King of Hollywood

Chapter 105: Chapter 105 Oscar (IV)

“I must admit, they are all extremely talented and remarkable actors. Oh, this is too cruel, I can’t believe I can only choose one,” Ubi Goldberg lamented, shaking her head and causing quite a few laughs before she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, let’s just open the envelope to see, so as not to keep them waiting. After all, my suggestion of increasing the number of trophies doesn’t count.”

She immediately opened the envelope and announced without any delay: “City Slickers, Jack Palance!”

Cheers erupted from the City Slickers’ crew as Jack Palance stood up excitedly, receiving congratulations from those around him. At that moment, Adrian heaved a sigh of relief and then looked over at Freeman, who was seated three seats away from him. The elderly black man maintained a smile, but a look of resignation flashed in his eyes.

“Don’t be too upset, Morgan. Such opportunities will come again,” Adrian said, trying to offer some comfort.

“Ed’s right, just think of it as losing a roll of the dice,” Robbins, sitting beside him, said as well.

“Yeah, we all know how talented and hardworking you are,” Dennis added, coming over from the other side.

With the three of them taking the lead, others seated nearby also began to take turns offering their consolation to Freeman.

“I’m fine, guys, I’m fine,” Freeman said with a smile, waving his hand, “Thank you for your kind thoughts, but don’t worry about me; I may be old, but I’m not that fragile. What’s meant for me will come eventually.”

After a few more words, Adrian sat back down in his seat, his biggest worry no longer a concern; he could now relax completely. Although Robbins still had a chance for Best Actor, it was clear he wasn’t likely to beat Hopkins.

After an entertaining and humorous song and dance performance, the technical awards resumed. Not surprisingly, The Shawshank Redemption lost out on its other two technical nominations for Best Editing and Best Original Score, while The Silence of the Lambs started to gain momentum, snatching the Best Adapted Screenplay award from The Shawshank Redemption.

“Ed, this doesn’t matter, just consider them two ordinary awards,” everyone consoled Adrian, knowing that he had been nominated for Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay.

“Thank you,” Adrian said, offering a smile as his only response. Part of his plan had been to forgo campaigning for the Golden Globe Awards.

But the crew wasn’t privy to these details. Although they had worked with Adrian for a considerable time, had experienced his style of leadership, and knew of the media’s praise, at the end of the day, he was still only a 24-year-old. Who could guarantee he didn’t feel stifled? So, after each loss, they would, following Robbins and others, swarm forward to offer consolation, making gestures too grand to ignore.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴ0νǤ0.сο

Such actions drew sideways glances from those around them, prompting even the host Kristo to make a teasing remark: “Honestly, I envy Mr. Adrian. I wish I had such a group of people to comfort me right now, considering none of these awards belong to me—okay, I probably have had too much coffee.”

Winning is winning, and losing is losing, no amount of fuss over consolation could possibly transfer the trophies from someone else’s hands into Adrian’s. Therefore, the award ceremony carried on.

Finally, the most important moment of the Oscars was about to arrive. With Kristo ramping up the atmosphere on stage, the two most important acting awards were announced shortly after.

“The Silence of the Lambs, Judi Foster!” With the voice of last year’s Best Actor, Jeremy Irons, the entire Music Center burst into cheers. It was Judi Foster’s crowning as the queen once more after a two-year gap! Although there had been actresses who had won twice in the history of the Oscars, such a short interval was unprecedented, exciting enough for Judi Foster’s supporters and feminists alike.

As Foster went up to give her acceptance speech, Adrian couldn’t help but glance at Tim Robbins, who was indeed making comforting gestures to Susan Sarandon, who sat not far away with the “Thelma & Louise” crew. However, it was uncertain whether Sarandon would return the gesture later.

To be honest, even without Anthony Hopkins, it would have been very difficult for Robbins to clinch the Best Actor award. Among the other three competitors, Robin Williams’s performance in “The Fisher King” was on par with that of Robbins, and Robert De Niro already had one Best Supporting Actor and one Best Actor award. So, the more experienced Warren Beatty was likely to take home the Oscar statuette.

Yes, that’s right, Hollywood’s most famous playboy, Warren Beatty, who was rumored to have been with thousands of women—although not as many as Wilt Chamberlain—did not lack for famous partners, including Barbara Streisand, Julie Christie, Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Madonna.

Woody Allen once joked: “In my next life, I want to be the tips of Warren Beatty’s fingers.” We all know what he meant by that. Although Woody Allen himself was not so clean, his greater conflict with Beatty was more about Diane Keaton, but it also speaks to the playboy’s notoriety from another angle.

But now this playboy was getting ready to settle down. It was said that he had started discussing marriage with Annette Beining, and clearly, some things were not changing.

How foolish. Adrian thought to himself. But perhaps it was for the best, it was time for him to step aside and— he didn’t understand that quality often outweighs quantity.

“The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins!” As the voice from the stage reached him, Adrian finally snapped out of his reverie, and the venue erupted into another earth-shaking round of applause. Hopkins walked up to the stage with a smile, taking the Best Actor trophy from the hands of last year’s Best Actress winner, Kathy Bates.

“Hannibal the professor is truly worthy,” Adrian murmured to himself, then looked again at Tim Robbins, who, along with Freeman and Dennis, had already begun offering their consolations.

Surprisingly, Robbins did not show the slightest disappointment, responding with smiles all around. Even Freeman couldn’t avoid feeling a bit helpless after being passed over.

“It looks like you had foreseen this,” Adrian leaned in, asking curiously.

“Susan and I made our predictions before. She had a much higher chance of winning Best Actress compared to me, so I didn’t set my heart on it,” Robbins shrugged, “Don’t you feel the same, Ed?”

Adrian smiled and said no more, turning his attention back to Hopkins, who was now delivering his acceptance speech on stage. Everything was in place, with only the final moment approaching, for “The Shawshank Redemption” to cement its classic status!

(All kinds of begging~)