"Acting in all aspects of a character is the meaning of being an actor. These are the nominees for this year's Best Actor Oscar." When Natalie, who was wearing a purple dress, said this with a smile on the stage, the faces of the nominees appeared on the big screen next to her and she introduced them.
Philip Seymour Hoffman from "Capote", David Strathairn from "Good Night and Good Luck", Adriaan Brody from "The Pianist", Terrence Howard from "The Crowd", and Vigo Mortensen from "A History of Violence". Just as people were whispering and making their final guesses, Natalie had already opened the envelope. "The Oscar winner is Adriaan Brody!"
Then, applause and the soundtrack of "The Pianist" rang out. Brody held his hands in front of him as if he couldn't believe it, but he immediately stood up and shook hands with his friends to celebrate. He even hugged Adriaan.
"Thank you, Mr. Kewell," he said excitedly.
"You deserve it." Adriaan patted him on the shoulder and looked around at the same time. He couldn't help but want to laugh in his heart. This must have disappointed a lot of people.
Brody winning the Best Actor Award meant that "The Pianist" would not be missing a single one. Don't forget what Brody's name was. Although this was a little idealistic, don't forget that there weren't many atheists present.
"How do you feel? Are you ready?" After Brody finished his speech and Natalie came down with him, Adriaan asked with a smile.
Natalie was obviously nervous, but she still looked up and said in a forced calm tone, "I'll be waiting."
"Then watch carefully," Adriaan said leisurely.
However, although he said so, his heart was not calm. After all, he was going to do something that had never been done before in the history of the Oscars. Although the slogan "The girl from the Holy City, who has both wisdom and beauty" would gain many people's support, it would also cause him to lose a lot of votes. Hence, he was not 100% sure whether the final result would be what he thought it would be.
At that moment, Stuart finished his speech and Rui Fan, who looked very handsome in a suit, walked up to the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I know that everyone is very anxious at this time of year, just like I was last year. So, I'll try to speed up the time. The Oscar nominations are as follows —"
Just like before, the screen began to play clips of the nominees. The first was Judy Dench's … "Scandalous Notes".
Frankly speaking, Adrian was surprised when he received the nomination list. He remembered that Judi Dench should have been nominated for "Mrs. Henderson Presents". He remembered that Judy Dench should have been nominated for "Mrs. Henderson's Gift". She did get a nomination for "Notes on a Scandal", but that should be next year. At first, Adriaan thought that Blanchett would consider bringing forward the movie, but he didn't expect Judy Dench to be nominated for Best Actress for this movie.
Logically speaking, if she really wanted to get an award, she should have chosen "Mrs. Henderson's Gift". After all, this year was the 60th anniversary of the victory of World War II, and the second half of the movie had a lot of scenes about the German bombing. But then again, compared to Judy Dench's previous roles, the female lead in "Scandalous Notes" was a bit different. She was a villain, and it was easy to leave a deep impression among the inspirational nominees. Maybe it would have a miraculous effect.
Of course, this role wasn't perfect. No matter what, she was still a … Well, Judy Dench's thoughts didn't need Adriaan's attention. Moreover … So, he just thought about it and continued to pay attention to the next scene. The remaining four nominees were all his women — Kyla might not be one of them, but no one cared, right? Not to mention that the time was almost up.
The second scene was of Kate from The Winds of the North. She was dressed in dirty clothes that only a miner would wear. Her hair was disheveled, and she was loudly mocking the cowardly people around her. The camera rotated 270 degrees with her. Coupled with her angry words, it looked very tense. Frankly speaking, her current acting skills were much better than when she was in another time and space.
The next scene was of Kyla from "Pride and Prejudice." It was an excerpt of Elizabeth scolding Darcy on a rainy day. Kyla's acting was not particularly good, but her continuous and rhythmic Cockney accent made her look very cute. Adriaan couldn't help but look at where she was sitting, and Kyla happened to look at him too. Although she didn't dare to show too many expressions because the camera was facing her, she still made a light snort that only he could see. At the same time, she slightly clenched her left hand under her right hand and shook it left and right. She really knew how to pick a place to tease.
The fourth scene was of Nicole from "Crossing America." The scene she chose was very ordinary, but it highlighted her acting skills. She had specially practiced speaking in a low and rough voice for this movie. She had also interacted with a few transgender people and observed their lives. She had brought many details into the movie, and with her makeup, if one didn't look carefully, they wouldn't be able to tell that this was the famous Nicole Kidman. Unfortunately, because she was pregnant, she found an excuse to not be there, and there was only a photo on the screen.
Natalie was the last to appear, and the scene she chose was the last moment when she woke up. It was a messy room, and as the scene went from shallow to deep, she slowly changed from fierce to confused to frightened. Finally, she squatted down and hugged herself, sobbing softly in fear. It was quite a layered scene, and it was infectious in an instant.
Then, Rui Fan opened the envelope. "The Oscar winner is, Natalie Portman!"
When he announced the name, there was at least two seconds of silence. Then, there was an uproar mixed with applause.
"Remember what I said?" Adriaan clapped calmly, while Natalie pursed her lips and held onto the armrest with trembling hands, as if she couldn't believe it at all.
But in the end, she stood up steadily, hugged Adriaan, and quickly walked onto the stage.
"… Thank you. At this moment, this is the only word I can think of." After receiving the little golden figurine from Rui Fan, Natalie, who had been brewing for a long time, said in a trembling voice, "I never thought I would stand here again so soon. I never thought I would raise the best actress trophy again so soon. I never … I just want to say, thank you, Mr. Adrian Kewell. You discovered me and guided me, allowing me to step onto the stage and stand here. Thank you very much. I will definitely go on better …"
Her unusual behavior made Adriaan raise his eyebrows. If the media had described their relationship in a mostly speculative tone before, then after this award speech, they could change to a more certain tone. If that was all, then it would have been fine, but his last words were clearly reminding him not to forget his promise to her.
A final struggle? Adriaan smiled and didn't care. After she thanked a lot of people and came down to the applause, he opened his arms again and hugged Natalie.
"That was a touching speech. It was very moving." He smiled and whispered to her, not caring that the camera was on him.
"I just want to say … I just want to say … Those are … my heartfelt words." Natalie brushed her hair behind her ear and lowered her eyelids, not daring to look him in the eye.
Adriaan didn't care at all. His eyes were on the stage, and he even put his index finger to his mouth and said, "Okay, if you have anything to say, say it later. The most critical moment is coming."
Compared to before, he was a lot more relaxed at this moment. Perhaps Natalie could really make a comeback with the best actress award, but the next one definitely wouldn't.
"All five directors chose realistic themes without exception. Now let's take a look at the nominees." The guest presenter, Tom Hanks, was already standing on the stage. After a few minutes, he read out the name: "Adrian Kewell!"
Applause, warm, deafening applause. When Adriaan stood up with a smile, everyone in the audience stood up as well. Even though a considerable number of people were not convinced, there was nothing they could do. After the announcement, there was no possibility of changing the list. Adriaan's record-breaking three consecutive Best Director awards had already been recorded in Oscar history. Coupled with the fact that Natalie won Best Actress and Brody won Best Actor, the Film School had confirmed his position in Hollywood with practical actions. So no matter what, at this moment, they had to be humble and watch him ascend to the throne.
"Congratulations, Eide, you're really incomparable," Hanks said sincerely after handing the little golden man to Adriaan.
"Thank you, Tommy." Adriaan nodded and stood in front of the microphone with the trophy. Then, he glanced at the audience and smiled. He raised his hand and thanked them again. "Thank you!"
There was no reservation, no complacency, no pride, no conceit, only — it was natural!
That's right, from the start of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he had been preparing for this day for almost seven years. During this period, he had experienced countless things. Looking back, even he was a little surprised. After spending so much effort, using so much energy, and thinking of ways to borrow power, why couldn't it be natural?
Some people might feel that it was unfair. Winning Best Director three consecutive years, even if he bribed the Film School or did some behind-the-scenes deals, it was unlikely that he could achieve this. Adriaan must have superpowers to hypnotize all the voting members of the Film School. Of course, they would never know what it meant to borrow power. The so-called historical trend was vast and mighty. Those who followed it would prosper, and those who went against it would perish. This was the importance of power. Only a fool would believe that as long as the movie was good enough, it would be fine.
If one could borrow power, even the tallest mountain could be shaken. And it just so happened that Adriaan had the foresight to grasp this power firmly in his hands. First, he used the Lord of the Rings trilogy to continuously pressure the Film School. Every year, he was nominated and praised by everyone. Coupled with the huge popularity of The Lord of the Rings and the Film School's pursuit of innovation and change, the last time he had won an award was several years ago, so he won his first Best Director Award.
Then, taking advantage of the growing gay movement at the beginning of the 21st century, especially the fact that Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay marriage in 2004, it further stimulated the development of various gay organizations. Under the background of this huge social movement, they released "Brokeback Mountain". At the same time, they used a series of tricks and gave up the Best Film Award in exchange for winning the second Best Director Award.
Needless to say, the Jewish Holocaust, the 60th anniversary of the victory of World War II, the merciless attack on European movies, and the clear-cut stand on Hollywood's side. Coupled with the internal transactions of various forces, he won the third Best Director Award without any difficulty.
If the order was slightly reversed, it would not be as successful as it was, especially when it came to the order of Brokeback Mountain and The Pianist. They were very particular, so Adriaan was most worried about losing the second Best Director Award. It was precisely because Brokeback Mountain won Best Director Award consecutively that when it came to The Pianist, it didn't matter whether he gave it or not. Plus, there was a deal.
This was the power of influence. Of course, other factors were also very important. For example, the quality of the basic movie had to be up to standard. Otherwise, the previous ones were just castles in the air. Or perhaps Adriaan was pursuing the Best Director Award and not the Best Film Award, and repeatedly promised the academy that he would not seek the Best Director Award again after this time.
Although the Best Film Award was the highest honor for a movie producer, this award was not given to the director like the Palme d 'Or. It was given to the production company. Winning the Best Film Award three times in a row was not more famous than winning the Best Director Award three times in a row, and it was easier to be hated by others. As for not seeking the Best Director Award anymore, he had already won it four times. How many more did he want? John Ford had only won it four times.
Some people might say that since he had already reached this point, wouldn't it be better to win it again and become the first person in the history of the Oscars to win five Best Director Awards? Of course not. If it was decades later, when he was getting old, maybe Adriaan would consider this, but he definitely could not do it now. As the saying goes, the tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. If it was only a little, it would naturally not be a problem, but if it was too much, it would easily be blown down by the wind.
So what if he tied John Ford's record? Just by winning the Best Director Award three times in a row, Adriaan was already unique. How much effort had he put into this moment? And according to his understanding of the Film School, after this, there would definitely be an internal agreement in private that there would not be another Best Director Award three times in a row.
Therefore, why couldn't he accept the third Oscar as a matter of course?
"This is an unparalleled honor. Thank you, everyone. I will always remember this in my heart." After his speech, Adriaan raised the trophy again, then bowed slightly. Warm applause rang out again.
After that, there was no need to say anything more. In exchange, Capote won the Best Film Award, and the 78th Oscars came to an end.
As for the Vanity Fair party that followed, there was nothing much to say. Adriaan had never missed it, so he naturally attended it this time. However, the problem was that, as a new Best Director Award three times in a row, countless people came to the party that night to greet and talk to him, regardless of whether they were familiar with him or not. As a result, his women couldn't find a chance to chat with him alone, so he had to give up some reserved projects.
The only thing he gained was that Phillip Semore Hoffman promised that if the role was suitable, he would be willing to play the main role in the film recommended by Adriaan, regardless of whether it was directed by him or not.
It was now 2006, and the stage version of "Child Abuse", which had been abandoned, was performed on New York's Broadway, and it won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award. Some things were still developing according to the established rules. In this regard, Adriaan, who had been paying attention to this, naturally got the rights to adapt the film. Although Natalie couldn't use it, it didn't mean that others couldn't. Although he could completely relax and rest now, he still had to think about women, right?
Phillip Semore Hoffman had played the role of a priest in the original film, so Adriaan couldn't be bothered to find someone else to make it up to him. After all, Hoffman should have won the Best Actor Award at this year's Oscars. Unfortunately, because of Adriaan's interference, a gay character had already won the Best Actor Award before this year's Oscars. Brody's competitiveness was particularly strong because he was Jewish, and a series of factors this year had led to his defeat in the end.
This way, he could sell a favor and maintain the standard of the film. Why not?
Although he didn't get to be intimate with Kate and the others at the party, there was still a lot of entertainment that night. Although Natalie was also surrounded by a large group of people because she won the Best Actress Award in a row, and didn't get to talk to Adriaan, she still sneaked into the limousine that he had prepared at the back door.
As the first woman to accompany Adriaan on the night of the Oscars for two years in a row, she could be considered to have voted for him. Of course, Natalie definitely wouldn't be proud of it.
Even so, under Adriaan's teasing, Natalie took the initiative to be intimate with him for the first time in the car, and they went all the way to the villa in Malibu. However, if she thought that this could satisfy him, she was gravely mistaken. When the limousine stopped in the garage, Adriaan didn't intend to stop. He first continued to be intimate with her in the car, and when the driver completely left, he carried Natalie out of the car. He walked out of the garage and into the house, and deliberately made a circle around the front yard.
"No … Don't do this …" Natalie, who was unable to struggle, pleaded as she passed through the courtyard.
"Why? I've done so much for you, and you can't even satisfy this small request? "This was Adriaan's reply with a teasing tone. The other party's body immediately tensed up.
As always, although the Oscars were over, there would always be repercussions. For example, some of the media made all kinds of sour ridicule about Adriaan winning the Best Director Award three times in a row, and various hints about Natalie winning the Best Actress Award. Film school's behavior of dividing the cake was the best proof that no popular film won more than three awards. In short, there were all kinds of voices.
Mel Gibson, that big mouth, even openly declared that this was a victory for the Jews. Of course, he still had some brains left, and did not attack Adriaan. He only complained that he shouldn't have tried to please the Jews.
