554: Chapter 554 Audience Choice Award

Over the past few days, the other films in the Spring Festival Movie Season seemed unable to sit still, announcing their official lineups one after another as if they had coordinated it.

Lin Chuyan understood. Although the most intensive promotional period hadn't arrived yet, he thought, "It wouldn't do to have the entire internet watching only his Acting, would it?"

However, he was very skeptical about whether these people could out-market him.

The other films were in a difficult position: there was no help for it; if they didn't come out and make a move, the spotlight would basically be stolen entirely by Lin Chuyan's "la la land."

Withdrawing from the release schedule was out of the question. Those with the confidence to enter this window were the result of various capital forces vying for position, and they all believed they had a chance. Besides, would you fall down just because Lin Chuyan had only thrown half a punch? No one was willing to accept that. What if they succeeded? The Spring Festival Movie Season was such a massive market that it was impossible for Lin Chuyan to eat it all by himself. Not to mention that some people weren't afraid of Lin Chuyan's "la la land" at all and simply wanted to use popular young actors to forcefully prop up their box office numbers.

So, let them come; everyone would just proceed at their own pace.

Lin Chuyan took a quick look, and the current lineup for the Spring Festival Movie Season was more or less what Director Qi Kai had told him.

There were six films in total, covering all kinds of genres.

His "la la land" was a musical + romance, while Director Qi Kai's "the dragon lantern chronicle" was history + suspense.

Then there was "Fox Fairy Inn," a fantasy + romance, with big-name directors, big-name traffic stars, and special effects as its selling points; it was unclear what its quality would be like.

There was also one called "Blizzard Express," which counted as a proper comedy + crime film, though its lineup was a bit lackluster. It was unclear why it chose the Spring Festival Movie Season, perhaps they felt that since it was the only comedy, it might have a chance.

The remaining two were animated films. One was the annual, reliably produced "boonie bears," and the other was called "new year painting boy." It was unclear why it had come too... but it would likely siphon off some of the box office from the former.

Lin Chuyan also called Director Chu Dong to chat about this. Director Chu Dong told him everything he knew, after all, he had also invested in "la la land."

"Director Chu, I feel like the lineup for this year's Spring Festival Movie Season is just average. Don't you have a new film coming out?"

Director Chu was a bit speechless: "One film every Spring Festival? Do you think I'm a god? Besides, don't I have you? If you do well, I can just lie back and make money."

"Alright, I'll do my best."

"Also, don't underestimate this year's Spring Festival Movie Season."

"How so?"

Director Chu Dong began to analyze it for him: ""the dragon lantern chronicle" has Director Qi Kai, and the male lead was changed from Feng Liqian to Ouyang Xi, which makes up for the Acting; the lineup is decent. His teaser trailer looks fine too, and it's a completely different genre from your film, so there's a chance."

"That's good, that's good. He's also going to be in the Venice Film Festival special screening section later, I'll ask around then. Anything else?"

"Then there's "Fox Fairy Inn." Although it clashes with your romance genre, they are focusing on special effects and fantasy. For those who want to watch that type, it's the only one in the Spring Festival Movie Season. Besides, they also have a big director and big traffic stars, so don't underestimate them."

"Alright, what about that "Blizzard Express"?"

"Forget about it! This kind of dark comedy isn't that popular right now; I don't know why they insisted on squeezing it into the Spring Festival Movie Season. They don't have money for publicity, so even if it's a comedy, it's useless. It's just cannon fodder and won't get many screenings. As for the two remaining animated films, "boonie bears" is the same every year, so we won't compare it to that. I've also looked into "new year painting boy" a little bit; it's positioned to be more suitable for adults than "boonie bears," but based on the small amount of material available, it doesn't seem to have much appeal. It will probably only be able to siphon off some box office from "boonie bears.""

After listening to Director Chu Dong's analysis, Lin Chuyan had a better idea of the situation.

As the Spring Festival Movie Season drew closer, he wasn't as worried anymore—other films had selling points, but his "la la land" would only have more. Also, those traffic stars Director Chu Dong mentioned? Big traffic? Well, was there anyone in the country with more traffic than him?

So, he just needed to keep moving at his established pace.

As of now, although every film had made its official announcement, the others were still in the early stages of publicity, and there wasn't much material.

But "la la land" was different; the official Weibo account was already going all out, posting endless material every day.

And besides some conventional posters and videos, the film also had plenty of international material: interviews with foreign audiences, reports from foreign media, and which countries Lin Chuyan had visited to attend film festivals... This was something the other Spring Festival films couldn't compare with.

Furthermore, because a major selling point for domestic audiences was the romance between Lin and Ruan, the team's promotional ideas were constantly creative—weren't you abroad? Then go and check in at every location! You didn't need to find very special scenery; the people were good-looking, so it would look good no matter how you shot it. Any scenery with a bit of exotic flair would do.

Thus, from major locations like the Church of San Nicolo on Lido Island in Venice and Casa Loma in Toronto, down to some nice-looking cafe, the two would take all kinds of beautiful photos and then turn them into promotional posters to release—"la la land"? More like "La La Show"!

What was this? The team said: This is called the "la la land" 100-City Check-in! It could strengthen the audience's memory of the "romance film" aspect and weaken the niche "musical film" characteristics.

These days, the official Weibo account posted at least one ready-made poster every day. There was no need to worry about running out, they were simple to make, and netizens loved watching them, so the promotional work was off to a great start.

While Lin Chuyan was showing off his affection, the real "good news" was finally coming.

The 41st Toronto International Film Festival was held as scheduled, and Lin Chuyan arrived with "la la land," hosting two screenings there.

This time, "la la land" was no longer that obscure "Chinese film"; it was the darling of the Venice Film Festival.

Huge posters were plastered at the entrance of the Bell Lightbox cinema. Two screenings, just two, and the Lin Chuyan team's hunger marketing strategy began to take effect.

The audience didn't have any complaints either: the film wouldn't officially release for another month and a half, so limiting it to two small screenings now was understandable, right? It was good enough just to be able to see it!

These two screenings at the Toronto Film Festival could be described as having too many monks and too little gruel; tickets were extremely hard to come by, and there were even foreign scalpers involved.

After the film was screened, it received countless applause and accolades as well.

[Venice word-of-mouth continues to ferment! "la la land" North American screening ignites the Toronto Film Festival]

["la la land" lands in North America: Audience stands and applauds to pay tribute to the golden age of musical films]

[From the City of Water to the Land of the Maple Leaf: The best romantic comedy template of the decade has arrived]

[Toronto film critics: "la la land" is the perfect balance of art and commerce]

All kinds of good news continued to be transmitted back to the country through the official Weibo account every day, and the Haters simply couldn't believe it.

And the news they couldn't accept was still to come.

The Toronto International Film Festival had many awards: Short Film Award, NETPAC Award, FIPRESCI Prize, Platform Prize, Documentary People's Choice Award, Midnight Madness People's Choice Award, and the People's Choice Award.

Among them, the biggest award was the People's Choice Award. This award was voted on by film critics, media reporters, and ordinary moviegoers.

And "la la land," relying on its outstanding romantic narrative, had indeed won the "People's Choice Award"!

Reason for the award: [The Toronto International Film Festival is committed to discovering films that possess both artistic value and emotional resonance, and "la la land" perfectly aligns with this philosophy. The film uses delicate brushstrokes to tell the story of the romance between the male and female protagonists as they pursue their dreams, with a plot that is captivating. Its musical and dance elements are integrated exquisitely, the choreography is lively, and the score is heart-stirring, perfectly complementing the visuals to create an audiovisual feast. During the film festival screenings, it hit the audience's hearts precisely with its romantic narrative, outstanding audiovisuals, and profound emotions, possessing both artistic beauty and mass appeal. It is highly consistent with the Toronto International Film Festival's mission to "bring together global masterpieces and touch the hearts of the audience," making it well-deserving of this award.]

Didn't the Haters say it hadn't won any awards yet? What do they have to say now?

New news was transmitted back to the country.

["la la land" North American debut a success: Toronto Film Festival boosts strong momentum for The Oscars!]

Yes, "The Oscars."

Because many films that won this award in history later received Academy Awards nominations, this award was also considered the "starting gun" for the Academy Awards nomination competition.

Lin Chuyan's personal Weibo account continued to post, just four words.

[The first award.]

It was clear: this was just the beginning.

Tsk tsk, he was being arrogant again.

But this was a solid achievement; he had the work, he won the award, so what if he was arrogant? Who was it bothering?

And Lin Chuyan's acceptance speech at the Toronto International Film Festival was also transmitted back. There was one sentence in it that seemed to be directed at someone:

"People's Choice Award, I really like the name of this award. I also like a certain saying, and I'd like to dedicate it to some people here: You can control me, but can you control who the audience loves to watch?"