Chapter 494: Twelve Nominations

"Hello, Mr. Reed. This is Nancy..."

Sitting in her office, Nancy Josephson had lost count of how many calls she had made today. Even though her voice was growing hoarse, her smile remained radiant, and her tone carried a natural warmth.

"Have you watched the discs I sent over? Are you satisfied with the new player's performance?"

Hearing a satisfied reply from the other end of the line, Nancy's smile grew even brighter.

"What do you think of Duke's film? The Academy's mission has always advocated recognizing those with outstanding cinematic achievements, as well as those who promote technical research and the improvement of technical methods and equipment. Duke has made significant contributions in these areas..."

Finally, Nancy Josephson offered one last reminder.

"The Academy is committed to advancing the sustainable development of the public and film enterprises. I wonder if you've seen the news these past few days? Duke just put up a substantial sum to establish the Duke Film Fund, specifically to assist talented newcomers."

Hanging up in satisfaction, Nancy glanced at her address book and dialed another number...

The term "public relations" sounded simple, but the execution was incredibly tedious. One had to strike the perfect balance, or the efforts might backfire entirely.

Frankly, Oscar PR was a massive, systematized project. During this critical phase of the campaign, Duke followed Penny Kalis's advice and established a film foundation. Publicly, it was meant to help rookie directors. As for its future use—once the Oscars were over, why would he ever fund projects that offered no return on investment?

Duke was well aware that he wasn't the kind of director the Film Academy favored. In the future, he was destined to drift further and further away from the Oscars.

In truth, most people knew that while the Oscars were indeed the most authoritative awards in America, they didn't necessarily represent the developmental direction of mainstream cinema.

Aside from private persuasion, media promotion was equally essential. For instance, Vanity Fair and Hollywood Reporter had successively published similar commentary.

"Duke has played a massive, even irreplaceable role in driving the development of the entire Hollywood film industry. Looking at the global film market, Hollywood stands alone at the top. This situation began with Duke's Independence Day, was amplified by Titanic, and then reached its peak with The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. To say that Hollywood's current internationalization wouldn't exist without Duke might be a slight exaggeration, but Hollywood films absolutely wouldn't be conquering territories worldwide as they are now, entirely unrivaled!"

"In terms of qualifications, Duke has been a director in Hollywood for twelve years, with his films grossing over five billion dollars at the box office! In terms of film technology, he pioneered a new era for action and explosion films, becoming an object of imitation worldwide. In terms of nominations, he has already received four Best Director nominations in the past. If he can take home the Best Director Golden Statuette, it will undoubtedly be well-deserved!"

Every year during the awards season, the entirety of Los Angeles fell into a state of chaotic flurry. After attending a string of events, Duke temporarily hid away in Warner Studios in Burbank, busying himself with the post-production of Taken alongside Mike Dawson.

Duke had already edited the film's first commercial, which would air during the Super Bowl halftime show in early February. However, due to his obligation to attend the Oscar nominees luncheon, Duke couldn't go watch this year's Super Bowl in person.

Compared to the massive Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the post-production for Taken was much simpler. Duke had only scheduled three months for it, and the film's production would fully wrap up by mid-April.

The editing techniques used for this film were extremely similar to his first two movies, Speed and The Rock. Sharp, aggressive editing was no longer a rarity in today's Hollywood. Whether for Duke or his dedicated film editor Mike Dawson, the editing process presented basically no difficulty.

In fact, the two of them were mostly just supervising and managing. The most basic editing tasks were handed off to a few of Mike Dawson's assistants.

As work came to a pause, Duke and Mike Dawson left the editing room and stepped into the adjacent lounge. Tina Fey was sitting to the side, compiling data. Seeing them enter, she hurried to finish reading her final email.

"How is the progress?"

Grabbing three cups, Duke poured a coffee for each of them. Mike Dawson was also quite curious. Even though he was one of the few people on Duke's team who had won an Oscar Trophy, who would ever complain about having too many Golden Statuettes?

"These are the numbers Nancy and Penny just reported back," Tina Fey said, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen. "They're certain they've secured about a quarter of the votes in both the Producers Alliance and the Directors Guild. These people will basically prioritize you for Best Director."

"George and Frank also called." She paused to recall for a moment before continuing. "The people around them will also prioritize voting for us."

Having stayed by Duke's side for so many years, Tina Fey was already more than capable of taking charge of things on her own. She offered her own analytical conclusion: "I think there's over a seventy percent chance we'll win a sweeping victory."

Tina Fey picked up the mouse, clicked a few times, and then turned the laptop screen toward Duke. Pointing at a picture packed with crowds, she said, "Starting three days ago, your supporters have been gathering one after another in the Hollywood District and on Wilshire Street to protest the Academy's unfair treatment of you. Now, the internet is flooded with voices supporting your win. If the Academy really insists on doing things their way, it will inevitably trigger a massive protest afterward. Judging from the current public opinion, it might even impact the perceived fairness and justice of the Oscars."

While it wasn't as if the Film Academy hadn't gone against public opinion before, the power of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was immense. This was especially true regarding Duke. He was indeed a pure commercial director, and it was true that he was very young among directors, but his qualifications were no longer an issue. After all, he already had four previous nominations for Saving Private Ryan, Chicago, The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers!

If a director with these kinds of qualifications still had issues, the Academy would just be slapping its own face.

As for the Academy's final choice, that wouldn't be revealed until the Oscar Awards Ceremony. But one could easily guess a thing or two just from the nomination list.

On February 14, 2004, the day of the traditional Western holiday of Valentine's Day, Duke and Ivanka did not spend the holiday alone together. Instead, they traveled as a pair to the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California. The 76th Academy Award nominees luncheon was held here, and the host of the luncheon was Jennifer Garner.

"The nominees for Best Original Score are..."

This actress, who had just recently started making a name for herself, announced the nomination lists one after another. "Big Fish, Cold Mountain, Finding Nemo, House of Sand and Fog, and The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King."

Duke sat quietly beside the round oak table, occasionally lifting his coffee cup for a sip, looking quite relaxed. To his right, Ivanka's pretty face remained completely tense; she seemed even more nervous than he was. Only when she heard the name of The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King in the nominations would she break into a smile.

"Relax, darling." Duke gently squeezed her hand resting under the table. "You're making me a little nervous too."

"How could I not be nervous!" Ivanka leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "This is your best chance to win at the Oscar Awards. Do you really want to keep waiting?"

She glanced at the Academy executive committee members sitting diagonally in front of them and said with considerable dissatisfaction, "If they are still that stubborn, I'll rally the media to blast them even if I have to go take out a bank loan!"

Duke smiled and said nothing more, though his grip on Ivanka's hand tightened just a bit.

The announcement of the nominations had reached its final stretch.

"The nominees for Best Director are: Fernando Meirelles for City of God, Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation, Peter Weir for Master and Commander, Duke Rosenberg for The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King, and Clint Eastwood for Mystic River!"

As soon as this list was announced, Duke and Ivanka breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. After putting in so much effort to reach this exact moment, it would definitely be a lie to say they didn't care.

Regardless, simply securing the nomination was a victory in itself. After all, a nomination was the admission ticket to the awards ceremony. If you didn't even have the ticket, how could you talk about competing for the award?

As expected, The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King subsequently snagged the nomination for Best Picture.

Although it hadn't secured nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress, the two heavyweight nominations for Best Director and Best Picture were more than enough to guarantee the prestige of the nominations list for The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King.

Moreover, Duke heard it very clearly. The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King hadn't received the eleven nominations from his memories, but rather twelve nominations—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Cinematography!

Even though it hadn't broken or even tied the nomination record held by Titanic, it had a chance to break another Oscar record—a single film winning eleven Oscar Awards!

Winning twelve Golden Statuettes from twelve nominations was indeed incredibly difficult, but there had never been any success in this world that could be achieved easily. Since the Academy had thrown twelve nominations at the film, Duke naturally wanted to turn all twelve of those nominations into genuine, tangible awards.

The nominees luncheon concluded right then, and Duke's table welcomed quite a few people coming over to offer their congratulations.

"Congratulations, Duke."

Harvey Weinstein specifically walked over to shake his hand. The two of them didn't interact much, but they had no personal conflicts between them, nor were they diametrically opposed enemies.

"You've had a good haul yourself, Harvey."

Duke lightly shook his hand; it couldn't really be said that the two of them had any sort of friendship either.

Finally, a monotonous, nasal voice sounded by Duke's ear. "Do you need me to give you a hug?"

"I should be the one hugging you."

With that said, Duke opened his arms and offered Sofia Coppola a congratulatory hug. Both of them gently patted each other on the back. Having worked together for many years, a natural tacit understanding existed between them.

"Congratulations on becoming the first American woman to be nominated for Best Director!"

Hearing Duke's words, Sofia warned him, "My chances of winning are the lowest, and yours are the highest. However, Duke, don't get careless."