The Best Director-Chapter 466 - - Capturing Oscar
Chapter 466 -466: Capturing Oscar
“Tonight is definitely unforgettable for me; happy and joyous are understatements, to be honest—I’m on the verge of a breakdown! We have created a legend, and that’s the greatest part.”
The interview room backstage at the Oscars ceremony in the Renaissance Hotel was bustling, with award recipients, presenters, reporters, and other personnel gathered, moving about, taking photos, conducting interviews, chatting…
In front of the long backdrop adorned with ABC and Oscar logos, the winners with their golden statuettes were beaming, striking poses individually or in groups. Presenters joined in the fun, while photographers in front were busy capturing these festive images, the continuous flash of cameras dazzling; once photographed, the winners were immediately surrounded by numerous international reporters bombarding them with questions, making the atmosphere incredibly noisy.
The star-studded Oscar night saw a total of 13 films taking home awards, with Firefly winning 11 awards, while Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck, Capote, Walk the Line, Serenna, The Constant Gardener, The Producers, and other films like Super Invincible Boss Dog, Tsotsi each taking home a single award. Robert Altman was also honored with an Academy Honorary Award this year.
Although science fiction dominated the ceremony, major awards for Best Actor/Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress, Original/Adaptation Screenplay, and Original Song, a total of seven, went to the academy’s favorites, indicating that sensitive and serious artistic films didn’t lose out by much.
Flame Films emerged as the undisputed biggest winner of the night with a total of 12 major awards for their two films!
The formidable boss of Flame Films, also the Best Director and the Best Producer, was naturally swarmed by reporters, layered inside and out, not allowed to leave unless he answered a sufficient number of questions! Jessica, standing on the outskirts, could only sigh with yearning, then wandered around carrying her two awards. At this moment, a brunette reporter from the Los Angeles Times asked, “Yang, Heath Ledger missed out on Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, what do you think? You seem not too pleased with George Clooney winning, right?”
The reporters all pricked up their ears, and their recording equipment moved closer; this was a key question!
“Well, of course, I would have preferred Heath to win the award. There’s nothing embarrassing about that because his performance was flawless.”
Wang Yang didn’t hide his feelings and raised his eyebrows as he looked at the recorders and microphones, and the reporters jotting notes while recording. He continued, “But you know Hoffman, Clooney, they all have the capacity to win awards with great performances. Now that they’ve won, all we can do is accept this massive disappointment and congratulate them. One thing to remember, though, Heath is young, he’s a genius, so I’m not worried about him; he will soon win an Oscar.”
The reporters nodded, already envisioning news headlines: “Magical Yang Stands by Ledger,” “Wang Yang Says Ledger Will Surely Win an Oscar”… The woman from the Los Angeles Times quickly followed up with another question: “When do you think Ledger will win? Do the American version of Infernal Affairs and The Dark Knight stand a chance?”
“Haha, absolutely!” Yang laughed immediately. The Joker had already earned Ledger the Best Supporting Actor, and he believed Chan Wing Yan would bring Ledger in touch with the Best Actor award. He said with a chuckle, “Heath is one of the most talented and hardworking actors I know, and every film he’s in is a chance for an award. If the movie doesn’t mess up, the chances are even greater, and I believe the American version of Infernal Affairs and The Dark Knight won’t mess up.”
“Magical Yang, let’s talk about you instead.” The reporters laughed lightly, and a Caucasian male reporter from The New York Times asked, “It’s been only three years since your last director’s award; how long do you think it will be before you’re back at the Oscars?” Wang Yang then said, “How about next year?” Everyone laughed again, but Wang Yang added seriously, “That’s no joke. If there are no surprises, the American version of Infernal Affairs will be released at the end of the year. It’s adapted from an excellent story, and we should be confident it will have an irresistible momentum.”
Even though the reporters were well aware of Magical Yang’s style, they were somewhat surprised by his confidence. So… no holds barred! A flurry of headlines came pouring out from their pens: “Magical Yang Aims to Retain Oscar with American Infernal Affairs,” “Magical Yang Declares Next Year’s Oscar Battle”…
Jessica, who had strolled back, couldn’t help but widen her eyes in astonishment. It was like this three years ago, and now once again, was he seeking “fun” for himself? She glanced at the Best Director and Best Picture trophies in her hand.
Taking advantage of a moment of surprised pause in the room, another female reporter quickly asked, “Yang, you’ve now won two Best Director awards with science fiction films, the only one! You’ve created a series of miracles; does this make you favor this film genre more? We know about I Am Legend, but what are your plans for the future? When will your third be? Do you have any plans to direct Firefly 2?”
“I didn’t set a timer, did I?” Wang Yang countered with a question, nearly dazed by the barrage of inquiries. Everyone burst into laughter, and seeing that the reporter was from the San Francisco Chronicle, he jovially said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t get enough satisfaction on stage earlier; I’ll fully satisfy your curiosity.” He then patiently answered, “I don’t think I’ll overly prefer any genre; I’m always drawn to stories, characters, and emotions. There are some long-term plans, but let’s leave the future to the future; when will the third time be? I don’t know, I hope I Am Legend is the one; Firefly 2 is not in my directorial plans, I believe Joss Whedon will complete it perfectly; and I had poached eggs and oatmeal for breakfast today…”
Meanwhile, the Firefly crew, Hoffman, Witherspoon, Clooney, and other winners were also answering various questions, generating newsworthy soundbites avidly read by fans and supporters on online media platforms.
“Both Out, Ledger Couple Calls It Still ‘A Beautiful Night,'” “Brokeback Mountain Producer Praises Magical Yang’s Greatness,” “Crowned Best Actor, Hoffman Still Can’t Believe It,” “Missing Original Screenplay, Whedon Fears Letting Family Down,” “They Are Most Grateful to Magical Yang”…
After the photoshoot and interviews backstage were over, Wang Yang and Jessica continued to attend the celebration party. This time he had no excuse to miss the Oscar night party hosted by Vanity Fair. Moreover, as all the members of the Firefly crew were attending, naturally, the director couldn’t be absent. Pokémon, of course, continued to be the absolute star of the party, not to mention the Firefly celebration party organized by Flame Movies. Congratulatory and laughter surrounded him, and he couldn’t remember how many times he had said “Thank you.”
When the two returned home, it was already the dead of night. After a round of lively laughter and celebration, three golden trophies were added to the peaceful baby room. Jessica also took the two Oscars that Wang Yang had previously won and placed them together, so five knights with swords were guarding the sleeping little angel.
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This year, unlike three years ago with the intense Iraq War, the curtain fell on the 78th Oscars and became the front-page cover of many media newspapers without resistance. Photographs of Wang Yang, Joss Whedon, Fiest and all the Firefly members holding 11 trophies and standing side by side with bright smiles in front of the backdrop made it to several newspaper covers including The Los Angeles Times: “From Science Fiction to Royalty: ‘Firefly’ Wins 11 Oscar Awards!”
For this year’s Oscars, there was not much controversy. Giving Best Foreign Language Film to Tsotsi (South Africa) instead of Paradise Now (Palestine) was one thing, and not awarding Best Supporting Actor to ‘Blue Glove’ was another; as for Firefly sweeping 11 awards, aside from some personal attacks rather than criticisms of the film itself, movie fans and fans alike applauded, and film critics also praised it. After decades, the day had finally arrived!
According to immediate public opinion surveys from websites like Yahoo Entertainment, the public satisfaction rate was over 80%. It could be said that the space cowboys truly deserved it, and it also allowed the Oscars to avoid sensitive themes such as homosexuality, political persecution, and terrorism, passing the year both exhilaratingly and smoothly. There were no hard feelings for great films like Brokeback Mountain losing.
Of course, there were some opposing voices that weren’t just the typical dissenting views, mainly questioning whether “Firefly was really that good?” Firefly fans mostly couldn’t be bothered with them, as the issue was indebatable, yet the facts were there.
And since the newly crowned Best Actor and Actress, Hoffman and Witherspoon, weren’t very popular, they didn’t attract much attention. Their limelight was dim, which caused the cameras to focus mostly on Firefly.
Because two of the three awards that were missed had nominations for both Wang Yang and Whedon, in the end, the only one from the Firefly team who came back empty-handed from Oscar night was Heath Ledger. Naturally, this became the greatest regret of the movie fans and fans.
Elma D, a Yahoo user, excitedly said, “When I heard George Clooney’s name, I almost smashed my TV! I can’t even find a reason to accept it, not even a lie will do.” Flora G said, “Ledger should have taken both the leading and supporting actor awards. His performance was really top-notch.” Joanna K said, “What I care about most is MY, but Ledger looked like a pitiful puppy. I look forward to his future performances. I believe MY will not forget him.” Lydia agreed very much, “MY has already made a statement, perhaps next year we can see Ledger holding the Best Actor trophy.”…
“Science fiction, youth, and legend” were labeled as the keywords for the 78th Oscars, in the eyes of the organizers and broadcaster ABC, there was also “high ratings.”
Viewership numbers are freshly baked! The last time Wang Yang battled at the Oscars, the Iraq War caused that year’s ceremony to have a record low of only 33.05 million viewers; this year was different, according to statistics from the Nielsen Company, an average of 44.2 million viewers across America watched the 3-hour and 35-minute awards ceremony on Sunday evening!! The 78th surpassed the 76th’s 43.5 million, becoming the most successful Oscars ceremony in recent years!
The peak viewing period started with the presentation of Best Director, when Wang Yang and Whedon went on stage together for the final moment of Best Picture, attracting as many as 48.5 million viewers!
However, host Jon Stewart didn’t receive much positive feedback, with scarce applause from the media and public. Instead, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and many other media outlets criticized him for being conservative in speech, lacking adaptability, and dragging out jokes, among other issues, stating it would have been better to watch an episode of The Daily Show. As for the guest host who delivered the closing line, “Goodnight! I hope you liked the show!”, the magical Wang Yang naturally stole the spotlight. Once again, with his outstanding performance, he showed the world his exceptional poise and maturity, his extraordinary wit, and lived up to the titles like “the funniest”, “the most energetic”, and “the most charming” Best Director.
Before this year’s Oscars night, People magazine had listed “the five most splendid and touching Oscar acceptance speeches for Best Director”, and Wang Yang’s win at the 75th Oscars was undoubtedly included, along with Steven Soderbergh’s speech from the 73rd…
After this ceremony, fans might gradually forget his brief humor when he won Best Editing, or his fleeting poignancy when he won Best Picture, but no one will forget when he won Best Director, how he triumphantly raised the trophy and exclaimed “I Am Legend” in what was an iconic moment!
“I saw Top-Captain, I saw the magical Yang! He was so cool! I’ve fallen for him!” Nicole exclaimed excitedly; “I’ve been a die-hard fan of MY since high school, and that’s not changing for life!” Felice seemed to be a young fan; Winnie said, “Yang’s speech was awesome! But they gave him too little time, what’s the rush with those people? Don’t they know we just want to see him?” Rock agreed, “It’s indeed hard to understand why the Best Picture winners only get 2 minutes! What would ABC lose with an extra 3 minutes?” Camila B commented, “Why do people like MY? Because he’s so handsome!” Below that, a reply got a lot of support, “Because his hair is so lush.”…
Leading a science fiction film to break records, recreating a young miracle, his humor and charm… All these contributed to the phenomenal surge in Wang Yang’s MAX popularity. His position in the hearts of countless fans was unshakable. When one hears “Director”, the first reaction is none other than Wang Yang.
This spread across the entire globe, everyone was congratulating magical Yang, everyone was focusing on magical Yang, everyone was talking about magical Yang…
“11 major awards! ‘Firefly’ ends the void for Best Science Fiction Film at the Oscars” — The New York Times; “Wang Yang Best Director, ‘Firefly’ with 11 awards ties the record” — Sina Entertainment; “‘Firefly’ with 11 awards becomes the big winner, magical Yang enters the ranks of great directors” — San Francisco Chronicle; “Young Master Yang achieves a century-old legend!” — Hong Kong’s Apple Daily; “Science fiction movie conquers the Oscars, director Wang Yang’s legend” — The Guardian UK…
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