America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 882 Conservatives believe radicals are too conservative.

The lounge fell silent for a moment.

The three chairpersons of the Academy's executive committee are all seasoned veterans of Hollywood, with decades of experience, so they would definitely understand what Martin meant.

"Europe and Australia have long been Oscar regulars." Tom Sherac seriously considered what Martin said: "As for other places, Asia... the world's second largest film market, has always been extremely enthusiastic about competing for Oscars and is willing to invest money in it."

He was unaware of the specifics: "I don't know why, but in recent years their interest in the Oscars has waned significantly, and far fewer films and companies are coming to compete for them."

Others may not know, but Martin does. They are gradually regaining their confidence. Although there are still many spineless cowards, in many people's eyes, the only real opponent left is the United States.

With a change in mindset, one's attitude towards the Oscars naturally changes as well.

Martin thought for a moment and said, "In the past few years, I have frequently gone to East Asia for promotion and found that the film industry in Japan and South Korea is extremely enthusiastic about the Oscars, especially South Korea. They are our film dumping ground. As long as the Academy goes there to promote at the right time and shows its attitude, those... people will definitely come and go crazy for the Oscars. The South Korean entertainment industry is not short of money."

"That's right, we can just throw some bones out and they'll come rushing over." Catherine Kennedy is not only an actress and producer, but also a successful businesswoman.

She had also been to South Korea many times and knew that dogs were particularly enthusiastic about their owner's honor.

"That's a good idea," Tom Hanks added. "It's not just South Korea and Japan; other markets like Southeast Asia and South America are also good. Hollywood is open, and the Academy encourages internationalization."

His heyday coincided with the era when Hollywood films broke out of North America and began to sweep the global film market. At that time, many Hollywood directors and stars looked to the world.

This strategy would work perfectly for the Oscars.

Tom Sherac stated directly, "After this year's awards ceremony, it would be very necessary for us to organize a cultural exchange delegation to visit Japan and South Korea."

At this point, Martin didn't need to say anything more.

Tom Sherrak spoke briefly with his two colleagues, then looked at Martin and said, "On behalf of the Executive Committee, I thank you for your suggestion."

Martin said, "You're welcome. I'm also a member of the academy."

Kathleen Kennedy and Tom Hanks also expressed their gratitude.

Martin shook hands with each of them, said goodbye, and left the lounge.

This favor might come in handy later. Although the college's executive committee holds elections every year, under normal circumstances, the chairman and vice-chairman can serve for many years.

Like the previous president of the academy, Sidney Ganis, who might have continued to serve if his health hadn't prevented him from doing so.

Elizabeth remained silent throughout. After leaving the dressing room, unable to contain her curiosity, she asked softly, "A South Korean film can win a major Oscar?"

Martin considered for a moment and said, "It's not unprecedented for foreign films to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The Oscars are like the Nobel Prizes; winning isn't just about your achievements, but also about who you are in."

Elizabeth thought of something: "Like that guy in the White House who won the Nobel Peace Prize?"

Martin laughed: "Even Americans think this is outrageous."

As the special dinner drew to a close, the guests took their leave one by one.

Martin and Elizabeth returned home, and Bruce returned from Europe.

Elizabeth pulled Lily, who was clinging to Martin, upstairs, leaving Martin and Bruce alone.

Martin called Bruce to the study.

Bruce said, "We've basically got things sorted out in Kyiv. The security bureau and an army under Alexandrovich raided the Privas Group, capturing high-ranking officials including Igor, confiscating Privas Group's assets, and then selling them off. We got them at a low price."

Martin raised a crucial point: "Sell it as soon as possible."

"No problem," Bruce said. "We've already found a buyer, and we expect to be able to sell within six months."

Martin nodded: "Okay."

Bruce added, "Alexandrovich may visit the United States in the second half of this year. We are currently in communication and contact, but the specific time has not yet been determined."

Upon hearing this, Martin immediately recalled some events from his past life and said, "Before Alexandrovich's visit to the United States, he sold off all of Privas Group's assets."

"No problem, there's plenty of time." Bruce asked, "Are you worried?"

Martin said, "The political environment there has always been unstable, and things could get complicated if this drags on."

Bruce said, "I'll be back in Europe in three days."

"No rush these next few days." Martin thought of Old Brooks's many female confidantes: "You need to comfort Jody, Kim, and Kohler... Oh, and Kendall too."

Bruce, unusually, did not refute, but instead glanced at his watch: "I'm going to see Jody."

Martin waved his hand: "Go ahead."

Martin only talked about the relationship between Bruce and the Kardashian sisters.

After all, he's just as much of a bastard as Old Brooks.

Martin left the study, went upstairs to the master bedroom, where Lily and Elizabeth, who had just taken a shower, were waiting for him.

The three of them had long been used to sleeping in the same room.

In the time leading up to the Oscars, Martin stayed in Los Angeles to focus on his studio's film and television projects.

Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario" has completed its final cut, and Disney will release the film in April, before the summer blockbuster season.

The project's screenwriter, Taylor Sheridan, has a new film idea: a crime film about an Indian reservation.

Martin had reservations about this, so he first offered empty promises and asked Taylor Sheridan to write the script.

If it's too niche or artsy, then forget it.

The filming of Damien Charezier's "Whiplash" has wrapped up and moved into post-production. The film will not be released until the second half of the year.

"The Queen's Game" was adapted from a film script into a TV series script. Scott Frank finalized the plot outline and determined that it would require a total of seven episodes.

Martin gave him the green light, and it was to proceed at a seven-episode pace.

In addition, Martin also auditioned for the third round of Robert Eggers' low-budget horror film "The Witches," which ultimately secured Anya Taylor-Joy as the lead actress.

There's also "San Andreas," for which the rights were acquired last year. Screenwriter Carlton Cuth made a series of adjustments to the protagonist's character and related plot points based on Martin's actual situation.

However, Martin was still not satisfied and asked Carlton-Cous to continue making revisions.

Martin was also studying the script for "Joker," combining it with the storyboards from his previous film production to make the film's content clearer and more understandable.

As the publicity builds, news that Martin Scorsese might direct and star in "Joker" has gradually spread, but there aren't many voices predicting its failure.

The main reason is the box office success of "The Shallows".

After a month of release in North America, the thriller grossed $1.23 million, temporarily becoming the highest-grossing film of 2015.

After all, only two months of the year have passed.

Overseas, the film has been shown in theaters in more than fifty countries, grossing nearly $100 million.

While the box office revenue couldn't compare to those of Martin Scorsese's films, the project still generated substantial profits compared to the $5000 million investment in production and marketing.

These days, if you invest tens of millions of dollars in a real business, you should thank God if you can get a 10% net profit in a year.

The only drawback of The Shallows is that as its screenings continued and more people saw the film, its reputation declined rather quickly.

On IMDb, the average audience rating dropped to 7.2, and the Rotten Tomatoes score also dropped to 73%.

These factors did not significantly impact the box office performance of "The Shallows".

By the time the Oscars were approaching, The Shallows had grossed over $2.5 million worldwide.

…………

The 87th Academy Awards ceremony kicked off at the Dolby Theatre on the first weekend of March.

Since the informal dinner at the Academy that night, the Executive Committee acted quickly, extending invitations to many overseas filmmakers to attend the Oscars, especially from Japan and South Korea.

The former is not particularly valued, and Hollywood films have a relatively minor influence in the Japanese market.

However, the South Korean film market has always been Hollywood's backyard. They have been learning from Hollywood for years, and many of their film directors and producers consider it an honor to win an Oscar.

The owner's wallet is a bit tight right now, so the fattened dog naturally has to make a contribution.

Every Academy Awards ceremony is inevitably accompanied by protesters.

Today, LGBTQ organizations were absent, but hundreds of Black people gathered near the Dolby Theatre to protest against the Oscars' discrimination against Black people.

After the Oscar nominations were announced, radical Black people in Hollywood turned into a pack of mad dogs because none of the nominees for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Director were Black!

Putting aside the quality of the work, what kind of behavior is this? It's blatant discrimination against Black people!

Spike Lee, a prominent Black figure in Hollywood, directly criticized the Oscars, saying, "I bought a watch last year!"

Will Smith and his wife publicly declared that this was a disgrace to the Oscars.

In an interview, George Lucas, who married a Black woman, expressed his incomprehension that the African-American director of "Selma" was not nominated for an Oscar for Best Director.

And that led to today's mass protests by Black people.

Martin walked the red carpet, declined interviews from the media area, glanced at the banners hung high by the protesters, then joined Nicholson and Leonardo, and together they entered the Dolby Theatre.

The three of them found a quiet place to watch the excitement.

Nicholson seemed to have gleaned some inside information: "Just wait, there's going to be a good show."

Martin asked curiously, "Those people?"

Leonardo said, "It's definitely them."

Nicholson understood what the two were talking about: "Will Smith and Spike Lee may seem radical, but they are actually conservatives. The real radicals don't just talk the talk."

"You're not implying anything, are you?" Martin asked.

Nicholson asked, "What implications?"

Martin said, "Aren't the so-called conservatives just people who think the radicals are too conservative?"

Leonardo was puzzled: "What kind of logic is that?"

As the three were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out at the edge of the red carpet. Several black men rushed onto the red carpet and raised signs protesting the Oscars.

The security guards stood frozen in place, hesitant to make a move.

This is a member of the gorilla faction with multiple buffs, and they might even have transgender or other special auras.

For a moment, an eerie silence fell over both sides of the red carpet, with only the sound of reporters pressing camera shutters.

If it were anyone else, security personnel would have rushed in long ago.

Nicholson shook his head: "This year's academy is no good."

Martin said, "You do it yourself."

Leonardo DiCaprio chimed in, "We'll cheer you on!"

Nicholson said seriously, "I'm afraid of getting my hands dirty."

Martin saw someone go over to persuade him, but he couldn't be bothered to look any further: "Let's go, to the theater lobby."

Nicholson and Leonando then followed.

Martin said as they walked, "With all the fuss they've caused this year, the Oscars selection process will inevitably become biased in the coming years."

"It's normal for the Oscars not to be judged by the work itself." Leonardo DiCaprio shook his head repeatedly. "But to favor whoever makes the most noise is just too outrageous."

Nicholson said, "That's the Oscars."

Leonardo glanced at Martin, thinking of their bet, and deliberately said, "When I get the right role, I'll announce that I'm the armored vehicle."

"Are you really going to play this game?" Martin reminded him, "These monsters are Pandora's box that I've opened."

Nicholson patted Leonardo on the shoulder: "He can set trends. You want to compete with him in that area?"

Leonardo, who hadn't even gotten going, quickly said, "Martin, our bet stipulates that neither of us can use this kind of junk."

Martin thought to himself that he wasn't a T0, and replied, "No problem."

The three of them were not seated together. Martin went to the second row on the left in the middle, where the Interstellar crew was located.

Although they did not receive nominations for Best Director and Best Picture, Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas still attended the awards ceremony.

This represents an attitude.

Martin greeted the crew and sat down near the aisle.

Blake Lively, who was nearby, switched seats with someone and moved next to Martin.

"You know what, Martin!" Blake exclaimed excitedly, "I'm now number one in followers among all female users on Instagram!"

Martin gave her a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "A remarkable achievement!"

Blake said, "The Shallows gave me tens of millions more fans, and when I posted yesterday celebrating the film surpassing $2.5 million at the box office, the comments section exploded!"

Before Martin could respond, she asked, "I saw in the media that you're planning to direct and star in a solo Joker movie?"

Martin replied, "That's a plan."

Having tasted enough success with Martin, Blake quickly said, "Is there a role that would suit me? I remember the Joker has a female companion, I think her name is Harley Quinn."

Martin thought for a moment and said directly, "Harley Quinn won't appear in this one. If the film is successful and Warner Bros. gives the green light to the sequel, we'll talk about Harley Quinn then."

"Okay." Blake thought that if he put in some effort with Martin tonight, maybe a sequel would come.

(End of this chapter)