Chapter 748

After Adriaan sat back down, Sophie said in a low voice while staring at the stage, "What a pity. I always thought that Naomi would get the best supporting actress award."

Although the girls around him were very different for various reasons, they were generally on good terms with each other. No wonder Sophie said that. As for Natalie, they all knew a little about the twisted relationship between Adriaan and her. They just didn't know what was going on. However, they didn't want to figure it out, because no one would make a fuss about a playboy chasing after a woman.

"It doesn't matter. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Adriaan smiled carelessly. Ever since he became the guest presenter, the possibility of Naomi and Natalie winning the award had fallen to the lowest.

Film school didn't want to be criticized for something that was too easy to do. Although they had been criticized for many things, they would always put on airs. However, in this respect, Adriaan's previous guess should be right. The senior members of the school council knew about the voting process. Maybe they didn't know the details, but they definitely knew the general situation.

This was good. Some things could be carried out more smoothly, even if it was just a bonus to his plan.

Okay, back to the big picture, there was another reason why Sophie said that.

"Don't worry. Just watch." Adriaan gently patted the back of her hand. Sophie's face suddenly turned red. There was no doubt that he knew what she was thinking.

On the other side, Blanchett was listening to Marcia Guy Haden's speech on the stage, but the corners of her mouth were slightly curved, which made Sophie a little annoyed. However, Adriaan immediately held her hand. Although his eyes were focused on the stage, the warmth from his palm still made Sophie relax a little. In the end, she just coughed a little awkwardly.

Adriaan understood Sophie's feelings. Thinking about her longing and his achievements in the past few years, the closer he was to his goal, the easier it was to worry about gains and losses. In this case, Adriaan just comforted her with his actions. Words could not do much. Instead of comforting her, it was better to let her hold back for a while and then use facts to prove that her worries were wrong.

Yes, at this time, he could basically say this with certainty. In order to send Sophie to the throne of the best actress, in addition to the advantages mentioned before, Adriaan also put some effort into other aspects, such as —

"'Two Soldiers'!" When the guest presenter read out the name, the audience burst into the usual applause. But Sophie, who was sitting next to Adriaan, looked a little disappointed.

"This is a good thing, Sophie." Adriaan held her hand tightly and gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust me, just wait and see."

Sophie opened her mouth, but did not say anything. She just nodded slightly and calmed down again.

It was expected that "Sleepless in the Supermarket" did not win the best short film award. Although "Two Soldiers" was a bit long, in Adriaan's opinion, the 40-minute content could be cut in half. But this short film was about the story of World War II, and it was about love, loyalty, responsibility, and sacrifice. All of these were the favorites of Film School, so it was impossible for it not to win, even if "Sleepless in the Supermarket" could easily resonate with ordinary people.

It did not mean that a short film that had won an award would definitely win an award, not to mention that the director of "Two Soldiers", Aaron Schneider, was an American.

Sophie's biggest shortcoming was that she was French, and Film School had always favored their own people. Not to mention that she had already gotten a green card, even if she had been registered, it would take a long time to erase this fact from people's minds. Among the previous Best Actress winners, Gwyneth and Julia were Americans. Although Nicole was Australian, it was easier for Australia to integrate into the American cultural circle compared to other countries. This could be seen from the Australian gang in Hollywood. It was also because of this that Blanchett, coupled with Adriaan's public relations and creating a situation where the two films competed at the same time, was able to reach the top. Not to mention that Nicole was born in Honolulu.

The most troublesome one was Monica, but one should not forget that in the Hollywood circle, the Italians led by Scorsese also had a lot of say. From this point of view, Adriaan should not have interfered and taken away the Best Director Award that Scorsese was so determined to win last year. All of these, coupled with Weinstein's public relations ability and the full cooperation of AC Media, were the reasons why Monica was sent to the top. Even so, there were still people who said that she did not win honorably.

Then, in the Hollywood circle, were there any French people?

Although it seemed very difficult, it was not impossible. Let's not talk about the previous articles surrounding "Fahrenheit 9/11" and Weinstein's ability. There was still one more thing —

"Finally, it's this time again. Every time it's so exciting, every time it makes people so envious … Oh, sorry, I mean the latter one, not the former one." Crystal made a face as if he had said something wrong, and it immediately caused a lot of laughter.

After several technical awards and the more important screenplay awards — there was no doubt that "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" swept the awards — the award ceremony finally ushered in the final climax, the presentation of the four most important awards. The first was the Best Actress Award. When Crystal announced it on the stage, Sophie began to feel nervous again.

The closer it was to this moment, the more relaxed Adriaan became. As the presenter began to introduce the list of nominees, the screen immediately listed the nominees one by one. In addition to Sophie and Kate, who were nominated for "La Vie En Rose" and "Warm Inside Light," respectively, there was also Samantha Morton of "New American Dream," Kate Lina Santino Moreno of "Hail Mary," and Judy Madsen of "Here."

In the eyes of others, there was no problem with these nominations, but they did not know that this list was made by Adriaan. If he had not interfered, at least two women would have been on the list. Diane Keaton, who had a good performance in "Love is a Compromise," and Meryl Streep, who also had a good performance in "Julie and Julia."

However, "Hail Mary," which was an independent film about a girl who smuggled drugs, should have participated in this year's Sundance Film Festival in January and received a certain amount of praise and popularity. After it was produced last year, it was picked up by Focus Pictures, which was a subsidiary of Universal, which specialized in distributing independent films. Then, it was quickly pre-screened at the end of the year and entered this year's Oscars. Kate Lina Santino Moreno also received a nomination for Best Actress under the efforts of Focus Pictures.

As for "Here," which depicted an American family in the 1950s and 1960s from the perspective of a woman, it was distributed by Dimen Pictures. Although it seemed to be an independent film company, in fact, it was inextricably linked to Miramax, so Judy Madsen, who played the lead role, also received a nomination.

Therefore, in this list of nominees, Kate and Samantha were British, Kate Lina was Colombian and very young, and only Judy Madsen was an American, but this was her first nomination. That's right, everything was done by Adriaan. He found a way to get some actresses who had a low chance of winning the award to be nominated, squeezing out the threatening ones, and naturally leaving more room for Sophie.

Otherwise, even though "Julie and Julia" was a lukewarm movie, Streep might have won her second Oscar for Best Actress in advance. Diane Keaton did the same. So, it was necessary to do so. It was not easy, but doing it and not doing it were two different things. Fortunately, after mobilizing countless resources, the final result was basically in line with his requirements. Although it cost Adriaan a lot, based on Sophie's performance, it was completely worth it.

To create such a situation, there was also the foreshadowing of "Fahrenheit 9/11", Weinstein's hard work in PR, and Sophie had also been nominated for Oscars several times. Naturally, the result was not an upset.

"Sophie Marceau!" When the name was announced, the audience was in an uproar. Sophie covered her mouth in disbelief. She was even a little dazed. She finally got what she had been looking forward to for a long time. The strong sense of unreality enveloped her, and she did not know what to do.

"Go on up, Sophie." Adriaan pushed her gently, and applause sounded at this moment.

"O … okay." Sophie stood up, still in a daze. She even looked at Adriaan timidly. It was not until she walked up to the stage and received the Oscar that she somewhat calmed down.

"I'm sorry, I..." She took a deep breath. "I never thought I'd be standing here one day, even though I've dreamed about it countless times. When my name was read, I even thought I was dreaming. I even said to myself in my heart, 'Sophie, are you sure it's your name, and not someone else with the same name as you?'" Sophie said with a sigh.

Then there was a burst of friendly laughter.

"Thank you!" Sophie wiped her eyes. "Thank you Film school for giving me this award. Thank you to everyone in the crew of 'Life as a Rose'. Thank you to my friends who have supported me. Thank you … Adriaan, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I can finally prove it, I can finally prove it … "

On the stage, Sophie choked up again. She pursed her lips, trying desperately to control herself, but the corners of her mouth kept trembling, and the rims of her eyes became redder and redder. In the end, she let out a sob. Although she lowered her head and covered her mouth immediately, everyone could hear it clearly. The strong trembling of her shoulders also clearly expressed Sophie's feelings. After wasting decades, she had finally received recognition, and she was crying tears of joy.

Adriaan stood up without hesitation and began to applaud. Under his lead, the people around him also stood up, and then more and more people stood up. Whether it was because of Adriaan's face, or because of the crowd effect, in the end, everyone in the hall stood up and congratulated Sophie.

"Thank you, thank you again, and thank you … Ms. Piaf," said Sophie with tears in her eyes, holding the little golden figure in her hand. "I once doubted whether I could play this role well, but Ms. Piaf's experience has always inspired me, giving me the courage to face it and strive for it."

Finally, she took a deep look at Adriaan. "If there is anything else I want to say, then there is only one word, and that is what Ms. Piaf said to the female reporter at the seaside in the movie — love!"

After that, Sophie lifted the corner of her skirt and bowed deeply. Warm applause sounded again. When she walked off the stage, although she covered her mouth with her hand again, the tears in her eyes fell uncontrollably. When she came to Adriaan, she hugged him tightly, buried her head in his shoulder, and sobbed softly.

Adriaan did not care about the situation around him. He gently patted her back to comfort her. After a few seconds, Sophie finally controlled her emotions.

"I'm sorry, Eide." After letting go of her hand, she said so, and then hugged Blanchett next to her. Blanchett understood and hugged her tightly for a few seconds. Then, she hugged the others one by one, and then sat back in her seat. Although the applause during this period was not loud, it did not stop.

"I'm sorry, Eide," said Sophie again.

"It's okay." Adriaan smiled. "Do you remember what I said before?"

Then, before Sophie could speak, he put his index finger to his mouth. "Don't worry, we have plenty of time tonight."

On the stage, the Best Actor Award was about to be announced. Sophie did not speak, but her teary eyes were filled with unspeakable gratitude. She held Adriaan's hand tighter.

The winner of the Best Actor Award was not beyond Adriaan's expectations. It was still Sean Penn, a well-known bad boy in Hollywood, in "Mystic River." Speaking of which, some people were so unlucky. Although Tom Cruise had tried his best in "The Last Samurai," Ken Watanabe had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but he had not won anything.

Well, let's not talk about this. Sean Penn, who went up to receive the award, was very happy. Although he was known for being unruly and dared to shoot at the media's helicopter with a shotgun, everyone had to mature sooner or later. Winning the Best Actor Award was an affirmation from the Film School that he had begun to mature, or to compromise.

However, Clint Eastwood did not look very happy. The reason was very simple. Throughout the history of the Oscars, very few works had won the Acting Award, the Director Award, and the Best Film Award at the same time. In addition to helping Sean Penn win the Best Actor Award, "Mystic River" had also helped Tim Robbins win the Best Supporting Actor Award. Therefore, the hope of winning the Best Director Award and the Best Film Award was very slim.

If it had been any other time, the old man might have been confident that he could fight for it. However, with Adriaan, who had been nominated for Best Director and Best Film Awards in a row, it was hard for him to have too much confidence. Although they were both referees and contestants, Eastwood had been a member of the Film School for a long time and had a wide range of contacts in Hollywood from an actor to a director, the power and resources that Adriaan possessed were far beyond his reach. After all, this was a country where money was everything.

Therefore, just like Sophie's Best Actress Award, before attending the award ceremony, Adriaan would repeatedly ask for every aspect and every link to be completed to the end. However, after entering the Kodak Theater, he calmed down. If it was his, it would be his!

"Okay, everyone, now it's the last moment. Maybe tonight will produce a miracle that has never been seen before!" Crystal winked and said, "Of course, when I say the word miracle, it means a miracle. There are no other hints. I promise, there are absolutely no other hints. Please believe me!"

"'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King', Adrian Kewell!"

Good! When the soundtrack of "The Lord of the Rings" started, Adriaan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and gently waved his fist. Although he had participated in the Oscars countless times and knew that he had the highest chance of winning the award, as he had told the reporters, no one could guarantee that they would be the winner until the last moment. From this point of view, the Oscars' commercial operation was indeed excellent.

After he got up, the people around him began to congratulate him. Although Sophie was a little hesitant because of her previous enthusiasm, Blanchett, Monica, and Liv did not have so many concerns. They hugged each other and immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Adriaan walked up to the stage calmly. After receiving the Best Director Oscar, he coughed into the microphone and took out a small piece of paper from his coat pocket. After frowning and glancing at it, he stammered, "This … thank you … um … sorry, I can't read the word clearly."

The audience burst into laughter.

"Okay, I told you not to prepare in advance." Adriaan immediately turned the paper over and the camera immediately turned on it. The paper was blank, and the laughter immediately became louder.

"To be frank, I can't remember the feeling when I won the Best Director Award last time. Thank you to the academy for letting me relive this feeling again, although … oh, my poor 'The Matrix', you are still not suitable for this kind of scene." Adriaan pretended to sigh, causing another burst of laughter.

"Of course, this is already a very good change. I believe that the academy and all the filmmakers have been constantly working hard, constantly seeking new and changing. Thank God, this is the reason why we have always been able to maintain our glory." Adriaan raised the trophy in his hand. "Finally, I would like to thank the entire crew. This glory belongs not only to me, but also to you. Without you, I would not have been able to show the magnificent Middle Earth. Without you, I would not have been able to carry on this grand adventure to the end. This is a great victory, and this adventure will be remembered in our hearts forever. Thank you!"