As the ripples from the Best Original Score award subsided, the 61st Academy Awards ceremony gradually drew to a close.
After Anne Archer finished introducing the final Best Picture nominee for this year's Oscars, 'Working Girl', Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn took the stage together to present the award for Best Actor.
On and off stage, inside and outside the auditorium, people who had just experienced a thrilling 'showdown' once again held their breath.
On stage, after a humorous speech from the Russell couple, they took turns saying: "Nominated for Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards are Gene Hackman for 'Mississippi Burning', Tom Hanks for 'Big', Dustin Hoffman for 'Rain Man', Edward James Olmos for 'Stand and Deliver', and Robert De Niro for 'Dead Poets Society'".
As the nominations were announced, the live camera zoomed in on each of the five nominees seated in the audience.
Kurt Russell opened the envelope, and he and Goldie Hawn kept everyone in suspense before finally announcing together: "The winner of Best Actor is Dustin Hoffman for 'Rain Man'. Congratulations! This is Dustin's second Oscar".
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause erupted from the audience. As Dustin Hoffman walked onto the stage, some people voluntarily stood up, and the applause grew even more enthusiastic. Spurred by those individuals, the rest of the people in the hall also rose, and the applause lasted for over a minute before finally subsiding.
Dustin Hoffman embraced the Russell couple, received the Oscar statuette from Kurt Russell, and approached the microphone. Looking at the standing audience, he said, "Thank you, thank you, everyone". After the applause died down and everyone was reseated, Hoffman gripped the Oscar in his hand and continued, "Honestly, winning this award was truly not easy".
Upon hearing Dustin Hoffman's words, the audience in the awards hall, unsure if he was being deliberate, many let out knowing laughter.
"First, I want to thank Mr. Michael Ovitz, president of CAA, without whom 'Rain Man' would not exist. This script began development three years ago, and many times during that period, it almost couldn't continue. Whenever we thought the project was about to be completely shelved, Michael would always express his firmest support, allowing everyone to finally see this film on the big screen. Second, I want to thank Barry, who took over the 'Rain Man' script after many directors successively withdrew. He created this film, and also Tom, who was a wonderful partner..."
Compared to the brief acceptance speeches for technical awards, Dustin Hoffman rambled on for over three minutes, recounting the entire 'behind-the-scenes story' of "Rain Man." From Michael Ovitz to Barry Levinson's long-time editor, everyone was mentioned. In summary, he emphasized how difficult the film's creators had it, how arduous the project's birth was, and how much contribution everyone he mentioned made to 'Rain Man'.
Although Dustin Hoffman occasionally gazed upwards, seemingly lost in thought and out of sync, throughout his entire speech, he meticulously avoided any information related to Daenerys Entertainment.
In recent years, CAA has brought in a large number of top-tier Hollywood stars, most of whom are Oscar acting award voters themselves. Coupled with their intricate network of connections, CAA's potential influence in the acting categories is much stronger than that of the established WMA, let alone Daenerys Entertainment, which was founded less than three years ago.
Therefore, everyone at Daenerys Entertainment had already anticipated the current outcome.
However, listening to Dustin Hoffman's speech on stage, Amy and the others still looked somewhat displeased.
Everyone in the industry knew that if Simon hadn't greenlit 'Rain Man', the project might still be in limbo. Now, in Hoffman's words, all the credit seemed to be going to others.
When Dustin Hoffman finally finished his speech and went backstage, the CAA contingent immediately surrounded him, while those from Daenerys Entertainment merely watched with cold eyes, both sides no longer bothering with pleasantries.
Only the Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture awards remained. Ira Deutchman quietly asked Amy if they should leave early. The Best Actress award was unrelated to Daenerys Entertainment, and as for the other two, after the Best Actor award, a disheartened Deutschman no longer expected any special changes.
Amy, however, simply shook her head, crossed her arms, and watched the live broadcast on the backstage television screen, quietly awaiting the final results.
The farce of the Best Actress 'triple tie' at the Golden Globes two months prior naturally wouldn't happen at the Oscars. Jodie Foster, just like in the original timeline, won her first Oscar statuette for 'The Accused'. This former child star of Hollywood finally achieved success after enduring that major upheaval years ago.
Jonathan Friedman, Vice President of WMA, who had been waiting backstage for the award results, watched Jodie Foster deliver her acceptance speech on stage, his mood equally low.
Jodie Foster was also a client of WMA earlier.
WMA's decline in recent years had not been reversed by his discovery of Simon Westeros, the Hollywood prodigy; WMA's clients continued to dwindle.
Jodie Foster was also poached by ICM in early last year during the exodus led by another WMA vice president, Ed Limato, who took stars like Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Then, in just one short year, Jodie Foster, with 'The Accused', completely changed her lukewarm career trajectory, winning the Oscar for Best Actress at the age of 25.
As he pondered, Jonathan Friedman couldn't help but clench his fist.
Fortunately, this situation wouldn't last much longer.
Norman Brokaw, the president of WMA, would soon be resigning.
In recent years, many of WMA's agents have been losing their top clients, but Jonathan alone not only retained major clients like Brian De Palma, Robert Duvall, and Billy Crystal, successfully signed a big name like Robert De Niro, but also cultivated rising stars like Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon. Simon's rise in Hollywood was even more dazzling.
Therefore, Jonathan was almost the undisputed choice for WMA's next president, and he felt this was only natural.
This time, if the old men upstairs continued to play power games and gave his rightful position to someone else, Jonathan felt that this talent agency, which had lasted for more than half a century, would be on the verge of complete decline, and he would not hesitate to leave.
In the live broadcast, Dennis Quaid and Michelle Pfeiffer took the stage, and Friedman refocused his thoughts.
Even without much hope, Amy and the others still stared intently at the television screen.
This was the second to last award of the night, Best Director.
"An excellent director is like a skilled captain; he is the core and soul of the crew. Without the captain's guidance, no ship can sail to the correct destination".
"I am honoured to introduce tonight's five 'captains.' Of course, no matter which of them wins, it will not diminish the brilliance of the others."
"Nominated for Best Director at this year's Academy Awards are:"
"Mike Nichols, 'Working Girl'"
"Charles Crichton, 'A Fish Called Wanda'"
"Barry Levinson, 'Rain Man'"
"Alan Parker, 'Mississippi Burning'"
"Peter Weir, 'Dead Poets Society'".
After introducing the five nominees in turn, Michelle Pfeiffer, wearing a deep red V-neck evening gown tonight, cast a captivating gaze towards the stage below, but her hands did not stop. Slowly but skilfully, she 'blindly' opened the envelope, pulled out the card with the winner's name, and then looked down.
Upon seeing the award result, the charming lady, who had just been radiating charisma, instantly showed a hint of surprise on her face, but quickly smiled and showed the envelope to Dennis Quaid beside her.
Dennis Quaid debuted in the seventies, and his career only slowly began to pick up in middle age.
Having been in Hollywood for many years, he naturally knew all sorts of industry gossip.
Glancing at the award result handed to him by Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Quaid did not show a surprised expression. Instead, he took the envelope, held it in his hand, and 'carefully' looked at it a few times, striking a pose and keeping everyone in suspense. Finally, he announced into the microphone the award result that many had already suspected but were unwilling to believe.
"The winner of Best Director at this year's Academy Awards is Peter Weir for 'Dead Poets Society'".
In the hall, after a noticeable brief silence, applause erupted.
Backstage at the ceremony, Deutchman, though not as flustered as during the Best Original Score presentation, still raised his fist and, with a silent understanding, bumped it with Amy and the others.
In the hall, a delighted Peter Weir quickly walked towards the stage.
Although the shots of the five nominees were cut, the live camera once again swept to 'Rain Man' director Barry Levinson, successfully capturing Levinson's obvious disappointment, even anger.
This was Barry Levinson's first Best Director nomination, and clearly his most promising chance to win.
At first, everyone had low expectations for 'Rain Man', but the film unexpectedly became a hit, and its success was so sudden that it caught everyone off guard, proving the strong uncertainty of filmmaking.
Having missed this most promising opportunity to win, it's hard to say whether Barry Levinson will ever get another Oscar.
It's important to remember that both the media and audiences often compare a filmmaker's work to their previous efforts. It's evident that 'Rain Man' was a peak for Barry Levinson, and it will undoubtedly be difficult for him to produce a film better than 'Rain Man' in the future.
Unable to produce a work that surpasses 'Rain Man', and under the influence of comparative psychology and public opinion, even if he were to receive another nomination, the likelihood of him winning an award would be minuscule.
Calming down, and listening to Peter Weir's excited acceptance speech on stage, everyone. whether in the main hall, backstage at the ceremony, or the media reporters waiting outside for the results. after some reflection, gradually realized that Peter Weir's win actually had a discernible pattern.
Peter Weir had already received one Academy Award nomination for Best Director for 'Witness' in 1985, which already gave him an advantage over Barry Levinson. Therefore, although the award result was somewhat unexpected by everyone, it wasn't abrupt.
'Rain Man' was indeed a phenomenal film, but 'Dead Poets Society' was also an excellent and outstanding film. Moreover, Daenerys Entertainment's public relations offensive during this awards season was truly relentless.
'Rain Man' didn't have particularly outstanding aspects in terms of cinematography, editing, and other technical areas, so it was natural for it to miss out on the technical awards earlier. However, amidst the fierce competition from a host of established top composers, Simon Westeros's Best Original Score award actually already demonstrated the effectiveness of Daenerys Entertainment's public relations.
As for the 'failure' in the Best Actor category, it was mainly because Daenerys Entertainment did not have other strong public relations targets in this area.
Robert De Niro, who received a Best Actor nomination for 'Dead Poets Society', had already won two Academy Awards for Best Actor previously, which is already a limit for Hollywood actors. Unless De Niro could deliver another super-phenomenal film that even surpassed 'Rain Man', otherwise, under normal circumstances, he would have to wait at least ten or twenty years to win his third Oscar.
On the other hand, Dustin Hoffman's performance in 'Rain Man' was as impeccable as the film itself, which is beyond doubt.
Therefore, although Daenerys Entertainment's targeting of De Niro for public relations diluted Hoffman's votes, with the other three nominees being less competitive than Hoffman and De Niro, and De Niro being unlikely to win, the final award outcome seemed perfectly natural.
Considering this, Dustin Hoffman's win cannot be considered a failure for Daenerys Entertainment.
Now, Peter Weir of 'Dead Poets Society' has won the Best Director award. Many people, after careful consideration, suddenly realized that in this year's Oscars, the hidden battle between Daenerys Entertainment and CAA ultimately saw Daenerys Entertainment emerge victorious.
Dustin Hoffman simply won an award that was very easy for him to obtain.
What Peter Weir has now received is the result of an intense clash between Daenerys Entertainment and CAA. It's important to know that CAA, which has been operating in Hollywood for over a decade, has strong capabilities in the acting field, and its network in the directing sphere is also not to be underestimated.
In comparison, Daenerys Entertainment, with its shallow foundation, had a very obvious disadvantage.
To still win an award despite such adversity, coupled with Simon Westeros's own Best Original Score Oscar earlier, this is enough to prove the great success of Daenerys Entertainment's public relations strategy this year.
The news of Peter Weir winning Best Director for 'Dead Poets Society' quickly spread. Inside the Shrine Auditorium, the awards ceremony continued, but it was also entering its final moments.
The Best Picture award was presented by Cher, the Best Actress winner from the previous year.
This point once again highlighted the differences in detail at this year's Oscars. Besides having no host, the presenters also did not follow the traditional pattern of Best Actor presenting Best Actress and Best Actress presenting Best Actor.
The final award result held no suspense; 'Rain Man' successfully won the Best Picture Oscar at the 61st Academy Awards.
Daenerys Entertainment submitted two producers: one was Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson's long-time producer, and the other was Daenerys Entertainment's own representative. Through this arrangement, Daenerys Entertainment would receive an Oscar statuette, to be displayed at the company's headquarters as a permanent honour.
After Best Picture, the 61st Academy Awards ceremony successfully concluded.
However, the aftermath of all this was just beginning.