Chapter 839

No matter how lively the situation was, it would eventually calm down, not to mention that there were still three important awards to be presented. When Adriaan returned to his seat, the applause almost died down. Of course, he had to accept the congratulations of Rui Fan and the others. Winning the Oscar for Best Director in a row had never happened before, and it was very likely that it would never happen again in the future. As witnesses, they naturally felt honored. Even Natalie looked at him a few more times.

However, their attention quickly returned to the stage, because Sean Penn had appeared in front of them. As usual, the previous Best Actor would be presented to this year's Best Actress.

"They play different roles, and they attract our attention …" Sean Penn didn't hesitate. He quickly finished his opening remarks and then introduced the candidates.

Frankly speaking, Natalie didn't have an advantage. Whether it was her age, experience, or theme, the only things that left a deep impression were her four nominations in six years and the upcoming second anniversary of Joan Carter's death. Oh, and her singing in the movie, Hillary Swank also gained weight and practiced boxing for "Million Dollar Baby."

However, the decisive factor for some things did not lie in this. So …..

"That's incredible, Natalie Portman!" Sean Penn announced loudly.

There was no doubt that the audience was in an uproar again. She was only 23 years old, only two years away from the record of being the youngest to win an award. She had also been nominated for Best Actress in 2000, breaking the record. Although the record was broken the following year, she was still the second youngest nominee and … the second youngest winner!

Obviously, Natalie still couldn't believe it. She stood up very slowly and hesitantly. Almost everyone thought that Adriaan, who had won Best Actress for six years in a row, couldn't keep it up. The academy generally wouldn't allow such a thing to happen, even if her role was worthy of an Oscar. Joan Carter, played by Natalie, had won the approval of Cash's children. Also, when she was asked to sing with Jacquin on stage in the movie, the reluctant look on her face left a deep impression. After the announcement, this was the part that was played on the screen.

Even though Natalie knew what Adriaan was up to, she couldn't help but think so. Only God knew how the devil was going to play with her, so she was mentally prepared. However, no one expected that the record would still be maintained.

"Thank you …" Natalie was, after all, Natalie. She calmed down as soon as she walked down the aisle and returned to her normal self on the stage. She was excited and excited, no different from any other award winner.

"Thank you for giving me the Best Actress award. I've always wanted to stand here, but I didn't expect it to be today, so … I didn't even prepare a speech. Thank you, Mom, for supporting me unreservedly. Thank you, Dad, even though we rarely see eye to eye, we understand each other. Thank you, Jacquin, you're outstanding. I hope you can stand here in a few minutes. Thank you, Joan Carter and her family, thank you for your recognition, and thank you, Joan, for leaving behind so many touching songs. Thank you, crew, and everyone who helped me, this honor belongs to everyone … Director Kewell, you're a very talented person, and it's my honor to work with you. Thank you! "Natalie bowed slightly with the Oscar in her hands, and applause rang out again.

No matter how surprised or dissatisfied they were, even if the public opinion would fiercely attack them tomorrow, the result could not be changed, just like how Adriaan won the Best Director award again.

"Congratulations, Nada." After she returned, Adriaan was the first to reach out his hand. Natalie, who was full of smiles, was stunned for a moment before she shook his hand. "Thank you."

Before this, her smile was from the bottom of her heart, but now it had an indescribable sense of constraint. However, Adriaan did not make things too difficult for her. After saying that, he sat back down without even hugging her, leaving space for Jacquin and the others.

It's only the beginning of the movie, dear Nada, but the ending has already been decided, just like my plan. After tonight, the dust has settled, and all that's left is to go with the flow. Adriaan chuckled and looked at the stage. Then, he frowned.

Chris Tucker, the worst host of the Academy Awards ceremony so far, had started chattering again. Not only that, but he also commented on the nominees for Best Actor. This was supposed to liven up the atmosphere, but it was a pity that he was basically praising Jamie Fox and belittling the other four. Even though it was subtle, it could still be heard. He basically said that the Phoenix Brothers combined would have to be on par with Fox.

In short, there was no fairness to speak of, so the laughter was sparse. In the end, even Fox felt a little embarrassed. Well, this year's Oscars would undoubtedly be the worst ever, and the academy had to pinch their noses and accept it. Racial discrimination, or rather, discrimination, was indeed a minefield. Of course, it was also because of this that Adriaan could smoothly realize his plan.

Tucker's nagging finally ended, and Sophie appeared on the stage. Who would laugh in the end?

"The winner of Best Actor is Rui Fan Finicke!" Sophie announced immediately.

Adriaan raised his eyebrows, then laughed and clapped with the crowd. This had nothing to do with him. He had never interfered with public relations. This was the academy's choice and … luck.

"Thank you, thank you, everyone …" Rui Fan took the little gold figurine from Sophie's hands and smiled. He was very polite, so he only said a few words before another round of applause broke out.

"It seems that if you want to surpass your brother, you have to continue to work hard," Adriaan said in Jekun's ear.

"It's okay." Jekun sighed and then shrugged. "Rui Fan is indeed better than me. If I were to play the role of Ernest, I might not be as natural as him. He deserves to win Best Actor."

Adriaan smiled and patted him on the shoulder. That was true. Rui Fan had a good reputation in the industry. He was always low-key and had no scandals. Up until now, he only had Kirsten Bell as his official girlfriend, and it had lasted for several years. Therefore, even though the incident of him almost dying from drug abuse had caused a huge uproar, most people in the industry were on his side.

Coupled with the fact that he had won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival at a young age, and that most of the roles he had played in the past few years had been praised by film critics, and he had the support of a powerful figure like Adrian, even though this was the first time he had been nominated for an Oscar, with the help of luck, he had succeeded in reaching the top.

The reason why he mentioned luck again and again was that if only one film, Go Forth and Brokeback Mountain, appeared this year, Fox would have a high chance of becoming the third black Oscar winner. After all, he was supposed to win with this film. Ray Charles' death last year had made the film unexpectedly popular, so it was normal for the academy to award the Best Actor Award to Fox.

Unfortunately, because of Adriaan, Go Forth and Brokeback Mountain had been produced at the same time. The former was also a biographical film about a legendary singer who had just passed away. No matter who the academy gave the Best Actor Award to, it would be difficult to explain to the other side. As for the latter, they had to consider the feelings of the black community, but not the feelings of the gay community. Also, because of Adriaan, the gay community had caused an even bigger uproar. The whole of January this year had been filled with arguments between them and the conservative community.

Therefore, after considering all the factors, the Film School finally gave the Best Actor Award to Rui Fan. Of course, there was another important factor, and that was …

"Best Movie, Crash!" As Barbra Streisand read the name of the last and most important award of the year, the hall became lively again, even though it had been in an uproar since the beginning of the Best Director Award.

Some people had even begun to wonder what the public opinion would be like the next day. They didn't expect that the Best Movie would not be "Brokeback Mountain". What was even more surprising was that it wasn't a movie made by an outstanding director like "Million Dollar Baby" or "Aviator", but an unknown "Crash".

Well, it wasn't appropriate to say that it was unknown. Although Crash was interesting, it definitely couldn't be compared to Million Dollar Baby or The Aviator. So why did it beat everyone and win the Best Movie Award?!

If he hadn't been sitting in the first few rows of the Kodak Theater, Adriaan would have burst into laughter. He was the one who had caused this situation. Crash had participated in the Toronto Film Festival last September, but it hadn't found a suitable distributor. Then, Adriaan noticed it.

As a film that had defeated Brokeback Mountain, Adriaan knew the potential of Crash, so he recommended it to Paramount. Paramount didn't let him down. It was released at the end of the year and was successfully nominated for the Oscars. In the end, it won the Best Original Screenplay and … Best Movie Award!

Adriaan's reason for doing this was simple. No matter how good the plot of Brokeback Mountain was, or how many people loved it, it couldn't win the Best Movie Award! Remember what I said before? The United States was still a conservative society. If Brokeback Mountain won the Best Movie Award, it would mean that the mainstream society recognized that homosexuality was morally acceptable. It was something that deserved to be publicized.

That was absolutely unacceptable. Although the movement for gay rights in the 21st century was getting more and more intense, and several European countries and Massachusetts allowed gay marriage, compared to the mainstream of society, they were still lingering on the edge. They were just closer to the center than before. Therefore, mainstream society would never allow a Film school to send out such a signal, even if there were many gay people in Hollywood. It was unreasonable.

Brokeback Mountain would only win the Best Movie Award under one circumstance, and that was if Adriaan was semi-openly gay. In other words, unless the academy realized that the impact of giving Adriaan the Best Director award would be far greater than giving the Best Movie Award to Brokeback Mountain, then they would choose the lesser of two evils.

After all, if Adriaan was semi-openly gay, giving the Best Director award to such a genius, a media mogul, and one of the most powerful people in Hollywood would undoubtedly push him to Martin Luther King Jr.'s position in the gay community. The subsequent chain reaction would definitely surpass that of giving the Best Movie Award to Brokeback Mountain.

Unfortunately, not only was Adriaan not gay, but he was also a famous playboy in Hollywood. The saying, "If you haven't slept with Adriaan, you can't be considered charming" had been widely spread in the circle. Therefore, the possibility of Brokeback Mountain winning the Best Movie Award was infinitely close to zero. Therefore, it was used as a trade. Therefore, the Best Director and Best Actor Awards fell into the hands of Adriaan and Rui Fan respectively.

In any case, the academy had to appease the gay community, and Brokeback Mountain had to gain something. Even if the hope of winning the Best Movie Award was slim, if Adriaan really carried out a large-scale public relations campaign, it would inevitably be very troublesome for the academy to clean up after the award ceremony. Therefore, instead of seeking the Best Movie Award, he asked for support for the Best Director and Best Actor Awards, which became a worthwhile trade.

Then, he carried out some public relations, and at the same time, he attacked his opponents. For example, online media dug up Eastwood's complaints about gay people 20 years ago. Although the old man came forward to defend himself, it still affected Million Dollar Baby and … Hillary Swank. Therefore, in the end, Adriaan's goal was achieved.

Although the main goal was the Best Director, as mentioned before, the Best Actor Award had other advantages, so both awards fell into the hands of Brokeback Mountain.

At this time, Adriaan presented a movie that was very much in line with the Oscar's taste, and it was distributed by Paramount, which had nothing to do with AC Media's film company. The story of this movie took place in Los Angeles, which was a very big advantage. The details would undoubtedly give the judges a sense of familiarity. Coupled with the conflicts and reversals between various races, the characters constantly changed from good to evil, from the victim to the perpetrator, and the bottom line was very well grasped. It was very in line with the main theme of America.

Therefore, the academy could generously give the Best Movie Award to Paul Haggis, and then spread out its hands to Eastwood and Scorsese: Look, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, and it's not that I'm worried about provoking the miracle director.

This year's Oscars came to an end. Everything was within Adriaan's expectations and control. Therefore, next year would be even more exciting.

"Hi, Natalie, congratulations, the youngest Best Actress Award." A smiling voice brought Natalie back to reality. Standing in front of her was a white woman about 30 years old. She looked a little familiar, but she couldn't remember who she was.

"Thank you, it's the second youngest." She smiled and corrected her. "Mary Matlin was only 21 when she won the Best Actress Award. She's the youngest."

"It doesn't matter. Whether it's fame or acting, you're better than her, aren't you?" The woman waved her hand. "In ten years, people will only remember you the most."

"I hope so. Actually, you're not bad, Kelly." Natalie finally remembered the woman's name. Kelly MacDonald, an actress from Scotland who had acted in some pretty good movies. The most famous one was probably Trainspotting.

"Not bad!" MacDonald sighed. He suddenly looked at the man who was chatting and laughing with a group of women in the distance. "Sometimes, I miss the time when I was on the set of 'Elizabeth'. I played a small role in it. Mr. Cowell was such a terrible director. Back then, he kept shuttling back and forth between the two sets, but he still handled everything very well."

Following her gaze, Natalie sneered. Did she know what it took to get that man's "favor"?

To her surprise, MacDonald didn't continue the topic, nor did she hint that she wanted to get close to Adriaan through her. After chatting casually for a while, she congratulated her again and left.

Natalie was confused and confused. If MacDonald didn't want to get close to her, why would he want to get close to her? Maybe he really didn't want to? No, how could that be possible! The other party was probably playing hard to get. She couldn't help but think of the women who came to talk to her before. They kept asking about her relationship with Adriaan and wanted to ask her to introduce him to Director Miracle. After all, so far, she was the only woman who had played the lead role in Adriaan's movies twice. She was nominated for both of them and won an award.

Damn it! Natalie cursed in her heart. She took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and drank it in one gulp. What did that d * mned bastard turn me into?! She didn't know what would be written in tomorrow's newspaper … No, as long as there was a place to go online, she would know immediately. But it would definitely not be good.

When she walked onto the stage and received the Golden Statuette for Best Actress, her heart was filled with joy. In any case, she did put in a lot of effort in Go Forth, and she was confident that her performance deserved this honor. But when she came down and faced Adriaan, fear emerged from her heart uncontrollably. Although it wasn't much, it lingered in her heart like a shadow.

Finally, she got what she wanted. But when she really got it, she realized … it didn't feel good. Especially compared to her uncertain future, it made her feel even more uneasy. Natalie was very clear that Adriaan wouldn't let her go so easily.

I have to think of a way, I have to! She kept telling herself that in her heart. It was a pity that she had been cheering herself on for the past few years, but there was nothing she could do. In the face of absolute power, all schemes were useless.

Wait … maybe … maybe I can find one first … Natalie's eyes suddenly fell on the woman in front of another bar.