The Best Director-Chapter 477 - : Sweeping the Saturn Award
Chapter 477: Chapter 477: Sweeping the Saturn Award
“Here are the Best Director nominees, Andrew Adamson for ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’; Peter Jackson for ‘King Kong’; George Lucas for ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’; Mike Newell for ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’; Steven Spielberg for ‘War of the Worlds’; Wang Yang for ‘Firefly.’ And the Saturn Award goes to… Wang Yang for ‘Firefly.’”
As Christian Bale announced this highly anticipated award, the banquet hall instantly erupted into a frenzy of applause and cheering, climaxing to the evening’s peak. Almost everyone was clapping, and the guests rose to their feet, especially the members of Wang Yang’s team and his fans and friends.
If today belonged to anyone, it was certainly Wang Yang and ‘Firefly.’ Best Actress nominees Rachel, Natalie, Scarlett, and Best Supporting Actress nominee Alexis Braidel for ‘Sin City’… if not for the magical BABY, they might not have attended. The un-nominated directors among the nominees clapped and cheered to their heart’s content, and so did Natalie, who laughed and clapped without any regard for propriety.
At that moment, a bearded, smiling George Lucas was clapping his hands, and Steven Spielberg with his round glasses was smiling subtly. This long-lasting battle of science fiction had come to an end, and they had been thoroughly defeated by the young man, no excuses! Their era had passed.
“Woohoo—” A raucous group of space cowboys cheered and leaped for joy. After Oscar night, they were celebrating once again! Seeing Wang Yang walk onto the stage, beaming brightly as he lifted the trophy, the audience’s smiles widened. Best Director!
This was Wang Yang’s first Saturn Award for Best Director (1/2), and he undeniably became the youngest director ever to win the Saturn Award for Best Director. He was also the second Chinese filmmaker to win the award since John Woo for ‘Face/Off’ in 1997, the 24th ceremony for films in the action/adventure/thriller category.
Now that the magical BABY was on stage, it meant a humorous and funny stand-up comedy show was in store, and tonight was no exception. His award speech prompted waves of laughter throughout the audience, especially among the ladies who beamed with smiles. The stand-up was quite brief, however, and after thanking everyone properly, he stepped down the stage to the sound of applause.
Following Best Director, there were still a few major awards left to be announced. ‘The Exorcism’ won Best Horror Film, and ‘Batman Begins’ received Best Fantasy Film, and then came Best Actress!
“Here are the Best Actress nominees.” Presenter Toby Maguire looked at the results envelope and read out, “Jessica Alba for ‘Firefly’; Scarlett Johansson for ‘Sin City’; Rachel McAdams for ‘Red Eye’; Natalie Portman for ‘Star Wars: Episode III’; Tilda Swinton for ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’; Naomi Watts for ‘King Kong.’ And the Saturn Award goes to…”
All the guests in the audience quieted down. This wasn’t the highly publicized Golden Globes or Oscars, and there wasn’t even a live TV broadcast, but it was very nerve-wracking for the six nominees. It continued being very serious for the four, then for the three remaining nominees…
Direct confrontation! Even the MTV Movie Awards don’t gather such a complete lineup. Over the years, everyone knows their standing—anyone who doesn’t realize how popular Wang Yang is, is a fool. But no one is a fool, and no one is a shrew. Wang Yang maintains world peace with his miraculous methods.
“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!” Jessica held her breath, her eyes unwittingly widening. Of course, she wanted to win the award. Since “Firefly” had started contending for various awards, she had been disappointed many times. She had always wanted to stand on stage to deliver the thank-you speech she had unintentionally memorized, but the opportunity had never come. It would be so awesome if she could give her thanks as the Best Actress winner of the Saturn Awards, thanking him and the baby—so awesome! And it would be great to win another award for “Firefly”—just great!
Danny had been drooling for more than a day or two, and Keke had occasionally been drooling as well. Now Jessica, looking at the trophy on stage, was almost drooling at the corner of her mouth.
“Hopefully,” Rachel said with a slight smile, naturally looking forward to her chance on stage. Still, she wouldn’t be disappointed if Jessica won because that was what she secretly hoped for—it was wonderful! It was supposed to be “Firefly”‘s night. However, aside from Jessica winning, she would be disappointed. She didn’t want to lose to people like Natalie or Scarlett! Rachel hoped to thank Wang Yang for his years of support while on stage.
“I want to win the award!!” Natalie’s smile was gentle, but inside she was roaring. She was even more nervous than that time at the Oscars when the Best Actress was announced. No matter which aspect she lost in, no matter how unsuitable she and he were, she was the best in her career! That was her pride! Moreover, in her opinion, while it was great for “Firefly” to win awards, Jessica was the least in need of winning any. That girl already had “the following is the list of nominees for the happiest woman… the winner of Wang Yang is…”—the ultimate prize. What else did she lack?
Of course, this was because Natalie thought the performance of the actress playing “Padmé Amidala” was the best—a fire ignited in her eyes.
As if an invisible big screen was split into three parts, displaying Jessica, Rachel, Natalie—they were all on fire. Whose performance would prevail, was it River who was tough to beat, was Lisa more terrifying, or was The Queen powerful? Another battle was underway.
Scarlett also wanted to win, no reason not to! If it weren’t for Wang Yang’s favorable opinion and recommendation, she wouldn’t have taken the B-grade CULT film “Sin City”. Looking back now, the effect was indeed very good. She acted in a classic film and won widespread praise and a fan base. Therefore, winning the award would allow her to thank Wang Yang, and at the same time, beat his wife and two close friends—the feeling would be great!
At the center of it all, Wang Yang naturally supported Jessica the most, his heart tightly clenched. He understood her feelings, but if Rachel or Natalie, including Scarlett, won the award, disappointment was a given. Yet, he would sincerely be happy for the winner, believing the nominees would feel the same. There were no life-or-death stakes in this competition.
“The Saturn Award goes to…” Under the gaze of hundreds of guests and the intense watch of four women, Toby Maguire lifted his head and smiled as he read, “Naomi Watts, ‘King Kong’.”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Jessica, Rachel, Natalie, Scarlett were all stunned. How could it be…! “Ann Darrow” won!? Jessica’s eyes widened even further, Rachel’s eyebrows shot up, Natalie moved her lips silently… Bang! The entire big screen fractured into countless pieces.
“Huff huff—”, “Wow—”, without hesitation, the banquet hall erupted in enthusiastic applause, and the four women, still not fully recovered, joined in with reflexive smiles and clapping. Who would have thought that the low-profile Naomi Watts would win!? And that she’d do it on the third anniversary of her receiving the Saturn Best Actress award for the American version of “The Ring”? This was truly… it was certain that Naomi Watts wouldn’t be thanking Wang Yang.
“Oh, oh! It doesn’t matter,” Wang Yang softly applauded while gently comforting the beauty beside him. Jessica gave him a smile and nodded silently, not in the mood to speak. On the other side, Natalie looked calm, wondering what was going through her mind; Rachel, who had regained her smile, thought that perhaps this was for the best.
When Robert Downey Jr. snagged the Best Actor, “Sin City” took home the award for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, and “Firefly” was crowned Best Science Fiction Film, host Jeffrey Ross came out, said the closing words, and the award ceremony slowly drew to a close.
It was virtually no surprise that “Firefly,” which swept 11 Academy Awards, completed its expected conquest of the Saturn Awards. With overwhelming force, it realized 10 out of 11 nominations into trophies! These were for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger), Best Supporting Actress (Ellen Page), Best Music, Best Costume, Best Makeup, and Best Special Effects.
Yahoo Entertainment and other media outlets reported with headlines such as “‘Firefly’ Sweeps the 32nd Saturn Awards,” yet the only dissatisfaction and pity among the countless fans was the snub of the Best Actress award. If “River” lost due to acting, weren’t SJ, RM, NP all better choices? Were SJ and RM’s films lacking in box office? NP’s should be enough, right?
“When I was a child, my mother took me to see Snow White, and everyone fell in love with Snow White, but I fell in love with the witch. — The jurors,” Yahoo user Deezy quoted this classic line from “Annie Hall” to satirize the jurors and the 37-year-old Watts, and the comment received high support from netizens. Not just this one comment, as Watts became the stumbling block for “Firefly,” she faced countless amounts of ridicule and humor.
And the only nominee Jessica was once again encouraged by many, complained about by many Wang Yang fans. Many had been waiting for a while; Sarah S said, “I had a hunch she would mess it up, can she ever not mess up?” Katherine said, “The good news is that MY’s new movie doesn’t have her, hope she never makes a comeback.” Elva said, “Dragging down is what she does best, I can’t think of any time it wasn’t her? If she hadn’t fallen ill, “Firefly” would have had 12 Oscars, 11 Saturn Awards.”…
After all, the Saturn Awards aren’t the high-profile public spectacle of the big awards, and with little gossip to follow, in a day or two, it quickly faded from public attention.
Jessica didn’t specifically follow the comments and reactions to this event. It was just another disappointment. Besides feeling indignant on her own behalf, her most significant thought was that the award should have gone to Rachel or Natalie; at least she could have heard “Thank you, Yang.” Wang Yang, of course, didn’t mind her not winning, never thinking of her as a drag, and his biggest fear was that she would overthink it and become unhappy, so after comforting her, he didn’t mention it again. Time can dilute disappointments, and there are too many happy moments to count.
“MAMA, little piggy, call for mommy!” On this particular weekend, seizing the rare opportunity with Jessica out alone, Wang Yang eagerly spent his time teaching Keke to speak. The male voice repeating “MAMA” echoed in the study. A recorder was placed beside them, but despite the prolonged effort, not a half-sentence was captured. Keke either turned to look elsewhere, stared at him with her big round eyes, or babbled indistinctly, unable to utter ‘MAMA’.
“Silly girl!” Wang Yang pinched her chubby cheek affectionately yet helplessly. He wanted to squeeze her cheeks and pull, but he couldn’t bear to do so.
“Woo woo!” Keke suddenly burst into laughter, a sense of goofy innocence emanating from her, but her eyes were bright and clear, rolling around very smartly. Wang Yang grinned—was she mocking Daddy? He continued persistently cajoling and teaching her, “Please, don’t you want to give Mommy a surprise? Sweetheart, she’s done so much for you, she deserves this, you know? MAMA! MAMA!” Keke turned her head away: “Yah—!” Where’s MAMA?
May 12th, Friday, the year’s first summer blockbuster from Firefly movies premiered—The Hangover Part III was released worldwide! Two years ago, The Hangover 2 raked in 260 million in North American box office and 623 million globally. As the final chapter of the trilogy, The Hangover 3 came on with a roar!
Ever since the Hangover series began, more and more R-rated comedies have emerged each year, but few could match it. Fans eagerly awaiting this weekend flooded theaters, ready to treat themselves to a hilarious feast!
Meanwhile, big productions like Mission: Impossible 3 (5th) and Poseidon (12th) were battling it out in theaters, with The Da Vinci Code coming next week, and X-Men: The Last Stand the following week… The 2006 summer blockbusters were lifting the curtain.
Sunday the 14th was Mother’s Day 2006. These past days, Wang Yang was in a rush to teach Keke to say ‘MAMA’ as a grand Mother’s Day gift. If she were willing to say it once or twice that day, Jessica would surely faint from happiness! Plus, there was the recorded gift too. The thought was nice, but Keke wasn’t cooperating. Being only five months old, speaking was indeed a challenge for her, yet the recording couldn’t miss out. With Mother’s Day fast approaching, “Fantastic Mr. Fox Dad” pulled off a desperate move that hurt the enemy a thousand and damaged himself eight hundred.
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First, he tricked Jessica with a decoy strategy, then Wang Yang juggled Keke’s beloved bottle and pacifier like circus props, right in front of his little sweetheart! As Keke watched her treasure fly through the air, at first she laughed heartily, reached out her hands, kicked her feet, but after a few loud drops of the bottle and pacifier, her little mouth puckered, and she burst into tears. The crying “wu wu wu ah ah ah” made the instigator feel very sorry, but as expected, she sought her mother as soon as she cried, and finally squeezed out a “Wu MAMAMA”!
“For Mommy, you’ve worked hard.” Having accomplished the mission, Wang Yang returned the precious items to her, pulled a few funny faces, and immediately she burst into giggles again. The world of a baby is truly simple and enchanting. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
