The Golden Globe Awards this time around were still shining brightly. As a global event, many stars might not have much respect for this award, but they still came to make their presence felt.
Why do many people have so many opinions about this award? The main reasons are twofold. One is that the judges are not authoritative enough. Those familiar with this award know that it was founded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and belongs to a charity foundation. Generally speaking, it's just a way to divide the cake, and its authority is hard to guarantee.
Just look at the Oscars, where several thousand judges select the final winners, so fairness can be expected. As for the notion that they are not very "friendly" to young people and commercial films, that is also a historical legacy. Perhaps when they all retire, the influx of new judges will rejuvenate this award.
The other reason is that the award itself is not authoritative enough. The Oscars are awards specifically for films, with many categories.
But the Golden Globes not only have awards for films but also for television, giving people a feeling of not being specialized enough. And because the judges are 96 journalists, two-thirds of whom are part-time, this award was not originally intended to be given to technical awards.
But all of this doesn't matter. Celebrities are happy to win more awards, and they are happy to have a place like this that receives attention to make themselves familiar to the audience.
This year's award competition was fierce. Leaving aside Laila's "The Lord of the Rings," "Brokeback Mountain" received seven nominations. Additionally, George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" also had strong momentum, receiving nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and more, making it a very strong competitor.
After Laila and Roy found their seats and sat down, they saw Louise already waiting there. As a producer, she also needed to attend such events because if the Best Picture win, it would usually be the producer who went up to accept the award.
"Today, some of your old acquaintances are here," Louise reminded Laila in her ear.
"Old acquaintances?" Laila raised an eyebrow.
Louise glanced back with her eyes.
"Oh, I see." Laila immediately understood. It turned out that the old acquaintances she referred to were several Eastern directors and actors who had visited her company before.
When she was filming in the East, several directors followed her, ostensibly as assistants. Laila didn't use them as assistants. However, because of their help, some things were indeed much easier and saved a lot of time. Although they learned a lot from her, it was not something she had planned to keep to herself, so it was considered mutually beneficial.
After the filming in the East ended, these people also organized an exchange tour to visit her film company and special effects company, and both sides had a good relationship.
"Two Eastern films are participating in the competition for Best Foreign Language Film this time. Miss Zhang Ziyi also received a nomination for Best Actress. It's only natural for them to be here."
However, when arranging the seating, the front seats were usually reserved for more famous directors and actors, or the crew. As for those who weren't very famous, they could only be arranged at the back and occasionally get a shot in the spotlight. Unlike the people at the tables in front, who could occasionally get close-ups.
And their purpose in coming was not just to show their faces at the awards ceremony, but to enjoy the attention when they won the award.
Looking at the Eastern directors who were chatting with the crew with a smile on their faces, Laila regretfully withdrew her gaze. It was fortunate that they could come, but unfortunately, their films did not achieve the results they wanted. Among the five films competing for Best Foreign Language Film, two were Eastern, namely "Hero" and "Kung Fu Hustle."
It seemed that the chances of winning were slightly higher for these two, but unfortunately, the final award went to Pakistan's "Paradise Now," leaving both Eastern films empty-handed.
"Director Moran, hello." Zhang Ziyi came over to greet Laila. It was still before the formal start, so many people were walking around and chatting with acquaintances. So her appearance wasn't out of place.
"Hello." Laila had a good impression of all the Eastern people who could stand firm in Hollywood, and Zhang Ziyi was naturally among them.
She certainly knew that many people in her country didn't like her, especially as her love life had been criticized and ridiculed by many. But Laila didn't care about those things. She always focused on the acting skills of actors, not their personal lives. Besides, even if someone's personal life was bad, it had nothing to do with her, right?
"Congratulations on your nomination for Best Actress in a Drama." Laila congratulated her with a smile.
Zhang Ziyi smiled back, "Thank you, but I don't think I have much chance of winning. The competition is really fierce, and Charlize Theron is also nominated."
Laila knew about Charlize competing for the Best Actress award when she received the nomination list. At that time, she just glanced at it and didn't pay much attention, because she knew that she wouldn't ultimately win that award, so she didn't care.
Now that Zhang Ziyi brought it up, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen her for a long time.
After winning the Best Actress for "Monster," Charlize Theron fell victim to the infamous Oscar curse.
This curse is that the winner of the Best Actress award at the Oscars will encounter misfortune after winning. Unmarried winners will break up with their boyfriends, and married winners will experience marital problems. Previous victims include Julia Roberts in 2001, Halle Berry in 2002, and the poor Theron.
After winning the award, her love life was not smooth. Rumors of her breakup with her boyfriend Stuart surfaced from time to time, even reaching the ears of Laila, who wasn't too interested in gossip. A person whose life is not smooth is unlikely to guarantee the quality of her work. So for the past two years, Laila hasn't entrusted her important roles to her.
Fortunately, her agent was very good, and Theron's star path after winning the Oscar was relatively smooth, ensuring that she could still get good roles. Just take this time, getting a Golden Globe nomination could prove that her performance was still good.
But it was just good. If the director was Laila, she might have scolded her.
Looking around at Theron's crew, she smiled and said, "I've seen 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' your performance was excellent."
Zhang Ziyi's face lit up. If even she thought it was good, did that mean she had a chance to win the award?
Laila could see her expectations but didn't say anything. It wasn't appropriate to speak out in her position, saying that she couldn't win that award, so forget about it, right?