Chapter 554

White Oleander was released on March 12th. As it was an artistic film, it didn't have many theaters, so it didn't have many box office earnings. However, it had a good reputation, just like the original. Whether it was the daughter played by Amanda or the adoptive mother played by Kate, the critics were more positive than negative. Not only did they praise Amanda for her potential, but they also praised Kate for showing her own acting style, which was completely different from the other actresses.

As for Julia, it was her first time playing such a hateful, crazy, and pitiful female character, so the comments were a bit polarized. Some people thought that she had accurately grasped the character's characteristics. Her previous independent sweetheart image was starting to solidify, and it was good for her to try new roles. However, some people thought that her transformation was a failure. Her acting was too stiff. Not only did it not achieve the desired effect, but it also affected the reputation that she had accumulated over the past few years.

Both sides had the same number of people, so no one could convince the other. This indirectly allowed Julia to return to the public with a new attitude. This was why Adriaan arranged for White Oleander to be released at this time. There had been no news about Julia in the media for almost two months. If this continued, the popularity that she had accumulated would start to disappear, if she still wanted to act in movies in the future.

So, Julia, who was trying hard to recover after giving birth, needed a movie like this to evoke people's memories through arguments.

Actually, this wasn't a big deal. White Oleander was originally an artistic film, so it didn't need a high box office earnings. It was fine as long as it could recoup the cost. The key was still the reputation. Although there were two opinions about Julia, those who weren't that extreme felt that the scene where Kate, who played the adoptive mother, visited Julia, who played the biological mother, was very good.

It was hard to describe the feeling, and the emotions weren't very intense. However, both Kate and Julia were part of it, and their feelings were conveyed to the audience.

"The best scene in the entire movie," The Hollywood Reporter commented.

Of course, apart from Adriaan, no one knew why the two women could have such a spark between them, and how they conveyed their feelings to the audience.

"It seems that we shouldn't go to the set even if we have such scenes in the future," Adriaan said in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Amanda, who was nestled in his arms, looked up.

"Nothing." Adriaan smiled and flipped the newspaper in his hand. "You didn't disappoint me, Amanda. I like the phrase 'potential'."

"It's good to have your approval, Ed." Amanda smiled. She seemed very happy, and it came from the bottom of her heart.

Although Adrian didn't say it explicitly, Kirsten told her that if she wanted to maintain her position in Adrian's heart and make herself more dazzling in public, in addition to giving everything she had for him, strength was also a very important factor, both in bed and out of bed.

"Should I congratulate you?" Kirsten, who was cutting the apple, asked with a smile.

"Of course. Amanda said you helped her a lot." Adriaan smiled wickedly.

However, the little vixen didn't care at all. Although their personalities were very similar, Kirsten had been by Adriaan's side for several years. She wasn't worried that Amanda would steal her limelight, so she quickly reached an agreement with her and formed an alliance. Amanda was also a smart person. She knew that she didn't have much time, so the two hit it off and often exchanged various insights. Last night, Adriaan had a good test.

"Well, congratulations, Eide, and congratulations, Amanda." Kirsten put the cut flesh into her mouth, then moved in front of Adriaan. After kissing his mouth, she pushed the flesh in with her tongue.

Adriaan raised his eyebrows and was about to praise her when Amanda's lips moved in again. After blocking his mouth, she used her tongue to hook the flesh out of his mouth and ate it herself.

"Hey, Chichi gave this to me." Adriaan pretended to be dissatisfied.

"But she congratulated us both at the same time," Amanda said teasingly. "If you're not satisfied …"

Kirsten immediately cut another piece and put it in her mouth. She then passed it to Amanda, who then sent it into Adriaan's mouth.

"You guys really like to play these little tricks." Although Adriaan sighed, it was obvious that he was satisfied. So, the Apple was shared.

"Speaking of which, the Oscars are coming up soon. When will Eide let Amanda try on the red carpet?" Kirsten asked as they talked about the upcoming awards ceremony.

Amanda immediately lowered her head and coughed softly. There was no doubt that Kirsten was fighting for an opportunity for her, but wasn't it a little too early to say this? Although the two hit it off, they hadn't reached the point where they were completely open to each other. Naturally, she didn't know what Kirsten was relying on. Besides, Kirsten wasn't just trying to help her.

"There are a lot of fun things to do at the awards ceremony." Kirsten looked at Adriaan with a meaningful glint in her eyes. "I've been reminiscing about it. I really want to do it again."

"Don't be delusional, Chichi." Adriaan smiled and reached out to touch her nose. "It's your turn to line up. Don't worry, Amanda. There will be opportunities. Take your time."

Although Amanda was slightly disappointed, she immediately adjusted herself. She was very patient. As for the fun things that Kirsten mentioned, oh, she didn't even need to think about it to know what it was.

"Also …" Adriaan suddenly thought of something and laughed again. "Chichi, I'm afraid no one will be able to walk the red carpet this year."

"Why?" Kirsten was a little puzzled.

"You'll see the news soon." Adriaan spread out his hands.

This year's Oscars was different from the previous years. This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn't plan to carry out large-scale publicity. They even canceled the red carpet routine because the Bush administration was going to use force against Iraq in a few days.

Hollywood had always been a gathering place for the left. There had never been a lack of people who hated the government. After Clinton's zipper door incident, Crystal had mercilessly ridiculed the government when he hosted the Oscars. If the war in Afghanistan was justified, then it was a little ridiculous to say that the war in Iraq was about weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, most of the big and small stars in Hollywood were clearly on the anti-war side.

Unfortunately, it was all in vain. The government and the interest groups behind it were determined to do something. They would never change their minds because of the opposition of the Americans.

But for Adriaan, this was a good thing. At least he could avoid being asked by reporters on the red carpet for his views on the war. This had happened several times before. Although he was a miracle director on the red carpet, he couldn't erase his identity as the chairman of the board of AC Media. If his words were misled by someone with ulterior motives, it was inevitable that there would be some negative reactions. Although Adrian was good at saying seemingly beautiful but actually useless nonsense, which was an ability that every public figure must have, it was up to the audience to interpret it.

Until now, he had kept these two identities separate. In front of the public, he was basically a director and producer, and only in the office, he was the chairman of the board. But they were like two sides of the same coin. They might not appear in front of people at the same time, but they always existed. Of course, no reporter dared to make a leading hint in the report, which was tantamount to declaring war on AC Media. But if he did so on the Internet, for example, someone wanted to teach him a lesson or test him, it would be more or less troublesome. He couldn't stop reporters from asking questions, could he? Even if he turned around and left without saying a word, people could still interpret a lot of things.

Therefore, not being on the red carpet was also a good thing for him.

However, some people were happy about this, and some people were disappointed. For example, ABC, which was in charge of broadcasting the awards ceremony, was complaining. Although the Oscars had always been one of the programs with very high ratings, it had been declining recently. Now that the scale of the promotion was reduced and the red carpet was canceled, coupled with the imminent outbreak of the Iraq War, one could imagine how low the ratings would fall.

In addition, there was also Lao Tzu, who came from afar. As the first director from the Chinese mainland to attend the Oscars, he really dressed up. He looked very spirited in a Chinese tunic suit, but the stage that could show off a person's style was canceled. It was impossible to say that he wasn't depressed. However, his mentality was considered good. When he saw him in the Kodak Theater, he had a calm expression. No matter what, the honor of being the first Chinese director to win the Oscars belonged to him.

The host of this year's Oscars was the veteran comedian Steve Martin, who had previously hosted the 73rd Oscars. Film school probably thought that he was a good host, so they invited him again.

Frankly speaking, Martin did a good job. He was both funny and humorous. Although the laughter in the hall wasn't loud, it didn't stop. However, the atmosphere this year was slightly more solemn. Basically, there were no guests dressed in bright colors. Even the female celebrities who always competed for beauty at the awards ceremony had changed into black or white evening gowns. Under such circumstances, it would be strange if the atmosphere could be as warm as usual.

"Actually, this is not bad. At least it's very likely that I'll be sitting in my chair for a few hours." After the Best Art Director was awarded, there was a neat snort from all directions.

As usual, the seats of all the film crews related to him were arranged together, especially "The She-Devil" and "The Lord of the Rings 2", which were directed by him. So, Gwyneth sat on his right, Blanchett sat on his left, Liv sat behind him, and Zeta Jones sat in front of him. As for Naomi, she was a little further away, but she was very close to Nicole from "Temptation of Infidelity". The male lead of both films was George Clooney.

Among the four women, only Liv hadn't attended an award ceremony with him. However, she had lived with Blanchett and Gwyneth for a long time, and had been hooked up by Adriaan a long time ago. Of course, she had heard about it, so she naturally snorted along with the other three.

Adriaan could only shrug and laugh at their reactions. He then sighed in his heart. "Who arranged the seats like this? It must be intentional, right?"

"Alright, let's focus on the list of winners." He immediately changed the topic. "As you know, 'Hero' is a Chinese film that I insisted on introducing and investing in. Why don't you guess if it will get the Best Costume Award?"

Because Universal had bought the North American rights to "Hero," they did not limit their nominations to Best Foreign Language Film. Therefore, in addition to this nomination, they were also nominated for Best Costume Award. This was indeed an accident. Adriaan did not intervene in any of the nominations. It could only be said that they were lucky — at least better than the original. Although it was almost impossible for them to win an award, having two nominees was more praiseworthy than only one.

As expected, "Chicago" won Best Costume Award, and before that, it won Best Art Direction Award. Weinstein was really good at public relations. "Chicago" received 13 nominations, which was even more than "Lord of the Rings 2". Not only that, but Dep, who had an outstanding performance in "Pirates of the Caribbean", was also nominated for Best Actor! If it weren't for the fact that "Chicago" had a higher chance of winning, he might have pushed for "Pirates of the Caribbean" to be nominated for Best Film.

When the guests on the stage read out the names, Zeta Jones' shoulders visibly shook. So far, "Chicago" had won three awards. Although they were all technical awards, it was enough to boost the crew's morale. The next award was the Best Supporting Actress Award.

"I must say, every one of the nominees is a very fine woman. Cathy Bates - oh, just be content to be a foil, you've got too much already; and you too, Lady Meryl Streep, don't laugh; and Polly Lawrence, well done, quite splendid; and Kathryn Zeta-Jones, oh, it's such a short part, but you're amazing; and Sophie Marceau, one of the most beautiful French women, in 'The Hours' is a refreshing sight! I really don't know who to vote for. " Steve Martin sighed loudly on the stage. "This is why I can't preside over the voting process."

Suddenly, the audience burst into laughter. Then, as usual, the previous Best Supporting Actor winner, Jim Broadbent, walked out from the back with an envelope in his hand.

"I agree with Steve," he said as soon as he came out. He said this as soon as he appeared, and it immediately caused a lot of laughter. "But this way, we have an outstanding host."

Then there was applause. Martin even shouted, "I love you, Jim. Say a few more words."

"Although someone asked me to say a few more words, and I really want to say a few more words, for the sake of more people, I'd better do what I have to do." Broadbent was no less eloquent than Martin. Then, he opened the envelope amidst laughter. "Well, the winner of this year's Best Supporting Actress Oscar is Kathryn Zeta-Jones!"

Then, the soundtrack of "Chicago" started. Although Adriaan had revealed some information to her, Zeta-Jones was still stunned for a few seconds before she stood up. She immediately covered her face with her hands. Her body trembled slightly, as if she was so excited that she could not control herself. Only Adriaan knew that she took this opportunity to look at him. No matter how scheming she was, there was only a look of gratitude in her eyes at that moment.

"Thank you, thank you very much..." After receiving congratulations all the way to the stage and receiving the little golden figurine from Broadbent, Zeta-Jones, who controlled her emotions, began to give a speech.

There was nothing much to say in the whole speech. Basically, she thanked the past and thanked the present. It was a little formulaic. This was normal. In this kind of award ceremony, several previous winners had ended their speeches by calling for peace. What else could Zeta-Jones do? Moreover, her speech was full of emotion. First, she reviewed the nominations she had received in the past few years to express her excitement. Then, she thanked the Film school, her family, and the entire "Chicago" crew. Interestingly, Adriaan's name was not on the list.

In short, it was formulaic, but not too abrupt. In addition, unlike in her previous life, she was not pregnant now. Her figure was still graceful and beautiful, and she took good care of her fingers. Adriaan had specially found someone to carefully design a set of finger care methods for her. Although it could not be compared to other women with slender fingers, it was much better than in her previous life.

Therefore, after her speech, she won a lot of applause.

"Congratulations, Kate. You have finally fulfilled your long-cherished wish." After she came back, thanked everyone around her one by one and sat down, Adriaan leaned forward slightly and whispered behind her head.

"You don't mind that I didn't add your name in the list of thanks just now, do you?" When the camera on the screen moved elsewhere, Zeta-Jones turned half of her head over. Although her white goose neck was somewhat wrinkled, it was still full of the charm of a mature woman. She was also wearing a strapless strapless evening gown. As long as she leaned forward a little, the deep cleavage below could be seen. Although the color could not be too bright, there were no restrictions on the style.

"No, of course not." Adriaan smiled and then sat back down.

Her excited emotions gradually calmed down after receiving the little golden figurine, and she immediately returned to her previous appearance. Although she only gave Adriaan half a profile, a complicated expression flashed across her face.

Adrian wasn't in a hurry. He had plenty of patience. Now that he had gotten what she wanted the most from what he had promised her, how could he not know what she was thinking?

So, tell me, dear Kathryn Zeta-Jones, my little doll, what choice will you make?