Chapter 252: Aftermath

As the Best Original Score award set off waves of excitement, the 61st Academy Awards quietly entered its final stages.

When Annie Archer finished introducing the last nominee for Best Picture, "Working Girl", Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn took the stage together to present the Best Actor award.

In front of and behind the scenes, inside and outside the venue, people who had just witnessed a spectacular 'duel' held their breath in anticipation once again.

Onstage, after some humorous opening remarks, the Russells announced, "The nominees for Best Actor at this year's Oscars are: Gene Hackman for 'Mississippi Burning'; Tom Hanks for 'Flight over the Future'; Dustin Hoffman for 'Rain Man'; Edward James Olmos for 'Stand and Deliver'; and Robert De Niro for 'Dead Poets Society.'"

As the Russells introduced them, the live camera focused on the five nominees seated in the audience.

Kurt Russell opened the envelope, and together with Goldie Hawn, kept everyone in suspense before finally announcing in unison, "And the Oscar goes to Dustin Hoffman for 'Rain Man'. Congratulations, this is Dustin's second Oscar win."

Applause erupted from the audience as Dustin Hoffman made his way to the stage. Some people stood up, leading to a more vigorous round of applause. The entire hall eventually rose to its feet, and the clapping continued for over a minute before finally subsiding.

Hoffman hugged the Russells, took the Oscar from Kurt Russell, and approached the microphone. Looking at the audience who had stood up for him, he said, "Thank you, thank you everyone." As the applause died down and everyone sat back down, Hoffman held the Oscar and continued, "Honestly, winning this award wasn't easy."

Many in the hall chuckled knowingly at Hoffman's remark, unsure if he was being intentional, but his comment drew a knowing laugh from many.

"First, I'd like to thank CAA's president, Michael Ovitz. Without him, 'Rain Man' wouldn't exist. The script had been in development for three years and faced many near-cancellations. Whenever we thought the project was going to fall through, Michael would always show his unwavering support with actions. It's because of Michael's relentless push that we could see this movie on the big screen. Next, I'd like to thank Barry, who took over 'Rain Man' when many directors had backed out. He created this film, and Tom, he's a great partner…"

Hoffman's acceptance speech, unlike the brief ones for technical awards, went on for over three minutes. He recounted the entire 'behind-the-scenes' story of 'Rain Man', mentioning everyone from Michael Ovitz to Barry Levinson's favored editor. In summary, he emphasized how difficult the film's creation was and how much everyone mentioned contributed to 'Rain Man'.

Although Hoffman occasionally seemed out of it, gazing off into the distance, he skilfully avoided any mention of Daenerys Entertainment during his speech.

CAA, having gathered a host of top Hollywood stars in recent years - most of whom were Academy Award voting members themselves - had an influence in the actor categories potentially stronger than the established WMA, let alone Daenerys Entertainment, which had been established less than three years ago.

Therefore, the people at Daenerys Entertainment had anticipated this outcome.

Yet, as they listened to Hoffman's speech, faces at Daenerys Entertainment turned sour.

Many in the industry knew that without Simon Westeros's greenlight for 'Rain Man', the project might still be in limbo. Now, in Hoffman's speech, it seemed as though all the credit was falling on others.

When Dustin Hoffman finally finished his speech and went backstage, he was immediately surrounded by a crowd from CAA, while Daenerys Entertainment merely observed coldly from a distance, no longer bothering with pleasantries.

The ceremony was down to its last three awards: Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture. Ella Doichman quietly asked Amy if they should leave early. Daenerys Entertainment had no stake in the Best Actress category, and after the blow of the Best Actor result, Doichman had little hope for any further surprises.

Amy, however, just shook her head, folding her arms and quietly watching the television screen in the backstage area, waiting for the final results.

The Golden Globe incident with the 'three eggs' for Best Actress wouldn't repeat at the Oscars. As in the original timeline, Jodie Foster won her first Oscar for "The Accused". This Hollywood actress, who started as a child star, had finally achieved a difficult victory after surviving a traumatic incident in her past.

Jonathan Friedman, Vice President of WMA, watching Foster give her acceptance speech on stage, also felt disheartened.

Foster had also been a client of WMA.

Over the years, WMA's decline wasn't reversed even with the discovery of the Hollywood prodigy, Simon Westeros. Its clients continued to leave.

Jodie Foster, among others, had been poached by ICM during a mass defection led by another WMA Vice President, Ed Limato, who took Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Michelle Pfeiffer, and others. Within just a year, Foster, with "The Accused", had transformed her lukewarm career and won the Oscar at the age of 25.

Lost in thought, Jonathan Friedman clenched his fist.

Fortunately, this situation wouldn't last much longer.

WMA's President, Norman Brokaw, was about to leave his position.

With many top clients leaving under various agents' watch, Jonathan, who had not only retained clients like Brian De Palma, Robert Duvall, Billy Crystal, but also signed big names like Robert De Niro and nurtured new stars like Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon, was a natural choice for WMA's next president.

If the older executives continued to play politics and gave his rightful position to someone else, Jonathan was ready to leave, marking the true decline of this half-century talent agency.

In the live broadcast, Dennis Quaid and Michelle Pfeiffer took the stage, pulling Friedman's attention back.

Even without much hope, Amy and others still watched the screen intently.

This was the second-to-last award of the night: Best Director.

"A great director is like an excellent captain. He is the core and soul of the film crew. Without a captain's guidance, no ship can sail to the right destination," announced Quaid.

"I am honored to introduce tonight's five 'captains'. Of course, no matter who wins among them, it doesn't diminish the brilliance of the others."

"The nominees for Best Director are: Mike Nichols for 'Working Girl'; Charles Crichton for 'A Fish Called Wanda'; Barry Levinson for 'Rain Man'; Alan Parker for 'Mississippi Burning'; and Peter Weir for 'Dead Poets Society'."

After introducing the nominees, Pfeiffer, wearing a red V-neck gown, looked down at the audience with a flirtatious gaze. Her hands, however, were busy opening the envelope, skillfully pulling out the winner's card. Only then did she look down.

Surprised by the result, Pfeiffer's flirtatious expression was replaced by a smile, showing the envelope to Quaid.

Quaid, who had started his career in the '70s, was well aware of Hollywood's gossip.

Glancing at the result from Pfeiffer, Quaid didn't show surprise. He took the envelope, looked at it carefully, built suspense, and finally announced a result many had guessed but didn't want to believe.

"And the Oscar for Best Director goes to Peter Weir for 'Dead Poets Society'."

In the hall, a brief silence was followed by applause.

Backstage, Doichman, though not as visibly upset as during the Best Original Score announcement, still clenched his fist and silently celebrated with Amy and others.

In the hall, a delighted Peter Weir hurried to the stage.

Although the camera cut away from the other nominees, it caught Barry Levinson's obvious disappointment and anger.

This was Levinson's first Best Director nomination and his best chance to win. With 'Rain Man's unexpected success, it was clear that making another film of this caliber would be challenging.

Calmly listening to Weir's excited acceptance speech, everyone, whether in the hall, backstage, or waiting outside, began to realize the reasoning behind Weir's win.

Peter Weir had previously been nominated for Best Director for "Witness" in 1985, already giving him an edge over Levinson. While the result was unexpected, it wasn't implausible.

'Rain Man' was a phenomenal film, but 'Dead Poets Society' was also outstanding. Daenerys Entertainment's PR efforts during the awards season were relentless.

'Rain Man' lacked standout technical aspects, so its earlier technical award losses were expected. But Simon Westeros's Best Original Score win had already proven Daenerys Entertainment's PR effectiveness.

The 'loss' in Best Actor was mainly due to Daenerys Entertainment not having other strong PR targets.

Robert De Niro, nominated for Best Actor for 'Dead Poets Society', had already won two Oscars. Winning a third, especially without a phenomenon like 'Rain Man', would be nearly impossible for decades.

On the other hand, Dustin Hoffman's performance in 'Rain Man' was undeniably flawless.

Thus, while Daenerys Entertainment's focus on De Niro diluted Hoffman's votes, Hoffman's win became inevitable with the other three nominees lagging.

In this light, Hoffman's win was not a loss for Daenerys Entertainment.

Now, with Peter Weir winning Best Director for 'Dead Poets Society', many realized that in the silent battle between Daenerys Entertainment and CAA, Daenerys Entertainment had the upper hand.

Hoffman had merely won an expected award.

Weir's win, on the other hand, was the result of a fierce clash between Daenerys Entertainment and CAA, despite Daenerys Entertainment's comparative disadvantage.

In such adversity, winning an award, along with Westeros's earlier Oscar, proved Daenerys Entertainment's successful PR strategy.

Peter Weir's Best Director win for 'Dead Poets Society' quickly spread. Inside the Sacred Citizens Hall, the ceremony continued but was reaching its conclusion.

Best Picture was presented by the previous year's Best Actress, Cher.

This again highlighted a departure from the usual Oscar practices, such as foregoing a host and not following the tradition of the previous Best Actress presenting Best Actor.

Unsurprisingly, 'Rain Man' won Best Picture.

Daenerys Entertainment had nominated two producers for 'Rain Man': Barry Levinson's producer Mark Johnson and a representative from Daenerys Entertainment. This arrangement meant Daenerys Entertainment would receive an Oscar to display at their headquarters as a lasting honor.

After Best Picture, the 61st Academy Awards concluded smoothly.

But the aftermath was just beginning.

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