Sometimes you thought the other person was joking, but in fact, it wasn't. You thought the other person didn't care, but in fact, the other person understood what you were saying. People were complicated. You could understand a certain person's thoughts at all times, and you could understand all of a person's thoughts at some times, but you couldn't understand all of a person's thoughts at all times.
Adriaan couldn't either, but he didn't need to understand everything. For him, it was enough to understand some thoughts at all times, and all of a person's thoughts at some times. Therefore, although Taylor's reaction was somewhat unexpected, and the rebellious girl actually said that it was too cool, he didn't take it too seriously.
He was sure that on one hand, the naive and jumpy girl did have such thoughts. She felt that Adriaan's threat was because he valued her. On the other hand, she also knew that he wasn't finished, but she didn't know how to respond at the moment, so she could only muddle through. Two thoughts intertwined in her heart. Which one had the upper hand, and which one was more? He wasn't sure if that sentence was purely out of instinct or to cover up.
But so what? When it was time to make a move, he would never hesitate, just like Penelope and Annie, even if it might be a little troublesome. Therefore, it was fine for Taylor to write a song, but if she did something she shouldn't have without telling him, then it would be a pity. This was also a small test for Taylor. As Adriaan's collector, especially now, some qualities were necessary. Now it was time to see if she had them.
Soon, March arrived, and the 78th Oscars were just around the corner. Without a doubt, it would be held at the Kodak Theater. Although the ratings for the Oscars had been declining year after year, this time the media's attention was unprecedentedly high. Everyone wanted to know if the guy who had created countless miracles could become the uncrowned king.
This wasn't just to see if he could win the Best Director Award again, but also to see if he could make Natalie Portman the Best Actress Award again. During this time, the media's continuous publicity, although it was all suggestive descriptions, had whetted the audience's appetite. Actually, there wasn't a need for too many words. As long as they put Adriaan's record in front of them, the audience would naturally fill in the blanks. Therefore, the ratings for this year's Oscars were quite high.
In this regard, the Film School had to thank him. Under these circumstances, he had single-handedly pulled up the ratings. There hadn't been before, and there probably wouldn't be in the future.
However, although the audience was waiting for the results, most people in the industry knew that the results weren't far off, especially those who knew more.
"Today, we are all your foils, Eide." At the entrance of the Kodak Theater, surrounded by flashing lights on the red carpet, Spielberg sighed and said to Adrian.
Although he had brought "Munich" to this year's Oscars and was Adrian's rival for Best Film and Best Director, as a member of Hollywood's Jewish community, he knew better than anyone else how much power Adrian had used.
"I've never felt so … old." Spielberg sighed again.
"Don't say that, Steven. You're not old yet. A lot of outstanding directors are much older than you, but they're still working on their films. So, you have enough time and energy to make the films you want to make." Adriaan smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Then, he thought of something and said, "At least, you're still in the running for Best Film."
This wasn't a comfort. In order to achieve his goal, Adriaan had made a lot of deals. One of them was that as long as he got what he wanted, he could give up everything else. There was nothing to be regretful about. The probability of getting some things wasn't high, so instead of fighting for it, it was better to use it as a bargaining chip.
"Don't mind me, I was just sighing." Although Spielberg sighed twice, he quickly returned to normal.
After all, a freak like Adriaan wouldn't appear for decades. So, it was like Michael Bay versus James Cameron. Since no one could surpass him, it didn't matter.
After a few more words, the two separated. Spielberg walked into the theater first, while Adriaan continued to stay on the red carpet, allowing the reporters to take pictures and chat with his women. This year's lineup continued to expand. Needless to say, Kate, Monica, and Sophie were already regulars at the Oscars. Among the younger girls, Scarlet, Kirsten, and Amanda were almost regulars as well. Jessica, Megan, and Cayden were the same. But Keeley hadn't stepped on the red carpet yet.
On the Asian side, in addition to Lin Zhiling and Yuji Hui, Gao Yuanyuan, who finally had a representative film, also appeared at the Kodak Theater. He believed that the media in the mainland would definitely hype it up.
Fortunately, Nicole and Naomi were due to give birth in a few days, but when they went to the hospital for a checkup the day before, the doctor made it clear that it wasn't time yet. Of course, they could stay in the hospital now … In short, they were all staying at home with their pregnant stomachs, and Adriaan was able to attend the award ceremony. Fortunately, there would only be more women present. This year, Adriaan was particularly inconspicuous. If there were pictures of him being surrounded by a few women like the previous few times, the news would definitely be overwhelming, and it wouldn't be in line with his style of releasing news bit by bit.
After a while, seeing that the sun was gradually setting, Adriaan walked into the Kodak Theater alone. Along the short passage, Adriaan walked up the steps while greeting the acquaintances who stayed there. Although he had been here many times, it gave him a different feeling each time, especially today.
Including this one, he had participated in fourteen Oscars. He had watched the organizers continuously hold the awards in various venues, and finally settled here. Unknowingly, he had gone from being a newcomer to a big shot. Looking back at it now, it really felt like a dream.
Bypassing the patio-like cylindrical structure, Adriaan entered the front hall, and a few steps later, he would be in the hall. Yes, it felt like a dream, especially at this time, when he could achieve a great career that no one had ever achieved before or after, and he could stand at the peak and look down on the entire Hollywood.
Although he had told Claude that he wanted to control Hollywood, he had never thought that he would reach his current position in this way. His thoughts were constantly adjusted because of reality, and his current thoughts were much different from his original thoughts. This was normal. No matter what kind of thoughts, they would always change after experiencing enough things. Adriaan was no exception — except for one thing.
"Hi, Nada, you look so beautiful." After Adriaan found his seat and sat down, he smiled and looked at Natalie, who was sitting next to him. "I didn't see you outside. Are you early?"
"I'm a little nervous." Natalie glanced at him and clenched her hands on her lap a little. "So I came early."
"Really?" Adriaan looked at her with a smile. Her purple evening dress made her look elegant, and her slightly curled hair made her look very mature.
He had specially chosen Natalie's outfit for reference … matching. It was very meaningful, wasn't it? So when she was a little fidgety, Adriaan chuckled and shifted his gaze to the stage. A certain thought, the one he had when he first opened his eyes had never changed. Moreover, it was Natalie's behavior that deepened his thought. Otherwise, he might have suffered a lot if he had kept his initial attitude, so he should reward her.
Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. As time passed, the award ceremony was finally about to begin. This time, the host was … Jon Stewart from "The Daily Show".
Unlike in the past, the opening was a parody short film. It wasn't about the Best Movie, but the past Oscar hosts. For example, at the beginning, there was a small tent that looked like Brokeback Mountain. When the voiceover sounded, "Welcome to this year's Oscar host, Billy Crystal," Crystal immediately came out of the tent. "No, no, no. I'm very busy now."
Then, Chris Locke came out. "I'm very busy too."
Without a doubt, the audience burst into laughter.
Following that, the guests followed the camera and visited several previous hosts. Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg, and so on. Without exception, they all declined. Of course, the way they declined also made the audience laugh. In the end, the call reached Stewart. When Stewart woke up, he rolled over and saw Salma Hayek lying next to him. Thinking that he was dreaming, Stewart fell back to sleep. Then, he got up again, and the person lying next to him was George Clooney.
Finally, amidst the laughter, Jon Stewart appeared on stage. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, as well as … all the excited people."
He said this in a playful tone. His comical tone attracted a lot of laughter. Adriaan was among them, but at the same time, he shook his head slightly. Stewart was a good host. He was quick-witted, quick-witted, and very humorous. His sarcasm and exaggerated body language had won him many fans.
But it was precisely because of this that he wasn't suited to host the Oscars. This was an award ceremony, and no matter what, entertainment was the most important. But to a large extent, The Daily Show was a political satire show, so it was necessary for the host to be sarcastic. Once he found a loophole, he would do his best to ridicule.
Although Stewart's image in real life and in front of the camera were two different things, in fact, many guests who attacked each other in front of the camera had very good relationships in private. What they showed in front of the camera was only a requirement for filming. But Stuart had been hosting The Daily Show for almost ten years. That style had left a deep mark on him. As soon as he switched to host mode, he would immediately become sarcastic.
Not to mention anything else, just look at his current appearance. His eyebrows were raised, and his frowning face didn't look happy at all. It was a world of difference from Chris, who looked like he wanted to laugh at first glance. Perhaps he could control himself at first, but later on, when he talked too much, he would instinctively pop up with inappropriate topics.
Actually, Adriaan thought that in ABC, Ellen DeGeneres was actually more suitable to host the Oscars. According to what he heard, the Film School actually considered her, but in the end, they still invited Stewart. Since that was the case, Adriaan could only shrug. He couldn't say something like "Hey, Jon, you're not suitable to host the Oscars," right? To be honest, which host didn't want to host the Oscars? Just listen to Chris Locke's bragging.
No matter what, no matter how unsuitable Stewart was, he was much better than Rock last year. So, Adriaan only felt that it was a pity and continued to pay attention to this year's awards.
This year's awards were given out from the technical category. The first award was for Best Sound Editing, which was unsurprisingly won by "Transformers". At the same time, it also won Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. However, this was also the only movie that won three awards this year. It was basically a mess after that. For example, "Pride and Prejudice" and "Good Night, Good Luck" were nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography at the same time. In the end, "Pride and Prejudice" won Best Art Direction, and "Good Luck" won Best Cinematography.
As for the others, "Munich" won Best Cinematography, "The Penguin Diaries" won Best Documentary, and "Bustling Times" won Best Song. In short, it was a mess, and it felt like the cake was being divided. Under such circumstances, although Yuji Hui was very eye-catching in "Tower of Babel," unfortunately, she still didn't get Best Supporting Actress. Needless to say, it was already very good for Lin Chi-ling to be nominated for her role.
"It's okay … If Eide wants to give it to me, he will naturally give it to me … If Eide doesn't want to give it to me, there must be a reason …" Yuji Hui, who was riding on Adriaan, said intermittently while panting.
They were outside the front hall of the Kodak Theater, and there was a shop under the stairs. Usually, the theater could be visited, so there were several shops on both sides of the passage. When the Oscars were held, the entire street outside would be cordoned off. Naturally, the shops on both sides of the passage would be empty. Adriaan, who couldn't find a new place to have sex, turned his attention to this place.
It wasn't difficult. With his identity, it wasn't a problem at all to get the keys to this shop. It was also easy to get the patrolling security guards to avoid him. The only trouble was that they couldn't turn on the lights. However, it was quite exciting to have sex in the dark floor-to-ceiling glass, which was covered with patterns, and all kinds of handbags.
"You are always so considerate, Yuji Hui." Adriaan, who was holding her waist, praised her. Then, he straightened his lower body and began to exert force.
In fact, Yuji Hui still had a high chance of winning Best Supporting Actress. First, her performance in the movie was really outstanding. Second, the Oscars hadn't been won by an Asian for almost 20 years. Especially Lee An, who was supposed to be famous, was robbed of the honor that should have belonged to him. Therefore, if Adriaan was willing to spend time on Yuji Hui's PR, it was not impossible for him to win an Oscar. Moreover, there was a precedent of a Japanese winning an acting award at the Oscars.
Unfortunately, Adriaan had to protect his own interests first, so in the end, Yuji Hui lost. Although she might not be able to win the award even if she spent a lot of effort on public relations, Adrian still felt a little ashamed. When it came to obedience and honesty, even his little pet might not be as good as Yoshie. If playing one of the main roles in "Gilmore Girl" and the leading actress in "The Grudge" and other movies made her the most famous Japanese actress in Hollywood, then "Memoirs of a Geisha" made her an A-list actress, even if it was only a little higher than the A-list.
Even in this situation, she still obediently and obediently worked as a maid by Adriaan's side, satisfying all his needs. This was very rare. And Adriaan's idea had always been that as long as they were worth it, he would never be stingy. So, he felt a little guilty this time, so he pulled her out of the awards ceremony and apologized.
But as usual, Yuji Hui comforted Adriaan, which made him feel even more guilty. So, the moment he sent her to the top, he suddenly had an interesting idea. Even though it wasn't complete, it was indeed an interesting idea. If he really did it, it would increase Yuji Hui's fame, and it would shatter many people's glasses, so why not?
Of course, this was all in the future, and he wasn't in a rush to perfect it now. Plus, he still needed to rest. So, when he came back from outside, Adriaan quickly returned his attention to the stage.
The chaotic situation was not over yet. The reason why he said that was because the Best Adapted Screenplay Award, which was supposed to be in the bag, fell into the hands of Spielberg's "Munich." This caused an uproar. As a movie about the Holocaust, and personally produced by Director Miracle, plus it was a biography, "The Pianist" was destined to win the Best Adapted Screenplay Award.
Who would have thought that "Munich" would win the award in the end? What was the Film school thinking? They were both stories about Jews, but "The Pianist" was worse than "Munich"? Many people were puzzled, and some even began to secretly rejoice in others' misfortune. Previously, when "The Pianist" didn't win a single award, they thought that it was accumulating energy for the last few awards, but when this award, which should have been no problem, was given to another movie, it was worth pondering. It was very likely that Adriaan's generosity caused the other people in the school to react, so …
But Adriaan remained calm, as if he wasn't worried at all about the failure of the adapted screenplay. He waited patiently.
So, the awards continued to be given out. Best Original Screenplay Award was given to "Good Night and Good Luck," Best Short Film Award was given to "The Six Shooters" … Finally, the highlight came.
