Outside the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles.
Valeria Golino, dressed in a black Gucci evening gown, stepped out of the limousine. Hearing the bursts of cheers from both sides of the red carpet, she couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
Although she was the youngest Best Actress winner at the Venice Film Festival, the award she won in 1986 probably served mostly to help her knock on Hollywood's door. The film, 'A Tale Of Love', which also won the Special Jury Prize, left almost no trace in film history and is even hard to find because there are simply too many films with the same name, 'A Tale Of Love'.
Now, everything was different.
Although the two male leads of 'Rain Man', Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, occupied most of the film's spotlight, as the female lead, she still gained very wide recognition. Moreover, she was now the female lead in Simon Westeros's new film 'Batman', playing the role of Catwoman.
Stepping onto the red carpet, she was so excited that she foolishly walked forward alone.
She recognized many big names around her, but few recognized her. She had no male companion either; she had broken up with her original boyfriend when she came to Hollywood to develop her career. Speaking of which, after getting the role of Catwoman and traveling all the way to Melbourne for filming, she had thought something might happen with that young genius director, but unfortunately, he wasn't very interested in her.
It was no wonder.
How could a man desired by all of Hollywood fall to her?
Her thoughts drifted until her agent, Eliane Bohlman, stepped forward to pull her back, only then realizing she had almost walked past the media area.
She had been instructed to stop for photos.
It wasn't just to increase exposure; there was also the need to promote the outfit she was wearing, for which magazine layouts had already been arranged in advance.
She quickly backed up and struck a pose.
In her mind, she excused herself, thinking it must be a lingering effect from that fall during the last shoot.
Mhm.
It must be that.
Having found a reason, her mood improved, and her smile became more natural.
Listening to the group of reporters loudly asking her about some details of the 'Batman' shoot, she really wanted to answer a few words, but she could only keep her mouth shut. Westeros was already overwhelmed with the crew's confidentiality work; if she spoke out of turn, she would definitely be scolded to death.
Thinking of this, she inexplicably wanted to say a few things randomly.
Of course.
Just thinking about it.
After the photos, she continued forward. Eliane soon approached again to remind her that there was also a TV station interview.
How hateful, she didn't forget this time.
Walking to the live broadcast point and waiting for a moment, Bruce Willis and his wife, who were being interviewed, left. Her agent gestured to her, and she quickly lifted her skirt to step onto the interview platform.
The female host was very enthusiastic. After some mutual compliments and a few words about her Gucci gown, she was asked about 'Batman' as usual. Could she reveal some inside information? No, she would be scolded to death. Oh, is Westeros very fierce on set?
Oops, she said the wrong thing.
Thinking of Eliane behind her, she decisively shifted the blame: No! It was her agent who would scold her to death.
Sorry, buddy, anyway, no one knows who you are. The cameraman moved the lens away, scanning behind her.
Well, now someone knows who you are.
After the interview ended and she stepped down, she wasn't scolded; instead, she was praised for her quick reaction.
Of course.
Finally reaching the end of the red carpet, it was a bit early, so many people hadn't entered the auditorium yet. She was led to the small circle of Daenerys Entertainment. Amy Pascal was chatting with Bruce Willis and his wife. WMA Vice President Jonathan Friedman was also there, along with big names like Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Billy Crystal, Sandra Bullock, and Madonna.
Once here, Eliane stopped following her and went to speak quietly with Jonathan Friedman. She wasn't shy either and took the initiative to chat with Billy Crystal.
A very witty guy.
She complimented him, saying she really liked his 'When Harry Met Sally', so she was tested on a few lines. Hmm, the Apple pie must be on the side, and the vinaigrette must also be on the side.
It was a pity she didn't see Meg Ryan.
She heard she had a falling out with Daenerys Entertainment.
Pascal was socializing with everyone but didn't forget her. After a few words, she was even asked about the preparations for Westeros's nomination.
The nomination for Best Original Score.
How interesting, isn't he a director?
She heard he had already won a Best Editing award last time.
Counting it up like this: Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress... Uh, that last one would be a bit difficult.
However, that guy really is a polymath.
There are people in Hollywood who have won many nominations and several Oscars in one category, but never has anyone been able to span so many different types of awards.
As it approached six o'clock, everyone began to enter.
The 'Rain Man' crew was split up quite a bit. The two big stars, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, sat in very forward positions with their female companions. Director Barry Levinson was also in a very prominent spot. Valeria Golino was placed next to the 'Dead Poets Society' crew, while other 'Rain Man' nominees were scattered throughout.
The various storms surrounding 'Rain Man' before its release were already well known, but fortunately, they did not affect the box office performance.
After the film's box office and critical reception both exploded, all parties began to claim credit for themselves, though no major conflicts appeared on the surface anymore. However, from the distribution of the main creators' seats at this Oscar ceremony, it was not difficult to see the serious state of division among the film's creators.
Perhaps because the hosts of the previous few ceremonies, like Chevy Chase, had performed unremarkably, this year's Oscars simply did not have a host.
After the new Academy President Richard Kahn took the stage to give his speech, it was immediately followed by the opening song and dance.
The first award presented was for Best Supporting Actress.
Both Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts, who are closely tied to Daenerys Entertainment, received this nomination. Sandra's nomination film was 'Dangerous Liaisons'; the production had originally intended for Michelle Pfeiffer, but due to some entanglements between WMA and ICM, Jonathan Friedman used his connections to snatch the role. Julia received her nomination for the role of Shelby in 'Steel Magnolias'.
Both women had only debuted a few years ago, and being able to get a nomination was already very rare.
The award ultimately went, without suspense, to Geena Davis for 'The Accidental Tourist'.
Jane Fonda took the stage after the Best Supporting Actress award was presented to introduce the Best Picture nominee, 'Rain Man'.
Next up was the Best Sound Design award.
Amy could have had a very prominent seat in the hall, but she chose to wait for the results backstage with Deutchman, Friedman, and others.
The first few awards presented were minor, and Amy even took the time to contact the Hilton Hotel regarding the preparations for the after-party.
About half an hour later, Vanessa reminded her that it was almost time for the Best Art Direction award, which was one of the eight nominations for rain man.
Amy turned her attention to the live broadcast screen backstage.
On stage, the winner of Best Animated Short Film was giving their acceptance speech.
Seeing this, Amy felt a bit of regret. The Pixar animation studio that Simon bought had also submitted a nomination for their film Tin Toy this time, but unfortunately, Daenerys Entertainment was clearly suppressed at this year's Oscars, and they couldn't even get a nomination for something as inconspicuous as Best Animated Short Film.
In the subsequent Best Art Direction category, rain man also missed out on the award, with the Oscar going to Dangerous Liaisons.
Although she didn't care about the results of these marginal awards, the loss in Best Art Direction still cast an extra shadow over Amy's heart.
After Best Art Direction, rain man also lost in two other technical categories, Best Cinematography and Best Editing. This deepened the gloom among the Daenerys Entertainment group; Ira Deutchman had already slipped out twice to smoke.
After all, the important nominations are presented later, but with rain man failing to win these technical awards, it was hard to say what the results would be for those even more competitive major nominations.
If they came away with nothing tonight, the Oscars would surely face strong controversy, but Daenerys Entertainment would also become a laughingstock in the industry.
In the anxious wait, half of the three-hour awards ceremony passed by without them noticing.
The three generations of the Bridges family, Lloyd Bridges, Beau Bridges, and Jeff Bridges, took the stage together to introduce the nominees for Best Original Screenplay.
'Rain Man' was one of the five nominees for Best Original Screenplay.
Everyone's hearts were raised again, but they basically didn't hold much hope. The entanglement between Daenerys Entertainment and the Writers Guild of America could not be resolved in the short term.
After introducing the five films, Jeff Bridges tore open the envelope containing the award, took a look, and then handed it to his father with a smile. Lloyd Bridges glanced at the result, intentionally teased the audience for a moment, and then announced into the microphone: "The winner for Best Original Screenplay is Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass for 'Rain Man'".
Applause rang out.
The two screenwriters of 'Rain Man' excitedly rose from their seats at the back of the hall. Instead of heading straight for the stage, they went to the film's director, Barry Levinson, and the two male leads, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, warmly hugging and greeting the three of them.
This obviously carefully arranged 'plot' was easy for those in the know to see through.
The applause continued, but many people in the hall had varying expressions. Some looked knowing, some were gloating, and most were just watching the show.
'Rain Man' was a CAA package project, a well-known fact. Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass were clearly both CAA clients. After winning, they didn't head straight to the stage but instead 'laboriously' greeted the film's director and the two male leads sitting in different positions. Their intention to show off and claim credit was more than obvious.
Sure enough, upon reaching the stage, the two screenwriters once again publicly thanked Barry Levinson, Dustin Hoffman, and Tom Cruise, but did not mention Daenerys Entertainment at all.
At the CAA headquarters in Century City, although it was already past seven in the evening, many high-level executives of this talent agency were gathered in a large conference room, and Michael Ovitz had not left either.
Seeing Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass win and everything on the TV screen, many agents cheered and high-fived each other in celebration. Michael Ovitz also smiled and whispered a few instructions to his assistant, David O'Connor, telling him to personally check on CAA's party preparations for tonight. Like Daenerys Entertainment, CAA had also prepared a grand after-party tonight.
This was a secret war.
Everyone was well aware of it.
If CAA could not defend the glory of its clients tonight, this talent agency, which had expanded rapidly and flourished in recent years, would suffer a heavy blow.
The win for the two screenwriters of 'Rain Man' might have added some lustre to the film, but it was more of a victory for CAA. It was well known that if it were only Daenerys Entertainment handling the PR, the possibility of 'Rain Man' winning this award from the Writers Guild of America would be very low.
Now, as long as Barry Levinson and Dustin Hoffman could get the awards they deserved, CAA would emerge completely victorious tonight.
The win for the two screenwriters gave Michael Ovitz even more confidence in this.
After Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, five of the eleven total nominations under Daenerys Entertainment had been presented. Julia Roberts' Best Supporting Actress and the three technical awards for 'Rain Man' had all fallen through; only the CAA-led Best Original Screenplay nomination had won an Oscar.
Next, except for the Best Original Score for which Simon himself was nominated, the rest were heavyweight awards like Best Picture and Best Director, and their presentation order was also very late.
Backstage at the ceremony, although there was a high probability that 'Rain Man' would emerge as the winner of the last few major awards, Amy still felt a bit down.
However, noticing Deutchman's clearly more dejected expression, she had to pull herself together to comfort him. Regardless, Deutchman's outstanding performance over the past few months was obvious to all. Both 'Metropolitan' and 'Some Girls', released by Highgate Film, had achieved good success, and Deutchman's PR strategy seemed very correct to Amy.
In the end, this matter was still due to Daenerys Entertainment's lack of deep roots in Hollywood.
Amy also had to comfort herself internally; even if tonight's Oscar results were unsatisfactory, Daenerys Entertainment's commercial achievements at the box office last year remained unmatched. If other Hollywood film companies could choose to give up Oscar awards in exchange for box office results like those of Daenerys Entertainment, perhaps not a single company would hesitate.
The awards ceremony did not stall because of everyone's varying moods.
After the Oscar Special Achievement Award, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore took the stage to introduce the nominees for Best Original Score.
Everyone familiar with the details of tonight's secret war instantly perked up. Moreover, many people also had the same thought Valeria Golino had on the red carpet: Simon Westeros is absolutely a Hollywood polymath. Hollywood is not short of polymaths, but to be able to win these technical awards outside of one's primary role as a director is unprecedented in Hollywood history.
The Best Original Score category did not have a live camera on the nominees, which also avoided the embarrassment of Simon's absence.
The Willis couple took turns introducing the five nominees. Bruce Willis slowly tore open the envelope, glanced down, and a look of surprise appeared on his face before he handed the envelope to his wife.
Many people below the stage clearly saw Demi Moore mouth a silent "Wow" after seeing the result. The woman then glanced back at the audience with a bit more regret in her expression. After everyone had probably guessed something, she finally leaned into the microphone and said: "This is truly a surprising result, it's a pity he couldn't be here tonight. So, the winner for Best Original Score is Simon Westeros for 'Rain Man'".
Although they had already guessed this result, the atmosphere below the stage froze for a moment before a wave of applause broke out.
"He actually won it".
"You've got to be kidding me".
"What's next, Best Cinematography? I heard Westeros's cinematography skills are even more outstanding".
"Oh my god".
"Can there actually be a Grand Slam at the Oscars?"
...If the awards ceremony could have a bullet screen, it would definitely be overflowing right now.
At CAA headquarters, Michael Ovitz almost lost his composure and threw the coffee cup in front of him.
Backstage at the ceremony, Ira Deutchman blankly confirmed this result and quite out of character spread his arms to pull the equally astonished Amy into a hug.
In the past, the Best Original Score award would indeed have been insignificant. But at these Oscars, with all the undercurrents, the fact that Daenerys Entertainment won this award carried a significance definitely no less than that of 'Rain Man' winning Best Picture.
Amidst the varying emotions of countless people, Valeria Golino lifted her skirt and walked toward the stage to begin delivering a brief acceptance speech on behalf of Simon. After a celebration, Amy and Deutchman immediately called Melbourne to report the good news to Simon.