171. I Really Have to Wonder How Some People Have So Much Free Time

The closing ceremony and awards ceremony of the Yannan University Student Film Festival were held in the auditorium of Yannan University of Media.

For Lu Ban, this was indeed the first time he had personally attended such an awards ceremony.

Lu Ban watched the leaders' speeches, the judges' speeches, and the performances very attentively.

Zhang Yuefan, who was standing to the side, was already yawning repeatedly, looking like she hadn't slept well.

I guess it's because he felt he wouldn't win an award and was just there to be a supporting role, so he was probably slacking off too.

Lu Ban felt that this person and Qin Tiantian might have a lot in common when it came to slacking off.

When the awards ceremony came, Lu Ban clearly felt that the people in his group were a bit more energetic.

After all, you're a nominee. The camera might be on you anytime. Even if you don't win, it would be so embarrassing if someone close to you won and the camera panned to you picking your nose.

The emcee is introducing the awards. The award ceremony is a bit like a raffle at a company's annual meeting. At the beginning, everyone wins small prizes, and everyone secretly prays that they won't be drawn. But when the big prizes are all drawn and it's not their turn yet, they lament that they should have drawn a prize earlier.

"The winner of this year's Best Original Screenplay award is ' The Short Spring Nights '!"

A celebrity guest on stage unveiled another award, which was met with thunderous applause from the audience, but the winner didn't seem particularly happy.

It's probably because now that I've won an award, there's a high probability that I won't win any more.

It's really difficult to win all the major awards and achieve a grand slam.

Lu Ban applauded them vigorously, sincerely congratulating these respectable opponents.

"You don't need to get so worked up. Some people might think you're being sarcastic or mocking."

Zhang Yuefan clapped lazily and sporadically.

Will it?

Lu Ban was puzzled.

"Yes, if you clap your hands while you seem happy, it's schadenfreude; if you clap your hands while you seem unhappy, it's jealousy."

Zhang Yuefan explained.

"What if you have no expression?"

"Clapping without expression means you're not interested."

"So, if I clap, I'll be misunderstood. I won't clap."

"You can't not clap, if you don't clap, then you're a sore loser."

"."

Lu Ban really doubted how much free time some people had.

He still applauded enthusiastically.

When it came time for the Best Special Effects award, Lu Ban put his hand down.

He felt it was time for him to receive the award.

"Now, please welcome Director Lin Sou to announce the winner of this year's Best Visual Effects Award."

The emcee invited a director who Lu Ban recognized. This director was one of the earliest people in China to work on special effects filming and had made several disaster movies, Lu Ban quite enjoyed watching.

The director, who was over fifty years old, strode onto the stage, took the envelope, opened it, and glanced at it.

He was stunned as soon as he finished watching and asked the emcee next to him in a low voice.

This action caused a stir among the crowd, with many people whispering amongst themselves, seemingly discussing something.

After confirming the information, Director Lin Sou went to the microphone.

"The winner of the Best Special Effects Award at this year's Yannan University Student Film Festival is 'College Entrance Examination! College Entrance Examination! College Entrance Examination!'"

"?"

Lu Ban was stunned.

Zhang Yuefan, standing to the side, was also taken aback.

My movie won an award?

He was clearly out of sorts.

Congratulations!

Lu Ban patted him on the shoulder.

Zhang Yuefan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had returned to the eerie hospital corridor in "The Cry".

"Go claim your prize!"

Lu Ban urged.

Zhang Yuefan had no choice but to slink up to receive the award; it felt more like a public execution than receiving an award.

After delivering a long acceptance speech that he himself didn't understand, Zhang Yuefan sat back down.

What special effects are used in your movies?

Lu Ban naturally took the time to go to the cinema and watch all the films in this film festival. Most of the entries were urban slice-of-life films, and it was hard to tell that special effects were used. Lu Ban originally thought that the award would definitely be his.

But unexpectedly, the prize went to someone else.

He was a little curious.

"Special effects? Uh... just a scene of students tearing up their books and scattering them everywhere after the college entrance exam. Since we didn't have time to tear up that many books, we made a simple special effect."

Zhang Yuefan felt a little guilty, and immediately explained after he finished speaking.

"I really don't know about this. I guess the judges probably wanted to balance the awards, so they gave me this award. That means you must have a big prize."

Is there any balance left?

Lu Ban felt that there were really a lot of ins and outs in the industry.

"Yes, even with the Oscars, if the quality of the works is similar, or if the director himself is very famous, it will happen like this. If you can't win Best Picture, you can win Best Actor, and if you can't win Best Actress, you can win Best Screenplay. Everyone is friendly, but you still have to put on a show."

Zhang Yuefan added.

"We'll see later."

Lu Ban nodded.

The film and television industry is, in essence, a circle of acquaintances. People often collaborate and rely on relationships for their livelihood, so these award ceremonies may indeed be a way of dividing up the pie.

As an outsider, Lu Ban knew no one and was practically the only person in the film production team. He just barged into the industry in such a frenzy, which was indeed something to think about.

The awards for special effects are over, and soon it will be time for the Best Actress award.

The Best Actress award went to the lead actress in "Ashes of the Past." She had previously played supporting roles in other films, but this time she won the award for her daring performance. You could tell she was very moved; her eyes were red.

After Best Actress comes Best Actor.

"The winner of the Best Actor award at this year's Yannan University Student Film Festival is Lu Ban for his film 'Crying'."

"?"

Lu Ban was surprised to hear his own name called.

He was somewhat suspicious, but he still stood up and went to the podium.

The award presenter was an actor in his fifties who starred in many well-known TV dramas when he was young. Now he is a professor at the Communication University of China and occasionally makes cameo appearances in other movies.

After receiving the trophy, Lu Ban went to the microphone, and the emcee gestured for him to give his acceptance speech.

Lu Ban looked at the people below the stage and spoke in a slightly hesitant tone.

"To receive this award, well, I'm actually a little curious whether the organizers gave the wrong award. I think I should have received the Best Special Effects award, but since the judges have given it to me, I'll accept it."

His words sparked even more discussion, as no one had ever said anything like that at an awards ceremony before.

Normally, even if someone feels there's something wrong with the awards ceremony, they'll at least thank the judges outwardly as a formality, since some things are unspoken rules—it's better to see through them than to say anything.

But there are very few people like Lu Ban who directly question things.

"I think my acting skills still need improvement. Thank you to all the judges for your recognition."

Lu Ban said a few words. He really didn't have much experience with acting. The movies were all realistic reflections. If someone asked him how to act out fear, he might suggest that they find a monster to face and experience it firsthand.

As Lu Ban walked off the stage with the trophy in hand, he heard a lot of doubts along the way.

Some people think he's getting a good deal and then acting innocent, some think he's arrogant because of his talent, and others think he's unworthy of his position.

Lu Ban didn't care.

As soon as Lu Ban sat down, he heard the emcee on stage begin announcing the nominees for Best Picture.

He saw his own movie.

*

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