"By the way, why didn't you invite me to star in your latest project? What's the name of it again? Pirates? Anyway, why didn't you invite me or send me the script?"
"The answer is obvious because you are expensive to hire."
"I can be an investor this time."
"We are doing fine. If the budget is not enough, I'm sure 20th Century Fox will be happy to invest in my project."
Kazir was the most sought-after director and all of his movies were profitable. A lot of people would not hesitate to invest in his films.
"Tch!"
Tom Cruise clicked his tongue in the process. Seemed like he would never get the chance to earn money from Kazir's filmography. Well, he might win the Best Actor tonight so that didn't matter.
Kazir just shrugged and let the short adult man be bitter... Yes, Tom Cruise was just 5'7 feet, while Kazir was 6'2 feet. The height difference between the two was obvious.
After a brief introduction to the Academy Awards, Steve Martin, the host of this Award, made his entrance. The people in the theater naturally stood up and clapped their hands.
Steve Martin was a famous comedian and hosted the Academy Awards three times.
He didn't do any grand entrance, he just did his jokes and it was enough to keep people entertained.
After that, the segment naturally went to announcing the winners of the Awards.
The first to be announced was the winner of Best Animated Feature Film, the presenter was Cameron Diaz.
Unlike last time, when Cameron Diaz gave Kazir flirty gazes, the woman was doing natural and professional tonight.
Angelina squeezed Kazir's hand for some reason and the man glanced at her, a bit confused.
Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki won the Best Animated Feature Film. A great anime, by the way.
Since most of these awards were not related to The Revenant, Kazir, and Tom didn't care about it and just let the show gradually pass.
The Best Supporting Actor was won by Chris Cooper in his role in Adaptation.
Catherine Zeta-Jones won the Best Supporting Actress in her role in Chicago.
Then, a few minutes later, Tom and Kazir became serious because this certain part of the show was important to one of them.
Halle Berry showed up with an envelope in her hands. She smiled and made a short speech before telling the list of nominated people for the Best Actor.
"Adrien Brody, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jack Nicholson. These are the actors nominated for the Best Actor Award."
Kazir's lips were tight shut waiting for the result. He knew that Adrien Brody had the strongest chance to win the Best Actor Award because that was what happened in the original timeline. In fact, Kazir admitted that Adrien Brody deserved to win the Award because his performance was amazing.
However, he wanted Tom Cruise to win, because they were friends.
As for Tom, the actor kept his composure and didn't show any nervousness. He kept his smile, knowing that a camera was pointed at him, broadcasting his reaction live for the people to see.
Halle Berry opened the envelope. The actors who were nominated had their hearts beating faster as they waited for every second.
Then, the actress announced the winner. Halle Berry bit her lip, intensifying the situation.
"Congratulations! Tom Cruise. The Revenant."
A strong applause came from the audience and even Kazir started clapping with vigor. Tom Cruise took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second before standing.
He hugged Kazir, Penelope, and Angelina before going to the stage.
"Thanks, Kazir."
"Nah, you deserve it." Kazir patted the actor's back.
The other actors also clapped their hands, congratulating Tom Cruise on his win.
Tom Cruise hugged Halle Berry and then someone gave him the golden statue. Tom raised the statue in his hand and smiled at the camera.
"First of all, I want to thank everyone who supported and watched The Revenant. You guys are the real winner..."
Tom started his speech. Being a superstar in this industry, Tom Cruise understood that he should maintain his image. He made sure to choose roles that fit him perfectly with no backlash.
However, it didn't change that Tom Cruise knew how to act. He was a great actor, he just decided to choose safe roles instead of experimental roles that could destroy his image.
Still, being an actor, Tom Cruise wanted to win the gold statue. He tried it thrice but the outcome was not good.
This year, Tom found a certain script that caught his interest. It was about the feudal era of Japan, around the time when samurais lost their honor... If The Revenant didn't work, Tom Cruise could try to use that script as another way to get a golden statue... Well, he already won one now.
Tom Cruise was not sure if The Revenant and Hugh Glass would be the answer to his questions. But he trusted Kazir, he knew that the famous director would be his biggest chip at the Oscars.
Tom was clearly happy and thanked his friends.
The Academy Awards was a show broadcast live and naturally, there would be a director for the show. The director thought that it would be interesting to show Nicole Kidman's reaction while her ex-husband was speaking about his success.
The camera pointed at Nicole and her reaction was amazing. Her lips were pursed, clearly not happy. Although her reaction only lasted for a second before she smiled... It seemed that Nicole realized that a camera was recording her. Behind her smile, her two fists crumpled her dress, shaking terribly.
Acceptance speech could only 45 seconds, it was a rule that the Academy set and reminded the people to follow. So Tom's speech didn't last that long before he went to the backstage.
Kazir could not help but laugh. Well, at least The Revenant won an important award tonight. It seemed that the members of the Academy were doing their jobs right... He just hoped that something good would also happen to him