The Oscars
"Whenever I sit in the Oscar Awards Hall, I think about a problem. Only one-fifth of the people who come here will win in the end, and the others are losers.
And, before coming, through various public relations methods, they have already realized who the winners are - so, doesn't it feel awkward for them to come here and work hard to pretend to be unexpected?" Sitting in the hall, Levi and Theron beside him whispered.
Theron glanced at him before speaking, "Most people here are actors. What's the hard work of pretending? If you feel awkward, you don't have to come. Aren't there a few who don't come to the Oscars?"
Levi smiled when he heard this: Indeed, as Theron said, for the people here, disguise is no longer a challenging task.
Everyone knows that the Oscar award time is just a big show, but isn't Hollywood itself also a big show? Since one came to Hollywood to participate in this show of life, why can't one participate in this show?
People who participate in this show can get a lot of benefits, but people who don't participate are often unlucky because of it - Levi has seen too many examples.
Sitting in the hall, listening to the host teasing him, Levi shrugged and said nothing more.
It didn't take long from the nominations luncheon to the awards dinner. And this time, Levi's company also had a relatively complete staff.
After all, this is when his company is eager to win all the awards.
They came with great confidence from the moment the Oscars nominations were announced. It was precisely because of his high confidence that Levi would joke with Theron at the venue.
Because this time, the Oscars really went well.
"Best visual effects. The X-Men!"
This award was the first to go to the Enigma Company. This award is undoubtedly the most unsurprising as the highest-grossing blockbuster last year. This movie received four nominations, but all were in the technical category, making the special effects company that produced the special effects for this movie famous for a while.
A subsidiary of Enigma Company has a reputation as an excellent special effects company, so it can be considered a hit.
This is not without its benefits - at least when Harry Potter was filming this time, they considered finding Levi's company. Although the British have their pride and actors and directors must use British people, their own special effects company obviously cannot produce all the special effects for this movie alone.
They still have to find people from other countries to cooperate. And since the visual effects director is American Robert Ricardo, this film naturally uses many American special effects companies.
After this award, the waiting time for the second award will be slightly longer.
Then, for Best Sound Editing, U-571 won this award. In this regard, The Grudge is pretty good but not particularly strong. It's already great for a horror film to be nominated.
Then, for the best sound effects, Gladiator took away the award. As a big-budget movie, it still has merits in many aspects. At least in terms of sound effects, it is not inferior to The X-Men, which is also a big-budget movie.
In Levi's special effects company, there is little innovation in sound effects production. And if you don't work hard, don't expect to be better than others. There's nothing you can do about it.
But immediately afterward, Enigma Company won again.
"Best Editing... The Departed, Clark Stanley!"
This time, it was one of their bosses who took home the award for Enigma Company. Clark won the Best Editing award this time for his excellent editing in the movie The Departed.
In this category, only The Departed was nominated for Levi's film this year. Lost in Translation was shot a bit hastily, the editing wasn't ideal, and it didn't win any awards for the project.
However, Clark's "The Departed" is definitely the work of a master of editing. The many switching places that need to show the parallel progress of the two lines are all relatively smooth and natural. The contrast between the two is strong but not abrupt, and it is amazing.
Clark accepted the award calmly. "This is not the first time I have won an Oscar for Best Editing, but this time, I am even more excited than the last. I have been a big fan of Martin Scorsese since I was a student.
I still remember, during college, I sat down with Levi many times to discuss Scorsese's gangster films, analyzing them frame by frame in detail. So when Nick said he wanted to make a gangster film and shoot it in New York, I was very happy.
I put a lot of energy into this movie and tried hard to make it on par with Mr. Scorsese. Without you, this movie wouldn't be possible, and this award is dedicated to you!" He picked up the trophy in his hand and raised it, and his action also received a round of applause.
In fact, before the Oscars, many media were discussing this issue. Although Soderbergh and Levi's movies are both excellent, when it comes to gangster movies, Scorsese is still the boss.
Now, two juniors are vying for Oscars, each with a gangster movie, but Scorsese, who is known as the greatest living master in Hollywood, is still empty-handed, which makes many people feel resentful.
But now Clark's approach has made people have a lot of good impressions.
Everyone knows he and Levi are good friends and classmates at New York University. What he said is very credible. He said that Levi carefully analyzed Scorsese's films in college, which is also very possible. The NYU students were already regarded as descendants of Scorsese, and now that he is honoring Scorsese, it is even more satisfying.
After Clark received the award, the third award soon came into his hands.
"Best Makeup, X-Men!"
This year's main competitors for the Best Makeup award are the blue-faced Mystique from X-Men and the green-faced Grinch from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
The actors in these two movies are completely different from their original characters. In comparison, Levi's insistence on technology worked. Mystique's facial expressions are more vivid and realistic, while Grinch relies more on over-the-top facial expressions. In terms of pure technology, X-Men is the winner.
Three awards are obviously not the end, but luck does not always belong to Levi.
"Best Art Direction, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!"
This time, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon took away the award. The Departed and Lost in Translation, which were also nominated, had no chance, even though both were nominated.
Levi didn't attach much importance to this award in the past. Many times, this award is somewhat biased in favor of the British. However, among this year's movies, no British film has attracted attention.
Therefore, the most eye-catching artistic features are the Chinese style of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the shooting of modern Tokyo in Lost in Translation.
Oriental culture is less pleasing than British culture, but since the British are sluggish this year, they can only look to the East.
Compared with the more modern style of Tokyo, it is obvious the more ancient Chinese art style is more exciting.
Losing this award is not an injustice.
Just like next, in the award for best costume design, Gladiator defeated Levi's X-Men - after all, Gladiator involved a lot of Roman-style clothes. In comparison, X-Men just designed a few black tights... Although many people praised those clothes, in terms of pure level, the Gladiator's level is still better.
So Levi lost again - out of seven awards handed out from the opening, Levi took home only three.
If it were someone else, he would be very satisfied with such a result - close to half. However, this is not the case for Levi. Of these nominations, one belongs to The Departed, and two belong to X-Men. As for the unfortunate Grudge, it was only nominated for one and lost, which is a bit weird, no matter how you look at it.
But for Levi, this is not a big deal. Because he knew very well that this was just the beginning. Oscar has always been like this; the bigger one is, the more one has to stay behind.
And next, the awards to be handed out are even more interesting.
Because the next award to be presented is for Best Supporting Actress.
"Some women don't like to use their charm to enchant all living beings but prefer to stand in the corner and complete a perfect composition. Some women don't like to take away people's charm, but prefer to decorate the scenery with their beauty..."
The presenter on the stage spoke words of praise for the role of the supporting actress, and on the big screen, five faces gradually appeared. Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Charlize Theron, Marcia Gay Harden, and Julie Walters appeared on the screen.
Theron also clenched her hands at this time. Now, she suddenly realized that Levi's words just now were not chitchatting but comforting herself: it was the first time she had received such a nomination, and she was still too excited, even if it was apparent and knowing that she had secured almost all important outposts and was the undisputed winner, she still could not conceal her excitement.
This is no pretense.
At this moment, Levi's hand reached out, and he gently held Theron's hand tight and stroked it gently.
Suddenly, Theron felt much more relaxed.
What's there to be nervous about? Hasn't he always been here?
"The winner of Best Supporting Actress is... Charlize Theron, Lost in Translation!"
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Scott DePaepe
MMMCMXCIX, or 3,999
Britanna
Marcelo Maia
Danny York
Mandy G
DragonEz
You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.