"Today, the three of us stand on this stage," Francis Coppola began on stage, "because we all clearly understand the excitement of winning Best Director."
"That moment was the most magnificent moment of my life," Spielberg added.
"Wait a minute…" George Lucas glanced at the two, "I've never won that award."
Laughter erupted in the theater, and Spielberg laughed along, saying, "Then what are you doing here?"
"I don't know." George Lucas gradually shifted the topic to the award itself, "But I think receiving is not as good as giving."
"Yeah, right!" Spielberg and Francis Coppola said simultaneously.
"Next is the list of Best Director nominees." The three wrapped up their small talk. "Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men, Martin Scorsese for The Departed, Duke Rosenberg for The Dark Knight, Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton, Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood."
"The winner is…" Spielberg opened the envelope; the result was no surprise, "Martin Scorsese!"
At that moment, only Martin himself could understand how he felt. The entire audience and guests gave a standing ovation.
On stage, Martin Scorsese hugged George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Coppola in turn before stepping up to the microphone.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you…"
A long string of thanks poured out. The director who had always narrowly missed the Oscar for Best Director finally realized his Oscar dream with a critically acclaimed North American gangster film.
"Could you check the envelope again? Did I really win? I mean, I can't control myself holding this Academy award, and it's given by my old friends! We've been friends for 37 years. I'm so moved. So moved."
"First, thank you Warner Bros. for giving me the adaptation rights to this script, and thanks to the actors and crew who worked with me…"
After a long list of thanks, Martin seemed to want to make a summary of these years, "I also want to thank all those who have supported me over the years. Many of them are strangers. In the past, when I walked down the street, people would say things about me; in a doctor's office or somewhere else, this would happen."
"They'd say, 'You should have an Oscar.' When I got X-rays, the doctor said, 'You should get an Oscar.' I said 'Thank you.' My friends who have been with me for many years, and many friends who came here tonight, all wished me to win this award. My family too, thank you all. This moment is dedicated to you."
Martin Scorsese, having fulfilled his wish, was undoubtedly the biggest winner tonight. Then he also lifted the little golden statue for Best Picture.
The Dark Knight unsurprisingly became the biggest runner-up tonight, with nine nominations but only two awards won. Duke's production style was clearly not favored by the Academy.
"Change your style?"
At the Oscar night party hosted by Vanity Fair, Duke shook his head at George Lucas, "I won't change because of the Oscars."
Lucas stood and lightly patted his shoulder, "Duke, you have always been rational and determined, following your own ideas. Keep going."
Just as he wouldn't change for the Oscars, Lucas believed that a director who doesn't become niche because of the Oscars would have a broader path ahead.
"I'm leaving first," Lucas nodded lightly to him and Scarlett. "You guys continue."
George Lucas left, but the people around Duke did not lessen at all. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and others sat at this table chatting with him. Pitt's studio needed Warner Bros. for distribution, so winning support from Duke, a board member, was necessary. Clooney, passionate about politics, was getting along well with Scarlett Johansson, who was also politically engaged.
The center of their discussion naturally was Duke. Perhaps because The Dark Knight was tonight's runner-up, they didn't talk about movies much but focused on charity. After all, the news of Duke and Scarlett founding a children's charity foundation had been widely hyped by the media for quite some time.
In Hollywood and the entertainment industry, charity is a topic that never goes out of fashion and is one of the best ways to elevate one's status.
Anyone who knows a little about this circle understands that Hollywood is merely a "dream factory" for celebrity charity.
When seeing Angelina Jolie visiting ragged refugees in Afghanistan, or George Clooney visiting starving children in Africa, does the public ever think that these touching charity events are actually orchestrated by agencies?
Today's Hollywood is enthusiastically engaged in charity and public welfare activities. If any big star hasn't participated in public welfare, it would be unimaginable. Even second- or third-tier actors rush to open their 'second road to fame.'
Agencies package celebrities' careers and public welfare activities into a marketable product, creating a 'new culture' in Hollywood.
Take, for example, Nancy Josephson's International Creative Management, or ICM.
ICM's headquarters is on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, a striking white building resembling a law firm.
The company's most famous clients undoubtedly include Duke, as well as Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway, Brad Pitt, and many other first- and second-tier stars.
How to push their clients' careers further is a key issue for every talent management company. Charity is a very good path. ICM even has a dedicated department for this and established the ICM Charity Foundation.
In the past decade, as Hollywood became increasingly enthusiastic about charity and social activities, this charity foundation's influence has grown rapidly.
Nancy Josephson's charity team includes people who once worked for a California state senator and are very experienced in fundraising. She is a regular visitor to Washington, frequently meeting government officials from the Pentagon and the White House, traveling with UN officials and NGO leaders to inspect various public welfare projects worldwide. Then they return to Hollywood to report on where crises have occurred, where epidemics have broken out, and what new aid projects exist…
Her main job is to act as a bridge connecting big stars who never read books or newspapers and know nothing about the "outside world" with various charitable projects.
Like a "matchmaker," she first learns about each project and then recommends trustworthy organizations to the stars, providing them with guiding advice.
Just like a film company greenlighting a movie, this process is rarely accomplished overnight; projects with long-term cooperation usually require thorough and effective communication.
The secret to this kind of "marriage" style charity success lies in finding common ground between the stars and the charitable projects. Otherwise, conflicts are bound to arise. For example, a star may urgently need charity to improve their image and status, but if the project isn't suitable or doesn't match their experience and temperament, forcing involvement could bring considerable unknown risks to both their own and their agency's reputation.
Charity is not as simple as walking the red carpet and saying a few polite words.
Stars doing charity inevitably trigger accusations of "showing off." For example, last year Paris Hilton, the heiress of Hilton Hotels, was sentenced to a short jail term for drunk driving. Shortly after her release, she announced a visit to Rwanda with a charity organization, accompanied by a large photography crew because she likes to document everything.
Regarding the purpose of this trip, the heiress was frank there have been too many negative stories about me, and I need to reverse my public image.
There are indeed people who sincerely do charity in the industry, but even Duke admits that charity led by agencies is basically a show.
Moreover, nowadays whether an agency can get their clients on the "charity fast track" is very attractive to those clients.
Recently, a client under CAA switched to ICM, and Nancy Josefson's biggest bait was to create an exclusive charitable career for that client, a very effective move.
Now, all kinds of "charitable" causes are deeply embedded in Hollywood and have even crossed national borders. All major UN agencies have "Goodwill Ambassadors" from Hollywood Angelina Jolie is the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Drew Barrymore is the World Food Programme's Hunger Ambassador, George Clooney is a UN Peace Ambassador…
These charity identities greatly help stars. Even if a work flops or they don't have excellent roles for years, the cultural cachet earned through charity is enough to ensure they don't quickly fade away.
In Duke's view, the wave of Hollywood stars engaging in charity is also related to a profound change in their "self-awareness."
In the past, being an actor was about receiving worship and admiration.
But now, Hollywood stars are surrounded by agents, PR staff, and assistants who have MBA degrees, making them feel that acting is a childish profession.
You have to know that agents used to be just like them high school dropouts.
Therefore, having another career besides acting can, to some extent, help Hollywood stars regain the "specialness" and "superiority" they once had as actors.
Of course, this does not apply to everyone.