King of Hollywood-Chapter 553 - 274 Unexpected

"Shakespeare in Love," Judi Dench!" When the winner’s name was read out, the venue erupted into rapturous applause, with the "Shakespeare in Love" crew cheering especially loudly. Although Judi Dench stood with restraint, her excitement was clearly visible in her eyes. As a veteran actress who had been nominated for the Oscars several times before, finally her wish was fulfilled, and even if she were to lose composure, no one would say anything.

As the score from "Shakespeare in Love" played, the crew members took turns congratulating her, including Adrian and Gwyneth. Soon, she made her way to the stage, steadied her emotions after receiving the Oscar statuette, and began her acceptance speech.

Meanwhile, Adrian glanced over at "Good Will Hunting." When the winner was announced and Judi Dench’s image completely filled the large screen, Natalie’s face had briefly flashed with disappointment, fleeting but clearly seen by the observant Adrian.

As if she felt his gaze, Natalie turned her head. Upon seeing that it was Adrian, she smiled and gave him a reassuring look, as though she were relieved—what was that about?

Before he could ponder the issue, Gwyneth’s voice was already whispering in his ear, "What are you looking at?"

Despite the softness of her voice, the undertone of jealousy was rather obvious. Adrian simply smiled and turned back, "Nothing."

"Really?" Gwyneth looked suspiciously toward the area Adrian had been gazing at, but she saw nothing.

"Alright, Judi is coming down, let’s continue congratulating her," Adrian said with a laugh, shifting the topic. Once Dench had finished her speech, Adrian led the applause and stood up again to congratulate the veteran actress once she was offstage.

After that, he didn’t sit down but walked straight out. Gwyneth immediately sensed something but could only look back at the unflappable Blanchett seated further back and sit down in her seat, fuming. About half an hour later, Adrian returned, looking almost the same as when he left, but the slight upturn of his mouth revealed what he had been doing. Gwyneth was sure that if she got closer, she could smell another woman’s perfume on him.

He had done this last year, and now he was doing it again—how infuriating! Gwyneth thought bitterly that the woman must have given him a good time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have looked around so concerningly before.

She was wrong, but this was precisely the illusion Adrian wanted to create. However, some of Gwyneth’s thoughts were not unfounded—he had indeed enjoyed a good time in the restroom just now. But it wasn’t last year’s little fairy—Kirsten, who hadn’t attended the Oscars this year—instead, it was Zetajones. This woman, still set on gaining more for herself, naturally didn’t refuse Adrian’s proposition.

The award ceremony continued, and after a few technical categories were awarded, the original screenplay undoubtedly went to "Good Will Hunting." Inspirational mainstream films had always been a favorite of the Oscars. Even if it didn’t win Best Picture, it wouldn’t be without a few significant awards, though it looked like Joaquin would have to miss out on the Best Actor.

As the ceremony went on, with performances, Goldberg’s comedic interludes in outrageous costumes, the award show quickly approached its climax.

"Oh, we’ve finally reached the moment—" Goldberg said on stage, seemingly nostalgic. Just as everyone thought she’d complain about having never won the Best Actress herself, she suddenly changed the subject and motioned behind her, "Now it’s your turn to come up here, Jack, of course, no ax."

Laughter erupted from the audience as Nicholson, dressed in a sharp suit, sauntered out from behind and shook the envelope in hand, speaking leisurely, "You’ll be disappointed, Ubi, just an envelope, no ax."

More laughter followed, and Goldberg shrugged, "Alright, alright, I got it, get started, don’t keep people waiting too long, else the person with an ax won’t be you."

Nicholson then raised his hands amid the laughter, "Let’s get to the point, shall we? The award we are about to present is one of the most important ones—who will get it? That’s the question."

He said, revealing his trademark smirk—cunning, mischievous, and slightly absurd—amusing many in the crowd.

"Alright, let’s take a look at the nominees first." Nicholson waved his hand, and the side screen started showing the images of the nominees, Streep, Gwyneth, Blanchett and so on, appearing one by one, alongside clips of their respective roles in the films. The venue quieted down instantly as Adrian could almost discern who was breathing heavier: Gwyneth in front or Blanchett in the back.

"Any one of these actresses is outstanding, but unfortunately, only one can receive this honor..." Nicholson began with a sigh, but everyone’s attention was clearly not on his lament, so he quickly stopped and opened the envelope in his hand, "Let’s see, who will be today’s Best Actress."

At that moment, both women in front and behind held their breaths. Around three seconds later, Nicholson’s voice rose, "Elizabeth, Kate Blanchett!"

The orchestra immediately began to play the score from "Elizabeth," and Blanchett covered her mouth at first in disbelief. Gwyneth, after her initial shock, managed a forced smile and joined the others in applause, pressing her lips together tightly. Adrian maintained his smile—though it wouldn’t have been a problem for him no matter which of the two women won Best Actress, he had hoped it would be Blanchett, as it would be more advantageous for him.

"Thank you, thank you all," an excited Blanchett stood up to receive congratulations from the cast and crew of "Elizabeth." Perhaps overwhelmed with emotion or something else, she suddenly reached out and embraced Adrian tightly when she arrived in front of him.

Adrian was first surprised, but then he smiled and kissed her on the cheek, immediately eliciting several low screams. It was important to note that the cameras were focused on Blanchett at this time, so all of America watching the Oscars would not miss this moment, and the journalists waiting by their TV sets were especially thrilled; they now had something to write about. However, Gwyneth, who was seated in a slight diagonal in front of Adrian and who turned her head, appeared to have a slightly dark expression on her face.

Therefore, after sitting down, Adrian immediately put his hand on her shoulder, and Gwyneth gave him a somewhat reluctant "Don’t worry" look.

"I...I’m so excited..." After receiving the Oscar statuette for Best Actress from Nicholson, Blanchett faced the audience and took a deep breath, "I love acting, I love movies, and I’ve dreamed more than once of standing on this stage to wave and greet everyone, but now that I’m really here, I don’t know what to say..."

Kind laughter rose from the audience.

"Thank you to my parents, for raising me, thank you to my teachers, for nurturing me, thank you to my friends, for always encouraging and supporting me..." What followed was the familiar script, which everyone would utter upon standing there, but towards the end, it became a bit different, "And lastly, I want to thank Ed, you brought me here, you showed me so much more, there’s no one better than you, I love you, you are a great director!"

This acclamation, resembling a declaration of love, immediately garnered more applause, although the clappers varied in expression. Adrian also clapped softly around her; Blanchett’s expression of genuine emotion was definitely not pretense.

"Sorry, I am a bit..." Blanchett whispered in his ear apologetically during their next embrace after coming down.

"There’s nothing to worry about," Adrian replied, seemingly unconcerned, and once again publicly kissed her on the cheek, provoking yet another murmur of voices.

Even though the battle of the Miracle Girls had thus concluded, some issues were just beginning. Wait and see; tomorrow’s media will be filled with headlines like "Kate Blanchett’s Public Declaration of Love."

The subsequent awards, although still important, had already lost Adrian’s interest, even though he had three Best Director nominations and two films nominated for Best Picture.

"Life is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni!" was the winner of Best Actor. Even though he was Italian, the other nominees each had issues, such as Joaquin being too young or Hanks having already won Best Actor consecutively. The person most likely to defeat him was "Gandalf" Ian McLaren, whose "Gods and Monsters," a great biographical film nominated for telling the story of Hollywood in the 50s, was unfortunately at a disadvantage because he was both gay and British—at times the British identity could be advantageous, but at other times not.

Furthermore, as the film was another perspective and a different way of portraying World War II, Nazis, and Jews, Spielberg could not sway everyone. But that was alright; it meant greater chances for next year.

After winning the Oscar for Best Actor, Benigni was incredibly excited; with this and earlier winning Best Foreign Language Film, he had snagged two Oscars, an achievement that was certainly enough for this Italian to take pride in. Fortunately, he didn’t do anything as crazy as he had at Cannes.

The following two awards, however, were quite unexpected. The Best Director was not the highly-anticipated Miracle Director Adrian Cowell, but Robert Zemeckis for "Cast Away"!

As the name was read out, not only was the audience and host surprised, but Zemeckis himself was quite astonished. It was a known fact that Adrian had not just one, but three nominations, and both Sant and Zemeckis had resigned themselves to the role of spectators, yet the tables turned in the end, and the honor landed on him.

Adrian, however, didn’t care in the slightest and was, in fact, the first to clap and cheer for Zemeckis. It wasn’t hard to guess the Film Academy’s intentions—"Mulholland Drive" was mainly nominated due to the Best Director award he had received at Cannes; "Elizabeth" had become much smoother after his revision, but some issues could not be resolved so easily, which made the Best Director nomination seem somewhat forced; as for "Shakespeare in Love," despite its originality, it was unfortunately a romantic comedy. How many directors of romantic comedies had received the award since Woody Allen’s "Annie Hall"?

So, seemingly securing three nominations at once appeared impressive, but the actual chances of winning were not much higher than usual, and the Film Academy could also use this opportunity to show how "we are fair" and "we award talent in directing, not anything else."

Of course, this was not unrelated to the fact that Adrian had not put much effort into public relations, but now it was just as well. Zemeckis should have won Best Director for "Forrest Gump," and now getting it for "Cast Away" wasn’t bad at all. In any case, getting a Best Director nomination was very easy for Adrian whenever he wanted it.

Since Best Director had gone to Zemeckis, it naturally followed that "Cast Away" should receive Best Picture; most times, both awards would go to the same film. Besides, "Cast Away" was an excellent motivational film, and with two-thirds of the movie being Hanks’ solo performance, which left a deep impression on many, winning Best Picture was well deserved.

"Congratulations, Robert, outstanding work," Adrian congratulated as he extended his hand to Zemeckis.

"Thanks, Adrian, you did pretty well yourself," Zemeckis replied, slightly embarrassed, as he felt like he had snatched the award by exploiting a loophole from Adrian’s hands. Not that he was a fool. He might not understand the intricacies as well as Adrian, but being Spielberg’s friend, he could somewhat guess at the issues involved.

"Don’t be like that, Robert," Adrian chuckled. "’Cast Away’ was indeed well-made; you fully deserve the award." He then turned to Hanks and Spielberg, who had been chatting with him earlier, "Right?"

"Of course," Spielberg joined in with a laugh, "I think Ed must be regretting it now; I really wanted him to direct it initially."

"I’m glad you didn’t, Steven," Hanks followed seriously, "although Ed is known for his efficiency, for actors, it would have been a disaster."

"Hey, you two, is that the way you talk about me in front of others?" Adrian called out, prompting laughter from them.

A few witty remarks later, the atmosphere became even warmer, and the group began to chat like everyone else in the hall. This was Vanity Fair’s Oscar Night party; it had been held for six years and had truly become a brand. What kind of big shot would you be if you attended the Oscars but did not go to the Vanity Fair party?

"To be honest, I do feel a bit disappointed tonight; you could’ve taken another Best Director," Spielberg said to Adrian after Zemeckis and Hanks had left.

"It’s fine. You’re not in a rush to get a second one, so why should I rush to get ahead of you?" Adrian shrugged his shoulders.

"Is that flattery?" Spielberg laughed heartily.

"Of course, after all, you’re the producer of ’Band of Brothers,’ and we haven’t even finished one episode. I have to stay on your good side, in case you suddenly decide to quit," Adrian shrugged again.

Spielberg’s laughter grew louder; he was in a good mood, although "Life is Beautiful" had taken home Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film, it was enough that it hadn’t claimed Best Picture.

"Speaking of which, I’m planning to make a movie, ’A.I.,’ maybe you’d like to direct it?" he asked suddenly.

"A.I.?" Adrian pondered, "Isn’t that the one you were planning to do with..."

"Yes, that’s right," Spielberg nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, forget it, having directed a Kubrick-style film was enough; I don’t want to go through that again, you know how it feels..." Adrian immediately shook his head and refused.

"Is that so?" Spielberg gave him a half-smiling look. As one of the Three Giants of DreamWorks, he knew a thing or two about the various complications between him and the two lead actors.

However, Spielberg didn’t continue on that topic and switched to another, "Well, okay, but if the situation today arises again, don’t regret it, Ed."

"It’s fine, Robert is fully qualified to win Best Director," Adrian said earnestly, and then added, "Speaking of which, maybe you could recommend a director to me?"

"Oh?" Spielberg raised an eyebrow.

"Um... you know, in ’97, I got a screenplay. Although the main actors are pretty much decided, we just can’t find the right director," Adrian explained, "I could direct it, and the screenplay is good, but you know, I’m going to be very busy this year..."

"The Lord of the Rings, right?" Spielberg suddenly asked.

Adrian was somewhat surprised, and then Spielberg pointed not far off, "Heard it from over there."

Turning his head, he saw old McLaren chatting and laughing loudly with a few people.

"I knew it," Adrian couldn’t help but sigh.

"It’s fine, Ian didn’t say much, I guessed it myself," Spielberg consoled him.

"Alright, let’s not talk about that. I just wanted to ask if you could possibly recommend a few suitable candidates?" Adrian said.

"Let me think... Wait, ’97? You mean that screenplay?" Spielberg stared at him.

"That’s the one," Adrian admitted generously.

"Oh," Spielberg began to laugh, "Back then, DreamWorks barely outbid MGM just about to seal the deal, then out of the blue, you guys silently swooped in and spent double the price to snatch it away. Now you want me to recommend a suitable director, don’t you think that’s a bit too much, Ed?"

"To be frank," Adrian earnestly thought for a moment, "I don’t think so."

"I knew it," Spielberg said with a laugh, and then looked at him, "Alright, I’ll give it some thought."

"I’ll count on you then," Adrian patted his arm, then took his leave.

The reason he came to find Spielberg at the party was to find a suitable director for that screenplay. Adrian had considered many people, even thought of David Lynch, but none seemed quite right. Plus, he had to concentrate most of his efforts on the production of The Lord of the Rings, with no time to thoroughly select the right director, so he could only try to get help from Spielberg, remembering the original director had a good relationship with him and was chosen to direct on his recommendation.

But now wasn’t the time to think about this. Having secured a commitment from Spielberg, it was time to check out the evening’s victors and the disappointed. (To Be Continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)

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