Chapter 410

Best visual effects, best art direction, best editing … The technical awards were given out one by one, but Adriaan didn't care at all. He was even distracted from time to time, even though the awards were divided between "The Lord of the Rings" and "Moulin Rouge". He only paid a little more attention when it came to the awards for best supporting actor and actress, and best original score.

Naomi was nominated for an Oscar for the first time. Although the chances of her winning were very small, it was hard to say who would win without "A Beautiful Mind". However, the final result was the same as Adriaan had guessed. Apart from Naomi, Marisa Tomei had already won the best supporting actress award, and Maggie Smith — Professor Mag — had won both the leading actress and supporting actress awards. There was also Brenda Sid, who was nominated for the first time like Naomi, so Helen Mirren won the award.

Interestingly, Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "Gosford Manor", which was just nice. Adrian's brilliance was somewhat taken away, and he was finally not particularly outstanding.

As for the best supporting actor award, although McKellen was nominated for "The Lord of the Rings", it was basically impossible for him to win these awards with non-realistic works, just like the best film, best director, and best actor and actress awards. So, Jim Broadbent of "Life Hand in Hand" still won the award.

For McKellen, it didn't matter whether he won the award or not, even though he was still a little unwilling. As for Naomi, oh, Adriaan also had plans, so he didn't need to worry.

What he was most concerned about was the best original score. Although the score of "The Lord of the Rings" was 80% different from the original, it was still very grand and magnificent. Hans Zimo had spent a lot of effort on it, and many of the scores had been revised three or four times before they were finalized. Although there were many excellent composers in Hollywood, Adriaan had always liked Li Mo, so he poached him to be the music director of Universal, and appointed him to be in charge of the score of "The Lord of the Rings" this time.

So, when the presenter announced that the winner was Hans Zimo, Adriaan stood up and applauded first, and Li Mo hugged him tightly before he went up.

"Thank you to the judges of the Film school, my family, and my friends. You've given me countless support …" Li Mo expressed his pride as a composer, and described this "great" job. In the end, he said, "Also, thank you, Mr. Adrian Kewell. I put you last because I really admire you. You're good at moving people's emotions. Although you like to criticize others too much, your opinions have been proven to be correct. It's my honor to work with you."

His tone was exactly the same as last year's. It was a relief that so far, Li Mo was the first person to specifically thank Adriaan at the end of this year's Oscars. Looking through the list, there shouldn't be a repeat of last year's situation.

Next, two awards related to sound effects were given to "Black Hawk Down," and "Pearl Harbor." Although this World War II movie directed and produced by Michael Bay was a box office failure, and even the female lead, who was originally praised, was a little lost. How could Amy Adams compare to Kate? However, the explosion scenes were still his forte, especially the spiral view of the falling bombs. It was indeed a classic. Naturally, he had a good grasp of the sound effects, so it wasn't a problem for him to get a sound effect editor.

As for "Black Hawk Down," frankly speaking, it was a good movie. After getting the script from Adriaan, Scott began to study it. He spent a lot of time and effort on it, but unfortunately, it was born in the wrong time. Before it was released, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. The 1994 Somalia incident had already humiliated the Americans, and this year, they were unexpectedly hit hard in their own country. No one wanted to recall a history that made people feel like they had failed. Therefore, although the movie had a good reputation, the box office was quite mediocre. The only important Oscar nomination was for "Best Director," which was really a pity.

The subsequent awards were not too surprising. The Best Adapted Screenplay was won by "A Beautiful Mind," the Best Original Screenplay was won by "Gosford Manor," and the Best Original Soundtrack was won by Pixar's new animated film, "Monsters Inc."

But what surprised Adriaan was that the first winner of the Film School's Best Animated Feature Film Award was a work that he had not expected at all. Because the Film School had only established the Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 74th Oscars, he was very clear about the first animation to win this award. It was DreamWorks' "Shrek." Although DreamWorks' animation department was different from Pixar's insistence that it was suitable for all ages, the various jokes and reversals of traditional animation were very likable, so it was no wonder that the judges favored it.

But now it was different. The one who won this award was actually Blue Sky Studio's "Ice Age"! Well, the first "Ice Age" was indeed very interesting. It also had various reversals, such as the primitive humans who could not speak and could not communicate with mammoths, gigantic clawed ground sloths, and saber-toothed tigers, or the evolution of the ground sloths in the big ice, and so on. The squirrel chasing after the pine cone was also very eye-catching, but … it seemed that it was unlikely that it would win the Best Animated Feature Film Award.

Well, this was just a psychological effect. After all, in his memory, "Ice Age" should be released next year. So, Adriaan just laughed it off. Blue Sky Studio did a good job, and this way, he was closer to his goal.

The awards were almost finished, and the most important ones were about to appear. The guests who had laughed at Goldberg's comical appearance also calmed down and began to look forward to the final results. Adriaan was no exception. Oh, of course, before that, it was time to do what had always been done.

With a bang, the door of the washroom was violently opened. A woman was grabbed by the arm and pushed into the washroom. She looked extremely unwilling. She walked all the way to the wall and stopped. The man who pushed her in slowly hung a "cleaning in progress" sign on the handle, locked the door, and then pulled her up and pressed her on the washstand.

The woman on top seemed to let out a low sob. Her body was slightly tense, and even her perky buttocks, which were covered by the black skirt, trembled slightly. It looked very seductive.

The man let out a satisfied sigh and immediately lifted the skirt. There was no underwear between the separated legs, and that place was already slightly wet. Like all the villains in the movies, the man opened his zipper with a smug look on his face, then leaned over and pressed down on the woman's body from behind. After a few rounds of foreplay, he pushed forward. The woman who was crawling on the washstand immediately let out a soft moan. She had a mournful look on her face, but she bit her lips, like a woman in the movies who was insulted but didn't dare to make a sound.

Richel was really getting better at acting. Adriaan praised loudly in his heart during the movement. The reason why he chose her to have a passionate moment in the bathroom at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony was that Richel completely knew how to please him and how to provoke the impulse to ravage in his heart. Moreover, she seemed to be used to reaching the peak of happiness in such a state. It was really wonderful. Although this was the result of a strange combination of factors, Adriaan did not want to have too much interaction with her at the beginning, it was precisely because of this that he had a better time.

Although he was very happy to "ravage" her and left after a while, Adriaan still made it in time for the Best Director award.

"They actually awarded the Best Director first. If I had stayed a little longer, wouldn't I have missed it?" After returning to his seat, he pulled his bow tie and said in a sigh, his face relaxed and satisfied.

Therefore, Nicole snorted and did not say anything. Everyone knew what he was doing. It would be strange if she had a good expression on her face. Fortunately, the presenter on the stage quickly attracted everyone's attention. After introducing the nominated directors in turn, he opened the envelope in his hand.

"Ron Howard!" Through the loudspeaker, the name of the winner was read out loudly. Then, the soundtrack of "A Beautiful Mind" sounded, and there was a round of applause. Howard also stood up excitedly and waved his arms.

In contrast, the response from "Black Hawk Down" and "Gosford Manor" was mediocre, and the applause was sparse, especially for the crew of "Gosford Manor." Robert Altman was already 76 years old, and this was probably his last chance to fight for the Oscars. Unfortunately, this award did not move according to his will, and it was still won by Howard.

"Thank you, thank you, everyone." After receiving the Little Golden Man, Howard immediately began to express his gratitude enthusiastically. Although Adriaan was also among them, he did not take it out to express his gratitude alone like before or last year. This made many people breathe a sigh of relief again. So far, only Li Mo had done this.

Adriaan just clapped his hands and congratulated Howard. When he went up, he got up to shake hands with him and patted him on the shoulder. He had never thought of winning the Best Director this year. He was seeking much more than this.

After the Best Director, it was the Best Actor and Actress, which made all the actors most nervous, especially the candidates, who kept making small movements. Looking at the crew of "A Beautiful Mind" and "Passion Chocolate", Gwyneth's attention was already focused on the stage, Sophie's fingers were unconsciously rubbing back and forth on her lips, and even Nicole, who had been hinted at by Adriaan, was a little short of breath. Only the crew of "Beijing's Bachelor's Diary" was a little far away, so they could not see Richel's face. However, he had just gone to the bathroom to have a passionate moment, so his reaction should not be too obvious.

Very soon, as the previous Best Actor winner, Russell Crowe, went on stage, and during his introduction, the faces of the candidates appeared on the screen. Nicole, Gwyneth, and Sophie all smiled at the same time, but Richel seemed a little distracted. However, the calmest was the little New Zealand girl, Caesar Custer Hewes. She probably knew that she would not win, so her smile was very sincere.

"Alright, let's see who our winner is …" Crowe opened the envelope, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly became solemn. Even the calm Adriaan could not help but clench his fists. Although he had put in a lot of effort and even let Weinstein do the event early, as he often said to the reporters, no one could be sure of the final result until the last second.

Raising his eyebrows, Crowe finally read out the name, "'Moulin Rouge', Nicole Kidman!"

After about two seconds of silence, cheers of joy and exclamations of disbelief rang out at the same time. Nicole even covered her mouth, and her eyes were wide open as she looked at Crowe on stage. At this time, Adriaan also let out a long sigh. Weinstein did a good job, and it was worth it for him to hand over the Pirates of the Caribbean series to Miramax. Then, with the background music of "Moulin Rouge" playing in the background, he got up to express his congratulations. At the same time, he looked at the crew of "A Beautiful Mind". Gwyneth's face was pale, and there was not a single smile on her face. She clapped her hands mechanically, not even noticing that Adriaan was looking at her. One could imagine how big a blow this was to her.

Seems a little too much? Adriaan had never seen her like this before, and he could not help but think of this. Then, a smile appeared on his lips. That would be perfect for tonight, but … before he could finish his thoughts, Nicole had already pounced into his arms, and with her fragrant scent, she opened her arms and hugged him tightly without any hesitation.

Another wave of exclamations sounded. Although the volume was much lower than before, there were still quite a number of people shouting. That was normal. Even Adriaan was shocked by her actions. After all, apart from the thousands of people present, there were millions of people watching on TV.

Fortunately, it only lasted for seven or eight seconds before Nicole let go and hugged the people next to her. Although everyone knew that she was trying to hide it, they still continued to clap. Then, with a blushing face, Nicole brushed her hair behind her ears, lifted the hem of her dress, and walked onto the stage. Although she had already calmed down, the corners of her mouth were still trembling, and her eyes were slightly red.

"Thank you," she took a deep breath after receiving the golden statuette representing Best Actress from Crowe. "Other than this, I really can't think of anything else to say. I am really, really grateful to the academy for giving me this trophy. My efforts in the past year for this film were all worth it. Thank you to everyone who helped me. This honor belongs to me, but it also belongs to you. Thank you, Eide, you are the best director! "

Her voice was especially high when she said the last sentence. It could almost be seen as an invisible confession of love. While the audience was applauding, they were also speculating about how Cruise would feel when he saw this scene.

Although Adriaan was also applauding, he did not think about it. Cruise did not attend this year's Oscars. He had asked his agent to leak information after the nomination list was released. He probably did not want the reporters to ask him questions that would annoy him. Now, it seemed that his decision was correct. Otherwise, after seeing Nicole's emotional speech, it was hard to guarantee that he would not do something extreme.

However, even if he was here, Adriaan did not need to care about him. Moreover, he was not here now. So, he just looked at the crew of "A Beautiful Mind". Gwyneth was a little better now. At least she had squeezed out a smile on her face. However, when she noticed Adriaan's gaze, she immediately turned her head to the side. It was obvious that she was holding a grudge this time.

Adriaan, who had already calculated in his mind, chuckled and ignored her for the time being.

After Nicole successfully reached the top, there was no need to say much about the next two awards. Although Russell Crowe performed very well in "A Beautiful Mind", America needed to be united this year. So, in the end, the award was given to Denzel Washington, who was more experienced than Will. Then, according to the usual practice, although "The Lord of the Rings 1" was very good, receiving 13 nominations in one go, it was a non-reality film after all. Moreover, there were two more films that would be released in the next two years. So, "A Beautiful Mind" still won the Best Movie Award.

Although Universal's investment was the majority, it was the people from DreamWorks who went up to receive the award. This made everyone completely relieved. This year's Oscars did not have the same situation as last year. Someone did not go up but the winners of several important awards thanked him one after another. Also, the competition for the Best Movie Award was a civil war. This was a good thing.

"This really shouldn't have happened. I think 'The Lord of the Rings' should have won Best Director and Best Movie. This is the best fantasy film I've ever seen!" Will Smith shouted in the lively crowd.

"Come on, Will. I think you're just unconvinced by your loss and want to vent your dissatisfaction with Eide." His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, rolled her eyes at her husband.

"It's not just that. He obviously wants to make Eide happy and give him another chance to compete for Best Actor," Bruce Willis, who was standing next to them, teased.

"If you want, Will, I can lend you the little golden man to show off. Of course, it's only for a few minutes," Denzel Washington said with a smile.

"Okay, okay. I admit that I want to please Eide, but it's not for Best Actor." Will had no choice but to raise his hand. "I just want to play a small role in 'The Matrix'. Oh, Eide, I know that 'The Matrix' has been canceled, but do you really not want to reshoot some scenes? Even if I have to play a special agent who gets killed right after I get out of the movie, that's fine. "

"I'm sorry, Will. There are other roles, but the last two parts of 'The Matrix' have indeed been canceled." Adriaan was very honest. Then, he changed the topic. "Speaking of which, I do want to reshoot 'The Lord of the Rings'. If you want, you can come over and play a half-orc or something."

There was a burst of laughter all around, and Will raised his hands helplessly.

Adriaan knew that Will loved 'The Matrix' very much, and he had thought of asking him to make a cameo or something. However, the number of scenes was too small. It would be meaningless if it was just a glimpse, and if it was too much, it would be too much of a steal. Will was currently in the limelight. So, after thinking about it carefully, he decided against it. He did not even ask his wife to play the role. The role was given to Halle Berry. Fine, he admitted that it was to seize the time to play with the black pearl.

There was no doubt that this was Vanity Fair's party. It was also an annual event that could not be missed.