King of Hollywood
Chapter 493 - 214 Dust Settles

Chapter 493: Chapter 214 Dust Settles

"Thank you to the judges for giving me this award, thank you to my parents for always supporting and encouraging me, thank you to my agent, thank you to the film company..." the newly appointed Oscar-winning actress was giving an impassioned speech on stage. Despite the clichéd words, her sincerity was nevertheless audible. With her brown hair and slender eyes, she wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she had an appealing essence.

The award went to Helen Hunt, the leading actress of "As Good as It Gets," with no miracles or low-probability occurrences having happened. Beside her, Gwyneth, though smiling and applauding, had an unmistakable look of disappointment on her face.

"Don’t forget, this is only your first nomination," Adrian whispered in her ear, gently pinching with his thumb and forefinger at her palm.

"I know, but..." Gwyneth sighed, displaying helplessness and depression, then casting a slightly resentful glance at him.

Adrian knew what she was thinking; the situation had been too favorable this time. "Titanic" had received considerable praise both artistically and commercially, backed by a two billion dollar box office. Her father had done quite a bit of PR work for her, and The Godfather had lobbied on her behalf a few times. Although it couldn’t guarantee her the Best Actress award with 100% certainty, there was still a 60% or even 70% chance—provided Adrian was fully supportive.

"Think about Ms. Gloria, my dear. It’s really not a big deal," Adrian continued to console her.

The implication couldn’t have been clearer—the Film Academy had apparently decided not to give the acting award to "Titanic," and that seemed to be the popular sentiment. The applause just now had been at least twice as enthusiastic as earlier, nearly as loud as when they presented the original screenplay award. They were probably relieved: Despite all the Oscars you’ve won, the most significant ones might not be yours.

"I know, Ed, but that feeling of being dissatisfied... it hurts," Gwyneth sighed again, looking at him with her lips slightly pouting, displaying a little woman’s demeanor.

"With me here, are you afraid there won’t be other chances?" Adrian murmured with a light laugh.

"What if I still don’t get it?" Gwyneth seemed determined to argue to the end.

"Even if you’re nominated every time, those old folks will have to give in eventually," Adrian raised his chin, speaking in a proud tone, though in a voice so soft that only the two of them could hear, yet the attitude of ’if not me, then who?’ was unmistakable.

Gwyneth opened her mouth slightly, looking at Adrian a bit dazedly, until the surrounding applause woke her up again—this time congratulating Hunt as she concluded her speech. She didn’t speak again but turned her gaze towards the stage and feigned joining the applause. However, as soon as the clapping ended, she grasped Adrian’s hand again, even tighter.

Being psychologically fragile might be a disadvantage, but in this case, better, Adrian thought with a smile. When facing such situations, women’s psychological resilience might cover a broader spectrum than men’s, but at the same time, for such a significant award, River’s performance was much stronger than Gwyneth’s.

After Frances McDormand announced Jack Nicholson’s second Oscar win for Best Actor, the other nominees showed varying degrees of disappointment. Only River looked as usual, seemingly unfazed by the loss. It was impressive for a young man to maintain such an attitude, partly due to his near-death experience, but also because his lifestyle was generally better than most people’s. Despite a past addiction to marijuana, mainly for a movie with Reeves and a few one-night stands, he never juggled multiple relationships like Dennis did.

"I hope to find a very natural and simple girl, one who comes to me not for some ulterior motive. We could travel together, see the sceneries of the world, and find refuge in each other’s arms," he once told Adrian. Although these words seemed ironic, considering Adrian was a notorious playboy tangled with many women, Adrian knew that River was expressing his feelings while subtly advising him. River always held respect for Adrian, someone who had saved his life and relentlessly supported them.

Based on this alone, Adrian knew that saving him had been the right decision. Maybe he could try making River secure all three major European film festival awards before targeting the Oscars if Dan couldn’t sort out his affairs; otherwise, a full-blown commercial route would be the way to go.

Nicholson’s win was followed by roaring applause, both congratulating him on another Best Actor award, and also his third Oscar win since the Best Supporting Actor in 1987—a remarkable achievement for an actor. In addition to celebrating the breaking of the monopoly, As Good as It Gets had only won three awards so far, but they were all significant, especially since it bagged both lead acting awards—certainly something to be documented.

So, despite the strong momentum Titanic had shown earlier, looking as if it was going to sweep the awards tonight, those last two awards might just go to someone else.

But, would it really happen?

"Alright, let’s see who the lucky person is..." the presenter on stage had already torn open the envelope, "Well, just as I expected—James Cameron!"

The familiar score of Titanic played once again in the Temple Grand Theater. James Cameron, who had been lounging in his seat looking relaxed but constantly fiddling his fingers, suddenly jumped up and yelled, "Yes!"

Adrian also led everyone in standing and clapping enthusiastically. Despite some disappointment, Cameron certainly deserved the Best Director title.

"Thank you, Ed, thank you!" Cameron exclaimed as he embraced Adrian, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Go on, James, declare your victory and tell them you’re the best," Adrian encouraged him, patting him on the shoulders.

"I will," Cameron laughed heartily as he made his way to the stage, greeting friends who congratulated him, and even high-fived Schwarzenegger before finally receiving the Oscar statuette.

"Ha, it’s really heavy." Cameron joked, weighing the statuette in his hand, eliciting laughter before taking a deep breath to continue.

Like others, he started with a long list of thank-yous—from the jury to the actors to his own studio, he covered nearly everyone. He even humorously brought up the incident where, after filming ended, Gwyneth and DiCaprio along with others had drenched him in water, admitting he was sometimes too harsh and subtly apologized, drawing plenty of laughter.

Finally, it was here that he took a deep breath, "Now, there is one more person to thank, whom I haven’t mentioned yet because I felt it was only respectful to save him for last."

He paused and looked toward Adrian, "Ed, thank you for your unwavering support and complete trust. When you told me years ago that we could create miracles, I didn’t realize it would be today. Now, I can finally say, we did it, we created an amazing miracle! Knowing you and working with you has been the greatest honor of my life!"

His voice quivered slightly, "I can’t describe how I feel at this moment, I can only use a line from ’Titanic,’ although it may sound silly, I still want to say..."

After a brief pause, Cameron suddenly lifted the Oscar statuette above his head and waved it, shouting, "I am the king of the world!"

A round of hearty laughter followed, but even more vigorous applause erupted again; no one felt he didn’t deserve to say that. ’Titanic’ had already matched ’Ben-Hur’s’ record with 11 trophies, and considering there was still the Best Picture award yet to be announced and knowing Oscar’s tradition, a film that got Best Director generally also won Best Picture—it was setting a new record.

Moreover, with a frightening global box office of two billion US dollars, although it can’t be said with 100% certainty that there will be no successors, it was truly unprecedented. So why couldn’t Cameron declare himself as the king of the world?

Many turned their gazes to Adrian, as the massive success of Cameron and ’Titanic’ was entirely his doing. Just as Cameron said, it was Adrian’s wholehearted support and trust that led to their success. Who else could make an upfront payment of 200 million for someone else’s film production? And not even bat an eyelid when putting in more money than expected.

Reflecting on his accurate vision and outstanding talent, 90% of the related films made money, and every year there were actors and actresses nominated for Oscars because of him. Could this guy have been blessed by God? Various thoughts swirled around in people’s heads.

Adrian didn’t know these thoughts of the people, and even if he did, he wouldn’t care. His capabilities were now fully mature, and it wasn’t time anymore to rely on DreamWorks to share the spotlight. So, he was expressing his congratulations to Cameron with a hug once again. Fortunately, Cameron still shouted that phrase, otherwise tonight’s award ceremony would have been somewhat lackluster.

This life and the past were different, in the past Cameron had cried out "I am the king of the world" after winning the award, inevitably there was a venting element in it; the production of ’Titanic’ back then was not as smooth as now. Fox first agreed to invest a little over 100 million, then was forced to add more repeatedly. If it weren’t for the huge investment making it too costly to change directors, Cameron might have been thrown out already.

Despite this, the senior executives at Fox were already prepared for bankruptcy. It was out of the intention to minimize losses that Paramount picked up a great deal by purchasing the North American distribution rights for just 65 million US dollars. During that time, Cameron bore immense pressure, not only forfeiting his salary but even during the internal previews, the executives at Fox still maintained a pessimistic attitude, and the media’s sarcasm continued unabated. So when ’Titanic’ achieved unprecedented success, the pent-up frustration in his heart inevitably burst forth, leading to a bit of exultation.

Although most of the guests at the award ceremony laughed it off, there were still some who would criticize behind the scenes.

But now things were different. Adrian had put up 200 million at once and often encouraged him: "Shoot all your ideas." He also discussed the plot direction with him, and when there was media skepticism, he stood completely by his side, sharing much of the pressure.

"But 200 million in investment, I can afford to lose that, and how could I possibly lose? You are James Cameron! What is impossible when we join forces?" He had once said to him.

Different means naturally lead to different outcomes. Although Cameron still chose to give up his own salary in response to Adrian’s support, with the success of the Titanic, the pride and self-satisfaction in his heart far outweighed any malice, diminishing his concern for various doubts. Therefore, before he took the stage, Adrian said those words, implying that Cameron who didn’t publicly proclaim "I am the King of the World" wasn’t really Cameron at all.

Even so, Cameron prefaced his statement with "Although this might sound foolish," which immediately calmed any potential uproar—a testament to his over a decade of experience in this field. With such an accomplishment, Cameron had wholly devoted himself to his cause and, with investments in his own digital studio, everything had fallen into his pocket.

There is no need for further description, the Oscar statuette for Best Picture inevitably went to Titanic. Although there was a sigh at the scene, applause quickly started. With a groundbreaking 15 nominations and 12 awards, along with astonishing box-office returns, Titanic firmly established its own legacy in film history.

The only exception was that, after winning, Adrian was pulled by Cameron to join him on stage to receive the award.

"You’re a producer too, come up and show your face to everyone." That’s what he said, and with Gwyneth and others egging him on, he followed.

"I thought I would have to wait until the end to hold the statuette and feel it in my hands like before," he remarked while holding the Oscar statuette for Best Picture, "The last time I held this on stage was three years ago."

His self-deprecating words made quite a few people laugh, and after a moment, he continued, "I’m thrilled that the judges awarded Best Picture to Titanic—it truly deserved it. Of course, I’m not saying the other four films were inferior. Keep in mind, I invested in L.A. Confidential too, also under the title of producer. If it had won Best Picture, I could have stood here just the same."

It was a simple statement, yet it conveyed a sense of proud self-satisfaction. However, Adrian managed this with a modest smile, speaking in a calm tone, which ingrained the well-deserved impression deep in people’s minds.

"The other four films all have their unique merits that Titanic lacks; they did not win only because of a bit of bad luck and the fact that Titanic had slightly more sparkles. So, there’s no need for complaints, just as we firmly believe, persistence leads to success!" Adrian said while patting Cameron on the shoulder, "It’s an honor to collaborate with James, and I thank him for bringing us such an astounding film. I also thank everyone who loved it, thank you!"

He raised the Oscar statuette, slightly bowing amid a tide of applause.

As the last award was presented, the Oscars’ 70th birthday celebration also drew to a close. Although this awards ceremony would be recorded in film history, it didn’t mean that the night was over. Don’t forget, there was still the Vanity Fair party.

Since 1993, under Adrian’s suggestion, Vanity Fair has hosted the Oscar Night party, becoming the most spectacular party after the award ceremony. Most of the Oscar attendees and many other celebrities would be present, and there was no need to worry about paparazzi since it was organized by Vanity Fair and they would exclusively release the news.

Adrian was undoubtedly the guest of honor, not only because the party was held on his suggestion but also because AC Media, according to his vision, had extended further collaboration with the Newhouse Group. Like the Oscars, he had never missed one, and why would today be an exception? As for what he’s doing right now...

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)