A blessing in disguise

Nathan entered the room cautiously, gazing at Renly who was deep in sleep. After last night's Golden Globe Awards celebration, Renly hadn't returned until four in the morning. It was only ten in the morning now, so naturally, he was still in a drowsy slumber. However, Andy was sitting in the living room and urgently wanted Renly to wake up. What should Nathan do?

Nathan stood still, feeling awkward. He couldn't go in, nor could he leave. Then a hoarse, groggy voice came from the bed, "What's the matter?" The heavy sleepiness was accompanied by a hint of nasal tone, both lethargic and exhausted.

Nathan was startled and quickly said, "Andy's here. He said there's an urgent matter for you."

Silence, complete silence. Nathan held his breath involuntarily. Just as he thought Renly had fallen back asleep, the voice came again, "Give me ten minutes. I'll freshen up and come out."

Hearing that, Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, "Alright." Then he tiptoed out of the room once again.

Renly liked to sleep in, even had a penchant for it. Not only because in his previous life, he had never truly enjoyed a lazy morning; he was confined within boundaries every day, his sleep as precise as a stopwatch. Later, he spent a decade lying on a sickbed, yet every night was restless.

Moreover, in this life, the ubiquitous constraints almost made him feel suffocated. Aristocratic life wasn't as free-spirited as depicted on TV. In reality, wake-up and sleep times, mealtimes, and afternoon tea times were all strictly regulated for nobles. If a baron slept in for two days and missed breakfast, it would undoubtedly become a topic of jest among the nobility.

Renly knew that sleeping in wasn't a good habit, especially for someone resolutely walking the path of realizing dreams. But he didn't want to repeat the same mistakes as his previous life: sacrificing his life and even himself for a goal. Dreams were important, but they were ultimately just a part of life, not the whole.

Now, since Nathan had awakened him, it was time to get up. He lingered in bed for three minutes, then Renly sat up, closing his eyes and heading towards the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, a refreshed Renly emerged in the living room. He smiled at Andy who was sitting on the couch and said, "I thought today was a day off."

"This is Hollywood. Every day can be a holiday, but every day can also be a workday." Andy replied with a smile. Renly settled onto the adjacent couch, looking at the newspapers and magazines on the coffee table, all filled with reports about last night's Golden Globe Awards. "After the awards ceremony ended last night, did Tom hug you? Did he console you?"

Renly casually glanced at the headlines of the newspapers, mostly dominated by "The Social Network", the biggest winner of last night. He also saw a picture of Ricky Gervais with the bold headline "Messed Up", clearly reflecting the media's attitude. "Tom? What about him? Is there something wrong?"

Actually, Renly had faintly sensed that Tom had something on his mind last night. Yet, he worried that he was overthinking it, growing up in the aristocratic environment that made him somewhat overly vigilant, capable of interpreting countless possibilities from any sentence.

"No, nothing's wrong." A hint of satisfaction appeared in Andy's eyes. "Just rumors saying Tom is very dissatisfied with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. He got angry and even cursed when the award results were announced. Now, Tom and Steven have released a statement, stating that they believe your performance deserves an Oscar nomination."

His thoughts circled around, and Renly understood it all. In simple terms, the unexpected failure of "The Pacific" had led Tom and the others to rely on Renly to salvage the situation.

Imagine this: The Emmy Awards give the award to Renly for "The Pacific", but then the Golden Globe Awards dismiss this win, ignoring the entire "The Pacific" series and Renly as the male lead. And if right after that, Renly receives an Oscar nomination for his outstanding performance in "Buried", who would that slap in the face be directed at?

Award season was, in essence, a game of PR, where nominations were based on merit, and awards were a matter of luck.

During the nomination phase, absolute ability was what everyone pursued. Any actor who could receive an Oscar nomination was worthy of recognition, at least in their work that year. After receiving nominations, sympathy votes, merit votes, minority votes, and pity votes would all come into play, all in order to be the first to cross the finish line in this competition and secure that little golden statue.

Now, the Golden Globe Awards had directly ignored "The Pacific". This wasn't just about an award; it indicated that Renly was gradually losing ground in this PR battle. Compared to "127 Hours", "Buried" itself had inherent shortcomings, coupled with Focus Features' difficulty in taking on four hands with two fists, breaking through was definitely not achievable just by talking.

In other words, the Golden Globe Awards were no longer confident in Renly's ability to compete in the final stages of Oscar nominations. This was a denial of Renly's absolute ability.

Originally, going home empty-handed from the Golden Globe Awards was a bad thing. This seemed to imply that "Buried" was losing to the overall strength of "127 Hours". James Franco was likely to follow in the footsteps of Jesse Eisenberg and, relying on the overall strength of his work, outshine direct competitor Renly in the nomination stage.

However, now, Tom and Steven were prepared to take action. Could this be considered turning a bad situation into a blessing?

Yet, even so, "127 Hours" still held a clear advantage. Its completion far exceeded that of "Buried". The Academy's PR during award season was ever-changing; until the final step was taken, no one knew how things would turn out. Even for Natalie Portman, who had a clear advantage at the moment, the body double controversy still hung like an unpredictable time bomb, waiting to explode.

In reality, Renly wasn't overly anxious himself.

"Buried" was merely his first major screen work. He knew he had many shortcomings; he was just getting started. This wasn't a humble statement, but a fact.

On the path of exploring his acting skills, he was merely a newborn baby. Having acted in only two works, he had gained some insights, garnered some recognition, but hadn't reached the point of arrogance. Only by keeping the right attitude, polishing himself step by step, could he become an actor, a true actor.

Being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Buried" was already an unexpected delight for him. Just a year ago, he was an unknown actor tirelessly searching for opportunities, and his progress now was truly commendable.

As for an Oscar nomination, he didn't have high expectations. Even if he missed this opportunity, there was still next year, the year after. He believed that as long as he had the ability, everything would fall into place. What was meant to be his would be his, and no one could take it away. What wasn't meant to be his couldn't be forced. Whether he would win was truly a matter of luck.

From the Emmy Awards to the Golden Globe Awards, in just half a year, he had once again completed a transformation.

Observing Renly's indifferent expression, Andy gently massaged his temples, a bitter smile appearing on his face. He knew that Renly wasn't too concerned, but as his manager, he had to put in effort. "Considering the circumstances, I've arranged your first TV interview. I hope you can talk about your feelings regarding last night's Golden Globe Awards and then discuss your filming experience for "Buried"."

After Renly narrowly missed out on awards yesterday, Andy had already spoken with Focus Features' PR department over the phone, hoping to come up with an effective plan to make a final push before the Oscar nominations were announced. Unexpectedly, opportunity came knocking, and he wouldn't easily let it slip by, promptly securing the TV interview.

This would be Renly's first-ever TV interview.

"What about Sundance?" Renly's immediate response was about the Sundance Film Festival.

Post-production of "Like Crazy" was already complete, and it was set to premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival, officially opening next week. For this globally renowned independent film festival, Renly had been eagerly anticipating it for a while.

"Don't worry, I won't miss it." Andy chuckled, a wry smile forming. To think that the Oscars couldn't compete with Sundance—others would likely be astonished. However, Andy understood Renly. He knew Renly's enthusiasm for acting and films, which couldn't be compared to just any award. Not even a little golden statue.

"Due to the time constraints, you'll be recording the show this afternoon, and then you'll be interviewed by two more media outlets tomorrow. That should be enough." Andy summarized simply. Although he was eager, he couldn't appear too flashy, or else it would look unseemly; there was a limit to everything.

Renly nodded in understanding.

"You can take a look at the newspapers first. The awards ceremony last night was incredibly lively, with numerous highlights and the media is overwhelmed." Andy relaxed his tone slightly and playfully said with a smile.

After waiting for a moment and realizing that Renly didn't seem curious at all, Nathan, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but say, "Fashion magazine Vogue ranked the top ten red carpet shining moments, and you got the first place."

Renly raised an eyebrow in surprise. Securing a spot on the red carpet at the Golden Globe Awards was incredibly difficult, and he didn't remember doing anything outstanding yesterday.

Andy had initially intended to tease a bit, but he hadn't expected Nathan to spoil the surprise. He didn't mind, though, and smiled. "Who knows, George Wilkes actually did it."

The day Renly finally decided and selected George's design, Andy had been quite worried. Because Renly's fame and recognition weren't particularly high, choosing a top-tier designer would have been a bonus option. Opting for a designer with no renown was a significant risk, but in the end, Andy chose to trust Renly.

Unexpectedly, the results were this good. Initially, some media outlets expressed sympathy for Renly's missed Best Actor nominations in the Miniseries and Television Film categories, and then a fashion magazine highlighted Renly's shining moment. Vogue magazine was truly unique. At last night's Golden Globe Awards, Renly could undoubtedly say that he had reaped rich rewards.

"Eaton is expressing protest with a mournful look." Renly's playful remark made both Nathan and Andy burst into hearty laughter.