Chapter 24: The Award Ceremony

Xiao Ran had always found it strange. He often went to TVB and had met most of the people he should know, yet he had never had the chance to meet Stephen Chow. He never expected to meet the actor he admired the most in such an occasion. But then again, it wasn’t surprising if he noticed that everyone else in the venue was whispering to each other and making connections.
“You must be screenwriter Xiao Ran. I’m Stephen Chow!” Stephen Chow not only looked dashing on screen but also possessed an unimaginably elegant charm off-screen as well. “May I sit down?”
Facing this god of acting among the Chinese, Xiao Ran wasn’t as excited as he had been at first, but he was still somewhat pleased. He politely nodded, and after Stephen Chow sat down, he took a closer look at him. Stephen Chow didn’t seem as good-looking as he had imagined—his figure still appeared quite thin, just like when he played Xu Wenqiang.
Xiao Ran had misjudged him. Stephen Chow held a high position at TVB, but he had focused on films in recent years with little success, which must have left him frustrated. Of course, in reality, Stephen Chow wasn’t as gloomy as Xu Wenqiang; his eyes shone like stars, and his speech was as polite and appropriate as Xu Wenqiang’s.
“Xu Ke told me you recommended me for the role of Little Ma Ge!” Stephen Chow smiled gently and began to explain why he had come. “I’m curious—why didn’t you play it yourself? Instead, you recommended me?”
Under Stephen Chow’s truly charming smile, Xiao Ran was momentarily distracted before quickly calming himself down and explaining, “Stephen Chow, you should know that I wrote this script. In my eyes, this role is the key to the entire film. Only you are the most suitable to play it. Moreover, I believe this role will bring you unexpected great success!”
“Unexpected great success?” A smile and confusion appeared on Stephen Chow’s lips. “What do you mean?”
“It’s simple. I know this film will be a hit. To what extent it will succeed depends on you and the director!” Xiao Ran said this more out of excitement than on purpose. Fortunately, he knew when to stop and didn’t reveal everything.
“You’re quite interesting. Can I be friends with you?” Stephen Chow wasn’t expecting Xiao Ran to be so decisive and burst into light laughter. He really found this person interesting—no one else could be so confident about a film’s success.
“I’d be honored!” Xiao Ran almost added, “You know, you’re my favorite actor.”
After chatting for a while, music gradually started playing, and the noise in the venue quieted down. Two guys with microphones appeared on stage—one of them was Tsang Chi-wai, and the other was Shen Dianxia, nicknamed “Fatty.”
Xiao Ran found it interesting. He never knew Shen Dianxia was also a host. Wei Jiahui beside him quietly explained, and then Xiao Ran realized that Shen Dianxia wasn’t just a TV and film actress but also hosted programs at TVB, holding a high position there.

As for Zeng Zhiwei, Wei Jiahui needs no introduction, and Xiao Ran is of course well aware of him. This Zeng Zhiwei is truly an extraordinary figure—he was a professional footballer in his early years, later became a martial artist, and then turned to acting, directing, producing, and even running a business, as well as hosting TV shows. What’s more interesting is that no matter what he does, he excels beyond ordinary people. For example, the film he directed, “The Five Tigers: Separation,” is an outstanding work. In the 21st century, when the film industry was in poor shape, he promoted two highly talented young directors to their debut, making him a key figure in Hong Kong cinema. However, in this era, Zeng Zhiwei rarely appears in serious dramas and mostly acts in comedies. One of his most iconic roles is Luo Han Guo from the “Fuxing” series. Looking at this almost all-purpose actor, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but sigh when thinking about the future of Hong Kong cinema. As the host, Zeng Zhiwei and Shen Dianxia first announced some changes in this year’s Golden Horse Awards, such as live television broadcasting, before officially starting the award ceremony. As usual, a singer whom Xiao Ran didn’t care about was invited to sing a song, after which the first award was presented. The first award went to Best Newcomer. Among this year’s nominees was a truly remarkable actress—Yang Ziqiong. The future Bond girl had just become famous for starring in “Royal Sisters,” an action film centered around women that would remain exciting even twenty years later. The award didn’t go to Yang Ziqiong but to another little-known newcomer, whose film “Women’s Flirting Words” Xiao Ran had neither heard of nor seen. It’s not too shameful to have missed it; it would be incredible to be able to watch all the films from that era. Suddenly, Xiao Ran remembered discussing with a friend how there were many actors who won awards at the Golden Horse Awards but never became famous. After recalling carefully, he still couldn’t remember the name in front of him. Of course, he wasn’t aware that he was still confined to history. For now, without any disagreements, it’s undoubtedly the wisest to stick to the original historical course. The next award, Best Film Song, went to “The Heart of the Dragon.” The singer, Su Rui, was once in dire straits but was fortunate enough to be noticed by New Art City. She became famous after singing the theme song for the highly influential tragedy “Wrong Train” back then. “Mr. Zombie” finally received an award, with Best Music going to it. To Xiao Ran’s surprise, the composer was actually a foreigner. Undoubtedly, Best Action Direction went to “Cops and Robbers.” But Zhang Shuping was still the best—he won numerous awards in the future and was nominated multiple times in these first five editions. Of course, at that time, the new wave of filmmakers hadn’t yet taken over completely, and Zhang Shuping suffered defeat after defeat, losing again this time. In the next award, Best Editing, when Xiao Ran heard Zhang Yaozhong’s name, he frowned. He vaguely remembered this name; it seemed to be one of Hong Kong’s four most famous editors. This time, Zhang Yaozhong was nominated for both “Cops and Robbers” and “Mr. Zombie,” but sadly didn’t win any awards.

Among the winners for Best Photography, there are two renowned photographers whom Xiao Ran knows well: Pan Hengsheng and Ao Zhijun. Pan Hengsheng is one, but Ao Zhijun is truly extraordinary—both his disciples and grand-disciples are famous photographers in Hong Kong. However, the winners were not those Xiao Ran was familiar with. Next, Zeng Zhiwei finally began presenting the award for Best Screenplay: “The nominees for Best Screenplay are Wu Siyuan for ‘Women’s Hearts’… and Xiao Ran and Situ Zhuohan for ‘Mr. Zombie’!” Most people in the venue who knew Xiao Ran turned their attention to him. Wei Jiahui and You Zhi both stared at him with half-smiles: “Ah Ran, it’s your turn now. Excited?” “There’s nothing to be excited about!” Xiao Ran smiled bitterly. He remembered clearly how a myth was created at the 24th Golden Horse Awards—Leung Chao-wai winning the award for the fifth time. Disappointingly, Leung Chao-wai didn’t even show a hint of pride at winning it. The 24th edition was quite tragic—people won awards, but without the sense of glory we see today. The only touching moment was when Yuan Hua, who won Best Supporting Actor, was overjoyed. Compared to the others who looked as if they were going to die when stepping onto the stage to receive their awards, it was truly a miracle. By then, the Golden Horse Awards had gradually lost their original glory. Seeing those who stepped onto the stage to receive awards, beaming with excitement, filled Xiao Ran with bitterness. He thought that whatever it took, he had to revive the Golden Horse Awards. “The winner of the 5th Golden Horse Award for Best Screenplay is…” Zeng Zhiwei’s smiling face seemed extremely unreliable as he deliberately stretched out the words: “Xiao… Lu Jianming and Deng Rong for ‘Wrong Match’!” Damn it! Xiao Ran cursed inwardly. When Zeng Zhiwei casually mentioned the name “Xiao” earlier, his heart had indeed raced. But he told himself that it definitely wouldn’t be him who won this time, unless history took a different turn. Otherwise, it would be just like what happened later with Liu Hua at the Golden Horse Awards. Still, he was helpless because Zeng Zhiwei knew him well, and it was obvious he was just teasing him. Xiao Ran lost interest in the subsequent awards, as the competition before the 6th edition wasn’t as fierce as he had imagined. Only one award caught Xiao Ran’s slight attention: Best Actor. The winner was the well-known “fattest actor” Zheng Zeshi. He was an excellent actor, and his role in “Why Do I Need to Be Here?” moved the whole of China. Of course, another reason Xiao Ran paid attention to this award was because Fa Ge was also nominated for “Women’s Hearts,” and Cheng Long received an astonishing two nominations. But everyone knew Cheng Long had no chance of winning. “The Heart of a Dragon” was already his most artistic work, yet it still didn’t win a Golden Horse Award. It was interesting to think about—it was widely recognized that Fa Ge had superb acting skills, though no one dared call him a god of acting at that time. In Xiao Ran’s view, it was because Fa Ge hadn’t found his right role; it was only by building his acting skills earlier and then starring in “The True Colors of Heroes” that he was able to move the world.

Best Director: Zhang Wanning for “Illegal Immigrants”; Best Film: “Police Story”. When the last award was announced, Xiao Ran smiled slightly—he knew he would win it. The future was still in his hands, which meant he still had room to plagiarize.
After the awards ceremony, as Xiao Ran was about to leave, Cheng Long called him over. The film industry veteran looked at Xiao Ran sincerely and extended his hand, “A Ran, thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t have won this award. And…”
“Brother Long, there’s no need to say more!” Xiao Ran chuckled lightly. In fact, Cheng Long could have been nominated for Best Screenwriter, but due to his plagiarism… it was hard to say who owed whom thanks.
“Let’s go!” Cheng Long nodded. He knew a bit about Xiao Ran’s personality—he didn’t like getting entangled in such things. “Let’s go to the celebration party. It’s everyone’s achievement!”
After greeting friends like Wei Jiahui and Wang Jing, Xiao Ran planned to leave with Cheng Long. Suddenly, he heard calls coming from behind. Turning around in surprise, he saw Xiao Han and Yang Wei!
He had searched high and low for those two girls earlier but hadn’t found them. It turned out they showed up only now as he was leaving. Yang Wei stepped forward and said in a comforting tone, “Brother Ran, it’s okay to lose. Try again next time!”
(After reading this book, have you forgotten something? Voting and bookmarking! As the saying goes, if you don’t vote, I’ll scream in pain; if you don’t bookmark, I’ll hit the wall. Hehe.)
(I’m not going into details about the Golden Horse Awards because this year’s edition isn’t that important. Anyway, the story has just begun, and the best is yet to come. Just cheer me on, everyone!)