In the living room of the suite, Panny Kellis paced back and forth, her gaze occasionally drifting over Duke. Duke sat on the couch, sipping coffee at a leisurely pace, showing little interest in the Oscar-related topic she had brought up.
"Duke, do you want to win an Oscar?" she finally couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I do!" Duke set down his coffee cup and said seriously, "How many people in Hollywood don't want an Oscar?"
The strategy to push *Saving Private Ryan* for the Oscars was already a given by the production company, and this year's timing was particularly favorable. There was no way that would change, and Duke fully supported it. The reason was simple: if they could win a few major awards, the film's revenue would significantly increase, and so would his own income.
"What about Best Director?" Panny sat down across from Duke after Tina Fey poured her a cup of coffee and continued, "Are you really not interested in individual awards?"
Duke pointed to himself. "Panny, I'm only 25 this year! Not to mention other factors, do you really think the Academy would give Best Director to someone so young?"
Let's be serious. Even though he's Jewish, winning Best Director before the age of 30 was out of the question.
"The chances of winning are slim." Panny shook her head, then added, "But getting a nomination is possible."
"A nomination means nothing to me." Duke switched to his usual indifferent expression. "Having the nomination won't raise my salary. Not having it won't reduce the number of studios willing to invest in my movies either."
"You can't avoid the Oscars forever, can you?"
Panny wasn't dumb. She could tell that Duke wasn't disinterested in the Oscars, just that his interest was lukewarm. "Every nomination adds to your credentials and increases the likelihood of winning in the future."
"Can I really get a nomination?" Duke was well aware of his situation. "Don't forget about the critics."
"Some things you only know if you try," Panny said confidently, passionate about it since awards season meant big bucks in PR income. "Some problems can be solved through PR."
Duke agreed with her last point.
Unlike the European film festivals, which are judged by small juries of only a dozen people, the Oscars are voted on by nearly 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, each of whom has years of industry experience. The system had been in place for years and was constantly refined, making the Oscars one of the fairest awards in the world.
However, no matter how fair the system appeared, there was always room for manipulation. Every year, Hollywood produced many great actors and movies, but there was only one Oscar statuette per category. So, who would get it?
That depended on their tactics.
George Lucas once famously cursed the Oscars as a political game. Directors like Spike Lee publicly criticized the Oscars, claiming it rewarded those with strong social connections or deep pockets more than true talent.
Those opinions might be a bit biased, but they did reveal some truths.
For example, many Academy insiders felt that *Saving Private Ryan* lost unfairly. PR wasn't the only issue; there was another major factor: *Private Ryan* was made for the masses, while *Shakespeare in Love* was made for a niche audience.
In 90% of cases, the Oscars favored films made for a niche audience.
In Duke's view, if it weren't for the timing of *Private Ryan*'s release and its aggressive yet non-dominating box office performance, the film's Oscar prospects would have been hindered. Add to that his troubled relationship with critics, and another debacle could very well happen.
One should never underestimate the Academy's willingness to side with the underdog.
"Duke, have you heard of Annie Wilson?" Panny asked.
When Duke shook his head, Panny explained in detail, "She's a member of the Academy and an Oscar voter, also a member of the Producers Guild. Though she hasn't produced any noteworthy films, she's excellent at networking. She's well-connected with many of the Academy's core members and can influence their votes. If you can win her over, you could get support from a significant portion of both the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild, thus offsetting some of the negative influence from critics."
"And the cost?"
His mother had already taught him that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"She has a hobby." Panny glanced at Duke, hesitated briefly, but continued, "She likes well-known men in the industry, especially those who... look good."
"She has a 'stamp collecting' habit." Panny bluntly stated.
Duke coldly looked in her direction. Panny sighed and said, "Alright, we can drop that option..."
"Panny!" Duke interrupted her and asked, "Instead, tell me what specific work needs to be done if I want the nomination."
If the time and effort didn't justify the reward, even a Best Director nomination wasn't worth it to him.
Yes, some people were willing to go all out for an Oscar—like Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. They were rational about it. Others, though, bordered on the extreme.
Take Judi Dench, for instance. To curry favor with certain people during her Oscar campaign, she once got Harvey Weinstein's name tattooed on her backside. She even claimed that, if he asked, she would show it off on the red carpet just to get attention...
This was just one of the many bizarre stories surrounding the Oscars.
Although Duke was a practical and self-serving person, he definitely couldn't stoop to such levels.
Panny thought for a moment, eliminating ideas she knew Duke would reject, then said, "First, you need to organize private screenings. After the film's promotional phase and before awards season, there will be a long gap. You should work with the production company to hold at least five screenings, inviting Academy members while impressing the critics to praise the film..."
"There will also be various publicity campaigns, PR parties, and banquets," Panny explained as simply as she could. "In short, you need to stay in the media spotlight and in the sights of the critics and Oscar voters."
By this point, Duke was already rubbing his temples. He knew that the reality was far more complicated than Panny made it sound.
And it wasn't over yet. Panny continued, "PR isn't just for the Oscars. You'll also need to focus on the precursor awards before awards season. These can significantly boost your chances of a nomination or even a win."
"Which ones?" Duke asked, a little curious.
"I'll just mention the major ones."
Even Panny took out a document from her bag and glanced at it. "The Independent Spirit Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the Gotham Independent Film Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, the American Film Institute Awards, the Producers Guild Awards, and the Directors Guild Awards..."
Duke felt his head spinning. He knew the Oscars were complicated, but it was even worse than he'd imagined.
"The critics' awards and guild awards are the key ones."
After rattling off the long list, Panny took a big gulp of coffee. "If you can get nominations from the three major critics' associations and the guilds, combined with some necessary PR efforts, you'll have over a 90% chance of getting a Best Director nomination, even at your age."
Duke took a sip of coffee and sat quietly for a while, as if weighing the pros and cons, before asking, "So for the next few months, I won't be able to do anything else? All my time and energy will be spent on the Oscars?"
"If you want to secure a nomination, that's the safest approach," Panny advised. "Once you're back in Los Angeles, you shouldn't leave. You should fully cooperate..."
"Wait!" Duke interrupted her, "Panny, I never agreed to this!"
Seeing Panny's puzzled look, Duke didn't hold back. "My time and energy are extremely valuable. I'm not going to waste them on this kind of game."
"After the promotional phase, I'm going on vacation!"
Duke said this confidently, as if a vacation were more important than the Oscars. "I also have a commercial deal with the L'Oréal Group..."
Three million dollars to shoot a commercial—of course, he couldn't turn that down.
"Although the new film is pushed to next year, I still need to do some prep work." Duke spread his hands, "I'm on a tight schedule. I can't afford to waste time."
Doing all this just for an uncertain Best Director nomination was absolutely not worth it in Duke's eyes.
Besides, he never underestimated the influence of critics on the Academy's awards.
Given Duke's current success and status, not even a seasoned PR pro like Panny could make strong demands. She could only helplessly ask, "So what's your plan?"
"We'll cooperate with the production company," Duke said nonchalantly. "We'll follow their lead in PR. If we get the nomination, great. If not, no big deal."
Though the production company's PR would primarily focus on Best Picture, they would also submit for Best Director. Allocating some resources to this made sense because the more major nominations and awards a film received, the greater its future earnings potential.
"According to your director's contract with the studio..." Panny reminded him, "You're required to attend the key PR events and parties."
"I know." Duke nodded.
Compared to the long list Panny had mentioned, there weren't too many of those events,
Kellis came in a hurry and left in a hurry. Her Oscar strategy was mostly rejected by Duke before she could even implement it. She could only leave with regret.
Afterwards, Duke put the Oscar issue behind him and worked hard with Tom Hanks to promote the film in order to suppress the new film "The Bridges of Madison County" by old cowboy Clint Eastwood and strive to continue to dominate the box office for the second week
...
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