HWI 142

Hollywood What If Chapter 142

Winning the Oscars boost the popularity of an actor/actress. It was a sign that the industry accepted them. A proof of their accomplishment in the film industry. 

It was a great honor. Actors and actresses were crazy over this award because of its meaning. 

On top of that was the salary increase... Actors/actresses who won the Oscars have a clear salary increase in their careers. They have a better position in the film industry, the best position to choose roles, and film companies take them seriously. 

It was a status that only a few artists could get. Of course, this outcome was the same for Directors. 

Kazir Grey was one of those people who dreamt of winning the Best Director award. 

In fact, he was already forming a formula in his head. As a from the future, he knew the best way to win the Oscars. 

'The jury like realistic films. To be precise, they like movies based on real people or real events. They like to see human emotions. They despise movies with a hint of fantasy genre and they don't like movies produced for the purpose of profit.'

In fact, many actors/actresses chose roles based on real people because of that. Heck, it was better if the role was about a crazy or handicapped, or fat person. 

Rami Malek won the Oscars after portraying Freddie Mercury in the movie called Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Gary Oldman took the role of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and won the Best Actor. 

Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in 2014's The Theory Of Relativity. 

The list goes on and on. This chapter might not be enough to list all of them. 

'Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, and even Reese Witherspoon did the same method to win the Oscars. And there's no bad about it. It's a sure-win strategy. So I laugh at the Academy's obvious prejudice.'

Because of this reason, he was a bit sad about Liam Neeson. Taken was a good movie and having nominations was already an achievement. Liam Neeson's role was fiction. 

If there was one thing that was good about Taken, the movie spread awareness of illegal/sex trafficking. This noble ideal brought them nominations. 

'It's fortunate that As Good As It Gets is fiction and Jack Nicholson's role is not based on a real person. At least Liam Neeson has a strong chance of winning.'

Perhaps this year was a good year for Liam Neeson to be nominated. 

Kazir sat down. His row mostly consists of the crew from Taken. Liam Neeson was next to him, quite nervous under his smile. 

"Don't worry Liam, you have a strong chance of winning the Oscars."

"Thanks Kazir."

The two laughed to make the atmosphere comfortable. Perhaps Liam Neeson was the most nervous one in their crew.

'Ah, I forgot about Baker Saylor. I'm sure he is nervous as well.'

Baker Saylor was the sound editor of Taken. He was introduced by Salvatore Barlowe. He was a hardworking man, and the sound editing was done perfectly. 

Taken received three nominations. 

Best Actor: Liam Neeson

Original Screenplay: Kazir Grey

Sound Editing: Baker Saylor

Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor are major awards while Best Sound Editing is a minor award. 

More people from the industry showed up with glamorous attires.

'It's fortunate that fashion sense these days makes sense.'

The awarding ceremony started with a parody of Titanic with Billy Crystal as the Host... From the moment the show started, everyone already knows the biggest winner of the Oscars 1998. 

Everyone already expected this in their hearts, considering that Titanic already passed the $1 billion mark. The second movie that grossed $1 billion in the world. They definitely got the Best Picture, for sure. 

The awarding ceremony went on. The presenters for the awards showed up one by one and announced the winners. 

Of course nobody forgets the performances. The best performance at the Oscars this year was My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, the theme song of Titanic. 

Then, the presenter of Best Sound Editing stepped on the stage. It was none other than Cameron Diaz. 

Kazir Grey didn't expect that the woman was actually the presenter. 

The woman said a few things before opening the envelope. She glanced over the audience until her gaze stopped at Kazir Grey. 

'Is it my imagination or is she looking at me?'

Kazir Grey didn't avert his gaze and looked at her eye to eye. He didn't have any reason to avert his gaze. 

The woman smiled and said the nominations such as Titanic, Taken, Air Force One, Con Air, and Contact. 

"Congratulations, Gary Rydstorm and Tom Johnson of Titanic for winning the Best Sound Editing!"

Cameron Diaz ended the tension and everyone in the venue clapped their hands. Titanic already won 4 awards so far. 

Before leaving, Cameron Diaz glanced at Kazir and winked her eye. 

"..."

The ceremony continued until the major awards came in. 

Everyone buckled into their seats. 

The first one to be announced was the Best Supporting Actor. The winner was Robin Williams as Dr. Sean Maguire in Goodwill Hunting. 

Then the presenter of Best Original Screenplay showed up. The presenter was Walter Matthau, an old veteran actor. 

Walter stood on the stage. 

"The nominations for Best Original Screenplay are:"

Goodwill Hunting by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. 

As Good As It Gets by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks. 

The Full Monty by Simon Beaufoy. 

Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson. 

Taken by Kazir Grey. 

Even though his hopes were not high, Kazir Grey could not help but be nervous. 

Seconds passed until Walter Matthau opened the envelope. Then, he announced the winner. 

"The winner of Best Original Screenplay is... Kazir Grey! Taken!"

The people started clapping. 

"Huh?"

Kazir was surprised. 

'What the fuck? We didn't do any PR, why did I win?' 

He stood on the stage... He didn't prepare any speech so he just thanked his crew, his family, and the cast of Taken. 

When he went to the backstage, he was dumbfounded as fuck. 

[Only one chapter today, I was out of the house.]

[Anyway. Do you want Liam Neeson to win the Best Actor award?]