America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 711 Old Friends, Old Rivals

Inside the study of the villa at Davis Estate.

A metal screen on one side of the wall descended, and Elizabeth Olsen personally connected the projector to the laptop, immediately displaying the information Thomas had collected on the screen.

Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson looked at the curtain.

Elizabeth handed the remote to Martin and said, "I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare lunch. You two talk."

She can't offer much help in the Oscar race, but she can provide logistical support.

Leonardo stood up, turned on his laser pointer, pointed to the image on the screen, and said, "These are the names of your most likely competitors for this year's Oscars."

Martin poured them both some black tea and said, "Winning an award depends not only on your own role, but also on who your competitors are that year."

"Times have really changed," Nicholson remarked with a touch of melancholy. "Now, if you just cripple your opponent, you'll naturally win."

It doesn't matter if I'm good or bad, as long as others are worse.

Martin said, "If I run into a bunch of big names in acting at this year's Oscars, I'm not going to do this sob story to win awards."

Leonardo said, "You need to have some confidence in yourself; this year's competitors are relatively weak!"

Martin looked at the screen, which displayed the frontrunners for this year's Best Actor Oscar and the films they starred in. It mainly listed four people: George Clooney and The Descendants, Gary Oldman and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sean Penn and The Tree of Life, and Matt Damon and Moneyball.

Nicholson spoke first: "Sean Penn is out of the running. He's already won two Oscars for Best Actor. His performance in 'The Tree of Life' was mediocre, and he didn't do much publicity or PR. His chances of winning are negligible."

Since the start of awards season, Martin has barely seen any media coverage of Sean Penn.

The female lead in this film is Jessica Chastain. Martin Scorsese specifically asked her for inside information. The primary goals for "The Tree of Life" are Best Director and Best Picture.

Leonardo added, "George Clooney has shown a strong desire to win awards, but he's even less popular with the Academy than I am."

"That's right, in the eyes of us old folks, he can't act at all," Nicholson said directly. "George Clooney is a TV star, which is a bad background. He played Batman as Bruce Wayne, which are all serious detrimental factors. It's a miracle he even got a nomination."

Perhaps in six or seven years, as the influence of these older white men declines, the Oscars will change, but for now, the afterglow of these older white men is still dazzling.

Martin trusted Nicholson's assessment, saying, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, is a spy film co-produced by Britain, France, and Germany. No North American film company was involved in its production or distribution, so it was very weak in terms of competition."

Nicholson agreed: "That's right. The Oscars are essentially a game within the North American film industry. Without local forces to play along, it's hard to get a piece of the pie, especially one of the biggest pieces like Best Actor."

Leonardo's laser pointer landed on the last name and movie title: "So, your only real competitor this year is Matt Damon!"

Martin snapped his fingers: "Matt Damon and I are old friends."

The two first came into contact when they were competing for a role in "The Departed," which subsequently led to a series of incidents.

Leonardo continued, "This film is a baseball-themed movie that was very popular with the judges, and it's also a biopic of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Bean. In terms of subject matter, it has a much greater advantage than 'The Martian'."

Nicholson continued, "Strictly speaking, this film has a close relationship with another old friend of ours, Brad Pitt. About six or seven years ago, he recommended the original work to Warner Bros. After Warner Bros. bought the adaptation rights, they encountered unexpected situations several times when they tried to start production. The first time was when the initially chosen director, David Frankel, switched to directing 'The Devil Wears Prada'."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip: "The second time, you messed up the already chosen male lead, Brad Pitt, so Warner Bros. had to give up; the third time, Alan Horn and Steven Soderbergh reached a preliminary agreement, but Alan Horn left Warner Bros. Until last year, Jon Berger appointed Mike DeLuca and Bennett Miller to work together to launch the project, and the male lead was changed from Brad Pitt to Matt Damon."

Martin sighed. "It's another competition with an old friend."

Leonardo DiCaprio laughed and said, "It's not just old friends, but also Warner Bros. Matt Damon has an Oscar for Best Screenplay and has always wanted to win an acting Oscar. It's said that George Clooney is pushing for a new Ocean's movie. Warner Bros.' collaboration with Matt Damon is far from over, and they may do everything they can to help Matt Damon win an award."

Nicholson put down his teacup and said, "To prevent our trio from being challenged with math problems again, Martin must win an award as soon as possible!"

He waved his hand dismissively: "Since 'The Martian' doesn't have a strong subject matter, that's easy. Get rid of the main competitor, and the advantage will naturally come. So, the next step in the sob story plan is to target Matt Damon!"

Leonardo looked at Martin: "You know your old rival better, what's the best course of action?"

Martin succinctly stated: "It's simple, Harvey Weinstein!"

He stated directly, "Fighting Harvey Weinstein is not only politically correct within the industry, but also politically correct across the United States. Matt Damon himself has deep ties to Harvey Weinstein. He and the Affleck brothers were Harvey Weinstein's underlings and repeatedly suppressed women who had been coerced by Harvey."

Just over a year later, Leonardo still remembers: "Yes, several victims accused Matt Damon at the time, but the media attention was drawn to Harvey, and Matt Damon himself also accused Harvey, so the matter ultimately didn't involve him."

Nicholson asked Martin, "You were the real mastermind behind the Weinstein affair. You must have some evidence to back it up, right?"

Martin said, "There's no direct evidence that Matt Damon committed any crimes, but there's a lot of evidence that he pressured those women. After Ben Affleck lost his influence, a lot of the cleanup work was done by Matt Damon. He mainly pressured them by making phone calls, and many of them have left recordings."

These things, under normal circumstances, might not have had a particularly big impact on Matt Damon.

However, if this comes to light at a crucial moment in the Oscar race, it could potentially influence the Academy members' voting choices, much like Harvey Weinstein's citywide attack on "Saving Private Ryan."

Martin looked at Leonardo: "You're the commander-in-chief. You decide the specifics."

"So many actresses were persecuted by Harvey, and Matt Damon not only didn't stop it, he became an accomplice!" Leon Ando declared righteously, like a champion of justice: "The three of us have a responsibility and an obligation to get justice for those women! Therefore, we must take down Matt Damon!"

Martin said, "Now you're the boss, I'll listen to you."

Nicholson said, "Stop talking nonsense and get to work." He reminded everyone, "There are less than two weeks until the Oscar ballots are distributed. Once the ballots are released at the end of the month, we need the news to be in the papers immediately!"

Leonardo shut down the computer and projector and said to Martin, "Call your people over and assign tasks for today."

He emphasized, "The information about Matt Damon needs to be released quickly; there must be no leaks."

"I'll make the arrangements." Martin took out his phone and called Thomas, Jessica, Emily, and others, inviting them to dinner together that evening.

After leaving the study, Leonardo and Nicholson went to the living room first.

Martin found Bruce and told him what had just happened, instructing him, "You handle the rest yourself. I remember Jody did a detailed classification, and those victims trusted her the most. Communicate with Jody's side and find out who Matt Damon pressured..."

"I'm going right now." Bruce hurriedly left the villa.

Once in the car, he called Jody, looking at the sun turning westward. He knew tonight was going to be tough; his pelvis was going to suffer.

I hope I won't develop pelvic osteoporosis or femoral head necrosis when I get old.

Jody readily agreed, saying, "Old Brooks, you don't want to see Martin fail to win the Oscar for Best Actor, do you?"

"I understand." For Martin's sake, Bruce started the car and drove straight to TMZ headquarters, picking up the domineering female CEO just as Jody was getting off work, and then went to her home.

This is yet another night of Bruce's sacrifice.

At Davis Estate, members of Martin's PR team gathered for a sumptuous dinner and discussed their upcoming Olympic bid.

The Martian has already been released, and the characters and film genre are what they are; there's no way to change them now.

The only option is to focus on potential major competitors in addition to one's own efforts.

Thomas has already reached agreements with several sponsors, including Coca-Cola and Samsung Mobile, securing sponsorships worth a total of $800 million.

The agency WMA has completely abandoned Natalie Portman this awards season, and will use all of its connections and media resources on Martin.

Disney Studios has confirmed that the North American screening of "The Martian" will be extended until the Oscars ceremony, with the physical distribution to begin after the ceremony.

If Martin Scorsese wins an Oscar, the film's box office revenue will increase significantly.

Disney Studios is also fully committed to promoting and publicizing "The Martian".

Both Davis Studios and Disney Studios employ more traditional and conventional award-winning strategies.

The off-field plans were entirely controlled by the trio of bastards.

This is a relatively weak year for the Oscars, and Martin Scorsese is certainly not the only one aiming for Best Actor.

(End of this chapter)