Chapter 131: Princess Anne

On the sofa in Anne Hathaway's villa, the two, having finished dinner, were leaning on the couch, sipping coffee.

A bottle of red wine had been consumed, and Anne Hathaway's cheeks had a slight blush, making her fair complexion even more enticing.

"Not had too much?" Charles Capet put down his coffee, asking Anne Hathaway who was sitting beside him.

Anne Hathaway shook her head, also putting down her coffee, and laughed: "Actually, not that much at all."

"But really, thank you. Remember that Italian Raffaello Folliari I mentioned before? He indeed sought to come to America through me to seek some capital to invest in his company!"

Anne Hathaway had been cautious and quickly cut off contact, as it was just a recommendation from a manager anyway.

Charles didn't care about this matter, moving closer and putting his hand on her thigh, he smiled: "Now I'm more interested in your movie Havoc, after all, it's Princess Anne's alluring movie."

"Charles, are you considering a casting couch?" Anne Hathaway wrapped her arms around Charles' neck, "Do you want me to personally act out a scene from the movie for you?"

It was quite clear what would happen next after Charles got to her house for dinner. No need to guess.

Charles couldn't resist any longer, kissing the woman's lips, and Anne Hathaway eagerly responded to his kiss.

Clothes were pulled off, buttons undone, and Charles picked up Anne Hathaway in his arms and headed directly to the bedroom.

Two days and nights passed, and by the third day's noon, when Charles was ready to leave Long Beach, he found Anne Hathaway in the kitchen brewing coffee.

She was wearing just a white shirt casually draped over her long legs. He hugged her from behind and kissed her on the neck.

"I'm heading out; this weekend was awesome!"

Anne Hathaway turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and smiled: "You've been here quite a while; don't you care about the Oscars?"

With an open shirt showcasing everything, Charles kissed her deeply, making her giggle.

Anne jumped up, wrapping her legs around Charles's waist, then they passionately kissed again.

"Alright, the coffee is ready," Charles put her down and reminded, "Two nights, wasn't that enough?"

Anne Hathaway laughed and handed Charles a cup of coffee, and they both sat down in the living room.

"The Oscars, Brokeback Mountain, may be good but it's hard to win. The Academy's stubbornness is legendary," Charles said taking a sip of coffee.

"Because of the subject matter? Can't push harder with the PR?" Anne Hathaway asked.

Charles shook his head. He truly didn't know to what extent they needed to push to have a chance. Plus, he wouldn't waste too many resources for one award.

It's not about whether the movie is good or bad; as long as the subject matter isn't too controversial, it can be PR'd. The most famous Oscars PR was when Shakespeare in Love defeated Saving Private Ryan in 1998 and Chicago defeated The Pianist in 2003.

Both were the handiwork of Miramax, blackening the opponent and promoting themselves.

After finishing the coffee, Charles stood up, touched the woman's face, "Alright, I'm leaving!"

"Mm, call me when you have the time!" Anne Hathaway reminded.

Charles nodded, leaned close to her ear, and whispered with a smile: "Don't worry, I love that mouth of yours."

Anne Hathaway's mouth was quite big, and it felt different indeed, no wonder many people like women with big mouths!

The 77th Academy Awards ceremony took place, with flocks of reporters and fans gathering along the long red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre.

Because of its strong momentum, Charles attended this Oscar ceremony with his mother, Evelyn Capet.

Dressed up, Evelyn Capet seemed several years younger, walking arm in arm with her son down the red carpet.

"This time feels different, I'm a bit nervous!"

Evelyn said to her son as they walked.

"Why nervous? Haven't we attended the Oscars before?" Charles asked puzzled.

"Because I want to see you on the Oscar stage holding that Best Picture statuette," Evelyn explained with a smile.

Charles shook his head helplessly, then they entered the auditorium after the red carpet and headed to the backstage lounge.

"Oscar is just a tool for American politics and commerce," Charles laughed. It was originally a tool for America's cultural expansion and ideological promotion.

"Charles, you're overthinking. It's also for bigger market shares," Evelyn wasn't too concerned.

Charles laughed bitterly, looking at some of the nominated films and documentaries. Born Into Brothels was a realistic documentary depicting the hardships of child sex workers in India.

Hotel Rwanda portrayed the heroic story of the protagonist saving lives during the genocide, but the protagonist was just a tool supported by the West to overthrow the Rwandan government.

The West always viewed the Middle East, Far East, and the Third World with colored glasses. They only promoted the negative sides, the worst of humanity, and social misery.

To win awards on Western-dominated platforms, movies and novels from these regions had to show the worst aspects of their countries and their people's inherent flaws to gain the West's approval.

Positive, enjoyable, and well-rounded works never got the chance to be reported. That led to many people exploiting their countries' pain points and scars to garner Western sympathy and awards.

Displaying a grotesquely exaggerated negative side of the East under the guise of sophistication, only highlighting its dark corners and marginalized groups to seek Western masters' casual rewards.

They could never see positive, happy, good aspects; perhaps once you kneel for long, it's hard to stand again.

Observing the fancily dressed men and women around him, Charles sighed silently in his heart.

"Charles, we should head to the main hall!" Evelyn reminded her son.

Deep in thought, Charles nodded and followed his mother to their seats in the hall. The 77th Academy Awards of 2005 were about to begin.

"What were you thinking so deeply about?" Evelyn asked again.

Charles smiled: "I was wondering how many Hollywood stars will talk about politics and the President, considering last year was quite tumultuous!"

"Don't worry, Fahrenheit 9/11 didn't get nominated!" Evelyn replied with a smile.

*****

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