American Fame and Fortune Chapter 904

Chapter 904 Best Director

　　From before Christmas to after the 2017 New Year, Martin stayed in Atlanta on vacation, and even entrusted Lily to fill in the Oscar ballots distributed by the Academy.

At the Coke Cult headquarters, Martin handed a box he brought to Robert.

“Isn't there another Oscar statuette in there?” Robert asked.

Martin said: “I'm borrowing David Fincher's Oscar for Best Director for the time being. I will return it when this Oscar is over.”

Robert understood: "Don't worry, the security here is very strong."

Martin nodded: "Get the ceremony done as soon as possible."

Robert picked up the statuette and went upstairs to perform his Coke sacrificial ceremony.

“Let's go.” Martin pulled Elena away.

Elena put her hands into the pockets of her windbreaker and asked, "Are you planning to compete for the best director?"

"I've made a lot of preparations, but I have to give it a try." When he came outside, Martin helped Elena open the passenger door. He turned to the driver's seat and got in the car and said, "No one has ever won an Oscar at the same time. Best Actor and Best Director, I'll see if I can grab this special record.”

Elena didn't quite understand what Oscar was saying, so she asked instead: “Where should we go next?”

Martin said: "I prepared a surprise."

Elena shrugged slightly.

Martin started the car, left Peachtree Street, and soon arrived at Atlanta's famous wealthy villa area.

In front of one of the single-family mansions, Bruce was waiting.

Seeing Martin's car approaching, he waved and opened the electronic door.

Martin drove in directly, passing through the tree-shaded front yard, there was an English-style villa that Elena had been particularly fond of when she was young.

This mansion, including the courtyard, covers an area of more than 3 acres and is worth a lot of money.

Martin got out of the car and waited for Bruce to come over. He took the document bag from his hand and handed it to Elena: "When we lived in Marietta, we imagined that one day we would move into a Victorian-style mansion like this."

He pointed at the document bag: "Look around and if there is anything you are not satisfied with, contact the construction company inside and they can make adjustments based on your opinions."

Elena never thought about ending her relationship with Martin, so she was not polite to him: "The house is good, I will accept it."

She walked towards the villa: "This place is quiet, spacious and private. It's also suitable for you to settle down when you return to Atlanta."

Martin took her into the villa with him.

The two of them were watching and discussing how to adjust the layout.

　With the New Year holiday over, Los Angeles is bustling again, and the competition for the annual awards season is at its most intense.

Agents in suits and fashionable public relations managers hang out in Burbank and Beverly Hills.

Davis Studio, Warner Pictures, plus Martin's sponsors such as CocCola, Brioni, Cadillac and Cartier Men's Watch, have invested a total of tens of millions of dollars in public relations and promotion expenses.

This is firmly ranked first among all Hollywood films competing for awards.

In second place is "The Revenant" starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Two rich men with money and capital, and the quality of their films are completely good, and they are killing people with their money during the awards season.

When it comes to Oscar competition, it has always been the case that the more prepared you are, the greater your chances of winning.

The popularity on Martin's side has remained high.

In the media, you can see soft articles praising Martin everywhere.

According to the feedback from the public relations team, most of the judges have not seen "Joker", and the sample film sent to them is just a walk-through.

Directors at work are all busy people, who has time to watch such a movie that has no financial interests involved.

The focus of all media promotion and marketing is to let the Best Director judges know that Martin directed a "Joker" that has received explosive reviews and has been praised by Hollywood industry peers and film critics.

Martin also returned to Los Angeles from Atlanta and frequently appeared at various events.

Canvassing votes is the job of public relations managers, and all they have to do is maintain sufficient exposure.

The exposure that most attracts the attention of judges during the awards season is a series of frontline awards.

Hence, there have been very few Oscar upsets in the past two decades, because the winner of the Sentinel Award is basically the Oscar winner.

Since the birth of the major labor union awards, the result overlap rate with the corresponding Oscar awards is more than 95%.

In order to compete for Oscars, Martin attended the Golden Globe Awards in mid-January with a high profile, and "Joker" successfully won the Best Director and Best Feature Film.

Leonardo easily took home the trophy for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

"Joker" has maintained high-intensity publicity and marketing. Although it may easily arouse some people's rebellious psychology, it is more likely to make the judges feel familiar.

Martin has basically used all legitimate means that can increase exposure.

Brioni has launched a customized suit with the same style as the clown.

As early as when "Joker" was released, CocCola with the same clown paint has been maintaining high sales.

Cadillac launched the same old clown car in the movie, and its sales are also good.

Cartier also has commemorative watches on sale.

Just before the Oscar nominations were announced, Martin walked onto the Walk of Fame and engraved his own star on the Walk of Fame.

In the list of Oscar nominations announced subsequently, "Joker" won a total of eight nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Sound Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. nominations.

This is also the film with the most nominations at the 89th Oscars.

Davis Studio, everyone gathered in the conference room.

Thomas said: "There is no big difference from our predictions. The nominees for Best Director are Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Kenneth Lonergan and Stephen Frears."

The latter is the director of "The Queen of Off-Tune".

"The ones who are most aggressive in PR are Mel Gibson and Denzel Washington, both of whom have millions of dollars invested in their productions," said public relations manager Marsha Kennett.

The latter two's influence in the academy is several levels behind Martin's, not to mention the funds necessary for winning prizes.

Martin pondered for a moment and said: "The next phase of voting will begin soon. The focus of publicity will be slightly shifted. We will mobilize the resources in our hands and push the media to publish more about Mel Gibson's incident that year. In addition, we must also focus on mentioning last year. The "Moonlight" Oolong Incident."

Everyone knows what it means.

Mel Gibson told some truth back then, and the Squids broke their defense. With the way the Squids behave, as long as they think about it, they will not vote for him.

Last year's "Moonlight" incident caused huge criticism and also quelled the restlessness of black people and diversity.

As expected this year, the possibility of black people winning the four major awards is zero.

Since late January, entertainment media have always mentioned what Mel Gibson did that year in prominent positions.

There are too many squids in the Hollywood industry, and there are countless directors in the industry.

ˆ Relevant news in the media undoubtedly reminded these people of what Mel Gibson had done.

They basically won't vote for Mel Gibson.

As for the first choice of voting, on the premise that I have never seen the movie, I naturally chose "Joker" and Martin, who are often seen in the media, mentioned in other people's ears, and are also the most popular.

"Joker" itself is very popular. The film was withdrawn from major theaters in North America in mid-February, and the North American box office stayed at US$548 million.

It is still being screened overseas and has continued to make box office revenue, with a global box office totaling US$1.288 billion.

"Joker" became the 2016 box office champion in North America and the world, and was also the only movie with a box office of more than 500 million US dollars in North America.

“People” magazine released a special cover issue of “Joker” on the occasion of the Oscars.

　　It praised highly: ""Joker" directed and starred by Martin Davis is one of the best films in Hollywood history that combines commerciality, social reality and artistic depth!"

On the last weekend of February 2017, the 89th Academy Awards ceremony was held on time at the Dolby Theater.

This time the trio of **** walked the Oscar red carpet together.

The interviews in the media area are the same every year. Martin did not accept the interview and called Leonardo and Nicholson directly into the theater.

The three people's seats are still arranged together.

The crew of "Joker" and "The Revenant" also sat in the same row in the same area.

People around me frequently come over to say hello.

At the three major union awards where the results were previously announced, Martin won the Directors Guild Award for Best Director, Leonardo won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, and "Joker" defeated many competitors and won multiple awards. Guild Awards for Best Film.

Martin's mentality is very stable and he has done all the work ahead. Naturally, he was able to win and receive the award with dignity at the award ceremony.

Leonardo is not too nervous, after all, he has an Oscar statuette in hand.

Nicholson looked at Martin: "You bastard, if you win tonight, it will be your fourth Oscar, tied with Katharine Hepburn. You are still so young, and you will set records in the future."

Martin quickly stopped him: "Don't say that, we don't know the result yet."

Leonardo is very superstitious about Martin: "The game is not over yet, so you must not celebrate in advance."

Nicholson simply shut his mouth.

As the music sounded, the award ceremony began.

In Beverly Hills, Lily was directing people from the fireworks company to place fireworks launchers on the front lawn.

Elizabeth quickly walked out of the villa door and shouted to her: "The award ceremony has begun."

Lily turned around and said with a smile: "Don't worry, it's still a few hours until Martin's award."

Elizabeth leaned at the door and waited for a while, and Lily came back quickly. The two of them held hands and entered the living room together, just as the live TV camera turned to Martin.

In the close-up, Martin is applauding vigorously, and "Joker" won the first Oscar of the night - Best Editing!

Lily said: "Only the first one."

“The Best Editing Award has been won.” Elizabeth said specifically: “If I win the Screenplay Award or the Cinematography Award later, the Best Film Award will be guaranteed.”

The next award was for Best Cinematography, and "Joker" won again.

Elizabeth and Lily high-fived each other.

They are not worried at all about whether Martin can get the award he wants. The Directors Guild Award, which has an overlap rate of nearly 99%, has already predicted the result.

On the contrary, all Academy members can participate in voting for the best film, and there may be changes.

Malibu, Mene's new home.

Celine Dion stood at the exit of the kitchen and said to the servant: "Send the fruit plate and wine over. The wine should not be high, and hurry up."

The servant responded quickly.

Celine Dion returned to the living room and greeted the women brought by Chad, Marcus, Chen Hu and others.

The servant brought wine and a fruit plate.

Suddenly, Mene shouted loudly: "Another key award!"

Chad, Marcus and Chen Hu also stood up and applauded.

Marcus also said loudly: "This **** Bradt won the Oscar, let him treat him tomorrow!"

Chen Hu asked: “Why not today?”

Mene poured wine for several people and said: "Because the award ceremony is over, we are going to Martin's place to celebrate!"

“Shh—” Chad raised his finger.

Everyone else knows what's going on and won't talk about it anymore.

The female family members also turned to look at the TV. It turned out that Bradett, the screenwriter of "Joker", had won the Best Screenplay Award!

Atlanta, Elena, who had just moved to a new home, also sat in front of the TV.

Wearing a baseball cap, Hall walked back and forth, spinning a baseball in his hand.

Harris was dissatisfied: “Can't you sit down?”

“The trainer didn't let me sit for a long time and asked me to maintain a certain amount of exercise.” Now a big star in MLB, Hall has just recovered from a minor injury.

Hearing the words from the live TV broadcast, Elena shouted: "Shut up, you two idiots! The awards will be awarded soon."

Although Hall and Harris have grown up, their sister's majesty and suppression have always been there. The two quickly stopped talking and turned their attention to the TV.

Hall muttered: "There is a change this time. The best director has been awarded before the best actor and actress."

Harris spent some time with Martin in Hollywood and said: "Is this the Academy's reform of Hollywood? Adjust the order of awards..."

Elena's eyes glanced over, and the messy sounds immediately disappeared.

Dolby Theater, award guest Tom Cruise took the stage.

Leonardo whispered: "Don't be nervous, you are still young, you have been left unpopular, and you can still be in the next one."

Martin's voice was equally low: “Even if I lose, you will still have fewer statuettes than me.”

Leonardo's mouth trembled and he didn't want to speak anymore.

Nicholson shook his head: "What are you trying to do to provoke him? You are obviously the worst at the Oscars."

Leonardo vowed that he would never be next to these two **** at the next awards ceremony.

Not far away, Denzel Washington was still looking forward to it. He turned over his hand and looked at the dark back of his hand, feeling that he still had an advantage.

Mel Gibson took it all lightly, knowing the Squids wouldn't let him win.

One day, he will write a script and make a movie to expose the true nature of the squids and kill them all.

Tom Cruise introduced the five nominated directors one by one, looked down at the envelope, and said with a smile: "There is no mistake this time, it says Best Director."

He turned over the envelope and let the main camera take a look at the subtitles on it. Then he took out the card, glanced at it, and said, "The best director is Martin Davis, the director of "Joker"!"

There are no surprises or suspense. Like most Oscar awards, the Guild Award winner is the corresponding Oscar winner.

The applause rang out, especially enthusiastic.

Martin stood up, hugged Leonardo, Nicholson and others one by one, and strode towards the stage.

　　Beverly Hills, Davis Estate.

“I won! I won—”

Lily hugged Elizabeth to celebrate first, then rushed out of the villa and shouted to the lawn: "Set off fireworks! Let them go now!"

With a bang bang bang sound, countless fireworks exploded above Beverly Hills.

In the mansion in Malibu, Mene had already opened the prepared champagne, poured a glass of champagne for each person, and said: "Congratulations to Martin on winning the award, and I wish our new film a great success!"

Chad, Marcus, Chen Hu and others, as well as Celine Dion and other female family members, toasted together to celebrate.

In the mansion in Atlanta, as soon as he heard Martin's name, Hall excitedly threw the baseball in his hand. The ball hit a window and the glass shattered.

Harris said: "The way you celebrate is really special."

“This won't happen next time!” Elena's face was filled with a happy smile, and she didn't care about Hall's broken glass.

Hall said: "Martin won the award, I am so happy, I will have someone replace it tomorrow."

Harris glanced at the window. There was light shining in the sky and said, "There are fireworks."

Hall and Elena both looked over there, and the latter said: "The direction of the headquarters of the CocCola Cult should be Robert and his friends."

Meanwhile, inside the Dolby Theatre.

From the auditorium at the rear, there was a roaring sound.

It turned out that countless ordinary spectators spontaneously stood up and applauded.

The wave of people rushed to the media box and guest box, and more people stood up.

The whole audience stood up and applauded!

Martin walked onto the stage, took the statuette from Tom Cruise, and nodded: "Thank you."

Tom Cruise immediately stepped aside.

"Thank you to the Academy and the judges for their recognition." Martin said a cliche first, and then spoke faster: "I am a new director. I encountered various difficulties when making a movie. Many people have helped me, including Nolan and David - Finch is the best teacher, Steve Downton is the best assistant, Louise, you have made me worry-free... I want to thank them, every member of the "Joker" crew, my company, My agent and PR team, thank you to everyone I met in my life!”

When the time was almost up, he looked at where the two old guys were: "Jack, I won't thank you because you always like to hit me. Leo, I wish you good luck."

The camera immediately turned around.

Martin went backstage, but did not leave. Instead, he stood at the entrance and exit of the backstage, waiting for other award results.

Brie Larson walked onto the stage with an envelope and presented the award for Best Actor.

The crew of "Joker" did not apply for this award.

There was no upset either. Leonardo, who swept the Sentinel Awards and won the Screen Actors Guild Best Actor, won the Best Actor for "The Revenant".

Leonardo entered the backstage with the statuette in his arms. He saw Martin at a glance and hurriedly came over to give him a fist bump.

The two first bumped fists, then hugged each other and congratulated each other.

Martin said: "There is also a prize to see who can win."

Leonardo said: "The loser will have the biggest party this year."

Martin responded: “No problem.”

At this time, Clint Eastwood took over the envelope for the Best Picture. The old man didn't want to be embarrassed because of his age, so he repeatedly confirmed with the director and the accountant from PricewaterhouseCoopers: "Are you sure you got the wrong envelope? "

The accountant repeatedly assured: "Absolutely not, we have checked it three times."

Hearing the music and sounds from the front desk, the director quickly asked people to come on stage.

Clint Eastwood strode onto the stage, and after a series of routines, announced the last award of the night: "The best picture is "Joker"!"

Leonardo bumped fists with Martin and said: "Man, congratulations."

Martin said with a smile: “You can come back next year.”

Everyone around is sending congratulations.

At the guest table, Louise summoned the crew and creative staff to go on stage to receive the award.

The Best Picture award belongs to the entire cast.

Martin walked out from backstage, joined the crew, and together with Louise took over the statuette from Eastwood.

After Best Director, "Joker" won Best Picture, becoming the biggest winner at this Oscar!

(End of this chapter)

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