Chapter 363: The Oscar Statuette

Chapter 363: The Oscar Statuette

To boost ratings, the organizers of this year's Oscars pulled out all the stops, such as giving Jon Stewart greater leeway with his jokes.

"The Oscars is where you can see the most stars in one place without having to donate to the Democratic Party."

"Don't watch pirated movies! Look at these stars; you're stealing from them if you watch pirated versions! And look at these actresses, they are so poor they can barely cover themselves; how can you still watch pirated movies?"

"Hundreds of millions are watching this Oscars live... half of them are waiting to be adopted by Angelina Jolie."

Politics, female stars, and the recent hot topic of Angelina Jolie—all were fodder for Jon Stewart's humor. His jokes addressed her high-profile relationship with Brad Pitt and her relentless adoption of children from Cambodia, Ethiopia, and more.

However, these jokes lacked the impact of the personal monologues by Billy Crystal from the 90s and early 2000s, evident from the moderate laughter and applause in the theater.

Additionally, the committee again decided to give out one of the more significant awards, Best Supporting Actor, first, possibly hoping to set an emotional tone with a heavyweight award.

George Clooney, Hollywood's famed pretty boy, had finally hit a turning point in his career with the direction and starring role in "Good Night, and Good Luck," earning Oscar recognition.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" was only Clooney's second directorial venture and, like "Gone Girl," it had received several nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. However, Clooney was more renowned as an actor than a director, and receiving the Best Supporting Actor award almost certainly meant he was out of the running for Best Director.

Clooney acknowledged this in his acceptance speech, jokingly stating that since he had won Best Supporting Actor, he was definitely out of the race for Best Director.

This seemed to set the tone for this Oscars ceremony, which followed a theme of spreading the awards and egalitarianism.

Best Supporting Actress went to the British actress Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener," which was the only award the film received.

Peter Jackson's "King Kong," which was expected to dominate the technical categories, only managed to snag Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia" and DreamWorks' "Memoirs of a Geisha" split awards for Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction.

By the midpoint of the ceremony, Murphy's main job was spectating.

The highlight of this period was Jennifer Aniston, who, despite Jon Stewart's continual jokes about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, showed no reaction. Her disheveled appearance, simplistic attire, and expressionless face stood out as she mechanically read the nominees and quickly handed the Best Costume Design Oscar to the designer of "Memoirs of a Geisha," before swiftly exiting the stage.

She was undoubtedly the most visibly distressed presenter of the night.

Since "Gone Girl" had only nominations for Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress, and these awards were traditionally given out later in the ceremony, Murphy and his team were mostly observers of other contenders' battles.

When the award for Best Editing was announced, "Gone Girl" was mentioned but ultimately did not win, with "Crash" expectedly taking the Oscar.

"According to what you said," Gal Gadot whispered to Murphy, "the film that wins Best Editing has a very high chance of taking Best Picture."

"Best Editing is recognized as a bellwether for Best Picture," Murphy nodded slightly. "'Crash' has now gained an edge in the race for Best Picture."

Gal Gadot then remarked, "So 'Brokeback Mountain's' chances for Best Picture just got slimmer."

"It would be normal for it not to win Best Picture," Murphy replied softly.

According to the usual workings of the Oscars, it would be a surprise if "Brokeback Mountain" won Best Picture.

To some extent, the value of "Brokeback Mountain" was its timely theme, which resonated with contemporary issues. If it won, there wouldn't be much ground for complaint.

However, by the usual Oscar aesthetic standards, "Crash" was more palatable than "Brokeback Mountain."

The Oscars have their criteria for judgment, not necessarily aligned with public opinion. Otherwise, the Best Picture Oscar would have gone to many commercially popular blockbusters.

Scarlett Johansson took the stage with an envelope, announcing, "Creating a great story and turning it into a superb script requires immense talent."

Like Hollywood's mainstream film scriptwriting, the Oscars also employed a team of writers who scripted various segments of the ceremony, including the words spoken by presenters.

These weren't just impromptu remarks; even James Franco, another presenter, had been reminded during rehearsals by the producers hired

 by the Academy that they would provide the script. If the presenters agreed with it, they would rehearse it; if not, they were asked to step down early.

This was the Oscars, where there was never a shortage of people eager to appear.

Those who thought they were clever and humorous but deviated from the script on stage only risked ending up on the Oscars' blacklist, making it difficult for them to return as presenters.

Franco had mentioned to Murphy that the producer, in the presence of the Academy president, had bluntly told them—including him—that if they went off-script live, they shouldn't expect to be invited back as presenters.

Murphy suspected Franco might be embellishing the story; the Oscars organizers likely wouldn't be so direct but would subtly warn the presenters.

Standing on stage, Johansson smoothly delivered the scripted lines, "There are few who possess this talent, but this year, many excellent screenwriters have presented their fantastic stories on the screen."

Turning towards the big screen, she continued, "The nominees for Best Original Screenplay are—'Crash' by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco, 'Good Night, and Good Luck' by George Clooney, 'Syriana' by Stephen Gaghan, 'The Squid and the Whale' by Noah Baumbach, 'Gone Girl' by Murphy-Stanton…"

Murphy watched intently; this was "Gone Girl's" sole chance at an Oscar, though it was a long shot, especially given "Crash's" thematic dominance.

However, hope remained. His fame far exceeded that of Haggis and Moresco, and his reputation as a stylized director and screenwriter was notable. Additionally, focusing resources and public relations efforts on this category, unlike "Crash," which spread its efforts across Best Picture and Best Director, meant the gap wasn't as large as it seemed.

Johansson opened the envelope, glanced inside, scanned the front rows of the audience, and finally settled on Murphy, "I am honored to announce that the Oscar goes to Murphy-Stanton for 'Gone Girl.'"

The auditorium fell silent, as if no one had anticipated this outcome, with many glances directed at Murphy's section.

Particularly from the "Crash" team, their looks were filled with confusion and anger.

This was an award they had expected to secure, and its unexpected loss to an underdog was hard to accept for anyone.

But this was the Oscars, where the film itself was merely the basic criterion for winning.

The "Gone Girl" crew, unconcerned with others, all stood up immediately. The team members, especially those who had followed Murphy for years, raised their hands high in celebration; from today, they were an Oscar-level team!

"Congratulations, my dear!" Gal Gadot stood up and was the first to embrace Murphy. Murphy patted her back gently and turned to embrace Bill Rossis firmly.

"We finally made it!"

Rossis was visibly excited, savoring the sweet fruits of victory after months of hard work, now a bona fide Oscar-level agent.

"Buddy…" James Franco approached, slapping Murphy's arm before he could speak, "Well done!"

Murphy extended his hand, and Franco slapped it heartily.

The two exchanged high fives!

Afterward, Murphy hugged Charlize Theron and others before stepping onto the Oscar stage.

Scarlett Johansson, holding the Oscar statuette, was already waiting. Handing over the statuette, she said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Taking the Oscar, Murphy exchanged a polite hug with Johansson. Close up, he could see numerous piercings on her nose, lips, brow bone, and the cartilage of her ears.

It was easy to imagine that in her youth, the future Black Widow was adorned with rings all over.

Because of the former Black Widow, Murphy glanced once more at Johansson before quickly looking away and stepping up to the microphone, seriously pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.

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