Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1396 Harvey Weinstein Asks for Tips
Before the most important awards were announced, another legendary actress received an Honorary Oscar. Elizabeth Taylor was awarded this award for her outstanding contributions to disease research and charity.

The award was presented to her by Angela Lansbury, with whom she had worked since Taylor was twelve years old in her famous film "The Martian", in which she played the role of Taylor's sister.

Angela Lansbury, a singer and stage actress with a powerful voice, introduced Elizabeth Taylor with great force, before she emerged in a goose-yellow dress to accept her award.

Wearing a huge necklace made of emeralds and diamonds, a figure that had been slimmed down after months of dieting, and her iconic short hair style from her youth, Elizabeth Taylor seemed to be 20 years younger and dominated the Oscars ceremony with her renewed charm.

The moment she stood in front of the microphone, all the guests stood up and applauded, paying long tribute to this most legendary local actress.

Ronald looked around and saw the expressions of the people around him and their level of participation. The atmosphere was several times more enthusiastic than the one in the first half when the award ceremony was posthumously given to Audrey Hepburn.

The Jane Hersolt Humanitarian Award is not a permanent award, and it is the first time that two winners have been awarded in the same year. The difference in the reactions of the guests at the two awards ceremonies is probably due to the difference in nationality of the two winners.

"I have stood on this stage many times before to present awards to others. I have also sat in the audience as a loser, and sometimes I was lucky enough to come up and receive awards as a winner, but I have never been like today, because this is the highest honor I can get from my Hollywood colleagues..."

Elizabeth Taylor's acceptance speech was very calm. She said that she had done what she had to do and what she really wanted to do, so she would regard this award as a prize shared by thousands of people who have fought against... diseases and contributed to scientific research.

Ronald had never heard of an award winner who said that she had achieved so little and spent so much time calling on the public to participate in her cause. Elizabeth Taylor was indeed a person who regarded this as her life's work. She really deserved the award.

However, this Hollywood star is not without her own thoughts. She thanked her colleagues in Hollywood, and naturally distinguished herself from Audrey Hepburn, an outsider who came here to seek gold. She regarded herself as a member of the group and was just leading this charity on behalf of the group. This kind of words made the audience and young stars feel comfortable, and it was more logical for them to ask for donations when the time came.

After everyone sat down, Ronald looked back. Harvey Weinstein of Miramax frowned, as if he was worried about the upcoming awards ceremony.

The worry was indeed necessary, as last year's Best Actress, Jodie Foster, came on stage to announce the list of five nominees for Best Actor.

Robert Downey Jr. - Chaplin,
Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven,

Stephen Lea - The Crying Game,

Al Pacino - Scent of a Woman,
and Denzel Washington - Malcolm X
If the size of the audience's applause represents a certain degree of peer preference, then the biggest favorites this year are Al Pacino and Clint Eastwood.

Denzel Washington has already won an Oscar, and the cries of the black community in the past few years really made people feel bad. Americans don't quite agree with Stephen Ray's film story. And Robert Downey Jr.'s pale face due to drug abuse is also disgusting.

And Clint Eastwood's return to the authentic Western (compared to Dances with Wolves) has made many filmmakers feel nostalgic.

As for Al Pacino… He has been nominated for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor six times in a row, but failed in the end. Plus the Best Supporting Actor award just given to Gene Hackman, that means he has failed seven times.

Some people may not like his performance, but everyone has to admit that it is very unique. Few male actors are as unlucky as him, and only a few female actors such as Glenn Gross can compare with him...

"The Oscar goes to Al Pacino..."

Another local actor won. Al Pacino took the Oscar from Jodie Foster. He still had the beard from the movie "The Furious", and he was a typical gangster.

His well-known roles, such as The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, etc., are all gangsters. In "Scent of a Woman", which won the Best Actor award this time, he played a retired lieutenant colonel, and in "The Game", which was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor, he played a salesman.

Maybe his peers don't approve of his role as a gangster...

Al Pacino stood in front of the microphone, one hand still touching the little golden man, as if to confirm by the feel that he was not dreaming. The camera swept across the audience, and the guests stood up one by one and applauded.

Ronald was also forced to stand up, and together with Diane, he faced the camera with a smile that said, "I'm so happy he won the award, he deserves it," and did not sit down until Pacino moved the microphone.

"Why are they so enthusiastic about the winners from their own country?" Ronald straightened his dress and sat down, still thinking. The main contradiction in this year's awards has really become the competition between domestic and foreign actors, especially those from Britain.

When Emma Thompson won the award, many people gave perfunctory applause. It can't be compared with this. Although Al Pacino has the gimmick of being nominated many times but not winning...

"You broke my (losing) streak..."

Pacino started off by making a joke of his own.

"Hahaha..." Ronald also laughed. Hollywood actors are good at self-deprecation, and winning and losing are common. Unlike British actors, they take the Oscars very seriously. Although they may not admit it, they still think that BAFTA is their highest award.

"Forehead……"

Ronald had just praised Al Pacino in his heart when he found that his performance was exposed afterwards.

Al Pacino took out a piece of paper with his acceptance speech, put it on the table, and then searched several pockets before finding his glasses. Then he searched his pockets again before he realized that the manuscript with the acceptance speech was already on the table.

He was also extremely nervous and excited.

Listening to him read his speech over and over again, stammering, Ronald had only one thought in his mind: This was very different from the long shot for which he won the award, the hearty speech scene in "Scent of a Woman" in which he angrily rebuked the students who informed on him and the principal who wanted to bribe the students.

"Tonight, the Oscars are all about honoring the women of Hollywood..."

Next, the Best Director Award was announced. The presenter was once again the rookie director who was holding her breath and not being nominated for Best Director, the veteran actress Barbra Streisand.

"That's great, but I look forward to a day when such tributes are no longer necessary. Because at that time, women can have the same opportunities as men in all fields. They will not win awards because of their gender, but simply because they do better than men..."

"Hua Hua Hua..."

There was some applause at the scene. If Ronald hadn't known that Barbra Streisand had threatened to boycott the Oscars because she was not nominated, and that she had directed a mediocre work and insisted that she was not nominated because of sex discrimination, he would have almost believed that this noble statement was her true words.

Barbra Streisand really has no face to say that her lack of nomination is racial discrimination. She is Jewish, and without this identity, she could not expect to be nominated for Best Director for her debut film. Sexism may be true for others, but it is not very convincing for her, a Jewish female star.

"This award is not given to female directors or male directors, but to the best directors. It is my honor to present this award..."

This year, there are five nominees for the director award, and none of them are women. To be honest, what Barbra Streisand said is a bit forced to pay tribute to female filmmakers.

This is not what Ronald cares about. Neil Jordan, the director of "The Crying Game", is of Irish descent. Although James Ivory, the director of "Ask the Heavens", is an American, he has been working with Indian filmmakers living in Britain for many years.

Clint Eastwood of "Unforgiven", Robert Altman, director of "The Players", and Martin Brest of "Scent of a Woman" are all American directors who cannot be more American.

"Oscar goes to Clint Eastwood... Unforgiven"

The emotions expressed on Barbra Streisand's face seemed to overflow from the televisions in thousands of households through the television broadcast.
Both are well-known Hollywood players, and Eastwood dated Barbra Streisand for a while after he broke up with his long-term girlfriend.

Unlike other award presenters, Streisand insisted on staying on the stage, hugged Eastwood tightly and kissed him before letting him go. She did not go down with the staff afterwards, but stayed on the stage to watch the handsome man give his speech.

"Al Pacino said his throat was dry and he couldn't speak. My throat is even drier than his..."

Clint Eastwood also continued the tradition of local stars being good at self-deprecation. He then thanked many female members of the Unforgiven crew. The content of this movie is actually about respecting women, which is completely different from the old Westerns.

A group of prostitutes in a hotel, one of them was disfigured by a madman who slashed her face with a knife. They raised money to invite a killer to kill the bad guy.

Finally, Clint Eastwood plays a former mass murderer who was inspired by his dead wife to give up crime and settle down as a farmer. Because he needed money due to swine fever, he had to take over the business with his old friend (played by Morgan Freeman), killed the local sheriff (Gene Hackman) who unreasonably killed his old friend, and completed the task for the customers.

This plot is different from the old westerns, where women are still placed in a much more important position. However, the protagonist of the movie is still the rivalry between the three old men.

Clint Eastwood reaped more than just box office and awards, he also dated and lived with Frances Fisher, who played the leading prostitute in the film, and she sat down right there in the scene, wearing baggy clothes and was obviously pregnant.

This time, the two British directors failed again. Everyone was cheering for the winner, but Ronald turned around and glanced at Harvey Weinstein, who was sitting in an inconspicuous place at the back.

His brows were furrowed, and his huge head and thick neck made him look very sad.

"Hehe..." Ronald turned around. Many people at the scene were still immersed in Barbra Streisand's award speech, as if Unforgiven really won the Best Director and Best Supporting Actor awards because of a little bit of female plot. There was no female in it!

"Jack..."

The host Billy Crystal only said one word, no explanation needed, and the person who presented the Best Picture award was the one and only Jack in Hollywood, Jack Nicholson.

"It's been a long night, so I won't waste your time. The nominees for Best Picture are..."

"The Crying Game" and "Ask the Heavens" were also nominated for best picture, and the other three were films by local producers, including "Scent of a Woman", "Unforgiven", and "A Few Good Men" co-produced by Ronald and Bob Reiner...

When the camera panned to Ronald, he smiled and waved to the camera, not nervous at all. In addition to having won the award twice, Ronald also heard from the applause that "Unforgiven" really embodied many people's complexes this year, Eastwood, westerns, traditional Hollywood... When the nominations were announced, the applause for this movie was much louder than his own.

"The Oscar goes to...Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood."

The two old "Hollywood players" met on the stage, and it was obvious that Eastwood's smile was much more natural than when he took another little golden man from Barbra Streisand just now.

He and Jack Nicholson also performed a golf move at the same time and took the Best Picture Oscar trophy from each other with one hand.

Obviously, this kind of friendship between men makes Eastwood feel more comfortable than having an old lover on stage and a new girlfriend off stage.

Direct and straightforward, he ended his speech like a man, without any fuss. The handover between the two top Hollywood male stars made the awarding of the last golden man seem to be out of the theme of this year's tribute to the power of Hollywood women.

However, the guests who had been sitting there for nearly four hours all felt that this male energy came at the right time.

After the award ceremony, Ronald hugged Diane, who looked a little tired, and they walked out. People kept coming to greet them, smiling all the way as they walked towards the parking lot at the gate.

Those who win the trophy will go to the official Oscar party and have their names engraved on the plaque below the statuette. For those who don't win, it depends on your fame to be eligible to attend various post-game parties.

Of course, if you approach them, no one will usually stop you from entering. Last year, a tabloid reporter who did not attend the awards ceremony sneaked into the party in a tuxedo, interviewed some drunken stars, and published some news.

This year's party is more strict. People who are not celebrities need to check the invitation of the award ceremony to enter.

Ronald was waiting for the car at the door of the awards hall and asked Diane if she wanted to go to the party. At this time, Harvey Weinstein, who suffered a Waterloo and only won Best Actress and Best Screenplay out of 15 nominations, came over.

"Ronald, you are really amazing. I put so much effort into this year, but I only won one award. In the past two years, you have easily won all the awards and won the Best Film award."

Ronald really didn't like Harvey's big head and thick neck squeezing in between him and Diane. He turned around, blocked Diane who rolled her eyes behind him, and smiled gently, "Now, who is your father?" Nominations don't count, winning the award is the real deal.

"Hahaha, you are the boss..." Harvey admitted defeat readily, then came up and shamelessly asked Ronald about the secret of winning the award.

"Hehe..." Ronald thought to himself, you learn the videotape tactics quickly, and even invented the nursing home tactics yourself, what can I say, but then he changed his mind and said a few words anyway.

"Winning an award depends not only on personal hard work, but also on luck. The year before last, it was the Native American craze, and last year it was the resurgence of thrillers. This year, don't you see the theme of female power? Who are the winners of the two honorary awards this year? Why did you win the Best Actress award?"

"Oh?" Harvey Weinstein left doubtfully.

"Hehe, I'll mislead you to death."