"Director Grey! Director Grey, how confident are you in getting a nomination?"
A reporter asked Kazir as he stepped into the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California.
"Well, if Roman Polanski attended the venue despite being wanted in the United States, it might give me trouble. That will make huge news and the Academy members might vote for him."
"But would you win?"
"... Nah, I don't know."
Kazir shook his head and honestly answered. In the first place, he didn't know how the members would react to him.
Kazir Grey and Tom Cruise did their best in attending a bunch of parties all over Los Angeles just to meet and greet the old foggeys of the Academy. More than 70% of the Academy members were old and the two appeased them, even going as far as giving them gifts.
This time, Kazir attended the nomination day alone. Angelina had to travel the country to promote her newest movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days.
As of February 11, 2003, the movie grossed $26.26 million at the North American box office.
Kazir entered the Samuel Golden Theater after a short interview. This was nothing but a nomination announcement so the venue was not extravagant.
However, the theater was filled with celebrities and agents waiting for the results. Just like Angelina, some actors and actresses were also busy so their agents attended the announcement instead.
Since Kazir was serious about the Oscars, he decided to attend the announcement personally. He wanted to show the Academy members that he was serious about getting the statue.
Unlike last time, Tom Cruise was there before Kazir.
"Kazir, how's your day?"
"It's fine."
The two did a bro hug as a greeting. Kazir usually does a handshake but he and Tom were friends so whenever they saw each other, they would hug.
"I heard that you're going to film a pirate movie, are you sure about that?"
"Yeah, you don't have to worry. I know what to do."
"If you need investment, just call me."
"I fucking knew it. You just want to invest in my movie."
"Haha, of course. Your movies had a huge return of investment. How can you see a $100 million multiplying into $1 billion, in just a year? None, only you can do that."
"Don't joke around. We both know that Grey Pictures can only acquire 30% of that amount."
"And that is still huge! Look, The Revenant's budget is $100 million and now its box office is more than $500 million. Even if you can only get 30% of that $500 million, that's still huge. So Kazir, at least give me a chance to invest in your new project. We are friends, right?"
"Fuck off, Tom."
The two snickered at each other. They were now used to making fun of each other.
Even if they didn't win the Oscars, they were not going to be bitter about it. After all, The Revenant was considered a blockbuster.
They might be sad about their loss at the Oscars but they couldn't help it.
The two looked around and recognized some actors and directors. Richard Gere, Martin Scorsese, Adrien Brody, and many actors who also received nominations at the Golden Globes last time attended this small party.
In a way, both Golden Globes and the Academy Awards had the same lineup of nominations. However, the winners of the two awards were different.
Last year, the winner of Golden Globes' Best Actor in Motion Picture was Russell Crowe in his performance in A Beautiful Mind.
The winner of the Academy Awards' Best Actor was Denzel Washington in his performance in Training Day.
Both actors were nominated for the same two awards. Unfortunately, in terms of heaviness and importance, Denzel Washington had it better because he won the Academy Awards' Best Actor.
'Speaking of Denzel Washington, he asked for $10 million as a starting salary.'
The Equalizer was still in the pre-production stage and the crew was just hiring the cast. Since Kazir knew the future, he decided to recommend Denzel Washington. Grey Pictures was not a small company and they could afford to hire superstars now.
Still, it depends on how the outcome would be. After all, there were a lot of cheap but talented actors who could take the leading role.
"Is that Pat?"
"Yeah..."
Kazir looked around and found Pat Kingsley talking to some people in the corner of the theater. Pat Kingsley was Tom Cruise's agent.
"She's here because Nicole can't attend." Tom Cruise kept his smile but it was obvious that he didn't feel good about it.
Kazir just turned quiet after that. He knew that Pat Kingsley and Tom Cruise would separate in the early 2000s. He was just not sure when it happened.
Their conversation halted when Frank Pearson showed up together with another person. They started announcing the list of people getting nominated in their respective categories.
Kazir was not surprised when he realized that the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes almost had the same list of nominated people.
However, something was a little bit different. The nominations that The Revenant received were only two!
The Revenant got nominated for Best Actor and Best Director Awards!
What a freaking bullshit was that?
In the Golden Globes, The Revenant got 6 nominations! Yet now, they only have 2? This whole system was rigged and cooked... Well, a lot of people already knew that.
The Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, and all types of award shits were rigged. They usually want to give their awards to their groomed/supported artists.
Both Kazir and Tom had a bad feeling about this...
Thankfully, they got the two awards they wanted. As if the Academy Awards knew their intentions.
Tom Cruise got a nomination in Best Actor while Kazir Grey was nominated in Best Director