"It’s such a pity, I always thought Naomi would win Best Supporting Actress," Sophie said in a low voice as she continued to watch the stage after Adrian sat back in his seat. The women of similar ages around them, although distinct due to various reasons, generally had a harmonious relationship, so it was no surprise that Sophie would say this. As for Natalie, they all somewhat knew about the twisted relationship between her and Adrian, but nobody understood exactly what was going on, nor did they wish to find out, as no one would be surprised by a Playboy chasing after women. "It’s alright, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Adrian smiled nonchalantly. Since he took on the role of a presenter, the chances of Naomi and Natalie winning had dropped to the lowest. The Film Academy didn’t want to have too many points for criticism, even though there were already plenty of those. However, putting on a façade was inevitable. From this perspective, Adrian’s previous suspicion was probably correct: the high-level members of the academy’s board somewhat knew about the voting situation. Maybe not in specific detail, but they definitely had a general understanding. This was just right, as it allowed certain things to proceed more smoothly, even if only to add a touch to his plan. Alright, back to the overall context; there’s another reason Sophie made that comment. "Don’t worry, just watch." Adrian gently patted the back of her hand. Sophie’s cheeks instantly reddened, undeniably indicating that he had seen through her thoughts. Taking a glance at Blanchett on the other side, who was listening to Marcia Gay Harden’s speech on the stage with a subtly profound smile on her lips, Sophie couldn’t help feeling annoyed again. But Adrian immediately held her hand; though his gaze was focused on the stage, the warmth from his palm comforted Sophie a bit, making her merely cough awkwardly. Adrian understood Sophie’s feelings. Considering her long-standing desires and his own achievements over the past few years, the closer the target, the more pronounced her anxiety and indecisiveness became. In such a scenario, Adrian only comforted her with actions, as words wouldn’t do much good. Rather than trying to console her, it was better to let her temporarily hold off and then use facts to prove her worries were unfounded. Yes, by this time, he could confidently speak . To elevate Sophie to the Best Actress throne, aside from the advantages previously mentioned, Adrian had also made some efforts in other aspects, such as— "Two Soldiers!" As the presenter announced the name, the audience erupted into customary applause. Sophie, sitting beside Adrian, appeared a bit letdown, and her previously anxious expression intensified. "It’s a good thing, Sophie," Adrian squeezed her hand tightly, giving her a reassuring smile, "Trust me, just wait and see." Sophie opened her mouth but said nothing, merely nodding slightly and regaining some composure. It was expected that Cashback didn’t win the Best Short Film award. Although Two Soldiers seemed somewhat lengthy—for Adrian, the forty-minute content could easily be cut in half—it was a war story mingled with love, loyalty, responsibility, and sacrifice, all themes that the Film Academy favored. Not winning was nearly impossible, despite Cashback’s easier resonance with ordinary people. It’s not that a short film that "once" won would definitely win again; moreover, Allen Schneider, the director of Two Soldiers, was undoubtedly American. Sophie’s biggest shortfall was being French, and the Film Academy had always favored people from their own country. Even if she had acquired a green card or even citizenship, erasing this fact from people’s minds would take a long time. Previous Best Actresses like Gwyneth and Julia were Americans; although Nicole was Australian, Australia integrated more easily into the American cultural circle, as evident from Hollywood’s Australian posse. Blanchett, too, benefited similarly and reached the top thanks to Adrian’s public relations and the competitive scenario featuring two films. Plus, Nicole was born in Honolulu. The most troublesome was Monica, but don’t forget that in Hollywood circles, the Italians, led by Scorsese, also wielded significant influence—Adrian shouldn’t have interfered last year and thwarted Scorsese’s determined quest for Best Director. In addition to Weinstein’s public relations prowess and AC Media’s full cooperation, all of this elevated Monica, though to this day, some people still question the fairness of her win. So then, what place does French ancestry have in Hollywood? It seems very difficult, but not without hope. The previous campaigns surrounding Fahrenheit 9/11 are best left unspoken, as are Weinstein’s capabilities. There is also one more place— "Finally, that time has come again. It’s always so thrilling and always so enviable... Oh, sorry, I meant the latter, not the former," Kristo feigned a mistake, eliciting considerable laughter. After a few technical awards and some major screenplay awards—undoubtedly, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept through— the award ceremony finally reached its climax, with the most important SEG award presentations starting off immediately with Best Actress. As Kristo announced this on stage, Sophie instantly resumed her tension. The more they neared this moment, the more relaxed Adrian felt. As the presenter began introducing the nominated names, the screen soon displayed the selected ones one by one. Aside from Sophie and Kate being nominated for La Vie en Rose and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind respectively, there was Samantha Morton from In America, Catalina Sandino Moreno from Maria Full of Grace, and Judi Madson from Here. To outsiders, there seemed nothing wrong with this nomination list. However, they didn’t know that this list was orchestrated by Adrian. Without his intervention, at least two women should have been on that list: Diane Keaton’s good performance in Something’s Gotta Give, and in Julie and Julia, Meryl Streep also showed an equally stellar performance. However, Maria Full of Grace, depicting a girl’s drug-trafficking journey, should be joining January’s Sundance Film Festival this year, garnering some acclaim and recognition as an independent film. Yet, upon its completion last year, it was quickly picked up by Focus Features, a Universal subsidiary specializing in distributing independent films, and was screened in limited release at the year’s end, allowing it to participate in this year’s Oscars. Thanks to Focus’s efforts, Catalina Sandino Moreno secured a Best Actress nomination. "Here," expressed through a woman’s perspective reflecting on American family life in the 50s and 60s, was released by Dimension Films. Although seemingly an independent film company, its intricate relationship with Miramax meant lead actress Judi Madson also received a nomination. On this nomination list, Kate and Samantha were British, Catalina was Colombian, still very young, and only Judi Madson was American, but this was her first nomination. Yes, everything was part of Adrian’s machinations to maneuver non-threatening actresses into the nomination list and push out the ones who posed a threat, thereby clearing more room for Sophie. Otherwise, although Julie and Julia was a rather dime-a-dozen drama, there’s no telling that Streep might have gained a second Best Actress Oscar statuette prematurely— the same goes for Diane Keaton— thus, it’s quite necessary to proceed this way. While it wasn’t easy, differentiating between trying and succeeding is essential. Fortunately, after mobilizing countless resources, the final result basically met Adrian’s goals. Even though it required significant sacrifices, it was wholly worthwhile given Sophie’s performance. This maneuver created an advantageous scenario along with the groundwork laid with Fahrenheit 9/11 and Weinstein’s diligent public relations efforts. Furthermore, Sophie had previously garnered several Oscar Award nominations for acting, so the result wasn’t an upset. "Sophie Marceau!" When this name was called, the entire audience was in an uproar. Sophie covered her mouth in disbelief, overwhelmed by an intense sense of unreality at finally achieving what she had long awaited, leaving her unsure of what to do. "Go up there, Sophie." Adrian gently nudged her, and the applause began to rise. "Al... alright." Sophie stood up, still somewhat dazed, and even glanced timidly at Adrian. It wasn’t until she stepped onto the stage and received the Oscar statuette that she somewhat steadied her emotions. "I’m sorry, I..." She took a deep breath, "I never thought there would truly be a day I would stand here, even though I dreamed about it countless times. When my name was announced just now, I even thought I was dreaming. I even told myself in my heart: Sophie, are you sure it’s your name, and not someone with the same name as you?" A good-natured laughter erupted from below. "Thank you," Sophie wiped at her eyes, "Thank you to the Film Academy for awarding this to me, thank you to everyone in the ’La Vie en Rose’ team, thank you to my supportive friends, thank you... Adrian, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I can finally prove, I finally use this to prove..." On the stage, Sophie choked up again. She pursed her lips, trying desperately to control herself, but her mouth kept twitching, and her eyes grew redder. Eventually, a sob escaped her, even though she quickly bowed her head and covered her mouth with her hands, but everyone heard it clearly, and her vigorously trembling shoulders clearly expressed the emotion within Sophie, who had been wandering for decades and was finally affirmed—so overwhelmed with joy that she cried. Chapters first released on NovєlFіre.net Adrian stood up without hesitation and started clapping, and under his influence, the people around him also stood up, and then more people stood. Whether it was for Adrian’s sake or due to the herd effect, in the end, everyone in the hall stood up to applaud and congratulate Sophie. "Thank you, thank you all again, and thank you... Ms. Piaf," Sophie, with tears glistening, spoke while holding the Oscar statuette, "For a time, I doubted whether I could portray this role well, but Ms. Piaf’s experience always inspired me, gave me the courage to face challenges, to strive and to fight." Finally, she glanced deeply at Adrian below the stage: "If there’s anything more I want to say, it is just one word, which is what Ms. Piaf said to the female journalist by the sea in the movie—love!" After speaking, Sophie raised the hem of her dress and made a deep bow, and enthusiastic applause sounded once more. When she went down from the stage, although she covered her mouth with her hand again, the tears in her eyes fell uncontrollably. When she came before Adrian, she disregarded everything and hugged him tightly, burying her head in his shoulder and sobbing lightly. Adrian paid no attention to the surroundings, gently patting her back to comfort her. After several seconds, Sophie managed to control her emotions. "Sorry, Ed." She said after letting go, then embraced Blanchett beside her, who understandingly hugged her back for several seconds. She then proceeded to embrace the others before sitting back in her seat. Though the applause wasn’t loud, it never ceased. "Sorry, Ed." Sophie repeated. "It’s alright," Adrian replied with a slight smile, "Do you remember what I said before?" Before Sophie could respond, he placed his index finger against his lips: "Don’t rush, we have all night." On stage, the award for Best Actor was about to be announced, so Sophie didn’t speak. Her tearful eyes still glistened with an unspeakable gratitude, and she held Adrian’s hand even tighter. The Best Actor award winner didn’t surprise Adrian; it still went to Sean Penn of ’Mystic River,’ Hollywood’s well-known bad boy. Speaking of which, some people are just unlucky. Tom Cruise, despite giving it all in ’The Last Samurai,’ unfortunately received no accolades, even though Keanu Watanabe got nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Well, enough about that. Sean Penn was extremely happy to accept the award. While he is notoriously unruly and once dared to shoot at a media helicopter with a hunting rifle, everyone eventually matures. Winning Best Actor could be seen as the Film Academy’s acknowledgment of his maturing or perhaps compromising. However, Clint Eastwood below didn’t look too pleased, and for a good reason. Looking at Oscar history, films that win acting awards, directing awards, and Best Picture simultaneously are few and far between. ’Mystic River,’ apart from winning Sean Penn Best Actor, had also brought Tim Robbins a Best Supporting Actor award, so the hopes of winning Best Director or Best Picture now seemed very slim. Had it been any other time, the old man might have hoped to compete, but with Adrian—who has been consecutively nominated in both Best Director and Best Picture categories in recent years—present, he couldn’t muster much confidence. Despite them both being judges and competitors—Eastwood, transitioning from actor to director, has long been a Film Academy member, widely connected in Hollywood, but Adrian’s power and resources are far beyond his reach, which is a significant thing in a nation ruled by money. So, just like Sophie’s Best Actress award, even though Adrian repeatedly demanded that every aspect and link be perfected before the awards ceremony, he remained calm once inside the Kodak Theater. What’s meant to be his will be his. "Alright, everyone, it’s time for the final moment. Maybe tonight we’ll witness an unprecedented miracle!" Kristo said with a wink, "Of course, when I say ’miracle,’ it truly has the pure meaning of a miracle with no other implications. I promise, absolutely none, please believe me!" The audience burst into laughter. Everyone knew what he was referring to. Adrian shrugged, maintaining a poised smile until— "’The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,’ Adrian Cowell!" Alright! As ’The Lord of the Rings’ theme music played, Adrian exhaled softly and made a small fist pump. Despite having attended the Oscars countless times and knowing his chance of winning was the highest, as he often tirelessly told reporters, no one could guarantee they’d be the winner until the final moment. In this regard, the Oscars’ commercial operation is indeed superb. As he stood up, those around him began to congratulate him. Sophie, somewhat restrained from her previous enthusiasm, was holding back, but Blanchett, Monica, and Liv had no such constraints, each embracing him, drawing considerable attention. Adrian ascended to the stage with composure. After receiving the Best Director Oscar statuette, he cleared his throat lightly into the microphone and pulled a small piece of paper from his jacket pocket. With a frown, he scanned it briefly before stammering his speech: "Um... thank... um... sorry, I can’t quite read this word." Laughter erupted below. "Alright, I knew I shouldn’t have prepared." Adrian promptly flipped the paper over, the camera zoomed in, and it was blank, which only made everyone laugh harder. "Honestly speaking, I can no longer remember the feeling of winning Best Director’s trophy last time; thanks to the Academy for letting me relive it, although... oh, my poor ’The Matrix,’ you’re never suited for this occasion." Adrian sighed theatrically, causing another burst of laughter. "Of course, this is already a very good change. I believe the Academy and all filmmakers continuously strive, innovate, and change. Thank God, that’s why we’ve always remained resplendent." Adrian lifted the trophy in his hand slightly: "Lastly, thanks to the entire team. This honor belongs not only to me but also to you. Without you, I couldn’t have depicted the magnificent Middle Earth. Without you, I couldn’t have made it through this grand adventure to the end. It’s a great victory, and this journey will surely remain in our hearts forever, thank you!" (To be continued. If you work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, your support is my greatest motivation.)