Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The next more important award, or the award that will be reported in the newspapers and on TV the next day, is the Best Supporting Actor.

The award was presented by Brenda Fricker, who won the Best Supporting Actress in the previous year. This Irish actress who looks like an old lady flew to Los Angeles to present the award.

She is also an actress who has received orthodox Shakespeare training, and her speech is clear and very pleasant. The nominees are Al Pacino who competed as Dick Tracy and Andy Garcia who competed as The Godfather III. Another Italian-American "gangster" Joe Pesci was nominated for "Goodfellas". But the most popular one is Graham Greene who played the Indian elder in Dances with Wolves.

He performed well and was blessed by playing an Indian. Ronald turned his head and looked to the side. Graham Greene was dressed in an orthodox dress today and did not bring the Indian bird feather headdress. He looked very confident.

In fact, Ronald knew that he was very nervous, unlike his appearance. When people are nervous, their expressions will be stiff. Andy Garcia smiled awkwardly, looking handsome. Al Pacino pretended to be profound. His character was made up very well. If it weren't for his accent, the audience wouldn't have thought it was him. Joe Pesci lowered his head, looking shy. In fact, he was nominated for the same award in "Raging Bull" ten years ago. But it's difficult for Italian actors who specialize in playing gangsters to win the award. That expression was actually awkward.

As a nominee twice, Ronald, who was sitting on pins and needles before the announcement of the results, could see the reactions of these people at a glance.

However, Diane didn't quite understand it. She had never experienced such a process of waiting for trial. "Who do you think will win?" Because it was about the movie invested by her husband, Diane was more concerned about this award.

"No one knows the result except Pricewaterhouse. Two accountants came in with us with the results. But the organizers usually guessed it accurately. I think Kick the Bird (the character played by Graham Greene) has a good chance."

The scene of the two whispering was captured by the broadcaster. The footage of them talking to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was cut into the broadcast.

Ronald saw the movement of the camera, guessed the effect, and waved to Cruise and Kidman not far away.

"The winner is Joe Pesci, good guy!"

"Uh..." Ronald waved halfway and put it down awkwardly. His prediction was not accurate at all.

The TV station's camera was still facing Ronald. Such an expression must be funny. Ronald simply stood up, clapped, and walked out, disappearing.

However, the red light on the camera did not light up, because they were going to cut to Joe Pesci now. He went on stage and took the little golden man from the award presenter. And several of them have been praised by critics for their acting skills many times, but their award records are embarrassing. For them, not winning the award is actually a hundred times better than the nervousness before the announcement.

Only Graham Greene said "Ha". He is the winner of the most Sentinel Awards, and not winning the award is a small surprise.

Joe Pesci took the golden statue and stood behind the microphone awkwardly, as if he didn't know what to do.

This award was indeed unexpected. Joe Pesci had long thought that in Hollywood, as an Italian actor who specialized in playing villains and gangsters, the possibility of winning the award was almost zero, and he had given up the idea. So much so that he didn't even prepare an award speech.

Joe Pesci was not a comedian like Whoopi Goldberg, so it was even more embarrassing to not prepare. He lowered his head and thought for several seconds, but his mind was still blank. He simply said to the microphone:

"It's my honor, thank you!" Then he turned and went backstage.

"Good guy, is he really not prepared?" Ronald and Tom Cruise, who had also hidden out, picked up champagne and chatted in the bar next to him.

"I heard from Marty that Joe has given up on improving his acting skills because of his good performance in Home Alone, and wants to make more movies like this to earn his retirement money." Tom Cruise has a good relationship with Scorsese, and this time he will present the award for Best Director. So he has a lot of dealings with the Good Guys crew.

"It's really not easy for Italians to win such acting awards." Ronald knew that they actually had a small circle in Hollywood, taking care of each other's resources. But the number of Italians is not large enough, unlike the Jews who can monopolize.

Most actors love and hate Italian actors. If they can act with them, they really like them, which can improve their acting skills and popularity. But if they are competitors, they really hate them. Because Italian actors usually audition for projects directed by Italian directors, and non-Italian actors have little chance of getting promoted.

Before, only Italian actors with impeccable performances like Robert De Niro have won the Oscar for acting. Although Al Pacino often filmed with De Niro, he did not reach the level of convincing the public and did not win.

"I was surprised that Graham did not win the award." Ronald and Tom Cruise continued.

"I heard a saying in the actor circle..." Tom Cruise whispered in Ronald's ear when he saw that there was no one around.

"Cultural appropriation? What is that?" Ronald felt a little unclear. This is a concept invented in left-wing universities in the 1960s. It mainly refers to a mainstream ethnic group using the culture of another ethnic minority...

For example, if Graham, a white man, plays an Indian, it usually represents the exploitation of Indian culture, which is misunderstanding, simplification or disrespect...

"Then if I find an Indian actor to play a white cowboy, is it not cultural appropriation?"

"I think you're right." Tom Cruise nodded, indicating that Ronald understood correctly. This trend of thought is gradually becoming mainstream among Hollywood actor groups. For example, the past practice of having white actors apply shoe polish to play black people and Vaseline to play Indians is now a bit taboo.

The two exchanged rants about the idea for a while. It seems that if you want to win awards in the future, you have to avoid this kind of role.

Ronald didn't know what to say, so he drank two drinks and returned to the awards hall with Tom Cruise. It just so happens that the Best Score Award is being awarded right now. The two of them stood in the aisle, waiting for the award ceremony to be completed, then returned to their seats and changed back with the stand-in who was sitting there for them (to prevent the camera from scanning the empty seats).

"Well..." A very seductive female sigh came from the stage. The eyes of Ronald and Cruz instantly moved to the center of the stage.

"Let's see who the nominees are..." Announced for Best Score were Kim Basinger and Alex Baldwin. The two also became a couple some time ago.

But that sigh was so reminiscent of Kim Basinger's performance in "Nine and a Half Weeks to Love You" that even Baldwin covered his face.

"Gulu..." Ronald heard himself swallowing a big mouthful of saliva. Kim Basinger wore a low-cut white dress, and the folds on her chest made her figure more prominent. Paired with her messy hair, it's hard not to think of her wildness.

Fortunately, the music started playing at the same time and no one heard it. The band at the scene began to play the theme songs of the five nominated scores, and the stage began to let dancers perform live. Ronald also took the opportunity to return to his seat.

“The Oscar for Best Score goes to John Barry, Peter Buffy, Dances with Wolves.”

Finally, the winner's name came out from Basinger's thick and sexy lips. Ronald is here, which is reassuring. This is a good explanation for Warren.

Although the field he is engaged in may be much smaller than that of his father, an Oscar statuette is an honor that can only be obtained by being the top musician among so many Hollywood musicians.

"I would like to thank my father and mother for allowing me to pursue my dreams. Of course, I also want to thank my grandfather for his gift that allowed me to buy expensive music equipment."

"Wow wow wow..." Everyone applauded. The speech for such a small award only lasted one minute, and Peter Buffy had to give a speech behind John Barry. Even though I read the note, I still stammered and finished it as quickly as possible.

"This..." Ronald heard this and felt it was different from others. Warren, how stingy are you? Even if his son wants to buy equipment, he still asks his grandfather to pay for it?

Next, it’s time for the two big hits, Dances with Wolves and Dick Tracy .

From Best Editing to Best Cinematography, Dances with Wolves won them all. Dick Tracy won Best Art Direction and Best Makeup. On the other hand, The Godfather Part III, which was originally nominated for seven nominations and was highly popular, has yet to win a single award.

"Winning the Best Foreign Language Film Award is A Journey of Hope from Switzerland."

"Hey..." Ronald sighed. The film tells the story of a Kurdish family from Turkey who travel through Greece and finally arrive in Switzerland after losing a young son. Although the story of illegal immigration is good, the whole movie lacks artistry and just takes advantage of the subject matter.

If YiouZhang can come to Los Angeles for public relations and attend a few occasions, maybe he can win an award for the quality of "Ju Dou". After all, the background of this movie is also very foreign, and the quality of the movie itself is better than Journey of Hope.

…

"The next two award-winning actors are the leading actors and actresses of The Silence of the Lambs. Woo...a very good movie..." Billy Crystal introduced the combination of the two screenplay awards. "She's an FBI agent and he's a serial killer. She used to win an award here, and he was eating backstage... ugh..."

"Hahaha..." The audience laughed at his introduction. Ronald clapped especially loudly. Billy is still very good, and he specially made a live advertisement for "Silence of the Lambs" for dozens of seconds.

"The two most beautiful words a screenwriter hears are the end." Jodie Foster grabbed the time and started speaking the scene without waiting. Anthony Hopkins seemed to understand the other person's body language and said, "Stay away from me..." He also moved more than a foot away from Jodie Foster, "two of the most challenging words they've ever heard. , just gradually..."

"Best Original Screenplay goes to Bruce Joel Rubin for The Ghost Story."

"Thank you... ahem, I want to thank Ronald Lee and the director... um..." Bruce Joel Rubin was also very excited and stammered, referring to Ronald and the director as Two people. "His beautiful heart, well, filled every frame of the film."

Bruce Joel Rubin quickly speeded up and finished reciting his lines...

Ronald found that the broadcast camera was pointed at him again, and quickly raised his palms and started clapping, covering his smiling face. These people were too nervous, and it was obvious that they were here for the first time and had no experience.

"The winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay Award is Michael Blake, Dances with Wolves." Anthony Hopkins announced the second screenplay award.

"This is Dorothy, from the Sioux tribe in South Dakota." Michael Blake also brought an old Indian lady to the stage. When Marlon Brando refused to accept the award, he asked an Indian girl to read the statement on his behalf.

This time, he brought an authentic Indian old lady on stage without any cultural appropriation. Michael Blake was sure of the organizer's intention.

"My success started with reading..."

"Wabi, Brava, Delta, Gaku, Ulta..."

"Huahuahua..." The audience saw Blake's acceptance speech, which was translated into Sioux Indian language sentence by sentence by the old lady, and the applause was much louder than the previous "Ghost".

Michael Blake is a white man, and he also attributed his award to the culture of the Indian tribe. In this way, every sentence is translated into authentic Indian language, which can be said to be an exploitation of Indian culture, a misunderstanding, simplification or disrespect, not at all.

As for why both white people interpret Indian stories and roles, why Graham Greene is cultural appropriation and Michael Blake is a tribute, Ronald has no idea at all. Anyway, looking at the enthusiasm of the audience applauding, they know much more than he does.

…

In short, Ronald's projects all won awards. This is a good thing. And Dances with Wolves won many awards, Kevin Costner is likely to win the best actor in one go.

"I am very happy to come to Hollywood to present this year's Best Actor Award." After the break, the image of Sophia Loren in 1963 appeared on the screen. "The winner is Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird"

The lights came on, and the elderly Gregory Peck stood in the center of the stage, "Ladies and gentlemen, Sophia Loren."

The Oscar organizers have thoroughly carried forward the method of having a relationship between the award presenter and the winner this year. As time goes by, the winner of that year became the award presenter. Sophia Loren won the Oscar Honorary Award.

"I want to dedicate this award to the three most important men in my life, my husband, without whom I might not be who I am today, and my two sons..."

After the honorary award, there are several highlights of the night.

"The Best Actress is presented to..." Last year's Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis opened the envelope, "Kathy Bates, 10 Days of Danger"

Kathy Bates hugged and kissed her husband as if she was about to cry, and then went on stage to receive the award. Joanne Woodward and Meryl Streep, who were nominated today, did not come. Those who came were actors who had never won the Best Actress Award. Julia Roberts and Anjelica Huston both had the standard loser expression that said she was happier than I was.

Last year's Best Actor winner Jessica Tandy came to present the Best Actor award. She was diagnosed with a serious illness and all her hair fell out. So the audience gave her a warm applause (strange logic).

"The winner of the Best Actor award is Jeremy Irons, a rich man's debt."

"Oops, I guessed wrong again..." Ronald learned his lesson and only spoke to Diane in a low voice, keeping his eyes on the stage to avoid attracting the camera.

"Applause, smile..." Diane reminded him, but the camera still swept over due to inertia.

However, Kevin Costner, who failed, seemed to be in a good mood, and his natural smile was more natural than Julia Roberts's smile when she lost the Best Actor award.

Billy Crystal came to the front again, and everyone was waiting for his jokes. The long award ceremony was actually quite difficult without the jokes of stand-up comedy talk show actors.

"Some people say there are no real movie stars anymore..."

The audience held their breath, waiting for his punchline.

"I say they are wrong, ladies and gentlemen, Tom Cruise..."

This joke worked well, and Tom came down from the backstage amid applause.

"Five outstanding directors, with their excellent work, followed the footsteps of their predecessors over the past 100 years, and came here..."

Tom Cruise scanned the audience and made eye contact with each nominee.

Each nominated director has an additional short video to introduce the scenes of their filming. This is the only one among all the nominated awards that has specially shot footage, which also represents the importance that the Oscars attach to the best director.

"Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves..."

"Francis Coppola, The Godfather Part III..."

"Martin Scorsese, good guy..."

...

"This year, the Oscar is awarded to..." Tom Cruise quickly glanced at Martin Scorsese and then opened the envelope.

"Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves!"

Tom Cruise read out the winners without pausing, then stepped aside from the microphone and gave his seat to Costner.

"Huh?" Ronald was originally looking at Marty with his head tilted, but the sudden surprise made him, like many viewers, turn his head to Costner on the other side.

The live reactions of the five directors present were projected on the screen. Coppola has already won the Best Director statuette and looks calm. Kevin Costner was so relieved that he didn't forget to touch his pockets when he stood up.

Martin Scorsese had an expression that he didn’t know how to describe. He clapped a few times and then put his hands down...

"This..." Ronald was also shocked. Scorsese's reaction was a bit foul. He didn't show any smile, nor did he make the standard loser smile for the camera. He lowered his head and turned away, avoiding the camera.

The director on the scene obviously noticed this problem and immediately moved the camera away from his face. Fortunately, the TV audience's attention was focused on the winner, Costner. Not many people noticed this scene in the small grid within the picture-in-picture.

But the audience clearly felt it. This scene was so routine that when Costner began to deliver his acceptance speech, there was a buzz of discussion.

"I don't trust myself, just like when I was a director, I had to write everything down. I'm especially grateful to the two people who made this movie possible, screenwriter Michael Black, and producer Ronald Lee... …”

Costner was extremely nervous, took out a card, and kept reading and talking, still stammering. He regained his lost title today. He lost the Best Actor title and won an unexpected Best Director award. I had to modify the award speech originally prepared for the Best Actor on the spot.

"Thank you!" Diane nudged Ronald next to him, making him smile.

"Hmm..." Ronald smiled facing the camera. He still didn't quite understand, how could Scorsese lose to Costner, a first-time director?