America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 798 Confidence Shattered

Beverly Hills, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The luncheon for the nominees of the 85th Academy Awards is underway.

Academy President Tom Sherak and host Natalie Portman walked onto the stage, facing away from the large screen in the background, ready to announce this year's nominees.

Martin sat at the table in the very center of the front row, his smile relaxed, natural, and without any pressure.

David Fincher, standing next to him, looked tense, his palms sweating profusely. He certainly wanted a perfect result on this last Oscar journey.

A nomination is the ticket to winning.

In contrast, Graham and Louise, as producers, didn't have as much pressure.

The two were representatives of the investors, and they felt no pressure because the film's box office performance was good enough.

Argo is still playing in North American theaters and will continue until the end of the Oscars ceremony. It had already surpassed $2 million at the North American box office last month.

The film has now grossed $2.23 million at the North American box office, which is quite impressive considering its production cost of $6000 million.

However, the film received a much worse response overseas, after all, it is a very politically correct American mainstream film.

Argo has already been released in some overseas markets, including Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

To this day, its overseas box office has yet to surpass $1 million.

The crew, including Martin, hoped to win an Oscar.

The Oscars still have a significant influence overseas; winning a prestigious Oscar can lead to a substantial increase in commercial revenue in overseas markets.

Next to Martin and his group at the table was the Lincoln crew, led by Spielberg.

Martin glanced at Daniel Day-Lewis, who was sitting next to Spielberg. The Academy's darling had already won numerous Best Performance awards at the Presbyterian Awards.

He's a shoo-in for the Oscar for Best Actor.

This person has achieved great artistic success in performance, but in daily life, it's best not to mention it.

As a representative of the method acting school, it is said that during the filming of "Lincoln," Daniel Day-Lewis completely immersed himself in Lincoln's persona and even signed a emancipation manifesto on set...

Behind the Lincoln crew, where the Life of Pi crew was located, Ang Lee and Gil Nate looked somewhat nervous.

Despite numerous crisis management efforts and continuous attacks on its main competitor, Argo, aside from the initial accusations of false reporting, the company has been on the defensive and has been unable to recover from the blows.

Both of them had almost lost all their confidence.

Ang Lee glanced at Martin and David Fincher to his side and shook his head inwardly.

Even though there was no evidence that Martin Davis was involved in the mess he experienced while filming "Life of Pi," he was convinced that Davis was responsible.

Ang Lee had a feeling that this guy was even more difficult to deal with than Harvey Weinstein.

On the podium, Tom Sherac and Natalie Portman began announcing the nominees.

"Nominated for Best Sound Editing are films such as *Skyfall*, *Life of Pi*, *Anna Karenina*, and *Django Unchained*..."

"Nominated for Best Visual Effects are films such as *Life of Pi*, *The Avengers*, *Snow White and the Huntsman*, and *The Hobbit*..."

"Nominated for Best Art Direction are films such as *Life of Pi*, *The Hobbit*, and *Lincoln*..."

After receiving multiple technical award nominations, "Life of Pi" was subsequently nominated for Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Ang Lee and Gil Nate, who were initially uneasy, unconsciously straightened their backs and felt that their film was going to be a success again.

The two exchanged a glance, seeing the same message in each other's eyes: "The email scandal and the subsequent reports of visual spectacle don't seem to have had as much impact as expected?"

Gil-Nate has been putting out fires everywhere lately, but he's also burning with anger inside, and no one is there to quench it for him.

He couldn't help but whisper to Ang Lee, "If we can get the Best Director and Best Film nominations as planned, after the luncheon, will you come with me to talk to Martin Davis and David Fincher?"

This was unlike Ang Lee's usual behind-the-scenes style. He frowned slightly: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Gil-Nate shook his head slightly. Ang Lee has always liked to keep things hidden.

Their actions and purposes are deeply hidden.

Tom Sherak then announced the Best Actor nominations, with Martin Davis receiving another Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role in Argo.

But Ang Lee and Gil Nate both knew very well that this bastard had just won an award last year, and Tony Mendes' role wasn't particularly groundbreaking, so his chances of winning another award were slim.

Then came the most crucial nominations for Best Director and Best Film.

The first thing announced was the Best Director nominations.

Ang Lee looked up at the big screen and pricked up his ears.

The nominees for Best Director are: David Fincher, Steven Spielberg, David Russell, Michael Haneke, and Bech Zeitlin!

Ang Lee did not hear his own name. His gaze swept across the list of directors and their corresponding film titles on the big screen, but neither his name nor the title of "Life of Pi" was there.

With his head slightly lowered, Ang Lee sighed softly. His second attempt at Best Director had failed.

Then, in the Best Picture nominations announced, "Life of Pi" was also not included!

Gil-Nate's hand, which was under the table, gripped the chair armrest tightly.

Despite receiving nominations for a number of technical awards, Life of Pi failed to win the most important awards, Best Director and Best Picture, making its award-winning plans this year a complete failure.

Even if you won all the Oscars for those technical awards, it wouldn't compare to a single Best Supporting Actor or Actress award.

Moreover, it won Best Director and Best Film among the four major awards.

Ang Lee was also very upset, as this was the second time he had fallen to Martin Davis.

Last time, Brokeback Mountain lost the Best Picture award.

After the nomination list was announced, Ang Lee said, "Let's go."

Jill Nett nodded. "There's no need to stay here any longer." He said to the people at his table, "Those who were nominated, go take a group photo later."

Ang Lee stood up first and glanced at the "Argo" film crew to his side. Instead of going through the front door, he walked towards the back, where there was another door to the banquet hall.

Gil-Nate followed behind, walking silently out of the banquet hall, before saying, "Nearly ten million dollars in public relations expenses."

Ang Lee's expression was also not good.

The two of them definitely need to give the production company and distributor an explanation for this matter.

The film studio poured resources into its Oscar bid, but the two people directly in charge messed it up.

The two left the hotel, ignoring the reporters who surrounded them, got into the car, and told the driver to take them back to Century City.

"Argo is going to be the biggest winner," Gil-Nate said.

"It's unstoppable." Ang Lee knew this very well.

Of course, they can continue to try to smear the film, but to create a significant impact amidst the overwhelming public opinion, they would need to invest a lot of money.

The production company definitely won't invest any money.

Pay out of his own pocket? Ang Lee isn't stupid.

Gil-Nate sighed, "After doing so much, this is the result. I'm not satisfied."

Ang Lee smiled wryly: "I'm not willing to give up either, but what can I do? I can only wait and see. If a suitable opportunity comes along, I might try to get my hands on someone like Martin Davis or David Fincher."

Jill Nett nodded: "That's all we can do."

Ang Lee spent several years crafting "Life of Pi," but he was exceptionally patient and knew that he couldn't afford to offend someone of Martin Davis's caliber without the right opportunity.

For now, I can only hold my breath.

…………

Inside the hotel banquet hall, the crew of "Argo" were in high spirits.

Martin hugged and celebrated with David Fincher, Graham and Louise, and then high-fived Tony Mendes, who had come over to watch.

These are just to boost morale for the next stage of the trophy race; it's not a time to celebrate halfway through.

Argo received relatively few nominations, with only five: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture.

Each award carries significant weight; even Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing are heavyweight contenders among smaller awards.

David Fincher was quite excited and told Martin, "If I can win this Oscar, you can come to me with any projects you have in the future, no problem at all."

Martin said with a smile, "For now, we only have 'The Split'."

At this point, he suddenly thought of the Joker, a type of film that seemed to fit David Fincher's style.

There's no rush now. We can discuss it after the project script is completed.

With the combined efforts of Martin and Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros., DC Films confirmed at the beginning of 2013 that it would produce a standalone Joker movie.

The project has been submitted to the Warner Bros. review committee. Once it receives the green light, it will be officially approved and announced to the public.

Towards the end of the luncheon, all the nominees, including Martin and David Fincher, came together in the hotel lobby to take a group photo.

This is an annual event at the Oscar nominees luncheon.

In contrast, those who were not nominated felt envy and disappointment.

Martin had heard from Warren and Beatty that the Academy was planning to reform the nominees' luncheon, where the nominees would be announced in advance and only those who had been nominated would attend.

This way, the college can save on expenses at banquets and avoid some awkward situations.

After the group photo was taken, Martin, Spielberg, and Daniel Day-Lewis, who were standing in the center, chatted for a few minutes.

Martin did not consult the latter on acting; the two had completely different styles, and Daniel Day-Lewis's mad-crazy acting style was not suitable for him.

Spielberg, on the other hand, specifically said to Martin, "If a suitable opportunity arises in the future, let's collaborate."

In this situation, Martin would naturally say something nice: "Steven, you're my dream director. Jaws, Indiana Jones, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park—I grew up watching your movies."

The two chatted for a short while.

(End of this chapter)