America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 330, Section 328: Major Awards

Los Angeles, Kodak Theatre, the scene of the 77th Academy Awards ceremony.

As night fell, the real ceremony began with a medley of short films that linked together many classic characters and scenes from the past and present.

Finally, with Chaplin and Shrek standing side by side, host Chris Rock walked onto the stage.

You might not recognize this name, but when it comes to Will Smith's assault case, he's a household name.

This was even the most widely publicized event at the Oscars in recent years, and the guy who got slapped was this guy.

He is an actor and stand-up comedian with his own show, and is known for his sharp satirical jokes and political jokes.

So despite being Black, he enjoys considerable popularity among young people and is currently at the peak of his career.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you everyone, no need to stand up and applaud, please sit down."

His words only made things worse, and with a Black actor leading the way, others were forced to stand up as well.

But not everyone gave him that courtesy. When the camera panned across the audience and landed on Eric, he simply smiled and clapped, still sitting with his legs crossed.

It does seem a bit abrupt, but I have the right to do so.

It exists now, and it will exist even more in a few years.

"I like watching movies, and I believe everyone likes them, especially younger people."

"However, some childhood masterpieces, when viewed now, will make you scream in anger, such as: Rocky V is a really bad movie."

The camera immediately focused on Stallone, who shrugged helplessly and shook his head, which immediately drew laughter from everyone.

"I love attending the Oscars because it's the most authentic awards ceremony; there's absolutely no cheating here."

"What? You mean Harvey Weinstein?"

"Please, I visited him in prison, and he said that all of Miramax's awards were earned through merit."

Oh!

Oh!

Hahaha.

No one expected Chris Rock to unleash his ultimate move right from the start.

Although he is known for his outspokenness and playful nature, the fact that the academy allowed him to make such jokes shows how uninhibited he is.

Eric looked up at the big screen, where the reactions from the audience clearly demonstrated the thoughts of different groups of people.

Those who had nothing to do with it laughed heartily and clapped their hands in delight, finding the spectacle incredibly enjoyable.

However, actors like Gwyneth Paltrow and Catherine Zeta-Jones won awards for Miramax films.

They either give an awkward smile, stare blankly ahead, or pretend to chat with the people around them, avoiding showing their face to the camera.

The Disney staff were equally unhappy; Michael Ianas was absent, and a vice president was present instead.

He touched his nose, a forced smile on his face.

But what can we do?

Times have changed. Disney is clearly no match for MGM now. In the past, Miramax was at least a subsidiary of Disney, so you had to consider the owner before beating the dog.

The happiest people were naturally Spielberg and others who had been wronged, who couldn't help but shout in their hearts, "Keep up the good work and keep mocking me!"

"There are thousands of people sitting here tonight, but only a handful of them are true stars; the rest are just moderately popular actors."

"Clint Eastwood is a star, but Tobey Maguire is just a boy in a tights."

The camera focused on the old man and the young man, and Grandpa Fuyuki smiled slightly.

"Sometimes a production team wants to cast a big star, you want to cast Tom Cruise, but in the end you only find Jude Law."

"Who is Jude Law? Why is he always jumping around in his movies these past few years?"

"He is American one moment, British the next, and Russian the next."

"One minute he's heterosexual, the next he's homosexual."

"You can see him everywhere, even in the production crew list, where he's serving tea and water."

"I've always suspected that he might be playing Jabba the Hulk in Star Wars: Episode III?"

Chris Rock continued to mock Jude Law, who has indeed made quite a few movies in recent years, including "Enemy at the Gates," "Cold Mountain," and "Road to Perdition."

However, despite constantly changing her acting roles and pushing her own boundaries, she has not been favored by any major awards.

It's fortunate he didn't participate today, given such blatant mockery; otherwise, even with his good temper, he would have given them a hard time.

With Chris Rock's foul mouth, he deserved that slap.

Of course, besides actors, political jokes are also included, especially since George W. Bush has just been re-elected. How could Hollywood not make fun of him?

With the release of "Fahrenheit 9/11" this year, it naturally became a topic of jokes.

While seemingly mocking the movie, they are actually all criticisms of George W. Bush.

"Now, sitting in the White House, looking at a fiscal deficit of trillions of dollars, what do you think he'd be thinking?"

"War! The answer is, of course, war."

"He'll just pick any small country and declare war on it. As for the reason, even doing laundry could be used. What else wouldn't work?"

Hahahaha

It has to be said that Eric was amused by him.

In 2003, in order to justify the deployment of troops to Iraq, U.S. representative Powell held up a small bottle containing white powder at the United Nations General Assembly and confidently asserted that it was a weapon of mass destruction discovered in Iraq.

Then he was ridiculed by Putin, who said it contained laundry detergent, a scene that has remained popular for decades.

After telling some jokes and getting the atmosphere lively enough, Chris Rock left the stage, and Halle Berry, the first award presenter, took to the stage.

"Seventy-seven years ago, the first Academy Award trophy was made based on the manuscript of the legendary art master, Schiller Giespen."

"Tonight, I am honored to present the first award, Best Art Direction."

"They are Antony Pratt and Celia Bobak in *The Phantom of the Opera*, and Gemma Jackson and Theresa Edwards in *Finding Neverland*."

"Rick Heinrichs's The Unfortunate Adventures of Raymond Snicket, Erin Bonnetto's The Long Engagement, and Cheryl Karasik's La Vie en Rose."

Black Pearl opened the envelope: "The winner is Rick Heinrichs's *The Unfortunate Adventures of Raymond Snicket*."

Everyone immediately applauded. Each of the five films had its own merits, and it didn't matter which one you chose; it was all a matter of luck.

Eric, on the contrary, was somewhat pleased. He whispered to Nico, "Your chances of winning the award have increased a little."

"I hope so."

After delivering her acceptance speech, Renée Zellweger went on stage to present the Best Supporting Actor award.

Her look today was a disaster; the very old-fashioned hairstyle paired with the bright red dress was a disaster. I wonder who designed it.

"Tonight, five outstanding male actors are competing for the Best Supporting Actor award. The nominees are Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) and Alan Elda (The Aviator)."

"Thomas Harden Church's *Sideways*, Jamie Foxx's *Collateral*, Clive Irving's *Closer*."

Five short films were playing on the big screen. Morgan Freeman and Alan Elda were the most popular choices among the media and audience, while the other three were almost certainly going to be runners-up.

Renée Zellweger glanced at the results and announced with a smile, "The winner is Morgan Freeman's 'Million Dollar Baby'."

Instantly, the entire audience cheered, and the other four all showed expressions of sincere admiration.

Grandpa Fuyuki and Hilary Swank stood up and hugged him. As they walked past Eric, they smiled and waved. This award was well-deserved.

After adjusting his scarf, Morgan Freeman quickly walked up and accepted the trophy.

"I want to thank the entire cast and crew of 'Million Dollar Baby,' even if you only had a small part in the production."

Hahaha.

"Special thanks to Clint Eastwood; it was a wonderful experience to work with him again."

"Thank you Hilary Swank, she is a fantastic actress and very dedicated."

"And MGM, Mr. Eric Cooper, I heard he took a liking to the script at first sight and then brought us all together."

Eric nodded and made a "1" gesture towards the camera.

"Finally, I want to thank the college. Receiving this award means a lot to me. Thank you all!"

Amid the applause, Eric said to Nicole again, "Honey, your chances of winning Best Actress have increased a little more."

"I think so too, hehe." Nicole quietly covered her mouth, a little worried about being filmed by the camera.

After Morgan Freeman stepped down, comedy master Robin Williams walked up in high spirits.

His voice was very loud: "Animation breathes life into inanimate objects. Masters use their skills to make characters come alive, like they've taken Viagra."

He openly made a lewd joke, which instantly made many people's backs hurt and caused a burst of laughter.

Grandpa Robin then pointed at Grandpa Fuyuki: "Clint also said he'd reserve one for me."

After making a series of jokes about the older guys, Robin Williams said, "This year's nominees for Best Animated Feature are: Brad Bird of The Incredibles, Bibo Bogleon of Shark Gang, Chris Buck of Frozen, and Andrew Adamson of Shrek 2."

When the big screen played "Frozen," the cheers were noticeably louder.

This is practically one of the most predictable awards of the night. From the perspectives of plot, themes, and impact, Frozen undoubtedly has an overwhelming advantage.

Grandpa Robin opened the envelope, glanced at it, and chuckled, "The winner is Frozen, the highest-grossing film of 2004!"

*Clap clap clap*

As "Let It Go" began, the entire audience erupted in applause.

A lot happened in Hollywood this past year, but even so, the title of the highest-grossing film of the year is enough to make it unforgettable.

With a global box office of $11.87 billion, Queen Elsa secured the second-highest grossing film in world history.

Director Chris Buck accepted the trophy and excitedly thanked this person and that person.

Finally, he raised the trophy towards where Eric was sitting: "Lastly, I must also thank Mr. Eric Cooper, who, although he wasn't constantly overseeing the film's production, set the entire framework."

"He's a screenwriter, art director, visual effects supervisor, and songwriter."

"Elsa, Anna, Olaf, he personally participated in the design of every important character."

"Strictly speaking, this award should have been given to him; I only did some basic work."

The camera then focused on Eric, who clapped and cheered happily.

After Chris Buck stepped down, the two hugged again in front of the cameras.

Then, Frozen won Best Original Song again, once again without any controversy.

The Best Animated Short Film award went to the Canadian film "Saving Master Ryan".

The Best Live Action Short Film award went to "The Wasp".

The Best Documentary Feature award went to "Born in a Brothel," a film about a group of children living in Kolkata's red-light district who learn photography from an American journalist.

How so?

The film's style reflects American thinking, as if the protagonist were the only savior.

But if you say it's meaningless, it has indeed had a positive impact on the lives of these children, since relying on the Indian government is even less likely.

The short documentary "A Moment of Greatness: The Children's Parade" won the Best Documentary Short Film award.

Controversially, Fahrenheit 9/11 did not receive a single nomination, even though as a political documentary, its impact far exceeded the combined impact of all the nominations.

It's a real shame he wasn't nominated, but George W. Bush won the Golden Raspberry Award for Best Actor for his role in this film.

The Best Foreign Language Film award went to the Spanish film "The Sea Inside," while this year China Film Group submitted Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers."

This film isn't exactly trash, but it's not exactly good either.

The story was told in a muddled way, making it impossible to find the core message. Eric's assessment of it was simply that it was muddled.

Such a film naturally wouldn't win Best Foreign Language Film.

This year, Hong Kong submitted Johnnie To's "Running on Karma" for review. It can't be called excellent, but it's at least much better than "House of Flying Daggers".

However, the core of the story was too difficult to understand, especially for foreigners, so it was not shortlisted.

Eric's idea was to submit "Kung Fu Hustle" for censorship, given its Christmas release and box office success second only to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

With a complete storyline and a straightforward narrative that isn't difficult to understand, it's definitely worthy of a nomination.

However, Chinese-language films were not entirely wiped out, as "House of Flying Daggers" received a nomination for Best Cinematography.

It will be broadcast again on CCTV's movie channel this year; let's see if it can win an award.

After the intermission, Scarlett Janssen, dressed in a beautiful evening gown, came to the center of the stage.

She looked stunning today, with her golden hair styled in an updo and her large, bright eyes accentuated by her side-swept bangs. Her excellent figure further enhanced her extraordinary beauty.

A stunning beauty, exuding charm.

"Good movies cannot be made without good screenwriters. Only when screenwriters write excellent stories can directors and actors bring those stories to the big screen."

"Next up is the Best Original Screenplay award, with nominees Eric Cooper for Inception and Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

"Terry George and Kyle Pearson's Hotel Luanda, John Logan's The Aviator, and once again Eric Cooper's Frozen."

The big screen was divided into five sections, and Eric occupied two of them, one in the first position and the other in the last position. It looked like the other three were surrounded by him, and the award was already his.

However, according to media predictions, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is also a popular film.

The superb acting of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, in particular, greatly enhanced the script, making the outcome difficult to predict.

Scarlett Janssen smiled as she opened the envelope, but her hand slipped and the letter fell to the ground, eliciting a soft chuckle.

"Sorry, I'm more nervous than the nominee."

Who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay?

(End of this chapter)