America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 896 The Second Oscar-Winning Actor

The 88th Academy Awards ceremony kicked off on the last weekend of February 2016.

This year's public relations campaign was much more lively than ever before, with the controversy surrounding Black people and diversity impacting the entire United States.

The number of movie fans and media reporters in front of the Dolby Theatre was significantly higher than the previous edition.

In the media area, Martin, who had come alone, was being interviewed.

"You're consistently the frontrunner for Best Actor in the predictions of major media outlets," asked David Groo, a reporter from ABC. "Are you confident of winning?"

Martin smiled and said, "The Oscars are a fair competition; everyone who is nominated has a chance to win. I hope Lady Luck will smile upon me."

Then more people entered the media area.

Martin didn't linger; he went straight into the Dolby Theatre.

Menez came over from the side and greeted him, "Boss."

Martin glanced at him briefly and said, "You look much more muscular, kid."

Menez said, "I was tormented by Chad, Tiger and Marcus. The past year of filming 'Continental Hotel' was more physically and mentally exhausting than dealing with Emma and Celine at the same time."

Bruce, following behind Martin, said, "Why do I hear a lot of boasting in your complaints?"

"Really? Really?" Menez boasted, seemingly unintentionally: "Old Bruce, look at my face, my hands, the injuries from filming haven't healed yet! Don't hurt my fragile heart..."

Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus came over from the bathroom.

The former said, "Martin, Old Brooks, you didn't see it. When Celine and Emma came to visit the set at the same time, we thought Menez was doomed, but Menez defused the crisis with just his words."

Marcus, heavily pregnant, gave a thumbs-up and said, "Menez is truly a role model for men."

Chen Hu also said, "If I had Menez's skills, I would have retired long ago."

Everyone laughed.

Martin went over and hugged each of the three men.

Chad, Menez, Chen Hu, and Marcus will all be on stage tonight as award presenters, which will also serve as a form of promotion for "Continental Hotel, New York".

This spin-off film from the John Wick series wrapped up filming in January and is currently in post-production, with a planned release in North America in July.

As the absolute lead in the new film, Menez suffered a lot during filming.

Martin asked, "Any follow-up plans?"

Chad simply stated, "If the commercial response to 'Continental Hotel' is as expected, we can split into two paths: one is to continue making a sequel, and the other is to have Blake Lively play Sofia, the manager of the Casablanca Continental Hotel. We can cross-produce the two parts, and in a few years you can play Jonathan again, and then all three characters can appear together."

Martin nodded: "It's somewhat like the Avengers."

Chad said, "By drawing on their plans, our worldview can be further developed."

Martin trusted Chad completely: "You'll handle the details. Just remember to give me a complete plan."

Chad has never considered leaving the series, saying, "I'm making detailed plans."

The group chatted as they entered the lobby of the Dolby Theatre.

Martin, who was in the front row, quickly separated from them and went to sit in the second row by himself.

Whether it was intentional on the part of the awards ceremony's production team or not, his seat was right next to Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson.

Those two bastards haven't arrived yet.

As soon as Martin sat down, Jennifer Aniston leaned over from the back row and whispered, "My progress is going well, how's it going on your end?"

Martin turned around and lowered his voice as well: "Darling, you'll know the result in three hours."

Aniston shrugged: "Hopefully we all gain something from this."

Her gaze shifted to a row of seats across the aisle.

Over there, the main cast and crew of "Focus" have basically all arrived.

In the Best Picture category, Moonlight and Gathering are the biggest favorites.

Other nominated films, such as Bridge of Spies, Split, and Room, are clearly just there to fill the ranks.

There weren't many people from the "Split" crew. David Fincher had already said goodbye to the Oscars and naturally had no interest in attending the awards ceremony.

Aside from Martin Scorsese's Best Actor award, the film only received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, with Jonathan Nolan also receiving one.

Leonardo and Nicholson came in from outside one after the other and sat down next to Martin.

Martin glanced at Leonardo and said, "Congratulations, Leonardo, you've successfully lost weight."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "The role of The Revenant was so grueling, you know? I lost a whole ten pounds!"

Nicholson flicked Leonardo's deflated belly: "You'll win back your true love when you lose weight."

When the topic of true love came up, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared slightly downcast and said in a low voice, "They have a great relationship, and I don't want to be a destroyer."

Martin patted Leonardo on the shoulder: "Giselle will divorce Tom Brady. I've heard it from a few friends in the fashion industry. Giselle is already very dissatisfied with Tom Brady."

Leonardo, surprised, asked, "Why?"

Martin casually made up a story: "Because Tom Brady's greatest love is football, and then his family."

Leonardo blinked. "Really?"

"Whether it's true or false, it doesn't matter to you." Nicholson stated a stark truth: "Even if Gisele divorces Tom Brady, she won't choose you. Leo, you'll still be that idiot who can only stand on the sidelines cheering for Gisele and others."

Leonardo DiCaprio protested: "Why can I only cheer? I like Gisele!"

Martin gave the final answer: "Giselle wants marriage. Would you marry Giselle?"

He deliberately taunted, "Leo, I guarantee you, if you're willing to marry Gisele, just take her to Las Vegas right now to register, Gisele will immediately divorce Tom Brady."

These words brought Leonardo back to reality: "Why did I marry Gisele...?"

Martin asked, "Do you hate Tom Brady?"

Leonardo nodded slightly.

Nicholson chimed in, "That way you can sleep with Tom Brady's wife and beat Tom Brady's kids."

Leonardo was initially rendered speechless by the two bastards' coordinated attack, but then he found a point of retaliation: "I'm not Martin, who only likes other people's wives."

Martin gave him the middle finger from under his seat.

Leonardo quickly changed the subject, asking Nicholson, "Are you a presenter today?"

Nicholson shook his head: "No."

"I didn't get an invitation either." Leonardo looked at Martin and said deliberately, "Dude, if the Academy doesn't invite the two of us to be presenters for the Best Actor award, your third Oscar is in jeopardy."

Martin snorted and said, "Because the academy is afraid of you, an incompetent fool, who can't even solve the simplest arithmetic problem about the number of golden statuettes!"

Music started playing, and Chris Rock, the Black comedian who was hosting this year's Academy Awards ceremony, walked onto the big stage.

The Split film received only two nominations, both of which were in the later stages of the awards ceremony.

Although Chris Rock tried his best to liven things up, Martin quickly became sleepy. After all, he, as the voter, hadn't even seen most of the nominated films, so naturally he wasn't interested.

Soon, the first award nomination for the "Split" production team was announced.

Jonathan Nolan did not win an award; the Best Adapted Screenplay award went to the film project "The Big Short" from Louise Films.

Awards were presented one by one, and the South Korean, who received special attention from the Academy, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

This is undoubtedly a great encouragement to the owner's dog.

Once the bone is thrown, the dog will be more enthusiastic afterwards.

The Best Actor award is the second to last tonight, and the presenter is the previous year's Best Actress winner.

Julian Moore walked onto the stage carrying a large envelope.

She made some joking remarks, then turned halfway around to look at the big screen behind her, introducing the nominees for this year's Best Actor award.

The following actors received Best Actor nominations: Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs); Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies); Martin Davis (Split)...

The accompanying footage shows Martin rapidly switching between different personalities in just over ten seconds.

This performance was absolutely superb!

Leonardo glanced at his old friend beside him and said, "For this role, you definitely deserve an award!"

The television cameras then turned to Martin, who appeared calm. After all, he had done all the work for the prize, and now all he had to do was wait for the fair and square result.

On stage, Julianne Moore opened the envelope, took out the card, glanced at it, and announced the result directly: "The Oscar for Best Actor goes to Martin Davis!"

Upon hearing his name called, Martin clenched his fists, slammed them against the armrests of his seat, and stood up with a smile.

Nicholson laughed as he stood up and hugged Martin. "Go on, go up there and insult Leo to your heart's content!"

Leonardo shoved Nicholson aside and punched Martin on the shoulder with his fist: "Damn it, you've gotten ahead of me again."

Martin laughed and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you solve the age-old problem."

Leonardo muttered, "Thank you!"

Martin hugged Jonathan Nolan again, buttoned up his suit jacket, and strode toward the stage.

A wave of applause erupted, and everyone in the audience stood up.

Martin walked onto the stage and received a gleaming Oscar statuette from Julianne Moore.

Julian Moore gestured to the microphone and stepped aside.

"Thank you to the Academy, thank you to all the judges, for allowing me to stand here tonight." Martin raised his trophy. "Thank you to my friends and family, thank you to all the members of my team! Thank you Jonathan, your script is fantastic! Thank you to director David Fincher, you are a mentor and friend to me; without your help, this role would not exist."

The time allotted for each person to give their acceptance speech has been reduced to 48 seconds, and the time is almost up after just a few sentences.

Before Martin could cause any trouble, he quickly said, "Don't kick me off the stage yet! There's one more thing! Leo, you warned me before you came up that I shouldn't do math problems. Okay, I'll listen to you and won't let you do them."

The whole room erupted in laughter.

Let's not talk about this; it's more interesting than bringing it up.

Leonardo deliberately waved at Martin to express his displeasure.

As the music signaling the end of the performance began, Martin raised the Oscar statuette, waved to the audience, and walked backstage.

As soon as he entered backstage, Warren Beatty, who was waiting there, raised his fist and said, "Congratulations, Martin, you've won your third Oscar."

Martin bumped fists with him: "Thanks."

Seeing Warren Beatty waiting to go on stage, he asked, "Are you the presenter for Best Picture?"

Warren Beatty nodded slightly: "The academy specifically invited me, so it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse."

Those who can serve as presenters for the Best Film award are all top figures in the industry, with fame, experience, and recognition from their peers.

The director and several others standing nearby also congratulated Martin, and Martin responded to their congratulations.

"Where are the people from PwC?" the director asked quickly when he saw Warren Beatty empty-handed.

Someone replied, "They went to get the envelopes."

The director glanced at his watch: "Give them a heads-up, tell them to hurry up."

The man immediately ran out.

The last award, Best Picture, is about to be presented.

Because of his appointment with Jennifer Aniston, Martin didn't leave but waited at the backstage entrance to watch the final results.

PwC staff rushed over and handed the envelope to Warren Beatty.

The director complained that time was almost up, the music started, and he quickly said, "Warren, get on stage."

Warren Beatty took the envelope, strode onto the stage, and began reciting his lines with practiced ease.

The guests at the scene and the viewers in front of the television were all waiting for the final result.

After introducing each of the films nominated for Best Picture, Warren Beatty lowered his head to open the envelope.

Each envelope will be labeled with the name of the corresponding award.

But this nearly eighty-year-old veteran actor's eyesight had long since deteriorated. He vaguely saw a line of subtitles, but without thinking much of it, he opened the envelope, took out the card, and stared at it intently.

Warren Beatty realized something was wrong because after the movie title on the card, there was only one person's name.

According to Oscar rules, the names of two producers can be listed after the Best Picture winner.

The old man didn't think much of it. He looked at it carefully to make sure he hadn't mistaken the name, then looked up into the microphone and said, "The winner of Best Picture is... Spotlight. Congratulations to Thomas McCarthy."

Martin was somewhat surprised to hear this name, as the Best Picture winners at the Directors Guild Awards and the Producers Union Awards all went to "Moonlight," which was financed by Jennifer Aniston.

Then, realizing something, he quickly glanced at the director and the PwC staff.

Martin thought to himself, "Could it be such a coincidence?"

A round of applause filled the Dolby Theatre as the "Spotlight" cast, led by director and producer Thomas McCarthy, took to the stage.

(End of this chapter)