[Chapter 973: Take a Gamble]
Although the buzz that Titanic once brought was missing this time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences definitely put in a significant effort to celebrate its 70th anniversary. For instance, after all these years, the Oscars finally had its own theme song.
Eric found himself seated in the second row of the left section, right by the aisle. Despite the presence of several starlets he had previously shared a few ambiguous moments with, his companion for the evening was Judy Foster, his co-presenter for the night.
This was a specific request from Eric as the few women still in his life didn't attend this year for various reasons. Time had moved on for everyone, and they all had their own lives now; at least in public, it wasn't convenient for them to act overly intimate.
As the guests on stage and the ever-present cameras came into play, Eric engaged in a few casual conversations with Judy about Gravity, making the time pass swiftly.
Eric was there to present two awards: Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. Typically, these awards were given by a set of presenters. The awards for Best Screenplay were scheduled towards the end of the ceremony, which started at six and continued until about eight-thirty, when the event staff came to remind Eric and Judy that it was almost their turn.
...
They made their way backstage, picked up two envelopes from the accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and waited for the performers on stage to finish singing a song from Good Will Hunting.
Listening to the performance, Judy asked, "Eric, do you think this movie has a chance to win?"
"If it's the award we hold, it's quite likely," Eric nodded, and added, "But the rest, forget about it."
By that point in the ceremony, most awards had already been decided. Good Will Hunting, which received nine nominations, had only seen Robin Williams win Best Supporting Actor so far, with everything else falling short. Miramax's heavily campaigned The English Patient had already scooped up seven awards. The most crucial ones left, Best Director and Best Picture, were obviously set to be won by The English Patient as well.
Miramax had chosen to abandon Good Will Hunting in favor of focusing their campaign efforts on The English Patient, which seemed to please the judges more.
However, for the upcoming Best Screenplay award, Good Will Hunting still had a strong chance. If the two young screenwriters, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, managed to win, it wouldn't match the prestige of Best Director or Best Picture, but it could significantly boost the attention and buzz around Good Will Hunting, which could translate into actual profits. The Weinstein brothers' ultimate aim for their Oscar campaign was essentially for profit.
With thoughts racing through his mind, the performance on stage ended. Following the host's introduction, Eric and Judy stepped up to the microphone.
...
Once the applause died down, Eric cleared his throat, scanned the audience, and smiled. "Now, I can see those eager eyes looking back at me, but, this time, it won't be pure gold!"
A soft wave of laughter erupted from the crowd.
Years ago, when Eric first took the Oscar stage as a presenter, he made this joke. Many in attendance frequently attended the ceremony. Add to that, this year, Eric had risen to become the world's first centi-billionaire, so even if they hadn't seen that Oscars ceremony years ago, everyone easily understood the reference.
Once laughter subsided, Eric got straight to the point. "Now, let's see which films are nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay."
As his voice faded, clips from several movies started playing on the big screen.
"The nominees for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay are: Good Will Hunting by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; As Good as It Gets by Mark Andrews and James L. Brooks; The Full Monty by Simon Beaufoy; Deconstructing Harry by Woody Allen; and Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson."
Once the big screen finished introducing the films, Eric confidently opened the envelope in his hand, took a quick glance, and showed it to Judy.
Without any hesitation, Judy smiled and announced, "The Oscar goes to Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck."
As thunderous applause erupted, Matt Damon excitedly embraced his mother, taking his time until he stood up, hugging everyone he could along the way while trying to maintain an air of calmness that Ben felt was somewhat awkward.
As they reached the stage, just as Eric was about to hand over the little golden statue to Matt, he got caught up in a hug. Eric, left without much choice, patted Matt on the back resignedly before handing him the award. He then stepped aside with Judy.
The duo stood at the microphone, Matt visibly shaken with emotions, giggling and swaying in front of it. Ben stepped up to the mic to give their acceptance speech. "While it's disheartening that Matt didn't win Best Actor, if he had, that would've been terrifying -- really terrifying! I can't thank everyone in twenty seconds, so let's start with the director..."
Ben rambled off a series of thank-yous while Matt, jiggling with excitement, finally chimed in, "And your brother!"
Ben nodded eagerly. "Oh, my brother!"
"Cole Hauser."
"Oh, Cole Hauser!"
"And mom!"
The two started animatedly gesturing toward the audience. "Those two beautiful ladies sitting right over there!"
"My dad's in the back."
"And Boston!"
"Thank you, Boston!"
As the applause and laughter rolled on, the pair of excited friends finally wrapped up their rambling acceptance speech.
...
Once they disappeared backstage, Eric and Judy returned to the microphone.
With his hands behind his back, Eric glanced in the direction of the two who had just left, half-jokingly remarking, "You know, I suddenly feel like saying, being young is fantastic!"
The laughter from the audience started again.
However, looking at the composed Eric on stage and remembering the two excitable youngsters who had just left, many were surprised to realize that Eric and Matt Damon were actually the same age, both born in 1970 and turning 28 that year. Even Ben Affleck was just two years younger.
Realizing this, many inevitably began reflecting on the various sentiments it incited.
While many had gradually caught onto the Weinstein brothers' aggressive PR tactics, Harvey seemed to know the boundaries as well.
The following award for Best Adapted Screenplay went to LA Confidential, despite The English Patient being nominated.
...
As the last two winning writers walked backstage, Judy looked curiously at Eric and asked, "Eric, why do I get the feeling your earlier remark was sincere?"
Not immediately feeling like heading back to the stage, Eric found a seat in the backstage area and sat down next to Judy. "It was sincere," he replied.
"But you're only, uh, 28," Judy said, chuckling, "That must be disheartening for a lot of people."
"Well, I think it's more about mental age -- and you're only, hmm, how old? But you started acting at a young age. In front of those actors who might be around your age but are just starting out, don't you feel that sense of being older?"
Judy tilted her head slightly, thinking before shaking her head, "Nope, I just see it as a pretty unique growth experience."
"Is it like those lines in Taxi Driver?"
Hearing Eric reference her movie from over twenty years ago, Judy pondered for a moment before asking, "What lines?"
Eric had thought of the line just suddenly but, upon hearing Judy's follow-up, threw his hands up, "I can't remember, but you were stunning in that film."
Judy leaned back in mock defensiveness, bemusedly glaring at Eric, "I was only thirteen then!"
"So, you people just think too dirty," Eric shot back playfully.
Judy rolled her eyes at him. She was just joking and didn't actually harbor any anger.
As they spent time together, she felt like she was getting to know Eric better. She sensed that he had a habitual way of seducing the women around him -- that was the word she thought was most fitting.
However, if a woman didn't reciprocate, Eric didn't push it either. So, with the time spent working on Gravity, Judy found herself unintentionally bringing Eric into her circle of friends.
After a brief exchange of jokes, Judy leaned to listen to the commotion in the auditorium. "The Best Actress award is coming up soon. Are you going out?"
Eric shook his head. "Nah, we've been sitting out for over two hours. Let's rest for a while. How about a bet, though? I bet the Best Actress will go to Helen Hunt."
"I think that's unlikely. Helen Hunt has mostly been a television actress, and the Oscars rarely award actresses who come from that background. Besides, I think the other nominees have stronger credentials than Helen Hunt." Judy analyzed her perspective and then added, "And As Good as It Gets is a Sony film. Shouldn't you be betting on Miramax's The English Patient, particularly for Kristin Scott Thomas?"
Eric said, "If I bet on Best Actress for The English Patient, would you follow?"
"I'm not following you. You bet on Helen Hunt, and I'm sticking to my guns," Judy laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not falling for that."
Eric encouraged her, "It's not good for a woman to be so conventional. How about a gamble?"
After thinking it over, Judy realized that regarding this round of five Best Actress nominations, even without considering the Weinstein support's Kristin Scott Thomas, the likelihood of winning for Helena Bonham Carter, Judi Dench, or Julie Christie seemed much higher than Helen Hunt.
In fact, it was clear Helen Hunt was the one with the least chance of winning at this year's Oscars.
Seeing Judy being slightly swayed, Eric chimed in again. "The results are about to be announced. Want to bet? Last chance!"
Judy thought hard and looked at Eric. "You go first. What's the wager?"
"The nominees for Best Actress are being introduced, so we'll discuss the bet later. Oh, who are you betting on?"
Judy rolled her eyes at Eric again, not wanting to linger, and said, "Okay, I bet Kristin Scott Thomas."
Just as they settled the wager, the music announcing the nominated actresses was playing, and both leaned in to listen. On the other side, last year's Oscar Best Actor winner, Geoffrey Rush, slowly read out a name, "The Oscar goes to The English Patient's Kristin Scott Thomas. Congratulations!"
As the applause rang out, Eric slightly froze, but Judy burst into a triumphant smile, "Eric, you lost! What are you planning to give me?"
In the earlier race for Best Actor, Ralph Fiennes from The English Patient lost to Jack Nicholson from As Good as It Gets, marking Jack's third Oscar win for Best Actor. His nominations were countless. Thus, Jack's win had completely taken many by surprise.
Eric had thought the Best Actress award could still yield a surprise win for Helen Hunt, who had a very low chance.
After all, As Good as It Gets was one of the highest-grossing films nominated for Best Picture this year, and as the only highlight after a complete year of disappointments, Sony was clearly not going to go easy on the PR expenses to help As Good as It Gets secure more awards.
But the results were surprisingly clear now; even having lost in the Best Actor category, Sony's PR methods still lagged far behind the Weinstein brothers, resulting in the Best Actress nominations returning to 'normal,' with Helen Hunt not being an unexpected winner like in the past.
Their spontaneous bet had come up just in the moment, and looking at Judy's triumphant expression, Eric chuckled. "Well, you think up the wager as long as it's not money. That's too cliche."
"Ha! You know, I actually want you to give me a blank check," she teased.
"Ugh, such a materialistic woman!"
"Hmph! Stingy man!"
*****
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