America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 716 Get Out of Here

Beverly Hills, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The eyes of the entertainment media were all focused on this place that day, as the 84th Academy Awards nominees luncheon was about to take place.

Hollywood has been in complete chaos for the past two weeks, making it arguably the most chaotic Oscars publicity campaign in history.

The top contenders vying for the main awards seem to be constantly getting hammered, yet each of them is also hammering others.

When has the Oscars ever been this exciting in the lead-up to the season?

In the hotel lounge, the college president, Tom Sherac, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I never expected things to turn out this chaotic."

Vice Chairman Tom Hanks chimed in, "If only one production company is causing trouble, we can kick them out and disqualify them from the Oscars, but it's more complicated when all the production companies vying for major awards are involved."

It's not that it's difficult to handle, but rather that it's impossible to handle. The college's executive committee has simply pretended to be deaf and blind during this period.

Another vice president, Kathleen Kennedy, said, "It's not without its advantages; they've done a lot of pre-event hype, and this year's Oscars are getting a lot of attention."

She smiled and said to the two Toms, "Isn't this exactly what we wanted?"

Sherak said, "If it hadn't generated buzz and attracted public attention, would I have let them escalate to this point?"

Hanks understood the underlying reasons: the Oscars' popularity had been declining every year, and if this continued, it would become a mere self-indulgent affair within Hollywood.

This is the face of the film academy; it's the way they best demonstrate their presence.

Tom Sherac added, "Once the nominations are announced, things will quickly calm down, and anyone who breaks the rules will be disqualified."

Hanks and Kathleen Kenneth both agreed.

Now that the hype is there, the Oscars should put their high-class image back on.

The luncheon was about to begin, and guests began arriving one after another in the hall filled with round tables and chairs.

Wearing round glasses, Spielberg arrived at the table where the "War Horse" crew was sitting. As soon as he pulled out his chair, he noticed a few people coming from behind him.

Behmet Miller, the director of "Moneyball," and Matt Damon, the lead actor.

Upon seeing Spielberg, the latter quickly came over to greet him: "Steven..."

Spielberg seemed not to see the outstretched hand, glanced at Matt Damon, nodded slightly, and showed no intention of speaking to him.

Matt Damon reluctantly withdrew his right hand, feeling bewildered. Hadn't everything been discussed back then? The culprit was already in jail; was this really necessary?

Spielberg turned his back and stopped looking this way.

At his level, let alone one Matt Damon, even ten Matt Damons wouldn't be a problem.

Just as Matt Damon was about to go back to his seat, he noticed that Steven Spielberg had turned back again.

Not only did he turn his head, but he also smiled.

Matt Damon followed his face and saw three people.

Leonardo, Nicholson, and Martin Davis.

The three most notorious bastards in Hollywood today!

Spielberg waved to the three of them.

Martin and his two companions went over, greeted Spielberg, and chatted for a few minutes.

In Spielberg's view, The Martian's goal was definitely to win Best Actor, while War Horse didn't even apply for the award, so the two had no competitive relationship.

Conversely, Warner Bros. wanted "Moneyball" to win Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.

Spielberg has always believed that the first to challenge him came from Warner Bros. and Matt Damon.

The latter, in particular, had done some tipping off back then.

The banquet hall was crowded. Matt Damon was given the cold shoulder by Spielberg, while Spielberg was very enthusiastic towards the trio of scoundrels, which was noticed by many people.

Matt Damon still looks as good-natured as ever, showing no signs of change.

The agent standing next to him said, "Don't worry about these little things. Let's get the nomination first, then we'll figure out how to handle it..."

The recent events have left Matt Damon overwhelmed and he has lost confidence in winning the award, saying only, "A Best Actor nomination would be enough."

Martin and his two companions returned to the table where "The Martian" was filming and sat down.

The crew wasn't large; this table was just big enough to seat everyone. Ridley Scott didn't even come; he and his assistants had gone to Morocco to prepare for their new alien film, Prometheus.

In Ridley Scott's words, at best he'd get an Oscar nomination for Best Director, but he'd never win.

Louise Mayer, who was sitting at the same table, said to Martin, "I will use all the resources at my disposal for the next vote. If you don't win this year, don't even think about using my resources for the next three years. They won't help you anymore."

Martin understood: "Our plan should succeed."

Leonardo shook his head: "I succeeded in playing the ugly card, but you failed in playing the victim card. It doesn't make sense."

Nicholson patted him on the shoulder: "Martin's is more reliable than anything else."

Leonardo DiCaprio said something very true: "Because Hollywood is full of junk."

Matt Damon noticed the next table, which was full of people from "The Martian." He turned his head slightly and looked at the three bastards sitting in the middle.

Nicholson noticed and immediately turned to look at Matt Damon, the old bastard baring his teeth in a strange smile.

Just like the Joker he once played.

Matt Damon turned away, no longer looking in that direction, constantly reminding himself that those were just three idiots, three mad dogs with water in their heads, and that one shouldn't stoop to the level of mad dogs.

Without mental preparation, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist taking action.

On the other hand, Martin completely ignored the "Moneyball" crew, as if the crew didn't exist.

Neither side is any good. He mobilized his forces to target Matt Damon, while Matt Damon was also using various methods to smear him and "The Martian".

As for who did it more effectively, we'll soon find out.

The banquet hall was full of people, but the atmosphere was somewhat strange, with a hint of rivalry between the various film crews.

Some film crews even had arguments.

Nicholson said, "See that, Leo? Your sob story plan actually worked this well? Martin's plan was much better!"

Martin said, "I went from playing the victim to flaunting my wealth, who can I complain to?"

He looked at Leonardo: "Do you know how many NGOs and charitable foundations have been calling me lately, asking me to donate? They practically want me to give away my entire fortune! I declined some charity gala invitations, and as a result, I was attacked by haters for being heartless, spending so much money on eating, drinking, and having fun, without helping others."

Leonardo, shameless as Martin and Nicholson, grabbed Martin's sleeve and said, "Donate your entire fortune to my environmental foundation, and you'll never have to face these troubles again."

Nicholson said, "I've discovered that Leo is the most shameless of all."

Martin said, "After all, it's a hundred meters..."

Leonardo frowned, widened his eyes, and opened his mouth wide, then whispered, "The luncheon is about to begin."

College President Tom Sherak and Jessica Chastain, who hosted the luncheon, walked together onto the stage in the banquet hall.

As the nomination lists for each award were announced, it was a truly lackluster year for the Oscars, with very few films attracting attention.

As for Martin Scorsese, apart from The Martian and War Horse, I have virtually no recollection of his other films.

As the nominations were announced one after another, the results of so many preliminary awards were pretty much in line with what the outside world had guessed. The list predicted by the media in advance had at least a 90% accuracy rate.

Because the overlap between Hollywood industry union awards and the corresponding Oscar awards is too high.

Finally, we arrived at the four most prestigious awards.

Tom Sherak read out the five nominees for Best Actor.

The first one is: "Martin Davis, The Martian!"

The crew cheered softly.

Nicholson and Leonardo both gave Martin a high-five.

Leonardo, completely shameless, said in a low voice, "Without the failure of my sob story plan, how could your 'playing the worst' plan have succeeded?"

Martin said, "I really want to thank you properly. I'll find a group of beautiful women from Thailand and throw you a special thank-you party sometime!"

Leonardo gave him the middle finger.

Tom Sherac was still reading out the list: "Gary Oldman, *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy*; George Clooney, *The Descendants*; Joel Edgerton, *The Warrior*..."

With each name he uttered, Matt Damon's heart tightened. After spending so much time and energy, beating up so many production crews while being beaten up by so many others, he had to gain something, right?

There was only one nomination left for Best Actor, and his heart was in his throat.

Tom Sherak's voice didn't pause: "Demian Beehill, A Better Life."

Cheers erupted from another film crew.

Martin kept smiling, winning honorably.

Matt Damon still had that憨厚 (honest and simple) look on his face, sitting in his seat like a stone statue.

Despite doing so much, he didn't even get a nomination!

Matt Damon's agent noticed his unusual behavior and reassured him, "We'll continue next year."

"It failed," Matt Damon said softly.

The agent was also helpless.

Matt Damon, reflecting on the past two weeks, quickly identified the crux of the matter: the attacks he received from the women involved in the Weinstein scandal!

He was very surprised that he didn't even get a nomination.

At the next table, Leonardo bumped fists with Martin to celebrate: "Congratulations, your 'worst of the worst' plan worked. Your biggest competitor didn't even get a nomination."

Nicholson concluded: "When it comes to causing trouble, Martin is much more reliable than you, Leo."

Leonardo said, "You don't know? Martin's greatest skill is dragging high-level opponents down to his level, or even worse, and then using his vast experience with such lousy opponents to defeat them!"

Martin saw a glimmer of hope in winning the Best Actor Oscar this year and said, "Both of you, mobilize all your resources."

Matt Damon walked out of the room immediately after the nominations were announced.

When you leave, you have to pass by Martin's table.

Matt Damon turned his head away, refusing to even glance at the three bastards.

(End of this chapter)