Chapter 489: The Ultimate Winner
[Chapter 489: The Ultimate Winner]
On Hollywood's Walk of Fame, right in front of the Kodak Theatre, a golden Oscar statue stood tall. Crowds kept gathering towards the intersection. The LAPD officers wearing helmets and holding riot shields immediately stood on the defense line according to the pre-rehearsed formation under the command of the A-Team commander.
Several riot police vehicles were parked near the Kodak Theatre side of the intersection.
Hawke got out of a nearby Mercedes, greeted two of Erica's subordinates by the car, and followed one of them into the command vehicle. After the door closed, he sat next to Erica, watching real-time surveillance screens to check the situation at the intersection.
The Feminist Majority Foundation and the Mattachine Society were coming from both sides of Highland Avenue, separated by the riot police stationed on either side of the intersection. Erica, dressed in uniform, glanced at Hawke and asked, "Nothing's going to go wrong tonight, right?"
"With you on duty, nothing will," Hawke said, unbuttoning his tuxedo. "Steve's here personally overseeing it. It'll just be a nonviolent civil disobedience movement."
Erica playfully complained, "You're off attending the Oscars, and I'm out here playing bodyguard for you."
Hawke chuckled, "Want me to stay here with you?"
"No need," Erica said, pointing around. "I'm working. It wouldn't look right for a boyfriend to be tagging along. Although I don't really care, LAPD is ultimately a disciplined department. This could hurt my father's reputation."
Hawke noticed the surveillance footage switched to a top-down drone view, asking, "You deployed drones too?"
Erica switched the drone aerial footage to the main screen. "The Special Operations Bureau just equipped with drones capable of staying in low-altitude airspace for long periods to monitor ground real-time conditions."
The LGBTQ group, under Steve's control, remained relatively calm, holding banners and posters loudly proclaiming "Love is Love" and continuing to voice support for Philip. In the Feminist Majority Foundation's repeated confrontations, they were at a disadvantage. Seeing the opposition restrain themselves, they didn't initiate any attacks.
Hawke nodded. "These things are great. If you hang a mortar shell on it, it could carry out suicide attacks."
Erica twitched her eye. "If you didn't go to Iraq to train troops, it'd really be a waste of talent."
Hawke pointed skyward. "Iraqis are too poor to afford these toys."
Today's drones were still high-end products, not yet commoditized cheaply. But in a decade or two, whether on battlefronts or in law enforcement, drones would change everything. Hawke also wanted to bolster the security firm's combat effectiveness with drones. "Are these easy to procure?"
Erica thought for a moment. "Have Campos give me a call."
Nowadays, drones used by mercenaries and private security firms were truly game changers, especially in places like Latin America and Africa.
"You get back to work," Hawke said, standing to leave. "I'll come over after the ceremony."
"Good luck tonight, dear," Erica said.
---
Hawke got off the riot command vehicle and joined Edward, entering the side entrance of the Kodak Theatre. They walked to the lobby entrance. Edward asked, "How many Oscars do we think we can get tonight?"
Hawke said, "Best Picture looks promising, the rest depends on luck."
Leonardo came in with a young blonde model, subtly glancing their way as he passed by. Hawke made no eye contact and took Edward up to the second floor into the central suite. Three people were already seated there -- Roger Keene, director of the West Coast Investment Foundation, accompanying Rashid from Abu Dhabi, and Riza Aziz, son of the Malaysian deputy prime minister.
Hawke shook hands with each. Both had invested in Los Angeles Fires. At that moment, sitting in the Oscar suite, they felt great.
Rashid said, "Abu Dhabi Investment Authority publicly praised my investment in Los Angeles Fires late last year, Hawke. Thanks for this opportunity."
Riza handed over a gift box. "A small token for Erica Ferguson. Nothing grand."
Hawke accepted it without hesitation. "You're too kind."
Surprised, Rashid added, "My other gifts are still en route from Abu Dhabi. Please wait a few days."
Hawke waved off the gratitude. "No need for any gifts. We're partners."
Riza took the chance to say, "We discussed Director Eric's new project Philip. The funds are ready here."
Hawke said nothing. He rarely managed such details. Roger Keene spoke up, "The studio is established. Once the Oscars are over, we can invest in Philip."
Riza praised, "Great, hope it achieves similar success."
Compared to Rashid's calmness, the film's content meant it couldn't be released in the UAE, even in relatively open Abu Dhabi.
...
Eric completed the Philip script last year, and the crew was prepping. After Oscars, filming was expected within a month. The production faced challenges. San Francisco's City Hall refused on grounds of safety and traffic concerns to allow on-location shooting.
This was expected since the film targeted San Francisco's political activists. The City Hall's blockade was normal. But that wouldn't stop Hollywood. They'd build sets instead. The budget was solid.
Tom Cruise's production company and Emerson's studio contributed $10 million each, Paramount distributed another $10 million. Mattachine Society, NAACP, and other LGBTQ groups raised a combined $25 million. These groups sought little return, mainly wide release of the film. And Hawke's West Coast Foundation, through financing from the Philippines and Abu Dhabi, contributed about $35 million. Philip's production budget was expected to be $90 million.
Such significant funding came mainly due to Los Angeles Fires' huge success in reviews and box office. The film's Rotten Tomatoes score was over 90%, IMDb rating 8.8. In North America, a few hundred theaters still screened it, mostly in big cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, where Oscar voters lived. North American box office totaled $362 million.
The LA fire ignited not only Californians' anger but the fervor for adaptation films. Overseas reactions were good too -- after all, it was about an incident in the world's superpower. Other audiences devoured the drama.
Overseas box office neared $500 million, with markets like Japan yet to release it. The global total was likely to surpass $900 million.
Alongside the film's success, California was turning from a swing state red.
...
Riza and Rashid stepped out to make calls. Roger Keene leaned in, whispering to Hawke, "Last year's dividends from West Coast Environmental Technologies Group, BlackRock, and Butterfly Consulting investments were all used exactly as you instructed -- to buy shares in Amazon and Apple."
Hawke asked, "Investment helps offset some taxes, right?"
"Yes," Roger continued, "and some was donated to charities."
"That's good." Hawke's accountant had audited the books. His companies and foundations profited well. Twitter, despite being the largest, had limited net profit. The Manhattan AI Project's funds weren't counted as earnings.
...
Before the ceremony started, Riza and Rashid returned, and with Roger and Hawke, the four watched the Oscars and chatted. This Oscar season's most popular films were The Departed and Los Angeles Fires. Helen Mirren's The Queen garnered slightly less attention, focused on Best Actress.
Hollywood's political correctness was quietly shifting. The host was Ellen DeGeneres -- one of Hollywood's most openly gay stars. She openly supported the LGBTQ community and often posted on Twitter backing their outspoken views.
On the main floor, the casts of The Departed and Los Angeles Fires sat on the same row, separated by an aisle. Each had a top star: Tom Cruise with full confidence, Leonardo DiCaprio calm and collected.
...
The Departed performed well commercially and critically, maintaining Leonardo's positive momentum. Blood Diamond secured him a Best Actor nomination. Leonardo wasn't much interested in how many Oscars The Departed would win. He was more concerned about escaping the shadow of Hillary and avoiding substandard 'food'.
Even an Oscar wouldn't matter if he still had to suffer.
...
In contrast to Leonardo's ease, Martin Scorsese looked worried. Losing the Director's Guild award had crushed him. To win Best Director, he broke his own principles by remaking an already successful Hong Kong film and even begged Harvey Weinstein for help, only to be rejected.
All signs pointed to a bad outcome. Not that The Departed was a bad film or the crew underperformed, but that the city of Los Angeles itself was a hurdle.
Hollywood was based in LA where many stars, directors, and producers lived. The massive fires affected countless properties, and that film pointed at those responsible for the tragic fire. That only helped competitors.
...
Nearby, Will Smith glanced at Leonardo then at fellow Black actor Forest Whitaker. Due to Philip's significant impact, many critics predicted a major Oscar for a Black actor this year -- not unprecedented. Will hoped that honor would be his. After all, The Pursuit of Happyness was both a box office and critical hit.
...
But early awards shocked Will and other Black actors -- Best Supporting Actress went to Jennifer Hudson.
Awards rolled out; Los Angeles Fires won Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Cinematography. The Departed took Best Adapted Screenplay. Los Angeles Fires soon won Best Editing.
Best Actress went predictably to The Queen. Forest Whitaker took Best Actor, causing cameras to focus repeatedly on Leonardo and Will, both perennial nominees falling short.
"Best Director now," Edward whispered. "Will Eric get lucky?"
"Probably," Hawke replied, noting only one presenter stepped on stage -- the legendary Clint Eastwood.
Spielberg, Coppola, and George Lucas -- often called Hollywood's '80s three giants along with Scorsese -- were absent. Hawke remembered when Scorsese won, those three presented his award.
Eastwood wasted no time after announcing nominees: "Best Director goes to Eric Emerson for Los Angeles Fires."
No shock -- the film had many buffs while The Departed had double debuffs.
The Los Angeles Fires crew erupted in joy. Tom Cruise and Eric embraced. Eric then turned to kiss the square-faced tough lady, Catherine.
...
In the suite, Hawke, Rashid, and Riza high-fived.
Riza was ecstatic: "Our film won Best Director -- a dream come true!"
Rashid was not in Abu Dhabi, so he let himself go, raising a glass toasts to Hawke and others. "Here's to Best Director!"
"Eric finally fulfilled his dream," Hawke said.
Edward muttered, "I never thought he'd really get Best Director."
He still remembered Eric, once harassed like a submissive by football player Miller Collins. Now Eric stood atop Hollywood's highest podium, giving his acceptance speech emotionally.
...
Martin Scorsese's face below was calm -- having expected the guild award loss -- but his bitterness remained. Starting from Gangs of New York, three consecutive Oscar failures struck hard.
"Chasing Oscars for the sake of it" haunted his mind. This time, he even used favors from Lucas, Spielberg, and Coppola to get a chance. Failure was hard to accept but understandable. If those three guaranteed wins, Lucas wouldn't still be Oscar-less.
The seasoned Scorsese decided his next film would be another Oscar attempt. Leonardo and Martin became Hollywood's most persistent Oscar-contending duo.
...
After Eric's speech, the last award was Best Picture. Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton came on stage. Nicholson introduced nominees: "The Queen, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed, Los Angeles Fires, and Babel."
Jack opened the envelope, handing it to Diane who announced, "Best Picture goes to Los Angeles Fires!"
The audience erupted in applause, many standing in tribute. Some wiped reddened eyes. That fire was deeply remembered.
The film would forever put those responsible on the shaming pillar. Applause lasted minutes, turning Kodak Theatre into Cannes' Lumiere Hall. Nowadays, lengthy applause after screenings had become a Cannes hallmark -- seven or eight-minute claps meant a good film; now over ten minutes often meant a mediocre film because applause was a business.
Hawke and company high-fived again. For Rashid, Best Picture was honorable. Abu Dhabi had money, but lacked this kind of soft power for promotion.
Below the stage, the Los Angeles Fires team cheered again. Producer Tom Cruise and Catherine walked up, receiving the Best Picture Oscar from Nicholson. Tom couldn't stop smiling since collaborating deeply with Hawke -- first Best Actor, then producer holding Best Picture Oscar.
Los Angeles Fires took six Oscars in total, including Best Director and Best Picture, becoming the night's ultimate winner.
*****
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