Chapter 263: Galaxy's Oscar

After Arthur returned from Irvine to Hollywood, Catherine Zeta-Jones also went back to the UK to shoot magazines and TV dramas!

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations list, Galaxy's Schindler's List, The Crying Game, and Warner Brothers' Unforgiven lead this year's Oscar nominations.

In Brentwood, by the pool of Sophie Marceau's villa, Arthur leaned against the pool edge, talking on the phone with Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.

"Donald, consider this: $80 million to sell the Clippers to me. You know, I've been a Clippers fan since I was a kid. You don't want to delay my dream from coming true, do you?" Arthur said casually. "Besides, the Clippers' performance now really breaks my heart!"

Donald quickly responded over the phone, "The Los Angeles Clippers are an important asset to me. I have no plans to sell right now. If I ever do, I'll be sure to contact you first.

Arthur, how about we discuss the redevelopment of the shopping mall and residential area between 4th Street and 6th Street in Mid-Wilshire?"

Mid-Wilshire, between 4th and 6th Streets, is essentially the Koreatown area - a key area for LA's redevelopment!

"I'm running a film company and happen to operate a chain of theaters. I'll have the head of Galaxy Theaters discuss it with you," Arthur played dumb, knowing that Sterling's real estate company was his target.

He won't sell the Clippers? And he wants a piece of LA's redevelopment? Dream on.

But Donald Sterling is a lawyer, and it's been tough to find any major mistakes on him in such a short time!

"As for other matters, I don't understand. I'm just a guy in the entertainment industry," Arthur added a reminder.

"When you think of selling the Los Angeles Clippers, remember to contact me anytime," Arthur hung up the phone.

Sophie Marceau, in a bikini, swam to Arthur's side and asked curiously, "Galaxy has the most nominations in the announced Oscar awards list, but you don't seem very happy?"

"It's not because of that," Arthur said, kissing Sophie Marceau.

Donald Sterling is a tough nut to crack. Arthur hadn't even planned to call him initially.

It was just that ESPN was establishing a new sports award this year - the ESPY Awards. The inaugural ceremony would be held this July in LA. This sparked his urge to call Donald Sterling.

Tonight was also NBA All-Star night, with the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star game happening at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He chose such a good time to call Donald Sterling, but he didn't give me any face!

TV networks are establishing award ceremonies; maybe they're just jumping on the bandwagon? Last year, MTV launched the MTV Movie Awards.

Sophie Marceau patted him, "Alright, let's have a drink to celebrate. The Oscars are practically Galaxy's private award ceremony now."

With that, the two left the pool, donned bathrobes, and started drinking champagne in the hall. Arthur casually turned on the TV to watch the live NBA All-Star game!

"Salt Lake City isn't that far. Why not go watch it live?" Sophie Marceau, of course, had no interest in the NBA. The French are more into soccer.

"Laziness," Arthur laughed, rubbing Sophie Marceau, who sat in his lap. "Next year's World Cup will be held in the US. Many Europeans are very interested in soccer. Do you have any thoughts about it?"

"We'll see. If I have time, I'd watch two or three of France's matches," Sophie Marceau sipped champagne, "I don't have much interest in sports events!"

On the other side, Galaxy made a significant investment in the major project Forrest Gump. Director Robert Zemeckis and Galaxy Films President Amy Pascal were meeting with Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks himself had a positive view of the Forrest Gump script!

"By the way, I hope all the historical events in the script really happened. Don't add any fictional events," Tom Hanks had only this one request for the script.

Robert Zemeckis nodded, "Of course, they are all real. We're only cleverly integrating Forrest into these real events."

"Tom, Forrest Gump is the biggest investment by Galaxy moving forward. Your performance in Philadelphia was very convincing. I'm confident you'll portray Forrest well," Amy Pascal reminded, as the movie had a budget of $60 million - a rare level in Hollywood productions each year.

Tom Hanks smiled, "Don't worry, I will seriously study this character!"

"Then let's officially start the preparations," Amy Pascal said confidently. Galaxy could now fully shoulder a $60 million production; in terms of scale, Galaxy was no less than the traditional Big Six studios in Hollywood.

After Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks left together, Zemeckis breathed a sigh of relief. He and producer Wendy Finerman were friends, and Forrest Gump had circulated as a rudimentary script amongst film companies even before the novel was published.

A Warner Brothers producer had shown interest, but after Rain Man was released, he found the project too similar and abandoned it!

When the Forrest Gump novel was published, it didn't make much impact. Despite Wendy Finerman's continuous efforts, no studio was willing to develop it.

After making the rounds, Forrest Gump finally found a home with Galaxy!

"Robert, don't worry. Arthur has a good eye, and Galaxy's current strength is formidable," Tom Hanks patted Robert Zemeckis's shoulder.

Robert Zemeckis nodded, "The first time I read the novel, I knew I had to make this film! Wendy has been preparing for years for this movie. Now she can finally see her dream come true..."

With the Oscars nominations announced, among the Best Picture nominees, The Crying Game, Schindler's List, and A Few Good Men from Galaxy have all been nominated.

For Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and other key performance categories, Galaxy also dominated more than half of the nominations!

Los Angeles Times: "Galaxy's Oscar Award Ceremony!"

New York Times: "Has Galaxy overshot in its chase after traditional Hollywood studios?"

*****

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