Chapter 312: Just Like Nine Years Ago

As Jimmy Kimmel continued with his various jokes, the Oscars officially entered the award-giving process.

This year's Oscars carried more suspense than in previous years.

The participation of Black actors made the award distribution even more unpredictable.

Moreover, there were plenty of great films this year—Manchester by the Sea, La La Land, NightWalker, and Hacksaw Ridge were all strong contenders for Best Picture.

Especially La La Land, which turned out to be a dark horse that surprised everyone, both in terms of visual presentation and box office performance.

Not long after the ceremony began, La La Land had already won the Best Production Design award for its outstanding artistic style.

Ethan clapped his hands, watching the La La Land team take the stage to accept the award. The camera swept across his face, seemingly trying to capture some different emotions.

Then, one by one, various awards were announced—Hacksaw Ridge won Best Editing, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won Best Costume Design, and La La Land won Best Original Score.

As NightWalker failed to win any awards, the camera began focusing more frequently on Ethan's face.

However, Ethan remained calm in his seat. Whenever he noticed the camera, he would make small gestures that amused the audience watching at home.

Until it was time for the major awards.

"Best Original Screenplay: NightWalker!"

Ethan stood up, welcomed by applause, and walked onto the stage to accept the award.

"Thank you to all the judges…" After a standard round of gratitude, Ethan took the trophy and stepped off the stage.

The competition for the following awards became even fiercer. Best Supporting Actor went to Manchester by the Sea, while Best Actress was awarded to La La Land.

Next was the Best Supporting Actress category, with nominees including Scarlett, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams, and Octavia Spencer.

When Scarlett saw herself on the big screen, she couldn't hide her excitement and nervousness.

Ethan smiled, waiting for the result.

Three seconds later, the presenter announced, "Best Supporting Actress: Nightcrawler, Scarlett!"

"Wow!" Scarlett clenched her hands, pressing them against her chest as she stood up. After hugging a few fellow actors warmly, she passed by Ethan and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ethan watched her walk up to the stage before slowly sitting back down.

"Thank you, thank you to the judges for liking and recognizing me." On stage, Scarlett remained composed despite her excitement. "I also want to thank NightWalker, and thank the director—my dearest Ethan. He was the one who invited me to play this role. Before filming, he told me to give it my all because there was a chance we could aim for an Oscar. I thought he was crazy. But it turns out, he wasn't crazy—he's amazing!"

The audience applauded, looking at Ethan.

Ethan shrugged and gestured for everyone to turn their attention back to the stage.

Scarlett didn't speak for too long. After her speech, she hugged Ethan again when she stepped down from the stage.

The ceremony continued, and now it was time for the highly anticipated Best Actor award.

The nominees were:

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Will Smith (NightWalker)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Three white actors, two Black actors.

Everyone stared at the screen in anticipation, and Will Smith was visibly nervous. He knew this was the closest he had ever been to winning. Without the influence of the Black movement, he might not have even stood a chance.

Fortunately, the Oscars played out as Ethan and his team had predicted, following the more mainstream narrative in balancing racial representation.

"Best Actor: NightWalker, Will Smith!"

"Oh!" Will Smith jumped from his seat, overwhelmed with excitement. As he passed Ethan, he hugged him tightly several times, making people almost mistake them for a couple.

When he stood on stage, holding the long-coveted trophy, he was visibly moved.

After a lengthy speech, Ethan's name was mentioned the most, second only to Will's wife and children.

Ethan was happy for him, clapping non-stop.

Before the Best Director and Best Picture categories were announced, the Oscars first presented honorary awards. Four well-respected figures in the film industry received this honor, including Jackie Chan from China.

Watching that familiar big nose standing on stage, Ethan felt a strange sensation, as if he, too, had witnessed a significant moment in history.

Once the honorary awards were over, the host invited Halle Berry to announce the next award.

"The Best Director award goes to…"

Scarlett pursed her lips, silently chanting Ethan's name in her heart.

Soon, the answer was revealed.

"Ethan Norton, NightWalker!"

Scarlett clapped her hands with all her might, even happier than when she had won.

Amid thunderous applause, Ethan stood up and walked to the stage.

"This is a surprise. I thought I'd just be watching from now on—I didn't expect to have another chance to come up here…" Ethan joked before proceeding with his usual words of gratitude to the judges and actors.

After accepting the award, he stayed to watch the performance acts.

When Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway walked onto the stage, everyone's attention was drawn to them. They all knew what was coming next.

"The nominees for Best Picture are…"

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hidden Figures

Lion

Nightcrawler

Fences

La La Land

Hell or High Water

Manchester by the Sea

This year's Oscars had an exceptionally long list of nominees, seemingly trying to include every type of film possible.

As the presenters finished reading the list, even the display screen was struggling to fit all the producer names.

Then, Faye Dunaway announced, "The Best Picture winner is…"

Warren Beatty leaned into the microphone and said, "NightWalker!"

"Wow!" The applause reached its loudest yet. The producers of NightWalker and Ethan stood up, welcoming the cheers from the crowd. They embraced every member of the film crew before walking onto the stage.

The producer took the trophy but then stepped back, motioning for Ethan to speak.

Ethan lowered his head, leaning into the microphone. "This is unexpected—it reminds me of nine years ago."

Everyone knew he was referring to No Country for Old Men, where he had won the same two major awards. Ethan still looked young, as if time had left no trace on him.

"But the difference is, this time, I went from adaptation to original." Ethan sighed. "It's been a long nine years—a journey full of stumbling and perseverance. But I made it through."

Ethan didn't say much more. After a brief round of thanks, he passed the microphone to the producer.

Once the ceremony ended, Ethan surprised everyone by skipping the traditional after-party and heading home instead.

His house was lively.

Anne Hathaway, Taylor Swift, Avril, Scarlett, and Jessica were all there, as was little angel Elena.

His mother, Camilla, was there too, along with Louis and Regius, the two brothers.

Although the women had some lingering tensions between them, they couldn't show hostility on such a celebratory night. They sat in pairs.

Scarlett and Avril sat together, Taylor Swift and Elena sat together, while Jessica and Anne Hathaway were busy in the kitchen.

Seeing this scene, Jimmy, who had also come over, nudged Ethan enviously. "I seriously wonder if your waist can handle all this."

Ethan rubbed his waist and grinned.