[Chapter 457: The Oscar Awards Ceremony]
At the end of February, the 70th Academy Awards took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Link attended the event accompanied by Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, and other girlfriends.
As he walked the red carpet, enthusiastic reporters stopped him again. They asked if he was confident about winning the Best Director award.
Link replied, "I'll get it when it's time. No need to rush."
El Simmons from the Los Angeles Times loudly asked how many children he had now. Rumors said he had more than twenty illegitimate kids. Was it true?
Link calmly said he had eight.
El Simmons asked how many children he planned to have.
"The more the better," Link said.
"A hundred?" a reporter from ABC pressed.
"Could be," Link shrugged.
Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, and Angelina Jolie chuckled nearby.
"Director Link, last year Guess Pictures and Miramax collaborated on two films, Fight Club and Evita, both lost money. There are rumors this was your plan to sabotage Miramax. Is that true?" a New York Post reporter called out.
"False! Fight Club and Evita haven't finished screening; losses are not factual. Besides, both movies became classics, receiving high praise, which shows the cooperation was very successful. There was no conspiracy."
"Mr. Link, there are reports that Miramax is facing bankruptcy due to losses. What's your take?" a USA Today reporter asked.
"Miramax is a Disney subsidiary. You should ask President Ovitz and CEO Eisner. They have the answers you're seeking."
"Mr. Link, according to Japan's Kyodo News, your overseas investment company made over a billion dollars amid the Asian financial crisis last year. Is this true?" an American Express reporter shouted.
"False news. Our companies also suffered heavy losses due to the crisis. Making over a billion is nonsense. Okay everyone, that's it for interviews."
Link waved to fans and left with several girlfriends.
"Mr. Link, wait! Are reports true that you're planning to acquire MGM?"
"Director Link!"
Reporters shouted after him, but he didn't reply.
...
"Dear, you're so popular. Wherever you go, reporters get all excited," Sofia smiled, linking arms with him.
"Link has so much news around him he's like a treasure trove. If I were a reporter, I'd keep pestering him too," Angelina Jolie laughed.
"That's why I don't like public appearances much. Getting questioned nonstop by reporters is annoying," Link smiled lightly, leading Winona Ryder into the Shrine Auditorium.
...
"Haha, Director Link! Great to see you here," Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, and others greeted him.
Link was soon surrounded again by film professionals congratulating Guess Pictures on many nominations and wishing him luck for multiple statues.
James Cameron also came over to chat about Titanic's promotion and joked about the acceptance speech. He said if Titanic won Best Director, he'd quote 'Jack' at the bow shouting, "I'm the King of the world." What did Link think?
Link smiled, "That's a nice speech."
...
At 8 p.m., the 70th Academy Awards officially began.
The ceremony unfolded mostly as media predicted. Titanic was the biggest winner with 11 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design, tying Ben-Hur for the most Oscars won by a film.
Cameron proudly shouted 'I'm the King of the world' during his acceptance.
Saving Private Ryan won three awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound Editing.
Link, as executive screenwriter, won a statuette.
Winona Ryder also won Best Actress for Girl, Interrupted, becoming the first Oscar-winning actress born in the 1970s.
L.A. Confidential received Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress awards.
In Best Foreign Language Film, The Sino-Dutch War 1661 lost to the Dutch film Karakter (Character).
...
Afterwards, media called Saving Private Ryan the most underappreciated film in Oscar history, even more than The Shawshank Redemption.
Its quality and artistic techniques were pioneering, and it could have swept Best Picture and Best Director in any other year.
But it faced the phenomenon Titanic and ended up with three minor awards, a regrettable outcome.
Link was also regarded as one of Oscar's most unlucky directors.
Since 1993, Link had directed several top-quality films including Se7en, The Sixth Sense, The English Patient, The Net, and Saving Private Ryan, and had received four Best Director nominations in ten years -- the most in that time.
Unfortunately, bad luck always struck whenever he was about to win, causing him to lose Best Director.
...
"Hmph! People used to say Link was lucky, blessed by the goddess of fortune. But now, it's clear that's not true. If luck was on his side, how could he never win?" Harvey scoffed, puffing on his cigar with a delighted grin.
"It's nothing. Link's made huge progress recently, delivering high-quality films yearly. Even if he misses next year, he'll win the year after. He's the closest to a Best Director Oscar right now," Bob Weinstein said.
"Damn it, why do you always defend that bastard Link? Are you trying to hitch a ride now that he's powerful?" Harvey glared.
Bob shrugged. "I'm stating facts. Link's movies make money and have artistic merit. Plus, he's only 26, in his career prime. He's highly likely to snag Best Director in the future."
Harvey snorted and didn't respond, returning to his newspaper.
...
The award season boosted Guess Pictures' movie exposure and box office revenue.
Titanic's domestic gross hit $415 million; overseas $832 million; worldwide $1.2 billion -- a global box office record.
Saving Private Ryan grossed $392 million domestically, $417 million abroad, totaling $809 million globally.
Other films like Girl, Interrupted, The Legend of 1900, Evita, and Fight Club saw minor box office growth but not enough to break even.
Harvey studied the box office numbers. $1.2 billion, $809 million, compared to Miramax's few films which barely earned $200 million total.
He clenched his teeth in jealousy, his face twisted by envy.
*****
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