Chapter 606 - Contentment Leads to Happiness

"I am looking forward to the arrival of the Oscars, hoping that this time the results will bring me some joy," 

Cooper smiled slightly, "You won't be disappointed." If Oscar awards the Best Director trophy to Laila, he will eat his teacup! Even if the sun rises from the west, those Oscar old-fashioned judges wouldn't lose their minds and let such a young person take away their coveted trophy. So, making such a guarantee, he truly had no psychological pressure.

Shortly after the Golden Globe Awards, the Oscars were just around the corner. People hadn't shifted their focus from the controversies of the Golden Globe Awards yet; they were already eagerly anticipating the starlight that the Oscars would bring.

Compared to Laila's significant achievements, the "Hero" crew had much less to celebrate. Despite their ambitious arrival, the Best Foreign Language Film award was taken by Spain's "Talk to Her."

It was this difference that allowed them to see Laila's strength and potential. A girl under 24 had directed such a film—could anyone doubt her future achievements in the film industry?

"How about inviting her back to China to help with a film?" This thought couldn't be suppressed. Even if she could come and learn alongside them, even without payment, it would be great!

However, they were hesitant to bring it up. They would coordinate with various parties after returning to the country, preferably with higher-ups making the move to invite her. If that wasn't possible, perhaps arranging a lecture at those film academies would do. Western advanced film concepts were undoubtedly worth learning.

Take the Best Picture winner, "Chicago," for example. Despite being a musical, and having profound meaning, Laila managed to make it likable to everyone who watched it.

Can't understand the metaphors? No problem, there's enough singing, dancing, and beautiful men and women for you to enjoy. Prefer a good plot? Even better, this movie is worth pondering for a long time. Even if you're a fashionista, you can gain a lot of inspiration after watching the film, especially considering the costumes were personally designed by the famous designer Janet Moran.

It can be said that anyone can find something of interest in this movie. Its high box office proves this point. Don't compare it to "Moulin Rouge"; the two are not on the same starting line at all.

The problem is many people still like to compare them. Both are musicals, both have received excellent reviews and, importantly, they are only a year apart. It's no wonder everyone likes to discuss them together.

Another reason why journalists like "Moulin Rouge" is its director, Baz Luhrmann, has already been labeled by journalists as a bigmouth. A few times, when pushed to the edge, he blurted out some words that stirred up a lot of attention.

At that time, he left words, claiming to let the awards judge who the victorious one was.

After the Golden Globe Awards nominations were announced, the first thing people saw was the seven nominations for "Chicago," one more than "Moulin Rouge."

When journalists interviewed Luhrmann, he gave the camera a wry smile, saying: "What's the use of more nominations? It only matters when you get the award to show off."

He could say this with confidence because "Moulin Rouge" won Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Score in the musical or comedy category at the Golden Globe Awards. It can be said to have won significant awards. Surpassing such achievements for a young director is not that easy. So, he had the confidence to say such things.

But after the Golden Globe Awards winners were announced, his confidence vanished. "Chicago" not only won the same Best Picture and Best Actress awards as him but also took home the Best Actor award. It could be said that it had risen a level higher than "Moulin Rouge" in heavyweight awards.

This made Luhrmann very depressed.

Can he still pretend to be cool? He had just said those words and was slapped in the face hard. Can he continue living like this?

Fortunately, he still had a chance. The Oscars were not a place for young people to play around. He believed that given Laila's age, her "Chicago" might not necessarily get good results. Just look at it, the heavyweight awards she won at the Golden Globe Awards, when transferred to the Oscars, might turn into a mirage. Eight nominations only resulted in two wins, and they were not in the heavyweight categories of Art Direction and Costume Design.

Even he fell flat. He didn't think Laila, with her "Chicago," would fare well.

However, he didn't say such things in front of journalists, lest he look bad if he turned out to be wrong. He only vented his frustration among friends.

However, friends' friends are still friends. Soon after, his words reached Laila's ears.

She didn't care much about it. There was no need to pay attention to what a defeated general said, right?

It was a week after the end of the Golden Globe Awards. When Laila saw Roy, he was still holding his Golden Globe trophy, laughing foolishly while looking at it. She didn't know what he found so amusing.

"Is it beautiful?" Laila caught his joyful mood, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

"Of course, I think it's the cutest thing. Well, except for you," Roy added, dancing around with the trophy, occasionally striking a pose as if many people were taking pictures of him.

Laila chuckled, "Is that satisfying enough? There's still a little golden man from the Oscars waiting for you."

"For me now, winning this trophy is already satisfying. But for my future self, the little golden man is my favorite." Roy kissed the trophy, "In the East, there's a saying, 'contentment leads to happiness,' right? I feel happy and satisfied now."

He said these four words in Chinese, with a somewhat strange tone, but much better than before, indicating that he had indeed put a lot of effort into learning Chinese.

"You make a lot of sense," Laila found herself speechless. She wanted to ask, what about your ambitions? What about the drive you had been pushing upwards? What about your desire to earn a lot of money and send your brother to the best school?

Well, he had already earned a lot of money now. But seeing Roy, who was laughing like a fool, she found it quite interesting.

"Oh, Laila," Roy suddenly put down the trophy, "I remembered something, not sure if I should tell you."

"What's wrong?" Laila asked.

"It's about Charlize. When I went to the company, I accidentally saw her crying in the lounge. She said she wasn't crying; it was just sand in her eyes. After all, I'm the Golden Globe Best Actor, and she thought her poor acting could fool me." Roy didn't forget to show off at this moment.