Rebirth: I Want to Surf

We don’t even have science fiction films, let alone more distant things like the World Science Fiction Convention.

Little is known about it in China. There are only two famous ones. One is to be held in Chengdu on October 18, 2023. It is also the first science fiction conference hosted by China.

The other one was held in Spokane, Washington, USA on August 19, 2015, and won the award because of three body problems.

The conference lasted for five days and included various activities.

The "Three-Body" team arrived on the 21st and adjusted on the 22nd to prepare for the announcement of the Hugo Awards tomorrow night.

Including Liu Cixin, animation director Tian Xiaopeng, super fan Li Zhenyi, TV series director Yang Lei, "Science Fiction World" editor-in-chief Yao Haijun, plus staff from 99 Entertainment, a total of 10 people.

Well, the lineup is great!

Tian Xiaopeng's "The Return of the Great Sage" has been released, with a box office of over 1 billion, second only to "Monster Hunt" in the summer season.

The audience is simple, and the audiences who support Chinese comics are even more simple.

Historically, without any publicity, "The Return of the Great Sage" was able to reach 956 million through word of mouth alone, creating a medium-sized miracle and giving Tian Xiaopeng the funds and confidence to complete "The Return of the Great Sage". deep sea".

But objectively speaking, the story of "The Return of the Monkey King" is weak, the plot is obviously missing, the pace is okay, and the emotional mobilization of the climax is okay. The scene where Sun Wukong breaks away from the shackles and transforms into the Monkey King is enough to make people applaud.

Because every Chinese has a complex about the Monkey King, which is also a common problem among domestic "oriental fantasy". They read "Journey to the West" and "The Romance of the Gods".

Brother Monkey's hair is almost bald!

Nezha's pants were almost torn off!

Not only anime, but also games, such as "Black Myth"... It's not that the games are not good, it's just that the theme of Journey to the West has been created by various creations and has been refined for a long time.

Tian Xiaopeng was arrested because he wanted to feel the science fiction atmosphere and see the science fiction conference with his own eyes.

The same is true for Yang Lei. He has been immersed in the film and television drama industry for many years and has worked for many famous directors. The best film he ever made is called "Red". Later, there were also such obscure films as "Kyushu Sky City" and "The Legend of Shark Pearl". stuff.

Tencent's drama version of "The Three-Body Problem" was filmed by him. When Yu Jiajia auditioned for the director, he was chosen the best one.

22nd, night.

In the hotel, everyone had dinner together. They arrived yesterday, and some of them were still jet lagged, but they were all very excited to go abroad at public expense!

Liu Cixin kept asking: "Is the formation a little too big?"

"Where's the big one?"

"Ten people are still promoting on Weibo. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if they didn't win the award?"

"You are in China and don't know how fast Three-Body Problem spreads abroad. We have also done an investigation and it is almost certain."

"But, but...it is unlikely that the Hugo Award will be awarded to a Chinese writer!"

Liu Cixin always maintained a sense of apprehension and reserve.

He was somewhat mythologized in later generations, but in fact his personality was no different from ordinary people, such as the famous "praising yourself with a post bar trumpet" incident...

99 staff comforted him and said: "I have read a lot of Western science fiction, maybe because of the translation. They are always full of obscurity and caution. They also like to add religious elements and fight with cold weapons. They don't have the darkness of yours." Forests, two-way foils, and sophons lock the majestic imagination of earth's technology.

So "Three-Body" is a dimensionality reduction attack, so don't worry! "

“I feel the same way about Western sci-fi, except for one genre,” said another.

"what type?"

"Cthulhu!"

Everyone was confused, what is Cthulhu?

The employee started talking about alien gods, the Great Old Ones, Nyarlathotep... This made everyone even more confused: "Is this science fiction?"

"Their boundaries are not clear, and they are often mixed with many other elements. So do you think Marvel is science fiction or fantasy? This is Western characteristics."

Everyone ate, chatted, and finally took a group photo and posted it on Weibo.

99 Entertainment has set up a special "Three-Body" project team internally to be responsible for developing all related products and has official accounts on all major platforms.

Some people may think it's too exaggerated, but there's nothing you can do about it.

It's not that "The Three-Body Problem" is too good, but that "The Three-Body Problem" is too little...

When it was sent out, it was daytime on the 23rd in China, and there was already a lot of pre-heating. Many people were paying attention to the Hugo Awards and left messages to express their support and look forward to winning the award.

In fact, "The Three-Body Problem" has already been obtained!

Even the specific number of votes was placed in front of Yao Yuan.

The final selection went through five rounds of competition. The first film to be eliminated was "The Shadow Between the Stars", and the second round was vacant. The third and fourth rounds to be eliminated were "Skin Game" and "Servant of the Army" respectively. sword".

"The Three-Body Problem" competed with "The Goblin Emperor" and finally won with an advantage of 300 votes. It will be announced tomorrow.

This has to be said about the selection rules:

First of all, the association has more than 2,000 regular members who bring their own votes.

Secondly, during the conference, as long as you spend money to buy an event ticket, you will automatically receive a vote.

Furthermore, if you are willing to pay the $40 membership fee, you will immediately become a member and participate in voting.

"..."

Yao Yuan was stunned when he found out. Is this special girl the highest award in science fiction? ? ?

This feels like an entertainment novice who once worshiped Oscar and considered it the light of world cinema. However, after he figured out what public relations was all about, his impression plummeted.

The Hugo Award was originally for "Three-Body Problem".

Yao Yuan was just afraid of the butterfly effect, so he took action to protect himself, otherwise it would be a bit embarrassing for him to do this.

…………

The next day soon came.

At the Spokane Performing Arts Center, the Hugo Awards were announced.

There are more than a dozen awards in total, including behind-the-scenes awards such as Best Long Form Editor and Best Short Form Editor, as well as publication awards such as Best Professional Magazine and Best Amateur Magazine.

The heaviest one is undoubtedly the best novel.

There was a simultaneous live broadcast of pictures and texts in China, and a special topic was made on Weibo. There were many onlookers, and many people ridiculed it.

"What are you thinking about? How can the Hugo Award, which mainly focuses on English works, be awarded to Chinese writers?"

"That's right, it doesn't matter if you are Chinese-American. There is still some hope. This is as outrageous as awarding the Oscar to a Chinese actor."

"So many people are making a fuss, but in the end, we are all embarrassed? What do you think?"

"Actually, it's good to be shortlisted. It has proven its strength!"

The supporters were shouting at each other, which was very lively.

The awards were announced one by one, and finally it was time to award the best novel. The conference also had a lot of fun.

A video signal from the International Space Station arrived at the Art Center. Amid the cheers of the audience, American astronaut Kyle Lindgren appeared on the big screen.

His body was suspended in the air, the badge in front of him floated and rotated, and he waved to everyone with a smile.

(besides……)