บท 227: The Impact
After the awards ceremony, before attending the following banquet, Ren needed to sign a contract with the Academy. This is a standard procedure for every Oscar winner.
The contract states that if the winner doesn't want to keep the Oscar statuette, they must sell it back to the Academy for $1, ensuring that the statuette doesn't end up in the hands of private collectors. If they refuse to sign, the Academy will keep the statuette.
Since Ren's house is big enough, with a cabinet specifically for all his awards, he definitely signed the agreement to keep the statuette himself.
But as he signed the contract, Ren couldn't help but wonder who was the first person to sell their Oscar, prompting the Academy to establish this rule.
After leaving the theater, he was greeted by a crowd of reporters. Among them were several notable Chinese journalists who immediately rushed forward, thrusting microphones toward Ren.
"Mr. Porter, congratulations on bringing home the first Oscar statuette for Chinese anime in five years," said a reporter from CCTV.
"Thank you."
"As the leading figure in the Chinese anime industry, how do you feel about winning the Oscar, and what would you like to say to your fans and colleagues back home?"
"To the fans: never lose your passion. Everyone in the anime world is a friend, and while friends might have disagreements or different tastes, these are minor compared to what unites us."
"And to the manga creators, I'd say: don't give up on those flashes of inspiration, no matter how silly they might seem in the current industry. That's my wish for you all."
Reporters from all sorts of media outlets, both official and unofficial, crowded around Ren. He was receiving as much attention as any major celebrity.
A CCTV reporter suggested they take a photo together. Ren agreed, and they stood side by side as Ren held up the Best Foreign Language Animated Film Oscar.
With a "click," the reporters captured this historic moment.
The reporters were excited, and so was Ren. One reporter had just told him that the viewership ratings for the movie channel and the number of people watching the Oscars live on Penguin Video were much higher than expected. This meant that more people were interested in this year's Oscars than he had imagined, increasing the influence of his win. This also meant that his wife's company, Picca Comics, was now on even more solid ground.
Though Picca Comics was already doing well, this win provided extra security.
After attending the banquet, Ren returned to his hotel to rest. Soon, he would be heading back home.
In his hotel room, Ren was on the phone with Jada.
"Congratulations," Jada said with a smile, pride evident in her voice.
After all, this was her husband's achievement!
"Well, I couldn't have done it without you. Without your PR efforts, I might not have even been nominated, and I wouldn't have had the chance to be part of this competition."
Ren spoke modestly.
"No, no, it's really your manga that's amazing..."
"No, it's your PR that's amazing..."
After a moment of exchanging compliments, they both laughed. "Really, there's no need for us to divide the credit. It's our shared success."
"Right," Jada agreed, nodding. Then she glanced at the gift bag beside Ren. "So, what's in the Oscars gift bag?"
As she asked, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. She had missed the most glorious moment of her husband's life because she was at home on maternity leave.
She felt a bit of a pity and even thought, if only she could be like Nezha's mother and stay pregnant for three years! But then she reconsidered, realizing that being pregnant for three years would be pretty miserable, especially with all the things she wouldn't be able to eat.
"The gift bag?" Ren looked at the large bag he had brought back from the Oscars. He hadn't checked it yet.
Now that he was back at the hotel, he figured he might as well open it up and take a look.
Inside were various vouchers and jewelry items: a year's free satellite TV subscription, two free nights in a luxury suite at Caesar's Palace, a $12,000 trip to Hawaii, and a Tahitian pearl necklace.
There were also some more ordinary items: jewelry, travel vouchers for several countries, free satellite TV and broadband for a year, skincare products, gift certificates for over a dozen hotels in California, and a 24-karat gold leaf.
For an average family, these would undoubtedly be valuable items.
But for Ren, they didn't seem all that useful.
Satellite TV and broadband? He didn't really need those.
As for the jewelry, it's not like they couldn't afford it themselves.
The hotel vouchers were also not particularly enticing, especially since they were all for overseas locations. Ren hadn't even fully explored China yet! And with a newborn at home to take care of, international travel was out of the question.
The only slightly useful item might be a branded umbrella. At least, if it rained on the way home, he could use it for some shelter.
And then there was an opportunity to meet a famous Hollywood psychic. But that was something Ren had even less interest in. He would rather visit Mount Wudang to pay his respects to the True Warrior Great Emperor (Zhenwu Dadi).
"These are really quirky gifts!" Ren chuckled.
He knew that the Oscars always gave out some odd items, with the total value of each gift bag usually being under $100,000, but he hadn't expected such peculiar things.
Honestly, he would have preferred some snacks!
Meanwhile, back in China, news of Ren winning the Best Foreign Language Animated Film Oscar was spreading like wildfire across both official and unofficial media outlets.
"Fullmetal Alchemist represents Chinese anime, winning the Best Foreign Language Animated Film at the Oscars! The Porter becomes the first Chinese recipient of an Oscar in five years!"
"The Light of Chinese Anime: After five years, the Porter brings Chinese anime to the global stage once again!"
"Scandal? The Porter caught meeting secretly with a famous Hollywood voice actress at a Los Angeles hotel!"
Of course, that last headline was just tabloid gossip, and completely false.
Amid the overwhelming praise, titles like "The Light of Chinese Anime" and "The Top Anime Creator in China" were being bestowed upon Ren.
And it wasn't just media outlets like Sina and Penguin reporting this—more traditional outlets like Xinhua News Agency, the People's Daily, and CCTV's movie channel were also echoing these sentiments.
The media didn't feel they were exaggerating, and most netizens didn't disagree. Even those with differing opinions were quickly drowned out by the overwhelming support.
"The Porter is unquestionably the top anime creator in China!"
"The Big Five have been declining, and Ren is now the undisputed top manga creator! The Big Five are just resting on their laurels with no innovation in their anime!"
"Speaking of which, the Porter really is a genius. He's only been in the industry for a few years, and he's already won an Oscar!"
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