Chapter 214: Don't Mess Around in Hollywood

While Liam Neeson was presenting the Best Original Screenplay nominees alongside the script pages shown on the big screen, a heated discussion had already erupted in the Explosion Maniac Chat Room.

"Duke's first individual award nomination!" Ryan Saving Private grabbed the first comment on the topic. "Can he win?"

"He'll definitely win!" Allen was confident. "Duke is going to take home the first Oscar Golden Statuette of his life!"

Duke of Destruction didn't think so. "I hope he doesn't win."

"Why?" Many in the chat were confused, and some—including Rose Mountain—had even started cursing.

"Which do you think is more important, Best Director or Best Original Screenplay?" Duke of Destruction quickly offered an explanation that made a lot of sense. "Oscar loves playing the balance game! After the Mel Gibson incident, Duke became the top favorite for Best Director. If the voters aren't prepared to give him that Golden Statuette, they might offer some consolation elsewhere. That way, Duke won't be able to complain, and it shuts the media up! Think about it, hasn't this happened with Oscars in the past?"

"I think... it has." Rose Mountain immediately changed his tune.

Allen grew a little anxious. "Would the voters really balance away Duke's Best Director?"

"It's possible," Duke of Destruction replied. "Duke's age is a disadvantage he can't change. We'll just have to wait and see the results."

On stage, Liam Neeson was already opening the envelope. Zeta-Jones turned to look at Duke. He remained quite calm, a smile on his face as he occasionally whispered to his mother.

'Will I win?' Duke was actually pondering this very question. He had seen too many awards divvied up like cake or used for balance. Although he thought his chances of winning Best Director were slim, he still held out some hope. But if he took home a Golden Statuette early in the night, that hope would undoubtedly grow even slimmer.

Sitting here at the Oscar Awards Ceremony, who wouldn't want to take home a heavyweight award?

Liam Neeson glanced down and announced, "Duke Rosenberg, Saving Private Ryan!"

'Just as I thought!'

Sighing inwardly, Duke raised his right hand and gave a light fist pump.

Applause had already erupted around him. On his right, Catherine Zeta-Jones was even more excited than he was. She turned and immediately pulled him into a hug. Duke patted her back lightly, and after they parted, he turned to embrace his mother.

By the time he stood up, the nearby crew members were offering hugs and applause. Saving Private Ryan was maintaining its perfect winning streak; it seemed they were about to achieve unprecedented glory tonight.

"Congratulations, Duke!"

As he passed the end of the row, Tom Hanks held out his right hand. Duke gave him a firm high-five and headed for the stage.

"He won!"

The Explosion Maniac Chat Room was filled with excitement, tossing Duke of Destruction's analysis completely out the window. "Saving Private Ryan won again!"

"That's the sixth Golden Statuette tonight!"

"Congratulations to Duke! He got his first Mr. Oscar, but why wasn't it for Best Director?"

Reading the screen, Allen quickly typed out a reply. "Let's see what Duke has to say first."

Rose Mountain chimed in, "The guy doesn't have much of a sense of humor, does he? Whatever he says is bound to be a dry acceptance speech."

Stepping onto the stage, Duke accepted the Golden Statuette from Liam Neeson. He looked at it, held it up in his right hand, and then pulled out the list and acceptance speech Penny Kalis had prepared from his pocket.

"Paul Bestan, Chris Jenkinson, Roman Andris, Bane Roseman..."

He read out more than a dozen names with solemn affection, then looked up and held the list toward the camera. "This is a roster of fallen soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and the Pennsylvania 2nd Commando. They are the Guardian Angels of America! Without their glorious deeds, there would be no screenplay for Saving Private Ryan. I was fortunate enough to hear their stories, and fortunate enough to share them with the world. I am able to win this award tonight because the road from Normandy to Berlin is paved with our angels!"

Thunderous applause rang out. The Saving Private Ryan crew was the first to stand, and those around them quickly followed suit. The standing ovation spread outward like a wave. Even Mel Gibson and the Braveheart crew had no choice but to stand. A reaction that hadn't occurred during the announcement of the award was happening now.

It was the first full standing ovation of the night in Chandler Hall!

In the chat room, Rose Mountain left a message: "Duke really doesn't have a funny bone in his body, but what he said was so touching. I want to cry."

"I'm already crying!" Ryan Saving Private wrote. "May God bless our angels! May God bless Saving Private Ryan with more awards!"

'The emotional appeal seems to have worked pretty well?' Duke put the list away and continued, "Thank you to the voters for choosing me. Thank you to Christensen and Alexandra, who helped me complete this screenplay. Thank you to Charles Roven and Robin Grande; I don't think I could find better producers anywhere in the world. Thank you to everyone on the Saving Private Ryan crew—you have all been a tremendous help to me!"

Pausing for a moment, Duke looked at his mother. "There is one very important person in my life. Without her, I wouldn't be standing here. I want to thank my mom. She is the greatest mother in the world! Mom, I love you!"

"Thank you!"

Turning around, Duke let the staff guide him backstage. He navigated a long corridor and arrived at a spacious rear hall. According to custom, winners stepping off the stage were required to take photos in front of the oversized Mr. Oscar statue backstage and give interviews to the organizers' partner media.

These interviews were nothing more than spouting the usual clichés about thanking the School, being thrilled, and feeling incredibly happy. Duke handled it with ease. Besides, the award he had just received wasn't one of the heavyweight categories saved for the end. After a few brief remarks, he left the backstage area, looped through another corridor to a side door of Chandler Hall, and returned to the ceremony.

"Congratulations, Duke."

It was Catherine Zeta-Jones. As the camera panned over, her face was filled with warmth and happiness, as if she had won the award herself.

"Thank you!" Duke met her gaze and gave a light nod. "Did I miss anything?"

"Emma Thompson took Best Adapted Screenplay, and Mira Sorvino won Best Supporting Actress." Zeta-Jones leaned in closer and whispered, "Best Original Song went to Pocahontas."

Up to this point in the ceremony, there had been almost no upsets. By Oscar tradition, upsets generally happened in the final heavyweight categories.

Just as Duke and Zeta-Jones were exchanging a few words, the Saving Private Ryan crew let out another cheer. A crucial award—Best Film Editing—was bagged by Mike Dawson.

Immediately following that, another equally important award—Best Cinematography—went to John Schwartzman!

Thunderous applause broke out on the Saving Private Ryan side, everyone brimming with excitement. Anyone who had studied the Oscar Awards Ceremony even a little knew the importance of these two technical awards!

In most cases, a Best Picture winner didn't need acting awards like Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress, or even the Best Director Award. But it absolutely had to win either Best Film Editing or Best Cinematography. Furthermore, industry insiders clearly understood the impact these two roles had on a film; much like the director, they could directly determine a movie's success or failure.

Now that Saving Private Ryan had taken both awards, its chances of winning Best Picture were practically guaranteed. If it was still upset by another film under these circumstances, one could only conclude that every member of the School had collectively lost their minds.

However, judging from the next few awards, the School had no intention of losing its mind.

"Tonight's Best Actress is Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking!"

The award presented by Tom Hanks aligned perfectly with the prior predictions of most media outlets. But in the subsequent Best Actor category, Hanks became the disappointed one.

Just as Duke remembered, Nicolas Cage—whose films, no matter how terrible, would always somehow be imported overseas—relied on Leaving Las Vegas to win the most important acting award of his life.

This also met expectations. Tom Hanks had already won Best Actor twice in a row. Although Captain Miller was an excellent role, it wasn't one that forced the School to hand him another Best Actor. Unless he delivered an even more spectacular performance in the future, he would remain a frequent guest on the nomination list, but actually winning the award would be incredibly difficult.

The perfect winning streak of Saving Private Ryan was broken here, losing its first nomination of the night—and a heavyweight award at that.

Judging by the earlier trends, Duke had a growing suspicion. The School throwing so many technical awards to Saving Private Ryan was by no means a good thing. It was highly likely they were playing the balance game; they were bound to lose a few of the heavyweight awards.

Given this year's landscape, Best Picture was the one award they were least likely to lose...

"Why do I feel like this is dangerous?" Allen rapidly left a message in the chat room. "They're about to present Best Director, and the undefeated record of Saving Private Ryan was just broken. I have a bad feeling about this!"

Duke of Destruction immediately followed up. "Duke winning Best Original Screenplay lowered his chances of getting Best Director."

"The School wouldn't be that corrupt, would they?" Rose Mountain's words carried a strong sense of indignation. "Is there any film or director that did a better job than Saving Private Ryan this year?"

"The film itself isn't the only factor in winning!" Duke of Destruction seemed to have done his research on Oscar. "There are far too many people and things that can influence who wins an award. For example, film critics don't like Duke. Or, for example, Duke's age."

Inside Chandler Hall, after making a few little jokes, Whoopi Goldberg stepped aside. The previous Best Director, Robert Zemeckis, walked onto the stage holding an envelope.