Chapter 497: The War Begins

Every year, after the Oscar nominations were announced, the most fascinating topic was always who the ultimate winners would be. The media, prediction agencies, and countless fans all had their favorites, eagerly awaiting the moment the envelopes were opened.

If audiences were interested enough, they could even participate in online predictions and sweepstakes on the official Oscar website. If their luck matched that of the Golden Statuette winners, the grand prize waiting for them would be a thirty-seven-inch wall-mounted plasma TV provided by Sony.

So how could one predict accurately? Naturally, they had to listen to the experts first. On the day of the Oscar Awards Ceremony, various predictions flooded the major media outlets, but the forecasts for the major awards were strikingly similar. Best Picture and Best Director would undoubtedly go to The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King and its director, Duke Rosenberg. The Best Actor and Best Actress awards would remain with Sean Penn and Charlize Theron, who had already swept up countless trophies throughout the awards season. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards would go to Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger, respectively.

Some media outlets even claimed this was the most suspense-free Oscar ceremony in history. A competition without suspense inevitably left people feeling a bit bored.

But some people didn't think so, such as Roger Ebert.

According to the ABC Television Network's live broadcast traditions, Roger Ebert would always appear on the pre-show live broadcast program, Oscar Night: Arrivals.

"This is the ABC Television Network, and the highly anticipated 76th Academy Awards ceremony is about to raise its curtains."

In a studio at the ABC Television Network in Burbank, host Roeper and Roger Ebert sat before the live cameras, commenting on this year's ceremony.

"I'm Roeper, and it's a great honor to accompany everyone through another unforgettable night, just like in the past. We've invited the renowned film critic Mr. Roger Ebert as our guest for the show..."

The two chatted casually for a few moments before the topic shifted to the prediction segment that viewers cared about most ahead of the ceremony.

"Roger, major media outlets have given their predictions over the past few days, and the general consensus is consistent. The media basically believes this is an Oscar ceremony lacking suspense. What do you think?"

"I agree with the media regarding the acting awards," Roger Ebert said. As always, he maintained a graceful and elegant demeanor in front of the public and the media. "But for Best Picture and Best Director, I don't think they will fall to Return of the King and Duke Rosenberg."

"Why is that?" Roeper asked at the right moment.

"It's very simple. It's been almost ten years since a purely commercial film won a heavyweight Oscar."

Roger Ebert's words were grand and high-sounding. "Moreover, Titanic was also based on true events. There is no precedent in Oscar history for a non-realistic film to win Best Director and Best Picture..."

At this point, his teeth seemed to clench. It took all his effort to maintain the calmness in his voice. "There was none in the past, there is none now, and there won't be any for a very long time to come!"

He had united the vast majority of renowned film critics and done a considerable amount of work during the awards season. Although he felt a faint sense of unease, he still firmly believed they would replicate the treatment Saving Private Ryan had received at the Oscars!

Even if they let Return of the King take Best Picture, they had to stop Duke Rosenberg from winning Best Director!

In Roger Ebert's eyes, this was a war, and the curtains of this war had already been raised!

The Oscars had nearly six thousand members. The final award results simply couldn't be swayed by personal will. By this moment, only two people knew the results—PricewaterhouseCoopers partners Greg Garrison and Rick Rosas.

They departed separately from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Los Angeles branch, driving toward the Kodak Theater along different routes. The two of them each carried a copy of the final results to prevent the winners' list from arriving late due to traffic jams or other accidents.

It was just that this Oscar Awards Ceremony was different from those in the past. The security details around Greg Garrison and Rick Rosas had been heavily fortified.

Just on the eve of the ceremony, the Central Intelligence Agency had received intelligence stating that this year's Oscar Awards Ceremony had become a target for Al-Qaeda. For America, having just experienced the September 11 Attacks, no amount of emphasis on security at the Oscar venue could be considered excessive.

The Oscars were a grand occasion for Hollywood. Even in the face of terrorist threats, holding it on a massive scale was inevitable. Moreover, this Hollywood epic had always been forged with thick stacks of US dollars.

Several days ago, the giant golden statues at the entrance of the Kodak Theater had been hoisted into place. Once this extraordinarily imposing "Mr. Oscar" was in position, the construction of the red carpet area was also completed. In particular, the 600-foot-long red carpet was the crucial stage for stars to show off their elegance.

At the starting point of the red carpet, a giant tent covering an area of around 500 square meters had also been erected. After the star guests attending the ceremony arrived by car, they would pause briefly in the tent before successively stepping onto the red carpet and entering the Kodak Theater. The shooting areas reserved for various media along the red carpet were also massive in scale. Because February was the rainy season in Los Angeles, the organizing committee had planned ahead, designing canopies for all the viewing stands and shooting areas in advance.

Just past noon, helicopters began circling the skies over Hollywood, and police cordons were drawn across the streets. The security work at the Kodak Theater—the venue for the Oscar Awards Ceremony—went to the utmost extremes in terms of both technology and manpower.

To ensure an orderly environment, every corner had surveillance cameras, metal detectors, and an assigned police officer. Even the fans sitting in the open-air stands watching the stars enter the Walk of Fame were kept under strict surveillance.

The live broadcast of this year's Oscars had also sparked some controversy. Due to the incident caused by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson during the halftime show of the 38th Super Bowl, the ABC Television Network had to implement a five-second delay on the live broadcast to ensure no vulgar content aired.

A little past three in the afternoon, Duke and Ivanka arrived by car at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Boulevard. Led by a staff member, they walked into the large tent. Over a hundred stars and celebrities had already gathered here, waiting for the red carpet ceremony to officially begin.

"Hi, Duke. Hi, Evie."

Duke had just chosen a quiet spot when someone walked over to greet them. Charlize Theron, wearing a silver-white fishtail slip evening gown, enthusiastically waved at the two of them.

"Hello, Sally," Duke said, nodding at her.

Ivanka lightly shook her extended hand. Wearing a polite smile, she said courteously, "Congratulations, Sally."

"The results aren't out yet..." Charlize replied just as politely. She then turned her eyes to Duke, saying, whether intentionally or not, "Thank you for your guidance, Duke."

With that, ignoring Ivanka right beside them, she leaned close to Duke's ear. Seemingly lowering her voice, but speaking just loud enough for Ivanka to hear, she said mysteriously, "How should I thank you?"

Duke could feel the hand Ivanka had hooked around his arm tighten slightly. He leaned back a little, putting some distance between himself and Charlize, before saying, "Did I do anything? This was your own choice, Sally."

"Duke is absolutely right..." Just then, another blonde woman walked over. She took the initiative to speak, "This year is Charlize's lucky year."

After Naomi Watts finished speaking, she pulled the male companion beside her forward and introduced him. "Duke, Evie, Charlize. This is Heath Ledger, an actor from Australia, just like me."

"Hello, Director Rosenberg." The young actor, who couldn't even be considered B-list at the moment, proactively extended his hand.

Duke nodded at him and gave his hand a light shake.

Put three women together and you have a show. With three blonde women gathered together, their words to one another carried a faint hint of hostility. Duke didn't mind; Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron were long in the past.

But what Duke hadn't expected was that there were far too many women here who had once been rumored to have affairs with him, such as Cameron Diaz, Cate Blanchett, Shania Twain, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alessandra Ambrosio, and so on...

Most importantly, these women successively came over to greet him quite affectionately. Duke could see that Ivanka's eyes beside him held a certain degree of displeasure.

Ivanka was indeed not very pleased. Hearing about these women and seeing them with her own eyes were two completely different feelings. Judging from their attitudes toward Duke, she could confirm that the tabloid rumors were definitely true.

Especially when these women greeted her, they all carried a sort of provocation that only a woman could understand, inevitably causing her to form some unwarranted associations.

But Duke didn't feel guilty. He certainly couldn't be called a good man, but since officially dating Ivanka, he hadn't done anything out of line and had cut off his previously chaotic private life.

Duke chatted with Heath Ledger for a bit. There was a high possibility the two of them would collaborate in the future; in his mind, the other man was indeed the best candidate to play the Joker.

Of course, he wouldn't be so foolish as to act like a prophet and warn him about anything. In the Hollywood circle, everyone always chose their own path.

The red carpet soon raised its curtains, and people successively stepped onto the red carpet leading to the Kodak Theater. As hot favorites for the awards, Duke and his group were scheduled to appear relatively late, so there was no need to rush.

Moreover, the red carpet was a moment belonging to female stars. Even the thirteen-year-old lead actress of Whale Rider, Keisha, made the cheers of the fans sitting in the stands rise another level.

From her, one could also see the political nature of the Oscars. This young actress indeed performed excellently, but did she truly deserve the Best Actress nomination more than the other stars? And right now, in regards to Iraq and Afghanistan, America needed the full support of its English-speaking allies!

Just like in the past, after Duke walked onto the red carpet arm-in-arm with Ivanka, he merely waved to the fan area, walked through the red carpet at a normal pace, entered the interview area to say a few casual words, and then went inside the Kodak Theater. After meeting up with his mother, who was accompanied by Tina Fey, they quickly found their seats and sat down to quietly wait for the ceremony to begin.

This was the seating area belonging to Return of the King. Aside from Duke and some members of the production team, not a single actor had walked in yet; they needed the exposure far more than a director did.