Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Will Smith noticed the sour look on Jada's face and quickly ushered her away from the interview area, terrified she'd say something reckless again.

Inside the venue, the ceremony hadn't started yet. Guests mingled in the lobby, clustering in groups.

Will spotted Martin instantly. He was impossible to miss.

One arm around Jennifer Lawrence's slim waist, the other holding Anne Hathaway's hand, Martin was laughing with Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and a gaggle of close friends.

Around their little circle, a larger ring of people hovered, feigning enthusiasm, nodding along, and occasionally chiming in.

Even from the entrance, Will could hear Anne Hathaway's booming laugh.

Dressed in a deep red evening gown, her chestnut hair pinned up and lips painted a vivid crimson, Anne glowed against her pale skin, radiating charm. As this year's Oscar co-host alongside James Franco, who was mingling nearby, she reveled in the spotlight—especially with Martin at her side. The mix of flattery, envy, and jealousy in the eyes around her only fueled her delight.

Jennifer Lawrence, while equally thrilled, was more restrained, her face less blatant than Anne's, avoiding the kind of attention that draws resentment, especially from other actresses.

Her emotional intelligence clearly outshone Anne's.

Take now, for instance. Jada let out a scornful snort at Anne's laughter. "That woman really thinks everyone's here for her? She's just riding Martin's coattails. What's she so smug about?"

Will fought the urge to facepalm. What did I do to end up with this idiot?

Sure, Anne's EQ wasn't stellar, but at least she didn't go out of her way to offend people. She just liked showing off a bit.

And you, Jada—don't you realize the sycophantic, bottom-tier Black actors fawning over you are only here because of me, Will Smith? What right do you have to judge?

Saying it out loud, in public no less!

Will had initially planned to join Martin's circle but changed his mind. Better find a quiet corner lest this idiot woman say something stupid in front of martin.

…

By 8:30 PM, the ceremony began.

The Dolby Theatre shimmered in dreamy aqua blue.

Kicking things off, "Big Eyes" Anne Hathaway and "Small Eyes" James Franco delivered a host-exclusive Inception-themed short film.

They stepped into the roles of Inception's protagonists, infiltrating the dreams of last year's Oscar host, Alec Baldwin. In the dream, they rode an elevator with The Social Network's "Mark Zuckerberg," faced off in a standoff. Anne threw a punch at Franco in The Fighter's studio, and they bumped into Morgan Freeman in the elevator.

Later, dressed as Western cowboys, they confronted Jeff Bridges from True Grit. In The King's Speech, Anne and Colin Firth exchanged a "big eyes, small eyes" stare-down. As she announced "good news about the future" into a microphone, it comically shrank.

The highlight? Their "meddling" in Winter's Bone. Anne, dressed as a chubby farmwife, screamed tips at Jennifer Lawrence on acting, only for snowflakes to fall as she flailed, prompting a clumsy, farmwife-clad Franco to drag her away.

Finally, they "encountered" Baldwin again, who insisted he'd host the Oscars again and mocked their "infiltration." Panicked, they fled, while Baldwin turned to Freeman, asking, "Who were they?" Freeman shrugged, "No idea."

The hosts then "time-traveled" to the ceremony, stepping onto the stage in full glamour.

…

The awards kicked off.

Tom Hanks presented the first award—Best Art Direction—to Alice in Wonderland, officially launching the night.

As the evening progressed, major awards found their winners.

Warner's The King's Speech and Meyers Pictures' The Social Network went head-to-head, neither yielding. The former nabbed 12 nominations, the latter 8. Early on, The Social Network dominated, even snagging the Golden Globe for Best Picture, leading many to believe it had an Oscar edge.

And it seemed so at first. The Social Network swept Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing, while The King's Speech took Best Original Screenplay.

Then came Best Actress. Jennifer Lawrence, as expected, earned a nomination for Winter's Bone but didn't win. Still, she was ecstatic, unabashedly planting a passionate kiss on Martin in front of the cameras.

The tide turned. The King's Speech surged, clinching Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, leaving The Social Network empty-handed thereafter.

As for Inception, the global sensation of the past year, it missed major nominations but embedded the "dream-stealing" concept into the Oscars. In the opening short, Franco and Hathaway, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, "infiltrated" the Best Picture nominees' worlds.

It still bagged Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

Leonardo DiCaprio, with nominations for Shutter Island and Inception, didn't win. But he wasn't fazed—he'd already claimed a Best Actor Oscar once, unlike the original timeline where he was still empty-handed.

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[GodOfReader: Fuck, it still traumatizes me just thinking about what Leonardo had to do to win an Oscar. Fun fact: When it came to translating the Brokeback Mountain arc, it wasn't me—it was my girlfriend. She did say, though, that the author didn't go into as much detail as she'd hoped, like describing if Martin and Leonardo had to do 10–20 takes for the kissing scene.]