Chapter 781: Astonishing News

Such remarks would not have much impact on the film's box office. What they truly affected was professional word-of-mouth and the choices of the Oscar voters. In the past, Brokeback Mountain had failed to strongly counter critical attacks despite being heavily favored, directly costing them the Golden Statuette for Best Picture that they had been highly likely to win.

Although Duke's goal was not Best Picture, negative reviews of the film would drag down the individual awards as well. A movie was inextricably linked to its director, actors, and every single crew member involved.

The other side had found a long-retired former astronaut. In response, Duke went through the America National Aeronautics and Space Administration to find an active-duty astronaut who had just returned from space.

During an exclusive media interview with Warner, this astronaut, Garrett Reisman, was full of praise for Gravity.

"In the movie, the only thing separating you from Earth is the glass of your helmet. That visual shock was captured perfectly, and the movements and postures during the spacewalk were presented with extreme accuracy. When the rookie astronaut played by Scarlett Johansson shut off the oxygen flow to the Soyuz Spacecraft, closing the two valves was completely correct. When she wanted to fire the orbital maneuvering engine CKD, she pressed the exact right buttons, and the labels on those buttons were accurate too. The interiors of the Soyuz Spacecraft and the International Space Station were also incredibly close to reality."

Furthermore, Garrett Reisman humorously remarked, "Scarlett Johansson really did perform like a professional astronaut. It's just that very few astronauts are as beautiful as she is."

It was not just Garrett Reisman. Even the spokesperson for the America National Aeronautics and Space Administration, one of the film's behind-the-scenes sponsors, spoke about Gravity at a press conference. He stated that in terms of simulating real space and the professionalism of the actors, Gravity had achieved the highest standard among all space-genre films.

This was undoubtedly a powerful counterattack. That former astronaut, Scott Parazynski, had been retired for years. How could he compare to the authority of an active-duty astronaut and the America National Aeronautics and Space Administration?

And when necessary, Duke never minded stepping up himself.

"During filming, Scarlett Johansson put in an unimaginable amount of effort. Not only was she suspended by twelve steel cables to simulate the sensation of spacewalking and drifting, but she also constantly had to coordinate with the camera to perform zero-gravity movements like rolling and hanging upside down, and even lie flat in midair."

During an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, Duke spoke about the difficulties of filming. "Creating a sense of weightlessness in a place with gravity is a point of pride for an actor. When I tried it myself, I couldn't last more than a few seconds, but Scarlett pulled through."

More than that, Duke knew very well that the support of industry peers and their views on the film were far more crucial than media reviews or a few inconsequential criticisms from some astronaut.

James Cameron had once highly praised the film, and Gravity naturally garnered the support of the technical factions within the industry. Duke himself frequently met with veteran members of Jewish descent in the industry. Regardless of anything else, ever since the Mel Gibson incident years ago, he had been a member of the Jewish Club. And quite an important one at that.

At the same time, film breakdown sessions for Gravity were continuously held. Penny Kalis and the several PR firms Duke had hired took turns blanketing the voters attending the screenings with their public relations efforts. A massive number of highly commemorative yet inconspicuous little gifts flowed out like water.

Duke even managed to win the support of several industry heavyweights.

When Francis Coppola was interviewed, he specifically mentioned Gravity, calling the film an incredibly exciting masterpiece and stating that Scarlett Johansson had delivered one of the best performances in Hollywood in recent years.

After attending a screening, George Lucas was equally unsparing with his praise. "I called Cameron, and he believes what Duke has done is five years ahead of its time. Being this advanced is insane, but Duke pulled it off. I think this movie has undoubtedly pushed filmmaking technology forward by a huge margin."

"I feel that the techniques and methods they used to shoot Gravity will permanently change the paradigm of filmmaking. The machines Duke and his crew designed and built for the movie are also incredibly ingenious. I really like this film of Duke's. In this movie, he has completely transformed himself."

The views of George Lucas and Francis Coppola could undoubtedly influence many people. Although the former had long ceased to be a member of the School, there were numerous voters within his Lucasfilm; despite being retired for a long time, the latter remained a leading figure among the Italian community in Hollywood.

"The situation might not be entirely in our favor..."

Walking alongside Duke in the gardens of Duke Manor, Tina Fey said, "...but we will be one of the biggest favorites."

She thought for a moment and added, "Those negative reviews should be coming from William Morris..."

Duke slowed his pace and raised a hand to interrupt Tina Fey. "It doesn't matter where those remarks came from. It's enough that we recognize who our main competitor is."

Tina Fey naturally understood Duke's meaning and asked tentatively, "Should we have Nancy and Penny mobilize now? They're already prepared."

"Then let them mobilize," Duke said without hesitation. "Hold nothing back!"

On the second weekend of January, the Weekly World News published an astonishing piece of news involving Hollywood's popular star Natalie Portman. This actress, who had stolen the spotlight during the awards season, was now being associated with terms like "the other woman" and a "despicable, shameless" manipulative bitch.

The Weekly World News had interviewed the ex-girlfriend of Natalie Portman's fiancé, Benjamin Millepied. This ex-girlfriend claimed that not only did Natalie Portman intervene as a third party between her and Benjamin Millepied—resulting in a bizarre three-way relationship that lasted nearly half a year—but she also ultimately used an intentional pregnancy to force Benjamin Millepied to abandon her...

According to her account, Natalie Portman's pregnancy was not born of maternal instinct at all, but was instead a tool to achieve a series of ulterior motives.

It wasn't just the print media of the Weekly World News. Relevant interviews and reports also appeared on gossip entertainment shows on the Fox Television Network and in trending videos on the Instant Sharing network.

For a time, many people's perception of Natalie Portman underwent a definite shift. In particular, the phrase "using pregnancy to achieve a series of ulterior motives," which was repeatedly highlighted in the videos and news reports, put quite a few people on high alert.

"I told you, she isn't a simple woman."

Inside an apartment building in Beverly Hills, Frank Pierson spoke to several of his old friends. "What her private life is like has nothing to do with us. But think about it—she actually tried to use her pregnancy to pull the wool over our eyes and cause us to misjudge. This kind of behavior is just far too vile!"

Another white-haired old man, a member of the School's rotating committee, nodded heavily. "Resorting to any means necessary to achieve her goals. She really underestimates us far too much."

"She's treating us like idiots!"

An old man who had participated in Duke's film breakdown session a while ago was filled with righteous indignation. "We haven't gone senile just yet!"

"Exactly!"

"That's right!"

A chorus of agreement echoed all around.

Although each of these people held only a single vote, every one of them was approaching or past the age of seventy, and they boasted extensive networks of connections within this circle of fame and fortune.

What Duke wanted was not necessarily to win their support. As long as he could use this to offset the sympathy points some voters had for Natalie Portman, it would be enough.

If both sides were standing on the same starting line, even if Natalie Portman's role and film genre were more favored by the Oscar, how difficult would it be for her to beat Scarlett Johansson?

As for what Natalie Portman would think, or whether she would go crazy, that was outside the scope of Duke's considerations. In the face of sufficient profit, Natalie Portman was not the only former idol and star he had smeared.

Of course, this only made the competition between the two sides look a bit fairer. If everyone used conventional tactics for their Best Actress Oscar Campaign, the final winner would only be known on the day the awards were announced.

However, Duke still somewhat admired that actress of Jewish descent. Her former title as the brainiest actress in Hollywood hadn't been hyped out of thin air. Come to think of it, her past Best Actress Oscar win was probably not unrelated to her pregnancy at the time. Although there was no way to know the specific details from back then, deducing from American society and her own conduct, this was highly likely a rigorously designed and smoothly executed Oscar Campaign plan.

With her rumored intellect, coming up with such a plan wouldn't be difficult at all.

It could be said that Natalie Portman was truly smart. There were too many female stars in Hollywood playing the "bad girl" like Angelina Jolie—simply countless. Yet she had used methods like studying at Harvard, interning in Jerusalem, and maintaining a lukewarm distance from Hollywood to successfully package herself as a uniquely different Hollywood star. You could hardly find a second specimen like her.

There was nothing wrong with such packaging. Everyone in Hollywood had a layer of packaging; Duke and Scarlett Johansson were no exception. It was just that Natalie Portman's packaging was a bit too thick and far too glamorous, making people constantly want to tear it open to see what was truly wrapped inside.

Perhaps it was just as glamorous as the packaging, or perhaps it was entirely different. Who really knew?