Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 531, page 529: Oscar Night (Part 2)

The awards ceremony officially began.

The first awards presented were in the technical category.

Best Art Direction Award. The presenter went on stage and read out the nominees: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Last Knight, The Master and the Commander: The Arctic Expedition, Match Point... and Spy Kids.

Wang Sheng's gaze narrowed slightly.

This is the first award that could potentially go to Sheng Ying.

"The winner is..." The presenter opened the envelope, paused, and read out the name: "Spy Kids! Grant Major, Art Director!"

Applause erupted in the theater.

Wang Sheng's team got off to a great start!

The set design of "Spy House," which blends Cold War aesthetics with a modern family feel, has been well-received.

Next up was the Best Costume Design Award.

The nomination list also includes "Spy Kids".

"The winner is... *Spy Kids*! Starring Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor!"

Another victory! The retro yet stylish outfits worn by Fan Bingbing, along with the spy looks of Matt Damon and Kate Beckinsale, deserve much credit.

Wang Sheng nodded slightly and whispered to the producer of "Spy House" beside him.

These two awards were expected and were one of the key areas that Sheng Ying's public relations team focused on.

Then came the Best Visual Effects award.

Nominees: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl...

This time, the name read from the envelope was: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King!"

Thunderous applause erupted. This marked the beginning of the night that saw "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" sweep the box office. Wang Sheng remained expressionless; he had anticipated this outcome.

Faced with absolute technological behemoths, while the visual effects of Spy Family are excellent, they cannot compete with the grand construction of Middle-earth.

The awards ceremony continued.

Best Supporting Actor Award.

The presenter was last year's Best Supporting Actress winner, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The nominees are: Tim Robbins (Mystic River), Alec Baldwin (The Cooler), Djimon Hounsou (Babel), Benicio Del Toro (21 Grams)... and Tyler James Williams (The Pursuit of Happyness).

The camera focused on Taylor, who was so nervous he was almost holding his breath, and Wang Sheng, who was calm and composed beside him.

"The winner is..." Catherine Zeta-Jones opened the envelope and announced with a smile, "Tim Robbins, Mystic River!"

A round of applause for Tim Robbins.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Taylor's face, but she quickly regained her composure under Wang Sheng's encouraging gaze and applauded the winners vigorously.

Wang Sheng patted him on the shoulder.

The competition for this award is so fierce that Taylor's nomination itself is a huge victory, worthy of being recorded in history.

The Best Actress award was unsurprisingly given to Charlize Theron (Monster), whose portrayal of a transgender serial killer in the film shocked Hollywood.

Despite her disappointment, Kate Beckinsale maintained her elegant demeanor.

The competition for Best Actor is equally fierce.

Jamie Foxx (The Pursuit of Happyness) faced formidable rivals such as Sean Penn (Mystic River) and Bill Murray (Lost in Translation).

Ultimately, the award went to Sean Penn (Mystic River).

Jamie Foxx was somewhat disappointed, but still generously offered his best wishes.

As time went by, awards were presented one after another. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" began to show its unstoppable momentum, winning a series of technical awards, including Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score (Howard Shaw), Best Original Song ("Into the West"), Best Editing, and Best Makeup.

Wang Sheng's team secured two technical awards: Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design for "Spy Kids," which helped them solidify their position.

The fact that "The Pursuit of Happyness" won no awards in the performance category confirms Wang Sheng's earlier judgment—that it would be extremely difficult to break through amidst strong competition from films like "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "Mystic River".

Finally, we arrived at the most important awards.

Best Adapted Screenplay. Nominations include *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*, *Mystic River*, *American Glory*, and *The Pursuit of Happyness* (by Wang Sheng).

"The winners are... *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson!"

Let's give another round of applause to Middle-earth.

Best Original Screenplay. Nominations include *Lost in Translation*, *Savage Invasion*, *The Sand Whale and I*, and *Spy Kids* (by Wang Sheng).

"The winner is... *Lost in Translation*, by Sofia Coppola!"

Miss Coppola gracefully took to the stage. Wang Sheng's two screenplays lost both awards.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. The camera occasionally panned across the area where the Lord of the Rings crew was located, with Peter Jackson sporting a confident smile.

Best Director Award.

The award was presented by Roman Polanski, the winner of the previous year's Best Director award.

Nominees: Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), Clint Eastwood (Mystic River), Fernando Meirelles (City of God)... and Wang Sheng (The Pursuit of Happyness).

This is a historic moment, with a Chinese director once again standing on the final stage of the Oscar race for Best Director.

The theater was unusually quiet.

Polanski opened the envelope, glanced at it, and read it clearly in his accented English: "The winner is... Peter Jackson, *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*!"

A deafening roar of applause and cheers instantly engulfed the entire Kodak Theatre! This was the result everyone had been waiting for! Peter Jackson excitedly embraced his team members, then strode onto the stage to accept the heavy little golden statuette.

Wang Sheng sat in the audience, clapping enthusiastically with a sincere smile on his face.

Lost?
Perhaps there is a slight chance.

But mostly it was calm.

He was well aware of the significance of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at this historical juncture, and he also understood that his two works, under the rules of the Oscars, would ultimately be unable to shake this epic ship.

The fact that he can sit here is already a victory in itself.

Finally, the Best Picture award.

Unsurprisingly, the title on the envelope was still—"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"!
Eleven nominations, all eleven wins! Equaling the records of Ben-Hur and Titanic! Middle-earth is crowned king in a perfect way!
The awards ceremony concluded with the song "Into the West".

Some were overjoyed, some were disappointed, and some remained indifferent.

Wang Sheng stood up and straightened his suit.

His report card tonight: eighteen nominations, and two Oscars (Best Production Design and Best Costume Design for Spy Who Came From Home).

This result was not far from his internal prediction.

Although they failed to win the core awards, the two technical awards and the record number of nominations were enough to declare to the world the strength of "Wang Sheng's productions".

This was not a crushing defeat, but a successful strategic demonstration.

Especially given the success of the premiere of "Kung Fu Hustle," his foundation in Hollywood was not shaken by the loss of a core Oscar award; on the contrary, it was further solidified by the prestige of the nomination itself and his strong exposure on the red carpet.

He walked over to Jamie Foxx and Taylor, who looked somewhat dejected, and put his arm around their shoulders.

“Guys, lift your heads.” His voice was steady and powerful. “We made a great movie, and that’s more important than any award. There’s a long road ahead, come back next time.”

(End of this chapter)