Chapter 389: Chapter 111 Expected

Reporters naturally wanted to know Adrian’s opinion right away, and whatever he would say was bound to be good news. However, unexpectedly, despite their best efforts, they could not capture his presence in Los Angeles, be it waiting outside his house, Julia’s, or any film set; Adrian seemed to have cast an invisibility spell on himself.

Finding out after much trouble that the Miracle Director had gone on vacation, they were left with no choice. Could they possibly find out his itinerary and follow him? He had to come back eventually, the reporters thought. But to their disappointment, Adrian only reappeared in Los Angeles when the award ceremony was just around the corner, and still, he kept his whereabouts elusive, eventually giving them a face-to-face opportunity only on the red carpet of the award ceremony, no wonder they were so aggressively inquisitive.

But no matter how aggressively inquisitive they were, it was futile because the answers would be revealed today. Even if Adrian clearly expressed his opinions, the reporters could exaggerate only so much. Readers were more concerned about who won and who didn’t, not to mention that he didn’t even intend to give them that chance.

As Adrian walked forward, greeting both acquaintances and strangers alike, he really wanted to hurry inside to tease someone properly. However, there were still many familiar faces outside that he needed to deal with.

“Congratulations, Ed, I don’t even know what to say anymore,” Spielberg joked to him.

“Then don’t say anything,” Adrian replied seriously. After a brief pause, Spielberg laughed, “Alright, I’m just kidding. Actually, I feel very lucky. If your film hadn’t been delayed due to post-production issues, I wouldn’t have stood a chance–although I still don’t.”

“How could you say that?” Hanks laughed alongside, “Everyone knows ‘Braveheart’ is an outstanding movie. My son loves it, he constantly shouts ‘Freedom’ all day long.”

“Come on, Tommy, you know, being young is often a fault,” Adrian patted his shoulder. “Okay, enough about that. When is it scheduled? I can’t wait to see it.”

The last statement was directed at Spielberg.

“When else but the summer slot?” Spielberg laughed, “This time it seems we are opening it.”

“No problem, everyone will be amazed, especially the first ten minutes, I guarantee,” Adrian laughed heartily.

After talking for a few more moments, he said his goodbyes and left, feeling a bit regretful. Last year, Spielberg had spent a great effort traveling to Ireland to produce ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ which even specially featured a real Omaha Beach scene. Due to delays in post-production failing to catch up, it missed last year’s Christmas slot and naturally could not be considered for the Oscars.

For Spielberg and DreamWorks, this film was meant to be a breakthrough from the beginning. With its high-quality production–Adrian remembered the original ‘Saving Private Ryan’ was often used to test home sound systems, and as the producer, director, and lead actor hadn’t changed, even if there were quality differences, it wouldn’t be much–it was unacceptable not being screened during the Christmas season or being omitted from the Oscar selection. Naturally, it was postponed to the summer slot of 1996.

Such a pity, Adrian thought to himself again. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the victory in the World War against Fascism, with celebrations of varying degrees around the world. At such a time, releasing such a fantastic film, and with Hanks performing normally, getting a nomination for Best Actor was definite, which would make it three consecutive Best Actor nominations–winning it consecutively was something not even worth thinking about.

As for Spielberg, although it had only been a year since he won Best Director, with the 50th anniversary as a backing and the residual heat from “Schindler’s List”, it wasn’t particularly difficult to make a push in public relations to nab another Oscar statuette. DreamWorks would also gain massive fame for releasing this film at such a time.

Unfortunately, the good timing was ruined by the dragged-out post-production; however, it didn’t really matter, as releasing a film like this after the 50th anniversary would still be hypable. Moreover, this move would increase Spielberg’s chances of winning Best Director next year–there are gains and losses; with losses, there are gains–of course, Hanks, who had back-to-back wins as Best Actor, wouldn’t dream of winning Best Actor again in his lifetime.

In a gesture of sincerity, Adrian, apart from providing the screenplay, had no other association with the film–oh, he also recommended the Phoenix brothers for roles; considering his endorsement, Spielberg had Joaquin play the sharpshooter, while River took on the role of Ryan. Beyond that, there were no investments, no suggestions made, nor was there any involvement with the crew; adjustments to the script during filming were handled by other screenwriters.

There are many movies that make money, and there’s no need to hold each one tightly; connections are also important, especially when it could bolster DreamWorks. Even though AC Media didn’t own much of DreamWorks and didn’t partake in its management, DreamWorks served as a good shield; after all, due to inherent factors, it was difficult for them to grow into a major company, let alone plan for the future.

Alright, it’s better to think about who will win Best Director tonight. Upon entering the bustling hall, Adrian glanced around and thought as much. As he had told Natalie in New York and Hanks just earlier, being young could sometimes be a sin; even if he had produced “Braveheart” instead of any future masterpiece last year, the old-timers at the Film Academy would never award him Best Director again.

In Oscar history, there have been consecutive winners for Best Director, but similar to consecutive Best Actor winners, those were occurrences from the ’50s and ’60s; it was increasingly unlikely now unless the production timelines of “Braveheart” and “Forrest Gump” had been swapped, just like with Hanks.

After thinking it through, Tim Robbins had the highest odds; Chris Nolan was too inexperienced; Mark Figgis didn’t stand a chance, clearly just there to make up the numbers; Michael Redford definitely had the capability to compete, but Bertolucci had won Best Director at the Oscars just eight years ago–a foreign director would have to wait a few more years to clinch the statuette.

With Robbins’ credentials and ability, and with Adrian definitely out of the running, he, along with his long-time live-in girlfriend Susan Sarandon–who was also nominated for Best Actress because of his film–winning awards would undoubtedly be another delightful story. Sometimes, the old-timers at the Film Academy didn’t mind bestowing such favor.

In reality, his own capabilities weren’t enough; though he held some influence, he was still just a newcomer to Hollywood’s upper echelon. Adrian shrugged it off and swiftly found his seat.

“Hey, Russell, you look a bit nervous,” Adrian greeted Russell Crowe, who was seated not far from him.

Dressed in a black suit with a bow tie, his hair combed back, and sporting a stubble, Russell Crowe showcased his rugged side very well.

“It’s my first time at the Oscars, after all. First times are always nerve-wracking,” he replied, adjusting his bow tie again.

“Don’t worry, you’ll attend many more in the future,” Adrian laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

Because he couldn’t possibly win Best Director tonight, company resources could partly be diverted elsewhere, such as promoting Kevin Spacey for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “The Usual Suspects”; or perhaps supporting Best Actor. Sadly, not Crowe, as he was just beginning to make his mark in Hollywood, and his lack of experience could draw criticisms even when propped up for the Best Actor award. Another film distributed by Bossworth Film and nominated for Best Actor was Nicholas Cage’s “Leaving Las Vegas.”

As mentioned before, because Adrian wanted to maintain his status and simultaneously pull Cage to his side, he had secured the adaptation rights to the novel early on and similarly invited Elizabeth Su for the female lead role, only changing the director. This minor change proved to be inconsequential; with his subtle supervision, the film didn’t deviate much from course, and Cage and Su were unsurprisingly both nominated.

Originally, Adrian wanted to gauge the Coppola family’s influence through this affair; after all, Cage was Old Coppola’s nephew. As one of the four great directors of the ’70s and ’80s, Old Coppola had deep connections in Hollywood. Helping his nephew should have been no hard task. However, Adrian couldn’t be completely certain that Cage would win Best Actor, so after careful consideration, he let Laverne handle the PR from the sidelines. They would deal with the Coppola family matter later; after all, this wasn’t the only method available.

Thus, Russell Crowe was destined to be merely an attendee this time, and Sophie Marceau, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, was in the same boat.

“Hi, Sophie, I’m glad you could make it to the awards ceremony,” Adrian greeted the beautiful woman beside him.

Sophie wore a beige V-neck evening gown, her cleavage modestly visible, her hair elegantly styled behind her head. Sitting in the front row, her pristine nape was fully exposed to Adrian’s view.

“It’s my first time attending the Oscars too,” Sophie turned her head to glance at him with a forced smile.

“I was on vacation in Paris recently but you weren’t home, and nobody answered your phone,” Adrian looked at her with a questioning gaze.

“I was in Morocco at the time,” Sophie answered briefly.

“I should have guessed,” Adrian sighed and suddenly changed the subject, “Do you see any differences between this ceremony and the Cesar Awards?”

“The ceremony hasn’t started yet, so I can’t really say,” Sophie’s brows furrowed slightly, her tone bearing a hint of impatience, but her pleading eyes did not escape Adrian’s notice.

“Alright, let’s just wait for it to begin,” Adrian chuckled lightly and leaned back.

Sophie breathed a sigh of relief but only got halfway through before realizing he was still looking at her. She turned her head quickly in a bit of panic, causing Adrian, who saw this, to chuckle and shake his head.

Soon, the award ceremony officially began, and the host was the same Ubi Goldberg who had won Best Supporting Actress for “Ghost.” Honestly, her humorous hosting skills weren’t bad, though her tendency to wear bizarre outfits was a bit hard to bear.

Especially since most of the outfits were adaptations of dresses worn by leading actresses in nominated films–looking fine on them but quite awkward on her. Of course, this comical effect did elicit much laughter from the audience, so Adrian, despite not liking it much, endured.

Well, that wasn’t the point. The real focus was on the awards themselves. This year was different from the last; they started by announcing Best Supporting Actor and Actress right away. Unsurprisingly, Kevin Spacey received Best Supporting Actor. As per tradition, the presenter was last year’s Best Supporting Actress, Kirsten. When the petite girl tiptoed to hand the statuette to Spacey, the crowd erupted in applause.

Adrian was no exception, but most of his attention was on Kirsten. Several weeks unseen, she seemed to have matured even more, and looked quite stunning in a pristine white gown–fit for consuming, perhaps? Otherwise, it may go past its shelf life. And those rules… At this point, even without going all the way, some things wouldn’t change, would they?

He shook his head lightly, putting that thought aside, and returned his gaze to Sophie as the Best Supporting Actress was about to be announced. Although he couldn’t see Sophie’s expression, from the way she clasped her hands in front of her, she was evidently full of hopes–but destined to be disappointed.

As the name of the winner was announced, even though Sophie maintained a smile and clapped gently on the big screen, Adrian, sharp-eyed and familiar with her, still perceived her sense of loss. Naturally, she had been frequently nominated since her teens but had yet to claim a significant award apart from a newcomer prize, fostering a sort of pride and lingering dissatisfaction from her youth.

“Don’t take it to heart, Sophie. You’ll have your chance,” Adrian leaned forward and gently placed his hand on her shoulder while the winner, Joan Allen, gave her speech.

Sophie turned around, her expression complicated, then grasped his hand and smiled in gratitude, “Thank you.”

Adrian inwardly sighed. Even if he reached the pinnacle in Hollywood, he would still be powerless in such matters. Foreign female actors, especially those from the European mainland, aiming to win awards in Hollywood right upon arrival, would only stand a chance if they were exceptionally outstanding–so much so that it left no room for dispute.

Like the discrimination European directors faced from American directors, Hollywood was not particularly welcoming to actresses from the European mainland. Only by fully immersing oneself in Hollywood’s environment and gaining several years of experience could one hope to rise.

Understand, Sophie, just stay by my side, and opportunities like this will keep coming. Adrian thought to himself as he looked at Sophie’s pristine nape and then smiled quietly at some thought.

After the Best Supporting categories served as a warm-up, the atmosphere started to heat up. Various performances took place in the intervals between the announcements of awards–alongside Goldberg’s enthusiastic jokes and her never-ending parade of eccentric outfits, which kept the hall’s guests laughing uproariously.

It was slightly tragic for “Braveheart,” which, despite its ten nominations, hadn’t won anything yet; both Best Sound and Best Editing went to “Apollo 13,” while Best Costume Design was claimed by “Restoration.” The cast members sitting together couldn’t help but whisper quietly amongst themselves in dismay.

However, no wins now didn’t mean they wouldn’t clinch the major awards later on, like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, or Best Original Screenplay–Adrian had two nominations in the Best Original Screenplay category.

However, right when Best Adapted Screenplay was being announced, someone suddenly realized that Adrian was no longer in his seat. Where had he gone?

At the end of a dim hallway in the music center, there was a small room with a high-heeled shoe sign on the door, humorously contrasting with the neighboring door marked with a smoking pipe. At the moment, a “Scene in Progress” triangular sign stood outside the door with the high-heeled shoe. As for what was happening inside…

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit wuxiaworld.site to vote for and support it. Your backing is my greatest motivation.)