Bright Era of China Entertainment

Chapter 823 Magnolia Award
The Magnolia Award, also known as the Shenghai Television Art Festival, is one of the three top awards in Chinese television, along with the Golden Eagle Award and the Feitian Award. All other domestic television awards are at least one level lower than these three awards, including the newly emerging Huading Award, which is currently not as good as these three awards.

These three awards are similar in that they are all official national awards, and are the greatest praise an artist can receive in the television industry.

What is a little different is that in addition to the official Feitian Awards, there are also some private television associations, screenwriter associations, and directors associations involved, so there is a certain amount of human relations involved.

Behind the Golden Eagle Awards is Mango TV, also known as Xiangnan Broadcasting and Television, and Tianyu Media is a capital company under Mango TV. This means that the path taken by Mango TV is mixed with some profit-seeking nature, so the corresponding route of the Golden Eagle Awards will be more towards popularity and commercial market.

The Magnolia Award is a television award jointly organized by the two official departments of Shenghai Media Group. There is no capital involved, and no non-governmental organizations involved. Compared with the Feitian Award and Golden Eagle Award of the same level, it is a 100% official award.

Based on this, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Magnolia Award is the most authoritative television award in the country.

Because of this, the Magnolia Award is the least well-known compared to the Golden Eagle Award and the Feitian Award.

The Golden Eagle Award is the most famous and because it is close to the commercial market, it can attract the attention of a wide audience.

The Feitian Awards are the second most famous because non-governmental organizations participate in the voting, so a large number of directors, screenwriters and other industry professionals will actively promote and publicize it.

Magnolia is purely official, with neither commercial market support nor profit-seeking industry insiders promoting it, so it is seldom reported in the media. As a result, it is not well-known, and its popularity is mostly concentrated in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other places radiating from Shenghai.

It’s only with the development of the Internet in recent years and the spontaneous reporting of self-media that its popularity has slowly expanded, but it’s still far less famous than the Golden Eagle and Feitian Awards.

Even so, although the Magnolia Award is not very famous, it is the most sought-after award for most television people in the country.

There is no other reason, it’s just because of its high authority and everyone is convinced by the awards.

In other words, only strength is respected, and everything else is ignored.

This is highly praised by the older generation of artists who disdain the traffic market, and those middle-aged artists who have cooperated and inherited the traditions of the older generation of artists and have close ties with them will naturally follow these artists.

Mesozoic artists are the backbone of the acting school in every era, and are also role models for the younger generation of actors to learn from. In such a humanistic environment in the circle, young actors also learn from the Mesozoic artists and regard the Magnolia Award as the highest award on television.

The older generation praises it, the middle generation pursues it, and the younger generation also yearns for it, and people from these three generations make up the entire television performing circle. This leads to the fact that although the Magnolia Award is not as famous as the Golden Eagle and Feitian Awards, it has a higher weight in the hearts of actors than the Golden Eagle and Feitian Awards. It is the first domestic television award recognized by most people, although it is unwritten.

"Next, please welcome our Chu Xuan, Liu Yifei, Ren Quan, and Yang Rong."

Unlike the Golden Eagle Awards and other commercial awards in China, the more visible and high-profile these awards are held, the better, for fear of losing one more audience member's attention or one less passerby's eye.

There is no outdoor red carpet for the Magnolia Awards. The event only takes place on the red carpet inside the exhibition hall as an entrance ceremony.

Since the red carpet is not outdoors, there will naturally be no audience or passers-by to follow it. There are only invited media outlets.

These media also knew the rules well. They didn't shout or make any noise. When the actors went up to the podium and posed, the media just took pictures quietly.

Compared with other commercial awards, the Magnolia Award has less entertaining atmosphere and more solemnity.

Compared with the solemn atmosphere on the scene, the audience in front of the TV didn't care at all and just talked about their own things.

"Liu Yifei is so beautiful!"

"Chu Xuan is getting more and more handsome!"

"I heard they have already obtained their marriage certificate. I don't know if it's true. I really hope it is. They are a rare perfect match."

No matter how authoritative something is, the first thing that the audience will focus on will not be the authority itself. This is also the difficult-to-reconcile boundary between the so-called highbrow and the masses who are only for the novelty and happiness.

This is also the gap between art itself and the basic views of fans and drama fans on the film and television industry.

This is not sad, it’s just that the direction and depth of cognition are different.

If you want the audience to highly recognize art, you must raise their artistic awareness to the corresponding level. However, most of the audience are busy with their lives every day and have no energy to think about so-called art.

Therefore, the film and television industry's trends towards traffic, popularity, fandom, and commercialization are all aimed at fitting in with the people and this humanistic environment. This is also the fundamental reason why the traffic era is an unstoppable trend.

Perhaps one day when the audience gets tired of it, bored with it, and their knowledge improves, the entire market will return to art itself.

There were no posed photos or interviews to create topics. The couple, Ren Quan, and Yang Rong walked down the stage under the flashing lights, and the subsequent actors came up one after another.

The process of the entrance ceremony is very simple and unpretentious, but it is very popular among the actors. It is just an entrance ceremony, why make it so complicated? It should be simple, fast and convenient for people.

But for celebrities who pursue exposure, this seems very unfriendly. Some people can't wait to pose in front of the media for an hour, and they can't be driven away.

But when the subsequent actors came up, these stars could only complain in their hearts for less than 30 seconds, and then left with a feeling of unsatisfied desire.

"Teacher Chen, Teacher Tang, Teacher Zhang, Teacher Li, Teacher Lan, Teacher You..."

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei arrived at the exhibition hall. On the way to find their seats, they met teachers and seniors who treated them politely and greeted them.

Chen Daoming is his predecessor, and is of the same generation as Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Fengyi. Li Xuejian is one generation older than the first three. These teachers have been seen several times at major award ceremonies in the past, so it is not surprising that they appeared at this year's Magnolia Awards.

But what surprised the couple a little was that the white-haired teacher Lan Tianye, who was one generation older than Li Xuejian and was one of the second batch of national first-class actors in China, was also there.

Not only that, Mr. You Benchang, who is of the same generation as Teacher Lan Tianye, also came, which makes things a little different.

The couple has never been to the Feitian Awards, so I don’t know why, but they have been to the Golden Eagle Awards several times. These two artists, who are considered to be the most senior artists in the country, have never appeared at the Golden Eagle Awards, but have appeared at the Magnolia Awards.

It is conceivable how high the status of Magnolia is in the entertainment industry.

"These are two good actors, rising stars." Li Xuejian also said to Lan Tian next to him, expressing his appreciation for Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei.

"I know that I have worked with them on a drama and they are excellent." Lan Tian also smiled kindly. He had played Zhou Yixian in "Zhu Xian" before, and he still remembered Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei's performance as producers in the crew.

"Oh? You have worked together before? You are still as good as ever, old man." Li Xuejian was surprised at first, but then he felt interesting and admired that Lan Tian could still work with young people at such an old age, and he praised him.

"It's great that the young actors are excellent, as it means there will be successors in the industry." You Benchang said nearby. Although the old man is old, there is light in his eyes, and he has an air of an immortal who has seen through the mundane world and is not of this world. Being close to him is like being bathed in spring breeze.

I don't know if it's because he has the highest status or because his qualities are highly respected, but after hearing his simple but pure words, Lan Tian, ​​Li Xuejian, Chen Daoming, Tang Guoqiang and others all nodded in agreement and approval. It can be seen that they all respect Teacher You Benchang very much.

"This way." Chu Xuan found the nameplate with his name on the back of the chair. Liu Yifei's seat was next to him, so he sat side by side with Liu Yifei.

They have attended quite a few award ceremonies, big and small, over the years, and they were always arranged together. I don't know if it was a tacit consent of the entire industry, or maybe it was because they were in the same crew from beginning to end.

In any case, they have long been accustomed to this, the industry is accustomed to this, and the audience is even more accustomed to this. Perhaps this is the most special side they show in this industry, and it is also the impression that leaves a deep impression on the audience.

"Let's just wait and see." Liu Yifei tilted her head to look at Chu Xuan and said coquettishly.

"Yeah." Chu Xuan just said "Yeah", then smiled without saying anything.

Since "Legend of Red Flame" won a huge victory at the Golden Eagle Awards last year, it has also won many awards in various domestic awards over the past six months.

Because of their wedding during the Chinese New Year and the subsequent filming of "My Love from the Star", they had no time to participate in those awards, so the company sent representatives from the crew to attend.

In the Golden Eagle Awards and most of these commercial awards, "Legend of Red Flame" can still compete because of its high popularity and sky-high ratings.

But popularity and ratings have no effect at today's Magnolia Awards.

It’s not that it doesn’t work, it’s just that these things are not the priority of the Magnolia Awards.

The Magnolia Awards only consider how well the actors performed, nothing more.

Just like Mr. Song Dandan, it is a miracle in itself that as a sketch actor he was nominated for a television award.

Why do you say that?
The Feitian Awards involve the participation of various organizations and associations in the private television industry. Song Dan is just an artist, but he is not a member of the television industry.

For each organization and association, you are not a member of our circle, and if you are shortlisted, we will not be able to see the resources and subsequent benefits. So why should I let you be shortlisted?

The Golden Eagle Awards are more commercial, and the commercial proportion is getting heavier and heavier. Where does Song Dan, an artist of the older generation, have commercial value?
So, when "Home with Kids" was so popular that it was nominated for the Golden Eagle Award for Best Sitcom, Yang Zi was nominated for the Newcomer Award when she was still a child, but Song Dan did not receive any nomination.

Judging from the situation in previous years, the fact that Song Dandan, a sketch artist, was shortlisted for the Magnolia Award can indeed be said to be an industry miracle.

Moreover, in a chain of contempt in which the film industry looks down on the television industry, the television industry looks down on the comedy industry, and the comedy industry looks down on the sketch industry, Song Dan herself felt incredible when she heard that she was nominated for the Magnolia Best Actress Award.

Song Dandan has worked with Zhao Baogang in TV dramas and with several directors from CCTV, but has never been nominated for a TV award, and she herself has no aspirations for winning awards. Her performances have always been purely artistic pursuits.

After learning that she was shortlisted for the Magnolia Award, she was so excited that she boasted about it to the entire high-level art circle, and the news even reached Chen Daoming. Sister Hua also found out about it after having a meal with Chen Daoming, and then the news came to him and Liu Yifei.

He and Liu Yifei just treated it as a funny story, but it also shows that the Magnolia Awards is very fair and authoritative. Other awards have their own development considerations and interests and do not give Song Dan a chance, but the Magnolia Awards does not look at these. If you perform well, you will be nominated, that's all.

This is also the case. The couple did not hold out much hope for this award.

When the couple was still in New Haven, they learned from the company that they were shortlisted for the Magnolia Award.

When I got the news, I felt happy and a sense of accomplishment. After all, it was a role that I played, and it was recognized by another major award besides the Golden Eagle Award. This is something to be happy about.

But no matter how happy they were, they just regarded it as a chance to see the world and gain some experience. Their focus at the time was on celebrating their mother's birthday, the post-production of "My Love from the Star", and the screenwriting industry.

After some things were dealt with, they were mentally prepared to be the runner-up on this trip.

Last year at the Golden Eagle Awards, their "Legend of Red Flame" relied on its popularity and ratings to defeat "The Disguiser" and "The Legend of Zhen Huan" and other very good dramas.

But for Magnolia, these advantages cannot be said to have disappeared completely, but they will be minimized.

Well, leaving aside popularity and ratings, if the nominees were people of the same age, the couple would be very confident.

But the fact is, except for the couple who are of the younger generation, almost all of their competitors are artists.

Sun Honglei in "The Hidden Man", Chen Jianbing in "The Legend of Zhen Huan", Duan Yihong in "My Captain, My Regiment", Lin Yongjian in "Marvin's War"...

Yan Ni in "The North Wind Blows", Song Dandan in "Marvin's War", Hai Qing in "Wang Gui and Anna", Luo Haiqiong in "Glamour"...

At first glance, there are only two or three popular TV series, and most viewers probably haven't even heard of the rest.

All I can say is that the artistry is extremely high, and although there is some commercial element, it is extremely weak and incidental.

In terms of artistry, "Legend of Red Flame" also has it, whether it is the non-linear story arrangement or the exquisite costumes and props, whether it is the suspenseful and reversal story or the connotation of love for family and country and the reflection of ideology, it is all art.

But "Red Flame" is a fictional story after all. It is a bit inferior to the realistic adaptations in the nominated works in terms of art.

Of course, this is the couple’s self-understanding, and the specific situation is still unknown.

“The best one should be “My Captain, My Regiment”, it was filmed so well!”

"The most talked-about song online is 'My Group', so it should be the one that won the award."

"'The North Wind Blows' is also very good. Yanni's state is so good. I have never seen such a lazy woman. She is so charming."

"'Insidious' is the ultimate killer, the best spy drama in recent years, bar none!"

"Marvin's War" is also very good. Song Dan is not just funny, it's refreshing to me. He is definitely a talented actor!"

The Magnolia Awards ceremony is broadcast live, and can be seen by audiences across the country watching Shenghaitai from the entrance ceremony onwards.

As the award ceremony was about to begin, the audience's attention was finally focused on the main topic because the wide panoramic camera could not capture their favorite actors.

Everyone has their own ideas about which drama won the award and which actor won the honor.

Among them, the three hit dramas "The Disguiser", "The Legend of Red Flame" and "The Legend of Zhen Huan" suffered a bit of a disadvantage. They were all broadcast in the first half of last year and the middle of the year, which were too close to the Magnolia Awards in June every year, and missed the opportunity to be awarded last year.

Therefore, if we review these three dramas this year, it has been a year since then. The market enthusiasm and audience perceptions have been renewed layer by layer, so people are obviously more enthusiastic about recent dramas. With the rapid spread of information on the Internet, the dramas from a year ago have truly become history.

In this situation, if it were an award with a heavier commercial component and the organizers based the award on what the audience focused on, perhaps these three dramas would not have won the grand prize and the actors would not have received the honor.

But this is what makes the entertainment industry convinced by the Magnolia Awards. No matter how popular someone is, if you don't perform well, even if the ratings are 100%, you will not be nominated or win an award. This is the authority that the Magnolia Awards has established through many facts and situations over the past ten years since its establishment.

Just like the original "My Fair Princess", it won all major awards including the Golden Eagle Award, Feitian Award, etc., but not the Magnolia Award.

The reason given by Bai Yulan is that the story has no substance and the plot seems empty.

It was because of this kind of self-willed behavior that Mango TV published an article criticizing Bai Yulan for "not obeying the public, not following the trend, and not understanding progress", which triggered the "three no's" public opinion and caused a lot of negative reactions in the print media industry.

But the magnolia birds ignore the Mango Terrace. I am as proud as a peacock. No matter which direction the wind blows, I will remain sober and intoxicated.

Therefore, the current trend of the entertainment industry pursuing the Magnolia Award the most is the result of the Magnolia Award's adherence to its original intention.

Therefore, the audience and the Internet are talking about it frequently, focusing on this year's or recent excellent dramas and their actors, and not so enthusiastic about last year's dramas, but the style of the Magnolia Awards, which is based on excellence...

What if there’s an upset?

"It's started." Liu Yifei uttered a muffled sound, just because she was drinking milk, looking relaxed and without any hope. She had no awareness of being nominated for the Best Actress Award. Seeing the host coming on stage to start the process, she respected him and put down the milk.

Seeing her elegant look, Chu Xuan was also infected by her. He completely relaxed his mind, crossed his legs, and watched the ceremony as if he were a runner-up.

(End of this chapter)