America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 229, Section 228: The Hard-Won Award

Los Angeles, Dolby Theatre, the scene of the 76th Academy Awards ceremony.

Catherine Zeta-Jones walked out in a red koi fish-patterned evening gown, her long black hair and radiant smile truly resembling a mermaid from the sea.

"For an actor, the moment the white envelope is revealed is the most important moment of his life, and all the male actors who follow will enjoy the honor of this moment."

"The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are Tim Robbins for Mystic River, Alec Baldwin for The Cooler, Benicio Del Toro for 21 Grams, Djimon Hounsou for The New American Dream, and Ken Watanabe for The Last Samurai."

The camera pans to everyone, with Ken Watanabe, the only one with yellow skin, being almost the leading Japanese actor in Hollywood films.

He's always the first choice for any role that involves a high-ranking Japanese official, a wealthy businessman, or a powerful figure—he's practically a character actor.

Catherine Ze Jones opened the white envelope: "The winner is Tim Robbins' *Mystic River*."

The same answer as the Golden Globe Award winner immediately drew cheers and applause from the audience.

After hugging and kissing the crew, Tim Robbins excitedly walked onto the stage to accept the award. By then, he had gray hair and looked much more mature than during his time with "The Shawshank Redemption".

After expressing his gratitude, he also specifically mentioned director Clint Eastwood, who looked very handsome today.

The camera also mentioned his girlfriend, Susan Sarandon, focusing on the actress known for her acting skills. She was all smiles, clearly happy for her boyfriend's award.

hiss.

Eric was looking at the stage, the scene from Shawshank Redemption flashing through his mind, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand.

Although Ashley and Gadot were both looking straight ahead, their subordinates were simultaneously pinching him, seemingly as if they were complaining.

Why can't you go public with this? Why are you hiding it? Can't you act like a responsible man?

Eric could only smile wryly at this, thinking to himself, "Why can't you put yourselves in my shoes?"

Am I being irresponsible? I was worried that if it were made public, you would start fighting. If it weren't to protect you, would I have put up with this?

Ugh!

It's hard to be a man! It's hard to be a celebrity!

Being a rich, powerful, and famous man—it's difficult!

"Finally, I want to say that in the movie I am a victim of bullying and violence. If you have suffered the same pain, please remember to seek help."

"I also urge everyone to take this matter seriously, as this is something we can all do to prevent tragedy from happening."

"Thank you, thank you everyone!"

Tim Robbins' very positive viewpoint won a standing ovation, and he walked off the stage amidst applause.

The camera focused on Crystal, who said with a serious expression, "The first award was presented successfully, that's great, I'm finally not nervous anymore."

"You know I haven't hosted the Oscars in four years. I thank the Academy for letting me freely enter and leave this highest hall of film, like I'm serving in the Texas Guard."

Hahahaha

The audience erupted in cheers, because the joke was a blatant mockery of George W. Bush.

George W. Bush joined the guard, but everyone knew how powerful his family was, so military discipline was meaningless to him; he could come and go as he pleased.

George W. Bush is a Republican, and Hollywood is a major Democratic stronghold, so the political jokes of recent years have almost all been made against him.

After the laughter subsided, Kristoff returned to the main topic: "Let's welcome our next presenter, the Maiar of Middle-earth, the leader of the mutants. Welcome Ian McKellen."

The old man, with his neat short hair, walked out gracefully from backstage, speaking in a very sophisticated English accent.

Whether it's a professional habit or not, Eric always feels like he's listening to a play when he listens to Eric speak, even in casual conversation.

"The job of art director is to design and sketch out everything on the big screen so that you believe you are in a hobbit's dwelling, an artist's studio, a Japanese samurai village, a racecourse in the last century, or a car that can transform."

The nominees for Best Production Design are: Grant Major, Dan Hannah, and Alan Lee for *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*; Ben van Oss and Cecil Heidemann for *Girl with a Pearl Earring*; and Jenny Opiva and Leslie Pope for *Seabiscuit*.

"Lily Gilvet and Gretchen Law in The Last Samurai; William Sandel and Robert Gould in Transformers."

"It's our turn! It's our turn!" Gadot exclaimed excitedly. It was her first time attending the Oscars, and she still had high hopes.

But Gandalf's announcement shattered her illusions: "Congratulations to the winners of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' Grant Major, Dan Hannah, and Alan Lee!"

The entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause; it was an indisputable result.

Eric gently patted Gadot's thigh to reassure her, saying that tonight was Lord of the Rings' show, and no one else could make a difference.

Three art directors walked onto the stage, two of whom were bald, which showed how difficult the job was.

Subsequently, "Finding Nemo" won Best Animated Feature, "Harvey Naked" won Best Animated Short Film, and "Chernobyl Hearts" won Best Documentary Short Film.

Eric admits that the animated film is indeed excellent, but he doesn't really acknowledge the merits of the documentary "Chernobyl Hearts".

In his view, documentaries should strive to restore the truth as much as possible, without adding subjective shots or judgments from the director, and without being influenced by their own values, otherwise they would lose the fairness of documentaries.

However, "Chernobyl" falls short in this respect. The director brought too much subjectivity, even a sense of condescending pity.

Compared to HBO's 2019 series "Chernobyl," it falls short in every aspect, and its award win was largely due to its political correctness.

Following closely behind, the two technical awards for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup were won by "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," without any controversy.

To the background music, Fang Jimo walked onto the stage to present the Best Supporting Actress award. For some reason, this guy seemed to be in a bad mood. His face was expressionless the whole time, and he didn't even smile. He recited his lines like he was reciting a script, as if he was in a hurry to leave work.

Ultimately, Renée Zellweger won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Cold Mountain.

On the podium, Zellweger held a prepared script and read it as she delivered her acceptance speech, clearly showing her excitement.

After Zellweger stepped off the stage with the trophy, the awards ceremony began with the usual song and dance performance.

Eric looked back and saw Theron staring blankly ahead. When she noticed him, she immediately revealed two dimples.

Behind her, Jude Law, who was not yet bald and was in the prime of his life known as "Jude the Flower," glanced at the two of them and then nodded slightly, as if he had realized something.

After a ten-minute song and dance performance, Will Smith and his wife Jadapink walked hand in hand onto the stage to present the award for best visual effects.

There are countless rumors about this couple in later generations, which often dominate the trending topics.

They each do their own thing. Will Smith let his wife sleep with other black men because his penis was too small to satisfy her.

Jada Pinkett Smith has a younger boyfriend, and Will Smith has a younger girlfriend. The media has even published photos of them, but it's hard to tell if they're real or fake.

Amidst the flying rumors, Will Smith delivered an angry slap at the Oscars, giving presenter Rock a hard slap for his insulted wife.

The celebrities present were stunned, and Nicole in the front row made a truly hilarious face.

Although it was later confirmed that the meme was not related to this incident, the meme still trended on social media.

This massive controversy not only propelled him to the top of global trending topics but also doubled the Oscars' viewership, a truly remarkable achievement.

Then everyone wondered whether their love was genuine or if their marriage was just a formality.

I don't understand, I really don't understand!

However, they are still seen as a model couple by everyone.

The two, who are about a head taller than each other, walked together to the microphone: "Some fantastical movies can't exist in reality, such as a cursed skull ship, a black-robed man riding a dragon and flying in the sky, and cars and airplanes that can transform."

"And when these things that don't exist in reality are brought to the big screen, the outstanding contributions must be made by the special effects experts behind the scenes."

"It must feel great to present the award to Tina, who was nominated for Best Visual Effects, with my wife. Let's talk about it together."

"OK!"

The films nominated for Best Visual Effects are: *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (Jim Reiger, Randall William Cooke); *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (John Noel, Hal Sickle); and *Transformers* (Charles Gibson, Terry Frazier).

Unlike other awards, which have at least five or even six nominees, awards such as Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Documentary often have fewer than five nominees.

The reason is simple: not many blockbuster movies are released every year, especially in this era.

Even if there are more than five films this year, nominations will be selected from those of similar quality. There are many films with large budgets but poor special effects, which is why there is dissatisfaction with the nominations.

Gadot pinched Eric's hand again, pursed her lips, and looked nervously at the white envelope, but the result undoubtedly disappointed her once again.

"The film with the best visual effects is 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' congratulations!"

The grand and majestic music of Middle-earth resounded throughout the venue, and Gadot slumped into her seat like a deflated balloon.

Eric gently patted her: "Mind your manners, don't look so ugly, or you'll be in the newspapers tomorrow."

"But I can't be happy."

"I'm not happy either, but we must have the basic professionalism of actors. Do you see those nominees happy?"

"Okay, but the camera didn't capture me."

At this moment, comedy master Jim Carrey walked onto the stage and began to show off his rubber face and jokes.

"I like to tease people, I've always been like this since I was little, the most memorable time was when I teased my older sister."

"I was hiding under the bed while she and her boyfriend were having sex. I suddenly appeared and startled them. They flailed their limbs and spit everywhere."

"Although she was very angry and felt violated, she became particularly sensitive afterward, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

"OK! I don't know why I made such a joke. Let's hurry up and announce the results."

The nominees for Best Actor are: Sean Penn for Mystic River, Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean, Jude Law for Cold Mountain, Bill Murray for Lost in Translation, and Anthony Mackie for Get Out.

On the set of Get Out, everyone was on edge, not daring to breathe. Although Anthony Mikan wasn't a favorite, what if he was?

"The winner is Sean Penn's *Mystic River*, congratulations!"

Unfortunately, the result was the same as the Golden Globe; Anthony Mikan was still too young, and in terms of acting skills alone, he didn't have a clear advantage.

He let out a long sigh of relief, his tense mood easing, and smiled as he offered his applause.

Even the most daring Sean Penn wouldn't dare cause trouble at the Oscars, and instead delivered his acceptance speech honestly.

After he stepped down from the stage, a stunning figure emerged – Scarlett Janssen in a dark green evening gown.

Her look today is so much better than at the Golden Globes. Eric just thinks she looks beautiful, but Ashley and Mary both have their eyes on her lipstick shade. Women always notice things that men don't.

"Distinguished guests, today I'd like to share something interesting with you: do you know what the first sound film was?"

"Hehe. I knew many people wouldn't be able to answer, so let me tell you, it's Alan Crossland's 'The Jazz Singer' from 1927."

"From then on, movies had sound, becoming more vivid and lively, and better able to convey emotions."

"The nominees for Best Sound Editing are Richard King for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Christopher Boyce and George Waters II for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Gary Reedstrom and Michael Sylvester for Transformers."

There are three nominees, and this is the award that Transformers is most likely to win, because the other awards overlap with those of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Scarlett Johansson then pulled out a whitelist of winners: "Let me see who's had the good fortune. The winner is Transformers! Congratulations to both of you!"

Yeah!

The two editors stood up excitedly, and the rest of the crew followed suit, getting up to hug them. Eric patted them on the shoulder: "Go on, don't keep the ladies waiting."

Whoops!

Looking down, he saw a mark on his shoe. He glanced at Gadot, Ashley, and Mary, and realized that only the three of them were suspects who could have touched him.

However, all three clapped with smiles, and no one could tell that their acting was much better than when they were filming.

"Thank you, thank you to the Academy for the award. To be honest, the process of filming 'Transformers' was both happy and difficult, because the time was really tight and the director was urging us to make progress every day."

Hahaha.

The camera panned to Eric, who gave a heartfelt round of applause.

"But without his encouragement and guidance, we wouldn't have been able to produce such a great work. So we must thank everyone in the crew, thank Mr. Cooper, and we hope you achieve even greater success today!"

(End of this chapter)