America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 988 - 897 New Goals
Chapter 988: Chapter 897 New Goals
Chapter 988 -897 New Goals
Leading the “Spotlight” cast and crew, with Thomas McCarthy at the helm, all arrived on the Oscar stage, where Thomas McCarthy, representing the crew, had received the Best Picture statuette from Warren Beatty.
Producer Steve Golin started his acceptance speech.
Everything seemed normal, as though there were no surprises.
Martin glanced inconspicuously at the director, then at the PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant.
The former was wearing a headset, communicating with the backstage crew.
The latter was sitting at a designated seat, organizing the carry-on briefcase.
In the third row of the auditorium’s guest seats, where the “Moonlight” cast was, Jennifer Aniston looked puzzled at the “Spotlight” group on stage, feeling that something was off.
After all, at the key indicator awards, her side had won outright, yet the Oscars had thrown a curveball.
Aniston muttered to herself, “Could Martin’s judgment have been wrong? It shouldn’t be! The Academy is indeed pushing for diversity.”
The faces of the several African-Americans in the crew… were always very dark; it was hard to read anything from them.
The bespectacled director Barry Jenkins was internally cursing, thinking all their fuss for months and the Academy didn’t even offer a consolation?
He remembered Spike Lee’s famous saying, and nearly blurted out “I bought a watch last year.”
At the backstage exit, the director, seeing the Best Picture group’s acceptance speech wrapping up, said into his headset: “Attention, the live broadcast is entering the countdown.”
The people from “Spotlight” and the award presenter Warren Beatty came walking toward the backstage area.
The director then said, “Play commercials after twenty seconds!”
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Right then, the PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant took out an envelope and, seeing the small words “Best Picture” written on it, was momentarily stunned before shouting loudly, “Wrong! It’s wrong! There’s been a mix-up!”
He grabbed the envelope and ran like mad to the director: “The Best Picture is wrong! This is it, we had the wrong envelope!”
The director looked at the accountant in disbelief, practically murderous as he snatched the envelope, glanced at the award category marked on it, couldn’t care less, tore it open and pulled out the card, which listed a film title and two producers’ names.
Everyone present, including Martin, had heard it all, and looked curiously in that direction.
Martin then turned to look at Warren Beatty. Had this guy not confirmed before opening the envelope?
Television adverts began to air, and the director said into the microphone: “Extend the commercial a bit longer, wait for my cue.”
He immediately located Warren Beatty and took the envelope from Warren, which was the one PricewaterhouseCoopers had retrieved for Best Director!
When the director explained the situation, Warren Beatty was flabbergasted, thinking, “You bunch of idiots screw up, and I’m supposed to make a fool of myself onstage?”
Even the slowest to react now realized that this year’s Oscar incident was bound to go down in history, and when people later mentioned it, the first thing that would come to mind was Warren Beatty reading the wrong name.
Warren Beatty felt a huge black pot falling from the sky, smashing him so hard he couldn’t lift his head.
In the past eighty-seven Oscars, there had never been such a mess!
The director, accountant, and the quickly arriving Catherine Kennedy gathered to discuss the matter.
There were two options for resolving the issue: one, to let the error stand, or two, to go back onstage and correct it.
These people decided on the second option after a few words, but Warren Beatty refused to go back up.
The old man was nearly eighty, and he couldn’t afford to lose that much face.
Warren Beatty came over to Martin, pretending not to see the three people, and whispered to Martin, “I will never again attend the Oscar ceremony, with all this crap they’ve pulled, it’s too damn embarrassing.”
Martin could see that Warren Beatty did not want to go back on stage and said, “Pretend you don’t know anything.”
At this point, with so many people backstage, whichever option was chosen, there would be an outcry afterward.
No choice but, Catherine Kennedy, the PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant, along with “Spotlight’s” director Thomas McCarthy and producer Steve Golin returned to the stage.
As the commercial break ended, the live broadcast returned to show a group of people back on stage, announcing that a mistake had been made and the winner of Best Picture was not “Spotlight,” but “Moonlight.”
Audiences at the Dolby Theatre, and those watching on television or computer, were all stunned.
To show authenticity, the PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant held up the two envelopes towards the live camera.
But these were insufficient to quell the outcry in the hall and in front of the live cameras.
Even the previously ecstatic “Spotlight” group were all shocked and at a loss.
What was happening in reality was even more outrageous than in the movies!
The main creators of “Moonlight Boy” who went up on stage were like wooden puppets, showing no joy at winning the award.
Even producers Jennifer Aniston and Barry Jenkins, without any acceptance speech, picked up the Best Picture statuette, which had been passed around by the “Spotlight” group, and headed straight backstage.
This year’s Oscar ceremony ultimately ended in a farce.
After Aniston went backstage and declined the routine interview, she saw Martin and quickly walked over.
Martin saw her dejected expression and said, “Darling, no matter what, we’ve got the Best Picture, be happy.”
Aniston, looking at the statuette in her hand, said, “I feel indescribably bad, it’s like this trophy is second-hand.”
