The power of support

"Wow, "Gangs of New York" wins three major awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Could this be the year when Leonardo DiCaprio finally picks up the little golden man?"

"Will Leonardo DiCaprio become the first Oscar Best Actor among his peers?"

"Nicole Kidman meets with Oscar judges, they share a meal."

"Controversy again comes knocking to "The Pianist" as director Roman Polanski is officially wanted for sexual assault of a minor, and the police say they will closely monitor the situation."

"Meryl Streep meets with Harvey Weinstein, the two display an intimate demeanor."

"Chicago" receives praise from Oscar judges: the depiction of the era is profoundly unparalleled.

"Unsurprisingly, "3 Idiots" garners high praise, will director Lyman get a little golden man?"

"Leading actress of "Frida", Salma Hayek, attends a Vogue party, can she win Best Actress?"

...

As time entered January, the media and newspapers officially went into a frenzy. Almost every day, new hot topics emerged: press releases from public relations firms, chasing and interviewing popular nominees to satisfy the curiosity of the public, and continuously digging up the private actions of big-name stars who were likely to compete for Oscars this year. The public's highest attention was on Oscar selections. If they could capture any scandals of A-list celebrities during this period, it undoubtedly meant an increase in newspaper sales.

After all, compared to conventional reporting, people naturally preferred scandals, scandals, and more scandals.

Of course, at this time each year, films with hopes of running for Oscars could not avoid smearing each other and downplaying their competitors' competitiveness. This was also the reason for the audience's keen interest: an endless supply of juicy gossip.

This year, the most unfortunate person was undoubtedly Roman Polanski. At such a crucial moment, rumors of his sexual assault surfaced, followed by his immediate identification, and he hurriedly fled to France, seeking asylum.

Now officially wanted by the US police, he was asked to return to the US to cooperate with the investigation. However, since the allegations against Roman Polanski were revealed, they were not without merit. A 13-year-old girl came forward to accuse him, further confirming his tarnished character and despicable criminal acts.

Yet, with "The Pianist" directed by Roman Polanski obtaining numerous awards, it seemed like they wanted to push this film into the Oscar race, much to the dissatisfaction of the audience.

People couldn't comprehend it. How could a director with questionable character and morality win big awards?

Well, this was the land of the free, and the selection should also be "free", without too many external influences.

As public attention on this matter increased, more about director Roman Polanski's past emerged. His mother died in a concentration camp during his childhood; his first wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by a cult at their home in middle age. The reason for the cult's attack was to punish the corrupt and lost wealthy class, which meant random killings. She and her friends were just unlucky...

He had a strong interest in young women, even underage girls. As early as 1977, related incidents were rumored, and he was forced to endure more than a month of imprisonment and investigation. However, due to insufficient evidence, he was quickly released. Still, the US had maintained his wanted status, which made him reluctant to return to the US. Until the emergence of "The Pianist" and the widespread praise it received, his scandals were again brought up by competitors, with the police's considerable cooperation, and with the occurrence of sexual assault incidents...

It could be said that his artistic achievements were inversely proportional to his character and morals. Furthermore, his refusal to accept the judgment of US law and his fleeing to a foreign country created a huge controversy, making him an outcast.

Anyway, the media repeatedly brought him up in this regard, provoking waves of criticism.

In all honesty, from the submission to the Oscar nomination process, it was actually the most frightening elimination phase. Many judges had to consider various factors that might affect the situation and make difficult choices among all the films. Therefore, if Roman Polanski's reputation continued to be suppressed under such an operation, he was likely to disappear from the judges' nomination list. This would fulfill the intentions of his competitors.

However, perhaps they didn't expect that Oscar judges were much more stubborn than they thought. Not only did they not cancel the candidacy of "The Pianist", but they also publicly stated time and again that art had nothing to do with a person's character. Heh heh.

"What should I do?" In mid-January, even in France, there was a chill in the air. However, Roman Polanski, the person at the center of all the turmoil, was smoking a cigarette, wearing only a single shirt, sitting on the terrace with a look of dejection, blowing in the cold wind.

On the other hand, his agent was wearing a thick jacket and remained indifferent. "Once the storm blows over, those news magazines will soon lose interest. Don't worry too much."

"But..." His tone rose, but he didn't know what to say. He just held his forehead, took a deep drag from the cigarette, and exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. Thank you for coming here early in the morning."

"Solving your doubts is my responsibility, no need to say that." The agent looked into the distance at the scenery and said nonchalantly, "I'll contact the professional public relations control company later to help you suppress some of this. But I guess this matter won't be quiet until the Oscars are over. Be prepared to lie low for a while."

"Of course, of course, of course." Roman Polanski felt somewhat broken. "I know what to do."

The bygone events were brought up again, reopening the scars in his heart. But it was all his fault; he deserved it, didn't he?

One always had to pay the price for their mistakes, and he had not paid enough yet.

In the eyes of the US, his current identity was that of a fugitive, but France, where he sought refuge, did not see him that way.

In less than two days, the situation escalated once again. Roman Polanski and his work "The Pianist" were now linked to Oscar's bribery and shady dealings. Otherwise, how could one explain how the film still managed to win awards and have the qualification to compete? There must be some shady dealings behind it.

The media and newspapers naturally didn't let this wave pass by. They also took the opportunity to criticize Oscar's selection rules, and for a while, Roman Polanski was labeled as corrupt and ridiculed for his actions.

But in reality, he didn't care about these things, or rather, he didn't care much about the Oscars at all because he dared not go to the United States. Even if he won an award, he wouldn't dare to attend the ceremony. So, the little golden man had far less significance to him, and besides, he was single-mindedly focused on developing his career in the European arts scene, so there was no need to muddy the waters.

Perhaps it was a rebellious mindset. Everyone's criticism of the Oscars grew louder, but they only became more determined to have "The Pianist" participate.

In such a tense atmosphere, and with so many things happening at once, being the subject of gossip didn't feel good at all. Roman Polanski, who was recovering in France, was irritated and easily lost his temper.

"Why isn't the PR company you hired doing anything? The coverage of me is increasing, f*ck, I don't want to see all of this."

"But... we can't control it."

Yes, they couldn't control it. With so many competitors wanting to see him out, how could they suppress the coverage?

Moreover, this year's Oscars had the biggest scandal. The media didn't want to miss out on this representation of countless hot topics and attention. The Oscars' most popular film candidate, the Oscars' shady dealings, the hidden rules of the film industry, and the victims being underage women... the whole situation was filled with controversy and drama, a carnival for the newspaper industry.

Since they couldn't suppress such a scandal, the only thing they could do was lower their visibility. That meant not trying to control it and let it run its course. When the media had reported enough, the attention would naturally shift elsewhere.

Of course, that was still the agent's intention, but Roman Polanski's mood was not very good.

But he had no other choice.

He couldn't control all the media.

Moreover, the situation had progressed to a point where it was increasingly unfavorable for him. If he forced his way in, it might even backfire.

As for how the Oscars would respond to this unprecedented crisis, it was a mystery. Even the instigator of this event, Miramax, couldn't guess.

Harvey Weinstein was powerful, and his public relations abilities were unmatched, but he couldn't read people's minds. So, he couldn't make any predictions either.

He thought that doing this was beneficial to him and to their company's work "Chicago". He did it like this. As for what happened next, that was not something he should worry about, right?

As for the so-called Oscar judges' shady dealings and hidden rules, no one in the industry really cared. The media reported more for the sake of the public's entertainment. This kind of thing happened every year at the Oscars, but did it ever change anything?

They had already been exposed for their unfairness and accepting bribes multiple times. With a judging panel of over a thousand people, could they really expect everyone to be righteous? There had even been photos of direct bribes taken, but since there was no concrete evidence, they didn't take it seriously.

It was just a small matter, far from being significant.

Of course, this was the industry's view of the judging panel. It wasn't clear how the audience thought about it.

Perhaps they would be angry, perhaps disappointed with the Oscars, but so what?

The rules of the game were not determined by the public, and they didn't have the time and energy to care about others' affairs. They would just smile and let it pass.