[US Entertainment] Actor

Ebert did what he said, and Leonardo's little welfare was far from satisfying him. On the most special day of his birthday, Ebert explained with practical actions what it means to make progress.

"Uh...uh... Ebert, slow down, you're almost making me breathless." In the dim room, panting after another was low or high, with a rhythmic rhythm.

A male voice laughed slowly: "Leo, you are not honest at all, are you sure you want me to slow down?"

Having said that, Ebert speeded up instead.He knew Leonardo as Leonardo knew him.They understand each other's desires and firmly believe that no one can be more in tune with them.

Of course, after Leonardo's birthday, Ebert and he were not in a hurry to meet his mother. The awards season became more intense, and the public relations tasks on the two of them became more and more serious. The two then separated and went to various parts of North America to devote themselves to the promotion work of the film. The date to meet the parents was set on Christmas Eve in December.

For Ebert, every award season is like a battle. Although he thought in his heart that he had little hope of winning another award this year, the role of Benjamin Button is the best he has ever seen in movies. It would be a pity if this role could not be recognized by various awards.

As the New Year approaches, the situation of the award season becomes more and more clear.This year is not as chaotic as last year, and there is no screenwriter strike. All the award ceremonies are grand in scale and star-studded, as if to make up for the desertion caused by the screenwriter strike last year.

If Daniel Day-Lewis was the only actor in the actor department last year, this year is quite different. Both Ebert and Sean Penn have won the Academy Award for Best Actor in the new century. Excellent works A lot, and it was affirmed by the judges.The 56-year-old Mickey Rourke is considered a rising star at the Oscars. He was originally one of the most handsome young men in Hollywood. In the 90s, he transformed into a boxer, but he suffered brain damage and disfigurement due to injuries. He went through countless difficulties before returning to the movie. stage.

"The Wrestler" is the most important work after he regained his confidence and returned to the stage.After returning to Hollywood, he has experienced the dilemma of no filming and few livelihoods for a long time. "The Wrestler" is also a movie that has no investment and lack of attention, but for Mickey Rourke, this movie is tantamount to measuring for him. He also poured his enthusiasm and all his energy into the film. Therefore, Mickey Rourke has become a big hit in this year's awards season, and his turnaround is even more popular among Hollywood people. Tao topic.

No matter what, people who work hard are always respected.

As for the actress department, the situation this year is also unclear.As a bystander, Ebert has always felt that the selection criteria for Oscar queens are a bit weird.It is recognized that the explosive power and acting skills of actresses are not as good as those of male actors, and there are relatively few female-oriented movies in the industry. Therefore, when it comes to competitiveness, the female actor department cannot be compared with the male actor department at all.

Just like last year's Oscars, although the advantages of several actress nominees are not too great, it is still quite unexpected that the actress crown finally fell on a Frenchman, especially Marion Cotillard is still relatively young, He was not yet 33 years old when he won the award, and all the factors that would prevent them from winning the award on other people seem to have no effect on Cotillard.

At the beginning of December, the major film critic awards announced the winners respectively. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" won the Houston Film Critics Association Award, the St. Louis Film Critics Association Award, and is in the leading position with this year's hot "Milk" in other awards. Of course, in some important awards In terms of competition, "Milk" still has a slight advantage over "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

"You don't have confidence in defeating Sean Penn?" After several months of running around, Ebert's weight finally returned to below the normal line, and the manager rarely asked Ebert to have a less shabby lunch.

Ebert glanced at him quietly, and kept moving. Seeing that the plate was getting clean enough to reveal the face, Mr. Manager couldn't help covering his face: "Ebert, do you think I abused you?"

Ebert stuffed the last piece of meat into his mouth and wiped it lightly: "No, I never thought about it that way, I just think it's a bad habit to waste food."

Looking at the empty plate and touching his shriveled stomach, the manager took a few deep breaths before covering up his anger: "I'm not full yet, bastard Ebert, you'll pay for this meal." pay."

"No problem." Ebert didn't care, "It's just a drop in the bucket."

The manager suddenly regretted not going to China together last time.He felt that even if he didn't go on a trip, he should learn Chinese Kungfu in a famous temple. If Ebert humiliated him like this again, he guaranteed that he would beat him to the bone!

Bastard Ebert!Big bastard Albert!

Mr. Broker attributed Ebert's jerk to Leonardo's teaching.Although Ebert's personality was quite bad before, but after being with Leonardo, his badness has definitely increased a hundred times, and it was all caused by Leonardo!

He assures that there is no manager who is more wronged than him in Hollywood!The so-called big players in Hollywood have countless teams behind them to serve them. In fact, it is very rare for them to personally act for the stars. As for Lynn himself, he diligently arranged resources for Ebert. , and he was the only star from the beginning to the end. A few years ago, Ebert was only focused on filming and only occasionally talked about it. Now Ebert... Oh, God, Lynn only feels that he has too much life a son!

After grumbling in their hearts for a while, the two turned the topic to this year's awards season. In Lynn's view, only Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn could attack Ebert this year. Manager, he naturally doesn't think that Ebert's strength is inferior to these two people. He watched Ebert go from obscurity to the top all the way. Although Mr. Manager is used to this state, in the dead of night, he will inevitably have A sense of unreality.

Everything is like a dream.

In fact, even 5 years ago, one day a person came to him and told him that his star would win an Oscar one day, Lynn would have thought that person had lost his mind.But now, Ebert has not only won a statuette, but is also attacking his second statuette. Although the results of Oscar nominations have not yet been announced, it is almost certain that Ebert will be nominated for an actor .

Ebert touched his chin: "The truth is, I have the confidence to beat them all... But the point is not whether I have confidence, but what kind of choices the respectable and amiable judges will make."

"I really hope you win the award." The manager ordered a few more dishes and ordered a glass of water for Ebert, "Think about it, two statuette winners who are under 30 years old...ah, just Just thinking about it makes my blood burn."

"I really want to, but if I don't win an award in the end, maybe 4 nominations are also very good. After all, it is difficult for ordinary people to make such achievements."

"You work hard, and I will do my best." Mr. Manager patted Ebert's shoulder lightly, "There are many people behind you supporting you, and their strength is hard to imagine."

On December 12, the Golden Globe Awards, which had been silent for two years, finally announced the nomination list.Last year's Golden Globes could not be held due to the screenwriters' strike, and the Foreign Press Association lost a large amount of income. This year, the Foreign Press Association, which is eagerly preparing for the awards ceremony, has already begun preparations for the awards ceremony, which is bound to achieve the much-anticipated goal.

"An award that has lost its character." Chatting with Al one day, Al lightly defined the Golden Globes, "Without the participation of experts and people who really love movies, it is full of money and Hollywood-style happy endings. It completely loses its authority."

As always, Ebert still occupies a nomination for Best Actor. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is classified in the column of drama films, including Ebert's nomination for best actor in the drama category. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Drama Series, Best Screenplay and Best Score.

The awards of the Golden Globe Awards include movies and TV series, so it is absolutely impossible to subdivide them like Oscars in terms of specific awards. The 5 nominations of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are enough to lead this year's Golden Globe Awards. , all the main creators of the crew were encouraged, and the prospect of the film seemed to suddenly become clear.

The best actor in a drama category is still the most competitive department for this year's Golden Globe Awards, with nominations including Ebert, Sean Penn Mickey Rourke, Frank Langella and Leonardo.As soon as the list came out, the media exclaimed that this year's Oscar showdown will start ahead of schedule at the Golden Globe Awards. After all, the nominees for the drama category are all the favorites of the awards season. Although there are some nominees for the comedy category, there are some old-fashioned Dustin Hoffman and others, but it is difficult to launch an impact on several nominees in the drama category.

It is worth mentioning that Kate Winslet was nominated in both the Best Supporting Actress and Leading Actress in a Drama category. The two films she won were "Life and Death Reading" and "Revolutionary Road".

As for Heath Ledger, he is still the biggest favorite in the supporting actor department. Throughout the awards season, he has won various awards, big and small. The results of the Golden Globe Awards have not yet been announced, and some media believe that this year's best supporting actor is Heath. Ledger's bag, they even think that this year's Oscar for Best Actor has no suspense, the award must belong to Heath Ledger.

As a result, "The Dark Knight" has become popular from the summer to the awards season. After all, as a commercial blockbuster, it can appear in various performance awards that have nothing to do with commercial blockbusters for a long time. This is already a huge success.

What's more, the current "Dark Knight" still has a unique title-the highest-grossing film in North America in film history.Such a name is enough to make everyone who participated in this movie proud. After all, as an actor, everyone hopes to leave their name in the history of film.

At the overseas box office, "The Dark Knight" never expected to be able to compare with "Titanic".Two films, one is a love movie suitable for everyone, and the other is a crime and violence movie. "The Dark Knight" does not even have the opportunity to be released in many overseas countries. It wants to sweep the world like "Titanic" No way.

Of course, Ebert can say without hesitation that even if there are many movies that can surpass the box office of "Titanic" in the future, their influence is still far from being comparable to this movie.

"Oh...a nomination that attracts the most attention." On the other end of the phone, Leonardo's voice carried a trace of sorrow, "It's a pity that everyone knows that I'm just a running character."

So far in the awards season, Leonardo has been busier than Ebert for the two movies, but unfortunately, his efforts have not brought him much return. The Globe Award nomination is already considered a relatively good achievement. Some harsh media even criticized his performance in these two films as inferior to "The Departed" released the year before, and Leonardo couldn't help but feel very frustrated.

"I'm really going crazy!" Leonardo's manic emotions were transmitted to Ebert through the microphone, "This can't work, that can't work, these perverted guys, what is their standard?"

"Leo, calm down." Ebert didn't know how to comfort his family Leo.He is actually very clear that every time the two of them are shortlisted together and the media praises him but criticizes Leo, the other party will definitely be hit the hardest.

Lovers should have the most equal status. Even if the love is to the extreme, no one wants to hide in the dark and become the shadow of the lover. On the contrary, everyone hopes to stand in the light and let all their advantages be seen. The other party saw it.

Ebert didn't think their relationship would be worn down because of these awards, but he was very worried about Leonardo's state - after all, it didn't happen overnight. His family, Leo, looked at him holding the trophy, obviously in a bad mood, but he wanted to suppress it. smiling at him.

Especially those media with malicious intentions, they seem to be born with the skills of alienation.What Ebert and Leonardo showed to the outside world was a close friendship, and the media seemed to want to destroy it. They made a list of the two for comparison every day, including the number of award nominations they received, and the number of movies they starred in. Quantity, the difference in annual income between the two—in short, as long as it is the most sensitive topic in the profession of actors, the lovely media will never let it go.

If Ebert and Leonardo were a little more fragile, their feelings might really be wiped out in this endless comparison.

But they have nothing to do with these media.In any case, for a piece of news, it is impossible for all the media to get first-hand information, so they will inevitably achieve a certain degree of cooperation, but the big stars will not, they are a naturally opposing group, Hollywood's resources It is very limited, and no one will sell their resources to pave the way for the other party.

When a united group meets a disunited group, the outcome of the confrontation is doomed.

"I have no way to calm down. From 2002 to today, I have tried everything I can to force myself crazily. I personally participated in fighting scenes and abuse scenes... I know, I know that there are many people who are more desperate than me, but I really I have reached the limit that I can achieve." Leonardo sighed heavily, and said with self-deprecation, "Ebert, I don't even know what I should do next."

"I'm not as talented as you. I thought I could succeed through hard work..." Ebert listened intently, and he even heard a soft sob.

His hands froze involuntarily, and his heart ached slightly.Yes, Leo was right.As an actor, I really work hard, harder than most people, because he regards acting as his lifelong career.But he will not deny the role of talent in his acting career, because there are many actors in this world who have worked a thousand times or ten thousand times harder than him, but they have not succeeded, but Ebert has succeeded, so his hard work is justified. It has been featured in many books and is called the benchmark of the industry.

But is he really working harder than everyone else?This is an answer that no one knows.

Ebert said in a low voice: "Leo, calm down. Hard work will surely lead to success, you have to believe in yourself."

"Then I'm going to be like Peter O'Toole, trying again and again, nominated after nomination, only to end up with a pathetic lifetime achievement award. That's definitely not what I want, if all I have is that If the ending is the same, I will definitely smash the statuette on the day I receive the Lifetime Achievement Award." The choking sound became louder and louder, and finally brought crying.

Ebert was getting more and more flustered.He looked out the window, the sky was already dark, and he had a lot of work during this time. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" premiered in Sydney on the 10th, and it was released in the United States on Christmas Day. The protagonist is promoting the film, and on the other hand, he also needs to do his own awards activities. He may be in Los Angeles today, and San Francisco tomorrow.

Leonardo stayed in New York for the last two days. The distance between the two was not close. Many thoughts flashed through Ebert's mind. After a while, he made up his mind and knocked on David Fincher's room. Door.

Mr. Director took a quiet look at Ebert and thought for a long time before finally nodding his head: "I can give you a two-day holiday, but my request is that you must not miss any promotional activities after the holiday. Paramount does not Don’t want us to just go back with a bunch of award nominations, this movie has a $1.5 million investment.”

For Ebert, David Finch has absolute trust.He didn't believe that there would be a director in this world who didn't like Ebert. He was serious about filming, and the most expensive crew could complete all the scenes meticulously. Almost all the movies he starred in were big hits at the box office, and the awards were even softer.

To be honest, Mr. Director is not very relieved about the box office of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". With the addition of Burt, the possibility of an optimistic movie box office has greatly exceeded expectations, especially now that "The Dark Knight" is still there, and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is very likely to be popular.