America: Child stars start with The Shining

Chapter 97 Young Artist Award Nominations

Time flies when it comes to youth rights activities.

Charles read his speech smoothly and then stepped off the stage amidst applause.

He's still just making an appearance here, but that saves him trouble.

If you asked him to act freely like a politician right now, he really couldn't do it.

If all goes as expected, the results of this election should be in a few months.

Moreover, it shouldn't be that long before we know the outcome of the match in advance.

Unfortunately, Charles doesn't have that much cash flow right now; otherwise, the advantage of knowing the outcome in advance would be enough for him to make a fortune.

If there's a chance in the future...

Let's talk about it later. At least at this stage, if he gets deeply involved in this kind of thing, the risk factor is quite high. If he is not careful, it won't just be a matter of losing money, but a matter of whether he can survive.

The applause from the audience continued. Charles returned to his seat, still maintaining a polite smile.

Ovitz, sitting beside him, glanced at him and praised him in a low voice, "Good job. You brought out your image very well. It seems that participating in this kind of charity event to enhance your reputation is quite necessary."

Charles picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and casually said, "Well, that's because the manuscript was well-written. I was just going to read it aloud."

Ovitz shook his head and smiled, then said nothing more.

The next person to take the stage was Reagan.

When the host announced his name, the atmosphere in the venue became noticeably more enthusiastic than before.

Even though today was clearly not the kind of occasion for a speech or campaigning, the moment Reagan stood up, everyone's attention was still drawn to him.

This is the difference between a popular politician and an ordinary guest; when Charles took the stage just now, there was clearly no such commotion from the audience.

Of course, this could also be a staged effect.

He walked onto the stage, first shaking hands with the host, and then waving to the audience.

The flashes immediately started going off one after another.

Charles sat below, watching this scene, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Reagan stood before the podium, glanced down at his notes, then looked up with a gentle yet firm smile, and began, "Charles's speech just now deeply moved me..."

""

His very first words steered the conversation back to Charles, and he continued to elaborate on the topic, delivering a very smooth speech and demonstrating a keen understanding of how to capture the audience's attention at the right moments.

Moreover, his speaking style is the kind that guides and persuades, he speaks slowly, and leaves enough pauses for each sentence, which makes it very easy for the audience to follow along.

Like an elder, they chat with you about everyday things, which is very approachable.

After listening for a while, Charles couldn't help but nod in agreement.

No wonder this guy was able to switch from actor to politician; in some ways, the two professions are not fundamentally different.

Both need to face the audience and control their emotions; it's just that actors play other people, while politicians play themselves.

Reagan's speech did not last long; he ended it after about ten minutes.

As the last sentence was spoken, applause erupted once again.

Next, the host invited several guests back onto the stage for a group photo, and Charles was naturally among them.

He followed the staff's instructions back onto the stage and stood a little further back.

Unexpectedly, Reagan immediately called him to the front and had him stand next to the other person.

Reagan turned his head, smiled slightly at Charles, and then gently patted his shoulder, appearing very friendly.

Charles also looked up and gave a faint smile.

Click!

The reporters in the audience pressed their shutters almost simultaneously, capturing this historic moment.

Perhaps many years from now, this photo will become a very memorable image.

After the group photo, the event was almost over, and it was time to leave.

The audience members gradually stood up. Some were still discussing the speech with their neighbors, while others were stopped by reporters and given brief interviews.

Just as Charles was about to leave with Ovitz, several reporters quickly surrounded him, vying to ask, "Charles, does your participation in this event today mean you are officially declaring your support for Mr. Reagan?"

The first question was quite direct and very difficult to answer.

Ovitz paused, about to step in front of him, but Charles spoke up, "I'm only participating in a charity event for youth rights today. I'm not very clear about the other things, sorry."

He looked at the reporter, his tone was calm, and his answer was impeccable; he neither denied sharing the stage with Reagan nor explicitly expressed his support.

The reporter was clearly not satisfied and pressed further: "But your presence here will be seen by many people as a sign of political stance."

Charles smiled and replied, "If someone thinks that protecting children is also a political stance, that's great. I hope this stance will gain more support."

The reporter wanted to continue asking this question, but Ovitz, seeing that the situation was about right, finally stepped forward and blocked the reporter from asking any more questions.

"Sorry, Ciel has other plans for today, so we'll end the interview here."

Those few replies were enough. If I continued, these reporters might ask some strange questions.

Ovitz took Charles and left directly from there.

Overall, today's event was very meaningful to him.

Hopefully, Reagan's side will understand his meaning; after all, everyone here is a smart person.

During this period, with the help of Reagan's campaign team, Shire participated in several public welfare activities related to youth rights, continuously increasing his public exposure.

These activities are not particularly high-profile; at least on the surface, they all appear to be charitable in nature.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of politics and media operations can see that these activities are gradually changing Charles's public image.

He began to be packaged as a more positive, more relatable young public figure who was also more easily accepted by ordinary families.

She's no longer just a Hollywood child star who only appears on the big screen.

This is certainly a good thing for Charles.

Celebrities also greatly need to have this kind of public appeal and approachability.

Especially since he is still a child, it is even easier to cultivate this image in public.

Meanwhile, AC/DC's new album, "BackinBlack," is in its final polishing stage.

If all goes well, this album should be officially released soon.

Of course, after spending this time together, the AC/DC band has come to admire Charles immensely.

They discovered that their boss's understanding of rock music was far beyond their imagination.

Not only could Charles hear the problems in the arrangement, but he could also accurately point out the specific problems with the rhythm of a certain drumbeat. He could even explain in detail how to preserve the vocalist's pronunciation.

Every suggestion they received was spot-on. After the revisions, the overall listening experience of the song would immediately improve, which was quite unbelievable to them at one point.

Later, they privately reached a very firm consensus.

Their boss must be a little monster raised from childhood by a classical music family.

Otherwise, a normal child could never have such profound musical talent at such a young age.

Charles, of course, had no intention of explaining this misunderstanding.

After all, it's better to make them believe he's a freak from a classical family than to let them know he has musical memories from another era in his head.

At least the latter sounds slightly more reasonable.

However, Charles had no time to deal with things at the recording studio.

Because today is the day of the Young Artist Award ceremony.

Although this isn't an Oscar-level award, it absolutely cannot be taken lightly, especially since Charles still has a chance to win.

For child stars and young actors, this award has a special symbolic meaning.

It represents the industry's recognition of young actors.

The Young Artists Foundation behind this award is composed of industry insiders. Although it may not be well-known yet, its prestige is extremely high.

As evening fell, Charles sat in a black van and slowly pulled up outside the awards ceremony venue.

By this time, the red carpet was already packed with reporters and photographers.

Although the Young Artist Award cannot be compared with truly top-tier awards, there were noticeably more media representatives present today than in previous years.

Of course, Ciel was partly to blame.

During this period, Shire's popularity has not decreased but increased, and it has not been negatively affected by the end of The Shining's theatrical run. On the contrary, it has become more and more popular.

His name is almost always on the pages of various entertainment and social news in Los Angeles; you can see him every few days.

The car door opened, and Charles stepped out unhurriedly.

He was wearing a relatively artistic suit today, which looked less formal than the gray suit he wore when he attended a charity event before.

The tailoring still fit perfectly, the shoulder line was clean, and the bow tie was tied meticulously, giving him a more youthful and lively look.

It's very fitting for today's occasion.

The moment he appeared on the red carpet, the flashbulbs went off.

"Ciel!"

"Look this way!"

"Ciel, can you smile?"

Are you confident of winning tonight?

The reporters' voices surged in from both sides.

Charles didn't rush forward. Instead, as Ovitz had instructed beforehand, he paused in the center of the red carpet, turned to face the camera, and gave a polite smile.

Although Judy wasn't with him this time, the number of reporters watching him didn't decrease at all.

This shows that his status has risen considerably since the Oscars.

When Charles walked into the interview area, reporters quickly handed him microphones, and he responded to each one. This was no challenge for him at all.

But then, a commotion broke out among the crowd near the red carpet.

Charles looked back and saw Jodie Foster standing next to a black car, a faint smile on her face.

She wore a black dress today; although the color scheme was rather monochromatic, it perfectly complemented her cool and aloof气质 (qi zhi - inherent quality/temperament).

Unlike young actresses who deliberately dress themselves up to look glamorous, Jodie Foster doesn't need much extra embellishment to attract the camera's attention.

After all, she is one of the most watched young actresses in Hollywood right now.

Yes, that's right. She can no longer be classified as a child star. If that's the case, then other child stars in Hollywood probably have no reason to continue.

After all, compared to other child stars, she is simply outclassed.

Which child star could receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the age of 13?

This is an absolutely unparalleled feat.

Taking advantage of the reporters' attention being diverted, Charles tactfully walked into the venue, leaving those gossipy reporters no chance.

After all, he no longer needs to rely on appearing alongside Judy to gain attention.

He didn't want to cause Judy any more trouble in this way.

After Charles entered the venue, Judy waited for a while before finally breaking free from the reporters' encirclement and entering.

Judy walked over to him, raised an eyebrow, looked him up and down, and couldn't help but say, "You look better dressed today than last time."

Charles's lips had barely curled into a slight smile when he was immediately interrupted by the other person's next words: "Tell me, which little girl taught you? I remember last time at court, there were two girls..."

""

"Ahem, let's not talk about that. What brings you here today?"

Charles twitched the corner of his mouth and immediately changed the subject, otherwise he really wouldn't know how to answer this question.

Since there's no standard answer, the best option is to not answer and immediately divert Judy's attention...

Judy paused for a moment, then smiled, seemingly unconcerned, and continued, "Oh? You haven't forgotten, have you? My film 'Little Fox' was also nominated."

Judy's starring role in "Little Fox" was released in February 1980, but unfortunately, it only grossed a little over seven million dollars at the box office.

Compared to her other film credits, this one is clearly below par and hasn't garnered much attention.

But for the judges of the Young Artist Award, it's a little different.

After all, the theme of this movie is family conflict, which is very much in line with the current mainstream, and it also has a bit of pretentious artistic flair, so it is naturally very popular with those old-fashioned people.

Besides, when they're awarding prizes, they don't look at box office numbers.

Charles feigned sudden realization and said, "Oh, I see."

Judy couldn't help but roll her eyes at his expression.

Then, the two of them walked together to their seats in the hall.