Chapter 423: Dad Found Out

Judging from the release schedules already announced by the major studios, this May was starkly different from the crowded fields of previous years. It seemed unusually quiet. The Two Towers's predecessor, The Fellowship of the Ring, had been such a massive hit that other studios were scrambling to get out of the way. The other major factor contributing to the lack of blockbusters was that George Lucas's Star Wars Prequel 2: Attack of the Clones was also slated for a May release.

However, communication between Duke and George Lucas was smooth. The two had long since discussed the matter in private, deciding to release The Two Towers and Star Wars Prequel 2: Attack of the Clones at opposite ends of the month to minimize their competition.

The car pulled up to the Regent Hotel on Wilshire Street. Ignoring the flashing cameras of the media, Duke walked straight into the hotel. Staff members from the School were already waiting for him, and they led him toward the banquet hall.

Entering the banquet hall, Duke sat at his table and casually chatted with Nancy Josephson, who was already there waiting.

This was the nominees' luncheon for the 74th Oscar Awards. Duke had never attended one before, but this time he had listened to Nancy and Penny Kalis's persuasion and come to the Regent Hotel in person.

The reason was simple. As a purely commercial director, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was his best chance to win the Best Director Golden Statuette. The School had many unwritten rules, and one of them was that if a director didn't take the Oscars seriously, the School would, in most cases, ignore that director when handing out awards.

In past Oscars, there were certainly cases of winning the heaviest Golden Statuettes without any PR campaigning, but they were incredibly rare. Moreover, ever since the Weinstein Brothers had joined this game of fame and fortune, hoping to win the big four awards based solely on the film itself was practically tantamount to daydreaming.

Just as the School advertised, public relations was an expression of the so-called will to compete. Without PR, how could those retired old men in the School show their own importance?

No matter what, Duke had to display a certain attitude—that he valued the Oscars and wanted to fight for a Golden Statuette.

As for fair competition, only a fool would believe in that.

It was just like the nomination list that was subsequently announced. Several Black actors had been nominated for heavyweight awards with unprecedented momentum. Was their performance really that good? Or was the School sending some kind of political signal?

In fact, anyone who understood the Oscars even a little bit knew clearly that this would be an Oscar ceremony with an exceptionally strong political flavor.

"The nominations for Best Director at the 74th Oscar Awards..."

It was somewhat unexpected. The person standing on the banquet hall stage announcing the two most important nominations was not an industry movie star, but a very ugly middle-aged man. When he announced the list, he even specifically looked over at Duke.

Duke frowned slightly. Seeing Roger Ebert standing on stage reading the nomination list, he had to wonder if the School was hinting at something.

He had never underestimated the influence of film critics during the awards season.

Standing on the stage, Roger Ebert swept his gaze across the nomination list in front of him, then looked not far away at the director he deeply loathed. Duke was sitting there quietly, as if the upcoming list had nothing to do with him at all.

'Getting a nomination isn't hard, but if you want to win Best Director...' Roger Ebert sneered inwardly. 'You first have to ask if the three hundred plus film critics in North America will agree!'

Although the Oscar nomination list was only announced today, many awards season results had been published long ago. In numerous awards—including the New York Film Critics Association Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, the Directors Guild Award, the Producers Alliance Award, and the Golden Globe Awards—the nominated The Fellowship of the Ring had suffered utter defeat across the board.

He was very confident that this movie would win a few technical awards at the Oscars at most. Hoping to grab the heavyweight awards was pure daydreaming!

Furthermore, he had spoken with many people; a non-realistic film like this shouldn't expect to accomplish much, even in the next two years.

"The nominated directors are Ron Howard for A Beautiful Mind, David Lynch for Mulholland Drive, Ridley Scott for Black Hawk Down, and Duke Rosenberg for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring..."

There were no surprises in the nomination list. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was the biggest winner, racking up a total of thirteen nominations, including Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Director, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design!

But Duke knew very well that aside from a few consolatory technical awards, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring couldn't possibly achieve much at this year's Oscars.

Naturally, it wouldn't at the next one, either.

It was not yet time for him and Warner Brothers to exert their full strength.

The nominees' luncheon was held as a formal banquet. After the nomination list was announced, the banquet hall inevitably turned into a social mixer. As the biggest winner on the list, quite a few people came over to congratulate Duke, making his table exceptionally lively.

Roger Ebert sat near the front, accompanying several senior members of the School. His position allowed him to see exactly where Duke was. Seeing the young director surrounded and flattered by countless people, a flash of resentment passed through his eyes.

Compared to the young director, he—a film critic who had been highly valued just a few years ago—could now only sit with a bunch of old men, waiting for time to sweep him into the dustbin of history.

No one was willing to step off the stage of history voluntarily. In the film industry, fame and fortune were closely linked; giving up fame meant losing most of one's fortune. His vital interests had once been ruthlessly trampled underfoot with that man leading the charge. How could he be willing to simply bow out?

What he wanted was to remain the leading figure among North American film critics, staying forever in the limelight until the day he died!

Several old friends around him ate a little something before leaving the banquet hall. Roger Ebert declined their invitations to leave together. Instead, he sat there securely, waiting for an opportunity.

Although the conflict between him and Duke was sharp, and they had irreconcilable clashes of interest, they had actually only met a few times.

The upcoming Oscar Awards Ceremony wouldn't be held until next month, but in Roger Ebert's eyes, he had already won a round today. If he didn't go and say a few words to Duke Rosenberg's face, what value did this victory have? How else could he vent the anger he had been holding in for years?

After waiting for a long time, Roger Ebert finally saw the crowd around Duke thin out a bit. He stood up and walked over at a leisurely pace.

"Duke, someone is coming over..."

Having just shaken hands and bid farewell to Ridley Scott, Duke heard Nancy Josephson's warning. He turned his head to look, and a cold smile flashed briefly at the corner of his mouth.

Even a fool could see Roger Ebert's slightly raised chin and the touch of arrogance on his face. He looked like a king returning triumphant from battle.

"May I sit here?" Roger Ebert walked over and pointed to the seat opposite Duke.

This was a public occasion, and quite a few people were casting attentive glances their way. Duke couldn't possibly chase him away.

He nodded and said, "There is no need to be polite, Mr. Ebert. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you!"

Roger Ebert sat opposite him, his eyes fixed on Duke. "Congratulations on receiving thirteen nominations."

Duke smiled. "Thank you."

"It is a pity, though..." Roger Ebert looked as if he truly felt sorry for him. "The film is of a non-realistic genre, and its commercial elements are far too heavy. It will likely end up just like the previous series of awards—it won't achieve much."

"It doesn't matter," Duke said calmly. "My patience has always been very good."

"You won't win Best Director." Roger Ebert lowered his voice slightly, speaking at a volume only the people at this table could hear. "I can guarantee you that as long as you shoot commercial films, you will never win Best Director. Just like this awards season, you will only harvest a pile of nominations!"

"Getting nominations isn't bad," Duke replied, still wearing that uncaring expression.

Roger Ebert frowned, a baffling smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "Do you remember the advice I gave you the first time we met?"

"The first time we met?" Duke had long forgotten. Who would care about the words of a film critic?

"That's right!"

Roger Ebert's expression turned a bit ugly. The facts were right in front of him: back when Duke Rosenberg was still a nobody, he already hadn't taken Ebert seriously!

He forced a smile to his lips once more. "A director should have more artistic pursuits, rather than producing a pile of visual and audio garbage!"

"Art?" Duke chuckled. "I'm very sorry, but I haven't learned how to make art films yet."

"It is very simple..."

At this moment, Roger Ebert's words were full of earnest instruction. "Film criticism is the best guidance to prevent the commercialization of movies and guarantee their artistry. As long as you can listen to the opinions of film critics, I guarantee that in five years at most, you will be able to win the Best Director Golden Statuette!"

He knew very well what the director sitting across from him relied on to gain a foothold in Hollywood. If Duke truly had an infinite thirst for a Golden Statuette, he might just make decisions that would destroy the very foundation of his survival in the film industry!

Roger Ebert had thought of this the moment he walked over. Not only did he want to show off this minor victory, but he also wanted to use it to hook certain desires in the other man's mind, attempting to ruin this director who had nearly destroyed the cornerstone of the film critics' commercial profits!

What did the other man rely on to run rampant across the global film market? Roger Ebert saw it with utmost clarity: it was commercialism!

Without vulgar themes and tropes, and without the endless abuse of massive special effect scenes, would Duke Rosenberg still be Duke Rosenberg?

He would inevitably be abandoned by the audience!

As a veteran film critic who had enjoyed decades of renown, Roger Ebert knew just how great the temptation of the Oscar Golden Statuette was to a director. Just look at directors like Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, and Steven Soderbergh. Which one of them hadn't changed their style and desperately pandered to the School's tastes just to win that Golden Statuette?

Hearing Roger Ebert's words, Duke suddenly began to laugh. His smile was extraordinarily brilliant. He never expected that someone would actually try to use the very same tactics against him that he had once used on others!