"Hello, Mr. Reid. This is Nancy..."
Sitting in her office, Nancy Josephson had already lost count of how many calls she had made today. Despite her voice being a bit hoarse, her smile remained radiant, and her tone exuded a natural warmth, "Did you get a chance to watch the disc I sent over recently? How do you feel about the new disc player?"
Hearing a satisfied response from the other side, Nancy's smile brightened even more, "What do you think of Duke's films? The academy's mission has always been to recognize those who have made significant achievements in film and to promote research, techniques, and equipment improvements. Duke has made great contributions in these areas..."
Finally, Nancy Josephson added a reminder, "The academy is working hard to promote the sustainable development of the public and the film industry. Have you been keeping up with the news lately? Duke just recently invested a large sum of money to establish the Duke Film Fund, dedicated to helping talented new filmmakers."
After hanging up the phone with satisfaction, Nancy glanced at the phone book and dialed another number...
The term "public relations" sounds simple, but in practice, it is quite complicated, and one must strike a balance, or the effect might backfire.
To be blunt, Oscar public relations is a systematic project. At a key stage of Oscar public relations, Duke listened to Panny Kallis' suggestion and established a film foundation. Officially, it was to help new directors, but after the Oscars, there was no way he would fund projects that didn't bring in any returns.
Duke was also well aware that he wasn't the kind of director the academy favored and that his future with the Oscars would only grow more distant.
In fact, most people knew that the Oscars were indeed the most authoritative awards in America, but that didn't necessarily represent the direction of mainstream cinema.
In addition to private lobbying, media promotion was equally important. For example, Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter published similar commentaries.
"Duke has made a huge and irreplaceable contribution to the development of the entire Hollywood film industry. Looking at the global film market, Hollywood is dominant, and this situation started with Duke's Independence Day, was magnified by Titanic, and reached its peak with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Perhaps it's an exaggeration to say that there would be no Hollywood dominance without Duke, but Hollywood films would certainly not have become as globally dominant as they are now!"
"Considering his career, Duke has been in Hollywood for twelve years, with a total box office of over $5 billion from the films he directed! In terms of film techniques, he pioneered new ground in action and explosion films, becoming the model for global filmmakers. As for the number of nominations, he has already received four Best Director nominations. If he wins the Best Director Oscar, it would undoubtedly be well-deserved!"
Every year during awards season, the entire Los Angeles area becomes a flurry of activity. After attending several events, Duke temporarily retreated to Warner Studios in Burbank, where he and Mike Dawson were busy with post-production on Taken.
The film's first trailer was edited by Duke and would be aired during the Super Bowl halftime in early February. However, due to his attendance at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, Duke could not attend the Super Bowl in person.
Compared to the massive Lord of the Rings trilogy, the post-production of Taken was much simpler. Duke only planned for three months of post-production, and the film would be completed by mid-April.
The editing techniques used in this film were very similar to those in his earlier films Speed and The Rock, with intense editing now commonplace in Hollywood. Whether for Duke or his dedicated editor Mike Dawson, the editing was not challenging.
Even so, both were more focused on supervising and overseeing the basic editing work, leaving most of it to Mike Dawson's assistants.
Once work was completed, Duke and Mike Dawson left the editing room and entered the adjoining break room, where Tina Fey was sitting, reviewing data. She quickly finished the last email as they entered.
"How's it going?"
Duke poured coffee for each of them, and Mike Dawson, curious as always, asked. Though he was one of the few in Duke's team to have won an Oscar, who wouldn't want more gold statuettes?
"Feedback just came in from Nancy and Panny." Tina Fey looked at her laptop screen and said, "They've secured around a quarter of the votes from both the Producers Guild and Directors Guild, which means they'll likely prioritize voting for you for Best Director."
"George and Frank also made calls." She thought for a moment and continued, "Their people will also prioritize our votes."
Having worked with Duke for many years, Tina Fey was now fully capable of handling things on her own. She then shared her analysis, "I believe there's more than a 70% chance that we'll win big."
Tina Fey clicked her mouse a few times and turned the laptop screen toward Duke, pointing to a picture of a crowd of people on the screen, saying, "Since three days ago, your supporters have been gathering in Hollywood and along Wilshire Boulevard, protesting the academy's unfair treatment of you. Now, the internet is full of voices supporting your win. If the academy sticks to its guns, it will surely lead to a massive protest afterward. Based on the current public opinion, it could even affect the fairness and justice of the Oscars."
Although it wasn't unheard of for the Academy to go against public opinion, the power of The Lord of the Rings trilogy was immense. Especially with Duke, who was indeed a commercial director and relatively young, his credentials no longer posed a problem, since he had already earned four nominations for Best Director with films like Saving Private Ryan, Chicago, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
If such a director still had issues with qualifications, the academy would only be slapping itself in the face.
As for the academy's final choice, it would be revealed at the Oscars ceremony, but the nominations list provided some clues.
On February 14, 2004, Valentine's Day, Duke and Ivanka didn't spend the day alone but went to the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California, where the 76th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon was held. The luncheon was hosted by Jennifer Garner.
"Nominees for Best Original Score include..."
This actress, who had just begun making a name for herself, announced the nominees one by one. "Big Fish," "Cold Mountain," "Finding Nemo," "The House of Sand and Fog," and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Duke sat quietly at an oak round table, occasionally sipping from his coffee cup, looking very relaxed. To his right, Ivanka sat, her face tense, looking even more nervous than him. Only when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was announced did she smile.
"Relax, dear." Duke gently squeezed her hand under the table. "You're making me nervous now."
"How could I not be nervous!" Ivanka whispered in his ear, "This is your best chance to win the Oscar. Do you still want to wait?"
She glanced at the members of the Academy Executive Committee seated nearby, visibly displeased. "If they remain so stubborn, I'll even take out a loan to fund media attacks on them!"
Duke smiled, saying nothing more, and tightened his grip on Ivanka's hand.
The announcement of the nominees was nearing its end.
"The nominees for Best Director are: Fernando Meirelles – City of God, Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation, Peter Weir – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Duke Rosenberg – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Clint Eastwood – Mystic River!"
Upon hearing this, Duke and Ivanka both let out a sigh of relief. After all the efforts they had made, it would have been a lie to say they didn't care.
No matter what, receiving a nomination was already a victory. After all, nominations were the ticket to the ceremony; without a nomination, there was no chance of competing for the award.
As expected, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also received a nomination for Best Picture.
Though it didn't receive nominations for Best Supporting Actor or Actress, the nominations for Best Director and Best Picture ensured that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had high-quality nominations.
Moreover, Duke heard very clearly that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King didn't get the eleven nominations it had been remembered for, but twelve—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Cinematography!
Although it didn't break or even tie the record held by Titanic for most nominations, it had the chance to break another Oscar record—the most Oscars won by a single film with 11 awards!
Winning all twelve nominations would be an incredibly difficult feat, but success had never come easily. Since the Academy had given twelve nominations, Duke was determined to turn those nominations into tangible awards.
The Nominees Luncheon ended, and Duke's table was soon surrounded by people coming to congratulate him.
"Congratulations, Duke."
Harvey Weinstein specifically walked over to shake his hand. The two didn't have much interaction but didn't have personal conflicts either, and weren't enemies either.
"Your achievements aren't bad either, Harvey."
Duke gave him a light handshake, and their relationship could not be called friendly either.
Lastly, a monotonous voice rang in Duke's ear, "Do you need a hug?"
"I should be hugging you."
With that, Duke opened his arms and gave Sofia Coppola a congratulatory hug. They gently patted each other's backs, having worked together for many years and naturally sharing a certain camaraderie.
"Congratulations on becoming the first American woman to be nominated for Best Director!"
Upon hearing Duke's words, Sofia reminded him, "I have the lowest chance of winning, you have the highest. But Duke, don't be complacent."