America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 797 The Young Pioneers Have No Chance

Beverly Hills, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In the executive committee's small meeting room, the college's current president, Tom Sherac, vice presidents Tom Hanks and Catherine Kennedy, and executive director Clybert were holding a closed-door meeting to discuss the "email scandal."

Tom Sherrak asked Claybert, "Has the email campaigning for 'Life of Pi' been completed?"

Claybert said, "The source of the anonymous emails is hard to trace. There is no evidence that it was from the 'Life of Pi' crew, but it cannot be ruled out either."

In the closed-door meeting, he spoke less with restraint: "In the past few years, it has not been uncommon for Oscar-nominated film crews to anonymously solicit votes. The only difference with the 'Life of Pi' crew is that it was exposed by Ralph, that straight-laced guy, and was then targeted by the media for frantic reporting."

Tom Hanks and Kathleen Kennedy exchanged a glance; they had done something similar with their previous Oscar-contending film crew.

As we all know, there are some things that can be done but not said.

Tom Sherac asked, "So you're saying we can't give a clear answer right now? We can't dispel the doubts people have about 'Life of Pi'?"

"Yes," Claybert said cautiously. "If we say that the Life of Pi crew is innocent, and then TMZ releases more bombshell revelations, the Academy will be in a very difficult position."

Catherine Kennedy then said, "Let's not give a clear answer to the outside world for now, and wait until the situation becomes clearer."

Tom Hanks agreed: "We have already made it clear to the public that we will investigate this matter seriously and deal with it severely once it is confirmed."

Claybert shared the same opinion: as long as the Academy didn't act rashly, it could maintain the initiative.

Tom Sherrak told Clybert, "You continue to send people to investigate."

He frowned slightly: "This kind of email campaigning isn't the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last. If it comes up again, we'll still have a hard time dealing with it."

Tom Hanks said, "Given the current level of public relations for the Oscars, the possibility of a similar situation happening again is extremely high."

Catherine Kennedy nodded: "There are even cases where other people deliberately send these kinds of emails and then expose them."

Actually, the email scandal surrounding "Life of Pi" didn't worry Tom Sherac much. Even if it was something their production team did, they could just find a production manager or a temporary PR person to take the blame and then withdraw from this year's Oscars.

However, as the president of the college, he cannot ignore the negative impact this will have.

Tom Sherak felt it very clearly: the atmosphere at the Oscars was getting worse every year, not just in terms of public relations, but also in terms of judging criteria.

"We need to find a way to block this path." Tom Sherac didn't want email campaigning to become the norm: "Do you have any good ideas?"

Catherine Kennedy is still thinking.

Tom Hanks said, "I do have a somewhat immature idea that could allow the academy to take the initiative."

This seemingly honest-looking superstar is actually one of the most shrewd people in the industry: "The Academy now has the email addresses of all its members. Starting next year, it can inform all film crews that intend to compete for an Oscar. All electronic materials sent to Academy members will be sent out by the Academy in batches. Those who send them privately will automatically lose their eligibility to compete for an Oscar."

The others started to ponder it.

Tom Hanks added, "The academy could also charge a fee for this as operating funds."

"Good idea." Tom Sherac thought it was feasible: "Let's draft a plan first, and then solicit opinions and give it a heads-up after this year's Oscars."

The meeting had gone off-topic; "Life of Pi" was no longer part of their discussion.

…………

After the New Year in 2013, the annual Oscars season entered its crucial voting phase. Nearly 6000 Academy members from around the world filled out their Oscar ballots and mailed them back to the Academy's designated address before the end of January.

Mid-January is the peak period for returning ballots.

The email scandal surrounding "Life of Pi" remains unresolved. During this time, Academy Executive Director Claybert gave a media interview, stating that the Academy is still investigating and has communicated with various parties. He said that any clear information will be released as soon as possible.

These factors were quite detrimental to "Growing Pain," affecting the voting choices of many judges.

At the same time, many media outlets have published new reports about "Life of Pi," and these reports tend to be positive.

"The visual effects in 'Life of Pi' are incredibly realistic, and the CG production is executed to a masterful degree. The use of computer-generated special effects in this film is rare in recent years!"

"The main plot segments, including the scenes of the boy and animals in the ocean, were all filmed in front of a green screen in a studio and generated using CGI technology. Ang Lee created a visual spectacle similar to Avatar!"

"Ang Lee's new film is full of fantasy; no matter how vivid our reviews are, they can't match the stunning visual effects created by the director!"

"This is a visually stunning movie. The sound effects and visual effects are top-notch, providing a tremendous enjoyment for both the eyes and ears."

Positive reviews are flooding in, almost overshadowing the email scandal.

However, these positive reviews focused on the special effects, especially the use of CGI.

They almost compared Ang Lee's new film to the animated blockbuster "Avatar".

Ang Lee and Gil Nate were momentarily filled with doubt and uncertainty.

The former asked the latter, "Our advertising budget is almost gone, and you've secured more funding?"

Gilnett looked completely bewildered: "Isn't this a promotional article you paid for yourself?"

Ang Lee quickly shook his head: "No!"

Upon hearing that it wasn't Ang Lee's doing, Jill Nate was slightly surprised, but quickly grasped the key point and said, "This is bad. Someone is plotting against us, deliberately trying to categorize 'Life of Pi' as a CGI spectacle film!"

Ang Lee immediately understood the key point: "Films with strange CGI special effects are a type that is naturally and severely discriminated against in the Oscar selection process."

Most Oscar voters don't even look at the nominated films. Once they decide that a film is a special effects spectacle, awards like Best Director and Best Picture will definitely not be their first choice.

Jill Nate immediately stood up and said, "Hurry up and release a few more announcements. We need to make sure everyone knows that *Life of Pi* is a film with artistic merit and philosophical depth!"

The two hurried off to put out the fire again.

…………

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Los Angeles office.

For the past two decades, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been responsible for counting the Academy's Oscar votes. The Academy mails the ballots to its members, and after the members fill them out, they return them not to the Academy, but to PwC's Los Angeles office.

For an accounting firm the size of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Oscar's business doesn't generate much profit, but it can bring huge publicity and ripple effects.

Every year during Hollywood awards season, PricewaterhouseCoopers sets up a dedicated Oscars office, and apart from deploying its top talent, no unrelated personnel are allowed to enter the office.

Although less than half a month has passed since the New Year, many Oscar nomination ballots have already been mailed in, and the daily work of several young accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers is to compile the relevant statistics.

Being young, living in Los Angeles, and working in the entertainment industry, it's inevitable that the group would gossip.

With his work not too busy, Southgate said while typing on his keyboard, "Have you noticed that after the email scandal broke out, there are significantly fewer tickets for 'Life of Pi' among the ones that have been mailed in?"

"No, right?" Greenwood was in charge of tallying the results for some of the smaller award categories: "In Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay, this film received quite a few votes."

Sitting on his other side, Foden said, "There were practically no tickets for the performance awards."

Southgate said, "There were very few votes for Best Picture and Best Director as well."

Greenwood immediately understood what was going on: "The email scandal affected the judges, making them reluctant to choose 'Life of Pi' for important awards."

Southgate, who is no stranger to vote counting, agreed, saying, "That's right, the email scandal dragged it down. I wonder if 'Life of Pi' will get nominations for Best Director and Best Picture."

Foden chimed in, "There's absolutely no hope for the acting awards."

The office door opened, and a colleague brought in the latest mailed ballots. The people inside then resumed their assembly-line-like operations.

After Southgate finished counting the votes he had just received, he handed them to another person for review and said, "I remember that 'Life of Pi' had a very good reputation both professionally and with audiences. The film is of excellent quality, and Ang Lee is a veteran of Oscar contention. He should have won something at this year's Oscars, but the results don't look good."

Foden casually asked, "Did they get ruined by the email scandal?"

"It's not over yet," Greenwood chimed in. "Based on my statistics, getting nominations in a few minor categories shouldn't be difficult."

Southgate clicked the save button: "Just like with the acting awards, this film has no chance."

Greenwood was puzzled: "Harvey Weinstein, who made such a mess of the Oscars, is now in jail, so why is the Oscars' PR team even more aggressive and ruthless than when he was in charge?"

Foden shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe someone has grasped the essence of Harvey's style and taken it a step further."

…………

The soundstage at Disney Studios, where the crew of "La La Land" was filming.

The male lead, Martin, and the female lead, Saoirse Ronan, walked hand in hand across the set. They both turned around at the same time, smiled at the camera, and the romantic scene looked like something out of a fairy tale.

Director Damien Chazelle stood up and shouted, "Cut! That's a wrap! I declare the filming of *La La Land* complete!"

Everyone on set breathed a sigh of relief. The filming, which lasted for more than two months, became a torment for everyone in the later stages.

Because it involved 48 locations in Los Angeles, as well as a large number of outdoor song and dance scenes, filming was much slower than planned, and even the filming cost increased by $500 million.

Saoirse opened her arms and hugged Martin, saying, "Teacher, I hope to work with you again in the future."

Martin smiled. "There should be a chance."

That evening, the crew held a grand party, both as a reward for everyone and as a form of publicity.

(End of this chapter)