America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 86. Teasing and Unexpected Events

Some birds can't be caged.

"You won't even call me Godfather!"

"While you're young, write down the personal experiences you can remember and share them with others."

"Never be homesick, never go home."

"One day when we look back, we will think that Saving Private Ryan was a masterpiece we accomplished in this war-torn era."

"I would do anything for you, except betray my own people."

"When God closes a door, he opens a window somewhere."

"free!"

"With you, the world is more interesting."

At the Kodak Theatre, special effects diamonds fell from the big screen, each diamond representing a movie.

On the massive surface of the diamond, vivid movie characters tell their stories.

The Shawshank Redemption, Papillon, Cinema Paradiso, Saving Private Ryan, Ben-Hur, The Sound of Music, Braveheart, The Silence of the Lambs.

Finally, the diamonds fell one by one, piling up into a small mountain, and in the center of the mountain was the little golden statuette that symbolizes the Oscars.

The host then took to the stage, and this year's person in charge of this position was actor, screenwriter, and director Steve Martin.

He has been in the film industry for over 20 years and is a well-known comedian. He is also an old friend of many people present. When he appeared, many people stood up and applauded, showing him great respect.

The camera panned across the audience, where celebrities stood up one by one. Eric's seat was arranged in the first row, near the aisle.

He didn't know Steve Martin, he just clapped his hands symbolically, and then the camera suddenly panned to him.

There was nothing he could do but force a smile, stand up from his seat, and clap his hands.

Perhaps the organizing committee took into account his status, the fact that he didn't have a film crew, and that it was his first time participating, so they arranged a prominent seat in the first row for him, but Eric actually didn't want to sit there.

Because his handsome face would inevitably attract the camera's attention, which would make him very uncomfortable.

"Shit! Who assigned me this seat?! Those guys from the academy!"

After the applause, everyone sat down again.

Steve Martin smiled and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you all. As you all know, I wasn't a host last year because nobody wanted me."

A soft chuckle rippled through the audience.

"But I've returned to this stage this year, and I know it's a result of everyone's support, except, of course, France and Germany!"

Upon hearing this, the audience burst into laughter, as it was a blatant mockery of war.

Although the United States claimed to have assembled 49 countries to launch a military strike against Iraq, so far only the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland have actually participated in the war.

Germany and France, both EU members and often aligned with the US, expressed their opposition and issued public condemnations, a clear slap in the face to the US.

"Look at you all, producers, directors, screenwriters, and actors. If I were trapped here, I'd eat you all in order!"

Laughter erupted again from the audience. It was another joke, a jab at the power dynamics within the production crew, where the producer is generally considered the boss and the actors the weakest.

Meanwhile, the camera also focused on producers and directors such as Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Harvey Weinstein, and Eric.

"Damn it, how did I end up in the same frame as Weinstein!" Eric clapped his hands and complained.

"Shit! Why put me in the same frame as that MGM brat? He doesn't deserve to sit in that position!" Harvey Weinstein thought to himself while laughing.

Since the Cooper family took over MGM, it's been like they've been at odds with Miramax, constantly clashing over release dates and cutting box office numbers.

Once might be a coincidence, twice might be a coincidence, but when it happened several times in a row, the Weinstein brothers naturally felt they were being deliberately targeted.

But the truth is, the Coopers did not specifically target him.

Although Eric knew what kind of person this guy was, he wouldn't make enemies for no reason if the other party didn't provoke him, after all, Miramax was backed by Disney.

So you can only say the Weinstein brothers were unlucky; their schedules were so packed that I couldn't wait, so everyone had to compete.

What?! You told me to avoid you and go head-to-head with "The Lord of the Rings"? Why the hell don't you go?

Especially after the release date of "Transformers" was announced, tensions between the Cooper father and son and the Weinstein brothers have gradually flared up.

On stage, Steve Martin continued to make witty remarks.

"This year marks the 75th Academy Awards. Looking back, the first Academy Awards were held just over there on the street, inside the Roosevelt Hotel."

"You can go out and see for yourselves. Just walk down Hollywood Boulevard, then around the prostitutes—sorry, I should say Pretty Girls—and you'll see it. In 1929, all the big stars gathered there, except for John Wades."

This time, the audience laughed even harder, and the camera focused on several Black celebrities, who were clapping with their mouths wide open.

The reason is that back then, Black people were banned from attending the Oscars, and this joke was naturally a dig at racism.

After telling a few political and social jokes, Steve Martin toned it down a bit, since it was wartime, and started making fun of celebrities.

Ben Affleck, Will Smith, Tobey Maguire, and others were all the targets of the jokes.

"Nicole Kidman is here today too. I suddenly remembered a rumor about her: she's always been wearing a fake nose while acting, except for 'The Hours'."

The camera immediately panned to the "The Hours" crew, where Nicole Kidman made changes to her nose to better resemble the real-life character during filming.

Many viewers commented that they couldn't find her in the movie, which sparked heated discussions at the time.

When teased, Nicole Kidman covered her mouth with one hand and lowered her head, while waving her other hand to indicate that people should stop joking with her.

Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, who were also in the cast, clapped and laughed.

The most exciting film crew at this year's Oscars was probably "The Hours," with all three actresses nominated, leading to fierce infighting.

Nicole Kidman will compete with Julianne Moore for Best Actress, while Julianne Moore will compete with Meryl Streep for Best Supporting Actress.

Ironically, the three nominated films were all different: Nicole Kidman was nominated for "The Hours," Julianne Moore for "Far From Heaven," and Meryl Streep for "Adaptation."

"Nicole, don't lower your head, because you look great."

"Then there's our new head, Eric Cooper, the director of the highly anticipated Transformers movie. And there's a mystery surrounding him: does he even understand directing?"

The camera focused on Eric a second time, and soft laughter rang out around him. He could hear Peter Jackson laughing the loudest.

In this situation, one should naturally do something, either by cooperating with some funny actions, or by politely declining like Nicole Kidman.

But Eric was not about to back down. He pointed to his eyes at the camera and then gave two thumbs up.

The meaning is self-evident: we'll see, I'll show you what's what.

OH

Upon seeing Eric make this gesture, the previously quiet atmosphere suddenly erupted into cheers.

Nobody dislikes watching a spectacle, and the bigger the star, the more people enjoy it. From the perspective of the celebrities present, Eric Cooper's statement was quite interesting.

If a movie is well-made, even if it's just passable, that's enough to shut the media up.

But if the filming is poor, I'm sorry, everything you did today, including your past statements, will be dug up and retaliated against. Those media outlets won't care about your identity; they'll ridicule you as they please.

At this moment, many people are secretly laughing, such as Harvey Weinstein and Jack Nicholson, who think that rich kids are really taking things for granted and treating moviemaking like a game.

But some people think that young people should be like that, full of energy and challenges, like Nicole Kidman, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, and Natalie Portman.

Besides, Eric is so handsome, what's wrong with being a little arrogant?

If I had his wealth and good looks, I would be even more arrogant than him.

On stage, Steve Martin laughed heartily; he was just joking, but he didn't expect the other party to take the job.

"Eric Cooper, he accepted the media's challenge. I'll show him what I'm made of. Remember this day!"

"The happiest thing in the world is to strive for an ideal!"

Steve Martin then went on to make fun of a series of people, events, organizations, and hot topics, including homosexuality, the Mafia, and Roman Polanski.

Compared to twenty years later, public opinion is indeed relatively more relaxed now.

"Okay, I know my jokes were bad, so let's leave it at that. Please welcome Cameron Diaz to present the award for Best Animated Feature."

To the accompaniment of melodious background music, the stunning Cameron Diaz walked to the center of the stage.

"With the advancement of the times, animation technology has become better and better. In the past, parents took their children to watch it, but now children take their parents to watch it. People of all ages enjoy it."

"Now I will present the Best Animated Feature Film award. The nominated films are: Ice Age (Chris Wedge), Lilo & Stitch (Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois), Spire the Stallion of the Cimarron (Kelly Asbury and Ronna Cook), Treasure Planet (Ron Clements), and Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)."

Cameron Diaz opened the white envelope and announced: "The winner is Hayao Miyazaki, author of *Spirited Away*."

The theater erupted in applause, but Miyazaki refused to attend because he opposed the US invasion of Iraq, and the award was accepted on his behalf.

Keanu Reeves then presented the Best Visual Effects award, which was won by Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

The Best Supporting Actor award went to Chris Cooper for "Adaptation".

"Chicago" won Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.

The Chicago production team has become the busiest production team so far, and the public relations efforts are showing results, with Harvey Weinstein constantly laughing.

There were also song and dance performances and other entertainment programs interspersed throughout, but to be honest, Eric found it a bit boring.

Just like Dad said, what's the point of going there if you don't have any work to show for it? My butt would ache after sitting there for three or four hours.

Moreover, some technical awards that lack substance fail to attract attention; everyone is waiting for the major awards to come.

Seeing Eric yawn, Nicolas Cage, who was sitting next to him, leaned his head closer.

"A little boring, isn't it?"

Eric looked at him in surprise.

"Even more boring than Windtalkers, right?"

"puff"

Eric couldn't hold back his laughter at the sudden witty remark, which immediately drew everyone's attention.

The two quickly adjusted their posture, but the photographer was too perceptive and decisively snapped another picture.

Just then, it was time to present the Best Supporting Actress award, and Matthew McConaughey walked up, finally drawing everyone's attention back to the prestigious award.

As a result, the Best Supporting Actress award was once again won by Catherine Zeta-Jones for "Chicago," and she went on stage to accept the award while heavily pregnant.

With this, "Chicago" has now won five Oscars, making it arguably the biggest winner on the field.

Then Eminem unleashed his power, with "Lost in Myself," the theme song for "8 Mile," winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song, becoming the first rap song to win an Oscar.

At this moment, the awards ceremony moved on to the Best Foreign Language Film segment.

This year's nominees include "The Sin of Father Amaro" (Mexico), "Hero" (China), "Man Without a Past" (Finland), "Zus & Zo" (Netherlands), and "Capernaum" (Germany).

The camera panned across the room, and Eric followed suit, seeing Zhang Yimou sitting with two strangers.

As for actors like Jet Li, Tony Leung, and Maggie Cheung, none of them were seen. Although each production team has a limited number of slots, the decision not to bring any actors is truly baffling.

As it turned out, Eric already knew that "Hero" had lost the Oscar, and the Best Foreign Language Film award went to the German film "Capernaum".

To be honest, Eric admires the movie "Hero" very much. It was indeed well made, especially the color scheme and the grand scenes, which maintained Zhang Yimou's consistent standards.

However, it has been heavily criticized in this era, with its plot deemed thin and its editing fragmented, which Eric feels is somewhat unfair.

In the footage, as the results were announced, Zhang Yimou applauded, but what he was really thinking remains unknown.

Several more technical awards were then given out, bringing the evening to its climax.

Adrien Brody won Best Actor, beating Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Kane, and Nicolas Cage, becoming the youngest Oscar-winning actor at the age of 29.

Adrien Brody was incredibly excited and probably didn't expect to win the award. After going on stage, he hugged and kissed the award presenter, Halle Berry, leaving her completely stunned.

He then delivered an acceptance speech, and as he had said in a pre-interview, called for an end to war and world peace.

The theater erupted in cheers, offering their blessings to the youngest Best Actor winner.

Adrien Brody's win this time was an absolute upset. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that it was influenced by the war, giving him a significant advantage in terms of timing and circumstances.

After the Best Actor award, it's time for the Best Actress award ceremony.

Denzel Washington strode onto the stage, and as he spoke, the screen began playing videos of past Best Actress winners, many of whom were even sitting in the audience.

Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Susan Sarandon, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow

Okay, the last one can be removed.

The nominees for Best Actress at the Oscars are: Salma Hayek (Frida), Diane Lane (Unfaithful), Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven), Renée Zellweger (Chicago), and Nicole Kidman (The Hours).

Five glamorous women occupy a corner on the big screen.

Denzel Washington gently opened the envelope: "The winner is Nicole Kidman, who narrowly beat me by a nose."

Instantly, the theater erupted in applause, and everyone around Nicole Kidman gave her hugs and blessings.

She couldn't suppress her smile; a few sparkles appeared in the corners of her eyes. She stood up, hugged the crew, and then walked through the crowd toward the stage.

But then, an accident happened.

As Kirsten Dunst said, tripping is every female star's greatest enemy.

Perhaps she was too excited, because Nicole Kidman was walking very fast and her heel accidentally stepped on the hem of her black dress, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

(End of this chapter)