Chapter 41 Ridicule from Best Director

The two Vietnam War movies have been entangled until the Oscar Awards ceremony on April 9. The related comments on TV and newspapers were dominated by "Coming Home" and "The Deer Hunter". "Heaven Can Wait" which also received 8 nominations, seemed forgotten by everyone.

Ronald sat alone on the sofa in the living room and watched the live broadcast of the awards ceremony.

Marla broke up with him. His yawning image appeared frequently on TV for several days, making Marla very embarrassed in front of her friends. Ronald also criticized the director of "The Deer Hunter" Michael Cimino on TV, which made the circle of high school girls who worship Hollywood and the Oscars think that he was too pretentious.

The higher the voice of "The Deer Hunter" winning the award, the more Ronald's ignorance of movies was highlighted. It was no wonder that he was spurned by high school girls.

Plus, he failed to recommend Marla to join another film crew...

"The police have arrested 17 protesters. This incident will not hurt the awards ceremony..."

Before the awards ceremony, the news reported that there were hundreds of people protesting against the Oscars for nominating racist films like "The Deer Hunter" and films that slandered the Vietnamese People's Army. The police also arrested some people.

Ronald laughed so hard, it's what he deserved! He didn't have a single favorable impression of the film or its director.

This year's awards ceremony was held in the Dorothy Chandler Hall of the Los Angeles Concert Hall. When the TV camera swept over, an oversized Oscar trophy model was placed on the outer wall of the hall, shining brightly.

Security guards in red coats and black bow ties stood in a row to welcome the star motorcade and help the motorcade that was slowly moving forward to open the door and get off passengers. On the other hand, they also separated potential protesters from the fanatical fans who got into the outer protective circle.

The host outside the venue began to announce the name and background of each male and female star who arrived. All the nominees enjoy a higher level of treatment, and the awards and movies they are nominated for will be announced.

Ronald recognized the stars such as Reeves, the actor of Superman, and the veteran British actor Laurence Olivier, as well as a few familiar blondes, but unfortunately, he couldn't remember what movies they acted in.

Jane Fonda was also captured by the camera. Today, she wore a lavender one-shoulder dress that exposed her collarbone, and it was covered with bling bling sequins, shining under the lights.

The opening scene of the Oscars was a medley of movie soundtracks. Three different orchestras played the theme songs of the three movies nominated for the best soundtrack this year.

This year's host was Johnny Carson, the host of the NBC talk show "The Tonight Show". He made a few jokes right from the start with his profound skills.

"This year is the 51st Academy Awards, there are 2 hours of wonderful performances, and a boring party that was stretched to 4 hours."

"350 million people around the world will watch the Oscars on their TV. Including South America, so that former presidents and former financial directors of the studios can also watch the live broadcast."

This is a joke about the financial scandals of several major film studios in the past two years. Several senior executives were sued by the IRS and fled to South America.

"Standing on this solemn occasion, I feel very proud. I see many new faces, especially those who have been retouched on old faces."

"This year's movies are all excellent, especially for me personally, 'Heaven Can Wait' is especially so. This is the first time in history that the leading actor Warren Beatty can't find a body he can 'use'."

In short, if you pay attention to current gossip, Johnny Carson's jokes are still very good, and he can control the rhythm.

The first important award to be presented was the Best Supporting Actor. Christopher Walken of "The Deer Hunter" defeated Bruce Dern of "Coming Home" and took the lead. 0:1

Ronald picked up the teacup and drank a sip of red tea. 'Don't be in a hurry, the best show is yet to come.' He completely suported "Coming Home" crew and shared the same hatred for "The Deer Hunter".

Then, there were a lot of small awards for costumes, short films, and documentaries.

The second important award was Best Editing, which was also won by "The Deer Hunter". 0:2

Ronald ate a waffle. Well, it is possible to lose first and then come back.

Then there were a bunch of insignificant small awards such as Best Original Score and Best Foreign Language Film.

The third important award was Best Supporting Actress. Meryl Streep, a newcomer in "The Deer Hunter", was nominated for this award.

Ronald was a little nervous. If they won again, it would be 0:3, and there would not be many chances left for Jane Fonda's crew.

According to convention, the Best Supporting Actress award will be presented by a male star who has won the Best Supporting Actor award before. This time, the Hollywood veteran George Burns was invited. He is over 80 years old and won the Best Supporting Actor award at the age of 79. He is the oldest actor to win the award so far.

Cooperating with him in presenting the award was a tall young girl, Brooke Shields, who swept the American film industry last year as the heroine of "Pretty Baby".

In the close-up shot, Brooke is tall and cool, with long hair and untrimmed eyebrows. She looks very wild and rough, but it just modifies her slightly soft eyes, neutralizes her overall temperament, and makes Brooke Stan's unique beauty more prominent.

Burns allowed announcing the winner to Brooke Stan, who could be his granddaughter. Brooke did not have any stage-fright. "The winner is... Maggie Smith, 'California Suite'"

This is an interesting coincidence. Maggie Smith played a British actress in the movie "California Suite". She was nominated for an Oscar and came to Los Angeles to attend the awards ceremony, but she didn't win the award. In the end, she reconciled with her husband. Maggie Smith is also a British actress. In real life, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing a female star who didn't win an Oscar.

In addition, she also won the Oscar for Best Actress in the 1960s, which is considered a perfect acting career, and she has achieved the Grand Slam of acting awards in both Britain and the United States.

Ronald relaxed a little. It was a good thing that "The Deer Hunter" didn't win. The newcomer Streep's acting skills are really good.

Then "Coming Home" won the Best Original Screenplay, beating "The Deer Hunter" head-on.

Ronald poured a cup of black tea from the kettle and tasted it. 1:2.

The Best Adapted Screenplay went to Oliver Stone, the screenwriter of "Midnight Express". It tells the story of an American youth who was wrongly imprisoned by Turkey.

He thought the best actor and actress awards would be presented next, but at this moment, Cary Grant, a big star from the golden age of Hollywood, suddenly walked onto the podium. Ronald was a little stunned for a moment. Cary had been out of the public eye for many years and rarely attended public events. Why was he here today...?

It turned out that he was here to present the Oscar Lifetime Honorary Award to his good friend, the British Shakespearean drama master and film actor, Sir Laurence Olivier.

Laurence Olivier was already very old and his hair was sparse, but his basic skills were still very perfect. He spoke the award speech in a Shakespearean accent with full energy, and the audience applauded. Laurence, who was saluted by everyone standing up, vaguely still had some of the elegance of his life with Vivien Leigh. He also made a movie last year.

Next was the tensest award for the best actor and actress. Both the Vietnam War film crews were nominated, and it was just a matter of time before they saw who would win.

The Best Actress award was presented by Richard Dreyfuss, the Best Actor winner last year, and his female companion was the beautiful Shirley MacLaine. Shirley was a person who did not follow the rules. She did not read out the list of nominees immediately but did some skit.

Richard Dreyfuss stepped forward and announced this year's Best Actress winner: Jane Fonda.

"Hahaha, 2:2" Ronald laughed again.

Jane Fonda's thank-you speech was quite special. She learned sign language and translated the first part of her thank-you speech on the spot.

"I used sign language because the organizers of the gala did not allow me to prepare whiteboard subtitles for the hearing-impaired. This award is for the disabled people across the country, for the disabled Vietnam War veterans, and for the many disabled people in North Vietnam due to the war..."

The audience applauded again.

The Best Actor award was presented by the former musical star Ginger Rogers, who had become fat as a ball. The old lady's dialogue skills were still profound, and she surpassed the guest, the black singer Diana Ross. 

The reason why Diana Ross could appear at the Oscars was that last year, she starred in a black version of "The Wizard of Oz" with Michael Jackson and other black people who were rising stars in the music industry. Of course, the box office and awards were all a complete failure.

"The winner of the Best Actor is... Jon Voight, 'Coming Home'," Ginger Rogers announced.

3:2, overturn.

Ronald breathed a sigh of relief. He hated "The Deer Hunter" so much, partly because Marla accused him of not understanding what was so good about "The Deer Hunter". It was a 3-hour long movie, and the wedding was shot in the first third. He even dozed off while watching it. How good could it be?

The other half was because the fat guy, Michael Cimino, mocked him for having no artistic talent. If "The Deer Hunter" failed this time, it would prove that he was right, and he wouldn't be so angry.

"The Deer Hunter" lost all the male and female lead awards, and Ronald was not so angry. It could get so many nominations, maybe it was because of Universal's operation.

The last two awards, and the two most important awards, were Best Director and Best Picture.

The award for Best Director was presented by Francis Ford Coppola.

Coppola was a little upset after he came on stage and talked a lot about the great significance of directors; not only should they make films, but also lead the thinking of society. The director is a novelist of the new era, a Leo Tolstoy of the new era, a Dostoyevsky...

The newspaper said that his "Apocalypse Now" should have won the title of the first big production that directly reflects the trauma of the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, due to various accidents, the new film has been delayed and has not been released yet, and was preempted by "The Deer Hunter".

Finally, Coppola finished speaking and announced the winner:

"The winner of the Best Director Award is my colleague Michael Cimino."

"Wow, hot hot hot..." Ronald accidentally burned his tongue with black tea, "What kind of judges are they? They are so stupid."

Michael Cimino came on stage and kissed the female guest, staining his mouth with lipstick. The female guest had to wipe it off with her hands. He seemed very excited and was ready to give a speech to accept the award. As soon as he opened his mouth, he revealed his fat double chin:

"It is very difficult to humbly express my pride in an occasion like this. But I am proud to be here, proud of the movies we made, and proud to be part of the Hollywood tradition..."

Ronald was silent for a while, "Hey, Oscar for Best Director!" What is he? No one remembers who the clown Sleepy Ron is anymore.

The last award was for Best Picture, which is usually given to the same movie as Best Director. In other words, "The Deer Hunter" has already won at the 51st Oscars.

The award presenter was John Wayne, the first tough guy in Western movies, who was already seriously ill. However, at this time, he had been tortured by illness and was out of shape. John Wayne was also a tough guy in real life. He refused to be supported or accompanied by anyone and insisted on completing his final public appearance independently.

He endured great pain and slowly read all the nominations. The audience stood up and applauded, respecting his fearless behavior.

"The winner of the Best Picture is - 'The Deer Hunter'".

As expected.

Ronald stood up, turned off the TV, and walked out of the apartment. The spring breeze blowing on his body was very comfortable. He walked to the small grocery store at the corner of the street and bought a pack of black tea. After thinking for a while, he took a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes and a pack of matches. He had never smoked before, but he lit a cigarette for the first time and smoked it slowly.

"I am very proud to be here..." Ronald recalled the acceptance speech of Michael Cimino in his heart.

Yes, being able to come to the Oscars and being able to go on stage to receive the award is indeed an achievement that is enough to be very proud of...

And what about himself? Fatty's sarcasm sounded in his ears again: "If this is the true opinion of this sleepy Ronald, I advise him not to go the way of film. The perception of beauty and art is a talent. With a talent like him, no matter how hard he works, it will be difficult for him to stand out in the film industry."

Ronald's ears gradually turned red again.

The most profound ridicule others can make is ignoring you...