Chapter 835

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the acquisition of ABC's Academy Awards special. I'm Jerry Madsen, and I'm here at the Kodak Theater. As you can see in front of the TV, the tall statues have been erected outside the theater as usual. Although there are not many guests on the red carpet, the atmosphere has begun to warm up. "

"Ha, look who I see. Our old cowboy, Clint Eastwood. He usually doesn't come here so early. Hey, Clint, how are you?"

"Good afternoon, Jerry. I'm not happy to see you."

"Not happy? Why? Is it because I want to get news from you? "

"Isn't that why you greeted me?"

"Ha, our old cowboy is as sharp as ever. Then I'll ask you directly. This is the second year in a row that you've been nominated for Best Director. It's been ten years since you last won this award. Do you think you can win it again with strong opponents in front of you?"

"Without a doubt, I'm not only aiming for Best Director, I'm also aiming for Best Movie. I'm not afraid!"

"Do you see? Everyone, this is our Clint Eastwood. He's as brave and tenacious as ever. Although I support my boss, I also support him. Well, let's see who's coming next..."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the two in front of you are the Phoenix Brothers, the famous Revan Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix. They are the strongest contenders for the Best Actor Award tonight. Hey, Raven, Joaquin, look here, will you? I'm Jerry, Jerry Madsen, I hope you remember me? "

"Jerry Madsen? The chef of that Italian restaurant on Cedric Avenue? When did you become a reporter? Well, I'm kidding. Hello, Jerry. Nice to see you. "

"Thank you, Joaquin. Me too. Especially seeing you two together. Oh, by the way, why didn't the Elf Prince appear with you? If he were here, I believe there would be more screams. "

"He was worried that we would steal the limelight, so he stayed behind. The truth is, he said that Joaquin and I are the most dazzling people today. He wants to leave the time for us."

"What a pity. I still think it's better for him to be with you. So let's change the topic. Who do you think will win the Oscars? "

"It's hard to say. I believe I can win, but so does Revan. We'll have to wait until the announcement."

"That's strange. Why do I find this sentence so familiar?"

"Oh, of course. Eide often says this to you."

"Alright, everyone, as you can see, this is the most dazzling pair of brothers at this year's Oscars. This is probably one of the most troublesome aspects of this year's Oscars. They're both so outstanding. No matter who wins the Best Actor award, it'll be a pity for the other. "

"Alright, it's getting late, and there are more and more guests on the red carpet. After Martin Scorsese, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio, let's see who else is worthy of going up. Ha, I've got one, not the one I wanted, but not bad — hey, Natalie, look here, it's me, Jerry Madsen from ABC. "

"Hey, Natalie, it's me, Jerry Madsen from ABC."

"Yes, I like to report live, especially on the red carpet. I can ask you a lot of questions, and you have to answer them, even if they are perfunctory. So, are you ready?"

"Even if I say I'm not ready, you will still ask me, right?"

"You are indeed a top student from Harvard. Then I will ask you directly. Since the 71st Oscars in 1999, you have been nominated for the acting award four times. This is the second time you have been nominated for Best Actress. Tell me, how do you feel?"

"There is no doubt that I am very excited. No matter how many times I have been nominated, no matter whether I have won an award or not, I will always feel this way when I walk the red carpet. There will be no exceptions."

"Many people thought that you were fully qualified to win the award for 'Winter's Bone.' Now that you have been nominated again, what do you think the chances of making up for your regret are?"

"Well..."

"Very big. Everyone has seen Natalie's ability. Personally, I think she deserves a Golden Statuette for Best Actress."

"Did you see that, everyone? The great miracle director suddenly appeared beside Natalie and put in a good word for her. Do you know what this means? Hey, Eide, I didn't expect you to appear at this time. Looking at your energetic and confident look, I'm afraid you have already won, right? "

"That's not necessarily true, Jerry. I always say..."

"You never know the final result until the last moment. You always say that, Eide, can't you change your line? How about saying something that will make the audience excited? For example, predict this year's Oscars. "

"Sorry, Jerry, I don't have a crystal ball, so you'd better find someone else."

"Hey, wait, Eide... Well, he is always like this. He doesn't say anything on such occasions, but he talks non-stop in private. Don't ask me what he said in private. That's not what we should pay attention to today. Let's see who is willing to accept my question next. "

"I think ABC should change someone to be in charge of the live report. Madsen only knows a few questions from the beginning to the end. It's not whether you think you can win the award, but how you feel now. They are all questions that have been answered countless times. There is nothing new at all." After entering the theater, Adriaan, who was relieved, shook his head and said to Natalie, who came in with him.

"All reporters are like this at this time," Natalie replied with a blank expression.

Adriaan raised his eyebrows and looked at her suddenly with a smile. "You are so serious, Nada. You were smiling just now, but now you don't look like someone nominated for Best Actress at all."

"You look so sure," Natalie said, glancing up at him, bypassing the comment.

"Of course, I have been paying attention. Maybe I can't say 100%, but the probability is still very high. Well, it seems that you probably don't want to talk too much to me now, so I'll leave." Adriaan chuckled, then quickened his pace and walked to the other side. Looking at his back, Natalie, who was still expressionless, bit her lip subconsciously.

There were many people in the front hall. There was still some time before the official opening, so many people stopped here for a while to chat with familiar or unfamiliar people.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to be nominated at first. This role is really good. Professor Kinsey's books are also very profound, especially in that conservative era." Nicole said to the people around her with a smile, and at the same time, she secretly winked at Adriaan.

Although he had already eaten her up, Adriaan couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. The flirtatious Nicole was indeed a stunner. In contrast, Blanchett had a different kind of charm. Her facial features were a little stiff, and she was not very beautiful, but she had a temperament that made people unable to look away.

"That's why I picked Kate at first glance. Her tough style is very similar to Katharine Hepburn. She is perfect to play the role," Scorsese said approvingly. Scorsese said approvingly. He then glanced at Adrian, who had just come over. Although it was just a glance, Scorsese could see the indignation in his eyes.

After all, if it weren't for Adriaan, he would have won the throne of Best Director last year. He had been working hard for more than ten years. Although luck played a part in it, and reliable sources said that his votes were very close to Sofia's, if it weren't for this guy stirring up trouble, he would definitely have won the Little Golden Man.

This was too much. When Monica won the Best Actress Award, it had something to do with the Italians. Even if it was an exchange of benefits, it was still a favor, right?

But then again, so what? Today, Adriaan was already one of the people who stood at the top of Hollywood's power. Not to mention the current Scorsese, even if there was another Scorsese, he might not be his opponent. So he could only choose to ignore him. He might not be able to vent his dissatisfaction on him, but he could still ignore him. It was just that …

"There is no doubt that 'The Aviator' is an excellent movie. It is not worse than any of the nominated films today. Howard Hughes is also a great genius. If possible, I really want to communicate with him across time and space." Adriaan seized the opportunity to insert himself into their conversation.

Suddenly, a few low roars of laughter rang out, with traces of indescribable ambiguity. Some bold gazes even swept back and forth between him and Blanchett. After all, if one had to say, Adriaan and Howard Hughes were indeed somewhat similar, especially when it came to women. It was said that among the A-list female stars of that era, only Joan Fontaine and Elizabeth Taylor had not been seduced by him. They were indeed very similar.

"Thank you. I hope I can get what I want today," Scorsese said indifferently.

"Maybe we can have the opportunity to work together in the future, Martin." Adriaan seemed not to notice his attitude. "I bought the rights to adapt a movie from Hong Kong. It's about a gangster movie. I originally wanted to try a new genre, but I still lack the feeling in many areas. So I think maybe you are the most suitable. After all, when it comes to gangster movies, compared to the romantic color shown by old Coppola in 'The Godfather,' you pay more attention to the deeper level of things and show the real side. So in this aspect, you are the master. "

Everyone loved to listen to flattery, especially when it came from a person of higher status and identity. Even an old man like Scorsese, who had seen a lot of ups and downs, would still feel comfortable.

"Thank you!" He nodded politely. "There will be opportunities in the future. After all, you are also a genius director."

Adriaan could tell that Scorsese was being perfunctory, but he did not say much. He smiled and then walked inside. Blanchett quickly caught up with him. "Hey, Howard, why are you walking so fast?"

"To let you catch up with me, Catherine." Adriaan smiled and answered. After a pause, he said, "Maybe it would be better to use Hepburn. Although Catherine's spelling is different, the pronunciation is almost the same."

"I really hope that there can be a Ava Gardner who can knock out two of your teeth." Blanchett, who was walking side by side with him, snorted. She looked into the distance and said, "Nicole was originally a very good candidate, but unfortunately, you turned her into Betty Davis."

In her sight, Nicole was talking to Naomi on the side of the aisle. At this year's Oscars, in addition to the nominees Natalie, Kirsten, Blanchett, Nicole, and Richel, Kate, Sarah, Naomi, Gwyneth, Liv, Jessica, Annie, Amanda, Scarlett... Almost all of them were here. Even Charlize walked the red carpet for the first time as a senior executive of ABC. Last year, she appeared on the cover of several business-related magazines, and even the famous Fortune had interviewed her.

One could imagine what the scene on the red carpet of the Oscars would be like in a few years' time.

"From this, you can see that I'm still different from Hughes, right?" Adriaan smiled. After glancing around, he suddenly lowered his voice, "Do you know what I want to do now? I want to press you to the ground …"

Blanchett kept walking forward with a smile on her face. She did not change even after she parted ways with Adriaan and went to the Flyer's film crew. It was as if his obscene words did not exist at all. Of course, her red ears did not escape Adriaan's eyes. If this was not the Kodak Theater, the venue of the Oscars, there was no need to say what would happen next.

Nicole was trained well by him, and Blanchett was not bad either. Both of them had a good relationship, which was rare. Although Blanchett was in a group with Gwyneth and Liv, while Nicole was in a group with Naomi, they were all Australians. Even though Nicole was born in Honolulu.

Not to mention Nicole, she pretended to be a client and a prostitute, and both of them had a lot of fun. As for Blanchett, Adriaan's favorite thing to do was to tear off her queen-like arrogant appearance and throw it on the ground. Unfortunately, she was also the most excited when she was treated like that. In addition to that, she readily handed over her back to him after they went to bed, but she did not use her mouth for a long time. It was not hard to imagine that she was trained like this.

Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. After parting ways with Blanchett, Adriaan quickly returned to his seat. As usual, the crew of "Go Forth" and "Brokeback Mountain" were next to each other. Natalie, Jaquen, Rui Fan, Peter, Annie, Amanda, and Kirsten were already in their seats. Looking around, Nicole, Richel, and Naomi, although the nominated ones were not around, were nearby like Blanchett. Naomi did not receive any nominations this year, but "King Kong" was nominated for a few technical awards, so her seats were near the front. Kate and the others who did not receive any nominations were at the back, while the ordinary guests could only sit on the second floor.

"Hey, Rui Fan, are you ready?"

"Jaquen, the answer will be revealed soon. Have you bet on yourself?"

"You look so beautiful today, Chichi. You too, Amanda."

Adriaan greeted them one by one, then walked to his seat. However, it was different when it was Annie's turn.

"Don't be discouraged, Annie. You will have a chance in the future," Adriaan said with a smile. He said this with a smile, and Annie nodded back with a smile. Then, taking the opportunity to sit down, Adrian leaned forward a little and put on a nonchalant expression. He lowered his voice and asked, "Is he inside?"

"He's … inside …" Annie's body trembled slightly, but she maintained her smile. "Anytime … anytime …"

"It's a pity that they didn't invite you to be the presenter." Adriaan raised his voice. "Especially when you're dressed up so beautifully."

Annie's smile did not change, but there were some beads of sweat on the tip of her nose.

After Adriaan sat down, the hall quickly darkened. Ten minutes later, the music started, signaling the start of the 77th Academy Awards Ceremony. Then, Billy Crystal appeared on the stage. Don't worry, he was dragged onto the stage by the host of the Oscars.

"Listen to me, Crystal, listen to me. I'm not the host this year. It's useless for you to drag me onto the stage," Crystal said, pretending to be flustered.

"Oh, Billy, don't say that. If you're not on the stage, I don't know how to host." The host, Crystal Tucker, tried to persuade him. He was a black comedian. That's right, he was the guy who acted as Jack Chen's partner in "Rush Hour."

To be honest, Adriaan did not think highly of his style, even though the former and current hosts humbly gave way to each other was amusing. The scene where he randomly entered the Best Film Award nominations was also hilarious. First, Crystal Tucker sang with Ray Charles in "King of Souls," but was defeated. Then, he asked Clint Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" for boxing, but was beaten up by Hilary Swank. He wanted to learn how to herd cattle and become a cowboy, but when he saw Revan and Peter getting intimate, he felt embarrassed, so he went to Howard Hughes...

In short, just like that, he put together the five best movies, and with his exaggerated body movements, he made people laugh out loud. In the end, after failing at everything, Crystal Tucker sighed and said that the only thing left to do was to host. This time, he could not fail, and he would not fail. Then, he appeared on the stage and received a round of applause.

This was a good start, but Adriaan still insisted on his own opinion, unless the host was Will Smith. No matter what, Smith was born into a well-educated middle-class family, and his values were more in line with the requirements of mainstream American society. This could be seen from his popularity, but Crystal Tucker... In short, black culture would never be mainstream. So, in other words, using a saying from his previous life — this was not discrimination — it was that dog meat was not on the table.

It was fine for a while, but as time passed, it was easy for problems to arise.