The audience in the screening room had not yet dispersed when the words of Steve Pond, a former Hollywood producer, immediately drew many hostile glances. Realizing this was not a place where he could freely vent his anger, he quickly bottled up his displeasure, left the theater, and drove home as fast as he could.
As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Steve Pond, though over seventy, cherished his Oscar voting privileges unlike those who voted with their feet. Every year, he watched all the Oscar-nominated films.
Winning an Oscar is a systematic effort. A film often decides whether to target the awards season at its inception. If it aims for the awards, the producers and distributors will certainly invite Oscar voters to screenings, with voters enjoying free tickets. If the voter is influential enough, studios will even send them screeners or DVDs well in advance.
This is essentially a prerequisite for consideration. Films that voters haven't even heard of are unlikely to be nominated.
By personally attending screenings, Steve Pond showed that, despite his age, he was not a core Academy member.
However, Steve Pond never saw it that way. He actively participated in the Oscars, from nominations to final voting, every year.
After receiving an invitation from 20th Century Fox, he went to the theater but found the film not only disappointing but infuriating. A director hailed nationwide, praised by countless media and fans, and respected within the industry, had made such a shameless film!
Yes, Steve Pond considered this film utterly shameless. What was Murphy Stanton promoting?
Murphy's films were known for their black humor and moral ambiguity, but none had strayed as far as "The Wolf of Wall Street."
Steve Pond quickly updated his Twitter, writing a lengthy post emphasizing two points: it was a three-hour torture, and making such a film was disgraceful.
Though not a core Academy member, his age and experience gave him a wide network in Hollywood. His review was quickly shared by many.
As more casual viewers watched "The Wolf of Wall Street," some negative reviews inevitably began to surface online.
"This is the worst movie I've ever seen!"
"Besides the big-name director and stars, this is a huge flop—no substance, negative energy, vulgar scenes. It's a societal pollutant. I can't understand why my Iron Man, Tony Stark, would choose such a script."
These sentiments soon caught the media's attention. Since "The Wolf of Wall Street" aimed for the awards season and the Oscars, 20th Century Fox had invited numerous Oscar voters to free screenings. Steve Pond wasn't the only one; many other voters also disliked the film.
Especially in Los Angeles, during a prime-time Oscar screening on Saturday night, many familiar Oscar voters watched the film together at a Beverly Hills theater, turning the screening into a senior citizens' event.
One of the female voters, nearly seventy-year-old Adele, spoke to the media after the screening. She criticized "The Wolf of Wall Street" as "torture" and "disgusting scenes repeated over and over."
Adele mentioned that many Oscar voters, including herself, disliked the film, though she admitted some voters had applauded during the screening.
The interview video was soon uploaded to YouTube and shared by many viewers and Oscar voters who disliked the film.
The rise of social networks made it easier to generate buzz and spread word-of-mouth marketing quickly. However, this also meant that negative feedback could spread just as swiftly.
Around fifty Oscar voters posted or shared negative reviews of "The Wolf of Wall Street" on social media, and their profile pictures revealed them to be predominantly elderly individuals.
Such comments naturally caught the media's attention. By Sunday morning, several print media outlets had begun reporting on the issue.
"The good news is that 'The Wolf of Wall Street' grossed $27.4 million on Saturday," Gal Gadot said, placing the breakfast she had prepared in front of Murphy. Sitting across from him with her own plate, she glanced at the newspaper in front of her and continued, "The bad news is that negative reviews are spreading on social media, and our online team can't control it."
"It's fine," Murphy said, nodding. He cut a piece of his fried egg and tasted it. "It tastes great."
"Thank you," Gal Gadot smiled sweetly.
Murphy continued eating. "It's different now. Information spreads faster online, achieving real-time sharing. We can't influence every social media platform."
Gal Gadot shrugged, pushing a piece of vegetable into her mouth and swallowing it without tasting it. After all these years, she had gotten used to such a diet.
Halfway through her salad, she looked at the newspaper in front of her and pushed it towards Murphy. "Take a look at this."
Putting down his knife and fork, Murphy picked up the newspaper and skimmed through it quickly.
"Murphy Stanton's new film, 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' has been released, with special screenings arranged in Los Angeles for Oscar voters to bolster its chances for next year's awards. Unexpectedly, the film faced criticism from Oscar voters. Many voters were dissatisfied with the film's pervasive vulgarity, drug scenes, and offensive language. Given this, 'The Wolf of Wall Street's' Oscar prospects seem bleak..."
After reading, Murphy shook his head. It was just a few dozen Oscar voters; the number of voters who gave the film positive reviews was ten times that.
After breakfast, he found more negative reviews online. For conservative viewers, "The Wolf of Wall Street" was undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow.
Conservative media, critics, and Oscar voters considered the film a decadent "freak show," "starting with a chaotic dance and constantly pushing for greater extremes," and "a nauseating series of repeated scenes."
Later, during a promotional event, Murphy addressed the issue in an interview.
"The film aims to portray the character's experiences and actions as accurately as possible, objectively depicting everything that happens without sympathy or criticism," he said to a large group of reporters. "The characters in the film are inherently bad—corrupt, decadent, and never feeling remorse. We didn't want to tell the story in the traditional way but rather immerse the audience in that experience and then wake them up to the final destruction."
Murphy wasn't surprised by the backlash. The Academy had become increasingly conservative and aging. According to the Los Angeles Times, the average age of the 6,028 Oscar voters had risen from 62 to 63, reflecting an aging trend.
To be honest, his new film, nearly three hours long and filled with vulgarity and drug scenes, was too unconventional for some old-fashioned Oscar voters, so their disapproval was understandable.
However, this didn't mean "The Wolf of Wall Street" had lost its Oscar chances. On the one hand, the Academy was continually adding fresh blood, and many appreciated such films.
On the other hand, Murphy's films had been criticized for being too violent and dark in past Oscar screenings. This time, the backlash was just louder.
When asked about the film's explicit content, Murphy candidly said, "This film isn't for 14-year-olds and won't suit everyone's taste."
More and more reporters gathered around. A bodyguard came to remind Murphy it was time to leave. Just as he was about to get into the car, a reporter with a Los Angeles Times badge squeezed in front of him.
"Hello, Director Stanton, I'm Amanda Ferrara, the reporter who interviewed you at the premiere," she said, thrusting a microphone towards Murphy. He nodded indifferently; the premiere had been so chaotic that he couldn't possibly remember who she was.
Fearing Murphy would walk away, the reporter quickly asked, "What do you think about some Oscar voters and Academy members criticizing your film as disgraceful?"
"I think those voters believe films should reflect an idealized version of life," Murphy shrugged, then spread his hands. "Instead of exploring the darker sides of human nature, this is why we lack profound works."
With that, he didn't give the reporter a chance to ask more questions and turned to get into the car.
Indeed, some Oscar voters criticized him, but many others supported him and "The Wolf of Wall Street."
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