Chapter 299: Interesting Things
Al Pacino gave Eric a big embrace and said, "Eric, thank you."
Eric, who was hugged tightly by Al Pacino, took a deep breath and laughed, "Al, this is what you deserve. Even without me, I believe that with your strength, you will eventually get the Oscar for Best Actor."
After patting Eric on the back, Al Pacino didn"t say anything else. He looked gratefully at Eric and then walked towards the stage.
Eric returned to his seat and watched as Al Pacino approached the stage. As he climbed the stairs, his footsteps were unsteady, and he almost fell, but no one in the hall laughed. Instead, the applause became even more enthusiastic.
Taking the little golden man from Judi Foster, Al Pacino walked to the microphone. Although his eyes still had some shine, they became razor-sharp again. Looking at the audience below the stage, Al Pacino took a moment before speaking with generosity, "I"ve been waiting for this day for 17 years..."
Although he was extremely excited, Al Pacino didn"t say much. A minute later, he followed Judy Foster backstage.
Later, Mich.e.l.le Pfeiffer, the winner of this year"s Academy Award for Best Actress, walked onto the stage and after a speech, introduced the live performance of the nominated song "Fly Over the Rainbow". A few minutes later, Al Pacino returned to the audience seats as the last and most important award of this year"s Oscars was about to be presented.
Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson walked onto the stage together, after a brief comedy skit, they started introducing the list of films nominated for Best Picture.
Due to the lengthy, hours-long awards ceremony, the films nominated for Best Picture have already been thoroughly introduced, so this introduction was very brief. The five winning films appeared on the big screen one after another, and Warren Beatty quickly opened the envelope and soon read out the name "Driving Miss Daisy."
After Eric"s disappointment at missing a nomination for best director, he was less hopeful for a nomination for best picture. However, when he heard the name "Driving Miss Daisy," his heart was a bit more at ease. This film was a previous winner of the Best Picture award, and Eric didn"t feel too disappointed at its nomination once again.
The outcome wasn"t so bad after all. Although Eric"s presence at this year"s Oscars brought in many films that were not originally on the list, a closer examination revealed that this year was still a rather low-key Oscars.
"Scent of a Woman" was undoubtedly excellent, but its excellence was mainly reflected in Al Pacino"s performance. As far as the film was concerned, it was far from reaching the impact of films like "Schindler"s List," "Forrest Gump," and "t.i.tanic" in the history of the Oscars. As a result, there was no film that dominated the major awards this year, and the Academy divided the four major awards among several different films like pork.Eric was lucky to receive a nomination for best actor.
With the conclusion of the final award, the 62nd Oscars ceremony officially came to an end. Some were joyful, while others were disappointed.
As Eric walked out, he noticed that this year"s group of people seemed to be the most disappointed. The Weinstein brothers, from the film "My Left Foot", were among them. Although "My Left Foot" had received five nominations, it didn"t win a single award, and it seemed to be due to the attack from the fireflies. For example, Daniel Day-Lewis, who was supposed to win the Best Actor award, had it taken away by Al Pacino. Julia was also named Best Supporting Actress.As for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture, although they had nothing to do with the fireflies, "My Left Foot" still didn"t win.
Eric had a connection with the Weinstein brothers when they attempted to acquire Miramax, but their offer wasn"t satisfactory to Eric, and the deal didn"t go through. Eric then focused his energy on a new line.
Half a year later, Eric saw the Weinstein brothers again. Harvey and Bob approached Eric, who was part of the firefly group, with a warm greeting, only hesitating briefly. Eric smiled and shook hands with them and also noticed Daniel Day-Lewis" unhappy gaze towards Al Pacino"s little golden man, but he just smiled.
"Mr. Williams, congratulations," said Harvey Weinstein with a smile, showing no sign of disappointment. He squeezed past Jonathan Demme, who was originally standing next to Eric, and faced Eric with a complimenting expression: "Mr. Williams, I regret that we were not able to cooperate successfully before, but I think perhaps we could find a time to talk about it again someday."
Eric raised his eyebrows slightly. Now that the Firefly and the new line have been integrated, although the Firefly will no longer be underestimated, its overall strength still cannot be compared to the seven major film companies. Therefore, if they acquire Milo Max from the Weinstein brothers, he doesn"t know where to put the Weinstein brothers.
Moreover, Robert Shaye"s operation for the Oscars has also proved that the Firefly"s public relations ability for the Oscars is not much worse than that of the Weinstein brothers, and even a little stronger. Furthermore, with Eric there in terms of selecting films for the Oscars, his vision will not be much worse than that of the Weinstein brothers. Therefore, Eric is no longer as eager as he was originally to acquire Milo Max.