HWI 144

Hollywood What If Chapter 144

The whole place became quiet, waiting for the announcement. The cameras never left the five actors, broadcasting their expressions live.

The presenter opened the envelope and paused for a few seconds, giving tension to the nominated actors.

"The winner is..."

Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, and Liam Neeson maintained their expressions under suffocating tension.

Then, the presenter said the name.

"Congratulations, Liam Neeson, for winning the Best Actor award!"

The expressions of the four actors were good... They didn't show clear disapproval, they just smiled in the right manner.

As for Liam Neeson. The man stood up and fixed his tuxedo. Then, he shook hands with Director Kazir Grey and Producer Harold Witsend.

"Kazir, thank you for giving me this chance."

"Don't joke around. We all know that this is the fruit of your hard work."

Kazir laughed.

'Damn. Sometimes I don't know how things will go. My prediction is completely off.'

Liam Neeson stood on stage.

"... Liam's salary will probably increase." Harold Witsend muttered and Kazir nodded.

"You are right... Keep it down if possible. We have signed a contract."

If there was one thing that was troubling Kazir, it was about the change of director's position.

'He is in a good mood, so he probably won't be mad if I told him that I will not direct Taken 2, right?'

Only God knows the answer. One thing was clear, their crew was happy about the awards they got.

After that, time passed until the Best Director was announced. As everyone expected, Director James Cameron won the award.

The guy stepped into the stage and yelled "I'm the king of the World, wooohh!" jokingly. People laughed and applaud.

Everyone probably watched the movie Titanic and know about this line.

Jack(Leonardo DiCaprio) screamed this line when he was standing at the edge of the ship.

Of course, knowing James Cameron's abilities, no one could deny that he was the King. The King of the Blockbuster. Since then the only competition for the greatest box office was himself. My man kept outdoing himself.

Then the last award arrived and it was not a shocker. Titanic got the Best Picture with no tension.

Titanic got 11 awards while Taken only got 2. Well, it was not a bad thing.

When the ceremony was over, Kazir was invited by the old members of the Academy.

He had an idea when he saw a person he recognized.

"Kazir Grey, I believe this is our first time meeting each other. I'm Frank Pierson. You can call me Frank."

"It's nice to meet you, Frank."

"Hm, you look like a stern and uptight guy. We are happy to know that a person like you is getting famous. Keep it up. You are one of us, after all."

"Yes," Kazir said one word.

Now he realized why he won. Most old members of the Academy were Jews and they have a strong influence despite their age.

Since Kazir was one of them, it was not a bad thing to give him an award. It was his award for spreading awareness to society.

The two ended their conversation, leaving impressions on each other.

'... I might win the Best Director if I try hard.'

That was the one thing he realized when he talked to Frank Pierson, the current president of the Academy.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Kazir saw some people in the corner of his eyes. He turned around and sure enough, he saw three people staring at him.

Three people. Harvey Weinstein, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck.

'Now that I think about it, Miramax is the distributor of Good Will Hunting. I heard they invested a huge amount of money on PR to win some awards.'

Unfortunately, the Titanic was their biggest obstacle.

'But I guess they didn't like it when Taken got two awards.'

To be honest, Kazir felt good seeing Harvey's unfiltered grudge. He looked ugly with that expression. The fat in his face was shaking lividly.

Still, Kazir didn't like that Matt Damon was staring at him as well. He could not discern Matt Damon's feelings since the guy was just staring, Ben Affleck was doing the same.

Kazir was hoping to invite Matt Damon to audition for the role of Jason Bourne.

'Do I have to find another actor, just like what I did with John Wick?'

Anyway, Kazir walked away because it was that bad. He was the director in the first place. He would choose whoever he wanted.

If Matt Damon was holding a grudge, so be it.

With this unexpected victory, the crew decided to start a party.

Liam Neeson's team prepared a party for the crew. Even though Liam's chance of winning was low, they should prepare a party just in case.

"Kazir, ahahaha! Choosing your script is the best choice I made in my entire life!"

Liam Neeson hiccupped after drinking a bottle of alcohol. Well, he had all reason to celebrate and go drunk.

"That's good to hear. Now promise me that you will not leave Taken 2 no matter what happens."

"Of course! Why would I leave the crew? It's the movie that gave me my Oscars statue!"

"Haha."

Kazir was already satisfied with that. He drank another glass of vodka and sighed after the smooth heaviness.

He knew that he was getting tipsy. He stood up and went to the balcony to get some fresh air. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw a woman standing next to a statue.

"You are...?"

He narrowed his gaze. Perhaps he drank too much because his vision was wobbling.

Winning the Best Original Screenplay made him happy that he didn't hesitate to drink every alcohol he touched.

[Author's Note: I have three things to say/ask.]

1. [I decided to let Liam Neeson win, because why not?]

2. [Do you want Matt Damon to be Jason Bourne?]

3. [So far three actresses have proper introductions in this novel, aside for Reese Witherspoon. They are Jennifer Connelly, Naomi Watts, and Cameron Diaz. You have 20 hours to choose which woman Kazir will meet next chapter. Personally, I prefer Jennifer Connelly because she is my crush. But I'll let you choose.]