Chapter 446: Process 2

Chapter 446: Chapter 446: Process 2

Compared to the tension and anxiety of others, Irene’s own mindset was exceptionally relaxed, lucid, calm, and open-minded.

She was already a dual winner of Oscar script awards, having won Best Original Screenplay for the 73rd Mean Girls and Best Adapted Screenplay for the 75th Million Dollar Baby, long ago reaching the industry pinnacle of the screenwriter track.

If she could win Best Adapted Screenplay once again tonight, it would be breaking records anew and refreshing legends, adding radiance to brilliance and scoring a perfect bonus; but even if she ultimately lost with regret, it would be no loss at all to her, would not shake her industry status, would not affect her resource layout, and even less would it erase all her past honours.

Winning and losing were both the norm, gains and losses were both scenery, and she saw through it all very well.

As the original screenplay award concluded, the eagerly anticipated Best Adapted Screenplay award segment officially arrived.

Meryl Streep stepped onto the stage steadily, with an elegant posture and a calm aura. Holding the microphone, she concisely and neatly introduced all the nominated films and shortlist for this year’s Best Adapted Screenplay, briefly summarised the textual characteristics and adaptation highlights of the five works, and then, under the gaze of thousands in the audience, decisively tore open the golden envelope and took out the final winning list.

She raised her eyes slightly, scanned the audience, and with a voice that was clear, powerful, resolute, and loud, piercing through the clamour of the entire venue, accurately dropped the final result: "Congratulations, Irene Coppola!"

The moment the words fell, the entire venue instantly erupted into thunderous, enthusiastic cheers and applause, waves of applause rising one after another and sweeping across the entire Kodak Theatre.

Director Ang Lee was the first to stand up, his face full of joy. He opened his arms and tightly embraced Irene by his side, his eyes full of gratification and excitement.

Irene gently raised her hand to pat Director Ang Lee’s shoulder, then she rose calmly, tidied her gown’s hem, and walked up the stage step by step with steady paces and an upright posture.

The spotlights all converged on her alone, and boundless brilliance fell upon her.

She walked to the centre of the stage, took the heavy Oscar statuette trophy from Meryl Streep’s hands, and at the same time shared a gentle embrace with her, receiving the senior’s most sincere congratulations and expectations.

Standing in the centre of the stage under the spotlight of everyone’s attention, holding the trophy, and facing the top filmmakers in the audience and the live-stream cameras across the entire network, Irene slightly nodded. With a humble and calm posture and a clear, steady voice, she slowly delivered her acceptance speech:

"Good evening, everyone. This is the second time in my career that I am standing on this stage to receive the Best Adapted Screenplay award. The last time was two years ago for Million Dollar Baby. Two years later, once again because of words, because of the script, and because of film and television creation, I am standing here to accept the recognition and encouragement of the Academy judges. I am filled with gratitude and immensely honoured."

"I have always firmly believed that a script is the cornerstone of a movie and the source and core of all shots, performances, narratives, and emotions. Without a solid, meticulous, sincere, and powerful script, no matter how exquisite the production, how top-notch the acting, or how gorgeous the shots may be, they are merely castles in the air that cannot withstand scrutiny and cannot leave behind any warmth."

"The story of Brokeback Mountain is restrained, forbearing, gentle, yet filled with regret, hiding the struggles, perseverance, and helplessness of ordinary people. I am extremely grateful to Director Ang Lee for polishing the text, settling the emotions, and perfecting the narrative together with me, allowing plain words to possess the power to pierce through time, heal hearts, and shock the world. I also thank every staff member of the entire crew, the Academy judges for their tolerance and partiality, and all the audience members for their gentle empathy."

"For me, film and television creation has never been about chasing awards and glory, but about staying true to my original aspiration, recording the mortal world, and telling stories. In the future, I will continue to calm my heart, polish every piece of text, carve every script, and earnestly film more good works with warmth, power, and depth. Thank you, everyone."

As her voice fell, enthusiastic and unending applause erupted across the entire audience once more, echoing through the entire Kodak Theatre.

Irene bowed in thanks, firmly holding the brand-new Oscar statuette in her hand, turned around, and slowly walked down the brilliantly lit stage.

The applause below the stage continued uninterrupted, and the camera closely followed her figure, transmitting the calm posture of this young creator who had won Best Adapted Screenplay for the second time in real-time to every live-stream terminal across the entire network.

As one of the most eye-catching winners of this year’s Oscar, the ceremony officials reserved a brief backstage interview session. Several mainstream media outlets had long been waiting in place, launching brief questions centred around her winning the screenplay award for the second time, the creative core of Brokeback Mountain, and her subsequent creative plans.

Irene maintained a relaxed and humble state throughout, calmly answering all questions with concise, lucid words and a broad perspective. There was not the slightest trace of arrogance or pride; the entire process was dignified, generous, and flawless.

After the short few minutes of interviews ended, she declined any further follow-up questions from the media, handed the trophy to her assistant, and then briskly walked through the side-stage passage to return to her exclusive seat in the front row and sit down.

After she settled into her seat, all the music-related awards in the venue happened to have been presented. The ceremony process proceeded methodically to the universally anticipated performance-related award segment, which was a heavy core award sequence second only to Best Director and Best Picture, tugging at the hearts of all nominated crews.

This year, Brokeback Mountain had a strong momentum in the acting track, successfully being nominated for two major heavyweight awards: Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The partner performance of Heath and Jack vividly portrayed the forbearance, struggle, deep affection, and regret of two low-level characters, becoming the soul support of the entire film.

The two appeared bare-faced for their roles, reined in their sharpness, and immersively shaped their characters. The screen presentation was extremely contagious, earning the recognition of countless audience members and film critics.

However, the competition for acting awards at the Hollywood Oscar never looked solely at a single role’s performance; it valued even more the actors’ years of industry accumulation, screen resume, public reputation among laypeople, and recognition within the Academy circle. The accumulation of foundation and connections was indispensable.

Compared to the veteran powerhouses competing on the same stage, Heath and Jack were after all still too young at that time. Their industry foundation, award resumes, and circle recognition were all slightly immature, lacking sufficient accumulation and blessing.

Their performances were excellent enough, but not enough to crush a crowd of veteran actors who had deeply cultivated the industry for many years. From the beginning of the awards season, almost no judges or film critics regarded them as favourites to win; running alongside as a companion runner-up had long been the default ending within the circle.

Sure enough, the announcement of the Best Actor award had no suspense and no surprises.

The final trophy steadily fell into the pocket of Jamie Fox. With his exquisitely vivid and penetrating biographical performance in Ray, he perfectly replicated the life of the legendary singer, featuring rich emotional layers and a multi-dimensional character portrayal. Relying on flawless, solid acting skills, he swept all Best Actor awards in this awards season and topped the Oscar Best Actor throne, which was universally expected and well-deserved.

On the stage, Jamie Fox could not hide his excitement, choking up multiple times to express his thanks and thanking the crew team, director, and judges for their recognition. Applause roared at the scene, and the entire audience sent their blessings.