“Hello…Hello, Director.”

Cate Blanchett stood up nervously and spoke a little haltingly.

She was just too nervous.

When submitting her resume, Cate Blanchett only knew that she wanted to be an assistant to the director, which was why she put aside her dignity, but she never expected that it was the art director who was recruiting assistants.

If a minute ago, this interview session was about whether she could earn two months’ salary, then now it was about her future career in Hollywood.

“Ms. Blanchett, don’t be nervous, this is just an interview.”

Li Yishu looked at the other person with a smile.

Cate Blanchett was pretty when she was young.

Like Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts, they are all standard blonde and blue-eyed beauties.

The role that impressed me the most about her should be the Elf Queen in “The Lord of the Rings” series, followed by Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator”, and later the goddess of death Hela in “Thor 3: Ragnarok”.

Cate Blanchett took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry, director. I’m nervous because I’m a fan of yours. I’ve seen your films The Sixth Sense and Chicago, as well as your works that won gold medals at European film festivals.”

“Thank you.” Li Yishu smiled and said, “Ms. Blanchett, why don’t we sit down and talk?”

She nodded: “Okay director.”

After Li Yishu and Nawo sat down, she took the file from the female secretary, turned a page, and asked, “I saw on your resume that you were a drama actor in Australia?”

Cate Blanchett said: “Yes, director. I am a drama actor at the Sydney Opera House. I have won the Sydney Theatre Critics Association Award for Best Newcomer and Best Actress.”

Hearing this, Naomi Watts couldn’t help but asked in surprise: “You won the Sydney Theatre Critics Association Award? When?”

The other party replied: “1993! In 1993, I won the Best Newcomer Award and Best Actress Award for the dramas “Kafka’s Dance” and “Orianna” respectively.”

It turned out to be 1993. Naomi Watts suddenly realized that she had just come to North America from Australia that year, so it was not surprising that she had never heard of Cate Blanchett’s name.

“Is this award very valuable?”

Li Yishu looked at Nawo beside her curiously.

“Yes.” Nawo nodded: “The Sydney Theatre Critics Circle Award is the highest award in the Australian drama industry, just like the Oscars in the American film industry.”

“That’s it…”

Li Yishu nodded slightly, then looked at Kate and asked knowingly, “Since you are an excellent drama actor, why don’t you audition for a movie when you come to Los Angeles? Instead, you come to interview for an assistant position?”

He didn’t need to guess, he knew that when the other party was interviewing for an assistant, it was most likely because they were short of money.

Monica Bellucci worked, Naomi Watts worked, and when they came to Los Angeles and had no chance to act in a movie, they had no choice but to work.

Does it mean that if you want to become famous in Hollywood, the first prerequisite is to work?

Cate Blanchett was a little embarrassed, but still said it: “Because I have to support myself. I have been in Los Angeles for a few months and interviewed many crews. I only got a few unimportant roles, and my savings are not enough, so…”

The other party’s words reminded Naomi Watts of the year when she first came to Hollywood.

At that time, she was very similar to Kate. She interviewed many crews, but couldn’t get many good roles and didn’t make much money. Instead, she was often harassed. This made her think about returning to Australia for a time.

Until I met…

Naomi Watts turned and looked at Li Yishu.

It was not until I met him that I was able to transform from an unknown and poor newcomer who was about to go back to Australia into a leading actress. Not only did my first Hollywood film participation include being nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar.

Became a rising star in Hollywood.

“I’ve read your resume. It’s pretty good. I think you can do a good job as a life assistant.”

Li Yishu only flipped through a few pages of the file, then closed it. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, “Ms. Blanchett, I’m sorry to trouble you for the next two months of filming on the set.”

“Thank you, Director.”

Upon hearing that she had passed the interview, Cate Blanchett quickly stood up and shook the other party’s hand, saying gratefully: “Director, please rest assured that I will work hard and will never slack off. Also, director, you can call me Cate, my family and friends all call me that.”

“OK!” Li Yishu nodded and glanced at the woman beside him: “Nawo, I still have something to deal with. Do you want to talk to Kate here? After all, you are both from Australia.”

“Okay, dear.” Naomi Watts nodded readily.

It’s not that she really wanted to communicate with this fellow villager, but she didn’t want to leave a bad impression in front of Li Yishu.

Since he said he had something to deal with and asked her to stay, it means it is not appropriate to take her along.

“You guys chat.”

Li Yishu said something and turned away with her female secretary.

He is going to attend the Academy Awards the day after tomorrow, and he needs to talk to Harvey. He has already made an appointment with him to meet at the company at nine o’clock, so it should be soon.

As soon as he left with his secretary, Nawo looked at Kate and saw that she was a little nervous, so she smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous, I’m Australian too.”

Cate Blanchett quickly said, “I know, I know you, Miss Watts, I really like your performance in Chicago, I saw your movie in Sydney, it was great!”

“Really?” Nawo immediately became interested when she heard that the other party watched this movie in Australia: “This movie has a high box office in Australia?”

“I’m not sure about that, but my colleagues in the drama troupe and I all agreed that you performed much better than Cindy Crawford.”

Kate really wasn’t praising the other person on purpose.

Of the two heroines in “Chicago”, Navo’s acting skills are naturally much better than Cindy, who is a model.

However, this movie mainly focuses on singing and dancing, which reduces Nawo’s opportunities to showcase her acting skills.

Otherwise, if the two people are compared together, the difference in acting skills is still very obvious.

“Thank you, Cindy is still great, she was a model after all.”

Although she said so, Nawo’s mouth corners still raised involuntarily. Who would not be happy to be praised by an Australian fellow?
Cate Blanchett is still very good at observing people’s expressions. She noticed the change in Nawo’s expression and quickly started to praise her:

“Ms. Watts, when I was in the drama troupe, I rehearsed your dance performance in Chicago. I’m curious how you can dance so well since you’re not a professional dancer…”

“Perhaps this is the success of my efforts…”

One was praising unilaterally, the other was showing off unilaterally, and the relationship between the two gradually became familiar.

Nawo looked at Kate with more and more satisfaction. No one would dislike being praised by others, especially from a fellow villager.

This made her regain some of the feeling she had when she praised Nicole.

At the beginning, I was just like Kate. Whenever I got the chance, I would catch Nicole and praise her, hoping to get a chance to act in a movie.

the other side.

In the office, Li Yishu is chatting with Harvey.

Harvey took a sip of coffee and said, “Lee, I’m afraid you won’t win the Oscar for Best Director this time, but the chances of winning the Best Picture Award are still very high. Chairman Arthur Miller is very optimistic about your film Chicago. I heard that your name was mentioned more than once during the Academy meeting…”

Hearing that there was a high chance of winning the Best Picture, Lee Yi-su was still a little excited.

Even though the Academy Awards have not caused much of a stir in mainland China today, this award is still quite powerful in North America and Hollywood.

The three major European film festivals actually have average influence in North America. At least they are not as sensational and famous as they are in Eurasia.

Ultimately, it is because the North American film industry follows a different model, the commercial film route.

The three major European films are mainly art films.

Even if actors and directors win corresponding awards and return to Hollywood, they only have an extra title. It is not as direct and can not drive commercial value as the awards won by local actors at the Oscars.

After Harvey finished speaking, Li Yishu asked, “What about Brave Heart? Mel Gibson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and it is also a strong contender for Best Picture.”

Li Yishu doesn’t know much about the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards, but he knows that the biggest threat to him now is the movie “Brave Heart”.

This movie is quite famous. Li Yishu had seen it in her previous life, and she also knew that “Brave Heart” won a lot at the Oscars, and it seemed to have won the Best Picture award.

In fact, this movie won five major awards in its original time and space: Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Makeup.

It was the biggest winner of the 1996th Academy Awards in 68.

“You’re right, Mel Gibson is troubled.”

Harvey’s face was a little serious as he said, “I heard from my friends that quite a few old guys in the academy support him, and he has also persuaded quite a few Hollywood stars to vote for him.”

At this point, Harvey looked at Li Yishu and said with a smile, “But don’t worry, Li. Who am I? I’m Harvey! We shot Chicago, which grossed 80 million U.S. dollars in North America. This is the favorite musical of those old white men in the Academy, so you have at least an 80% chance of winning the Best Picture award this year.”

“It’s best to take it naturally.”

Li Yishu shook his head and said proudly, “Harvey, you know I don’t care about awards now. An Oscar for Best Picture is not as good as the gold medals from the four major European film festivals. I am the only director in the world who has won four awards!”

“Li, sometimes I really doubt that God favors you too much.”

Harvey said with envy: “Although the influence of the Locarno International Film Festival is no longer as great as it used to be, and no one has proposed the concept of the four major film festivals, I have to admit that you have indeed accomplished this feat. You are the only director in the world who has won all four major awards!”

Li Yishu laughed and said, “Haha, Harvey, if you say so, it’s true. God really favors me.”

“sky?”

“In China, God is the heaven and everything in the universe.”

“OK, God is everywhere.”

Harvey could not understand the concept of God, but he could understand everything in the universe.

Li Yishu did not continue to explain that the Western God has a concept, but Heaven has no concept.

The two chatted about the Oscars for a while, and Harvey began to change the subject: “Lee, I heard that you are going to reshoot a movie recently. I wonder if you still need funds?”

“I’m sorry Harvey.” Li Yishu shook her head. “The film has plenty of funding, and it’s not much, just 30 million dollars. My partner has already brought in New Line Cinema. If you want to participate, you’ll have to wait for the next one.”

Harvey frowned. He was still eager to work with Li Yishu for the second time.

Although the overseas box office of “Chicago” was not high, the box office in North America alone has recovered the production costs, not to mention the subsequent sales of peripheral products such as videotapes and VCDs.

Musicals like this are actually more suitable for one or a few people to watch at home on videotape, so that they can repeatedly enjoy the wonderful singing and dancing performances in the video.

From the time the film was taken off the screen last year to now, the video tapes and other peripheral copyrights have sold for nearly 30 to 40 million US dollars in North America alone.

That’s a big number.

“That’s a shame.” Harvey said, and then immediately changed the subject: “Lee, when will you shoot your next movie?”

“Harvey, my movie hasn’t even started filming yet. And as you know, I have an epic blockbuster in China with an investment of more than 60 million US dollars. I don’t have any plans for the next movie for now.”

Harvey said unwillingly, “Okay, then when you have an idea for the next movie, be sure to contact me.”

“Of course Xavi, we are the best duo.”

Li Yishu smiled.

Next one?
There is no next one!

Li Yishu has decided not to work with Harvey anymore.

Moreover, even if he makes movies in Hollywood in the future, they will mainly be commercial films.

After winning the Best Picture this time, he probably won’t make art films anymore.

Unless it is to support Gong Li and help her win another Best Actress award at the three major film festivals, I won’t shoot the film.

It’s totally not worth it now.

Two days later.

The 68th Academy Awards was held at the Dorothy Chandler Hall at the Los Angeles Music Center.

Around 4 p.m.

The entrance to the Los Angeles Music Center.

A red carpet stretched from the square to the roadside.

Both sides of the red carpet were already crowded with reporters and fans from all over the world.

As one Hollywood star after another made their shining appearance, screams, shouts, and camera calls were heard one after another.

A stretched Lincoln slowly drove towards the Oscars venue.

In the car, on Li Yishu’s left is Naomi Watts, and on her right is Cindy Crawford.

Sitting opposite was Harvey and his female companion, a good-looking model.

The two of them put together, one fat and one thin, just like the thin monk and the fat monk in “The Deer and the Cauldron”.

Naomi Watts took a deep breath and said, “Honey, I’m so nervous. This is more exciting than the Golden Globe Awards before.”

Cindy Crawford nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m nervous too. This is completely different from walking on the catwalk.”

Li Yishu hugged the two’s slender waists and said with a laugh, “There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just walking on the red carpet. Besides, this isn’t your first time. Didn’t you participate in the Golden Globe Awards before?”

“Yes, but dear, we can’t compare with you.”

Naomi Watts said with fiery eyes: “You are the winner of the gold medals of the four major European film festivals and the world’s number one director in the field of art films.” (End of this chapter)