America 1987

Chapter 59 Adaptations and Original Works

The film "The Last Emperor" is adapted from two original works—Johnston's "Twilight in the Forbidden City" and Puyi's own "From Emperor to Citizen".

The former, Johnston, was Puyi's tutor. His book covers historical events such as the Hundred Days' Reform, the Boxer Rebellion, the Xinhai Revolution, Yuan Shikai's attempt to become emperor, Zhang Xun's restoration, and Feng Yuxiang's mutiny. It is particularly detailed in its accounts of Qing court secrets and the past of the deposed emperor.

Puyi himself commented on the book: "During the chaos and turmoil, only Johnston knew the most details."

As for the latter, Bertolucci also had some friction with Li Hanxiang of Hong Kong Island over the purchase of copyrights.

According to records, Li Hanxiang "originally wanted to film Puyi's complete life, but unexpectedly the copyright was bought by Bertolucci first, so he hated him with a vengeance."

This resentment even affected his choice of actors. In 1986, Bertolucci was so impressed by Tony Leung Ka-fai's portrayal of Puyi in Li Han-hsiang's "Fire Dragon" that he immediately extended an invitation to him.

However, because Li Hanxiang was his mentor, Tony Leung Ka-fai could only politely decline this opportunity that could have made him a global sensation.

It seems the life of the last emperor of the Eastern Continent was indeed full of treasures, with directors from both home and abroad vying to film it.

However, the award for adapted screenplay is ultimately less prestigious than that for original screenplay.

People of this era are certainly unaware of this famous quote by Teacher Liu: "Adaptation is not random rewriting, and fictionalization is not nonsense."

Although when Teacher Liu said this at Tianjin University in 08, he may have only wanted to criticize Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey".

In 18, his reputation plummeted due to the "Wu Cheng'en's former residence is full of photos of Liu Xiao Ling Tong" incident.

As a result, what was originally a reasonable statement was parodied by netizens and became a classic quote of the "Six Studies" internet subculture.

However, setting aside his context and mindset at the time, the statement "Adaptation is not random rewriting, and fiction is not nonsense" is actually not problematic in itself. In fact, it can even be seen as an accurate prediction of the later chaos in adapting online novels into film and television dramas.

However, people in this era have not yet experienced the devastation of "making up stories and nonsense".

Therefore, considering the current era, original screenplay awards are generally considered to be more prestigious in terms of creative difficulty and industry respect.

There is also a general psychological tendency in the Hollywood screenwriting industry.

After winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1975 for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Goodman was troubled for a long time by the doubt, "I adapted someone else's work, but is it really mine?" until he won the award in 1980 for his original screenplay "The Unexpected Fortune."

This self-doubt among screenwriters indirectly reflects the industry's deep-seated respect for "originality."

Let's take Quentin Tarantino as an example again. Although he is known as a director, "in terms of awards, he is a more successful screenwriter." Even he himself admitted in an interview that he is actually the best screenwriter.

After all, both Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained earned him the Best Original Screenplay award.

If he were simply a screenwriter, winning this award would only bring him temporary fame.

While Hollywood has unions protecting various professions, screenwriters remain in a vulnerable position within the industry. The unions can only offer tangible benefits like minimum wage, pensions, and health insurance; it's best not to expect any control over the script.

However, if you win the Best Original Screenplay award as a director, the benefits are much greater, just look at Quentin Tarantino's situation after making "Pulp Fiction".

Not everyone knows how beneficial it is to win the Best Original Screenplay award.

But Catherine is truly experiencing just how excited David must be after winning the award.

She sensed that the other person's enthusiasm tonight was even more exaggerated than the first time.

"Does the little golden statue make you this excited?" Catherine asked, looking at the ceiling, feeling a familiar sense of unease.

“Of course,” David looked up and smacked his lips, replying, “I’ll let you experience it more deeply and vividly in a moment.”

At that moment, he remembered how he felt when he was in middle school and his nose was broken by a soccer ball during a PE class.

Unstoppable blood flowed down his nostrils, and some inevitably ended up in his mouth. Like sweat, the blood had a high salt concentration, and he could clearly taste the saltiness.

However, the saltiness he was tasting now was slightly milder, with a faint sourness, and the gentle, lipid feel of his skin gave him the sensation of licking his forearm, but the salt content was slightly higher than before.

"And you? When I saw Goldberg receive the award, you didn't seem to have any emotional reaction at all."

Catherine, enjoying the feeling of being worshipped, said lazily, "How could I possibly win an award for my first movie role? I'm not Mary Matlin. I'm already more than satisfied with just being able to attend the ceremony."

That's true. The Oscars are a top-tier arena of fame and fortune, broadcast globally. Entering the Dolby Theatre, regardless of one's status, means being at the center of Hollywood's power and glamour.

If you participate as a nominee or winner, it's even more impressive, as you can directly obtain fast-track eligibility for the EB-1A U.S. Extraordinary Ability Green Card—the Oscars are directly listed as "major internationally renowned awards," and foreign nationals can apply for U.S. permanent residency based on this.

"Besides, I'm not old enough either," Catherine demonstrated her flexibility. "Last year, Mary Matlin broke the record for the oldest Best Actress winner. How could I possibly break it again this year? I'm well aware of my own acting abilities."

The Mary Matlin she was referring to is an actress who won the Academy Award for Best Actress last year for her role in "Children of God Out of Favor".

She was the first deaf actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress. "Children of God Out of Favor" was her debut film. She was 21 years and 218 days old when she won the award. This record remains unbroken, not only now, but even before David's time travel.

In Oscar history, very few actresses have won Best Actress before the age of 30. Besides the one mentioned above, David can only recall Jennifer Lawrence (2013, age 22, Silver Linings Playbook) and Mickey Madison (2025, age 25, Anora).

There may be more examples from the golden age, but those were products of the early days of the awards when the systems were not yet perfect, so they are generally not used as a reference.

As for her saying she has self-awareness about her acting skills, that's just her being modest.

In "American Honey," where she co-starred with newly crowned Best Actress Julia Roberts, Katharine's acting was in no way inferior to Roberts', with some critics even suggesting that her performance completely overshadowed Roberts'.

If it weren't for her overwhelmingly beautiful appearance, her later depression caused by caring for her ailing husband which affected her career, and the controversies surrounding her excessive cosmetic procedures, she might have become a powerful actress like Cate Blanchett.