Chapter 140: The Ceremony Venue

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: The Ceremony Venue

Shelly waved a hand. "There’s a reception after the ceremony. Since it’s your first time attending an Oscar reception, you must go. It’s good for keeping your spirits up."

"I thought I could go back to sleep after the ceremony ended." Irene pursed her lips helplessly, though she didn’t dare make too much of a movement. There’s just no escaping the vanity fair of adulthood, she sighed.

"By the way, isn’t your outfit a bit too understated? Everyone else is practically welding jewelry onto themselves, but you just showed up in all black. You’re like a completely different person compared to the Golden Globe Awards," Shelly teased, lowering its voice.

"I’m just here to soak up the atmosphere. I don’t have a chance to go up and accept an award, so there’s no need to be flashy." Irene sat down, picked up her coffee and took a sip, her gaze sweeping across the stars around her.

"Besides, black is so versatile and hard to get wrong." Her gaze landed on Cameron Crowe not far away, who was chatting and laughing with the crew of Almost Famous, looking full of high spirits.

Back then, the Almost Famous crew had approached her, wanting her to serve as co-director, but after careful consideration, she declined and chose My Big Fat Greek Wedding instead.

Although the film hadn’t been released yet, she still didn’t regret her decision.

After the awards ceremony officially began, Irene didn’t hold her breath in tension like the other nominees. Instead, she started gossiping with Shelly.

"Look over there, Harrison Ford’s tie is crooked and he hasn’t even noticed." Irene nudged Shelly with her elbow, suppressing a smile. "And Meryl Streep, aren’t those the same earrings she wore to this year’s Golden Globe Awards?"

"You don’t say, they really are." Shelly followed her gaze, lowering its voice. "Be serious in this kind of setting." Shelly warned her.

But Irene really couldn’t get into it. Not only because she didn’t have a chance to go on stage, but more importantly, she knew exactly who was going to win. She had already been spoiled, and yet she had to pretend to look expectant, curious, and surprised. Isn’t that just making things difficult for a director?

If she had that kind of acting ability, she would have gone into acting in the first place!

As the ceremony reached the middle-to-latter stages, when the host announced that the Best Director award was about to be revealed, Irene nudged Shelly’s arm, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "Dare to make a bet? Let’s see who wins."

Shelly paused, looked around, and whispered, "I think Ang Lee has a high chance of winning."

Irene subconsciously looked at Ang Lee in the nominee seats. He was sitting upright, his expression calm.

"Why are you betting on him?" She was somewhat surprised. Ang Lee had indeed won an Oscar for Best Director, but not now.

"While Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is stunning, Steven Soderbergh has two films nominated this year, Traffic and Erin Brockovich. With that kind of double insurance, it’s almost a guaranteed win." Irene asked back, puzzled.

Shelly shrugged, its tone certain. "I just feel that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has pioneered a new cinematic paradigm. Ang Lee’s narrative is so delicate, and the Oscar judges have always gone for that. Plus, look, among this year’s nominations, his style is the most unique."

Irene frowned and looked at Shelly disapprovingly. Shelly had to explain further. "Furthermore, although Steven Soderbergh is a big favorite, the Oscars dislike having two films from the same person nominated simultaneously. It splits the vote, so Ang Lee’s chances of winning are quite high."

"Then why couldn’t it be Ridley Scott? Gladiator is also quite outstanding and received 12 nominations."

"I have a feeling Gladiator will win Best Picture, and generally, Best Director and Best Picture don’t come from the same film, unless that film completely obliterates the competition."

Irene looked at Shelly with mixed feelings. If you say it has studied the Oscars, it thinks Ang Lee can win Best Director for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If you say it’s unreliable, it correctly predicts Best Picture will go to Gladiator.

It’s not that Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon isn’t good enough, but with Ang Lee’s current standing, wanting to win Best Director with an Eastern martial arts film is still a bit of a stretch, especially since the US has never really favored Eastern cinema.

"I still think Steven Soderbergh will win."

"All right then, let’s bet a glass of champagne. The loser treats to the celebration dinner." Shelly was full of confidence.

"Deal." Irene smiled, though she already knew the answer in her heart.

She recalled how she was able to win Best Screenplay at the Golden Globe Awards with Mean Girls, beating Steven Soderbergh. It was truly an incredible thing.

At the time, Traffic was the big favorite. Things like that could only happen at the Golden Globe Awards. The Oscars couldn’t do it, at least not the current Oscars.

When Julia Roberts walked to the center of the stage wearing a classic and elegant pink-purple Valentino gown, Shelly’s face wasn’t as confident as before, but it still held onto a glimmer of expectation.

Julia Roberts introduced the candidates, opened the envelope, and deliberately paused for a few seconds, keeping the entire audience in suspense.

Irene could feel the breathing of many people around her becoming rapid. Shelly even clenched its fists, whispering, "Ang Lee, Ang Lee..."

"The winner of the 73rd Academy Award for Best Director is — Steven Soderbergh, Traffic!"

As the words fell, the audience erupted in applause.

Steven Soderbergh rose from his seat, a gentle smile on his face, hugged the people around him one by one, and then walked steadily onto the stage.

He picked up the trophy and delivered his acceptance speech with a calm tone, thanking all the crew members and mentioning the challenges brought by his two works, Erin Brockovich and Traffic.

Irene applauded along, a sincere smile on her face, but a trace of hard-to-conceal envy flashed in her eyes.

Her positioning had always been clear: to be the most successful commercial film director, to prove herself with box office and market recognition, and then to build a new film and television empire. But that didn’t mean she didn’t yearn for this moment of being universally acclaimed.

Standing on the Oscar podium, receiving the highest recognition from the entire industry—that sense of honor was something no commercial achievement could replace.

"I lost, I lost." Shelly sighed helplessly, but it also clapped vigorously, turning to Irene and saying,

"But Steven truly deserves it. Both works are very different in style, yet both are impeccably filmed." It caught the envy in Irene’s eyes, patted her shoulder, and said in a serious tone,

"Don’t worry, sooner or later, you will also stand in that place and take home a Best Director award of your own."

Irene smiled without responding, simply turning her gaze back to the stage.

Shelly didn’t know, but she knew better than anyone how difficult that would be.