"It looks like we are really going to sweep the Oscars this time."
When Alexander walked into Levi's office with the list of Oscar nominees, he had a very proud smile on his face.
February has passed, and March has arrived.
In the past month, Levi can be said to have stolen the show: after breaking down several movies and scoring each item in detail, the excellence of his films far exceeded people's expectations.
"The Departed" was released in August. Compared with "Traffic," released in December, it no longer made a deep enough impression on people.
Although people vaguely seem to remember that The Departed is better, they really can't find specific details to prove their point of view.
However, Levi's usual attention to film details is fully demonstrated in this masterpiece. In every aspect, other films are incomparable to his movies.
If one's memory is blurry and can't remember the movie clearly, that's okay. But the difference becomes instantly apparent when the film is taken apart and compared in detail.
Such obvious gaps and comparisons have caused many media outlets who initially believed that the competition was evenly matched to begin to waver.
In the end, the Directors Guild Award was the final nail. This award still fell into Levi's "The Departed" pocket. Obviously, they have won in all other aspects, and in this last aspect, there is no possibility that they will not succeed.
This award seems to have predicted the trend of the Oscars, and many people are now waiting for this day to arrive - evidently, this is a day worth remembering.
"If Tom Hanks can win Best Actor consecutively, then why can't Levi win Best Director consecutively?"
This is the most commonly used sentence in the media now. When it comes to talent, maybe only Tom Hanks can compare with directors like Levi, right?
Compared to Tom Hanks, who has won consecutive Best Actor awards, Levi may not have received more attention. But the status will never be lower. Now, the media has begun to focus on him.
Soderbergh has been much quieter now, and what is more regrettable is Ang Lee. He won the Directors Guild Outstanding Director Contribution Award, which made it clear to him that everyone admits his level was very high and that he made an outstanding contribution, but he won't be part of the Oscars.
There is nothing that can be done about it.
"The Oscar nominations are finally out. These guys have been teasing us for almost two months. In the past two months, we have won almost all awards. The most important thing is here. But look at the final number of nominations. I think it's understandable." Looking at the nominations, Alexander also had a smile on his face.
Alexander said that he would get more prizes. It's not a lie: he recently won the PGA, the Producers Guild of America Award. There is even a trade union for a profession exclusive to producers, a wealthy and handsome profession.
Levi has also complained for a long time. Is there anyone in Hollywood who dares to harm the interests of producers? Is the purpose of establishing this kind of trade union to protect rights and interests or to show off?
However, since there is a trade union, it must be recognized that for people like Alexander, who cannot make movies and can only work as producers, this award can be regarded as the highest pursuit.
In fact, it can be said that in this February's Guild Awards, except that the Casting Directors Guild, which did not have a tradition of awarding awards because the number of people was too small and the work was not easy to quantify, Enigma got all union awards.
This victory made Alexander ecstatic and now very proud.
"The Departed was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing — a total of eight categories. It may not seem like much, but every item is in an important position. Movies like this are used to compete for the best."
There are several Oscar nominations that are particularly important. The nominations received by The Departed this time can be said to have basically won all these influential nominations.
An award-winning film does not necessarily have to be nominated for many but must be nominated for the right ones. Compared with last year's The Truman Show, which lacked the crippled nomination for Best Cinematography and Best Editing, this nomination can be said to be the best way to nominate.
"Lost in Translation" received seven nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction - there was no Best Editing. But that's not bad, right?"
It's really good. Although the important one of Best Editing is missing, there are several important nominations. Moreover, it also comes with the Best Art Direction.
This makes Levi find it quite interesting: Best Art Direction and Best Props and Sets are combined into one award. Therefore, the movie The Departed relied on props and sets to get the nomination, while Lost in Translation relied on Japanese stylized art.
Unexpectedly, two of his films actually received this nomination.
"Then, there are our other two movies. The X-Men received four nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Sound Effects, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup. They are all technical awards, and they don't mean much. Similarly, The Grudge was nominated for Best Sound Editing, which is also a technical award."
This is not surprising: this is Nolan's first time making a movie, and he can't grasp the rhythm and shooting in all aspects. It's normal. Shimizu Takashi is about the same, and he has no experience.
Although both of their films have won a lot of box office, if they are really worthy of nomination, they still only have technical awards.
Besides, it's no secret that the Oscars don't like horror and superhero films. It's a blessing that their movies can win so many technical awards.
"In this way, it's not bad. If all our nominations win, then there will basically be nothing left for others at the Oscars, right?" Levi joked with Alexander with a smile.
Alexander looked at it again, and after going through the nomination list, he said, "Indeed... among the main awards, original songs, and original music have fallen behind, otherwise they would all be covered."
With so many nominations, it can be said to be a real victory.
Levi claimed last year that he would sweep the Oscars, and with this number of nominations this year, he has fulfilled his promise.
"Then, the main thing you have to do next is to prepare an acceptance speech, contact those nominated for our films, hold a party, celebrate, and make some noise..."
Alexander said to Levi with a satisfied smile on his face. He had no reason to be dissatisfied: last year was absolute fame and fortune.
The X-Men has a box office of 450 million, The Departed has a box office of 300 million, The Grudge now has a box office of 120 million in North America, and the global box office is estimated to exceed 180 million. In addition, although Lost in Translation has an average box office in North America, it has a high box office in Japan; it should be more than 20 million.
After this year, the total box office of Enigma Company's movies is more than 900 million, close to 1 billion. With such a high box office and such a good reputation, there is no doubt that it makes people happier.
If a box office of 1 billion represents an income of 300 million in Hollywood, then more than a dozen Oscar nominations represent an incomparable status.
If you have enough income, you can only be considered a great company in Hollywood. Only if you have enough fame can you be regarded as a big company.
The Enigma Company is booming. There will be more agents, actors, publishers, and other types of people who rely on working with them, so there will be more business.
Alexander is naturally delighted.
"By the way, something happened: Lionsgate contacted me. They wanted to take advantage of The Grudge's nomination for an Oscar and hurry up to produce The Grudge 2. Moreover, they also wanted to sign a long-term contract with Takashi Shimizu, make more similar horror movies..."
Sure enough, it was Lionsgate's style.
When Levi heard this, he immediately laughed: Whenever a movie style is successful, Lionsgate can't wait to produce more similar movies.
"Whether The Grudge 2 will be filmed or not depends on Takashi Shimizu. Let's see if he has any ideas. However, tell him what I said:
Don't be too impatient. Thinking about your own path is more important than making money for others.
As for Lionsgate wanting to make more movies... their strength is too small, and if you give them too many movies, they will be ruined. Let's not reject Lionsgate in person. Shimizu Takashi is from Japan, so let Sony come forward."
Strike while the iron is hot and make some money; Levi has no objection. But Levi knows very well that shooting the same story for a long time will only limit one's thinking, prevent one's ideas from being expanded, and the level of one's skills will decline.
Saw is the best example. The first part was amazing, and the second one was amazing. By the sixth and seventh parts, it just feels disgusting and boring. The director himself didn't want to film it for a long time, but he was still forced to film it.
This is destructive to people and their careers.
If Enigma needs development, it needs people. Levi believes talent is much more important than money in developing his company. He couldn't do anything like wearing out talents in exchange for cash.
"We can't let a person waste his talent on the same thing over and over again. It will only wear him out. We cannot cripple the director we have trained so hard. Let's lead him on the right path. I believe that doing so will be beneficial to us."
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Scott DePaepe
MMMCMXCIX, or 3,999
Britanna
Marcelo Maia
Danny York
DragonEz
You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.