556: Chapter 556 The True Queen

The Venice Film Festival awards ceremony is broadcast live.

Media outlets like Sina will provide text and image coverage on Weibo, attracting a large number of netizens.

Of course, there are even more people in the video livestreams. Gao Jun, just like last time, is rebroadcasting the raw, live footage from abroad on Bilibili.

Compared to the lack of interest during his last stream, the comments are scrolling endlessly this time, all spamming the names of Lin Chuyan and Ruan Xingyu.

Gao Jun is his usual self, watching the broadcast while chatting with netizens, and taking the opportunity to share some knowledge about the Venice Film Festival.

"The Venice Film Festival has three major awards that represent the highest achievement for a film or an actor: the golden lion award for Best Film, the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and Best Actress."

"Chinese directors have, of course, won the golden lion award; if I recall correctly, they've won it seven times. However, the last time was 18 years ago. Even including nominations, it's been 14 years."

"It's been so many years, I'm still not used to seeing so many comments this year, hahaha."

"As for the golden lion award, la la land is a favorite to win this year, so it certainly has a chance, and a pretty good one at that. But everyone should try to keep an open mind; after all, just being nominated is already an affirmation."

"Compared to the golden lion award, I'm more focused on the Volpi Cup," Gao Jun said, sounding a bit excited. "To be honest, although I said before that Ruan Xingyu's Acting wouldn't be a drag, I didn't expect her to be nominated for Best Actress!"

"Guys, this is the Best Actress award! You have to understand, in the history of the Venice Film Festival, there has never been a precedent for a newcomer to win the Best Actress trophy! If she can reach the top this time, it would be unprecedented!"

The comments section urged him to calm down. Even though she was nominated, most people remained skeptical about Ruan Xingyu winning Best Actress. By comparison, they thought la la land had a better chance of winning the golden lion award.

Gao Jun knew this well: "Of course, the other nominated actresses are all very strong. Like I said, keep an open mind; being nominated is already an affirmation."

The camera cut to the stage; the awards ceremony was already underway.

The presenter smiled and signaled everyone to look at the big screen, where highlights of the nominated actresses were played in sequence. Sure enough, apart from Ruan Xingyu, the other nominees had extensive Acting experience, with some having struggled and persevered in the entertainment industry for decades.

In Emily's words: For la la land, it's highly likely they will only win either the golden lion award or the Volpi Cup, with the golden lion award being more probable. If Ruan Xingyu wins the Best Actress award, the chances of la la land winning the golden lion award will decrease. Simply put, the Best Actress award would likely be a consolation for "missing out on the golden lion award."

Lin Chuyan didn't care either way; he would be even more satisfied if she won the Best Actress award.

Furthermore, Ruan Xingyu's Acting in this film was impeccable, so it couldn't be called a "consolation prize." He couldn't speak for other films, but for la la land? Ruan Xingyu used her superb Acting skills, combined with a natural performance, to truly bring the character to life.

The suspense was soon revealed.

The presenter opened the envelope and announced loudly: "The winner of the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival is—la la land, Ruan Xingyu!"

The camera quickly turned to the audience. Ruan Xingyu still couldn't believe her ears, while Lin Chuyan had already stood up immediately; anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the one who won.

Afterward, the two embraced.

Ruan Xingyu whispered into his ear: "Husband, you're amazing!"

She suddenly remembered the bet Lin Chuyan had made with her on set—betting on whether she could win an award for this role—she hadn't expected him to actually be right.

Lin Chuyan chuckled and whispered back: "Wife, you're the best."

The jury's citation for the award fully affirmed Ruan Xingyu's outstanding performance.

[Outstanding song and Dance performance: Dance and singing are perfectly fused; every movement and every note is full of emotion and expressiveness.]

[Delicate emotional interpretation: Successfully portrayed a girl with dreams of becoming an actress, delicately showcasing the character's emotional journey from confusion and frustration to determination and growth.]

[Deep understanding of the character: Integrated her own understanding of dreams and love into the character, making this role not just a fictional figure, but a symbol with real-world significance, representing countless young people striving for their dreams, and resonating widely with the audience.]

The comments in Gao Jun's livestream exploded instantly, unable to stop.

[Congratulations to Ruan Xingyu!] [Congratulations to Venice Best Actress Ruan Xingyu!] [A true diva! Unbeatable!]

It must be said that with this award, Ruan Xingyu has truly left the other female artists in the Chinese Entertainment Industry far behind, with a status that no one can reach.

Golden Melody Queen + Venice Best Actress—who can shake such an achievement?

In particular, everyone suddenly thought of one thing: this is just her first Best Actress trophy; who knows what other surprises Ruan Xingyu might create for everyone in the future?

The comments started spamming again: [Yanzi, step it up; how did you get surpassed by your wife again?] [Yanzi, step it up; how did you get surpassed by your wife again?] [Yanzi, step it up; how did you get surpassed by your wife again?]

Gao Jun was truly excited now: "Brothers and sisters, is this what speedrunning the film industry looks like? I was worried that Ruan Xingyu would drag the film down, but I didn't expect to get slapped in the face so hard."

Gao Jun's excitement was completely understandable. You have to know, from the project initiation of la la land to filming and wrapping up, everyone thought it would be a success if Ruan Xingyu's Acting didn't drag it down, and many people even questioned Lin Chuyan for playing favorites.

But the facts proved that Ruan Xingyu was the secret weapon of la la land, and this couple created brilliance together!

Gao Jun couldn't help but shout: "Guys, type the words 'Perfect Match' on the screen!" [Perfect Match] [Perfect Match] [Perfect Match]

The official Weibo account for la la land had already released the pre-made solo poster of Ruan Xingyu.

The image used a still from the film, but only Ruan Xingyu's back could be seen, with a blurry crowd in front of her. Paired with the concise five words "Venice Best Actress," it inexplicably gave off a feeling of disdain for everything.

Soon, the news of Ruan Xingyu winning Best Actress sparked an even more enthusiastic reaction than the comments in the livestream.

Someone like Zheng Hai was already too shocked to speak: he never expected that Tianxing, a company focused on the music industry, would have an artist bring home a Best Actress trophy...

Ruan Xingyu's fans were ecstatic. When their idol first got together with the young idol, fans were worried that she was love-struck and would be deceived by a scumbag... Now, Ruan Xingyu has used her strength to prove her choice.

The most shocked were those in the Chinese Entertainment Industry film circle. Compared to Lin Chuyan winning Best Actor or Best Film, Ruan Xingyu winning Best Actress shocked them even more.

The reason was simple: Ruan Xingyu being able to win Best Actress was not only a reflection of her own Acting skills, but most importantly, it proved that Lin Chuyan could not only win awards himself but also had the ability to cultivate Best Actors and Best Actresses.

For many talented professional actors, this was undoubtedly a huge temptation—if Ruan Xingyu, a newcomer, could do it, why couldn't they?

Lin Chuyan's identity as a director was re-evaluated by countless people at this moment. Many people were already tempted and started asking around for news about his next film.