difficult.

Chinese people emphasize artistic conception and both form and spirit.

It is really too difficult to achieve this step.

But it is not that there are no copying picture books.

According to a format, how to draw mountains and how to draw water.

The more you practice, the more skilled you become, but you can still be considered a little expert.

Of course, real experts can still see it.

But how many experts are there in the United States?

How many are present now and in front of the TV later?

Even fewer integrate Chinese and Western cultures.

At the same time, Chinese painting is not a neon underworld culture. No one else can understand it except them.

Chinese painting is an art of human treasure level. It is elegant and popular. It does not require many thresholds for aesthetic appreciation.

So now Lu Ping'an came up with this move, although in his own opinion it can only be said to be good.

But it did make the foreigners at the scene shout "unbelievable".

Then Lu Ping'an used a calligraphy brush to draw a few buildings under the "mountain" and dotted some little figures.

An eagle-eyed reporter recognized it.

"Is this Hollywood?"

Lu Pingan smiled and said: "Yes, this is the Chinese expression of Hollywood. It uses the form of Chinese painting to depict the beautiful scenery here. Does it look good?"

The reporter praised: "It's beautiful, this is a work of art!"

"Thanks."

Lu Ping'an smiled and wrote "Hollywood Landscape Pictures" in cursive script with a brush.

Well, the only failure is that he is not very good at calligraphy.

But fortunately it is cursive, so there is no problem in fooling ordinary people.

Then he took out the cubic wooden building block in his hand, which he bought temporarily and was 10 centimeters wide, just right. He used a carving knife to scratch and carve his seal on the spot.

With 11 years of experience in physical special effects, I have also dabbled in seal carving, so it is not a big problem to carve a single chapter.

This hand is another pretense.

Then apply ink pad and cover, and the "Hollywood Landscape" is completed.

Then he showed it and everyone praised it.

Lu Ping An ended up as planned:

"My short work "Memory Block House" is competing for the Oscar. Someone actually slandered me that I can't draw. Today I used three forms to fight back. I want to tell him that no matter who he is, your slander is doomed to fail. !”

Wow.

The crowd applauded.

This is what old Americans like.

The stronger the smell of gunpowder, the more everyone likes it.

Lu Ping'an continued: "Everyone is also welcome to come to the theater to watch my "Memory Block House". Believe me, the more you experience it, the more you will feel the power of the short film. Just be sure to bring tissues before going in, and be sure to Wipe away tears!"

Crash. . .

A "show" is over.

That night, various TV stations contacted began to broadcast Lu Ping'an's clarification video.

“Oscar animated short film nominees publicly fight back against baseless smear campaign!”

"The author of "Memory Block House" was actually questioned as not being able to draw, and director Lu Ping'an counterattacked on the spot."

"The director of "Saw", Lu Ping'an, painted on the spot, and Hollywood stars cheered for Lu to win the Oscar."

"Artist Lu Ping'an shows magical oriental art live"

At the same time, more film reviews and promotions about "Memories" have also begun to be printed on various websites and newspaper printing plants.

"The shape and atmosphere of "Memory Block House" are amazing. When people around you leave one after another, and those who survive alone, I don't know whether it is luck or misfortune. Touching those objects with memories, you will definitely feel a mixture of warmth and sadness in your heart. But I don’t think I have such a strong mind. The whole film has profound meaning, is quiet and warm, and exudes a strong and mysterious Chinese sentiment. It is very precious among the many computer works at this year’s Oscars. "Los Angeles Times"

""Memory Block House" revolves around a lonely old man's memories of his wife's love and some family memories. It uses a lot of gentle shots. The short film seems simple, but it has profound meaning. It focuses on showing a spiritual journey. After the pure horror film "Saw", Lu Ping'an has contributed a pure warm short film. The talented director from China is bringing a storm to Hollywood in his own way."

Hundreds of thousands spent, coupled with Oscar fever.

Countering slander is another news point that cannot be ignored.

That night, many American viewers saw this scene on TV news.

Painting on the spot is actually no big deal.

However, eye-catching highlights such as "counterattack against smear", "accelerated painting on the spot" and "splashing ink on Chinese painting on the spot" appeared.

Lu Ping'an became famous overnight.

Then the host continued to introduce.

Only then did many people realize that this painter was actually the director of "Saw"? !

And his "Memories" and "Chainsaw" are completely opposite?

Then many people became interested in "Memories".

There is no telling how many "review members" will fill out the ballots and mail them in.

As I said before, who the review members choose is actually very emotional and subjective. There is almost no professionalism at all, and many of them have not even seen the works.

This also makes PR work even more important.

Now, that’s what public relations is about.

At this time, a producer somewhere in the United States was watching TV and asked his assistant with a headache: "Did we say he can't draw?"

The assistant said regretfully: "You complained before, these are your original words."

Producer:"..."

He feels that next year the assistant will have to be changed, and the public relations team will also have to change.

He will always be serious about anything he says casually. Why should such a person be left here?

Of course, what made him even more speechless was that with both newspapers and television, it must have cost at least five to six million US dollars.

It’s just a short film, that’s all!

As for that?

From the short film alone, it is certainly not necessary to invest so much.

But from a personal perspective.

Hu Qingquan looked at Lu Pingan who was surrounded by various media not far away.

He felt that he had made a lot of money this time!

In the Oscar follow-up report, Lu Pingan and his short film have become the top three in the popularity of all the short and long films nominated for the Oscars.

Lian Jie at the side could not help but sigh: "Ping An is now famous and is almost the most watched director at this year's Oscars."

Watz smiled and said: "'Chainsaw' is very popular now, and Lu has perfectly demonstrated his talent and strong desire to win. Don't say that I am belittling you. Humble and reserved, in fact, most Americans will respect, but it's just respect. Everyone prefers people with strong competitiveness. Lu did the right thing this time. That's how it should be. Fight back hard and let those people know that he is not easy to bully!"

Speaking, Watts sighed: "I think it doesn't matter whether he wins the Oscar this time, he has already become famous."

Hu Qingquan said immediately: "He still has to win it. It cost so much money."

Watz showed an American's confident smile and said: "Don't worry, if you can play by the rules, you will get something. This is America!"