"Duke Rosenberg is not one of the most outstanding directors on this planet."
The TV screen switched to the studio, where Roger Ebert continued to talk confidently as if he had already won, "Not receiving the recognition of the Oscar little golden statue, no matter how successful he is commercially, he's still in the same league as Michael Bay. He can't possibly gain the Oscar's approval..."
Norman Shiller's gaze shifted away from the television, suppressing the urge to spit at that ugly guy on the screen. His eyes turned to the computer screen across from him, where his Instant Share feed was flooded with curses.
Curses aimed at Roger Ebert!
As fans of Rosenberg's films, they naturally knew who Duke's enemies were and understood the origins of their conflicts.
"For personal gain, he's spreading lies on TV, and he's a Pulitzer Prize winner? Pfft!"
His feed was nearly overloaded.
"Can someone shut this ugly jerk up? He's more disgusting than a fly!"
"Every time I watch the Oscar ceremony, I feel great, but when Roger Ebert appears at the beginning, it makes me want to vomit!"
"He says Duke can't win? As if the Oscars are run by film critics! What are professional critics worth?"
"Just a bunch of outdated, discarded garbage!"
Norman Shiller was relatively calm, posting something more restrained: "When Duke wins the Oscar little golden statue, I wonder what color this guy's face will turn!"
"He's probably going to faint from anger..."
"Maybe he'll die of it..."
"Forget it, the ceremony is starting soon."
The Kodak Theatre gradually became quiet. While Ivanka went off to greet others, Leah, who had just arrived in the afternoon, asked a few questions.
"I've heard some not-so-good news in New York," she said softly. "Ivanka intends to bring Donald Trump's Trump Group into your company."
Duke nodded. "I've managed to stall it for now."
Ivanka wanted to take the company public, and before the IPO, she planned to conduct a share offering, the most important part of which was introducing Trump Group's funding.
Though Ivanka hadn't said it directly, Duke had heard about it while in Paris. It was only then that he managed to delay the IPO.
This had happened after Ivanka had returned to New York a few times, and Duke understood, just like how Leah felt about him. Donald, her father, was equally important to Ivanka. Clearly, Donald Trump used family ties as leverage to persuade Ivanka.
However, Duke wasn't planning to give in to Donald Trump again. Human greed is limitless. Excessive concessions would only invite more greed.
"I'll handle it," Duke said softly.
Leah gently patted his hand. She had been a bit worried before, concerned that Duke might be blinded.
Ivanka soon came over, and unlike before, Leah only gave her a slight nod.
Music suddenly played on stage, and everyone turned their attention forward. With applause from the crowd, the 76th Academy Awards ceremony officially began.
Perhaps because of the poor ratings in previous years, this year's ceremony not only had a more glamorous stage setup but also carried a nostalgic 90s vibe.
Billy Crystal, after a three-year hiatus, returned to host the Oscars. He was edited into the nominated films, sailing with Russell Crowe in Master and Commander, dueling swords and strutting with Johnny Depp, raising Anduril the sword of Aragorn, and even appeared fully naked on screen...
For the sake of viewership, this comedian really went all out.
"It's time," Arwen encouraged him. "The Oscars need you!"
"Bring out all your honor and return to the Oscar stage..." Aragorn, mounted on a horse, shouted loudly.
"You better keep this job, Lord Crystal," Captain Barbossa, transformed into a skeleton, solemnly warned.
Finally, under the protection of Jack Nicholson in his white attire, Billy Crystal walked through the White City to the Kodak Theatre.
"It's your turn," Jack Nicholson, holding a cane, handed him his iconic glasses. "Go win them over, Billy!"
"Let me show them what I've got!" Billy Crystal put on the glasses and entered the Kodak Theatre.
A bright light illuminated the stage as Billy Crystal entered, earning a standing ovation. This host, the best Oscar host of the turn of the century, didn't even need to say a word to elicit laughter from the crowd.
After teasing Charlize Theron and Johnny Depp, this famous comedian took out his signature Oscars segment—the medley of nominated film songs.
"Over there is Sofia Coppola, the first American woman ever nominated for Best Director... She finished filming this movie in just 47 days, while her friend used that time to just wake Elijah Wood up from his sleep..."
"Frodo and Sam walked on mysterious lands, and Gollum suddenly jumped out, just like the right breast of Janet Jackson! Britney and Jennifer Lopez watched the film and dumped their husbands because they thought the movie was called 'Engagement Ring'..."
"Lithium salts, sake, magic pills, and psychedelic drugs, also provided by Truman Capote," Billy Crystal then turned to Duke, "Duke Rosenberg ate all these things while making the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He produced these great films, he's as great as God, I love every frame in Lord of the Rings! Duke Rosenberg, maybe tonight, they'll recite your name on this stage!"
After that, Billy Crystal also poked fun at Russell Crowe and Clint Eastwood, and the first award officially came.
Presenting the award was an old acquaintance of Duke—Catherine Zeta-Jones.
This British actress had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago, but last year, she won Best Supporting Actress for an art film.
Seeing this long-haired, slightly plump actress, Ivanka slightly furrowed her brows. It was her first time accompanying Duke to the Oscars, and the experience was far from pleasant. Although she had heard about Duke's past flings, she didn't care too much. Still, having these people constantly appearing in front of her wasn't something that made her happy.
As a group film, The Return of the King didn't win any acting awards, and Catherine Zeta-Jones awarded the Best Supporting Actor to Tim Robbins.
Duke clapped lightly with the audience, knowing that the moment for The Lord of the Rings would have to wait.
He was very clear that, just like Titanic in its day, even with nominations, The Return of the King would not make an impact in the acting categories.
It was too hard for a commercial film and a group film to win an acting award.
As a die-hard fan of The Lord of the Rings, Brad Miller had been following the Oscars. He worked in IT, just like many young people, keeping his computer and TV running simultaneously, watching the live broadcast while keeping an eye on the latest trends online.
"This website is pretty good!"
He logged into his Instant Share account, and this rising social media platform, with its rapid response and streamlined sharing features, had already surpassed blogs to become the most popular social network in the U.S.
"What's the next award?"
Someone asked in the feed, and immediately, others replied, "Best Art Direction! The Return of the King is nominated!"
"Oh, the first award. I wonder if we'll get a good start?"
"Definitely, look at the other films nominated, which one can beat The Return of the King in terms of background?"
Brad Miller nodded lightly as he thought about the nominees for this category. The gap between The Return of the King and the other films was so obvious that if the award didn't go to The Return of the King, there would be serious doubts about the fairness of the Oscars.
At Brad Miller's age, even without being in Hollywood, he could see through many things.
On the TV screen, Angelina Jolie walked onto the stage as the presenter. She was about to announce the first award related to The Return of the King.
During the live broadcast, Rope asked Roger Ebert, "Roger, what do you think about the chances for this award?"
"Master and Commander!" Roger Ebert replied without hesitation, as if he could decide the outcome, explaining, "Master and Commander uses more traditional sets, while The Return of the King relies more on computer effects. The former is more qualified for this award."
On stage, Angelina Jolie was already at the microphone. Both immediately fell silent.
"Art direction is all about designing and sketching everything on screen, making you believe you're in a racecourse, in the hobbits' home, or even in a samurai village in Japan..."
After the usual script, Angelina Jolie spoke in sync with the images on the big screen: "The nominees for Best Art Direction are—The Return of the King's Hannah Serina, Girl with a Pearl Earring's Ben Van Oosterom and Cecil Heideman, The Last Samurai's Lily Cravente, Seabiscuit's Jenny Claudina, and Master and Commander's William Heidl..."
When the list of nominees was read out, those sitting in the Lord of the Rings team seemed to freeze in place. Not only Hannah Serina but even Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Viggo Mortensen were nervous. After all, if the film swept the awards, the glory would be theirs as well.
Moreover, a strong start often meant a great finish!